The most notable marketing news this week is full of major changes, surprises and controversies for some of the biggest brands. Read on to catch up on the marketing and advertising stories you need to know this week.

Brands Feel the Blow of SXSW Cancellation

After weeks of speculation, SXSW has officially been cancelled due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. The annual tech and media festival held in Austin, Tex., which usually hosts more than 400,000 attendees, had already seen many of their high-profile sponsors pull out, including Apple, Amazon and Facebook, among others. So far, event organizers have not yet offered refunds for attendees, who spend upwards of $1,500 for an all-access badge and countless more on marketing and product debuts. It’s possible parts of the event could be moved online or rescheduled, but so far it looks like everyone involved may face lost investments.

The Austin community is also bracing for major profit losses following the news of the cancellation. Restaurants usually plan for a huge uptick in business during the festival, while some venue owners earn a fourth of their total income from SXSW events. How do you think these brands will recover in the coming months? Read up on more of the details here.

Orangetheory Won’t Settle on International Women’s Day

This year, International Women’s Day fell on March 8, which just so happens to also be the same day we restarted daylight savings time. Fitness brand Orangetheory recognized the irony and decided to call out the overlap in its latest ad. The video follows women as they mock the world for giving women only 23 hours to celebrate the one day of the year dedicated to women’s accomplishments. The resounding message of the ad is that women shouldn’t settle for less – and to back it up, Orangetheory offered a free partner workout for each of their members and one of their friends.

Other brands, including Reebok, Kind and Absolut, also released new campaigns ahead of International Women’s Day. One of the other most notable ads came from Apple, who honored some of the most influential women in the world today in their new “Behind the Mac” video released last week. Read more about Orangetheory here, and check out the other campaigns here.

BMW’s Logo Change

BMW is the latest company to introduce a brand refresh with an updated logo. The luxury car brand’s logo hasn’t hadn’t seen any major changes since it was introduced in 1917, and they had still been using a shaded 3D design that was popular in the 1990s. This time, BMW chose a flatter design, introduced a transparent background and switched to a white border and font. According to BMW’s SVP of Brand, the new logo should “radiate more openness and clarity,” but design experts point out that white text can be very hard to read without a dark background. For now, the new logo will only be used for brand communication, but we can expect it to show up on new BMW cars in the near future.

With this redesign, it seems BMW has switched out their once-modern old logo for a trendy minimalist motif. Do you think the brand went overboard trying to update their logo and follow overused trends? Check out the new logo and make your own opinion here.

Brands Renew Focus on Loyalty Programs

Earlier this year, Google announced it would begin blocking third-party cookies on its platform within the next two years to help protect users’ privacy. The news came as a shock to search advertisers everywhere, who have relied on using cookies to collect data about their audience. To offset the loss of consumer information, some brands have renewed their focus on loyalty programs, which usually require members to provide the company with personal information. Red Lobster recently introduced tiered status levels that unlock special offers, while Sephora automatically adds free samples to their members’ online shopping carts.

Despite the opportunity to boost first-party data collection, other brands may still avoid loyalty programs. Some industries simply can’t expect to have many repeat customers, such as car or appliance brands, while other brands face loyalty fatigue from customers who already have too many reward programs to keep track of. Which brand rewards programs do you think are the most effective so far? Reply below and let us know your favorites, and find out more here.