Twenty-seven. That’s how many times I offered a brilliant freelance creative director a full-time job when I was chief creative officer. Twenty-seven times, they said no. It drove me crazy. They already freelanced with us regularly, loved the team, crushed the briefs, and (apparently) tolerated me just fine. The money was great. What was the…
Live shopping and video commerce are exploding, driven by growing consumer interest and the success of global disruptors like Shein and Temu. These international players dominate their markets with highly engaging, frictionless shopping experiences and have expanded aggressively into the U.S., raising the stakes for domestic brands. This evolution parallels the introduction of TikTok in…
This month, The Weber Shandwick Collective (TWSC) got a new CEO–but it seems like there won’t be much of an adjustment period. Susan Howe stepped into the chief executive role at the communications agency on Dec. 2, and since joining nearly 29 years ago, she has held successive leadership roles running the gamut from regional…
Twenty years ago, I sold my namesake agency I founded at age 27 to Edelman. At the time, many accused me of being a sellout, but the truth is I would have sold out had I not sold the agency. I never intended to establish a shop of my own. But after a rather chilling…
As much as the story has generated a lot of buzz, I find the news of Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG to be unsurprising and part of the natural order. I am sad for the great agency legacies that will be mothballed. I am sad for the jobs that will be cut. I am sad that…
The recent announcement of Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG got me thinking about my early days working for both holding companies. I started my career in media at BBDO, buying television. Back then, media and creative worked together under one roof, and holding companies were only beginning to consolidate their power. It was a simpler time…
On December 13, 1996, Miller Beer pulled all its business out of Leo Burnett, literally overnight. Officially, it was about lackluster sales, but rumors abounded that Miller discovered a subsidiary of Burnett had taken a small project from Anheuser-Busch, and Miller was livid. Now that holding companies own a huge part of the advertising landscape,…
In what is without a doubt one of the top five episodes of Seinfeld, George is regaling his moment as a “marine biologist” with Jerry, Kramer, and Elaine: “The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli!” George’s “perfect storm” also perfectly captures what…
Cue the scene: me, 14 years old, sitting in the bleachers at my middle school dance. Not one girl wanted to dance with me. I couldn’t figure it out. I had what I thought were top-tier dance moves. But there I was, sulking in a dimly lit corner, on the top row where no one…
On the day of the release of ChatGPT 4.0, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted “her”–a reference to the 2013 science fiction film in which an AI chatbot named Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, develops an intimate relationship with her human user. The tweet called attention to a new feature for the product: voice mode, allowing…
While the marketing world fixates on Q4’s holiday rush, a golden opportunity lurks in plain sight: Q5, the “invisible quarter.” Forget the myth that consumers hibernate after the holidays. With 45% of consumers actively hunting for post-holiday deals, this overlooked period isn’t just a marketing lull–it’s your launchpad into Q1. While competitors wind down their…
Let me begin by stating that I’m not from the advertising or marketing world. So you can imagine my surprise when I was invited to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to present a project to the Titanium Lions jury. I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t even met the team…
In recent years, the marketing landscape has been dominated by large-scale, expensive campaigns designed to capture consumer attention. From the ubiquitous pink of the Barbie movie to the pervasive green of Wicked, these mega-marketing efforts raise a critical question: When does a campaign cross the line from excitement to exhaustion? Since debuting in theaters last…
Last week, Sweetgreen’s newly unveiled Kale Camo Hoodie hit my social feed. My first reaction was: “What a clever way to super-serve mega fans.” The company proudly heralded the idea in a press release and touted the new merch on social media just before the holidays. An hour later, another post hit my feed. Apparel…
In 2023, NHL policy around sanctioned Pride jerseys was reconsidered because seven players–less than 1% of NHL players–publicly refused wearing them. Circumstances like these aren’t representative of public sentiment, which is that more people (more than double) say their perception of a brand is positively influenced (39%) by Pride participation than negatively (17%). Colin Kaepernick…
The year was 2020 and while the rest of the world was grappling with a global pandemic, YouTube was having quite the year. The video platform saw the biggest growth in usage out of all the social media apps during the pandemic, with its user base growing from 73% of US adults in 2019 to…
Throughout history, emerging trends in mass media have shaped election outcomes. The rise of TV in 1960 influenced perceptions of who won the first televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon. In 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign first channeled the emerging power of social media to crowdsource funding and engage a younger, more diverse population of voters,…
Customization has been the buzzword in marketing for years. But there’s no amount of data that will make a creative in New York able to speak relatably to consumers in Minnesota. This moment calls for some professional soul-searching: If the industry aims to be customer-centric, why are we purchasing media in an agency-centric way? Your…
As a Latina mother and marketer, raising bilingual children in today’s media landscape is both a joy and a challenge. Growing up, shows like Dora the Explorer didn’t just entertain me–they helped me navigate a complex world between two languages. While English wasn’t my first language, those shows gave me a sense of belonging in…
The minority population (better described as the “emerging majority”) currently makes up 42% of the U.S. population and is expected to exceed 50% by mid-century. This group–including Hispanic, Black, and other non-white people–already represents the majority in several states like California and Texas. Buying power is following suit. Despite these extraordinary changes in the market,…
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
