Hey all! Welcome back to Edition #75 of The SEG3 Report.

Today’s spotlighted piece dives into Google’s report on the relationship between marketing & finance, and what you need to put in place to have both singing in harmony to deliver growth and efficiency.

Also covered: Coca-Cola launches largest global Halloween promotion with Universal Pictures & Blumhouse, and the power of tentpole moments to drive cultural relevance and conversation + McDonald’s & Ligue 1 launch mobile game, “FC McDo”, and how they’re aiming to re-engage users through gaming.

Let’s dive in:

Contents: Edition #75

• Marketing + Finance = Growth: Inside Google’s Latest Report

• Fanta partners with Universal Pictures & Blumhouse for Halloween global promotion

• McDonald's unveils "FC McDo" - its mobile game with Ligue 1

Marketing + Finance = Growth: Inside Google’s Latest Report

Google’s new Unlocking Profitable Growth study reveals how tighter collaboration between marketing and finance can unlock long-term value. Drawing on 250 interviews & focus groups with CMOs, CFOs, and senior leaders in the UK and Germany, the report shows how data, analytics and AI are reshaping marketing’s financial impact.

TL;DR:

• Marketing + finance = same growth goal, but different playbooks.

• CFOs favour short-term ROI, with CMOs leaning towards brand building.

• Yet brand + performance together deliver up to 90% ROI uplift (WARC).

• Google’s playbook to fix it:

  1. Reframe marketing as investment, not cost.

  2. Build shared KPIs both sides trust.

  3. Balance short-term ROI with long-term brand value.

  4. Have one shared source of truth for data.

  5. Include finance in test and learn situations (like with AI).

Mark Corrigan was given the impossible task of merging sales & marketing with Project Zeus.

Google’s latest report doesn’t quite open that can of worms, but it does look at two somewhat opposing (but pivotal) disciplines in marketing & finance - diving into how when working in tandem, they can deliver incredible value and performance for each other and the brand. But there are some meaningful hurdles to avoid to get to that point.

On that note, the below will be all about how you, the marketers, understand what buttons you need to push, and what magic words you need to whisper, to get finance on-side so you’re able to deliver your short, medium and long-term plans.

And of course:

Why should you care enough to do it?

Well, marketing, especially in times on downturn, can be seen as a ‘nice to have’. And it’s that push-pull between top and bottom lines that tend to put marketing and finance at loggerheads.

So whilst both CMOs and CFOs share the same ultimate goal of driving profitable growth, there continues to be a significant disconnect between them, with a 2023 CMO Council survey finding that only 22% of CFO-CMO relationships are ‘highly collaborative’.

And that reflects in some very different priorities, strategies, and places where they’d each like to allocate budget.

And it is this misalignment that makes it hard, with brand building being top-of-mind for CMO’s, but nowhere near front of mind for CFO’s, who’s mindset towards brand building tending to be:

This is a big problem, as in my humble opinion, brand has never been so important in today’s attention (and tech) driven world.

If product (especially digital ones) can be spun up quicker than ever, your moat is your brand and your brand alone. Narrative and feeling is what helps you build connection, loyalty and fandom. If budgets and efficiency become the sole driver for your interactions with customers, it’s unlikely you’ll build fans - only customers, and customers are fickle and will swap you out for something cheaper in a heartbeat.

It’s therefore finding that careful balance between appeasing your CFO friends by blending performance marketing with brand marketing. And there’s good cause to push home this combo - with WARC’s Multiplier Effect 2025 report finding that brands that integrate brand + performance marketing see a 25–100% ROI uplift (with the median being 90%).

So, if you’re starting to plan and have conversations for 2026, what can you do to make this theory a reality, and shift finance from your blocker to your enabler?

Well, here’s the short playbook from the folks at Google:

Step 1 – Reframe marketing as investment, not spend

• Nearly 1 in 3 leaders still see marketing as a cost-centre.
  

