Category: In the News

Last year, Dhar Mann was just another speaker at AWNY; this year, he’s the main event. 

The mega creator is the ad conference’s first chief creator officer, and his job this week is to broker deals between creators and brands. He and the event’s organizers want those introductions to produce $100 million in creator-brand business within 12 months, measured against creator budgets that hand-picked brands confirmed before the doors even opened.

Mann’s central role signals the structural changes happening in the advertising industry as the creator economy’s growth demands more CMO attention and more marketing budget. His $100 million dollar deal goal is an attempt to make these deals happen faster and with more heft behind them.

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More consumers are looking to over-the-counter solutions to everyday healthcare needs. In response, marketers working to gain share in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector are borrowing from the modern CPG playbook and altering their approach to paid media.

OTC sales rose to $58.2 billion in 2025, up from $44.3 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signaled its willingness to allow more drugs to switch from prescription access to OTC. In basic terms, consumer demand and regulatory change mean that pharmacies and DTC firms are playing a greater role in everyday consumers’ health.

“Historically, people relied more on their physicians,” explained Sandy Weag, client president, CMI Media Group. “[Now] people are taking a much more proactive approach to their health, and are making product decisions as a shopper, similar as they would any other consumer product.”

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