News

Celebrations big or small remind us of people’s desire to enjoy a magical moment and escape the mundane. Yet, when it comes to customer experience, Kantar’s first CX+ report for retail banking in the U.S. finds many companies fail to create the magical moments that will help them stand out from the crowd.  by Dr Susanne O’Gorman- Insights Division, Kantar / Global Head of Customer Experience & Sarah King – Insights Division, Kantar
Global Head of Brand

As the industry trade body focused on architecting the future of marketing, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), announced the results of a Cognition Neuroscience Research project. In collaboration with The Advertising Research Foundation (The ARF) and Neurons Inc., the MMA set out to understand how consumers process information in a mobile environment.

The agency’s 14 awards include two Best in Show entries, one Best in Show Honorable Mention, two Gold Addys and nine Silver Addys. CCOMGROUP’s award – winning work included multiple disciplines such as film, social media campaigns., online webisodes and multiplatform campaigns for clients, Florida Power & Light and Southeast Toyota Distributors.

In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast, Simon London speaks with McKinsey senior partners Ferry Grijpink and Philipp Nattermann—ahead of the headline telecommunications conference Mobile World Congress (MWC).

NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, a division of NBCUniversal, announced that it has completed its acquisition of a group of full power, Class A and low power television stations serving the Sacramento and Salt Lake City markets from Serestar Communications (Serestar).

The belief that consumers crave more targeted, personalized ads has become a digital advertising mantra. But it’s not entirely true.

VPE Tradigital Communications (VPE) announced that Maricela Cueva has been named president of the agency. 

In February, Payless ShoeSource announced that it was seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to close its 2,500 locations across North America. Following bankruptcies of other retail stalwarts from a bygone era, like Sears, Toys “R” Us and Mattress Firm, Payless’ demise doesn’t come as a shock. Instead, it is another cautionary tale of a retailer that failed to evolve its brand.

Entravision Communications Corporation announced that that it has entered a steaming audio distribution agreement with iHeartMedia to bring its broadcast stations to iHeartRadio, the free all-in-one digital music, on demand, podcasting and live streaming radio app.

Football fever is spreading across the U.S. and it’s come a long way since the days when soccer was primarily a participation sport for kids or a phenomenon to be exposed to during international travel.

Is it me, or have many people forgotten that the only reason to invest in brand building is to help drive sales? The constant debate about whether to invest in brand building or sales activation seems to imply that sales elasticity is independent of the strength of the brand. To my mind that is just plain wrong.  by Nigel Hollis

As brands seek to more efficiently connect with consumers, understanding campaign performance across TV and digital has become essential to allocating advertising investments across platforms.

African Americans are a cultural force in the U.S. The latest chart-topping hits, fashion trends, dance crazes, and product trends all bear the fingerprints of a culture that is rich, innovative and constantly tuned into what’s now, new and next.  By Nidia Serrano

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises announced the launch of a new company-wide initiative dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in all aspects of life and championing their advancement at every level of business.

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

A few weeks back I landed a gig with one of the major Spanish-language broadcasters in the US.

• It happens to be headquartered in Doral, Florida.
• You do the math.
• My responsibilities are circumscribed to advertising, promotions, brand integrations and the like.
• My SOW does NOT include programming.
• But hey, I wouldn’t be a proper advertising man if I didn’t believe I can be a showrunner too.

Hemisphere Media Group, Inc.  announced that Pasione has reached a multi-year agreement with Charter Communications, Inc. to launch the network this spring  across Spectrum’s  footprint.

This report is full of actionable data that can help inform your own agency’s new business strategy. Gain insight into the typical agency sales process, responsibilities of in-house sales reps, and the tools and methods used to attract and close new business.

Modernizing a cherished brand without alienating a loyal customer base or losing market share in a hypercompetitive marketplace is challenging. The hurdles include continuing to drive and maintain growth, choosing the right ideas for big results, knowing the customer, and innovating while staying true to the brand’s roots. Kurt Kane, chief concept and marketing officer at Wendy’s, spoke with McKinsey partner Stacey Haas and discussed how the restaurant chain tackled these challenges.

Southeastern Grocers, Inc. (SEG), parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie stores, reveals its new partnership with Shipt to provide grocery delivery to Fresco y Más customers across South Florida, Tampa and Orlando.

If I asked a group of ad planners what the one thing they most want from their creative partners, it’d be ‘collaboration.’  That’s because, like it or not, there is a deep insecurity lurking that whatever brilliant brief we arrive at will be completely ripped apart — or worse, ignored — by the creative people it is intended to inspire. Maybe it’s the intangibility of strategy — its ambiguity in the creative process — that makes us seek any evidence of our value to others.  By Ed Tsue- Anomaly / Group Strategy Director / Managing Director