Agency

The 4A’s, the leading trade association representing the advertising agency business, released updated hourly labor billing rate information, revealing that 2016 labor billing rates in the advertising industry are generally higher than those in 2014.

You know that something has become “a thing” when that something finds its way into marketing speak and marketing titles.

Casual lifestyle brand Panama Jack – known for its signature suncare products, eyewear, apparel, home furnishings and branded resorts – has selected Miami-based MARCA as its digital and social agency of record.

Interaction Metrics examined the point-of-purchase surveys for 51 of the largest retailers (companies like Lowe’s, Ace Hardware and Wal-Mart). The study found that 96% of these retailers run point-of purchase (customer satisfaction) surveys—and 98% of the surveys were useless or poor.

Erik DuPlessis sent me a link to this post titled ‘The Wisdom of Taxi Drivers’  by Damon Stapleton. Thank you, Erik, like you said, “very, very good”. Why? Because it reminds us that the power of stories lies in being interesting, specific and human. It reminds us that we need to keep people – the target audience if you must – at the heart of the creative development process.  by Nigel Hollis

HipLatina announced a partnership with Go RVing to engage HipLatina’s acculturated audience of upscale Latinas.

Horowitz Research revealed  that 53% of TV content viewers who stream feel that they are more focused on and engaged with the shows they watch via streaming, compared to the shows they watch on “regular” TV.

The report, which analyzed a population of roughly two million Hispanic Millennial consumers and thirteen million non-Hispanic Millennial consumers, produced some interesting behavioral findings including brand preferences, social and mobile habits, auto buying trends, and the people that influence them to purchase.

At Columbia Records, I had the chance to work with incredible talent. Adele. Beyoncé. Rachel Platten. One Direction. Passion Pit. Ruth B. The lifeblood of the music business is talent. It’s about discovering talent and then letting that talent connect with an audience. At the label, everyone, no matter how big or small their role, exhibited a real sense of pride about making an artist successful.  By Elliot Lum, head of talent acquisition at the ANA’s Educational Foundation

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced the appointment of Steve Mandala to President of Advertising Sales and Marketing, effective immediately. Mandala, who was most recently Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales, will remain based in New York and will report to Tonia O’Connor, Chief Revenue Officer.

If you’re a business owner and you’re not yet jumping onto the Generation Z bandwagon, you might want to reconsider. Made up of 84.7 million kids born between 1996 and 2010, there is no doubt that this generation has and will have enormous spending power, and it’s vital for businesses to figure out how to better serve this high-spending demographic.  

I’am not influenced by advertising. I make up my own mind what to buy’. How many times has one of your friends said this to you? Of course, they are 50 percent right and 50 percent wrong. They do make up their own minds but that decision is likely influenced by advertising along with a host of other forgotten contacts with the brand.  by Nigel Hollis

Inching toward digital maturity isn’t an easy path for most marketers. According to data from MIT Sloan Management Review, in collaboration with Deloitte, many executives and managers worldwide know there are steps their organizations need to take to increase their company’s digital maturity.

While labor-based fees are the No. 1 method preferred by agencies (45%), incentive methods were the top choice among marketers (40%).

The key performance indicators most commonly tracked by retail executives may be distracting their attention from broad, omnichannel goals and performance.

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced that Tonia O’Connor has been promoted to the newly-created role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), effective immediately.

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) announced a premier multimedia advertising campaign that will introduce the all-new Mazda CX-5 to U.S. Hispanic audiences through “¡Al Bate!” (Batter Up!) – an eight episode, documentary style mini-series featuring former MLB player Ramiro Peña, who currently serves as an infielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Add this to the retail worry list: There are signs that Hispanic consumers, dubbed the “new mainstream” by some, may be changing their spending behavior amid shifting immigration enforcement policy in the US.

On the one-year anniversary of the Association of National Advertisers’ landmark study and subsequent recommendations on media transparency, it’s time to review the issues in this ongoing debate and see where we stand today.  The issues raised in the transparency debate are complex and dominated the advertising industry’s discourse in 2016.

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” is how Dorothy speculated she was probably a long way from home, and it’s arguably how the advertising industry is feeling right now. It’s no longer us against them for a brief — it’s us against them and the consultancies. It’s the talk of London as to