Marketing Minute — May 2025

Summer is quickly approaching in New England. Longer days, warmer nights and Fenway Franks are back in action. Here’s the May Marketing Minute and a look at what kicked off the nonofficial start of the season.

AI Facebook Friends

This month, AI news centered around Mark Zuckerberg. In a series of interviews, Zuckerberg shared a vision of a near future where people regularly engage with chatbots — as friends, therapists, customer service reps, and more. It’s a clear signal of Meta’s continued investment in AI companions, something we highlighted last month. “I think people are going to want a system that knows them well and that kind of understands them in the way that their feed algorithms do,” Zuckerberg said. It’s quite the shift from 2006 when he claimed that, “Facebook is about real connections to actual friends.” How the tables have turned.

Sensational Schedule Videos

Turning routine announcements into media moments is no small feat — except maybe if you’re the NFL. For several years, teams have upped the ante on schedule releases with wildly creative videos featuring celebrity cameos, pop culture nods, and internet humor.

Here’s why we love this strategy: 1) teams are encouraged to take risks and get creative, like the Baltimore Ravens’ parody of Severance or the Minnesota Vikings tattooing 2025 matchups on their fans; 2) it captures attention during a time when basketball and hockey dominate headlines; and 3) it drives media coverage beyond traditional sports outlets – a win for brand visibility.

Pope Leo Gets a Sandwich

Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost was named the newest Pope — the first American-born pontiff — taking the name Pope Leo XIV. He quickly became a social phenomenon, affectionately dubbed “Da Pope” by Chicagoians. Portillo’s, the beloved Chicago sandwich chain, jumped on the trend by renaming its Italian Beef sandwich “The Leo” for the month of May. This nimble, on-brand move earned headlines and boosted sales — a great example of how smart, timely, low-lift ideas can generate big buzz.

New in Social Media

A few things to note in social media this month. 1) TikTok and SoundCloud are teaming up, allowing users to save music they discover on TikTok to their Liked Tracks on SoundCloud — a win for up-and-coming artists. 2) Instagram added new features. Updates include text transcriptions of voice messages, extended message length, and quick-follow options in group chats. And 3) Meta is testing the option to create Threads accounts independent of Instagram — a potential shift in how users engage with the platform.

See you in June!