MetLife

U.S. Bank's Gus Fernandez: Trust Beats Attention

Gus Fernandez, U.S. Bank’s vice president of inclusive growth and community impact and juror on The Drum Awards Festival Social Purpose jury, argues that brands must earn relevance through genuine investment, partnerships and community understanding rather than chase attention. Drawing on his agency background and five years building an always-on model at U.S. Bank that links its payments division to diverse small business communities, Fernandez says AI should be used for speed and insight while preserving human connection. He advises brands to prioritise pre-campaign learning, long-term trust-building and community-led storytelling heading into 2026.

Creatio Quarterly Bookings Reach 255% of Prior Year

Creatio reported exceptional first-quarter FY27 results, delivering bookings at 255% of the prior year as enterprise adoption of AI accelerates. The AI-native CRM and workflow vendor says it supports thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries and has doubled its count of $1M+ ARR enterprise customers over the past year. Named customers include Nasdaq, MetLife, Colgate Palmolive, AMD and Howdens. Creatio credits growth to surging enterprise adoption of agentic AI, enterprises replacing legacy CRM stacks, and its Unlimited commercial offering. The company also announced a broad “10x” release featuring innovations such as an Enhanced AI Studio and AI Twin, and plans to expand its AI strategy, engineering, and go-to-market investments. Katherine Kostereva is quoted as CEO of Creatio.

Censorship Imagery Becomes Advertising Trend

The article describes a rising advertising trend in which brands adopt the visual language of censorship—redaction, taped-over logos and 'censored' motifs—as a creative and PR tactic. Examples include Levi's and Heinz using 'censored' branding around the 2026 FIFA World Cup after stadium 'clean stadium' rules required removal or covering of partner logos; Bacardi's Patrón previously redacted a regulatory-disallowed claim; and other brands such as McDonald’s have used redaction aesthetics in campaigns. The piece situates the trend within growing global concerns about free speech and stricter regulation (citing Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and UNESCO) and includes commentary from Jonathan Hardy (London College of Communication) who warns brands to distinguish genuine protest from opportunistic PR.