Building Blocks: Insights on Lego’s In-House Creative Agency From Its New Boss

To work on the creative team inside one of the world’s most cherished companies would be a dream for many people. That’s exactly what has happened for Nicole Taylor, former chief executive of DDB’s Spanish agency Catorce (translated as 14) and former McCann Worldgroup Australia chief executive, who has joined Lego to lead its creative…

Privacy Orgs Are Media Agencies’ Next Big Investment

Since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 and privacy laws in the U.S. like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), media agencies have spent the past four years building privacy departments, requiring them to make significant financial investments. For instance, digital agency Rakuten Advertising hired data protection officers to keep…

Consumers Want Sustainable Snacks. Here’s How Brands Can Deliver

For the third year in a row, snacking is up, with a majority of both Gen Z (75%) and millennials (69%) even replacing meals with snacks, according to Mondel?z International’s State of Snacking report. If only these treats came in packaging that was as earth-friendly as a banana peel. Consumers are increasingly expecting companies to…

Bloomberg Media Nets 41% Digital Ad Bump as It Expands Overseas

Despite a downturn in consumer appetite for news content, Bloomberg Media has increased its digital advertising and subscription revenues 41% and 31% year-over-year, recently appointed chief executive Scott Havens told Adweek. The privately held company declined to share financial specifics. While the uptick comes amid a spate of rosy revenue reports, the Bloomberg Media numbers…

Still a Valuable Currency of Advertising, Location Data Is Under the Microscope

“Would you like to share your location?” The question is a pesky roadblock for people looking to buy groceries, get to work or date using their phones. But the answer is of great value for advertisers, helping them pinpoint potential customers and learn more about existing ones. Location data–metrics of where people go all day–is…

The Seattle Mariners Call in Relief as Their Marketing Struggles to Find the Strike Zone

With Major League Baseball attendance declining steadily since 2007 and television ratings also slumping, the game is increasingly looking for ways to engage with younger fans the way basketball, football and other sports do. Allowing players to be themselves and make a connection with fans, as the Seattle Mariners are attempting, may be part of…

How Festivals Like Coachella Make Stars Out of Smaller Brands

Whether you think a music festival is gathering to see and hear the biggest artists or simply as a star-studded social media event, Coachella is the embodiment of both. The annual phenomenon captures attention well beyond the California valley where it’s been held (minus two pandemic years) since 1999. So it’s a must that brands…

Once a Pandemic Superstar, Peloton Rode Straight Into a Wall. Now What?

Last December, the millions of fans who tuned in for And Just Like That, the much-anticipated sequel series to the late ’90s cult phenom Sex and the City, were in for a big surprise–literally. Leaving aside the challenge of updating Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte with a bit more wisdom and a bit less collagen, there…

This NCAA Athlete Became an NIL Darling After March Madness Cinderella Run

The NCAA Tournament is the ultimate basketball event in the college domain. This year, it also became a case study for brands on how to navigate name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with student-athletes. The 2022 championship drew an average of 10.7 million total viewers for its 67 live telecasts, up 13% year over year….

Are CMOs Confident in Their Data Strategy? It’s Complicated

As the ad industry races toward a cookieless future where first-party data will be the guiding light for marketers, several new studies have offered insights into how chief marketing officers are struggling with their data and measurement strategies. In a global study from measurement firm Nielsen published in April, 69% of 2,000 senior marketers agreed…

Inside Recent Changes at WPP’s GroupM: What the EssenceMediacom Merger Means

Christian Juhl outlined a five-year plan when he became GroupM’s CEO in 2019, and consolidation was part of it. Last week’s Essence and MediaCom merger announcement and the formation of GroupM Nexus are part of GroupM’s broader initiative to automate its systems and standardize workflow. WPP has not been a stranger to consolidation–in recent years…

Condé Nast Digital Ad Revenues Rise 38% Year Over Year

Digital media company Cond? Nast, the publisher of more than a dozen titles including The New Yorker, Vogue and Vanity Fair, saw its year-over-year digital advertising revenues rise 38% in 2021, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company attributes much of its recent success to its investment in digital video. Given the…

How Johnnie Walker Keeps Walking Toward Success

Through its “Keep Walking” message, Diageo whisky brand Johnnie Walker wanted to inspire its global audience to carry on after 18 months of the pandemic, an effort that would prove to be successful, according to the Kantar Effectiveness Awards which evaluates over 13,000 campaigns across 75 markets each year. As the only brand to feature…

Why This New Zealand DIY Retail Campaign Resonated So Strongly

For over 47 years, Mitre 10, a retailer of hardware products, builders’ supplies and DIY essentials, has been catering to New Zealanders who, after being stuck at home for a prolonged period, dreamt of making home improvements perhaps beyond their capabilities. This realization meant that it was time for the brand to implement change to…

Women’s Boxing Tags In WWE to Punch Up Interest Ahead of DAZN Bout

What do you do when you’ve been handed the biggest women’s boxing match in recent history, but don’t have the strongest track record for promoting women’s sports? Tag in someone stronger. On April 30, sports network DAZN will host the first women’s main event card in Madison Square Garden’s history. Unified lightweight champion Katie Taylor…

Inside the Grand Experiment to Expand Prime Beyond Amazon

Amazon has spent nearly 30 years encouraging shoppers to buy directly from Amazon.com. Now, however, a new program is “extending its tentacles out to other sites,” as one analyst put it, encouraging customer purchases elsewhere. The program offers two of the things Amazon likes most, but experts told Adweek brands will have to weigh the…

Commercials are Coming to Netflix. What That Means for Marketers, Tech and Creatives

Netflix begins the week valued at $59 billion dollars less than it was last Monday. Despite seeing record quarterly revenue of $7.9 billion dollars, the world’s largest streaming service said it lost 200,000 customers in the first three months of the year. While Wall Street quaked, Madison Ave. rejoiced as Netflix announced it would finally…

Earth Day at 52: A Case for Relevance—and a Rebrand

There is one small thing Denis Hayes might have done differently when he was organizing the first Earth Day in 1969: had it trademarked. At the time, the 25-year-old Hayes had just dropped out of Harvard’s Kennedy School after one semester. Instead of studying public policy, he accepted a job offer from Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord…

Oatly’s Editorial Team Aims to Break Storytelling as We Know It

Best known for its boisterous billboards and TV ads mocking dairy-loving dads, Swedish plant-based brand Oatly has never been afraid to take risks. Recent investments in a spoof true-crime podcast and a puppet-fronted YouTube series show this ethos is bleeding into its branded content too. So much so, it’s been quietly building an entire editorial…

Creators Can’t Count on Brands to Stick With Them Through Pregnancy

Stephanie Liu Hjelmeseth spent more than half a decade building her brand as a style blogger and was finally working with a slate of coveted fashion and tourism brands. She was worried that another lifelong dream, being a mother, might derail her momentum. “I was at this very great point in my career,” Liu Hjelmeseth,…