Agency

Everyone likes an underdog story. As consumers increasingly choose products and brands that are unique or differentiated, small brands can have a definitive advantage. Taking on the food giants that dominate the CPG landscape may once have seemed like a David and Goliath challenge, but that story doesn’t ring true today as consumers of all demographics seek out brands that signify quality, uniqueness and choice.

A new analysis of insights from Nielsen’s fourth-quarter 2016 Comparable Metrics Report found that over 92% of all viewing among U.S. adults (18+) happens on the TV screen.

Emerging in-store technologies and positive social media feedback are among the top priorities for both Generation Z and Millennial consumers.

Do you know that feeling when you read something and get a nagging feeling that something is just not right?  by Nigel Hollis

It wasn’t so very long ago that the industry’s trade press was full of articles berating the agency community for being resistant to change — the common thread being that in a world that is changing so fast the agencies were lagging behind.  This was always rubbish – but it inevitably takes time for changes to filter through and to reach the public domain.  By Brian Jacobs / The Cog Blog Archives

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

• Open plan offices are supposed to foster collaboration and teamwork.
• They’ve become the norm in the ad world.
• Not to mention in Silicon Valley, where “collaboration” is not just a buzzword but a belief system akin to Scientology and gluten intolerance.
• Disclaimer: I’m no architect or interior designer, I have no particular training in creating work environments and I don’t have hard data about the productivity, or lack thereof, of open plan office spaces.
• However, I personally find them intrusive, distracting and annoying.

Strong team leadership isn’t enough. New research shows the importance—for business impact and career success—of also mobilizing your boss and colleagues.  By Thomas Barta and Patrick Barwise

In the WPP Annual Report, Jeremy Bullmore suggests that while some advertising works by encouraging an immediate sale most advertising works to make a brand more saleable. It is a hugely important distinction. Making a brand more saleable improves the efficacy of all aspects of the marketing mix but to do so the advertising must make a lasting impression.  By Nigel Hollis

Compared with adjacent retail channels, U.S. convenience stores have boasted relative strength and sales growth in recent years. Built on the premise of speed, convenience stores are modeled to deliver on specific consumer needs that competing channels don’t yet address fully.

Last week, the ANA, ACA (Association of Canadian Advertisers), AD/FIN Solutions, and Ebiquity PLC released a study which provides practical solutions to help advertisers take greater control of their programmatic investments. The study provides an “Advertiser Playbook” with an eleven-step plan to enhanced programmatic accountability.

Ten of the 15 fastest-growing large cities were located across the South in 2016, with four of the top five in Texas, according to new population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The three most overused words in the advertising biz this year are “data,” “agency” and “TV.” All three are core to the current status and future direction of the entire industry.  

In a newly released global study by GfK, more than half (53%) of US consumers agree that “experiences are more important than possessions” – compared to only 2% who disagree. In addition, nearly a third (29%) say they “would rather have more time than more money” – while 12% disagree with that statement.

Should professionals’ pay be public knowledge?

Digital marketing agency The Story Room announced today that it will handle brand strategy and digital marketing services for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the continental championship that will be played throughout July in 14 venues across the United States.

Over the past 35 years in the business, not once was I taught or asked to use insulting words to get my point across to marketers, ad agencies, the media or executives looking to target US Hispanic Consumers.  By Gene Bryan / HispanicAd

An article this month in the Financial Times, “Advertisers Pull Back from Targeting U.S. Latinos,” quotes Linda Lane Gonzalez, President of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), as saying: “a growing number of companies in the US are shying away from marketing efforts aimed at Latino consumers for fear of offending “racist” supporters of President Donald Trump.  By David Morse / President and CEO of New American Dimensions

It’s happening and there is no turning back.  Face it folks, short of a massive and prolonged vow of chastity by millions of hyphenated Americans, the move to a majority multicultural society will happen in 2042, if not sooner.  No walls, extreme vetting or English-only requirements can slow down the inevitability of this fact, and it is indeed an empirical fact. The good news is, that it is all good news.  By Pedro de Córdoba- Senior Director / Burson Latino

The third annual Bot Baseline Report, released today at the ANA Advertising Financial Management Conference, revealed that the economic losses due to bot fraud are estimated to reach $6.5 billion globally in 2017. This is down 10 percent from the $7.2 billion reported in last year’s study.

He was the architect of two of the most-hyped media events of the 1970s: the “Fight of the Century,” a titanic collision between two unbeaten boxing world champions, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and the “Battle of the Sexes” between an aging tennis player, Bobby Riggs, and feminist star Billie Jean King.  Andrew Jerrold Perenchio, known to his friends as “Jerry,” had “extraordinary instincts,” said Alan Horn, his former underling who is now chairman of Walt Disney Studios. “He was always ahead of everyone else.”  By Meg James / LA Times