Business

Disney overtook Apple for the first time in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2019 Study, which is the largest study of brands based on emotions. The two were followed by Amazon, which came in third. The top 10 was also increasingly dominated by media & entertainment brands, comprising four out of the 10, up from three last year. The remaining brands in the top 10 were: Chevrolet, Netflix, Harley-Davidson, PlayStation, YouTube, Ford and Chick-fil-A. Brand Intimacy is defined as the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love.

To casual observers, it might seem counterintuitive suggesting that a 21st century national movement aspiring to achieve gender equality and diversity in the American workplace would find a champion in a person who helps market beer for a living. But in these transformative times, Jodi Harris is determined to become a disruptive catalyst for social change within a high-profile company in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

This multiyear study published by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD), in collaboration with Deloitte for the 2016 and 2018 censuses, provides powerful metrics on the slow change of diversity in the boardroom, and may help encourage corporate boards to continue to embrace the benefits of diverse board composition. Though still a slow pace in relation to the rapidly shifting demographics in the US, the shifts point towards greater diversity in America’s board rooms.

According to a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Welltok, working Americans feel stressed about work and want employer support in their efforts to improve or maintain their personal wellbeing.

National Instruments announced that Carla Piñeyro Sublett, has joined the company as its first chief marketing officer (CMO). In this role, Piñeyro Sublett will lead the global marketing efforts to elevate the company’s global brand, enhance customer engagement and identify efficiencies in proactive demand generation for growth.

In most professions, men hold the vast majority of CEO positions. It’s no exception in public relations, where current research shows that nearly 80 percent of chief executives are male. In an industry that is predominantly women, the leadership gap is especially pronounced.

The enterprise is entering a new “post-digital” era, where success will be based on an organization’s ability to master a set of new technologies that can deliver personalized realities and experiences for customers, employees and business partners

The Hispanic community in the United States has contributed significantly to US economic growth in recent decades and will continue to do so over the next 10 to 20 years. This contribution derives partially from demographic vitality: the fact that Hispanics are the youngest and largest minority group in America and are on a path toward becoming an increasingly large share of the US labor force. Higher fertility rates, net immigration, and growing labor force participation rates will reinforce this trend. This paper presents evidence showing that Hispanic educational attainments are now rapidly converging to the US average.  By Gonzalo Huertas (PIIE) and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard (PIIE)

The global economy is currently at a turning point. Until early 2018, the global economy displayed strong growth. With inflation accelerating in major markets, governments making shifts in monetary and fiscal policies, and most of the emerging markets experiencing significant currency depreciation, the global economy will slow down in the near future. For retailers, this change will mean slower consumer spending growth, higher consumer prices, and disrupted global supply chains.

Price, not transparency or partnerships, remains the priority for clients when it comes to their agencies.

As Marsha Appel points out, we have been here before. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) is not a new business model, it is an old one. What is different is the technology that facilitates the business model. What is not different is that people still buy the brands that are meaningful to them.  by Nigel Hollis

Viacom International Media Networks of the Americas announced that Michelle Alban has joined the organization as Vice President of Communications. In this new role, Alban will lead the development and execution of all internal and external communications strategies for VIMN of the Americas, which includes Latin America, U.S. Hispanic and Canada.

Walmart Inc. announced that its board of directors has appointed Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, as a new independent director to the company’s board, effective immediately.

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

• Ignore FOMO (that’d be Fear Of Missing Out)
• Everything is sugarcoated, spun, photoshopped and airbrushed on social media.
• Literally and figuratively: from job promotions to muscle tones.
• It sounds obvious but you’d be surprised at the great deal of grownups whose brittle self-esteem is vulnerable to the onslaught of fakery they are exposed to on social media.

The National Retail Federation forecast that retail sales during 2019 will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent to more than $3.8 trillion despite threats from an ongoing trade war, the volatile stock market and the effects of the government shutdown.

Whether purchasing recycled paper and plastic, eliminating toxic chemicals from products, or setting goals to reduce carbon emissions, a growing number of global brands have upped their games to meet the standards of environmental watchdogs and conscious consumers, as well as the social media armies that stand behind them.

Desiree Katzenberger, Director of Media Strategy and Planning at d expósito & Partners, was recognized February 6th, in New York City for being a “Rising Star,” a distinction created by Cynopsis Media which celebrated its fourth annual Cynopsis TV and Rising Star Awards at The Yale Club in New York City.

Over the past few years, deep learning has gone from an esoteric branch of AI, focusing on theory, to being so mainstream that even an actress from Twilight has published an academic paper on it. This rise of deep learning over traditional machine learning methods has also led to the creation of a host of new platforms designed to help businesses improve work and work flow.

By Gonzalo López Martí    – Creative director, etc / LMMiami.com

• It was a Super Bowl to forget.
• Sports and advertising wise.
• If the annual January NFL extravaganza is a barometer of the national sentiment, we might be going through a collective lethargy of sorts.

Have you been ghosted recently? For those unfamiliar with the term, “ghosting” is the practice of suddenly cutting all ties and communication with no explanation, use of which which grew in popularity with millennials and their dating habits.