Smule Creates Its Own “evil Twin” Company, Smort. They’ve Got Zombies In Bikinis. From Space.

Here’s all the branding news we’re following this week. This week in branding news, Cheerios bulked up, Orangetheory dialed back its intense look, and the NBA took a risky shot with a recreation of its iconic “Jingle Hoops” ad. Here’s everything you need to know from the most recent branding headlines.

How AI chatbots, podcast-style prayers, and SaaS platforms have taken over American Christianity. Want to know the Bible’s stance on technology? There’s an AI chatbot for that.

What people need isn’t more ‘quick fixes’ but a fundamental shift in how work feels—where they regain control, find purpose, and stay energized.  Workplace burnout has reached epidemic levels. A recent Deloitte survey found that 77% of full-time U. S. employees have experienced burnout in their current job, with more than half saying they’ve faced it multiple times.

The Footprint Project wants to create a solar-powered microgrid ‘lending library’ to deploy during disaster recovery efforts. Seventeen days after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, tearing down power lines, destroying water mains, and disabling cellphone towers, the signs of relief were hard to miss. 

If you want to be able to display vulnerability as a leader, you need to prioritize developing confidence, says this cognitive scientist. Leaders don’t always have the answers, and the best of them know that and will often be the first to remind you of this. Consider a situation in which a leader opens up a discussion about a topic important to an upcoming meeting and invites discussion and disagreement with her proposed course of action.

We talked to hiring experts and CEOs to get their take on what could be waiting for us next year. Wouldn’t it be great to have a crystal ball that would give you a peek into the future? Winning lottery numbers aside, knowing what lies ahead could give you insights to workplace trends that could propel your career growth.