Agency

After decades of big-box expansion, the retail industry is now shifting to smaller stores. In 2015, small format retail categories — drug, dollar and convenience stores— outgrew larger format stores by almost 400%, and now make up a more than $1 trillion market.  This growth is no accident. Demographic shifts paired with online shopping behavior and shifting consumer demands are forcing leading retailers to think small.  

Digital marketers are being taken to the cleaners.  Roughly half of all digital campaigns use multiple data sources, according to a study out today by Forrester. That would include email.  But they lack clarity into data sources and what they are buying.

It’s no secret that in addition to traditional television, viewers also have access to a plethora of Subscription Video On Demand content and virtual multi-channel providers. As the options for these streaming services have grown, so have the means by which viewers can view them on their TV screens.

In the fourth episode of a five-part series, eMarketer’s Geoff Ramsey sits down with top marketing executives from around the world to discuss the critical challenges they face and what they’re doing to address those challenges. Today’s topic: The customer.

American consumers’ status as a device-dependent nation closes 2017 with strong momentum and some important firsts in terms of demographic and usage shifts according to Deloitte’s 2017 “Global Mobile Consumer Survey”.

According to a recent New York Times article few people can accurately draw the logos of well-known brands like Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Burger King. But the study conducted by Signs.com may not be as important as it first appears. The important thing about a logo is that it be recognized and associated with the right brand, not that it can be recalled in detail.  by Nigel Hollis

A new study from InMoment reveals that despite the convenience of shopping online and high satisfaction with digital-only retailers, consumers still value the in-store experience and human contact.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced that Roberto Ruiz has been promoted to executive vice president, Research, Insights and Analytics, effective immediately. Ruiz will continue to report to Jessica Rodriguez, chief marketing officer, and will remain based in New York.

2017 has been the year that advertisers called out digital advertising as broken and sorely in need of repair. As stewards of the investment that funds the internet, these ad execs should be applauded for their insistence on better performance. That said, their focus has been on surface issues related to the ad experience, while a larger problem lies beneath.

Republica marks its 11th anniversary having recently won a total of 27 industry awards, including three National ADDY Awards, nine W³ Awards, and 15 Davey Awards. The awards honor excellence in creative, social and digital.

Ascential, parent of The Cannes Festival of Creativity is restructuring its Lions awards program, eliminating more than 100 subcategories in the process. The Lions festival will also be shorter — by three days — going forward.  The company has been under pressure to restructure from holding companies and agencies that have concluded the annual awards program had become too bloated with awards that made little sense, were too expensive and were generally too complicated a process.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) launched the Univision Foundation, a non-profit public charity with the mission of promoting the well-being of the Hispanic and multicultural communities served by UCI’s owned and operated platforms and partner organizations.

GroupM announced the appointment of Marissa Jimenez to President of MODI Media, GroupM’s advanced TV advertising specialty business.

Campbell Soup Company has appointed Monica Diaz Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

A while back I came across a presentation given by Douglas Holt, the man who wrote the book on iconic brands. In the presentation Holt makes a distinction between “better mousetraps” and “cultural innovators” and seems to imply the latter are somehow better. However, a quick look at BrandZ finds better mousetraps are far more valuable.  by Nigel Hollis

First in a five-part series: eMarketer co-founder Geoff Ramsey sits down with top marketing executives from around the world to discuss the critical challenges they face and what they’re doing to address those challenges. Today’s topic: Digital transformation.

The advertising and consumer industry has completely transformed over the past 50 years. Every year professionals are discovering new and innovative ways of research and implementation to effectively reach the most consumers within their target market. Recently, the concept of incorporating cultural considerations in marketing has allowed industries to reach a new level of consumer insight. Although complex and not an easy feat to delve in to researching, there are endless benefits of taking the time to understand culture in regards to marketing. But, many businesses are still refusing to do so due to culture’s complexity and a tendency to minimize cultural differences. Furthermore, the U.S. Hispanic market is a perfect example of a uniquely targetable audience due to its size and shared values. From a business standpoint, marketers cannot bear to lessen the importance of cultural intelligence without drastically affecting their performance.  By Kayli Bomar / Florida State University

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) presented “The OTT Co-Viewing Experience: 2017,” a comprehensive study revealing that more than half (56%) of those co-viewing on over-the-top (OTT) say that they regularly talk about the brands or products they see while watching content on television screens. Moreover, brand-related multitasking behaviors are particularly strong among OTT co-viewers, including chatting on social media about the brands they see, conducting brand-related searches, and even making purchases online.

New data from Hub Research suggests that TV watching habits may be at a tipping point, with the majority of US TV viewers saying they mainly watch their favorite show via a digital source.

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

• You know what they say: in Hollywood nobody knows anything.
• The line alludes to the inability of even the most experienced moviemakers to know in advance whether a movie will be a box office hit.
• The history of Tinseltown is littered with flops with the best talent and the fattest budgets, the highest screening scores and even the best reviews.
• The art & craft of making movies, not unlike that of making ads, is an obscure art for odd people.