Social media consumption is growing at breakneck speed, and consumers are increasingly demanding engaging, easily-digestible content. These two forces have combined to form the next evolution of storytelling: video. This year has effectively transformed video marketing from an optional tactic to a core business strategy. For marketers, this means that to reach your target audience…
In 2018 the world saw a marriage of policy and technology to give consumers more control over their data. In 2019, as the relationship between humans and technology continues to become more intertwined, I believe we’ll see an even more marked shift in how we deal with data, from stricter guidelines outlining how marketers can…
To say the least, Facebook has experienced a punishing year in just about every respect. Its stock price has plummeted, its executive team has come under fire, and the company’s reputation has taken several hits. But Facebook isn’t going away. It’s still capable of innovating and growing, especially as it continues to fulfill the 10-year…
Shoppers have embraced omnishopping, and they love the way it integrates convenience with tactile experience. Whether they’re on their laptop, browsing on the go with mobile or trying on new arrivals at their favorite boutique, today’s shoppers are always ready for brand and retail inspiration to strike. If they see you’ve got what they want,…
This past year in the world of sports has been full of new advancements, conversations and controversies on social media. Through social sponsorship, brands moved into the forefront and commanded the narrative on social media during major moments, from Coca-Cola capitalizing on the Boston Red Sox’s triumph in the World Series to Fortnite launching a…
Let’s be real, the advertising and media industry is relentless. “Work hard, play hard” has been the norm for many of us who have been in the industry our entire professional careers. The end of year pressure cooker makes it difficult to look up and look out. Let’s step out of the heat for a…
Here’s a holiday present for retailers: a new playbook. In a dynamic ecommerce environment, using last year’s digital ad strategy is a non-starter. Consumer shopping habits change too frequently to make that a viable proposition. This year’s U.S. holiday ecommerce sales are expected to grow over 16 percent, and there are now new ways of…
With every major technological shift, some companies evolve while others get left behind. Agencies in the face of programmatic are no exception. Programmatic has changed advertising for the better, and with that, it’s also put pressure on traditional agencies to overhaul their processes. Traditional agencies have enjoyed long-term contracts that guaranteed recurring revenues, but programmatic…
No matter how hard you plan and how carefully you control your messaging, scandals sometimes hit. Brand scandals are all different, but one thing is universal: They can seriously tarnish a company’s image and even do irreparable harm to the business in question. Not all brand scandals are created equal. Some scandals blow over in…
It was with some surprise that we learned of the insolvency of Blippar, a much-heralded startup whose primary idea was to use mobile phone augmented reality to bring objects and physical advertising to life in novel and fun ways. To do this, users simply had to see an advert, such as a billboard, that was…
We’re deep into the mechanisms of digital transformation. Retailers are gradually migrating to more automated customer experiences, there’s an app for everything and algorithms rule advertising even when it comes to the influencers who’ve most recently challenged the value proposition of traditional advertising. With AI, automation, algorithms and big tech making instrumental changes to how…
Skyrocketing growth of streaming audiences has spurred an insatiable desire for advertising on these platforms. Having spent most of the year on the front lines meeting with hundreds of local agencies and ad buyers, here’s my assessment on the lessons learned in the connected TV (CTV) advertising market for 2018. The fourth quarter saw the…
It’s been a tough couple of years for trust across the globe. Trust in government, nonprofits, executive leadership, media and brands is at an all-time low, with some researchers calling it an outright collapse of societal norms. The spread of misinformation has exacerbated the situation, as mega platforms like Facebook fight public battles over fake…
While it’s hard to pick just one trend that defined 2018, the year has been rife with companies relying on social media to help them launch disruptive campaigns and build a new brand image. Whether a company needed a completely new brand identity or if they only needed a logo change, 2018 was the year…
In-housing programmatic effort can help you save on costs, increase ROI and keep control of your data, and that’s just a few of its benefits. But it can also raise some important questions, starting with a big one: How do you build out your programmatic team? Attracting top talent is often one of the biggest…
Approximately 2.77 billion. That’s the estimated number of people that will be using social media by 2019. We’ve come a long way from the days of Myspace in the early 2000s and from when there were less than a billion social media users in 2010. Social media continues to change and evolve, and social networks…
Sometimes it’s hard to see the proverbial forest through the trees. So it is with data, which is easily the most [ab]used word and topic in marketing and media circles today. It is definitely a dense topic with lots of layers and applications, which often get conflated and misappropriated. My aim here is to shed…
As 2018 draws to a close, those who have been preaching the end of advertising probably have more than a little justification for a victory dance. With the merger of JWT, an industry giant that once represented the best of what our industry talent can achieve, into Wunderman and Y&R’s dissolution into VML, some of…
Marketers have long imagined their buyer journeys in the shape of a funnel, one that starts at the top with awareness, narrows through the phases of engagement and influence and ultimately culminates in a purchase. As familiar as this imagery has become in our industry, there’s one big problem with it: Almost every brand’s marketing…
It’s a strategy that’s as old as advertising itself: Make consumers crave something that others have. In some ads, people watch enviously as a luxury car speeds past, its driver exuding power and success; in others, a couple looks covetingly over their fence toward their neighbor’s greener lawn, their nicer house, their happier kids. Envy…
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.