  → Your wording needs to change - talk the CFO’s language: growth, margins etc
  
  → Show the value that both brand and performance marketing can deliver over the short and long-term. The WARC report will arm you with some good ammunition for this.

Step 2 – Build shared KPIs across marketing & finance

• Only 43% of CMOs think they’re aligned with finance on strategy, compared to 61% of CFOs
  
  → Joint success metrics are a non-negotiable. As you’re building out your plans for 2026, design these hand-in-hand so that both functions have input and buy-in, and can therefore stand behind the outcomes (e.g., revenue growth, customer lifetime value etc).

Step 3 – Balance short and long-term measurement

• 32% of marketers can’t link activity to financial metrics; 42% of finance leaders struggle with long-term campaign measurement.
  

  → Build a measurement framework that tracks both short-term campaign ROI and long-term brand equity.

Our friends at Volkswagen talked about the importance of exactly this at SEG3 London in June:

Step 4 – Fix fragmented data & integrate tech stacks

• 1 in 3 finance leaders reference poor data integration as a barrier to alignment.
  
  → We talked about this in Edition #31 of the SEG3 Report, but having a ‘single source of truth’ that both teams work from (and understand) means you can be on the same page, whilst also reducing the outlay for multiple martech solutions for the same process. Something finance are sure to be happy about!

And then it wouldn’t be 2025 without a hat-tip to:

Step 5 – Integrating AI

• Both CMOs and CFOs call out AI as a key enabler for predictive planning and attribution.
  

  → Test and learn to see where you can use AI to drive impact. Whether that be through AI-driven insights to forecast ROI or scenario-planning budgets to give finance the predictability they crave. There remains an innovation issue here, because as it stands, only 14% of CFO’s think they’re included in test and learn exercises, and it’s that lack of understanding of the ‘why’ that creates pushback.

Closing Thoughts

Marketing and finance are two-sides of the same coin, just with different approaches, priorities and expectations of how to deliver profit and growth. Luckily, the differences aren’t insurmountable like Project Zeus.

In today’s attention economy, and especially in the fan-facing industries we inhabit, visibility is the bare minimum - it’s how brands show up, and how consistently they do it, that will define the value that audiences assign to your brand.

With that in mind, it’s never been more important for brand longevity that both functions work together. Marketing providing the narrative and touchpoints, and finance to make it sustainable and scalable.

Bonne chance in your 2026 budget conversations folks. Hope this & the full report helps a tad!

Fanta partners with Universal Pictures & Blumhouse for Halloween global promotion

In a global campaign spanning over 50 markets, including the UK, US, and India, Coca-Cola has featured horror-themed Fanta cans with characters such as Chucky, Freddy Fazbear, and M3GAN. A new flavour, “Chucky’s Punch,” has also been introduced, with QR codes on packaging unlocking exclusive content and experiences. The campaign is being supported through retail activations, paid and organic media, influencer marketing, and a live event in New York City.

TL;DR:

• Pick a cultural tentpole and own it (Coke = Christmas, Fanta = Halloween).

• Align with big IP to borrow credibility and instantly bring in engaged fans.

• Tie product, digital and IRL experiences together for the largest impact.

• Repeat annually until the moment feels synonymous with your brand, and customers expect your input (i.e. John Lewis’ Christmas advert).

Coca-Cola is synonymous with Christmas. Santa Claus. Red and white. The Coca-Cola truck.

They took control of a major point in the calendar, and integrated their product and brand into the conversation, which they now amplify and grow year-on-year with continuous promotions and content. And now they’re back to do it again. This time, with Halloween & Fanta.

Why should you care?

Those of you who attended SEG3 London were treated to Coca-Cola talking about their partnership with Warner Bros. around the Beetlejuice 2 launch, and how they leveraged the films release, the IP and talent to put Fanta front and centre to a Gen Z audience during Halloween (And for those of you who didn’t, you might want to keep a close eye on our next guest on The Speakeasy 😉).

