Agency

Brand marketers are always developing strategies that influence purchase intent. For the last decade or so, these marketers assumed that social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are driving consumers to engage with brands and make purchase decisions.

Bob Liodice, the President and CEO of the ANA, once said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that client CMOs are not sufficiently in charge of the activities of their agencies.  He wasn’t chastising them but merely sending a word of caution that if clients expect more from their agencies, particularly in areas of transparency, they have to be more intimately involved in what they do and how they do it.  By Mike Drexler

So a couple of weeks ago I sounded off about Facebook’s plans to enable sound automatically in its New Feed. I suspect my reaction is not that unusual and that advertisers still need to think about how their video is going to communicate without sound.  by Nigel Hollis

In the 1970s and ’80s, agencies would seek to fulfill client business and marketing goals on TV by grouping prospects into broad descriptions of desired gender and age, say “women 18-45” for a new laundry detergent, with which they could negotiate with any one of the three — then four — broadcast networks. Frankly, although data has become the new lingua franca, this process is still very common.

The agency holding companies continue to find themselves the pariahs of the industry, implicated in dubious media-buying practices, non-transparent digital media processes — and now by murky advertising production practices as well.

nfluencers are driving engagement with brands on Instagram at levels well beyond those seen by companies’ own posts on the Facebook-owned social media platform.

Multidisciplinary brand culture and communications firm (add)ventures announced that it has been selected as the agency of record for AOC Latin America.

With Hispanics now spending at a higher rate on groceries and shopping perishables more frequently than other consumer groups, the Latino Food Industry Association (LFIA) announced its official launch to serve its members, and educate the public and policymakers on the contributions and significant impact being made by Latino-owned food businesses and purveyors on the national economy.

Whether people in the United States believe they can thrive economically in a digitally disrupted world depends strongly on the amount of education they’ve attained, according to a new survey.  By Don Baer, worldwide chair and CEO of Burson-Marsteller

BOTTOM LINE: 2Q17 advertising likely grew around +5% in the United States during 2Q17 against despite a -1% decline in national TV advertising and double digit declines for many other media.

Brands that market to multicultural audiences have found music as a key approach to connecting across generations. But multicultural marketers sometimes overlook the many facets differentiating their target audiences, ranging from differing countries of origin to local cultures and experiences. To truly connect, marketers must craft precise messages for specific segments rather than treating the multicultural community as a singular audience.

The debate over the power of purpose flared up again at Cannes, largely fueled by the fact that Fearless Girl won the Titanium Grand Prix and more. Many acknowledged that the Wall Street statue was on message, but questioned whether it was on brand after struggling to remember which company sponsored it.  by Nigel Hollis

Walk into nearly any bar, gym, airport or office these days and you’re likely not only to find a television, but also viewers of all sorts with their eyes glued to the glass—from sports fans urging their teams on during a big game to money men tracking the financial markets to travelers monitoring news and weather reports. These consumers, out of the confines of their homes, are no less important to networks and advertisers when they’re out and about.

As small business owners, we all dream of a place where we don’t have to guess what people want or like to do. In this place, we have a 360-view of their favorite places to eat, drink, and play. We are invited into conversations among friends about pressures and pain points, brand fails, and unicorns. In this place, millions of people capture life’s rawest and rarest moments in photos and live stream putting a face and story to issues our products are anxious to provide for, our services delighted to solve.  By Mario Carrera / ThinkNow

In an era of hyper-segmentation and personalization, can mainstream marketing still provide total relevance? The concept of mainstream is obsolete. It comes from a simpler time, when the U.S. population was less diverse. The overwhelming majority was non-Hispanic, White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant, and, relatively speaking, the population was much more economically secure.

It was once the case that multicultural marketing initiatives were only considered after the general market strategy was in place–but no more.  The influence of these important consumers is rapidly expanding. Today, multicultural shoppers control more than $3.4 trillion in buying power thanks to a growing population, advancements in education and business, as well as an intense interest in everything tech.

How quickly and effectively marketers respond and adapt to ongoing consumer feedback has become a new determinant of brand performance, reports the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council in a survey report.

ANA, ever-faithful and aggressive on behalf of its advertiser members, struck a second blow to 4As this week — a right uppercut to the chin — with a new ANA study of advertising production practices.  The report detailed “a range of improper behavior, including allegations that some agencies have steered production contracts to their in-house production and post-production outfits by urging other companies to inflate their prices during the bidding process,” as reported in WSJ.  ANA’s first blow — a left to the head — was its 2016 media transparency report, which outlined improper media owner rebates and kickbacks to media agencies.  The combination 1-2 punch is sure to further undermine trust and lead to contract reviews and reductions in agency remuneration. 4As is taking it on the chin.  What can they do?  The fight is a mismatch.  ANA has the weight advantage — or does it?  By Michael Farmer – Madison Avenue Manslaughter Archives

There’s a quote that gets thrown around and misattributed all the time that says, “Hope is not a strategy.”  In the digital media and advertising business the word “identity” gets thrown around even more, so to paraphrase this oft-used cliché, I’ll say: Identity is not a strategy.

Advertising campaigns that resonate in the minds of consumers are hard to find: A Nielsen study shows that 22% of digital ads failed to drive uplift for key brand metrics in Australia. Encouragingly, understanding frequency – the number of times consumers see a campaign – has a demonstrated impact on resonance, and can ensure brands maximise their digital spend.  By Gabrijela Okadar, Manager – Marketing Effectiveness, Nielsen