Since 2021, when the Supreme Court rejected an NCAA appeal of its antitrust lawsuit, student athletes have been able to receive compensation for licensing their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in business partnerships. This watershed moment not only changed the college sports landscape, but also opened up the door to a new and exciting opportunity for brand advertisers increasingly under pressure to connect with consumers. Now, just five years after that landmark court decision, NIL partnerships are big business, with the total investment in these deals exceeding $2.5 billion in 2025 alone. However, the space is still nascent, with many marketers stumbling to figure out how to best maximize these new partnerships.

Ahead of March Madness, Solly Fulp and Grant Jones, both of Learfield — a media, data, and technology services company with an unparalleled footprint in college sports — join the On Scope team to break down everything marketers need to know about the current state and future of NIL partnerships.

With host Mike Berberich running point, Solly and Grant cover some of the less obvious characteristics brands should be looking for in student athlete partners, how brands might maintain stability with NIL partners during transfer portal chaos, and their one piece of advice on what every brand marketer needs to be doing to maximize the ROI of their NIL agreements.

On “News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discuss a Zappi report that found that an alarming number of women think brands aren’t investing in ads that genuinely reflect them, with many calling the efforts “performative.” The pair speculates about where brands are going wrong on this front and offers some insight into how they might get back on track.

NIL changed college sports marketing fast. The brands that will win now are the ones who understand the landscape, set smart standards, and move early. That’s the point of ANA Practices. Members come together to raise the bar in AI, Brand, Media, Measurement, B2B, and more, so teams can lead change instead of chasing it. Check out the resources from the ANA Practices and get involved by visiting www.ana.net/leadership.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea, you can email them at onscope@ana.net.

With more than 20 years of experience working as an executive at NBC, MTV Networks, and major advertising agencies with accounts such as Miller Lite, Uncle Ben’s, and Dole Foods, Dr. Mara Einstein knows a thing or two about media and marketing. Now working as a self-proclaimed marketing critic, Dr. Einstein, who authored the book, HOODWINKED: How Marketers Use The Same Tactics As Cults, believes marketers have become way too focused on the digitally driven attention economy, often to the detriment of their own brands.

On this episode of On Scope, Dr. Einstein joins host Mike Berberich to outline exactly why it is that she thinks attention at all costs is a net negative for the marketing practice. She covers why thinking about digital as a strategy instead of a tactic is misguided, how marketers might convince executives that harder-to-measure analog channels viewed more favorably by consumers might be worth a larger investment, and shares the fascinating story of a cosmetic brand that moved off social media entirely and saw a huge surge in business as a result.

On “News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discuss a new GetResponse survey of more than 2,400 consumers indicating that they think new customers get all the love from brands, despite most brands reporting a 50/50 split on spending on new customers versus retaining existing ones. The pair hypothesize about what brands are doing to enhance existing relationships with consumers and express skepticism that the tactics are truly about building the relationship rather than just trying to upsell. They also note a huge disconnect in the number of consumers who are interested in high-end luxury programs and the number of brands that offer them.

Dr. Mara Einstein feels strongly that digital fixation is pulling brands off course. If you agree with that assessment, it’s time to rethink your team’s approach. The ANA Talent and Marketing Operations Practice helps you develop sharper skills, build stronger teams, and identify smarter ways of working, while still delivering stellar business results. Explore the resources and start getting smarter by visiting www.ana.net/talent.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea, you can email them at onscope@ana.net.

Arun Kumar is an accomplished global data and marketing leader with a proven track record of setting strategies and developing products that stimulate business growth while reducing costs. He’s an accomplished public speaker, an advisory board member, and the author of The Data Deluge: Making Marketing Work Better for Brands and People.

On this episode of On Scope, the Global Head of Data and AI at Accenture Song joins the show to discuss how marketers can reclaim their data and digital destiny and take back marketing. Along with host Mike Berberich, the conversation begins by an examining an emerging marketing conundrum: Why the industry has ceded virtually all control of its channels to tech giants. From there, the duo discusses how the industry found itself in this unfortunate position and how it might work its way out, why an ongoing lack of coordination between customer service and marketing departments leaves consumers with less-than-ideal brand experiences, and why marketers need to rethink their approach to leveraging data and aim to find a happy medium between broadcast messaging and hyper personalization efforts that often leave consumers feeling — well — a bit creeped out.

On “News You Might Have Missed,” Mike and show producer Ryan Dinger discuss an article from Fast Company on the “zombie internet” and a new social media platform developed exclusively for agentic AI bots. They explain why they’re incredulous at the idea that a social media platform built exclusively for chatbots would have any long-term appeal for humans and speculate about the consequences such a thing would have on the advertising ecosystem.

Speaking of the zombie internet, it sure is a confusing time for marketers trying to wrap their head around emerging technology, especially when evaluating what is worth their time and what isn’t. You can cut through the noise and better understand where your time and money is best spent with tools from the ANA’s Technology Practice. Check out the practical frameworks, real-world case studies, and peer guidance available to help you make smarter tech choices by visiting www.ana.net/technology.

The On Scope team would love to hear from you! If you have a topic or guest idea, you can email them at onscope@ana.net.