Funding Signals – Activity Through January 27, 2026
Highlights OpenEvidence raised $250M (Series D) led by Thrive Capital OpenEvidence is an AI-powered medical search tool used by doctors. The company says this round will fund heavy investment in R&D and the compute behind its multi-agent AI architecture. With more clinicians relying on AI at the point of care, this kind of buildout is about speed, accuracy, and trust in the answers. Agency lens: As OpenEvidence scales publisher partnerships and its ad-sup… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Cowlitz Economic Authority Seeks Brand Identity & Multi-Channel Marketing Partner With Tribal Focus
At a Glance Buyer: Cowlitz Economic Authority (CEA) Industry: Tribal economic development Location/markets: Ridgefield, WA; regional economic development Primary scope: Brand identity + multi-channel marketing strategy for CEA; extend system to Cowlitz Tobacco Outlet Key deliverables/channels: Logo suite, tagline, visual standards, brand style guide + booklet; marketing plan (digital/print/social); content; templates (incl. Canva) Budget: Not specified Contract type/te… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Des Moines Public Schools Marketing & Communications Evaluation Services: From Audit to Actionable 3–5 Year Plan
At a Glance Buyer: Des Moines Independent Community School District (Des Moines Public Schools) Industry: Education / Public Sector (PreK–12) Location/markets: Des Moines, Iowa Primary scope: Communications + marketing audit, strategic recommendations and roadmap, website and social modernization, and implementation support Key deliverables/channels: Comms/marketing audit (incl. staffing + benchmarking); multilingual communications strategy; 3–5 year plan (budget + timeline)… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Seminole County PR And Marketing Services: Task-Order Pool for High-Visibility Gov Comms
At a Glance Buyer: Seminole County (Office of Communications) Industry: Government/Public Sector Location/markets: Seminole County, Florida (Sanford, FL) Primary scope: Public relations, advertising, marketing, and multimedia services on a task-authorization basis Key deliverables/channels: Comms strategy; key messaging/talking points/FAQs; social media management + content; photo/video/reels/graphics; community outreach + events; media relations; design (digital/print); rep… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
University of Illinois Chicago College of Business: SEO, PPC, Creative + Enrollment Services
At a Glance Buyer: University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Business Industry: Higher Education Location/markets: Chicago, Illinois; Domestic market (online and on-campus programs) Primary scope: Graduate student marketing, recruitment, and retention solution Key deliverables/channels: Market research + competitive analysis; positioning; creative; paid media buying; SEO/PPC; prospect nurturing; enrollment + retention services; reporting/ROI dashboard Budget: Not speci… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
How Chili’s Relevance Playbook is Anchored in Value and Culture
At a Glance Interviewee: George Felix, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer Company: Chili’s Grill & Bar (Brinker International) Location: Dallas, TX Website: https://www.chilis.com Industry: Casual dining restaurant brand Company Notes: 1,576 restaurants globally, with strong recent same-store sales momentum Best-Fit Agencies: CRM and lifecycle, social and creator, media and measurement, brand and integrated, PR and partnerships, customer experience Source: Brand New World… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Where Agencies Fit as ModMed Rebuilds for Enterprise Scale
An analysis of the executive conversation and our research, surfacing the priorities and opportunity lanes agencies can leverage to win new business. At A Glance Interviewee: Justin Steinman, Chief Marketing Officer Company: ModMed Estimated Revenue: Location: Florida headquarters Website: https://www.modmed.com/ Industry: Healthcare SaaS; specialty EHR, practice management Company Notes: PE-backed, fast-growing platform serving 40,000+ specialty providers across 15+ … Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
CMO Moves – Week of January 26, 2026
Asad Ayaz named Chief Marketing and Brand Officer at Disney This is a newly created role and the first time Disney has put a single top marketing leader across the entire company. The remit is built around a more connected approach to how Disney reaches audiences, elevates campaigns, and supports business goals across segments. Agency lens: A unified, cross-segment marketing organization signals more integrated brand + campaign work across creative, media, and experiential…. Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
M&A Signals – Deals Announced Through January 21, 2026
Highlights SPINS acquired MikMak SPINS is a retail and CPG data company known for in-store purchase and shelf data. MikMak is a click-to-buy ad tech and analytics platform that drives ecommerce conversions. In the announcement, SPINS says it wanted to expand into MikMak’s space as an extension of its data offering. MikMak’s CEO cites SPINS’ proprietary data asset as a key reason for combining. Agency lens: The story is end-to-end commerce media, from data to convers… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
Funding Signals – Activity Through January 20, 2026
Highlights Skild AI raised $1.4B (Series C) led by SoftBank Group Skild AI is building a foundation model for robotics. The company said its model is designed to work across different robot types, with training in simulation and real-world data. It also said enterprise tasks come first, with an eventual goal of robotics in consumer homes, and that the new capital will support model training and deployment. Agency lens: As deployments broaden, proof-point stor… Get Unlimited NextBigWin Access Subscribe to become a NextBigWin Pro member and get access to all our exclusive content. Turn access and intelligence into your next big client win. Already a member? Login Subscribe to NextBigWin Pro
