Friday 17 October 2025: PR & Marketing News Round-Up: Domino’s Rebrand, Lacking Labubu’s, TikTok SMB Support, Expert Influencers
Friday 17 October 2025: PR & Marketing News Round-Up: Domino’s, Labubu’s, TikTok, Expert Influencers & Meta
Team Visible is back with this week’s Friday PR & Marketing News Round-Up, highlighting the campaigns, trends, and stories that have captured our attention from the past 7 days. From bold rebrands to emerging influencer trends and initiatives supporting small businesses, this week demonstrates how creativity, cultural awareness, and strategic thinking are shaping PR and marketing today.
Read on for more….
Domino’s Unveil New Brand Identity
Domino’s Pizza has launched a major rebrand, the first in nearly 13 years, including a new logo, updated packaging, and a fresh brand jingle created by Grammy-nominated country artist Shaboozey. The move aims to reposition Domino’s as a pizza-first company rather than just a tech-driven brand, with visual elements and a refreshing look and feel across all touchpoints.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Domino’s rebrand signals a strategic shift in marketing and PR, emphasising the power of bold visual identity, cultural awareness with a jingle from one of the most popular music stars of the past year, and renewed product focus to drive consumer connection, brand storytelling, and media impact.
The Rise & Fall of Labubu: Lessons of a Viral Toy Trend
Love them or hate them, the Labubu plush trinket craze was a defining viral trend of 2025, but it seems like it was pretty short lived. Now, their sudden drop in popularity has sparked a broader debate about the downsides of ‘trinket culture’, particularly due to the environmental and social costs of such fleeting fads.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: With fleeting trends like this, it’s interesting to see how the rise and fall of collectable toys can create significant environmental and sustainability challenges, for both retailers and consumers, especially when viral popularity leads to mass production of non-recyclable goods that quickly lose their appeal. To stay relevant in the long-term, businesses must consider effective brand building, which plays a significant role in creating lasting relevance and longevity.
TikTok Offers Support to SMBs
TikTok Shop has launched a £750,000 ‘Shop Local’ initiative designed to support British small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Fronted by conservationist Jimmy Doherty, the new scheme aims to help SMBs reach new customers and boost sales through the platform’s innovative ‘discovery commerce’ model, enabling shoppers to discover and purchase products organically via videos, live streams, and creators without leaving the app.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: The latest campaign from TikTok is a clever way of driving platform adoption, as criteria states businesses must not yet trade on TikTok. As well as this, the new campaign positions TikTok as a platform that actively supports local economies and ethical shopping at a time when SMBs face financial strain. As an advocate for British farming, working with Jimmy Doherty also gives it credibility, and adds emotional and authenticity-led appeal that resonates with audiences.
The Rise of Expert Knowledge Influencers
Influencer culture has been slowly evolving from lifestyle content to one that increasingly values intellect, ideas, and depth. Previously, influencers focused on beauty, fashion, and fitness, while modern creators are carving out niches centred on finance, politics, tech and literature—making curiosity and critical thinking aspirational.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Brands across the board need to recognise the shift and collaborate with the new wave of influencers and content creators to help generate deeper brand storytelling, as creators look to build real influence around topics or ideas instead of jumping on the latest trend.
Watch this TikTok on knowledge based influencers →
Meta Introduces PG-13-Style Content Controls for Teen Instagram Users
Meta is implementing a PG-13-like content moderation system on Instagram, aiming to enhance safety for users under 18. This update automatically places teen accounts into a 13+ setting, restricting access to content with strong language, risky behaviors, and certain adult themes. Teens can only opt out with parental consent.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: This move underscores the growing emphasis on ethical digital practices and user safety. Brands and marketers alike should be prepared to navigate stricter content guidelines and consider the implications for influencer partnerships and advertising strategies targeting younger audiences.
Final Thoughts
This week’s stories show that the brands making the biggest impact are the ones tackling cultural relevance head-on. From bold brand rebrands to notable changes in global and viral trends, and campaigns supporting small businesses, brands that can navigate trends, societal conversations, and audience expectations while staying true to their purpose will continue to capture attention and drive meaningful engagement.