Can Brian Niccol make @Starbucks feel like Starbucks again ADWEEK’s October issue explores how CEO Brian Niccol’s Back to Starbucks plan aims to restore the coffeehouse experience through refurbished stores, a simpler menu, a revamped loyalty program, and more staff during rushes. The turnaround has improved comps and renewed the brand’s focus, but controversies persist. His $96 million pay package and company-jet commute drew criticism. Starbucks has closed hundreds of stores, cut thousands of jobs, and remains locked in a dispute with unionized workers. Rising coffee and tariff costs, along with staffing expenses, add pressure. Starbucks is betting that service and operations can fuel growth without eroding trust among customers, employees, and investors. Read the full cover story 👉 adweek.it/4rMELDg

At @BravoTV Fan Fest in Charleston, @NBCUniversal is bringing brands into the heart of the Bravo universe. Kimberly Francella and Sari Feinberg share how they collaborate with partners to create fan-first activations that make the event even more memorable.

This holiday season is trending to be focused on gifting experiences as opposed to physical items, with 50% of surveyed consumers saying they plan to shop for experience-based gifts. adweek.it/4it6KUy

.@LiquidIV has hired @DrinkPoppi’s former CMO, Jenny Danzi, to lead its marketing department. Her brief will be to unite Liquid I.V.’s “science-backed foundation with modern, culture-driven brand building,” per a statement. adweek.it/3WOrVsG

“From Reasonable Doubt to standing on the @SuperBowl Halftime stage, this has been a journey,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Thirty years of music, work, and culture on the world’s biggest stage. This run continues to be a dream come true.” Learn more 👉 adweek.it/4yOA4Ll

After @paramountco and @warnerbros merged to form Skydance, chief revenue officer Jay Askinasi named his advertising leadership team in a staff memo, following the exits of WBD ad sales leaders Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio. adweek.it/4zeX72S

For the week of October 12, @FoxNews, @MSNOWNews, and @CNN all gained viewers week over week in primetime and total day. CNN posted the strongest demo growth and passed MS NOW for second in total-day Adults 25–54. Fox’s The Five reclaimed the demo’s top spot, while MS NOW’s Monday @maddow Show led its timeslot in both measures. Year over year, MS NOW and CNN grew, while Fox News declined. adweek.it/4ieNf1w

As @Strava broadens its audience, it’s also competing with a broader array of fitness apps. The differentiator for Wee is community, reinforced by shareable cards that allow people to stay connected on social media and in their DMs. adweek.it/4khh18A

In 2024, @BravoTV introduced its first-ever Bravo Fan Fest in Miami, offering fans a more intimate way to connect with their favorite Bravolebrities through panels, photo opportunities, and activations. This year, the celebration headed to Charleston. Frances Berwick, Chairman of Bravo & @peacock Unscripted at @NBCUniversal, takes us behind the scenes of how the event came together this year.

.@stagwell, led by Mark Penn, has acquired Freestar, an ad monetization company serving more than 1,000 publishers and handling 50 billion ad requests each month. Freestar’s technology, publisher inventory, and audience data will join Stagwell’s AI Media Machine. The deal aims to connect advertisers with quality publisher supply more efficiently. Read more 👉 adweek.it/3W7wmib

Manifesting these collabs. ✨ We caught up with some iconic Bravolebrities at @BravoTV FanFest in Charleston to ask them about the brands they’d love to work with. Here’s what they said. Michols Peña @Capt_Kerry @carlradke @miagcalabrese Jessel Taank Molly O'Connell @heathergay29 @bronwynnewport

1/📍Here's this week's Ticker. adweek.it/48gvDOc

.@AnthropicAI has filed for a potentially record-setting IPO, reporting $11.56 billion in second-quarter 2026 revenue—up from $787 million a year earlier—and $974 million in operating income, its only profitable quarter disclosed. adweek.it/4i57vUJ

.@Pinterest has made its Programmatic Deals broadly available across North and South America and Asia Pacific, allowing advertisers to buy its display and video inventory through @AmazonAds DVA+, @Google Display & Video 360, and @Yahoo DSP. adweek.it/4BrVEHU

Here’s a thought experiment I shared with Jenny Rooney on the Marketing Vanguard stage at Brandweek 2026: Imagine every friend in your life treated you like you were their best friend. When you called, they answered. When you needed something, you mattered and you had their full attention. So, what would change if every customer who walked through your door or visited your website was treated like they were the only customer you were going to serve that day? That question forms the core of my “Thinking Human” philosophy. Scale matters and so do transactions but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, matters more than the person enabling both those things. Jenny and I also talked about why retention deserves as much attention as acquisition, why a broken customer experience cannot be solved by marketing alone, how I think marketers should use AI and why I’d rather be effective than right. Listen to our full conversation: Apple: adweek.it/48ikXyG Spotify: adweek.it/4ss7RYX YouTube: adweek.it/4yFDpfi

.@Sethrogen stars in @Sephora's “We All Sephora” holiday campaign, helping shoppers find beauty gifts with advice from store staff. In the ad, he picks out setting spray for his producer, fragrance for his cousin, and a red-light therapy mask for his mom...and himself. After teasing the campaign with a “Sethphora” makeover at its The Grove store, Sephora will launch it Oct. 29 across TV, streaming, and social, with Rogen’s picks available online and in the app. Read more 👉 adweek.it/4yGTscQ

Motherly is shifting its business toward vertical video, podcasts, @WhatsApp group chats, and events. In doing so, the publisher aims to offset declining search traffic by building a highly engaged community around socially native, fact-based reporting. adweek.it/4yIenwa