If it sounds wildly conceptual and even a bit hilarious to rebrand in such a microscopic fashion, maybe that’s part of the point. Air’s new strategy hinges on satire, with a ‘Chief Imagination Officer’ in comedian Kareem Rahma and staged protests against Dropbox, a lot about Air’s rebrand feels born out of inside jokes between creative directors and graphic designers who are exhausted with the theatrics of advertising.
“It’s worth noting that the first version of this new mark was sketched (unironically) on the back of a boarding pass, mid-air, somewhere over the Atlantic. From that moment, it felt destined, like something set in motion beyond us,” says Richard. For all of the humour involved, Air also needed truth. It came with self awareness but also in respect for the brand, so Richard employed changes that were deceptively simple and quietly revolutionary. Using textures inspired by the sky, the universal backdrop, Air encapsulated its entire brand of freshness and freedom in an obvious fashion, diverting from the over-designing that other brands implement. In order to honour Air’s needs for a flexible, organised work space, Richard also diverted from his own fragmented and design heavy style seen in previous projects such as his alternative newspaper Civilization. “Simplicity takes work. It took 30 years of work as a graphic designer to learn that doing the obvious thing isn’t a lack of imagination,” says Richard. “It’s the result of it.”
Codified in a 254-page “brand guidelines” document, Air showcases acceptable moods, emotional gradients, cloud animatics along with disciplines: strategy, typography, atmospheric semiotics. It’s bafflingly thorough but only because you don’t expect this kind of progressive design from the typical brand. “In a world of DAM and cloud storage competitors that are deeply corporate, two dimensional, and candidly, quite dull, we want our creative customer to see themselves in this space,” says Air’s co-founder Shane Hegde. The rebrand is clear-eyed and simply put, airy – condensing tons of information into a weightless form, executing a new visual identity in blatant, relatable ways. And it’s the delicacy of this rebrand that invites a tongue-in-cheek humour about it, just like Kind Bar’s viral logo reveal (which ended up looking magnificently similar to the last logo). Sometimes the really intelligent design choices happen right in front of you whilst you’re too busy looking for the ulterior motive.
Wordfence published an advisory on the WordPress Malcure Malware Scanner plugin, which was discovered to have a vulnerability rated at a severity level of 8.1. At the time of publishing, there is no patch to fix the problem.
The Malcure Malware Scanner plugin, installed on over 10,000 WordPress websites, is vulnerable to “Arbitrary File Deletion due to a missing capability check on the wpmr_delete_file() function” by authenticated attackers. The fact that an attacker needs authentication as a user makes it a little less likely for it to be exploited, however not by much because it only requires subscriber level authentication, which is the lowest level of authentication. The “subscriber” role is the default level of registration on a WordPress website (if registration is allowed).
According to Wordfence:
“This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete arbitrary files making remote code execution possible. This is only exploitable when advanced mode is enabled on the site.”
There is no known patch available for the plugin and users are cautioned to take necessary actions such as uninstalling the plugin to mitigate risk.
The plugin is currently unavailable for download with a notice showing that it is under review.
WordPress Update 6.8.2 – Ends Security Support For 0.9% of Sites
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Kues
Despite years of pledges to diversify their ranks, major publishers are making barely perceptible progress, and in some cases — none at all.
Overall, staff diversity at The New York Times, Hearst and Condé Nast has either marginally improved or stalled in 2024, according to their annual workforce diversity data this year.
Lauren Winans, CEO of an HR consulting practice Next Level Benefits, said this means DEI efforts are moving in the right direction, “just not very quickly.” This slow but steady progress has been the case for years now.
“There are some encouraging signs, especially when it comes to hiring more diverse staff, but real change — especially in leadership — seems to be happening at a pretty slow pace. It’s not that progress has stalled, but it’s clear there’s still a lot of work to do to make these workplaces truly representative at every level,” she continued.
For the past few years, Digiday has kept a running round-up of publishers’ self-reported workforce diversity data, which came about after the media reckoning in 2020 led to publishers’ concerted efforts to diversify staff demographics and invest resources into DEI.
Corporate DEI programs have been under heavy fire recently. The Trump administration’s executive orders targeted these directives at the federal level, and criticism from conservative lawmakers and activities sparked a rollback of DEI programs at several companies.
