Talent is leaving the advertising industry in droves, and agencies have no idea how to stem the flow. The average agency annual turnover rate is 30 percent, according to ANA. Instead of prioritizing professional development, the true antidote to advertising’s talent exodus, how have agencies responded? Margarita Mondays. Perks like summer Fridays and in-house yoga…
Whether it’s for a sweepstakes prize, loyalty reward or purchase premium, marketers always want to associate their brand with the next “it” product. And it’s not just emotionally driven. Partnering with the next “it” product is an extremely effective and pragmatic marketing strategy. Brands can generate excitement amongst existing customers while simultaneously extending awareness of…
Digital transformation has reached a tipping point in the creative industry, and the relationship between brands and agencies has shifted in some fundamental ways. Why? Because rising customer expectations are presenting a new set of challenges for everyone involved. Take Adobe, for example. Back in the early 2000s when Adobe sold boxed software with perpetual…
The advertising industry has been talking about the “year of mobile” as the holy grail of interactive television ecommerce for almost as long as they’ve been talking about buying Jennifer’s Aniston’s sweater. And yet mobile advertising has still been dominated to-date more by app-download performance advertising than brand advertising. This article will explore why brand…
When Martin Sorrell made headlines earlier this month for blaming technology and zero-based budgeting for WWP’s worst stock drop since 1999, many marketers were surprised by his failure to communicate what many of us deem the real reasons behind their less than stellar year. Sorrell went so far as to state that his traditional agency…
For women, building strong industry and personal partnerships is a powerful way to build influence and develop professionally. Networks provide cross-pollination of viewpoints and ideas, bring down silos and provide needed exposure for and to underrepresented groups and perspectives. Inside an organization, strong networks make it possible to work collaboratively across different offices, time zones…
I recently got a call from an influential player in the advertising business. She had a simple question: “Are advertising holding companies relevant today? Should they even exist?” At the time I didn’t have an answer. I love advertising and agencies. The industry holds some of the smartest, most thoughtful and creative people I’ve ever…
Over the past five years, programmatic advertising has become one of the most common buzzwords in our industry. Reams of articles, white papers, industry conference panels, et. al., have been devoted to positioning programmatic as the savior of digital advertising. A few years back, it was even dubbed the “Word of the Year” in some…
As marketers, we know the oldest, most basic form of brand marketing is also the most powerful: word of mouth. In spite of highly advanced digital marketing tools, massive amounts of data and infinite ways to connect directly with our audiences, it’s more important than ever for brands to endemically infiltrate the conversations of consumers…
It will take 200-plus years to officially reach gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum 2017 Global Gender Gap Report. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that much time. As we reflect on International Women’s Day tomorrow (March 8), I simultaneously want to drown myself in my morning coffee amid the…
With the help of a squadron of digital tools, brands are chasing their tails. Like people in your Facebook feed, brands respond to positive feedback. Likes, clicks and other shallow metrics drive the content brands create each month. They’re easier to access, easier to understand and easier to act on. Success with your Instagram picture…
Over the last two years, there has been a real awakening of Amazon’s platform, with major brands like Nike and Sears Kenmore signing on to sell direct and a well documented influx of media dollars. But as we all know, just being present is never enough. What you say and how you say it remains…
With SXSW about to kick off, it’s a good time to be thinking about the technologies poised to transform how we live and work. Voice platforms brought to us by Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Samsung’s Bixby are all vying to change how we interact with technology, and the “voice wars”…
I’ve been dismissive of virtual reality and its potential for brands. You may have dismissed it, too. It’s hard to imagine popular adoption anytime soon. VR has looked like the emperor’s newest clothes, the latest marketing fad. But I’ve had a change of heart, and I hope you will join me. The visionary chairperson of…
There are some striking similarities between the internet 20 years ago and podcasting today. In 1997, there were 70 million internet users worldwide. Today, there are 67 million monthly podcast listeners. In 1997, $906 million was spent on internet advertising. Today, $243 million is spent on podcast advertising, which is expected to double by 2020….
In the past few years, mobile has risen to become the most dominant form of media consumption. With this change in consumer behavior, platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram have grown into virtual monopolies. This shift has not only affected consumers, it has also changed retail and the way smart marketers approach commerce. Nowhere is…
Earlier this week, Bank of America became the first major company to announce that it had appointed a brand safety officer to ensure a positive customer experience and protect the firm’s reputation online. If you’ve been following the conversation around brand safety in the digital ad space, this news should come as no surprise. Despite…
Remember learning that “there’s no such thing as a Magic Bullet”? Over the last decade or so, an onslaught of third-party data and cookies have made brands and advertisers dismiss this basic rule of thumb in favor of the big data promise: Big data will “know” consumers for you and target them on a seemingly…
Perception is reality when it comes to marketing, and perception is challenging to alter once it is formed. For example, even though 203 million Americans will play mobile games regularly in 2018, most Americans do not identify themselves as gamers. Industry data proves that people of every age, demographic and household income play mobile games….
We’re going deeper into 2018, which means the predictions, trends and what’s-in-store-isms of marketers everywhere are fading in favor of actual outcomes. But there is a sleeping giant amongst us that will have an ever-increasing role in almost every facet of our lives–from the economy to politics to how we consume goods and services. We’re…
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