Shoppers don't remember what they bought—they remember the experience around it. Macy's Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer Sharon Otterman explains how the retailer is shifting from one-off transactions to "retailtainment": in-store activations, engraving stations and immersive events tied to moments like prom, Father's Day and an upcoming 50th annual July 4th fireworks.

She also breaks down how the team tests new activations in select stores before scaling fleet-wide, and the media mix modeling and attribution tools shaping where marketing budget goes.

Dig deeper

~Macy's launches creative agency review ahead of 100th Thanksgiving Parade

~Macy's celebrates summer in its first campaign from new CMO and agency

~Opinion: How CMOs can prove their growth impact—the metrics that matter

~Inside Pacsun and LAFC's playbook for building a culturally relevant sports partnership

Haley Rosen of Just Women's Sports breaks down why the biggest opportunities in women's sports may lie beyond the games themselves. The founder and CEO of the sports-first media company—which reaches 115 million monthly users across social—explains how women's sports audiences are closing in on men's, with the WNBA pulling in 85% of the NBA's viewership on ESPN last season, while advertising dollars haven't kept pace, sitting at just 2% of what men's sports commands.

Rosen points to the Just Women's Sports-Ally partnership, now in its fifth year around the National Women's Soccer League, as a model for getting in early. She also lays out the untapped opportunity for brands willing to move now, from underrepresented sports like the Professional Women's Hockey League to athlete endorsement deals still lagging behind the fan bases they've built.

Dig deeper

~Inside women's sports marketing—how Gen Z is fueling brand interest

~MLB is investing in a women's pro softball league—behind the sport's marketing potential

~How the NWSL plans to capitalize on Women's World Cup attention

The volume of creative content has never been higher, and the pressure to prove every piece of it works has never been greater. In this sponsored episode of the Marketer's Brief podcast, Ad Age sits down with Jeff Greenspoon, chief executive officer of the Americas at Kantar, to explore how brands can maximize creative effectiveness in an era of AI-generated content, always-on channels, and exploding creator ecosystems.

Jeff unpacks how leading brands are embedding decision intelligence directly into their creative workflows, turning insight into confidence and driving real marketing impact. He also covers effective creator marketing and what it looks like when CMOs and their teams put it to work.

Tune in to hear how Kantar is helping leading brands move from instinct to evidence, and setting the agenda for creative impact at scale.