The New York Times published its report last month, based on 2024 data. Hearst released its report in April. Condé Nast shared its latest diversity report internally on May 19, according to an employee, who requested anonymity to speak freely.
Publishers’ 2024 diversity workforce data shows slow progress, with a few to no percentage-point differences year over year:
The percentage of staff who are female improved at The New York Times, but decreased at Hearst and Condé Nast:
Meanwhile, the diversity of new hires improved by a whopping 10 percentage points at Condé Nast, but was the same at Hearst:
According to a copy of a memo sent to staff by chief diversity and inclusion officer Cheryl Kaba that Digiday reviewed, the overall representation of women and people of color in the U.S. “remained relatively steady” at Condé Nast, the company saw a “positive increase” in the percentage of hires from diverse backgrounds.
It was also a mixed bag for diversity in leadership roles at these three publishers:
As for editorial teams, the division at Condé Nast was 60% white in 2024, down 2 percentage points from 2023. But at The New York Times, news and opinion departments remained 66% white, the same as the past four years.
There are still more workforce diversity reports to come this year.
A Vox Media spokesperson said its report will be published this week. NPR will publish its next report in October, according to a company spokesperson. Business Insider will also publish its report this year, though a company spokesperson could not confirm a date.
BuzzFeed is planning on sharing its diversity report shortly, according to a person with knowledge of the report. The last report was published in November 2023 — the company skipped sharing the data last year because it was in the middle of two asset sales, according to the source.
The Washington Post did not respond to requests for comment on when its next report would come out. The Post’s last workforce diversity report was published in August 2024.
Not all publishers are dedicated to sharing their workforce diversity data publicly. Gannett is no longer publishing its annual report, Nieman Lab first reported in April.
“While we no longer publish workforce demographic metrics or an inclusion report, Gannett remains committed to a values-based culture of belonging. Internally, we are focused on championing a workplace where everyone can thrive, built around teamwork and shared purpose,” a Gannett spokesperson told Digiday. They declined to answer any further questions.
The Los Angeles Times hasn’t published a diversity report since 2022. Other media companies have pared back their DEI efforts this year. PBS shuttered its DEI office in February. The Walt Disney Co., Meta and Paramount have also pulled back on DEI programs.
“When companies pull back on public diversity reporting, it often comes down to the current political and legal climate. With new state laws and federal scrutiny around DEI programs, there’s a real sense of caution,” Winans said. This concern around potential legal ramifications or public backlash — as well as internal budget cuts — can all result in DEI efforts either being kept internal or slimmed down, she added.
DEI leadership roles have also seen their fair share of changes this year.
Fritzie Andrade became Business Insider’s first head of diversity, equity and inclusion in October 2020. According to her LinkedIn, she is no longer serving in that role as of June 2025. A Business Insider spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Keith Woods announced in February that he would retire from his position as NPR’s chief diversity officer by May. Whitney Maddox, NPR vp for diversity, equity and inclusion, now reports to the network’s chief operating officer.
Condé Nast hired Kaba to serve as chief diversity and inclusion officer in March, after Yashica Olden — who took on the role in 2020 — left the organization last June.
LaToya Johnson, who was promoted to Gannett’s vp of global inclusion strategy and employer brand in July 2024, had her title changed to vp of culture and employer brand in March, according to LinkedIn.
At The Washington Post, Krissah Thompson was named managing editor for diversity and inclusion in 2020 to encourage diversity and inclusiveness in the Post’s coverage and to improve recruitment, retention and career advancement for journalists of color. In December 2024, she was named the editor of WP Ventures, or what the Post is calling its “third newsroom” focused on video, audio, newsletters and social engagement.
Representatives from newsroom unions at The New York Times and Condé Nast told Digiday their groups faced pushback from management around DEI issues during contract negotiations last year, on issues such as the retention and recruitment of people of color. For example, Condé Nast’s union and management went back on forth on issues like the size of a diversity committee (which is planned to come together in the next few weeks) and the number of delegates to send to recruit more people from diverse background, the rep said.
