Last week, PayPal, the payments platform, announced plans to sponsor three sports teams–the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and the Spanish soccer team Real Club Deportivo Mallorca–as part of a broader plan to overhaul three stadiums with mobile payment systems. The promise, according to Phoenix Suns CEO Jason Rowley, is “to create the most efficient and…
The dominant color in an agency’s logo may seem like a trivial matter compared with the shop’s mission, goals and ideal clientele, but make no mistake: It matters. Global creative platform 99designs analyzed thousands of logos created on its site, as well as the logos of industry leaders, to break down prioritized brand traits and…
Go on a digital safari Staying current with ever-changing tech trends is now de rigueur for any modern marketing executive. One of the first things Jim Lyski did after becoming CMO of CarMax in 2014 was to go on a “digital safari” to Silicon Valley with the company’s new CIO and other senior executives. They…
Constance Wu certainly has every reason to celebrate right now. Her August romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians–Hollywood’s first major studio film in 25 years with a majority Asian-American and Asian cast–has become a smash hit, grossing more than $165 million domestically, with a sequel already in the works. But while Wu, 36, is thrilled about…
The changing role of the chief marketing officer has been the talk of the proverbial town for nearly a decade. But given the frenetic pace of change in our industry under the influence of data and technology, the role of senior marketers is only just beginning to evolve. The digital era changed the game forever,…
One of the unsung trends that I find fascinating about the digital transformation of brands is organization design. How are companies breaking with structural tradition, inertia and fear of change to make themselves viable in an environment increasingly hostile to clinging to the past–or sluggish status quo. We hear a lot about breaking down silos…
This year’s Young Influentials are very much a reflection of their time: tirelessly innovating across everything from AR and AI to data analytics, diversity in the workforce, Gen Z outreach, branded content and even activism. Many of them are also bound by a desire to give back or effect change. Case in point: Crazy Rich…
Regulators are homing in on the practices of the digital media sector’s largest names amid growing public anxiety over data privacy, a zeitgeist that has seen some of the most renown names in the industry hauled in front of elected officials in recent months. Following the (often acrimonious and still unresolved) enactment of the General…
For 25 years, CarMax has blended the virtual with the physical. Car shoppers research the models they’re interested in on the website or app, then come into the nearest dealership, take the car for a spin, sign the papers and drive away. This hybrid business model has helped CarMax become the top used car dealer…
As customer experience becomes more of a priority than ever for brands, marketers are finding that winning over, serving and satisfying customers is taking unprecedented levels of collaboration across functions, technologies, teams and partners. According to Forrester research commissioned by Accenture Interactive, 88 percent of marketing organizations agree that the central responsibilities of the CMO…
Arresting imagery with a playful sensibility runs through much of the work from Design Army. The Washington, D.C., creative firm was co-founded by wife-and-husband team Pum and Jake Lefebure, who met at another agency in the ’90s and embarked on their own shop adventure eight years later. Pum Lefebure, who serves as CCO, said their…
In the world of beer advertising, emotional attachment is everything. Marketers are often trying to sell consumers feelings–game-day excitement, nightclub cachet, good times with friends–as much as they are the beverage itself. But if the two aren’t intrinsically connected, the advertiser risks producing emotional ambiguity. That was the dilemma that startup Spark Neuro’s researchers had…
Michimasa Fujino always knew he wanted to be an engineer. “I wanted to build and design things,” he said. “When my parents were starting to build their house, I participated in the design and building of the model of the house.” He was 11. After graduating with a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from the University…
TV’s nostalgia craze is now extending beyond reboots and revivals like Magnum P.I. and Will & Grace. This Friday, one of television’s most famous programming blocks returns: ABC’s TGIF, which initially stood for Thank Goodness It’s Funny. From 1989-2000, the ABC brand entertained kids and their families on Friday nights with hit sitcoms like Full…
When was the last time you woke up saying, “I’d love to chat with my insurance company?” That probably hasn’t happened. Messaging with a business is not the same as messaging with a friend. You’re not reaching out to your cable provider to send them the latest meme or tell them about that funny thing…
Making political ads for Democrats has long been Mark Putnam’s business, and lately, business has been especially good. With 2018 shaping up to be a record year for first-time candidates on the Democratic side, Putnam and his firm, Putnam Partners, have had their hands full, producing long-form videos intended to support what Democrats hope will…
As marketers work to counter the perception that marijuana is only for potheads, there’s a similar battle being fought on the CBD front–even though the product doesn’t get users high. More formally known as cannabidiol, CBD is usually derived from hemp or marijuana and has only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive element that gets…
With its sleek open-concept stores, MedMen–one of the earliest and perhaps best-known players in the retail cannabis scene–is inadvertently creating the template for the modern-day marijuana dispensary. And what you’ve read is true: It looks and feels a lot like the Apple Store. Adweek recently toured the company’s New York medical marijuana dispensary, one of…
Year-to-year, week-to-week, even day-to-day technology can change. For CMOs and other brand executives, staying on top of emerging technologies and understanding new business paradigms is essential for growth and survival. At the inaugural Brandweek gathering, hosted by Adweek last week in Palm Springs, Calif., executives discussed these game-changing technologies–from AI and blockchain to 5G and…
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.
