BRANDZ RANKINGS: GOOGLE OVERTAKES APPLE, AI DRIVES BRAND VALUES TO RECORD LEVELS

14. 5. 2026 The value of the world’s biggest brands has risen significantly this year thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence. Google has become the new number one in the Kantar BrandZ Top 100 global ranking; technology firms have dominated the top spots, and Chinese brands are also gaining significant ground. AI services such as ChatGPT and Claude have also seen record growth.

POKÉMON CELEBRATES AN ANNIVERSARY AND CONQUERS THE GLOBE: THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE TURNS 30

7. 4. 2026 The Pokémon franchise has entered its thirtieth year, and the anniversary celebrations are nothing short of grand. They include new products, collaborations with fashion brands, special themed stores, exhibitions, and limited-edition collectables. Some items sell out within seconds, confirming that interest in the brand remains exceptionally strong. Advertising is now often targeted at millennials—those who grew up with Pokémon in the 1990s and who today have the means to spend on collectables or premium editions of familiar products.

NEW SCREAM HITS THEATERS AS AUDIENCES BUZZ WITH ANTICIPATION. BRANDS TAP INTO THE POPULARITY OF HORROR IN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

2. 3. 2026 Three years have passed since the release of Scream 6, and the seventh instalment is now racing into theatres. The trailer for the new film premiered during this year’s Super Bowl, leaving fans of the franchise eager for more. The sixth film was a major commercial success, grossing over $168 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing entry in the series on the North American market. It also received positive reviews from both audiences and critics. Horror films are generally popular with viewers, so anticipation is high for the next addition to the franchise. But terror doesn’t come only from movies. Sometimes, audiences let out frightened screams while watching TV ads, too. And let’s be honest, some of them are truly worth it.

LOVE, DATA AND PAPRIKA SAUCE: WHAT WILL CZECH VALENTINE’S DAY LOOK LIKE IN 2026?

13. 2. 2026 How are Valentine's Day preparations really going in Czechia? Google search data from February this year painted a picture of what Czechs really want for the holiday of love. AI assistants are helping more and more people with last-minute planning of the evening, menu and ideas.

IT WAS MEANT TO BE A SHOWCASE OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT NOSTALGIA STOLE THE SHOW: WHAT DOES SUPER BOWL LX REVEAL ABOUT THE STATE OF MARKETING?

8. 2. 2026 Super Bowl LX is behind us. The evening at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was once again more than just a sporting event—it turned into a media platform watched by over 124.9 million viewers in the U.S., peaking at 137.8 million during the second quarter, making it the second most-watched broadcast in American television history. This level of concentrated attention also underpins an astronomical advertising business. A 30-second slot cost around $8 million on average, with some premium placements exceeding $10 million, while total investment per commercial often ranged between $15 and $25 million. This year’s edition delivered the expected dominance of artificial intelligence and tech brands, but also a surprisingly strong return to emotion, nostalgia, and clearly defined values. What truly resonated in these ads—and what inspiration can be drawn from them—is illustrated in the following examples. Lay’s: Last Harvest One of this year’s most remarkable commercials felt, dramaturgically speaking, almost out of place at the Super Bowl. The chip brand Lay’s presented a short indie-style film about an aging farmer facing his final harvest. His daughter is taking over the farm, making it a story of generational transition. Even if it may not seem so at first glance, this was a very bold spot. Snack brands at the Super Bowl typically opt for humorous, celebrity-driven presentations. Here, however, we see an authentic story centred on emotion and a narrative of “real ingredients for real people.” Especially in a year dominated by highly hyped tech showcases, Lay’s offered a moment for genuine reflection and introspection. From the perspective of the evening’s overall structure, it was something of an anomaly—one that, nevertheless, received very positive reviews.

WHAT GOOGLE’S LEGAL THREAT REALLY MEANS: STOP TREATING YOUTUBE LIKE IT’S TV

29. 1. 2026 The real reason Google doesn’t want YouTube measured like television.

APPLE REMAINS THE MOST VALUABLE BRAND, NVIDIA OVERTAKES FACEBOOK

20. 1. 2026 Apple remains at the top of the ranking of the world's most valuable brands. Nvidia has entered the top five, ranking among the world's five most valuable brands for the first time thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence.

THE GLOBAL ADVERTISING MARKET IS GROWING, WITH TECH GIANTS TAKING THE LION’S SHARE

18. 1. 2026 Last year, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta captured 56.1% of the global advertising market, and their share is expected to grow even further this year.

WHAT HAVE CZECHS BEEN GOOGLING THIS YEAR? ELECTION, REEBOK, ONEPLAY OR LABUBU

4. 12. 2025 Google has once again compiled rankings of the most searched terms on the Czech Internet in 2025.

CHANNEL 4, ITV AND SKY COMMERCIAL CHIEFS ASK ADVERTISERS TO ‘TURN DOWN THE TOXIC’

30. 11. 2025 The Future of Media London

TECH GIANTS ARE GETTING INTO THE STREAMING WARS

18. 10. 2025 While success in streaming has been measured by subscriber numbers, this criterion may change completely in the future, notes Erik Luzsicz.

APPLE REMAINS THE MOST VALUABLE BRAND. WHAT DO THE NEW RANKINGS SHOW?

16. 5. 2025 Since 2006, the value of the Global Top 100 has increased by more than $9.3 trillion and currently stands at $10.7 trillion.

PLAYFUL CONSISTENCY: THE SECRET TO SUPER EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

12. 3. 2025 In advertising, we often over-emphasize the importance of novelty—the newer, the sexier, right? Wrong!

APPLE HAS INCREASED ITS BRAND VALUE AND REMAINS THE MOST VALUABLE

24. 1. 2025 Brand Finance has published an updated ranking of the world's most valuable brands.

GLOBAL ADVERTISING SPEND TO PASS $1 TRILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR

26. 11. 2024 Global advertising spend is on course to grow 10.7% this year to a total of $1.08trn, with online media leading the charge – the strongest growth rate in six years and the largest absolute rise on record if the post-Covid recovery of 2021 (+27.9% year-on-year) is disregarded - the new forecast represents a 0.2 percentage point (pp) upgrade on WARC’s last global forecast in August.

WARC WARNS: BY FOCUSING ON SHORT-TERM ROI YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON HALF OF MEDIA REVENUES

29. 10. 2024 Research from WARC and Google highlights the importance of investing in solutions such as MMM or attribution, as well as AI, for sustainable growth across the marketing funnel.</strong

GLOBAL ADVERTISING TO CROSS THE TRILLION DOLLAR MARK THIS YEAR

28. 8. 2024 Advertising spending is expected to grow by 10.5% year-on-year this year, with the total value set to exceed $1 trillion.

BIG TECH IS GOING GREEN, SO LET’S HELP THE WHOLE INDUSTRY DO THE SAME

2. 5. 2024 Smaller players don’t have the resource of the tech giants but, with the help of advertisers, they can still make a significant contribution to a green future. Digital media’s response to carbon emissions is taking place on a number of fronts, but certainly the mightiest, the most pull-out-all-the-stops impressive, is the one embodied by the big technology companies that set the tone for the industry.