Winans said DEI leadership changes can signal a deprioritization of this work, or a sign that these efforts are being moved into more core business areas. Streamlining DEI roles is likely a result of financial pressures, too — all of the companies in this story (other than The New York Times and NPR) have gone through layoffs in the past year.
“The structure and visibility of DEI leadership says a lot about how seriously a company takes these issues, especially in a tough environment,” Winans said.
Attention sports fans! I know you’re all potty about your basketball team branding, so I’ve put together a quiz to challenge your NBA logo knowledge. Do you know which logos feature balls and which don’t? Are you aware of the colour palettes of your team (and all the others?). Dive into this quiz to find out if you get a slam dunk or you’re sent off at half time.
Featuring many of the best NBA logos, this quiz won’t show you pictures of the logos so you’re completely reliant on your own recall. Can you close your eyes and see the basketball branding you need to win?
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Google has added a new metadata field to the Search Analytics API, making it easier for developers and SEO professionals to identify when they’re working with incomplete or still-processing data.
The update introduces new transparency into the freshness of query results, an improvement for marketers who rely on up-to-date metrics to inform real-time decisions.
The metadata field appears when requests include the dataState parameter set to all or hourly_all, enabling access to data that may still be in the process of being collected.
Two metadata values are now available:
Both values help clarify whether recent metrics can be considered stable or if they may still change as Google finalizes its processing.
This enhancement allows you to better distinguish between legitimate changes in search performance and temporary gaps caused by incomplete data.
To help reduce the risk of misinterpreting short-term fluctuations, Google’s documentation states:
“All values after the first_incomplete_date may still change noticeably.”
For those running automated reports, the new metadata enables smarter logic, such as flagging or excluding fresh but incomplete data to avoid misleading stakeholders.
All timestamps provided in the metadata field use the America/Los_Angeles time zone, regardless of the request origin or property location. Developers may need to account for this when integrating the data into local systems.
The new metadata is returned as an optional object and doesn’t alter existing API responses unless requested. This means no breaking changes for current implementations, and developers can begin using the feature as needed.
To take full advantage of this update:
Google also reminds users that the Search Analytics API continues to return only top rows, not a complete dataset, due to system limitations.
This small but meaningful addition gives SEO teams more clarity around data freshness, a frequent pain point when working with hourly or near-real-time performance metrics.
It’s a welcome improvement for anyone building tools or dashboards on top of the Search Console API.
The metadata field is available now through standard API requests. Full implementation details are available in the Search Analytics API documentation.
Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock
ADWEEK today officially launched the Marketing Vanguard membership program for CMOs, an invitation-only executive club rooted in ADWEEK’s editorial expertise and designed to provide access, intelligence, and influence for industry-leading, innovative, brand-side C-level marketers.
Founding Members include Emilie Cotter, CMO, Audi; Tim Ellis, CMO, NFL; George Felix, senior vice president and CMO, Chili’s; Stephanie Fried, executive vice president and CMO, McAfee; Krystal Hauserman, CMO, Consulting, NOYZ; Charisse Hughes, senior vice president and chief growth officer, Kellanova; Soyoung Kang, CMO, eos; Todd Kaplan, CMO North America, Kraft Heinz; Mark Kirkham, CMO, PepsiCo Beverages U.S.; Francine Li, CMO, Ipsy; Vineet Mehra, CMO, Chime; Jim Mollica, president of luxury audio and CMO, Bose Corp.; Maggie Schmerin, chief advertising officer, United Airlines; Marisa Thalberg, chief customer and marketing officer, Catalyst Brands; Mark Weinstein, CMO, Hilton; and more.
Membership is limited, requested by application, and includes a mix of events, content, networking, mentorship, and other offerings.
The three pillars of membership include:
While Marketing Vanguard membership is not category exclusive, it is open solely to brand-side CMOs or people with equivalent titles who are invited or selected to join by application or nomination. Carefully curated, it will include CMOs at both large multinationals and smaller, disruptive growth companies, as well as CMOs at B2C and B2B brands, creating an environment of different perspectives and strategies.