But what makes Coca-Cola’s approach so interesting? Is it tying brands to tentpole moments in the calendar like Halloween? Is it attaching it to entertainment IP that makes it so culturally relevant? Is it the combination of experiences they deliver that enable them to engage with Gen Z so effectively? And as with the previous story, what’s the bottom line of these promotions and how can it help to impact sales?

Well, the playbook seems to be:

Step 1 - Pinpoint a time of the year resonates with your brand story

• For Coca-Cola & John Lewis, this is Christmas. For Fanta, it’s Halloween. For Cadburys, it’s Easter etc etc.
  
  → Find the moment that matches your brand story best, and double down on your marketing and comms for those periods for maximum relevance and impact.

Step 2 - Find partners that can amplify your message

• For Fanta, they have found great success in entertainment marketing - aligning their Halloween promotions with film launches (last year, Beetlejuice 2), and popular horror franchises (Chucky and others this season).
  

  → If you’re a consumer brand - entertainment, sports & games are a treasure trove for IP and fandom. Fertile grounds to amplify (and cement) your place in pop culture.
  
  → If you’re a rights owner, there should be a concrete strategy about what moments across your calendar (and the broader global calendar) you can talk to with authority. Help your current brand partners (or prospective partners) drive impact through these moments, and if you do it consistently enough, you make it part of your brand (i.e. LA Chargers, and their schedule release - which we covered in more detail in Edition #60).

Step 3 - Build experiences that cover all touch points

• Coca-Cola are a marketing machine - but what they really understand is how to deliver experiences that build connection.
  
  → As we’ve discussed before, the Halloween promotion is again a combination of: Digital Experiences, Life Experiences & Product Experiences.

And as if we’re in the Blue Peter studio, you can hear Stefan Rothenbuehler, who leads on Coca-Cola’s Music, Culture & Entertainment Partnerships, talk about how they plan end-to-end integrations like the one they’ve just rolled out for this Halloween👇

Step 4 - Evaluate. Has it helped to shift the needle?

• You’ve done the marketing, released a new product, built awareness and contributed to a cultural moment. Now how do you benefit from the newfound interest you have from consumers and fans?

  
  → This may change for brand to brand (i.e. a physical experience may be the key driver for your business), but for Fanta, the bottom line is the product experience, and how many cans of the drink they sell.
  
  Fanta is available year-round, but by innovating the product (like formulating new flavours as they have done with “Chucky’s Punch”), they are showing commitment to being part of the culture around Halloween. Team that up with a sustained commitment over years around the same time in the calendar, and audiences will begin to associate your brand with that holiday/festival/moment.
  

  And that is precisely where loyalty is built.

Closing Thoughts

Tentpole marketing is powerful, and with sustained commitment, your audience, or the one you’re vying over, will eventually give you the association you’re chasing. Fanta are an example that success comes from working with communities that understand the culture you’re targeting, and staying the course.

McDonald's unveils "FC McDo" - its mobile game with Ligue 1

McDonald’s France has launched “FC McDo,” a mobile runner-style game integrated into its McDo+ app, created by Razorfish France and Publicis Sapient US. Players choose avatars representing one of the 18 Ligue 1 clubs and play by converting their loyalty points into tokens to score goals while dodging obstacles. The game runs weekly until October 27, offering rewards like VIP Ligue 1 experiences and Samsung TVs.

TL;DR:

• Buying rights is easy, activating them is the real test.

• FC McDo lives inside the McDonald’s app, giving the game scale from day one, with the app having 14M downloads & 300k daily users.

• Points become prizes (VIP matchdays, TVs), and gives McDonald’s an excuse to re-engage lapsed users, whilst giving Ligue 1 fans an incentive to download the app.

McDonalds took the naming rights of Ligue 1 in a €60m, 3 year deal at the beginning of 2024-25 season.

A sizeable investment. But as all sponsorship execs know well, that is just the starting point, with the real challenge sitting in activating the partnership; using Ligue 1’s IP and access to talent to move the needle for McDonalds in France. As a sponsorship exec once put it to me many years ago - your activation budget should be at least 3:1 to the sponsorship investment.

