How Apple Made $40M From a Movie That Hasn’t Released

Welcome to Marketing in the Age of Machines. Each week, we bring you the following:

👉 An innovative marketing strategy that has worked for others.

👉 The 2 most relevant contents in marketing, AI, and business that will help you understand the ever-changing landscape.

👉 3 tools for the Marketer of the Future.

👉 The quote of the week. A simple take on everyday marketing concepts.

🤓 How Apple Made $40M From a Movie That Hasn’t Released

Problem
A massive feature film like F1: The Movie, backed by Apple Original Films, came with a production and marketing budget in the hundreds of millions. While Apple would naturally absorb much of the cost, funding such an expensive project poses financial risk—even for a giant like Apple—and demands strategy to offset expenditures without compromising creative control

Solution
To mitigate that risk, Apple engineered a creative sponsorship strategy: they sold around $40 million in branded sponsorships tied to the fictional APXGP race team in the film. Major brands like Expensify, GEICO, IWC Schaffhausen, EA Sports, Tommy Hilfiger and Mercedes‑AMG paid to feature logos on cars, suits, and even spin‑off merchandise, effectively turning parts of the film into high‑value advertising placements that offset production costs

Lesson
The key takeaway is how instrumental brand integration can be to financing high‑budget entertainment: rather than relying solely on traditional distribution revenue, filmmakers and studios can monetize realistic in‑world product placement. When executed thoughtfully, such integration preserves storytelling while significantly defraying costs, demonstrating that inventive partnerships between brands and creative teams can make big‑budget projects more financially viable.

1/. Instagram Just Became a Search Engine
Instagram posts from Business and Creator accounts are now being indexed by Google and Bing, turning each post into searchable content. Captions, alt text, and hashtags can appear in search results, giving your posts a longer shelf life. This change makes Instagram more relevant for SEO and organic discovery outside the app.

Read the full post here:

2/. Does Blogging Still Matter in B2B Marketing? Plus 5 Examples of Great B2B Blogs
The article explains why blogging still plays a key role in B2B marketing. Despite changes in content formats, blogs continue to help with SEO, lead generation, and building trust. When done with a clear strategy, blogging remains a valuable long-term asset.

Read the full post here:

👉 Tools in the Age of Machines:

• Humata.ai: Chat with your documents and get instant answers.

• Dubverse.ai: Automatically dub and subtitle videos in multiple languages.

• Rewind.ai: Search and recall anything you've seen or said on your device.