Agency

The Ad Council announced a new arm: Ad Council Edge. A strategic consultancy, Ad Council Edge, builds on the Ad Council’s rich history of developing compelling and cutting-edge purpose-driven marketing campaigns to advise companies and nonprofit organizations on ways to inspire and engage the public on today’s most pressing issues.

What’s ahead for telecom providers in 2019? Fifth generation (5G) wireless technologies will be gaining ground quickly, unleashing the full potential of augmented and virtual reality, Smart Cities, and IoT. Mic Locker, managing director in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry practice, shares her thoughts on opportunities for growth in our new telecom industry overview.

The other day I spoke with an agency owner who told me that they aren’t “doing new business” right now because they had just closed a large account. Some readers will understand immediately why that thinking is detrimental to an agency’s fiscal health (and if not, I’ll explain it shortly). It’s a fast way to shut down a conversation with me, given my work as an agency new business consultant—and it’s certainly not the first time I’ve heard it.  by Mark Duval – The Duval Partnership

Perion Network Ltd. announced that Undertone, a cross-platform Synchronized Digital Branding for the world’s most prominent brands, and Alphonso, a TV data company that is relied on by marketers, agencies and broadcasters for mission-critical metrics, are partnering to bring together Undertone’s digital creative capabilities and premium reach with Alphonso’s large-scale TV viewership data.

Growth in political ad spending is expected to slow dramatically during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to Kantar Media, which predicts political campaigns for US federal office will spend $6 billion on paid media placements this year. But a greater share than ever will be directed toward digital channels.

The ANA has teamed with the Boston Consulting Group and Reed Smith on an initiative to understand the top concerns in-house agencies have for both creative content development and legal issues. Importantly, our work also provides strategies to address those concerns.  By Bill Duggan

When I read “Managing In-House Agency Creative Content and Legal Concerns,” the Association of National Advertisers’ new study with Boston Consulting Group and Reed Smith, one thought kept crossing my mind: Partnership is key.  by Marla Kaplowitz – president and CEO of the 4A’s

Tajín International Corporation announced they have joined forces with well-known national food brands, partnering with the Tyson® and Hillshire Farm® brands. Adding to a roster of strategic partners including Century Snacks – the makers of Snak Club® Trail Mixes and Snack Nuts and Truco Enterprises the maker of On The Border Chips and Dips.

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

• Last week I laid out the following theory: younger generations and, hence, fresh talent, simply don’t want to work in advertising anymore.
• If you are young and bright these days, Silicon Valley’s gravitational pull is way stronger than Madison Avenue’s.

Does this mean that we as a society are moving in the wrong direction? Hardly. It’s simply a recognition that as times change, our delineations of what is acceptable change as well.

It would be an understatement to say that for the modern consumer, personalization has become a table-stakes expectation. From Facebook feeds and Netflix queues to brick-and-mortar retail floors, the average consumer is living in an increasingly customized world in which every experience is tailored to their unique needs, expectations, and preferences using data.

The private brand dynamic is a topic we’ve written about extensively over the past few years. Private brand is gaining dollar share in key general merchandise industries, representing nearly one-third of U.S. sales in some industries. In industries like office supplies, retailers have moved entire departments to their own private labels. But our research indicates that more private brands aren’t necessarily the answer across apparel, food, technology, and other industries we track; retail may have reached an inflection point. How can retailers determine the right mix of private and national brands for the categories they play in, and what can brands do to ensure they remain part of the mix?

Users of ad blockers feel strongly about how their personal data is collected for advertising. Almost two-thirds of people who use ad blockers (63%) say data collection in online advertising is an invasion of privacy.

With a spending power of $1.2 trillion, the African American audience is one of the most essential markets for advertisers to reach. This group of consumers is at the forefront of innovation—full of trendsetters, tastemakers, and cultural expression.

After a stellar PR career spanning three decades in the corporate world working for blue chip companies in Senior positions in public relations, such as her most recent past role of Vice President of Consumer and Entertainment Public Relations at Univision Communications, Rosemary Ravinal decided to leave the corporate world to pursue her lifelong passion to launch RMR Communications Consulting LLC (RMR), to address gaps in presentation skills, public speaking and media readiness among C-suite executives in both English and Spanish.

Workplace stress is exacting an ever-higher physical and psychological toll. It adversely affects productivity, drives up voluntary turnover, and costs US employers nearly $200 billion every year in healthcare costs. Many companies are aware of these negative effects, and some have gotten busy devising ways to counteract them. Efforts range from initiatives to encourage sleep, exercise, and meditation to perks such as nap pods and snack bars.

This year, 18.4 million students will be heading to college. The shopping list may start with books and supplies, but it runs long with dorm and apartment furnishings, clothing and accessories, computers and hardware, and gadgets and digital subscriptions. Do the math and the grand total is more than $25 billion in projected spend for the 2019 back-to-college (B2C) shopping season.

Some influencers accept free products as payment for endorsements, others charge thousands of dollars for a single post. While the compensation scale varies by following and content type, some marketers are concerned that teaming up with social media influencers is getting expensive.

Casanova//McCann announced the relocation of their headquarters. The Hispanic integrated communications agency will now be based out of The Hive, an indoor/outdoor creative office campus, in Costa Mesa, California.

8Greens, a health and wellness company, announced the hiring of Eduardo Luz as CEO effective July 9, 2019. In this role, Mr. Luz will be responsible for all aspects of strategy including category development, product development, innovation, distribution and global expansion.