And so, with the 2025/26 season just beginning, McDonald’s have begun to leverage their partnership - launching “FC McDo” - a mobile game which is integrated into their app.

Why should you care?

The campaign does a lot right:

• It’s mobile-first: gives access to the largest possible audience

• It’s in-app: keeping it centralised means customers, and their data, aren’t scattered across disparate places

• There’s a measurable outcome: the game and rewards are incentivising Ligue 1 fans to download (or engage inside of) the McDonalds app. McDonald’s can now see just how powerful Ligue 1’s sway is over its community.

The combination of those things means McDonald’s can plug its Ligue 1 partnership straight into its 14 million app downloads and 300k daily users. And with football accounting for 45% of all sports attendance in France (according to Two Circles), it’s a way for McDonald’s to pull that fan energy directly into its own loyalty program to help grow its CRM.

So, how was it done?

Step 1 - Focusing in on games & loyalty

• For McDonald’s & Ligue 1, mobile gives them access to the biggest possible audience, gaming is an interactive way for customers to engage with the brand (and their Ligue 1 partnership), and the mechanics are designed to incentivise/reward audiences to return to the app or download it.

Step 2 - The Mechanics

• How does it work? 👇

Step 3 - End goal?

• The hard part - delivering impact. It’s often difficult to quantify the impact of sponsorships (hence the earlier discussion around performance vs brand-building). This campaign however sits more in the performance bucket - and if successful, will give McDonalds numbers on how well they’re able to re-engage dormant app users through Ligue 1, the number of new users they’re able to drive to the app, and their success rate of downloads to purchases within the app or store. Cold, hard facts that I’m sure their finance team will love.

Closing Thoughts

Discounts and points are just one part of the puzzle - fans want and expect experiences that feel tied to the culture (in this case, football) that they care about. By bringing Ligue 1, gaming and rewards all inside its existing app, McDonald’s are smartly centralising everything, and using their sponsorship to breed a participatory, measurable and sticky environment that entices new users to download (and stick around) by making experience more than just transactional for existing users.

In other news this week:

• Luka Doncic teams up for Overwatch 2 rewards: read here.

• Bain released 2025 Gaming Report: read here.

• DAZN partners with Bitmovin to scale global sports streaming: read here.

• Pudgy Penguins partners with Mythical Games to release Pudgy Party: read here.

• Mattel bring He-man to Fortnite UEFN island: read here.

• SEGA teams Sonic up with Sanrio for first-ever collaboration: read here.

• Sorare partners with LFP Media: read here.

• Paramount reportedly in conversations for Call of Duty adaptation: read here.

• Karta secures £500k investment from Creative UK: read here.

• NFL agrees rights deal with Sky Sports, DAZN, Channel 5 & YouTube for UK & Ireland: read here.

• Amazon & NBCU make Peacock available via Prime Video: read here.

• Fubo Sports launches ‘Skinny Sports’ service for flexibility: read here.

• Sportian teams up with Serie A to tackle piracy: read here.

• Everland to bring Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters to life through themed zone at park: read here.

• Napster & Fenerbache launch virtual experience: read here.

• Kansas City Chiefs announce partnership with Cheez-it in Germany: read here.

• The Conjuring Last Rights comes to Fortnite: read here.

• Skoda launch third season of Skoda Bike Planet on Roblox: read here.

• Disguise partners with F1 Arcade for immersive racing experience: read here.

• ZONED & Epic Games to fund Spongebob Fortnite Island development: read here.

• NFL teams up with Breitling: read here.

• Cosm inks new deal with NFL for 2025 season: read here.

• American Airlines named Airline Partner of Carolina Panthers & Charlotte FC: read here.

• Balenciaga drops items in Fortnite shop: see here.

• MLB releases ‘No Easy Outs’ series: see here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now everyone - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report, and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a friend!