• Walmart Inc. is once again counting and restricting the number of people allowed in its stores in order to maintain a rough limit of no more than five customers per 1,000 square feet, which keeps store capacity at 20 percent, as reported U.S. cases of the coronavirus surge. The news comes as some grocers, such as Kroger Co. and Wegmans Food Markets Inc., reinstate customer buying limits for toilet paper and hand sanitizer. (CNBC)

• DoorDash Inc. filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating its intent to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DASH. The food delivery company has thrived over the course of the pandemic, capturing 49 percent of the market in September to pull ahead of its rivals such as Grubhub Inc. and Uber Eats, according to data from Second Measure, and posting $1.9 billion in revenue in the nine months ending Sept. 30, more than three times its reported revenue from the same period year prior. (The Washington Post)

• Ulta Beauty Inc. is teaming up with Target Corp. to establish “Ulta Beauty at Target,” 1,000-square-foot Ulta stores that will open within 100 Target locations during the second half of 2021, with plans for hundreds more in the coming years, the companies said. The deal reflects the cosmetics retailer’s omnichannel strategy, said Ulta Chief Executive Mary Dillon. (Adweek)

PubMatic Makes IPO Filing
Ronan Shields, Adweek

Amid a wave of speculation that ad-tech companies were poised to try their chances in the public markets, PubMatic confirmed that it has filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission priming it for an initial public offering.

JetBlue Explores Fresh Marketing for a Post-Pandemic World
Alexandra Bruell, The Wall Street Journal

JetBlue Airways Corp. is considering switching advertising agencies after more than a decade as part of an effort to revive its marketing and cut costs, the company said.

TV advertising is making a comeback after pandemic slowdown
Megan Graham, CNBC

But with Covid-19 cases on the rise, some networks are cautious about the coming quarters, even with a big boost from political ads this quarter. 

Screenvision, Mobcrush Partner To Create New Ad Blocker-Proof Inventory For Esports
Ethan Jakob Craft, Ad Age

Debuting today, the tech lets gamers initiate ads when they step away from their screens.

Trump Allies Explored Buyout of Newsmax TV as Fox News Alternative
Benjamin Mullin et al., The Wall Street Journal

Hicks Equity Partners, a firm with ties to a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, is pitching investors on a new conservative news channel.

Group Nine’s new marketplace Swipe.Shop takes aim at mobile shoppers’ holiday spending
Kayleigh Barber, Digiday

Group Nine is the latest media company to create its own online marketplace. Only this time, the publisher of The Dodo, PopSugar, NowThis, Thrillist and Seeker is sticking to the platform where it sees the most engagement — mobile.

Bruin Sports Capital-Backed Two Circles Buys Sponsorship Firm TRM Partners
Sahil Patel, The Wall Street Journal

Two Circles Inc., a sports marketing firm owned by media and technology holding company Bruin Sports Capital, has acquired sports sponsorship company TRM Partners, the companies said. The price was $45 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Warner Bros. film marketing President Blair Rich to leave studio
Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times

Blair Rich, the top Warner Bros. film marketing executive who led campaigns for movies including “Wonder Woman,” “Joker” and “Tenet,” is leaving the studio at the end of the year.

The Trump administration gave TikTok more time to reach a deal.
David McCabe, The New York Times

The Trump administration gave TikTok’s Chinese owner more time to reach a deal to sell the app, after demanding that it divest its interest in the social media service over national security concerns.

L’Oréal Luxe, Pinterest Team Up on Luxury Fragrance Finder
David Cohen, Adweek

Luxury fragrance portfolio L’Oréal Luxe teamed up with Pinterest on the Luxury Fragrance Finder, a custom landing page quiz that seeks to match Pinners with the perfect fragrances for themselves or as gifts for loved ones, with the holiday shopping season looming.

Why video games are the next retail frontier
Michael Waters, ModernRetail

Williams-Sonoma, West Elm and Pottery Barn have all partnered with Design Home to get virtual versions of their products placed in the game’s store. 

‘A whole new baseline in digital shopping’: Orders from social media sites increased 84% in the third quarter, according to a new report
Isabella Jibilian, Business Insider

Two-thirds of Generation Z-ers surveyed said that they had made a purchase on social media, and 27% of millennials said they were interested in shopping on social media platforms come this holiday season, according to research by Salesforce. 

How Influencers Handled The Biden–Harris Win Proves There Has Been A Seismic Shift In The Industry
Stephanie McNeal, BuzzFeed News

Influencers, who historically had found it easier to remain “neutral” in order to appeal to as many people as possible and not make waves, had to reevaluate.

How companies like Nike and Apple stay cool for decades
Sarah Todd, Quartz

When Nike created the Air Jordan after signing then-rookie Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan in 1984, it designed the shoe in red and black—a striking departure from the all-white sneakers that basketball players wore at the time. More than three decades later, Jordans are still cool.

Americans would spend more this holiday season with $1,200 stimulus checks, Gallup study finds
Lauren Thomas, CNBC

A fresh round of stimulus checks could provide a welcomed boost to retailers during the holidays, a Franklin Templeton-Gallup study found.

1 in 5 Amazon Prime members are considering moving to Walmart+
Lance Lambert, Fortune

Fortune and SurveyMonkey conducted a poll in July prior to the Walmart+ launch and found 27% of Americans were likely to subscribe.

Zoom to lift 40-minute meeting limit on Thanksgiving for longer family hangouts
Nick Statt, The Verge

The 40-minute limit has been one of the key restrictions of Zoom’s Basic plan throughout the pandemic, often forcing groups to restart a chat after the time limit is up and causing a fair amount of friction in keeping a conversation or virtual gathering going. 

To Combat 2020’s Unpredictability, Campbell’s Offers ‘Dinner Insurance’ This Thanksgiving
Paul Hiebert, Adweek

Food companies are looking for creative ways to celebrate an unusual holiday season.

McDonald’s and franchisees will conduct coronavirus safety checks to guard against pandemic fatigue
Amelia Lucas, CNBC

McDonald’s will conduct coronavirus safety reviews of its restaurants in the next six weeks as health experts worry that Covid fatigue is contributing to the record high number of new cases in the U.S.

Coconut Water Hype Fades Away as U.S. Consumer Tastes Change
Carolina Gonzalez, Bloomberg

Coconut water has ended its meteoric rise and started to lose share as consumers turn to other trendy options, including the flavored seltzers that have exploded in popularity recently.

Highlighting Self-Care Items and Virtual Visits, Sephora Sees 75% Growth in Ecommerce This Year
Kathryn Lundstrom, Adweek

That early adoption of the ecommerce channel meant that when the pandemic hit in March, Sephora had two decades of experience and innovations to lean back on as lockdown orders necessitated the temporary closure of its retail locations.

Shoppers flocked to packaged foods during the pandemic. Now, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, and Kellogg are supercharging marketing spend to keep them buying.
Alex Bitter, Business Insider Premium

Many are investing in promoting new products and content like pandemic-tailored recipes to entice customers that have fueled higher sales during the outbreak.

How Four Seasons Total Landscaping Can Capitalize on That Infamous Press Conference
Tiffany Moustakas, Adweek

The company released a new line of merchandise only 2 days after the event.

7 million packages could experience delays per day this holiday season
Erica Pandey, Axios

With the entire country turning to online shopping, shippers across the U.S. are preparing for unprecedented package volumes — around 80 million per day between Thanksgiving and Christmas — and frustrating delays.

The United States of America: Can this brand be saved?
Jeff Beer, Fast Company

This week, Fast Company will feature an in-depth look at what America’s brand is, how it’s changed over the past four years, and where it needs to go.