Kidz Bop used to announce new albums on channels like Nickelodeon, airing ads that showed off its latest compilation of teeny-bopper pop songs as its titular kids danced and sang along on the TV screen.

While the kids’ music group still makes similar ads, they’re not just targeting younguns during their Saturday morning cartoons anymore. Now, they’re in the metaverse.

For its milestone Kidz Bop 50 album, the group has partnered with developer Gamefam to orchestrate a popular game takeover in Roblox. When players visit Really Easy Obby (“obby” being Roblox slang for an obstacle-course game), they’ll be met with metaversal Kidz Bop assets throughout, all accompanied by the group’s new original song “Certified BOP.”

Artists like Cher, Coldplay, and Zedd have all announced projects in Roblox last year, making Kidz Bop just the latest musical group to head to the platform for promotional purposes. But with parents of Gen Alpha reporting that 65% of their kids play Roblox, per the opinion research firm Civic Science, Kidz Bop might be finding its most natural audience fit yet.

“Kidz Bop has been around for 20 years. When it first came out…it was almost like a revolutionary way to reach the younger generations for the music industry,” Ricardo Briceno, chief business officer at Gamefam, told Marketing Brew.

Continue reading here.—JN

We might be in the thick of Hollywood’s awards season, but good cinema can provide marketing fodder all year.

Blockbuster references, sports lingo, and Taylor Swift filled customers’ inboxes as some of the top email marketing trends last year, according to e-commerce marketing company Omnisend. In its Year in Email report, Omnisend analyzed 1.25 million email campaigns sent by businesses last year to identify patterns that paint an image of digital correspondence trends that feel eerily similar to a scroll through Pop Base’s X feed.

Movie and music mania: In a year that started with Oppenheimer taking home most major awards, movie references were similarly winners in the email marketing world. But awards-season favorites weren’t what led the pack—instead, Omnisend found that of the emails mentioning movies, 21.9% referenced Spider-Man, 21.1% brought up Batman, and 16.1% introduced Inside Out 2. Other top-mentioned franchises included Dune, Avengers, Mad Max, and Avatar.

Though there seems to be a steady case of reboot fatigue among consumers, marketers seem largely undeterred. For slightly fresher references, TV series were the way to go—The Bear, House of the Dragon, and Bridgerton chief among them.

In the second and final year of the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift added “most mentioned artist in email campaigns” to her long list of accolades. Of the emails analyzed that referenced musical artists, Omnisend found that 43% mentioned Swift. Drake came in No. 2 with 17% of email marketing mentions, and Swift’s oft-compared pop peer Beyoncé came in at No. 6, with 5% of email mentions.

Keep reading here.—JN

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

Kirsten Saleh is VP of digital marketing solutions and delivery, enterprise marketing platforms and solutions at American Express.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? I had an amazing opportunity to lead Amex’s marketing activation with Universal Studios at their Orlando and LA theme parks a few years back. At the time, we were the exclusive card partner for the park, and we developed an in-person activation to distribute cards onsite. It was such a cool, multifaceted project—from creating a unique augmented reality experience that allowed people to see themselves interacting with characters from the Jurassic Park franchise, to embossing our cards onsite (something that typically takes time to do and requires various steps to ensure compliance)—collaborating with a leading entertainment partner whose brand and business were so different from ours at Amex made it so fulfilling to achieve our shared goal of creating amazing customer experiences from start to finish.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? I loved the Starbucks holiday campaign featuring the song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” by Sam & Dave. It captures the perfect sentiment of connecting with loved ones over the holidays and is relatable across demographics. I also loved the Google Gemini campaign that ran during the Olympics over the summer—it struck the perfect balance showcasing the new technology while highlighting the human experience in using it.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I’m a passionate advocate for inclusion and acceptance of those who are neurodiverse—whether in the workplace, in social settings, or in educational environments. This commitment is deeply personal, inspired by my friends and loved ones in my life who have shown me the importance of acceptance and understanding.

Read more here.

Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Kantar Media was sold to the private-equity firm HIG Capital as part of a deal worth about $1 billion.
• Adobe Express inked a sponsorship with Unrivaled, joining about a dozen other brands in the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league’s first season.
• Revolut, a London-based fintech company, worked with the NBA to activate around the league’s Paris games last week.
• PubMatic partnered with TV brand TCL to bolster its live sports programmatic ad offerings.