Marketing Minute — July 2025

NIL updates. SEO adjustments. Coldplay vs. a CEO. July brought no shortage of headlines. Check out the July Marketing Minute.

Updates to Name, Image, and Likeness

Earlier this month, the pay clock started ticking for college athletes, marking the beginning of the House v. NCAA era and the rollout of a new revenue-sharing model that allows schools to officially pay players. In this new era, athletes have greater access to money, media exposure, and brand deals – but with those opportunities come heightened pressure to manage their public image. With more on the line than ever, young athletes need expert guidance to navigate partnerships, shape their personal brand, and avoid costly missteps.

Instagram & Google Search

Big news from the social media world. Following recent Meta updates, Instagram will now allow search engines like Google to display public posts on result pages like a blog or product page would. Prior to this change, most public content published on Meta’s platforms has only been findable within Meta’s ecosystem. The indexing of Instagram posts has major implications for businesses, expanding opportunity for potential discovery and bolstering SEO. We’re interested in watching how social media professionals and SEO specialists work together to optimize this change.

Caught at a Coldplay Concert

“Any press is good press” is a tired cliché – and usually wrong. But for Astronomer, it might not be far off. After a viral cheating scandal that rocked the company, Astronomer could have stayed quiet, let the news cycles and internet jokes grind to a halt as it faded from public view.  Instead, in a swift and brilliant move, Astronomer tapped Gwyneth Paltrow (Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s ex-wife) to be featured in a new ad as its “temporary spokesperson.” This was a genius play, humanizing the company and situation as a whole while simultaneously redirecting the narrative to focus on Astonomer’s products and services. Instead of reacting to a crisis, they found a way to lead the conversation.

Astronomer’s response to the episode was quick, clear and creative. Our two main takeaways:

• We all hope to avoid anything that threatens our company’s reputation. But hope won’t help you if a crisis lands on your doorstep. This ordeal underscores the importance of having a corporate crisis communication plan and response team ready to be activated immediately. Our advice: manage the crisis before it hits. 

• Managing the crisis in real time is a crucial phase. But it doesn’t end there. Building back your reputation is equally important. Carefully consider your next steps after the immediate crisis has been resolved. Astronomer certainly did.

Substack on the Rise

At the beginning of the year, we discussed how people are increasingly consuming media produced by individuals rather than large media organizations, reshaping how information is created, shared, and consumed. Substack, one of the most prominent platforms fueling this transition, is not only growing but also proving to be a viable and profitable outlet for independent journalists. New analysis shows that last month, Substack drew a record 73.9 million site visitors—surpassing even WSJ.com and CBS.com—underscoring its growing influence. As more writers turn to platforms like Substack to build direct relationships with their audiences and monetize their work, it’s clear that this model will continue to shape the future of the media landscape.

See you in August!