‘Rolling Back the Years’: That Lot’s Back-to-Basics Approach to Social

As many of us look ahead–to the end of the year or the next campaign on our editorial calendar–social creative agency That Lot found more success this year by looking back. At Adweek’s Social Media Week: London, That Lot co-founders and co-executive creative directors David Levin and David Schneider described their social strategy as “rolling…

China Leads on Social Commerce. Can Western Brands Catch Up?

China leads the world in social commerce as Western nations race to keep up, adapt and find new growth from social platforms. Creative consultancy Deft’s founder Ian Crocombe joined Adweek’s Social Media Week: London to discuss his company’s latest Social Commerce Report and what brands can learn from China’s success. Social commerce in China is…

Taboo Categories, Like Pooping, Inspire Tushy Founder to Innovate

You’ve heard of experiential marketing … but what if you add the theme of mystery? A play on the human instinct to solve problems is just what makes bidet and toiletries company Tushy a creative disruptor, not only in their unique category but the entire industry. Pull up your Marketing 101 books, and flush them…

Despite Ad Ban, BrewDog Relaunches Golden Can Campaign to Drive Online Sales

Controversial microbrewery brand BrewDog has relaunched its golden can campaign despite seeing messaging for it banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over claims they were misleading. The campaign began in November 2020 with a tweet from the company announcing that it had hidden 10 “solid gold” cans of its Punk IPA within 12-packs for…

How Oats Overnight Puts Subscribers ‘in the Driver’s Seat’

The world arguably didn’t need another oatmeal brand. But Brian Tate saw a need for one that would reflect health-conscious oatmeal eaters’ on-the-go lifestyle. So Tate created Oats Overnight, a direct-to-consumer brand that allows users to take their healthy breakfast anywhere by providing a custom container for shaking, refrigerating and drinking oatmeal. When the pandemic…

Sales Associates Are Evolving to Become the New Rising Stars of Retail

As recently as the 1990s, one of the areas where retailers excelled was high-touch customer service. Then came the aughts. “I think we went through this period in the early 2000s where companies were pulling sales associates out of the store because they were trying to save money and reduce costs. And then ecommerce came,”…

Instagram Kicks Off 10+ Days of Live Shopping

Livestreaming platform Instagram Live is accelerating its promotion of live shopping as a vehicle to reach consumers with a three-week event in September curiously named 10+ Days of Live Shopping. Featuring brands in fashion (Outdoor Voices), beauty (Aveda), sports (Hologear) and lifestyle (Peloton), the event will include goods from the likes of Selena Gomez’s Rare…

Understanding Why TikTok Appeals to Young People Is Key to Brands Reaching Them

It’s no secret that young people gravitate to the newest things, the latest trends and the hottest styles as they grow and establish their individual identities. For many teens and college-age students right now, social media newcomer TikTok stands out as the preferred conduit for watching, creating and sharing short videos. A lot of times…

TikTok’s New Creator Marketplace API Is Its Latest Appeal to Advertisers

In April, influencer marketing agency Whalar announced it was hiring for 85 new positions. If co-founder Neil Waller could attribute this lightning growth to one industry force, it would be TikTok. “It’s been a crazy year to say the least, but that’s a sign of the category,” he said. “TikTok is engaging with the creator…

TikTok Users Can Now Shop Inside the App

When it comes to marketing on TikTok, the most successful brands know how to build community before pushing purchases. But when every cooking video, makeup tutorial and viral trend adaption is a potential sale, the social platform has turned to Shopify to make it easier for brands and creators to move down the marketing funnel….

Is Social Media the New Storefront?

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the landscape of ecommerce last year. It forced brands to engage with consumers in new ways with many spending more time online. According to a recent report from Adobe, this changed behavior accelerated the growth of ecommerce by four to six years, and it’s expected to continue as the world returns…

TikTok Just Launched Spark Ads. What Does It Mean for Marketers?

When it comes to Facebook and Instagram, advertisers have two options: either upload a sponsored post or amplify organic content with ad dollars after it has gone live. TikTok, on the other hand, previously only allowed brands to sponsor posts before hitting the publish button, and is still expanding to play in the big leagues….

For Zappos, the Future of Ecommerce Revolves Around Curated Content

The advent of shoppable livestreaming has taken the retail world by storm. Ecommerce native Zappos is the latest retailer to join the mounting trend of authentically introducing new products to their followers via curated content. Ryan Olivieri, director of marketing at Zappos, joined Adweek’s Elevate: The Future of Shopping to talk about the retail giant’s…

British Competitions Watchdog Probes Amazon and Google Over Fake Review Prevention Practices

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a formal investigation into fake reviews carried by Amazon and Google to determine if laws have been broken by “insufficient” action being taken to protect online consumers. The manipulation of reviews can have the ability to impact businesses’ star ratings and raise their prominence in terms of display…

Pinterest Outlines What UK Users Want From Brands on the Platform

In an effort to dispel the myth that Pinterest is dedicated to wedding planning and home renovations, the social media platform released insights from an audience study in the U.K. to help marketers understand how to use it more effectively. As well as offering best practice advice, the “Inspiration Nation” report aims to act as…

By Paying Users to Sell on Instagram, Spring Wants to Uplift the ‘Creator Middle Class’

When comedians Tony Baker and Tahir Moore sat down for a YouTube collab, they couldn’t have predicted their conversation would end in a clothing line. The resulting video was an installment of Moore’s series Wording Is Hard, in which he challenges guests to a word pronunciation game. Viewers were quick to cling onto the duo’s…

Reddit, Burger King Win Cannes Social and Influencer Grand Prix

Two campaigns that, in their moment, were unlikely heroes have received top honors at Cannes Lions today. Burger King’s “Stevenage Challenge” and Reddit’s “Superb Owl”–the website’s 5-second regional Super Bowl ad–emerged as the Grand Prix winners in the Social and Influencer category. For the “Stevenage Challenge,” that’s the second Grand Prix win today, with the…

How Billie’s Reimagined Pride Fairy Tales Support LGBTQ+ Youth

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel. But this time, her super long hair is armpit hair, and she’s not waiting for anyone “because she’s hella gay.” And that tower? It’s her sweet penthouse with an elevator. It’s a body-positive Pride fairy tale, presented by DTC razor brand Billie on its Instagram account. The Rapunzel reimagining,…

Linktree and Spring Team Up to Give Creators More Social Commerce Tools

Spring, the merch ecommerce company formerly known as TeeSpring, and link-in-bio service Linktree have announced a new agreement that allows digital creators to host virtual storefronts within their social profiles. Top line The integration allows influencers to curate a selection of their merchandise to sell within the Linktree site listed in their profile, which serves…

Walmart Acquires Fitting Room Tech Zeekit

Retail giant Walmart has acquired virtual fitting room platform Zeekit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Virtual try-on is a game-changer and solves what has historically been one of the most difficult things to replicate online–understanding fit and how an item will actually look on you,” said Denise Incandela, evp of apparel and private…