In between posts about making cereal and candy from scratch, influencer Nara Smith has been singing the praises of a certain diaper brand.

“I remember how overwhelmed I was picking a diaper brand when I had my kids, but Coterie quickly became my favorite brand to use,” Smith says in her characteristically monotone voice in one TikTok.

Smith’s posts are part of a social media-forward strategy from the premium price-point diaper brand aimed at cutting through what is a competitive industry and targeting parents of diaper-donning little darlings. To do it, the brand has leaned heavily on social marketing, experiential activations, and a strategic first-party data collection strategy online, while building out its presence IRL in retailers, which have traditionally been the domain of legacy brands.

“Instagram and TikTok have been really tremendous brand drivers, not just from our own efforts, but from the partnerships that we have with influencers,” Lindsey Kling, Coterie’s SVP of brand marketing, partnerships, and business development, told us. “Finding ways to connect with and resonate with our community and create content that feels really authentic and really on-the-nose for parents is such a huge part of who we are.”

As Coterie works to carve out a niche in an industry that has long been dominated by legacy brands, its growth is part of a larger story about the increasing prevalence (and popularity) of smaller diaper brands.

“For most manufacturers, whether it’s P&G or Pampers…the biggest headwinds they face are these challenger brands. We’ve never seen a surge in micro-brands or challenger brands like we have in the last five years or so—it’s just unprecedented,” Barry Thomas, senior global thought leader at Kantar, told Marketing Brew.

Continue reading here.—JS

The Atlantic Coast Conference, or the ACC, isn’t the most dominant in college football. But major sports advertisers, like Gatorade, Ally, and Apple, are spending plenty of dollars coast to coast to sponsor the ACC, which now includes a couple of West Coast schools thanks to conference realignment.

The audience for college football is unparalleled by other college sports, consistently averaging about 2 million viewers per game on ESPN, according to Theresa Palmieri, VP of sports brands solutions at Disney Advertising, but sponsors say America’s favorite sport isn’t the only part of the ACC they’re interested in tapping into, focusing also on basketball and increasingly popular women’s sports.

“A lot of times, when brands enter college sports, it’s anchored by men’s football and men’s basketball,” Stephanie Marciano, head of sports and entertainment marketing at Ally, told Marketing Brew. “That will give you the scale, that will give you the visibility, it gives you a lot of fandom on campus and among alumni, but these other sports deliver a lot, too.”

Brains and brawns: With universities like Stanford, Duke, and Notre Dame in the conference, several network and brand execs told Marketing Brew that academic prowess is a selling point for getting involved with the ACC.

Jeramy Michiaels, senior director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, who oversees the network’s relationship with the ACC, said that those schools’ academic excellence combined with “the elite level of sports that they play,” is “probably the single most exciting part about being with this league.”

Read more here.—AM

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Sarah Collinson is CEO of Havas New York. She’s also worked at JOAN Creative, Anomaly, and adam&eveDDB.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? Like Mad Men, but with fewer lunchtime martinis, and worse clothes.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? One that stands out from my past agency life is the famous John Lewis Christmas campaigns. They became such a moment—the whole of the UK would wait with bated breath for the launch, newspapers would speculate about the storyline and music, and the track always went to No. 1. It created culture rather than just being along for the ride.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Sony’s “Color Like No Other.” A series of truly beautiful pieces of film that broke through everything else and positioned Sony as a true leader. The bouncing balls execution was what made me want to get into the industry and really chase my first job at Fallon London.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I was on a game show at age 11 called Get Your Own Back, and I slimed my mum. Sorry, mum.

Continue reading here.

It’s no surprise that YouTube has enormous advertising potential. Recent forecasts show that nearly 9 in 10 US Gen Zers (89.3%) are on YouTube, putting the platform ahead of Instagram (72.5%), TikTok (71.2%), and Snapchat (70.3%).

Download EMARKETER’s guide to explore five key charts covering ad revenue, video viewership, app usage, digital platforms, and social media—revealing YouTube’s growing influence.

Unlock YouTube’s advertising potential.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• The SpringHill Company, LeBron James’s media and production company, is merging with Fulwell 73, which produces shows like the Grammys and The Kardashians.
• State Farm signed on as a sponsor of the new women’s 3-on-3 basketball league Unrivaled.
• Foot Locker partnered with NBA players Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball for its holiday campaign.
• Sprite also tapped Edwards for its holiday campaign.
• Stagwell expanded its partnership with Carmelo Anthony’s wine brand, VII(N) The Seventh Estate.