When she arrived at Hallmark Media (then called Crown Family Media Networks) in July 2020, it would have been easy for Wonya Lucas to simply maintain the status quo when it came to Hallmark Channel and the other networks under her purview. But that’s never been her style. Instead, Lucas–Adweek’s TV Executive of the Year–tapped…
It’s only October, and The Trade Desk has seemingly made news this year on every pressing topic in ad tech. As buyers were puzzling over how to make their supply paths more efficient, demand-side platform The Trade Desk cut out multiple middlemen, announcing in February it was removing Google’s Open Bidding as a source of…
“There are days when you wake up and New York City gives you the best kiss of your life, and other days you wake up and New York kicks you in the face.” This brutal (yet accurate) assessment comes from an anonymous New Yorker in The Living Portrait of NYC, a different kind of tribute…
When Bo Burnham released a song encapsulating the absurdity of middle-class existence while attempting to process all the concurrent crises of 2020, it’s unlikely he intended to create the soundtrack to climate doomism. “That Funny Feeling,” a song from the comedian’s hourlong special Inside, proved especially relatable, eventually becoming a popular TikTok sound used in…
Gun advertising once evoked groups of hunters and father-son trips into the great outdoors. But over the last 40 years, the weekend sportsmen demographic shrunk as a marketing target for brands such as riflemaker Winchester. Now gunmakers have moved away from the wholesome images of unwrapping a rifle from under the Christmas tree. That advertising…
Two years ago, model and businesswoman Beverly Johnson wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post looking back on some history she had made 46 years earlier. In August 1974, Johnson became the first Black woman to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine. But Johnson was not in a nostalgic mood. The fashion and…
This year, Roberto Max Salas transported 30,000 guests to Coachella. Salas, co-founder and CEO of creative agency Young Hero, knows the average person can’t afford a ticket, so instead he brought the music and art festival experience to the metaverse. The activation, which was created in partnership with media shop UEG, promoted client Absolut Vodka…
In June, at a packed theater in the Palais des Festivals et des Congr?s–the epicenter of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity–producer, writer, actress and entrepreneur Issa Rae sat across from Ogilvy global chief creative officer Liz Taylor. Poised and endearing, the Insecure creator was there to chat about bias in advertising and media….
Advertising has always been a high-pressure industry, notorious for long hours, tight deadlines and huge client expectations. The tumult of the last few years hasn’t made things any easier. Overworked employees may be grinding harder than ever, wrestling with fears of budget cutbacks and job security. If there’s one positive from all this upheaval, it’s…
The global beauty industry is worth $511 billion. Yet even with the threat of climate change looming over everyone, sustainability issues still account for less than 6% of online mentions by beauty brands. On a hopeful note, that figure is actually a 47% increase over sustainability-related mentions compared to 2021. These are just some of…
Some people know their calling from a very early age. In fact, as illustrator Cheryl Thuesday puts it, she “really can’t remember when I wasn’t passionate about art.” Growing up in New Jersey, Thuesday said her family supported her passion with art supplies and museum visits. She went on to hone her skills and found…
Even in a nation that had grown accustomed to “challenging times,” few months in recent memory were as dire as November 2020. Some 4 million Americans contracted Covid-19 that month, more than most countries had reported for the entire year. Refusing to concede the November election, former President Donald Trump was instead filing lawsuits to…
The last two years have seen political and social upheaval unlike any other, not to mention soaring inflation that has crowded out personal values in favor of price value. But consumers have spoken out about what they want, both online and in their shopping habits. They expect brands they choose to be both attuned to…
When Alexis McGill Johnson became acting president and CEO at Planned Parenthood in 2019, after serving as a board member for more than 11 years (including a 2013-2015 stint as board chair), there were some pressing items on her to-do list. One of them became increasingly critical after she permanently assumed the role in 2020,…
Mixed in with our friends on social media feeds are influencers sharing bits of their lives for our entertainment: furniture rehabbers, makeup artists, cleaning wizards and more. We like watching their lives and work–but how do we feel about them recommending products and services? Turns out they have more than a little clout. In a…
In Moneyball, Brad Pitt’s baseball general manager Billy Beane uses a new way of assembling a winning team, telling his staff, “Adapt or die.” As marketers, we subscribe to that ethos, but evolving is now more challenging than ever. A Gen Z tsunami is coming, and most brands aren’t ready. Currently ages 10 to 25,…
In the first week of February 2019, R&B singer-songwriter H.E.R. was rushing to get ready for her set at the 61st annual Grammy Awards. Her purple rhinestone jumpsuit was all picked out, but Gabriella Wilson (H.E.R.’s given name) wanted to kick things up a notch. “Me and my stylist decided that the guitar had to…
When customers call one of the many hotels and restaurants that now use voice tech startup PolyAI’s services, there’s a chance a digital host will answer. Far from the robotic monotone one might expect from an automated line, the voice will sound chatty and conversational. It will hesitate and inflect in all the right places…
While diversity, equity and inclusion has become a major topic of discussion among advertisers in the last two years, communities with disabilities, especially those with hearing impediments, are often left out of the conversation. Making audio content consumable for those who are deaf or hard of hearing is still “not very good,” according to TEDx…
Before he became chief marketing officer of radio and podcast network Audacy, Paul Suchman was torn between two worlds: a major in integrated marketing at the University of Southern California and a minor in ocean sciences driven by a fascination with sharks. Deep down, his plan was to graduate, attend the Scripps Institution of Oceanography…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
