Marketing

The practice of brand integration is nothing new. Since the early days of entertainment — and specifically soap operas, daytime television wholly sponsored by brands — it has been an engaging and compelling arrow in a marketer’s quiver. There are many historical markers around brand integration since that time. E.T. and Reese’s Pieces. The Bond franchise and multiple brands including Aston Martin and Heineken. FedEx and Wilson in Cast Away. These integrations are considered the gold standards, but thousands and thousands of others may not necessarily grab the headlines but are equally impactful — and sometimes more so.

Based on analysis of huge attitudinal and behavioral data sets Kantar Millward Brown finds that meaningfully different brands grow faster than average and can command a price premium. But how do you know whether a brand has the potential to grow faster than average?  by Nigel Hollis

I attended the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity for the first time this year (long overdue).  One of the highlights was my participation in a discussion titled “Trust, Transparency and Driving Business Outcomes” with MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar that was led by Jay Sears, MasterCard’s Senoir Vice President Media Solutions.  One of the issues discussed was progress being made improving trust and transparency between marketers and their agencies.  Unfortunately, I feel that’s been a mixed bag. 

The implication: as more consumers avoid ads, marketers need to examine how they manage ad campaigns today and in the future, particularly if they are targeting groups with a higher propensity to do block ads or have relied on linear TV.

Can Spanish-language radio serve as a powerful platform for the expansion of a very regional brand that seeks wider growth opportunities? Yes. Louisiana-based roaster Community Coffee is using AMs and FMs targeting Hispanic consumers to great success in Texas. In this Hispanic Radio Podcast, advertising agency head Alex López Negrete — whose resume includes Spanish-language play-by-play for an NBA franchise — shares his thoughts on why radio works for advertisers.

Risk drives reward.  We’re all familiar with the financial maxim which defines investment return as a function of risk incurred.  Can this construct also better describe how we view marketing investments?  Organizations showing increased expenditure on stock buybacks and dividends relative to growth investments (advertising/marketing and R&D) tend to be more risk averse.

The data reflects the world people know and experience today. Patterns in that data may reveal opportunities for optimization, better steering behaviors in favor of a specific brand, but are unlikely to reveal opportunities for disruptive growth.  by Nigel Hollis

Given how large the millennial generation is, more and more companies these days are keen on creating a collective millennial marketing strategy.  By Danielle Ramirez

The survey indicates that marketers are not always on the same page when they discuss in-housing. This may be why studies on the subject show such varying results.

Throughout the week at Cannes I have been pondering if the International Festival of Creativity needs to rebrand. The reason? I’ve not seen that much creative. I have, however, attended numerous sessions on AI, machine learning, VR, AR and eCommerce. In one such session it was declared that technology will be the savior of creativity.  by Guest Contributor Daren Poole

Approximately half (51.4 percent) of the nation’s 531 counties that were getting younger between April 2010 and July 2017 were in the Midwest, according to newly released 2017 population estimates. Out of the counties that were getting younger, the South also had a high proportion (32.4 percent) of the counties that experienced a decrease in median age — the age where half of the population is younger and the other half is older— followed by the West (14.1 percent), and the Northeast (2.1 percent).

The mantra fail fast, fail often, was popularized by a book of the same title which encourages readers to suspend their fear of failure and let their enthusiasm to guide them. Sadly, when it comes to marketing this advice is simply a recipe for wasted marketing spend if you do not know things are not going to plan.  by Nigel Hollis 

We are good. We are really good, at reading traffic signs. This is not a new skill. The earliest form of road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction. The Romans were known to erect stone columns throughout their entire empire, so you always knew how far you were from Rome. Sadly, our ability to read traffic or road signs quickly fades when dealing with less obvious, but equally critical, signs in our everyday environment. It has never been truer than in the advertising industry, and the critical client/agency relationships that enable great work.

From our AUDIENCExSCIENCE stage, Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising & Client Partnerships at NBCUniversal and Megan Clarken, President at Nielsen Watch, share their unique perspectives on media currency and media measurement. Most importantly: their shared emphasis on getting to reliable measurement of outcomes asap.

Based on the titles of two new studies, “Stress Shopping” and “Retail Nightmares,” it’s a sad state of affairs for shoppers, in-store and online.

Generation X, aged 35-53, are busy professionals who wield great spending power. This report outlines what it takes to market to them effectively.

A paper published in WARC claims that surprise is the secret ingredient when it comes to building a brand, but how does this finding hold up in the face of testing people’s emotional response to over 30,000 ads? Not well.  by Nigel Hollis

Companies that harness creativity and data in tandem have growth rates twice as high as companies that don’t. Here’s how they do it.

2018 has been a record year for the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global brands. Following a 21 percent brand value increase – equivalent to the GDP of Switzerland – the total value of the BrandZ Global Top 100 has reached a staggering $4.4 trillion. It is no surprise that tech and tech-related brands such as Google, Amazon and PayPal lead the way, but this year the ranking holds a mirror to world events as we see a growing battle for dominance between the East and West as the number of Chinese brands in the ranking increased and dominated the list of fastest risers.  by Guest Contributor Doreen Wang

There has never been a more dynamic and challenging time to be a marketer. Since the advent of the internet, fueled by available high-speed access and ignited by the proliferation of powerful new devices, marketers have more access to consumers than ever before. We’re awash in data and should be living in a nirvana of actionable insights.  By Brett House, VP Product Marketing and Strategy