Walmart’s New Ad Champions the Spark of People in Local Communities

When Adweek spoke to Walmart’s executive vice president and chief customer officer earlier this year, Janey Whiteside said she wanted to forge emotional connections with customers and focus on more purpose-driven elements. The retail giant’s new spot is certainly in that vein. Created with advertising agency FCB Chicago, the 60-second spot is rife with Americana,…

You Can Thank Prohibition for Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider

When Prohibition became the law of the land in 1919, the near-immediate effect (apart from taking everyone’s favorite libations away) was economic disaster. Across the country, countless companies went out of business: breweries, restaurants and taverns closed their doors. Truckers who hauled beer lost their routes. Even barrel makers laid down their mallets. Economists estimated…

Viacom Launches Its First Branded DTC Online Shops

For anyone considering SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise and MTV sweatshirts as a holiday gift idea, Viacom is now giving consumers an option to buy exclusive products directly from the company. Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products (VNCP), which oversees retail and merchandising for Viacom, has launched its first branded online shops as part of the entertainment company’s new…

How StockX Is Taking Over the World of Secondary Merchandise

As brick-and-mortar retail continues to struggle, the secondary merchandise marketplace is booming. After just three years in business, StockX, a digital marketplace for limited edition sneakers, watches, handbags and streetwear, is already making its mark. As newly installed CMO Deena Bahri revealed at Brandweek earlier this month, StockX is now a billion-dollar company. Owned by…

Infographic: 22% of Americans Will Be Heavy Buyers of DTC Brands

More shoppers will buy from direct-to-consumer brands. Purchases are expected to grow in the next few years as Americans cut down on traditional retail in favor of DTC companies–especially in health, wellness and beauty (35%). Diffusion’s annual Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index revealed consumers are still committed to buying from DTC brands, but maintaining their attention…

You’re Not “Woke” Until You Start To Pay Women Fairly

Can we, the people, shop our way to social change? Definitely not. Can we favor manufacturers and retailers that explicitly appeal to our values? Naturally. This December 4th, ChooseWOMEN, an international platform piloted by Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, is asking for a focus on the female. “Choose Women Wednesday” invites everyone to shop at women-owned […]

Local TV Ad Spend Might Be the Best Way to Reach Holiday Shoppers

The holiday season is almost here, and consumer spending is expected to be as big as ever. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasted holiday retail sales in 2019 to increase between 3.8% and 4.2% from 2018, and a report from PwC cited that 86% of consumers are primed to spend as much for this holiday…

Why DTC Brands’ Reliance on Social Ads Is Unsustainable

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands have spent huge amounts on social media ads this year to acquire customers and will assuredly continue this holiday season. Because ads on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google and Snapchat are only getting more expensive, that customer growth strategy is–as Mary Meeker stated in her annual report–unsustainable. Heading into the pivotal last two…

New Snapchat Data Shows That Gen Z Plans to Shop Big This Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Make no mistake: Holiday shopping is about to begin–or already has in the eyes of some legacy retailers. This year, the holiday shopping season is about six days shorter than previous ones but still predicted to outspend previous years, with Adobe Analytics predicting online spend to grow to $143.7 billion and Cyber Monday as the…

Warby Parker Rolls Out Scout, Its First Contact Lens Brand

After setting trends in both eyeglasses and direct-to-consumer business models over the past decade, Warby Parker is getting into contact lenses. Starting today, customers can shop Scout by Warby Parker and buy either a six-day trial pack for $5 with a prescription or a 90-day pack for $110. Additionally, Warby Parker is selling other contact…

Piercing Shop Studs Targets Gen Z With a Vivacious and Welcoming Environment

Unlike the mall kiosks of yesterday’s world, Studs, a new digitally native brand built around piercing and jewelry, opens its doors to a generation of consumers that want piercings in a more bubbly and welcoming space. With a gleaming neon sign, an Instgramable wall and private piercing rooms, Studs is entering a market long dominated…

No One Wants To Be Shot While Shopping for Slacks (Nor At Any Other Time)

Another Monday in America. Another lethal discharge of weapons at a Walmart store, this time in Duncan, Oklahoma. Oklahoma, it must be noted, is an open-carry state. Oklahoma state law explicitly authorizes open carry of both loaded and unloaded shotguns, rifles, and handguns without a license. It’s Okay To Be Afraid I am wondering, are […]

DTC Brand Hill House Home Rolls Out New Product Category

Hill House Home, a DTC housewares brand, is celebrating its latest product category expansion with a new campaign. Today, the brand is debuting Hill House Baby, a line of 12 kits filled with various assortments of products suited to a baby’s first year–not to mention, the first year of parenthood. The kits range from $50…

China’s “Singles Day” Blows “Black Friday” Away By the Ba Ba Billions

Singles Day is not a dating app that you have yet to try, although it was originally created by a group of Chinese university students as an anti-Valentine’s Day. Today, it’s an annual online shopping event that mints money for online superstore Alibaba and its largest competitors. Donald Trump has repeatedly said his tariffs on […]

3 Learnings as Holiday Retail Forecast Looks More Upbeat

As summer ended, much of the early forecasting for the holiday season was filled with dread: the trade war with China had the potential to inflate prices on electronics like popular gaming consoles, labor strikes could create income uncertainty, and recession fears had everyone feeling nervous about what the holidays would look like this year….

Focusing on Hospitality Made the Taco Bell Hotel So Successful

Pool floats resembling hot sauce packets, manicures with the word “Fire!” on nails, and even a Mountain-Dew inspired Baja Blast drink–these were just a few of visitors’ favorite things at the Taco Bell Hotel. The brand activation, produced in partnership with Edelman and United Entertainment Group, garnered 4.4 billion impressions from the event, with more…

TikTok Confirms It’s Testing Social, Shoppable Videos

TikTok has featured shoppable ads for some time and now, it looks like the teen-favorite platform is bringing the option to shop in-app. Unlike the paid-for video ads from major brands, this offering could theoretically allow any TikToker to turn the platform into a one-stop shop for his or her own online store. A TikTok…

Unlike Its Competitors, Clorox Is Building Its Own Direct-to-Consumer Business In-House

For a 106-year-old brand, The Clorox Company is taking an unconventional approach to the direct-to-consumer model. Instead of embarking on an acquisition spree, like Unilever did when it acquired Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion, or building a team entirely in-house, Clorox poached former Boxed marketing chief Jackson Jeyanayagam in January to write the playbook…

Alibaba Hits $38.4 Billion on Singles Day 2019

It was another record-breaking day for retail as Chinese ecommerce platform Alibaba rang up 268.4 billion yuan ($38.4 billion) during Singles Day 2019. This was the 11th so-called 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, and consumers once again demonstrated that the 24-hour sale, which started out as a means to sell coats in 2009, is an ecommerce…

Consumers Worldwide Are Eating More Snacks Than Meals

Everyone loves a good snack now and then, but a new survey by Mondel?z International proves that snacking is a lot more important to our culture than we might think. The 2019 State of Snacking report analyzing global consumer snacking trends and found that 6 in 10 adults “can’t imagine their life without snacks.” That…