Marketing

72% of marketers consider data analysis more important than social media skills  [REPORT]

Teenagers beware–mothers are finding new ways to share your baby pictures. Evolving technology is being adopted, consumed and leveraged in different ways by a variety of groups, including the women who serve as backbones for their families.

Over the past decade, Pew Research Center has documented the wide variety of ways in which Americans use social media to seek out information and interact with others. A majority of Americans now say they get news via social media, and half of the public has turned to these sites to learn about the 2016 presidential election. Americans are using social media in the context of work (whether to take a mental break on the job or to seek out employment), while also engaging in an ongoing effort to navigate the complex privacy issues that these sites bring to the forefront.  By Shannon Greenwood, Andrew Perrin and Maeve Duggan

Price wars have broken out in consumer industries around the world. It’s no secret that retailers such as ALDI, Amazon and Walmart have used price to position themselves against traditional competitors in their markets, pinching margins all around. Financial asset managers have been out-price-cutting one another in exchange-traded funds in a bid to gain market share. Major US telecommunications carriers now compete fiercely on price as they try to win new customers. And airlines are gearing up for a price war on trans-Atlantic routes as some low-cost carriers plan service between the US and Europe.  By Sandeep Heda, Stephen Mewborn and Stephen Caine

Pharmaceutical manufacturers, payers and healthcare providers (HCPs)—as well as a host of tech-focused newcomers—are exploring digital programs that complement standard therapies and hold promise to keep patients healthier and produce better outcomes.

The words “multicultural” and “diversity,” to many progressives – and until November 8, almost all marketers – have had a positive connotation. These terms have been very often used as shorthand for, if you will, “all voices matter.”  By David R. Morse

Despite the proliferation of health and wellness information online and in real life, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 12% of the U.S. adult population is “health literate.”

As the recent rise in spending on influencer marketing suggests, the methods and sources consumers use to vet products online is undergoing a significant shift.

Healthcare marketing is not automobile marketing but there is something we can learn from the Ram campaign. How can we create campaigns that go beyond the ephemerally provocative, to those that create legacy? How can we use our unique platform to do good?

At the end of the 20th century, usage of the World Wide Web moved out of academia and grew at a breathtaking rate. By 2015, over one-third of the world’s population had logged on to the Internet at some point in the previous year; the Connected Revolution had arrived.  Now pundits say that we are on the verge of a fourth revolution: the Age of Smart Machines.  By Alessandro Zolla, Machine Learning Program Lead

We all know people love stories but not all stories are equally compelling, particularly when it comes to brand building. Great marketers recognize that the focus of the story should be the brand. The story is a means to an end, not an end in itself.  by Nigel Hollis

For the time being at least, influencer marketing is a popular and effective way to reach consumers. Influencer platform Bloglovin’ sought to find out how female consumers feel about the tactic, and what would cause them to respond in a negative way to influencer posts.

Demographic targeting (using consumers’ age and gender to make media decisions) continues to be used widely, but advertisers are raising questions about its effectiveness.

Facebook’s latest revelation of miscounted metrics is reported to have agencies in a spin. One top ad agency executive is reported to have said that it is freaking out people because “It’s hard to explain to clients”. But really you have to wonder if clients should be worrying about the minutiae of metrics about individual posts. Perhaps we all need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

eMarketer updated its benchmark estimates for industry-specific digital advertising outlays, noting that broad trends lifted spending across all sectors in 2016.

Many entertainment marketers are still employing a mass-market, broad-strokes approach that TV commercials offer. But this kind of mindset does not translate to influencer marketing.

Yes, consolidation will be a major theme — and it’s not just about the traditional food chain of small to medium to larger independent to holding company. The consultants are now out there too, as Accenture’s recent purchase of Karmarama showed. So to get bigger billings, revenue will have to be bought in the hope that a big bid comes in from a larger agency, or consultancy, which can offer some form of protection from billings heading down. It’s kind of an endless circle, isn’t it?

… and Will Probably Continue Being Untrue in 2017

As the dawn of a new year is once again upon us, it is abundantly clear that the majority of people are ready for 2016 to end. It was a year overcome with politically charged turmoil, Zika, (more) mass shootings, Brexit, the crisis in Syria, and, of course, the U.S. Presidential election, to name a few. One group, in particular, didn’t hold back when it came to their feelings and backlash about this year. That’s right: Millennials.

AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing (AHAA) has rebranded its Hispanic marketing directory to launch the 2016 Hispanic Market Guide, available for free of charge. This comprehensive digital guide provides a detailed look at Hispanic consumers, Hispanic media, top advertisers and agencies, and features data from Nielsen, Cision, and the U.S. Census.  DOWNLOAD FOR FREE HERE.