Marketing

This is what advertising music means today: Instead of jingles, we have singles. The Atlantic takes an in-depth look at the cultural trends that have killed one of advertising’s most important legacies: the commercial jingle.

Edison Research has focused on understanding millennial moms in its “Infinite Dial 2016” and “The Research Moms 2015” studies. eMarketer’s Alison McCarthy spoke to Megan Lazovick, director of research at Edison, about some common characteristics of millennial moms and how they are using digital, mobile and social media.

These days you read article after article and hear session after session at conferences that millennials represent a different mindset and a different approach to business. But more than how they were raised, it’s the economic environment affecting them.   In short, I don’t think it’s a “millennial thing.”  I think it’s an “economic thing.”

But I did not watch much of the Olympics. After reading a bunch of hoopla about how ratings were down, particularly among Millennials, I saw that clearly I was not alone. Many pundits have been saying NBC didn’t offer its programing at the right proportions on the right channels (i.e., more real-time online streaming).

The Olympics just concluded and it was the topic of a lot of conversation.

They will be the last white-majority generation with non-Hispanic whites only representing 52.9% of the generation and Hispanics representing almost a quarter of Gen Z at 23.5%.   By Mario X. Carrasco – ThinkNow Research’s Managing Partner.

The current state of the media universe presents a bounty of boundless choice to today’s consumer. Like the cosmos, which is contemplated much in current times, the proliferation of devices and the abundance of media choices is presenting endless options for the consumer and endless challenges and opportunities for the marketer.

The growing popularity of digital video finds more and more Americans watching TV content on desktops, smartphones and tablets. This change in how content is consumed has advertisers and agencies paying closer attention to the relationship between digital video viewership and traditional TV programming, and examining how emerging synergies between the two can be used to improve brand-building opportunities and boost campaign effectiveness.

Total Market Consumers Prefer Taste Over Health When It Comes To Fast Food.

With the fast food industry projected to grow only about 2 percent annually over the next five years, according to IBIS World, many top fast food chains have tried to meet the challenge of presenting menu items for price-sensitive customers who want healthy options. However, is that what they really want?  By – Mario Xavier CarrascoThinkNow Research

Back in 1992 the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid!” became a slogan for Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign against incumbent President George H.W. Bush.  The advertising industry was in a simpler place in 1992 than it is now; most advertisers paid their agencies by commission, the Internet was not yet mainstream, media unbundling was in its infancy and agency relationships were much less complicated.  By Bill Duggan, Group EVP, ANA

Operational skill used to confer long-term advantage. If you had leaner manufacturing, made higher-quality products, or had superior distribution, you could outrun competitors. But today those capabilities are table stakes. The new source of competitive advantage is customer centricity: deeply understanding your customers’ needs and fulfilling them better than anyone else.

When customers evaluate a product or service, they weigh its perceived value against the asking price. Marketers have generally focused much of their time and energy on managing the price side of that equation, since raising prices can immediately boost profits. But that’s the easy part: Pricing usually consists of managing a relatively small set of numbers, and pricing analytics and tactics are highly evolved.

“The growth of Hispanics consumers can no longer be viewed as a population shift but rather an economic opportunity to grow your business,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, during Nielsen’s 2016 Consumer 360 Conference in Las Vegas.

For marketers looking to decode the customer journey, understanding customer pain points can be helpful. According to April 2016 research, almost three-quarters of executives in North America said they have at least some capability to detect when and how digital customers are struggling.

In the last two weeks, NBC’s Rio Olympics has garnered nearly half of the total national TV revenue of many top ad categories.

J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, the propriety research arm of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, released a new study in partnership with the OPAM (Out Professionals in Advertising and Media) organization on understanding transgender inclusivity in advertising.

It is imperative that marketing leaders understand their role in driving change toward a new content production strategy.  By Jillian Gibbs, ANA Faculty

At this time of the year, many of you are gearing up for 2017. You are determining budgets, developing strategies and detailing plans.

• And I ask you: why not be radical?
• Why not set aside a budget to test new ways of connecting your brand or your service with your consumers?
• Build a learning plan with these initiatives and explain to everyone that these plan elements are not to be touched by budget-cuts (so make sure the budgets are small so they “don’t matter”).

For many companies, cost reduction efforts become an endless downward spiral.  As soon as one cost reduction program is completed, it’s followed by another.  Competitors become locked in a race to the bottom, as price reductions predicated on cost reductions are countered by more cost-cutting from competitors to drive another round of price declines.  Before you know it, the industry has shrunk and retailers, manufacturers and consumers alike all lose out on greater growth and access to greater innovation.  By Jason Green, CEO, The Cambridge Group, and Dan Vucovich, former SVP, President U.S.,
The Hershey Co.

Historically, advertising production has followed a very traditional path: A marketer hires an agency of record; then that agency hires a production company to oversee the production of a master asset, as well as the post production, versioning, and adaptations, all with a single point of contact from the brand.  With the evolution of global content production needs, many marketers have found alternative solutions to this process. Often these solutions involve a transcreation house that is able to address emerging markets and provide consistency, transparency of spend, speed to market, and lower costs.  By Jillian Gibbs, ANA Faculty