There is a cyclical trend within global marketing teams, vacillating from a centralized structure to one that is decentralized. Which way a brand goes depends largely on the economy and the cost savings that can be had. Despite success by major brands in running local, decentralized teams, the pendulum is swinging toward more centralized systems….
Moments after Mastercard chief marketing and communications officer Raja Rajamannar finished his talk on experiential storytelling and stepped off the stage at SXSW 2019, a colleague from Mastercard approached him to casually pitch a new product: a credit card for people who are blind or have limited vision. One of the hot topics of conversation…
Much has happened since the White House declared Covid-19 a national emergency three years ago. Millions of people downloaded TikTok. Bars and restaurants closed, then either reopened or went out of business. Office workers went home. Many are still there. The pandemic also altered people’s sense of community. This shift in culture presents marketers with…
To get the full picture of Doug Zarkin’s marketing turnaround of Pearle Vision, it helps to imagine the CMO poring over his aging father’s inbox. “At some point, we all have to start parenting our parents,” said Zarkin, who became vice president and chief marketing officer of the eye care brand in 2012, when his…
At the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, Disney is set to make several new properties part of your world. Last year’s awards bounced back from a ratings low with an average of 16.6 million total viewers and a 3.8 rating in the key adults 18-49 demo. And the company is looking to build on those…
The brief was simple: Make an ad that’s as relatable as possible to be seen by 100 million people. That was the goal Kia America vp of marketing Russell Wager set for his agency David&Goliath for the brand’s 14th Super Bowl commercial. Oh, and the stunt-filled spot, which came in at No. 11 in the…
Remember the one where McDonald’s flipped its golden arches from an M to a W? Then KFC replaced its Colonel Sanders mascot with an image of his wife Claudia Sanders for a day. British retailer Ann Summers temporarily rebranded as WomAnn Summers. NBCUniversal-owned TV channel E! transformed into SHE! These and other past marketing stunts…
It was a memorial to remember: The food and drinks were to die for. The orchestra slayed with their covers of classic pop hits. Miss Scarlett was dressed to kill in a blood red Halston frock. And the guests were drop-dead gorgeous and eager to get on the case of who murdered Boddy Black. The…
The summer of 2020 ushered in more than a life-shifting pandemic. At the time, the murder of George Floyd was considered the mark of collective reckoning, a definitive tipping point as multiple industries honestly and, in many cases, publicly reevaluated their tacit participation in systemic racism. While protesters across the globe demanded equal and just…
The consensus among publishers and buyers is that the TV ad market has seen better days. However, no one would’ve guessed that those better days were during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. “This is weaker than it was during Covid,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said at an RBC conference last…
Influencer marketing is maturing. Creators are leaving #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt back in 2022, declaring 2023 the era of #De-influencing instead. As “eat the rich” storylines permeate culture (see: The White Lotus, The Glass Onion, The Menu and your Twitter timeline), Gen Z is mounting its own push against capitalism on TikTok. In the simplest of terms, “De-influencing”…
The advent of 5G mobile technology is revolutionizing marketing and advertising. The high speeds and low latency allow marketers to create campaigns that are not just interactive, but immersive. Brands can deliver 360-degree live video streams and sensory experiences that engage customers in remarkable ways, no matter where those users are. And they can deliver…
With just weeks to go until the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season begins, one team is looking to dance all over the competition. A founding member of the NWSL, the Chicago Red Stars have been part of the league since 2013. But the team has undergone several tumultuous years, finding themselves at the center…
Agencies and ad-tech vendors are working to clean up the media supply chain–environmentally speaking. But real progress will be slow without common agreed-upon measurements. Last week, WPP’s GroupM announced an updated version of its carbon calculator, based on the media decarbonization methodology released last July. It lets agencies estimate the carbon emissions of a client’s…
Despite a global economic slowdown in 2022, luxury brands had no reason to cork the champagne. With strategies rooted in experiences, excitement and escapism, mass-market brands could stand to glean a few lessons from their more exclusive peers in an increasingly tough market. Over the past 12 months, luxury has been buoyed by a post-lockdown…
Recently, I gave ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificially intelligent content creator, the following prompt: “Write a five-sentence paragraph about what ChatGPT means for chief marketing officers and marketing organizations.” Here’s what it generated in a matter of seconds: ChatGPT is a cutting-edge technology that holds great promise for chief marketing officers and marketing organizations. It uses advanced…
In May 1998, a tank waving a Union Jack rolled through the streets of New York toward Times Square. Once there, the armored vehicle smashed through a wall of stacked cola cans. The intended message: America’s soft drink giants, Coke and Pepsi, were under attack. Onboard was flamboyant British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who was promoting…
In late January, inside a sunny conference room at the JW Marriott in Marco Island, Fla., a working group of advertising technology executives gathered to discuss a contentious new update to a pair of terms–in-stream and out-stream advertising–whose precise definition would determine the fate of billions of dollars in digital video advertising. The overhaul, which…
For a struggling taco shop in Glenview, Ill., the difference between a disheartening lack of foot traffic and a sold-out menu was a 10-second TikTok post. A decor company based in Grand Rapids, Mich., was saved when the owner’s daughter brandished his collection of horror-themed Christmas ornaments on the platform. And Keith Lee, a former…
Super Bowl ads have long been the biggest spots of the year for brands, the ones that set the tone for their annual performance and beyond. Brands like Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Frito-Lay have made the Big Game their big showcases, with mostly winning results. Memorable spots have ranged from Mean Joe Greene tossing his jersey…
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