Agency

Marketers are ramping up their technology investments to better understand consumer needs and behaviors.

I’m referring to the explosion of wicked problems:  complex, dynamic problems that defy black-and-white solutions. These are questions that can’t be answered by yes or no — the answer always seems to be maybe.  There is no linear path to solve them. You just keep going in loops, hopefully getting closer to an answer but never quite arriving at one. Usually, the optimal solution to a wicked problem is “good enough – for now.”

Here are a couple of good things that would benefit our Industry in 2016, obviously from my perspective.  By Gene Bryan / CEO of HispanicAd.com

Global spending on media is forecast to rise at a compound annual rate of 5.1 percent during the next five years—to $2.1 trillion in 2019, from $1.6 trillion in 2014. Yet this growth actually reflects a general slowdown, according to our study of consumer- and ad-spending data in every global media and entertainment sector.  by Moinak Bagchi, Sonja Murdoch, and Jay Scanlan

Many digital advancements will be made in 2016, from the rise of mobile messaging apps to mobile commerce finally gaining some mojo. Here are eMarketer’s predictions for what will happen next year.

While digital trends like mobile messaging apps and mobile commerce will continue to heat up in 2016, other things like viewability and ad blocking won’t. Here are eMarketer’s predictions for what will not happen next year.

Denny’s is commemorating the holidays with the launch of its new social media series “Reindeer vs. Camels,” featuring six loveable characters, reindeers and camels, as they battle to become the preferred gift giver during the season.

The digital revolution continues to transform healthcare fundamentally, and many people believe that a tipping point is finally within reach. In 2014, digital health investments topped $6.5 billion, compared with $2.9 billion a year earlier.  by David Champagne, Amy Hung, and Olivier Leclerc

In a year when headlines featured a major ice cream brand recall, an expanding western U.S. drought impacting crops, and efforts to phase out artificial flavors and ingredients, Americans felt the top food news story of the year was the expansion of fast food breakfast menu items to more times of day along with breakfast menu innovation.

The common axiom that says waste not, want not rings especially true when it comes to the media diet of U.S. consumers. According to Nielsen’s third-quarter Total Audience Report, which focused on media habits in different economic strata, it comes down to ownership and usage.

By Gonzalo López Martí   –    LMMIAMI.COM

• In the 1860s, when the gold rush took place in, of all places, San Francisco the only folks who really made money were the opportunists selling picks and shovels to the myriad wannabe miners flocking to the Bay Area.
• Or so the cliché goes.
• In 2015’s Silicon Valley retaining a good PR team is as important -or more- than employing the best engineers.
• Cuz, let’s face it, attracting investors is, more often than not, all about the hype.
• The pixie dust.
• C’mon.
• That’s our game, folks.

Colette Peterson, formerly of FCB and General Motors Mediaworks, has joined Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc. as senior director of media strategies.

Radio has been touting its high weekly penetration forever, but it often gets compared to monthly figures from digital and TV.

Under the new partnership, Havas FORMULATIN will be launching a multi-faceted program that looks to improve the brand’s awareness and penetration among this important demographic. The program will include media relations, community events and consumer and influencer engagement.

$330 billion. That’s how much Hispanics spent at retail in 2014. A number of that size is a wake-up call to any retailer who has yet to weigh the impact Hispanics can have on their business. How can retailers capitalize on this expansive retail opportunity?  By Kathy Whitlock / Univision Insights

The proof is in. Diversity makes everyone smarter, period. It’s empirical and empirical is one hell of a word. It’s as resounding as they come. Unambiguous, lights out, with no arguments allowed. Empirical is something that is verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. So when you want to make a point, if it is framed as empirical-with the data to back it up-it should be a slam dunk.  By Pedro de Córdoba – Chief Strategy Officer / Eventus

Tweens and teens spend significant time with media and technology every day — but that’s where the stereotypes stop. The Centennial generation consumes more media than they create. There are considerable differences in the way boys and girls engage with media; and all teens use a lot of social media but it is not their favorite media pastime.

Building Box-Office Brands is a new research study, brought to you by Digital Cinema Media (DCM) and Millward Brown, which explores the role of Cinema in today’s cross media landscape.

Young adults, age 22 to 35, with all levels of educational attainment were asked to provide a snapshot of their current income, amount of savings, and the amount and types of debt/loans they are repaying.

2016 will be a year of firsts for players within healthcare as the industry adapts to the main forces driving the New Health Economy: the rise of consumerism, the focus on value, downward pressure on costs, technological innovation and the impact of new entrants.