Digital Media Trends [REPORT]

Before and since COVID-19 hit, consumers loaded up on paid media subscriptions and sampled free services. As costs, competition, and subscription fatigue grow, their choices today could shape the industry for the next decade.

How the LGBTQ+ community fares in the workplace

Corporate America has played an important role in the progress of LGBTQ+ rights over the past two decades, with many companies making public gestures of support. Hundreds of major consumer brands have become regular sponsors of annual Pride events. A record 206 major corporations signed an amicus brief in the spring advocating for the Supreme Court’s June 2020 decision protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from workplace discrimination. Companies are also increasingly making business-critical decisions about recruitment practices, employee-resource groups, and marketing that embrace LGBTQ+ rights.

Understanding organizational barriers to a more inclusive workplace

For our recent McKinsey Global Survey on the topic, we approximated inclusion by combin­ing survey respondents’ reported feelings of authenticity, belonging, and comfort participating in the workplace.  Our survey research finds that respondents of all backgrounds encounter barriers to feeling included—and that women, respondents who are ethnic and racial minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ encounter additional challenges.

Which small businesses are most vulnerable to COVID-19—and when

As the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic comes into sharper focus, the position of the nation’s small businesses appears, overall, to be particularly bleak. By mid-April, according to a report from the Facebook & Small Business Roundtable, about a third had temporarily stopped operating, and by mid-May more than half had laid off or furloughed employees. Our analysis of several surveys of small businesses suggests that before accounting for intervention, 1.4 million to 2.1 million of them (25 to 36 percent) could close permanently as a result of the disruption from just the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizing for Success

The approaches Aetna, Anheuser-Busch, IBM, and others take to keep their teams’ marketing capabilities sharp

This Year, Next Year: U.S. Mid-Year Forecast [REPORT]

The June 2020 U.S. mid-year forecast is marked by declines in consumer and advertising spend across the board. The COVID pandemic sharply transformed the economic expectations from growth as recently as mid-March to the worst economic decline since the peak of the Great Depression in 1932. That’s according to consensus data as of mid-May tracked by Refinitiv that called for a 5.7% inflation-adjusted decline in economic activity.

The Black-White Divide in Ad Industry Diversity Efforts. Here’s the Facts.

According to a 700 media and advertising professionals conducted just prior to Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter activism, 43% of Black, Hispanic/Latino and Asian professionals in the advertising and media business agreed that the industry is doing its best to advance diversity, equality and inclusion. By comparison, 60% of Caucasian professionals in our community agreed. Only 12% of white people in the ad/media business believed current efforts are insufficient vs. 35% of Blacks, 31% of Hispanics/Latinos and 21% of Asians. The remaining group offered no opinion.

Global Ad Market to recover in 2021

Media owners’ advertising revenues will decrease by $42 billion in 2020, from $582 billion to $540 billion, as advertising spending shrinks due to the severe economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, as GDP is expected to contract between -5% and -12% across the world’s largest markets. Global advertising revenues will decrease by an estimated -7%, as the heavy, double-digit decline of linear ad sales (linear TV, print, linear radio, OOH, cinema), -16% to $238 billion, will be mitigated by the stability of digital formats: +1% to $302 billion.

Agency Models: Questions and Suggestions

Last week’s Cog Blog post, on what the agency of the post-pandemic future might look like generated some interesting feedback. This week’s post tries to provide some suggestions (answers would be presumptive) to the points raised, based purely on my own experience. I’ve grouped these around four of the most popular topic areas.  By Brian Jacobs

National Association of Hispanic Journalist backs down from hostile action against members

On April 16, the National Association of Hispanic Journalist (NAHJ) board announced, in a press release posted on NAHJ.org, that it had voted to cancel national board elections and extend, for another year, the terms of board members, including those of the president and the rest of the executive board. This move encompassed both elected and appointed board members.

Get on Board: The Latina Impact

With Women’s History Month upon us, there’s no better time to recognize that efforts to increase gender diversity in the boardroom are finally beginning to yield results.

Note to Brands: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

To become more inclusive and LGBTQ+-friendly, brands need to lead with actions rather than just words. Making statements isn’t enough anymore. Instead, culture needs to change from within a brand, not just within its creative copy.  How can this happen?

Attention, Marketers: Actions Speak Loudest

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers have been highly attentive to companies’ concrete actions, especially regarding health protocols, reliability and pricing. When choosing vendors and products, people care about what companies do, not just what they say. Advertising and social media messaging thus should tightly align with the material steps a company takes in the marketplace.

Skip to content