Agency

Over the past ten years, I have witnessed the disappearance of powerful brands and with it the diminishing of a level of enchantment that once fed our “can do, anything is possible” American view of the world.  This is the first report in a five-part series exploring the impact on people and our culture of powerful brand vanishment and why, more than ever, we need these cultural artifacts back among us.  By Jane Cavalier

Brands don’t want to associate with content that makes them look bad in any way.  Last year’s brand safety controversies stirred fears that advertisers would back away from platforms like Facebook and YouTube, but spending has continued to surge.

New insights that marketers can use to inspire people to change their behavior are critical to driving brand growth. And what better way to learn how best to put those insights into action than using the power of improvisation? In this post Tim Kibbey and Patty Bloomfield of Kantar Millward Brown, Firefly Practice, explain how it works.  by Nigel Hollis

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS) announced the appointment of Geraldo Arriaga as Vice President, Digital Media Sales of SBS, LaMusica App. In this role, Geraldo will spearhead all of the Company’s digital revenue efforts at the national scale, while working directly with all Digital Sales Managers,Sales Management and divisions in each one of our markets. Mr. Arriaga will ensure SBS’s Digital Media programs are fully integrated into the network’s growing “Original Content Strategy.”

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS) announced the appointment of Geraldo Arriaga as Vice President, Digital Media Sales of SBS, LaMusica App. In this role, Geraldo will spearhead all of the Company’s digital revenue efforts at the national scale, while working directly with all Digital Sales Managers,Sales Management and divisions in each one of our markets. Mr. Arriaga will ensure SBS’s Digital Media programs are fully integrated into the network’s growing “Original Content Strategy.”

Burson-Marsteller announced Jonathan Stern has joined the company as Managing Director and Market Leader of the firm’s Miami office, which serves the Florida market and is a key component of the firm’s Latin America business. 

The 4A’s issued a Fair Play Charter to its members, asking media agencies, and media departments within agencies, to recommit to fair and equitable treatment of minority media owners.

BEN hires Maria Teresa Hernandez as Vice President of Client Development to lead multicultural business development

Spark Foundry announced that it has been awarded the online and offline media buying business of broadcast network Telemundo and cable channel Universo, top brands of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

If the Super Bowl is indeed a barometer of national sentiment, it is quite clear that the mood of the masses is shifting. Save for some allusions to recent natural disasters, the “cause marketing”, “virtue signaling”, social commentary and moral grandstanding we witnessed last year seem to have taken a backseat. The Dow is a damned geyser. The labor market is tight as a Telemundo weather girl’s dress. Taxes are low, life is good. Rocket man? Border walls? We’ll get to that later. It’s time to make hay now. It’s back to business in ‘murica to judge by the hefty prices brands, movie studios and streaming services*** are paying to appear in the crevices of the last football game of the season. So, what can we say of the repertoire? It was quintessential Super Bowl fare. Crowd-pleasing tropes, unpretentious gimmicks, not too brainy. Don’t overthink it, just throw a ton of money at the brief. Write a simple script, have the planners sign off on it and get a seasoned, big name director to shoot the boards. With “a big name director” I mean someone who knows how to blow shit up and handle celebrities. And their publicists. Problem is, advertising is always a tossup. Even if you throw all the right ingredients into the equation to play it safe with a sure bet, the acid test of memorability can still be elusive. Hence, without further ado, I give you my impressions below.  Disclaimer:  what you are about to read is 100% morning after unaided recall.  By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

In this role, Xavier Turpin will lead multicultural strategy for Gravity’s clients

While the ad industry has been debating whether purpose is a business driver or not, Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blackrock Inc., has no doubt and is willing to use the $1.7 trillion in active funds managed by Blackrock to push companies to make positive contribution to society.  by Nigel Hollis

“El Dodo” is The Dodo’s First Non-English Language Edition and the World’s Only Spanish Language Animal-Focused Digital Channel

Economic momentum is accelerating. CEOs around the world sense the opportunities for expanding in the US through 2018.

Account managers were giants of accountability during the Mad Men era, when agencies were paid by media commissions and it was important to convince client executives, up and down the line, that high media spending was good for brands.  Everyone benefited from this.  TV advertising was effective, so clients and brands benefited from this account management salesmanship.  TV advertising unleashed the agency’s creative capabilities and allowed creatives to flourish and do their best work.  Senior account people sold the agency’s creative ideas to their clients, acting as intermediaries (for better or worse), solidifying account executives’ credibility in the eyes of their clients.  Although there were plenty of turf wars between the “suits” and the “creatives,” the overall process assured a high degree of unity, purpose and intimacy with clients.  Finally, and not insignificantly, agencies made a lot of money — much more than they earn today.  By Michael Farmer

Every day, people watch billions of videos.  By Arielle Kimbarovsky

The old industry adage of garbage in, garbage out couldn’t be more applicable when it comes to advanced demographics.

Some marketers have despaired of ever being able to connect a sales impact to a specific and unique element of complex and multi-faced marketing plans – preferring instead to use their “gut” to guide marketing decisions and to rely on anecdote or vanity metrics to justify the results. However, in our era of data-driven marketing, this “know-nothing” approach has become increasingly untenable as CFOs and CEOs demand more exacting demonstrations of marketing ROI.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the preliminary schedule for the 2018 Digital Content NewFronts, showcasing the latest in original digital video programming from some of the biggest names in entertainment, news, and information, as well as new leading-edge content creators.

Tecate announced an evolution to their award winning “Born Bold” campaign introduced in 2015 called “We Are Bold.” The new campaign is built around four friends’ brotherly bond while emphasizing the camaraderie, rivalries and unspoken, yet understood inside jokes during their regular barbecues (BBQ).