| Happy Friday, everyone. And with that, Brandweek in Atlanta is a wrap. Next year, in case you hadn’t heard, we’re moving the show to Dallas, thanks to a partnership with Texas A&M. If you missed it—well, you shouldn’t have because you missed out on tons of learning and networking opportunities—but if you missed it, be sure to register for ADWEEK’s subscriber-only webinar Monday at 11 am ET: What Brandweek Signals for the Rest of the Year. I’ll be there, as will our chief brand and community officer Jenny Rooney, our chief content officer Zoë Ruderman, and our creativity editor Brittaney Kiefer, and we’ll tell you how we spent three days with companies like Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Mattel in Atlanta, and what it means for the rest of the year and 2027. I haven’t debriefed yet with my colleagues, but so far, I’ve picked up a few things that’ll resonate. First, brand health seems to be defined by participation that can be measured—so transactions or co-creation or attendance—rather than just sentiment or awareness. Second, there’s a lot more wariness in AI’s inability to make good judgements. It’s good at amplifying your work, but fundamentally, the root of the work needs to come from the human. Third, the way brands think about influencer and creator partners is maturing even more. It’s no longer about just glomming onto the creator’s reach temporarily for a product release, but about scaling those relationships and leaving them always-on. Anyway, I’ll let you mull over those things over the weekend. Let’s get to the news. Ryan Joe, editor in chief | 