“With Marketing Vanguard membership, ADWEEK is going deep to support this influential, incredibly dynamic cohort of our audience, the leaders at the center of the industry: CMOs,” said Jenny Rooney, chief brand and community officer, ADWEEK. “CMOs face unique challenges and opportunities. Marketing Vanguard—powered by the editorial heft of our newsroom, pulling insights from our journalism to inform our discussions, programming, events, experiences, and education offerings—will deliver unmatched value at a time of unprecedented industry overhaul,” she said, adding that the Founding Members will help shape the offering. “This is a club built by CMOs, for CMOs.”
In February, ADWEEK hired Liz Kneebone as vice president of community programs and development to lead the creation of the membership initiative.
Kneebone was previously vice president of the Sustainability Collective and global CMO Growth Council at the Association of National Advertisers (CMO).
In her nearly three years with the ANA, Kneebone organized gatherings of CMOs at events such as Cannes Lions and the IAA World Congress; helped increase membership in the Global CMO Growth Council by more than 100; and launched the ANA Sustainability Collective, which is now composed of more than 400 marketing practitioners dedicated to driving inclusive and sustainable business growth.
“The industry doesn’t need just another CMO community—it needs a resource that’s deeply connected to what’s happening now, as leaders make decisions that define the future of their brands in real time,” says Kneebone. “Marketing Vanguard offers a seat at the table with the executives who aren’t just reacting to change—they’re driving it.”
The result was looking past glyphs as pure aesthetics but symbols of curiosity and boldness. Rounding the forms of the ‘a’ and ‘g’, Olivia and her team designed the typeface to be friendly and approachable, echoing the accessible nature of Penguin’s books. Subtle flicks in other letters add a sense of movement and liveliness, meanwhile, small details in the glyph set offer observant readers moments of delight, such as curvy characters such as ‘2’, ‘G’ or ‘?’ following the same form as a penguin’s wings.
Committed to Penguin’s reader-first goals, the complete character set includes four weights in both roman and italic styles, comprising 530 glyphs that support over 600 languages, creating space for ultimate accessibility. “Type designers have a unique chance to make inclusivity part of the default approach rather than an exception. It’s another design consideration – one that can inspire better solutions,” says Olivia. “That was at the core of why Penguin wanted to customise Inclusive Sans. The brand was built on the idea of making books accessible to everyone, and that mission still feels relevant today.” Olivia’s high-spirited typeface sets the precedent for other designers to usher in a new age of accessible fonts and visual identities that represent all. The more people who have access to knowledge, stories and reading, the more of an impact they can have on the world.
“This project has been incredibly humbling and rewarding. Even now, it feels surreal to have contributed to a brand with such an important typographic and literary history,” says Olivia. From Penguin’s titanic archives to modern typeface applications, Olivia and her team have transformed the tried and true into the proud and new, offering the world new perspectives in the art of typography. “The most meaningful part was knowing that this typeface will help make reading more accessible and enjoyable for more people,” says Olivia. “It’s a rare opportunity to design something that can have a lasting, positive impact.”
Google’s John Mueller and Martin Splitt discussed the question of whether AI will replace the need for SEO. Mueller expressed a common-sense opinion about the reality of the web ecosystem and AI chatbots as they exist today.
The context of the discussion was about SEO basics that a business needs to know. Mueller then mentioned that businesses might want to consider hiring an SEO who can help navigate the site through its SEO journey.
Mueller observed:
“…you also need someone like an SEO as a partner to give you updates along the way and say, ‘Okay, we did all of these things,’ and they can list them out and tell you exactly what they did, ‘These things are going to take a while, and I can show you when Google crawls, we can follow along to see like what is happening there.’”
It was at this point that Martin Splitt asked if generative AI will make having to learn SEO obsolete or whether entering a prompt will give all the answers a business person needs to know. Mueller’s answer was tethered to how things are right now and avoided speculating about how things will change in a year or more.
Splitt asked:
“Okay, I think that’s pretty good. Last but not least, with generative AI and chatbot AI things happening. Do you think there’s still a value in learning these kind of things? Or can I just enter a prompt and it’ll figure things out for me?”
Mueller affirmed that knowing SEO will still be needed as long as there are websites because search engines and chat bots need the information that exists on websites. He offered examples of local businesses and ecommerce sites that still need to be found, regardless of whether that’s through an AI chatbot or search.
