I was head of sales for independent adtech company MediaMath until 2019, during which time the company was considered a top player in the space. Our tech was licensed by big brands and premier agency holding companies in major media markets globally. Though I remain proud of MediaMath’s growth, I believed it was always bounded…
Earlier this year, restaurant critic Pete Wells excused himself from the table after twelve years. In his last essay for The New York Times, he paints a bleak portrait of a hyper-optimized restaurant industry and dining culture devoid of personal exchanges, humanity and friction. Wells also takes issue with the rise of TikTok foodfluencers, where…
Many years from now, a group of Brazilians will find themselves at a celebration, dancing with the kind of joy only truly happy souls can experience. The music will flow with a cadence that beckons everyone to celebrate the things worth celebrating. Then, a song by Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor will begin to play….
Generational marketing is dead and rather irrelevant in modern marketing. Clinging to these outdated segments is not just lazy–it’s inefficient, inaccurate, and can be dangerous. Simple logic led to these labels: People born within a certain timeframe would share common experiences and, therefore, behaviors and preferences. However, this approach is increasingly problematic and oversimplifies the…
Today’s average path to purchase involves 56 touch points across various platforms. This proliferation of channels introduces a new layer of complexity and complicates creative alignment, as disjointed campaigns lead to consumer distrust and frustration. If marketers can’t identify which combinations of channels are working or, more importantly, which ones aren’t, effectively prioritizing ad spend…
In a dramatic turn of events within the X versus advertisers lawsuit, Unilever has been removed from the lawsuit after coming to an agreement with X. For context, earlier this year, Elon Musk’s X (previously Twitter) filed a lawsuit against several former advertisers, claiming they coordinated an illegal advertising boycott against the platform. This legal…
Before she was a New York Times bestselling author, a top-ranked Peloton instructor, and one of Time magazine’s 2023 Latino Leaders, Robin Arzon was very much in a different part of the job market, specifically in the world of law. The successful multi-hyphenate left her role as a corporate litigator at a New York City…
You’ve found a new show. It feels made for you. It’s well written, the cast is phenomenal, and you can’t wait to see where Season 2 goes. The show’s only been out for about two months, but you see news that it’s been cancelled already. Another bites the dust. You realize something that felt made…
Feed a prompt to an AI image generator and you’re bound to encounter an insidious pattern: Do the people look … too stunning? Perhaps even wanton? Gender, race, body type, nationality, religion–you’re almost guaranteed to get prejudiced and outdated stereotypes when using these descriptors in prompts. And “wanton” is a deliberate adjective; it’s mostly used…
In the unfolding narrative of advertising’s cultural missteps, the recent Heinz ad controversy serves as a poignant reminder of the shadows cast by history. These ads resonate with the undertones of propaganda posters used to dehumanize and mischaracterize. They are relics of a time when images were manipulated to weave false narratives–narratives that continue to…
In 2017, I left my job as a creative in Hispanic marketing. I was tired of seeing brands push narratives that felt out of touch with my life and the lives of other young Latinos in the U.S. As an immigrant from Guatemala, I knew that the Latino experience here is diverse and nuanced. Yet,…
Editor’s note: In this article, ADWEEK deviated from its style of using “Latinx” due to the writer’s preference. “Latine” is a gender-neutral form of the word Latino. Early in my career, I sat in a job interview for an entertainment writer position when the senior editor hit me with a question I’ll never forget: “Do…
2000 was the year I declared my first major in Cognitive Science/Artificial Intelligence. I was fascinated by the world of AI as we knew it 24 years ago. It was about neural networks, the psychology of language, how brains developed, and how computer science could ultimately intersect with mimicking and mapping what human brains did….
Editor’s note: In this article, ADWEEK deviated from its style of using “Latinx” in the interviewee’s responses. At age 50, Beatriz Acevedo was supposed to be scaling back the “hustle of the startup life.” Her career had already seen multiple milestones. At age 8, she was a member of the union in Mexico for radio…
Generative AI is a fact of life at agencies and creative studios moving forward–that part is in the books. What’s missing are the actionable strategies for creatives and producers, from entry-level to vets, that ensure we’re all equipped to embrace AI as it becomes embedded in creative and business operations. Over the past year, we’ve…
Sitting here drinking an AriZona iced tea, I find myself contemplating the value of independence. First, you should know, I am not usually found with an AriZona iced tea–at least not since the days of chugging them post-hangover in college. But recently, I saw a story on the Today Show where the founder, Don Vultaggio,…
While AI is our latest fascination, upholding and prioritizing equity and inclusion in marketing and advertising is crucial. At Cannes Lions 2024, AI ignited essential and overdue discussions about the future of ad agencies and the creative industry. These conversations must highlight the ongoing need to promote diversity as we grow. As we plan our…
It was an iconic race in an Ichanic place. Last week ushered in the inaugural and first-of-its-kind women’s track event, Athlos, at legendary Icahn Stadium. Featuring the fastest women in the world, the largest purse in women’s track history, a giveback structure that rewards athletes more than ever before, and the kind of entertainment swagger…
Editor’s note: In this article, ADWEEK deviated from its style of using “Latinx” due to the writer’s preference to use “Latin.” The creator economy is expected to nearly double over the next five years, growing from $250 billion today to an estimated $480 billion by 2027. Creators are now everywhere, in all forms. Cannes Lions,…
Public media knows it has a problem. Since joining the industry two years ago, the most common phrase we’ve heard is “We need to meet people where they are.” They’re right–we have a distribution problem. But we’re skirting around a bigger issue. You can buy reach. You can put your show on social. But none…
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.
