Benchmarking is the Waterboarding of the Ad Industry [INSIGHT]
Procurement and benchmarking rose to corporate prominence once “increased shareholder value” became the advertiser’s mantra. Marketing declined in importance, from an investment to achieve brand growth to a cost to be optimized. Benchmarking consultants jumped on the bandwagon. 4As shamefully accepted the ANA benchmarking trend with hardly a whimper, leaving its members to fend for themselves. By Michael Farmer – Madison Avenue Manslaughter

A new national study by Amplify Snack Brands, Inc. (“Amplify”) and the Center for Generational Kinetics discovered that Millennials have been the driving force behind the growth of the better-for-you snack category.
A new index from The NPD Group’s Checkout TrackingSM shows that some of the biggest names in retailing and foodservice have become fully woven into American life – reaching an extraordinary percentage of buyers at least once a year.
In B2B PR, influence is about trust. To build and gain trust from industry experts, stakeholders, and subsequently potential customers there are a number of different marketing tactics you can use.
By now, we know all about the dangers of “fake news,” but there’s another form of false information, the concept of “fake trends,” that marketers should be aware of since these can have a negative impact on business strategies. We are witnessing one of them right now when it comes to Hispanic marketing. by Isaac Mizrahi, co-president, chief operating officer, ALMA.
By now you’ve heard about the floridly tone deaf Pepsi ad. You know, the almost three minute ad, what Pepsi called a mini movie, where, at the end of a multicultural protest – about something – the young model Kendall Jenner offers a Pepsi to a police officer among a line of riot officers. When he cracks open the Pepsi, all those multicultural millennials cheer and embrace. Because the sound of a Pepsi can opening apparently solves everything – racism, homophobia, gender inequality, maybe something else – and it even turns a self-absorbed model into a leader in the fight for… um… peace, hope, and beautiful models? By David Morse, President and CEO of New American Dimensions
Nontraditional players have recognized the tremendous opportunity that lies in the healthcare space, and are innovating with or without pharma partners to solve many of the healthcare issues that patients are dealing with. Companies such as Apple, Google, General Electric, Samsung, Microsoft, and IBM are flooding the healthcare market with innovative approaches to medicine.
By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative Director, etc. / LMMiami.com
By Miguel Arias – Adman
Consumers are right to be concerned about and demand strong protection of their privacy rights. Advertisers have long understood this highly legitimate need. That is why in 2010 the ad community launched the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) self-regulatory program to give consumers broad power to determine whether their Internet and mobile activities would be collected and utilized for advertising purposes. The ad community also has strongly supported a broad array of legislation to protect consumer’s truly sensitive financial, health, children’s and other similar data.