He answered:
“Absolutely value in learning these things and in making a good website. I think there are lots of things that all of these chatbots and other ways to get information, they don’t replace a website, especially for local search and ecommerce.
So, especially if you’re a local business, maybe it’s fine if a chatbot mentions your business name and tells people how to get there. Maybe that’s perfectly fine, but oftentimes, they do that based on web content that they found.
Having a website is the basis for being visible in all of these systems, and for a lot of other things where you offer a service or something, some other kind of functionality on a website where you have products to sell, where you have subscriptions or anything, a chat response can’t replace that.
If you want a t shirt, you don’t want a description of how to make your own t-shirt. You want a link to a store where it’s like, ‘Oh, here’s t-shirt designs,’ maybe t-shirt designs in that specific style that you like, but you go to this website and buy those t-shirts there.”
Martin acknowledged the common sense of that answer and they joked around a bit about Mueller hoping that an AI will be able to do his job once he retires.
That’s the context for this part of their conversation:
“Okay. That’s very fair. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, so you think AI is not going to take it all away from us?”
And Mueller answers with the comment about AI replacing him after he retires:
“Well, we’ll see. I can’t make any promises. I think, at some point, I would like to retire, and then maybe AI takes over my work then. But, like, there’s lots of stuff to be done until then. There are lots of things that I imagine AI is not going to just replace.”
Something that wasn’t discussed is the trend of AI within content management systems. Many web hosts and WordPress plugins are already integrating AI into the workflow of creating and optimizing websites. Wix has already integrated AI into their workflow and it won’t be much longer until AI makes a stronger presence within WordPress, which is what the new WordPress AI team is working on.
Will AI ever replace the need for SEO? Many easy things that can be scaled are already automated. However, many of the best ideas for marketing and communicating with humans are still best handled by humans, not AI. The nature of generative AI, which is to generate the most likely answer or series of words in a sentence, precludes it from ever having an original idea. AI is so locked into being average that if you ask it to pick a number between one and fifty, it will choose the number 27 because the AI training binds it to picking the likeliest number, even when instructed to randomize the choice.
Listen to Search Off The Record at about the 24 minute mark:
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi
Mel Robbins is a New York Times bestselling author, former CNN legal analyst, and a globally recognized expert in personal development. Her “Let Them Theory” offers a simple but powerful mindset: when others doubt, criticize or question you, let them. It’s not about giving up — it’s about staying focused on what matters. In the noise of modern marketing, that kind of clarity is more valuable than ever.
Robbins’ “Let Them” mindset isn’t about giving up or tuning out. It’s about refusing to waste energy on distractions. Let them doubt you, let them post, let them make noise. Your job isn’t to react but to stay focused on what drives results within your control.
In a world of shrinking budgets, rising pressure, and GenAI headlines, it’s easy for marketers to fall into the trap of chasing what everyone else is doing. But what if you flipped that? What if comparison became a tool — not a trigger?
This mindset shift reshaped how I work.
As Mel says, “Let them shine. Let it sting. Then get to work.”
You’re comparing — and you’re doing it wrong.
Every time a competitor launches something flashy or earns top-tier media coverage, you spiral. You second-guess your roadmap. You copy, chase, overthink. You treat their win like your loss, and waste time reacting instead of investing in what works.
That’s not strategy. That’s self-sabotage.
High-performing marketers do things differently: they don’t avoid comparison — they use it strategically.
When they see a strong move, they don’t shrink. They reverse-engineer it.
Dig deeper: Marketing can’t own the results without a say in the strategy
“Why did it work?”
“What can we learn?”
“How do we make it sharper, simpler, more us?”
They know most marketing teams don’t suffer from a lack of ideas — they suffer from distraction.
Constant pivots. Half-finished launches. Conflicting KPIs. Outdated attribution. A leadership team wanting dozens of webinars, top-brand case studies, and 30% pipeline growth — all at once.
While the average team gets caught in chaos, these marketers stay focused.
They build test-driven playbooks.
They align with sales early.
They anchor to KPIs that ladder to business outcomes — converted leads, pipeline, revenue, or all three.
And yes, they borrow great ideas — but never mindlessly.
They don’t reinvent the wheel every time. They refine the wheel until it flies.
Feeling jealous of a competitor’s latest campaign? Good.
