Agency

Make your bed, then sleep in it. Right? Well, whenever something happens in the advertising industry that brands don’t like, it’s well worth a little more self-examination behind the causes. Sure, big agencies are not exactly innocent creatures who should avoid blame — but let’s be honest, 2016 has been the year of blaming agencies for everything under the sun. So how about a reality check?

Two things we heard a lot about in 2016 were “autonomous cars” and “bots,” but rarely in the same sentence. True, they both share the common thread of AI, which powers the “self” in self-driving cars (computer vision, decisioning) and the chatty personalization of bots. But that’s where the similarity ends, because most bots don’t employ real AI or machine learning, but are just collections of “if-then” statements in a new package.

When it comes to combining in-store visits and online product research or purchase, Generation Z (ages 18 to 26) leads all other shopper age groups in the US, lending some spark an otherwise flat “omnishopping” environment.

Even the most data-driven company is working blindly when it comes to understanding what it gets from spending on digital advertising.  By Kenji Govaers, Matthew Meacham and Guy Brusselmans

Ask any journalist, and you’ll find out just how overfilled their inboxes have become in the past decade. In fact, we asked about 1,300 writers, editors, and contributors for some specific numbers. This is what we found.

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

• Last week I elaborated on the awkward way some people offer me money to plug their faux-news, products &/or services in my weekly op-ed.
• I repeat: there are other legit ways to promote your wares properly, possibly with much better results & ROI than clumsy make-believe journalism.
• Just call me and we’ll discuss.
• As you can imagine, I also receive tons of press releases all the time.
• Lots and lots.
• In the majority of cases, said PR efforts are shotgun approaches blasted wholesale to every single publication in America and beyond.
• No news new there.
• Most go utterly ignored.

As digital video technology rocks the boat, the hegemony of Nielsen television ratings, GRPs and age/gender demographics is being challenged by splintered metrics for TV platforms ranging from national and local TV to VOD, OTT and programmatic, from linear to mobile and addressable … among others.  What measurement methods and metrics make sense for this new landscape?

It’s time for all marketers to catch up to the new generation of tracking. Leading edge marketers have adopted the new tracking tools that take advantage of the opportunities created by digital and mobile technologies. It’s time for all marketers to get on board with the transformation.  By Mark Chamberlain – Sector Managing Director, Transformation Brands / Kantar Millward Brown

IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) released “The Internet of Things,” a study which shows that nearly two-thirds (62%) of American consumers own at least one Internet of Things connected device (connected car, connected/smart TV, fitness tracker, home control system or appliance, internet-enabled voice command, smart glasses, smart watch, VR headset, or wearable)

Given the healthy short- and long-term impact of media advertising, marketers should realign a share of promotional dollars to media to stop brand erosion. This shift will enable marketers to reinforce brand equity, support shopper loyalty and drive consistent brand growth.

Marketers have long wanted to get inside the heads of their customers. Getting onto the smartphones they hold in their hands may be the next best thing.  By Laura Beaudin, Wendy Grad, Elizabeth Spaulding and John Grudnowski

Big data’s potential just keeps growing. Taking full advantage means companies must incorporate analytics into their strategic vision and use it to make better, faster decisions.  Is big data all hype?  By Nicolaus Henke, Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, James Manyika, Tamim Saleh, Bill Wiseman, and Guru Sethupathy

New business development is often a difficult task for ad agencies. In addition to the day-to-day upkeep required for current clients, agencies must also constantly perform the challenging work of searching out new opportunities and partners. According to research, the process doesn’t appear to be getting any easier.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the country’s top 1,000 surnames by race and Hispanic origin and those that occurred 100 or more times in the 2010 Census.  Hispanic surnames represent 40% of Top 15 Surnames.

The Univision Creator Network (UCN) announced a partnership with Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar de la Hoya’s national boxing promotional company, to develop digital native content for Golden Boy’s YouTube channel.

In December, we look forward to a new year.  We make predictions and resolutions for how we’ll tackle the coming months.   We dig deep into ourselves, become very introspective and (hopefully) find ways to become better peopl

When it comes to formal workplace training, a majority of Americans who are employed full- or part-time say that they have received some form of instruction from their currently employer, including one in five who say that they have received formal training mostly online (20%) or in a classroom (16%), and another 30% who say that their training has involved a mix of both online and classroom components

The Futurestep division of Korn Ferry  has shared its 2017 predictions for talent acquisition. Based on insights from recruitment experts from around the world, the list reflects trends that have emerged during the past 12 months as well as those predicted to dominate during the coming year.

Research by Green 2.0 and University of Michigan Professor Dorceta Taylor previously found that people of color hold just 12% of leadership staff positions and 4.6% of board seats at environmental NGOs and foundations. Diversity Derailed, by Maya Beasley of the University of Connecticut, examines the search firms often used to fill these high-level roles. Among the results, the research found that 87.5% of search firms have encountered bias during past searches and 68.8% only mandate a diverse slate when their client prioritizes it.

When it comes to holiday ads, mass merchandisers comprise over half of the total retail category’s Gross Ratings Points (GRPs), measuring ad impressions, during the holiday months. And not surprisingly, there is a significant increase in mass merchandiser ad spend (and overall retail ad spend) during the holidays compared to the rest of the year. However, that is not the case across all advertiser categories.