Austin’s 25 Brand Stars Share a Texas-Sized Spirit of Community and Innovation

Austin, Texas, is perceived as one of the hippest markets in the United States: BBQ, the music scene and, of course, South by Southwest. When peeling back the layers of the city, one will find a rich tapestry of technology, retail, media and cultural commitment that continues to emerge, further solidifying Austin as a unique…

Amobee and UM Are Teaming Up to Fill Ad Space With Coronavirus PSAs

Amobee and Universal McCann are spurring an initiative to buy digital ad space to fill units with public service announcements around coronavirus. The companies have come together to serve public service announcements as publishers are being hit by rampant keyword blocking around the virus and other terms associated with it. “The group of us are…

Entertainment Brands Chart Their Next Steps After Canceled SXSW

Alex Amancio began to fear something would go wrong two weeks before South by Southwest was supposed to begin. Amancio, the CEO and co-founder of the multimedia studio Reflector Entertainment, had for a year been planning a big debut at the media, music and film festival in Austin, Texas. The plan was to unveil Reflector’s…

Reddit Sees Traffic Surge During Coronavirus Outbreak

In the past week, as the coronavirus pandemic has enveloped the globe–with governments shutting down nearly every facet of society to control the outbreak–Reddit says it has seen a “surge” in traffic. While Reddit would not provide exact numbers, the company has seen a significant increase in direct traffic to the site–not including search engine…

Silicon Valley Firms Working Together on Coronavirus Response

On Monday evening, some of the largest technology firms in Silicon Valley issued a joint statement indicating they are working together on a response effort to the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube put their names to this statement: “We are working closely together on COVID-19 response efforts. We’re helping millions of…

30 Marketing Execs Making Their Brands of the Moment and Keeping Them Ahead of the Curve

Meet the winners of this year’s CMO Vanguard Awards. By spearheading efforts that are culture focused, customer first and data driven, these marketing execs are finding new ways to make their brands both of the moment and ahead of the curve.

America’s Largest Cruise Lines to ‘Pause’ Operations In Response to Coronavirus

America’s largest cruise lines will be halting operations “voluntarily” for the next 30 days in response to the coronavirus. That includes Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise line, all members of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which announced the suspension today. The decision to pause operations comes after the U.S. Department…

Q&A: McCann Worldgroup CEO Harris Diamond on Navigating a Global Organization in a Time of Crisis

Last year, leading into 2020, McCann Worldgroup had all kinds of momentum. Most notably, the network was named Adweek’s 2019 Global Agency of the Year off the back of a stellar showing at creative awards like Cannes Lions and recovering well after the high-profile loss of the U.S. Army business after a 15-year run. Like…

With European Tourism Coming to a Halt, How Will Businesses Proceed?

As the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread across the country, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the implementation of a travel ban, preventing European nationals from visiting the United States. Airlines, hotels, and cruise carriers have already been suffering from the outbreak of the virus around the world, but the ban of European travelers…

As Clients Take Longer to Pay Bills, Small Agencies Are Feeling the Pressure

Despite expecting more from their agency partners for less, marketers are taking more time to fork over cash for their services, a practice that’s disproportionately affecting smaller agencies with fewer resources. Payment terms, long a point of contention between brands and agencies, have increased in the past year, according to a recent report by the…

Modell’s Sporting Goods Files for Bankruptcy, Will Liquidate Stores

Modell’s Sporting Goods filed for Chapter 11 late Wednesday in New Jersey, and plans to liquidate its remaining stores amid a challenging retail environment. Founded in 1889, the company claims to be the oldest family-owned and operated retailer of sporting goods in the U.S. “Over the past year, we evaluated several options to restructure our…

Q&A: How AI Is Expected to Have a $19 Trillion Economic Impact by 2035

Artificial intelligence is expected to create more value for global businesses than the current worth of the entire United States economy over the next 15 years. That figure–$19.2 trillion–comes from an economic model commissioned for a new book called The AI Age by Adam Riccoboni, managing director at UK-based tech consultancy Critical Future. The book…

Companies Might Send Millions of Employees to Work From Home. Is That Such a Bad Thing?

With the number of coronavirus cases multiplying by the day, the media is overflowing with coverage of the epidemic, especially the toll it’s now taking on the economy. The virus has already had a demonstrable impact on business, from supply-chain interruptions in China to forecasted red ink for industries such as airlines and cruise operators….

Shiny Aluminum Luggage Is Popular Now, but Zero Halliburton Pioneered It

On a recent winter afternoon, Tom Nelson looks over the display of luggage at Zero Halliburton’s flagship store in Manhattan. There’s nothing flashy about the place or its cases, which rest atop spindly black-metal stands below the trained gaze of spotlights. But the one thing that truly stands out is the silvery sheen of aluminum…

Holding Company Stocks Drop 7.5% as Outbreak and Volatility Rattle the Market

The coronavirus crisis and an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is accelerating an economic slide that is spooking investors in just about every industry. On Monday, trading was halted on the New York Stock Exchange for 15 minutes so investors could, according to NYSE president Stacey Cunningham, “have time to absorb information,…

Lydia Polgreen Steps Down as Editor in Chief of HuffPost

Huffpost editor in chief Lydia Polgreen announced today that she will step down from her role later this month to become Gimlet Media’s head of content. Polgreen, a longtime New York Times reporter and editor before heading to HuffPost in 2017, will lead the podcasting company’s content strategy after it was snatched up by Spotify…

Customer Personalization Is at the Heart of Ulta Beauty’s Mission

Ulta Beauty’s chief marketing officer lives by a mantra that goes, “What got you here won’t get you there.” Shelley Haus, who was promoted to CMO at the retailer in December, shared those words of wisdom onstage at Adweek’s Challenger Brands Summit in New York on Wednesday as she discussed how the 30-year-old company is…

5 Things We Learned About DJ Khaled From His Talk at Challenger Brands

DJ Khaled is the definition of a multi-hyphenate. A musician, a mogul and a master of brand partnerships, this year alone, he’s starred in his first Super Bowl spot and picked up his first Grammy Award. And on Thursday, he video conferenced into Adweek’s Challenger Brands Summit in New York from his home in Miami,…

Gap Inc. Promotes Sonia Syngal to CEO and Appoints New Board Members

Sonia Syngal, the top executive at Old Navy since 2016, has been promoted to CEO of the brand’s parent company, Gap Inc. The family of brands also appointed two new members to its board of directors and a new executive chairman. This follows a series of leadership shakeups at the retail conglomerate and its brands,…

ThirdLove to Open Stores in Select Markets and Add Creative Agencies

For ThirdLove, now may be the best time to grow in light of difficulties at rival Victoria’s Secret. With that in mind, the intimates brand is pursuing every strategy, from opening stores in select markets to bringing on board creative agencies, to bolster its marketing and branding efforts. Just last year ThirdLove celebrated multiple million-dollar…