What the studio is reading.
Daily, curated. 5 to 7 items a day across design, branding, packaging, consumer trends, technology, and India. Every link goes to the source.
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Nielsen’s DoubleVerify Deal Isn’t About AI Adoption: It’s About Controlling What the Models Measure
Nielsen buying into DoubleVerify is less about AI and more about who gets to define what AI measurement models treat as ground truth, which is a much bigger power play.
Read on Adweek -
Lágrimas de Cocodrilo Turns Local Slang Into a Beautiful Label
Lágrimas de Cocodrilo built its entire label around local Mexican slang, proof that the sharpest brand voice often comes from the street, not the brief.
Read on Dieline -
brussels rolls out hokusai’s great wave in 750,000 dahlias for flower carpet 2026
Brussels recreated Hokusai's Great Wave using 750,000 dahlias for its 2026 flower carpet, a reminder that the most memorable brand experiences are still physical, temporary, and completely unrepeatable.
Read on Designboom -
Mahindra drapes the tricolour on I-day eve at London's old dock
Mahindra wrapped London's Old Dock in the tricolour on Independence Day eve, a brand moment that works because the location earns the statement rather than just decorating it.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
As luxury car buyers grow younger, lifestyle-led marketing takes the wheel at MINI India
MINI India's buyers are getting younger and the brand is responding with lifestyle-led marketing over spec sheets, a useful case study for any premium brand rethinking who it is actually talking to.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
Gen Z replaced the mall with screenshots. Peter England wants to meet them there
Peter England is chasing Gen Z where they actually shop: the screenshot folder, not the mall, and that shift in thinking matters for every apparel brand with a legacy problem.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
Brand Footprint India 2026: Sunrise jumps eight places to enter top 50 as FMCG consumer reach grows
Sunrise climbed eight spots to crack the Brand Footprint India top 50, a signal that FMCG consumer reach is shifting and smaller challengers are finding real ground.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
former textile warehouse transforms into fractal-inspired jaipur rugs showroom in mumbai
A former textile warehouse in Mumbai becomes a Jaipur Rugs showroom built on fractal geometry, proving that retail spaces can carry a brand's craft logic all the way into the architecture.
Read on Designboom -
Samsonite’s $178.5M Béis Buy Is All About Winning Over Gen Z Women
Samsonite paid $178.5M for Béis, a direct bet that Gen Z women will drive the next decade of travel goods, and that legacy brands can only buy their way into that cultural moment.
Read on Adweek -
Dior Beauty’s history is now an animated film – meet the director and watch it here
Dior Beauty commissioned an animated film to tell its own history, a format choice that says more about where luxury brand storytelling is heading than any campaign brief could.
Read on Wallpaper* -
Chef Esther Choi Takes Her Expertise to the Pantry with Korean Essentials Brand, Sessy
Chef Esther Choi is turning her restaurant credibility into a Korean pantry brand called Sessy, the clearest sign yet that chef-led CPG is a real category, not a vanity project.
Read on Dieline -
Before Betting on a New Flavor, Oreo Is Letting Consumers Choose
Oreo is letting consumers vote on its next permanent flavor before committing to production, which is either smart co-creation or a sign that the brand has run out of internal conviction.
Read on Adweek -
island records and emi turn their king’s cross headquarters into a spatial mixtape
Island Records and EMI converted their King's Cross HQ into a spatial mixtape, a rare case of a music label treating its own building as a brand medium worth designing seriously.
Read on Designboom -
The Business Lever That Compounds When You Watch It. And Decays When You Don't.
Brand Equity's piece on brand as a compounding asset is worth reading slowly: the argument is that neglect has a lag, and by the time the decay shows in revenue, it is already expensive to fix.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
Why The Arena Group Has, Implausibly, Rebranded Into an AI Company
The Arena Group, owner of Sports Illustrated and dozens of other media brands, has rebranded as an AI company, which tells you more about where media valuations are heading than any trend report will.
Read on Adweek -
Lumee Turns Light Into the Whole Design
Lumee's packaging makes light itself the design system, not a feature or a mood, and the result is one of those rare cases where the concept and the execution are actually the same thing.
Read on Dieline -
What should the future look like? Inside the tech-funded program to create a new aesthetic
A tech-funded program is actively trying to manufacture a new visual aesthetic, and the question of who gets to define what the future looks like is one every brand team should be paying attention to.
Read on Fast Company Design -
How Burger King Drank Wendy’s Milk Shake
Burger King's latest campaign borrows a cultural moment that belonged to Wendy's, and it worked, which is a reminder that brand positioning is always up for grabs if you move fast enough.
Read on Adweek -
The Manipulators Of Memory
Brand Equity's piece on memory manipulation is sharp reading for anyone building a brand in a market where nostalgia is a competitive tool, not just a creative mood.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
Timing India’s Luxury
India's luxury market is growing fast but the timing question, when to enter, how to price, and who to speak to first, is still largely unanswered, and this piece gets closer than most.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
Jif Peanut Butter Unveils First Brand Redesign In 30 Years
Jif's first packaging overhaul in 30 years is a case study in how legacy brands balance nostalgia with shelf relevance without torching what made them recognisable.
Read on Dieline -
Why Creators Are Becoming the New Marketing Operating System
Creators are no longer a media channel bolted onto campaigns. Adweek's argument is that they are becoming the operating system, and brand teams should restructure accordingly.
Read on Adweek -
Gap Hits Pause on Its Classic Dance Ads in Quest to Win Gen Z
Gap is pausing its iconic dance ads to chase Gen Z, a bet that reveals how much brand equity you can willingly walk away from in pursuit of a younger audience.
Read on Adweek -
Marketers Are Being Pushed to Use AI, But Not Taught How
Marketers are being told to use AI by leadership but given no training to do it well, which is less a technology problem and more a management failure worth naming.
Read on Adweek -
Brand Loyalty: Dead, Diluted, or Redefined?
Brand Equity asks whether loyalty is dead or just redefined, and the answer matters if you're building a brand in a market where switching costs are near zero.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times) -
KDP ‘Flips The Sip’ With New Recipe and Brand Identity For 7UP
7UP's full brand overhaul, new recipe included, is a rare case of a legacy soda rethinking the whole product, not just slapping a new logo on the can.
Read on Dieline -
Nothing’s design team give us the lowdown on the tech firm’s evolving use of colour
Nothing's design team explains how colour became a core system, not an afterthought, inside a tech brand that built its identity on transparency and restraint.
Read on Wallpaper* -
What actually won in 2026: eight projects and what they tell you about the jury
Dieline breaks down eight packaging projects that actually won juries in 2026, and what the patterns tell you about where the craft is heading right now.
Read on Dieline -
CMOs Are the Least Proficient at AI In the Marketing Org, Research Finds
CMOs rank last in AI proficiency within their own marketing orgs, which is a real problem when the tools are already reshaping how campaigns get planned and bought.
Read on Adweek -
Why Women Carry the Burden of Rituals,and What It Means for Brands
Brand Equity asks why ritual labour falls disproportionately on women in India, and what that cultural reality means for brands trying to speak to them honestly.
Read on Brand Equity (Economic Times)
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