That’s your future self sending a signal.
Jealousy isn’t weakness — it’s information. It’s your brain saying: this matters.
So pause and ask: What exactly is triggering me?
Dig deeper: AI can’t create meaning — that’s still marketing’s job
Is it the clarity? The traction? The creative risk?
Then ask: Am I doing the work that moves me toward that — or just doing what’s expected?
When these marketers feel envy, they don’t scroll — they study.
They break it down. They rebuild it — sharper, smarter, more aligned to their goals.
Comparison isn’t a threat. It’s a shortcut to what matters.
So when your boss forwards that “viral campaign” and says, “Why aren’t we doing this?” — let them.
When your CEO forwards that Forbes list and asks, “Why aren’t we on it?” — let them ask.
When your budget shrinks and your KPIs still grow — let them demand more.
You don’t need to react to every trend or justify every ask. You need to lead.
The best marketers don’t chase. They architect. They measure what matters. They borrow what works. And they ignore what distracts.
Let them post. Let them win. Let them rush.
You stay focused. You outperform.
Your job isn’t to panic every time someone else makes noise.
It’s to stay focused long enough to make something better.
Let them have their moment.
Then pass them — by building what lasts.
Contributing authors are invited to create content for MarTech and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. MarTech is owned by Semrush. Contributor was not asked to make any direct or indirect mentions of Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.
Simon Lee is an educator and creature art director for feature films and games who has lectured all over the world and taught professional artists for over a decade. Here tells us how becoming a father at 38 moved him to become a professional artist, and how his art career has shaped his evolution as a person.
If you’re inspired by Simon’s art and want to upgrade your kit, check out our guides for the best art supplies and sketchbooks for artists. For a more portable option, take a look at the best drawing tablets for artists on the go.
Simon Lee: I was born in Beijing, China, and lived there until I was 10. Then I lived in Hong Kong for another 10 years before settling in the United States. My art is closely related to my life, so every cultural influence that I was ever exposed to has shaped my artistic language and expression.
(Image credit: Simon Lee)
SL: My art has always been a response to my life, so in a way art itself was least influential to me. Experience has always been the key driving force in the evolution of my art.
SL: I’m a self-taught artist. I started sculpting on my own at age five, but growing up in a traditional Chinese family, the notion of becoming a full-time artist never entered my mind. I went to business school in college and majored in marketing. When I was 38 years old, I became a dad, and that was the wake-up moment for me to decide to truly value my passion and become a professional artist.
My first project as a professional was as a concept designer for Guillermo del Toro, which started a decade-long explosion of self-reflective artistic growth and discoveries. In a way, the artwork that triggered all that was my child, the best creation I could ever create.
(Image credit: Simon Lee)
SL: My first paid commission was a resin model created for the Shiflett Brothers. I did it when I was still a web designer and hobbyist sculptor. It was a representation of who I was at the time. I see all of my artwork that way: an almost photographic record of a moment in time from my artistic journey.
SL: I used to take days, weeks, and sometimes months to create a single piece. Now I can create something in minutes. I don’t see my art as a singular being but rather as parts of a flowing stream. So the older artworks show where I was, and the current ones show where I am. I don’t place too much attention on my work, but rather on what my art is telling me about my life.
(Image credit: Simon Lee)
SL: For me, living is living. By diving deeper into my art, I delved deeper and deeper into my life. In my world, becoming better in one requires being better in the other. I can honestly say my art has made me a much better person.
SL: My advice would be to keep an open mind. To get better at art, you’d need to look outside of art. Expand your horizon, for art is both a reflection and a reaction to life.
SL: There is no absolute good or bad; that’s always relative to the person you’re talking to. For me, the industry just is, and my place in it. It’s like an ocean: there’s no good wave or bad wave, just waves. The question really is whether we can ride the waves. I certainly can.
(Image credit: Simon Lee)
SL: All of them; they’re all an extension of me. Just like I identify with all my fingers, they all serve a purpose.
SL: To continue growing as a person. Education doesn’t end with school graduations or begin with class enrolments. I learn every day about life and myself. I have the technical skills to express myself artistically and use my art to communicate my emotions constantly. I want to keep growing and share my discoveries with as many people as I can.
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