Business

A new study commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and led by a researcher from Harvard Business School, found that the internet economy grew seven times faster than the total U.S. economy during the past four years, and now accounts for 12 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

TikTok, in partnership with Publicis Groupe and WARC, have released a new study exploring the role social communities play in influencing purchase decisions, outlining the huge potential for brands to engage with audiences and increase unplanned purchases by narrowing the funnel between product discovery and purchase through “community commerce.”

Initial results from the first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Census of the global marketing industry have identified key challenges around family status, age and gender as well as ethnicity and disability.

Nielsen unveiled a new brand campaign, including a new identity, reflecting the company’s transformation of its culture and a redefined strategy focused solely on the global future of media. Nielsen’s new look and feel represents a commitment to innovation and the company’s role and purpose of powering a better media future for all people.

This time last year, we had a lot more time on our hands. We filled it with activities and hobbies we had long set aside or picked up new ones, like baking sweets. This year it’s a different story with kids returning to school and extracurricular activities and some parents returning to the workplace. Suddenly we have less time, and saving it becomes our goal. Saving time and convenience will be a key motivator in how consumers approach their home product purchases. This need presents a significant opportunity for the home industry to invigorate continued growth.

In this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM, Ana Ceppi, a senior advisor on the U.S. Hispanic market at Edelman, shares how one can easily distinguish DEI from multicultural marketing and what broadcast TV and radio station management and ownership may wish to consider if the goal is connecting brands with all consumers — including key multicultural segments.

Most brands would be hard-pressed to think of a more disruptive time for business than what they’ve experienced over the past 18+ months. From shifts to digital to advertising cutbacks to supply chain challenges to rising privacy and data security needs—all amid a global pandemic—the landscape for advertisers has been anything but smooth sailing.

Customers are interacting with companies every day and, in many ways, user experience comes down to the good, the bad and the ugly.

If you want to get a top job these days then it helps to be a woman. Even better if you’re a woman of colour! Tick a couple of other ‘diversity’ boxes and recruiters trip over themselves to give you a fancy title and a fat salary. Meanwhile, straight white men just can’t seem to catch a break these days.

The imperative for brands to take a stand, embrace societal issues, and put accountability at the core presents a significant shift for B2B marketers. As demand for action rises, the trust and vision brands must have to survive and thrive are elevated by collaboration over competition, customer-centricity over dominance, and big-picture solutions over functional benefits.

Consumer optimism signals a return to happier holidays

In 2020, the global economy experienced one of the worst declines since the Great Depression.  Yet, while the ripple effects of COVID-19 have thrown many businesses into disarray, some companies have not only managed to stay afloat amidst the chaos—they’ve thrived. Using data from Kantar BrandZ, this graphic looks at the top 100 most valuable brands of 2021.

Synchrony announced the Latinx Executive Alliance, a coalition that allows C-suite executives and business leaders from different companies, industries and sectors, to collectively help Latinx employees advance in corporate America.

Gina Oliva-Pinto has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing for NBCUniversal Local, a division of NBCUniversal.

This is the seventh year of Women in the Workplace, the largest study of women in corporate America. This effort, conducted by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.Org, analyzes the representation of women in corporate America, provides an overview of HR policies and programs—including HR leaders’ sentiment on the most effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices—and explores the intersectional experiences of different groups of women at work.

Despite higher inflation, labour shortages, and wage inflation, corporate confidence is growing across the world. There is a consensus that, despite the lingering impact of the pandemic, we are through the worst of times. Consumer confidence is also high and rising, starting with China and the West and gradually spreading to other economies.

With employees having more job opportunities to choose from, 91% of HR leaders are increasingly concerned about employee turnover in the coming months, according to a survey of 572 HR leaders in July 2021 by Gartner, Inc.

Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) released a new report, the 2021 Latino Board Monitor, revealing a lack of US Latino representation on the largest company boards in the country. Latino directors are missing on 47% of Fortune 100 boards, while the Fortune 1000 fares worse with 69% of companies lacking a US Latino perspective.

The unprecedented growth in advertising spending in the first half (+32%) was more than low comps due to the COVID lockdown and recession last year. It was caused by a unique combination of national brands reconnecting with consumers and competing for a limited amount of traditional media inventory, while the lasting changes of COVID on lifestyles and marketing methods continue to fuel huge digital advertising spending from both big brands and small businesses. These ongoing organic growth engines, combined with Olympic budgets and the Mid-Term election spending, will continue to generate double-digit spending growth in the second half and into 2022.

The Desert Southwest region has long set a dizzying pace for population growth, expanding by at least twice the national average every decade from 1950 and 2010. Does business growth in this region mirror this population change?  In a word — yes.