How Tech Brands Have Activated the Las Vegas Sphere
Posted in: UncategorizedSin City might be where large-scale advertising is catching a glimpse of its future, creating spectacle and generating awe to capture attention. Since September, Sphere has attracted advertising from Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony, the NBA, Aston Martin and Heineken with activations using the building’s programmable LED exterior that’s become a whole new attraction for local and…
How Young Fans Are Changing the Sports Marketing Game
Posted in: UncategorizedThe sports industry is going through transformational changes to meet the needs and expectations of 21st century fans. From leagues and athletes getting closer to culture through music, fashion and gaming tie-ups, to new partnerships designed to drive audience connection, it’s all about engaging with fans beyond the field. However, live sports is facing a…
How Effective Are Recurring Holiday Ads?
Posted in: UncategorizedEveryone has their winter holiday tentpole moments. For some, it’s seeing the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting, or watching A Christmas Story or the return of a memorable TV commercial. The lifespan of a TV spot is relatively short, around six to eight weeks, during its first run. But some campaigns are so effective at capturing…
How Should an Agency Incentivize Its New Business Leaders? This Study Reveals What to Prioritize
Posted in: UncategorizedVarious reports over the past year have made it clear that new business at agencies is changing. R3 found agencies are pitching more for smaller projects and scopes. RSW/US uncovered a backslide in the ease of small and midsize agencies winning business. Agencies overall are navigating clients’ smaller budgets, forcing many to fill up their…
The Serious Brand Strategy Behind Silly Halloween Costumes
Posted in: UncategorizedThe idea started with Duke the dog. The golden retriever is the pet of Jay Bush, brand ambassador for Bush’s Best, the well-known brand of baked beans. Duke is also the star of the brand’s TV spots, which usually feature the canine “talking” to his human about the Bush family’s secret recipe, which includes bacon…
Why Companies Should Split Their Purpose in Two
Posted in: UncategorizedIt’s been a season of disquiet for Target and Bud Light. The retailer and beer brand have seen sales decline in recent months due to boycotts over their respective LGBTQ+ merchandise and marketing efforts. Each company’s reaction to the backlash–Target stopped selling certain products; Bud Light didn’t voice support for its transgender brand partner Dylan…
Marc Pritchard on Why Strategy Needs Creativity
Posted in: UncategorizedFor those paying attention at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Marc Pritchard was telegraphing the future of creativity in advertising and marketing. “Growing markets is the highest order ambition because it attracts more people into the market to serve them with more of the best-performing products,” said Pritchard, offering his periscope’s view…
‘It’s a Moral Issue’: Creatives Are Quitting Agencies Over Fossil Fuel Clients
Posted in: UncategorizedWhen wildfire smoke turned New York skies orange this summer, Lane Cooper* holed up in their Brooklyn apartment with multiple air filters on high blast, working remotely for PR firm Edelman. Their asthma means air quality indexes above 200 are extremely dangerous. Then, a resource manager asked them to work on the Shell account. They…
Luxury Brands Are Moving From Haute Couture to ‘Haute-spitality’
Posted in: UncategorizedFor London Fashion Week in September, Burberry gathered the glitterati to peruse its Autumn/Winter 2023 collection in an unlikely setting: an old-fashioned greasy spoon with checkered curtains on the windows and over-easy eggs on the plates. The tie-up with Norman’s Caf?, situated in the U.K. capital’s Archway area, was a testament to the vision of…
Small and Midsize Agencies Find Landing New Business Increasingly Difficult
Posted in: UncategorizedNew business is drying up for agencies ill-equipped to find clients in a squeezed market. This is according to RSW/USA, the 18-year-old business development firm that works with ad agencies, marketing services firms and PR firms. Since 2010, the firm has surveyed agencies to diagnose new business trends. This year, it fielded the survey over…
Hyatt’s Crystal Vinisse Thomas Is Changing the Cultural Event Space One Stay at a Time
Posted in: UncategorizedAs post-pandemic excursions continue, travelers are looking beyond beaches and mountains and adding cultural experiences to their itineraries. According to Viator’s 2023 Travel Trends, there was a 228% increase in cultural tourism compared to 2021. And that doesn’t always mean flying off to Paris, Rome or London. Travelers are increasingly getting their share of next-level…
Hispanic and Latinx Communities Still Feel Typecast In Advertising
Posted in: UncategorizedGrace Heskey, a student at Miami Ad School who is based in the Dominican Republic, said advertising in her country is defined by surface-level product pushes–made by the same brands that persistently win over jurors for their cinematic storytelling in other markets. In her country, she observed, marketing is often generic, and contributing to the…
The Big Idea in Advertising Isn’t Dead. It’s Just Better Informed
Posted in: UncategorizedLemon. The Uncola. The Man in the Hathaway Shirt. You Deserve a Break Today. Just Do It. Got Milk? Those are just some of the big ideas that have inspired consumers over the last 80 years. Without them, modern advertisers wouldn’t have a compass for their own journeys. In a 1972 article called How to…
Americans Don’t Like Advertisers Using AI on Them—Unless They Get a Good Deal Out of It
Posted in: UncategorizedAs the role of artificial intelligence grows, it’s probably no surprise that Americans’ wariness about the technology is growing just as quickly–if not faster. Consider the results of a handful of studies and surveys released this summer alone. CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey reported that 69% of Americans suffer from “AI anxiety.” Two workers out of…
Tinder and Rival Apps Court Gen Z in the Age of Online Dating Fatigue
Posted in: UncategorizedAs a new academic year gets underway on college campuses nationwide, Tinder and rapper Saweetie are playing Cupid. The dating app has enlisted the Gen Z artist, who references Tinder in her track “Tap In,” to get students swiping during a prime flirting moment: freshman orientation. Tinder sees the highest influx of 18-year-old members during…
Generative AI Is More Than a Marketing Gimmick for Coca-Cola
Posted in: UncategorizedThe introduction of Coca-Cola’s “Real Magic” marketing platform two years ago has helped the brand celebrate the unexpected moments that elevate everyday life. And like so many other brands, the beverage giant has more recently turned to generative AI to bolster “Real Magic” through innovative design and unique experiences, all while harnessing the holy grail…
Here’s What Buyers Really Thought About the 2023 Upfront
Posted in: UncategorizedAfter years of CPMs rising while linear ratings declined, TV advertising was due for a course correction. That’s what happened during the 2023-2024 upfront season. This year’s upfront was already expected to be a buyer’s market, with advertisers holding back dollars due to an uncertain economy and the ongoing erosion of linear TV. However, the…
Inside Unilever’s Reorganization: Media Mix Modeling and Cross-Disciplinary Marketing Hubs
Posted in: UncategorizedKeeping up with shifting shopping habits pushed many legacy advertisers into making big changes fast. Unilever, the 90-year-old advertising behemoth that manages more than 400 brands, changed its organizational structure in 2022 to better mesh brand and performance marketing and come up with a full-funnel approach. Most consumers are at least familiar with its haircare…
Marketers Reveal Their Changing Attitudes to Purpose and Entertaining Ads
Posted in: UncategorizedIn a world now dominated by social media and streaming platforms, advertisers must aim to entertain more than ever to engage with audiences or else they will be ignored, say the majority of marketers in a new industry study. And yet over half say that the creative being produced is not entertaining enough to capture…