DesignRush

On September 28, SpaceX's Starship reached orbit for the first time on its 14th flight. The vehicle deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites at about 275 kilometers. Major outlets, including Reuters, NPR, Axios, Bloomberg, and Space.com, all covered the mission on the same day. A Raptor engine shut down early during ascent, and SpaceX cut the planned 10-hour mission to roughly three. SpaceX paid nothing for any of that coverage, which is how the company has promoted itself for two decades.

Apple is reportedly preparing its biggest push into the smart-home category while expanding the places where brands can buy media. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that the company plans to introduce a new home hub on October 13. It arrives alongside updated HomePod mini and Apple TV models. The roughly 6-inch square hub could sit on a countertop or be mounted to a wall. It can also reportedly recognize individual household members and serve personalized content based on their data and accounts.

Small business owners spend plenty of hours on paperwork, so U.S. Bank hired a familiar face to make its newest card pitch worth a look. The bank has launched the "Business Essentials Visa Card" and the "Business Essentials Plus Visa Signature Card," with BarkleyOKRP leading the campaign. Actress Jessica Alba, an experienced small business owner, debuts as the bank's new spokesperson, bringing celebrity marketing to a category where card offers can look alike.

KFC has cast its own fans as the stars of its new show. The chain and agency Mother premiered "Don't Crack" on KFC's YouTube channel on September 30. The broadcast-length series follows 30 U.K. superfans through four escalating tests of devotion, with £50,000 and the title of Ultimate Believer at stake. Funnily enough, none of the contestants are actors. In March, a Mother film sent blindfolded Believers through a dark obstacle course toward a golden egg, and each campaign asset carried a QR code.

Android fraud in gambling climbed from 49% to 59% year-over-year, according to AppsFlyer’s 2026 State of Fraud for Marketers report. The rate reached 64% in the fourth quarter of 2025, when Real Users Lift hit 175%. So advertisers were paying for nearly two fraudulent users for every real one they acquired. Android gambling fraud moved in the opposite direction from several other app categories, where rates remained flat or declined.

Shohei Ohtani is joining Chandler Bats to build a global bat line, and he plans to work on the design himself. The partnership is set to cover players from youth leagues to the Major Leagues, adding a marquee name to Chandler's brand identity. Ohtani will help shape the vision, design, and refinement of each product alongside Chandler's team under a guiding standard of mastery through process.

More than 35.2% of online sessions still frustrate users, according to ContentSquare. The company’s 2026 Digital Experience Benchmark report adds that website traffic has also fallen 3.8% year-on-year, while engagement has dropped by as much as 10% and conversion rates declined by 5.1%. “That means every visit is becoming harder to earn,” says RainCastle President, Donato Dandreo.

Most of the AEO advice going around right now sounds the same. Write better FAQs. Put a summary at the top of the page. Answer the question directly in the first paragraph. Use clear headings. All fine advice, and none of it is wrong. It's just incomplete, because every bit of it assumes something that often isn't true. The answer engine can read your page in the first place. I do a lot of this work from the build side, and I keep running into the same thing. The content is fine.

Dove Men+Care is giving its New York Comic Con activation a physical media format. The brand partnered with Galactic Armory to create the Max Pack to help fans stay focused on the Con without a sweat. It is a customizable 3D-printed compartment that holds Maximum Protection, a phone, and a wallet while fitting into cosplay designs. "Cosplayers put so much time and creativity into every detail of their look," Lindsey Lapin, associate marketing director for Dove Men, said in a press release.

Mars sells the squishy and tangy format on TikTok Shop first, six years after Nerds launched its Gummy Clusters. 4 min read Skittles is taking a shot at the crunchy-gummy format with Gummy Crystals. It is the brand's first candy combining a soft gummy center with edible crystals. Mars Inc. will give fans an early taste through TikTok Shop on November 2. It will then roll out to select retailers later this year before a national rollout in 2027.