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Spark Foundry named Telemundo and Universo AOR

Spark Foundry announced that it has been awarded the online and offline media buying business of broadcast network Telemundo and cable channel Universo, top brands of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Superbowl LII – Unaided recall in the age of collective amnesia

If the Super Bowl is indeed a barometer of national sentiment, it is quite clear that the mood of the masses is shifting. Save for some allusions to recent natural disasters, the “cause marketing”, “virtue signaling”, social commentary and moral grandstanding we witnessed last year seem to have taken a backseat. The Dow is a damned geyser. The labor market is tight as a Telemundo weather girl’s dress. Taxes are low, life is good. Rocket man? Border walls? We’ll get to that later. It’s time to make hay now. It’s back to business in ‘murica to judge by the hefty prices brands, movie studios and streaming services*** are paying to appear in the crevices of the last football game of the season. So, what can we say of the repertoire? It was quintessential Super Bowl fare. Crowd-pleasing tropes, unpretentious gimmicks, not too brainy. Don’t overthink it, just throw a ton of money at the brief. Write a simple script, have the planners sign off on it and get a seasoned, big name director to shoot the boards. With “a big name director” I mean someone who knows how to blow shit up and handle celebrities. And their publicists. Problem is, advertising is always a tossup. Even if you throw all the right ingredients into the equation to play it safe with a sure bet, the acid test of memorability can still be elusive. Hence, without further ado, I give you my impressions below.  Disclaimer:  what you are about to read is 100% morning after unaided recall.  By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

Blackrock puts purpose on the board agenda

While the ad industry has been debating whether purpose is a business driver or not, Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blackrock Inc., has no doubt and is willing to use the $1.7 trillion in active funds managed by Blackrock to push companies to make positive contribution to society.  by Nigel Hollis

Who Will Put “Accountability” Back in “Account Management?”

Account managers were giants of accountability during the Mad Men era, when agencies were paid by media commissions and it was important to convince client executives, up and down the line, that high media spending was good for brands.  Everyone benefited from this.  TV advertising was effective, so clients and brands benefited from this account management salesmanship.  TV advertising unleashed the agency’s creative capabilities and allowed creatives to flourish and do their best work.  Senior account people sold the agency’s creative ideas to their clients, acting as intermediaries (for better or worse), solidifying account executives’ credibility in the eyes of their clients.  Although there were plenty of turf wars between the “suits” and the “creatives,” the overall process assured a high degree of unity, purpose and intimacy with clients.  Finally, and not insignificantly, agencies made a lot of money — much more than they earn today.  By Michael Farmer

Measuring the ROI of Marketing: A/B Tests vs. Market-Mix Models vs. Multi-Touch Attribution

Some marketers have despaired of ever being able to connect a sales impact to a specific and unique element of complex and multi-faced marketing plans – preferring instead to use their “gut” to guide marketing decisions and to rely on anecdote or vanity metrics to justify the results. However, in our era of data-driven marketing, this “know-nothing” approach has become increasingly untenable as CFOs and CEOs demand more exacting demonstrations of marketing ROI.

2018 Digital Content Newfronts Calendar

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the preliminary schedule for the 2018 Digital Content NewFronts, showcasing the latest in original digital video programming from some of the biggest names in entertainment, news, and information, as well as new leading-edge content creators.

Tecate taps universal male insights

Tecate announced an evolution to their award winning “Born Bold” campaign introduced in 2015 called “We Are Bold.” The new campaign is built around four friends’ brotherly bond while emphasizing the camaraderie, rivalries and unspoken, yet understood inside jokes during their regular barbecues (BBQ).

Super Bowl streaming viewership to increase this year by 45%

Adtaxi released the results of its Super Bowl Viewership and Consumer Streaming Trends Survey, an in-depth look at how consumers nationwide will be watching the Super Bowl, as well as an examination of their digital streaming habits more broadly. Although movies and television series still dominate the streaming world, there are important opportunities for digital advertisers to reach consumers while viewing major sporting events—namely through social media.

Hispanic Public Relations Association Announces 2018 Executive Board

The Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) voted to elect Veronica Potes, NBCUniversal, president of the 2018 HPRA Executive Board. Potes has been a part of the organization for more than a decade. Rosemary Ravinal, Univision Communications Inc., will serve as president-elect for 2018.

Brand Safety Issues Are Widespread

The top types of brand-unsafe content that marketers said they or their brands had been exposed to were disasters/tragedies (39%), divisive politics (39%) and fake news (39%). However, almost one-third also said their content had appeared too closely to that of a competitor, underscoring how broad a definition respondents had about unsafe content.

8 Trends Shaping the OTT Space [REPORT]

There has never been a more exciting— or a more complicated— time to be in the OTT business. With new virtual MVPDs (vMPVDs) and even social media players like Facebook and Twitter entering the already-crowded over-the-top space, understanding the changing OTT market has never been more important.  Our latest white paper, 8 Trends Shaping the OTT Space, sheds light on some of the key trends crucial to understanding how this market is evolving.

The Battle of the Brands Behind the ’18 Russia World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, as you probably already know, is the ultimate sports competition in the world, showcasing premier level soccer stars playing with their national teams. This tournament takes place every four years, but what you might not know is that there’s another battle that happens behind the scenes: it’s a competition between brands to outfit and sponsor each national team.  By Vicente Navarro, partner and vice president of business development at AC&M Group

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