Ahead of the season two finale of Only Murders in the Building, fans of the hit Hulu comedy were able to visit the Arconia for real.

At The Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan, the fictionalized Upper West Side high-rise in which much of Only Murders takes place came to life for a Friday and Saturday in August, complete with model kitchens and living rooms, along with the faux art gallery and a replica of the classic diner that serve as other central locations in the show. Visitors could climb through secret passageways, push through hidden doors, uncover clues, and guess who murdered Bunny Folger ahead of the season’s explosive conclusion.

For fans of TV around the world, these kinds of experiences have fast become the new marketing table stakes. In-person events are a proven way to cement franchises into the cultural conversation while strengthening show fandoms.

“You’re extrapolating the content and the IP—which purely to that point has only lived on screen—and making it real,” said Alex Wilson, executive creative director of the brand experience agency Amplify, which has worked with entertainment giants including Apple TV+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

You had to be there: Experiences are especially popular among younger audiences. More than three-quarters of millennials prefer spending money on experiences and events over buying material things, according to a Harris Poll survey commissioned by the ticketing and event management company Eventbrite.

“If you can do it well enough, you can generate press and buzz and excitement and a little bit of FOMO from the thing that you did,” said Marc Simons, the co-founder of Giant Spoon, a full-service creative agency well known for the experiences it has built for HBO titles including Westworld and Game of Thrones.

But building a memorable experience is no easy task. Read more here about the opportunities and challenges of entertainment pop-ups.—KS

No amount of caked-on foundation and expensive eyeliner could hide Sephora from California’s attorney general. Last week, the company agreed to pay a $1.2 million fine for allegedly violating the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It’s the first enforcement and fine resulting from the law, and it has important implications that could be important for...the internet.

California accused Sephora of making that customer data available to third parties—which it did by sharing that data with commonly used web-analytics companies that run on its website—and failing to disclose the sale of personal info or provide an opt-out link on some browsers.

Wait, what? According to the settlement, under the CCPA, a sale is “the exchange of personal information for anything of value,” including third-party cookies and pixels, tech that companies can use to target and retarget ads to browsing customers.

California clearly considers companies using analytics and advertising services provided by Facebook or Google, for example, to be selling that data under the CCPA, Travis P. Brennan, shareholder and chair of Stradling Yocca Carlson and Rauth PC’s privacy and data security practice, said.

So, to be clear, anyone using a Facebook or Google pixel is selling customer data under this law?

The answer, according to some privacy lawyers, appears to be yes.

And that’s problematic because service providers—who may be monetizing a company’s data outside of the services they provide to that company—don’t tend to shout from the rooftops about that data dynamic, Aaron Grote, VP of digital products at Stirista, a data services and marketing firm, wrote to us.

“Many clients making decisions about these vendors don’t fully understand the consequences,” Grote said.

The settlement also dragged standard agreement terms used by major tech companies into the spotlight, Brennan added.

“There’s still an open question as to whether the AG’s office views Google’s standard data processing terms as sufficient to meet the CCPA requirements,” he said.

Read more to learn why the settlement’s impacts reach far beyond Sephora.—RB, MA

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Rachael King is the founder and CEO of Pod People, a creative audio production agency.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? I make stories for your ears—usually on behalf of a company or client who wants to get a message across in a unique and compelling way.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? People Magazine’s People in the ’90s was an absolute blast (the Fabio ep is everything). I’m also super proud of Uprooted (for discovery+, hosted by Alicia Garza). And Real Simple’s Money Confidential is fascinating—I love listening to other people’s money problems!!

What’s your favorite ad campaign? I don’t think you can beat ”Oatly Lake”—a masterclass in branded content. Bravo.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? I once competed in a nationwide competition to be MTV’s first TJ (Twitter jockey). And lost.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? Most: I think we’re starting to see more creative ads and product placement interwoven into the content and world of the podcast, which I love! Give me thoughtful, customized ads that take into account who I am as a consumer, please.

Least: With the proliferation of poorly done programmatic ads, the content is often wildly irrelevant and, omg, can we agree on volume levels please? It doesn’t have to be this way; I know we need programmatic, but let’s do it well.

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? Lauren Passell’s Podcast Marketing Magic newsletter is a must-read, especially for anyone starting out. There’s also a tight-knit crew of folks on Twitter who are constantly dropping knowledge for free—if you join the podcasting Twitter community, you’ll find ’em all!

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Freebies : Here’s a rundown on how to use a Twitter contest or giveaway to boost followers and engagement.

Off the page : This guide can help you strategize around backlink building for off-page SEO.

Doggonit : There’s one quick (and very scientific) way to make almost any ad better.

The hottest demo ever: Ready to turn up the heat on TV advertising? Watch Steve-O eat one of the world’s hottest peppers while giving a demo of MNTN Performance TV. Tune in here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Before becoming the official mascot of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes in the 1950s, Tony the Tiger competed against several other cartoon animals as part of a test to see which character consumers liked best. Which animal did Tony the Tiger not compete against as part of the test?

1. Katy the Kangaroo
2. Patty the Platypus
3. Elmo the Elephant
4. Newt the Gnu

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• How marketers will reach customers without third-party tracking
• ‘The Office’ actor and podcast host Brian Baumgartner talks podcast advertising
• iOS privacy changes mean less paid ads, more influencer marketing