_Editorial

SXSW sign

Reflections on SXSW 2022, Serendipity, and Resilience

A global pandemic – the Great Accelerator – has kicked off a period of exponential change that’s only just begun. Now is the time to be bold, step forward and fight to be a part of the world that is still being re-built.

human hand holding image of person made of data points

Personalized Advertising Is Under Attack – Web3 May Be the Solution

Recently, consumer data collection by brands and advertisers has risen exponentially to deliver personalized experiences also personalized advertising. While beneficial to advertisers, this has been crucial to publishers by providing a revenue stream as a way of subsidizing non-paying visitors.

ukraine flag against stormy sky

Brands Navigating the Ukraine Crisis

There are many ways to approach a brand’s stance on Ukraine; companies need to make an informed and deliberate decision and to support it.

graphic with hand holding phone and shopping icons

2022: The Golden Age of Social Commerce

While it’s tempting to declare that social commerce is the future, the truth is, social commerce is trending now, growing at a rapid rate that requires brands to not just plan for its prevalence but to dive in today.

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Gen Z vs Baby Boomers: Follow the Money

By focusing on aligning monetization models with the needs and habits of this influential age group, publishers can improve their revenue and strengthen their audience ties. 

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Why You Need an Ideate to Automate Pipeline

Rather than narrowing down social strategies to match creative production capacity, then, we need ways of reducing the workload of taking campaigns out in a truly omnichannel way.

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What the Metaverse Means for Brands and Branding

The metaverse isn’t fully here yet, giving marketers ample time to thoroughly vet their branding strategy testing new approaches, failing spectacularly, and adapting to perfect their technique.

remote control

CTV: What’s All the Fuss About?

While historically, CTV has been viewed as supplementary to linear TV buying, we’re moving into a world where it’s central to a TV buying strategy.

pills going into a bottle

OTC: The Last Frontier for Design Distruption?

The world of OTC is awash with oval logos, bland brands, and garish colours. And in a category where everything looks the same, consumers can get tired of looking at it. To create intangible worth, over-the-counter products must disrupt the category and wear their values

asian woman looking at tablet

Women In Business

This episode of The Marketing Insider is dedicated to women in business and features Jamie Blazevich of Buckeye Broadband.

digital city skyline

What Marketing Can Learn from Engineering

Someone somewhere in your personal or business network is an engineer.  Have a chat with them about what they’re working on. Compare notes on how they get stuff done.  Ask them what they think the metaverse will be for. 

image of lightbulb on screen of code

Why AI Helps Maximize Product Lifecycle Marketing

To grow a product-oriented business in 2022 requires an investment in product lifecycle marketing, bolstered by real-time insights from the millions of customer conversations occurring online.

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Data-Driven Creative Strategies in a Cookieless Future

Harnessing first-party data, and ensuring it’s frequently audited will offer a trustworthy foundation to build on. Marketers who start now will have the benefits of valuable insights into their customers’ needs and preferences.

woman putting on a happy face

The Pitfalls of “Assumption-Based” Marketing

The customer relationship is already valuable to the brand, and a thoughtfully-managed brand can provide immense value to the engaged consumer by way of continuing education, special offers and things like loyalty programs.

group of people looking at tablet

Attention is the New Metric

By Caroline Hugonenc, Global VP Insights & Research, Teads There has been a long understanding…

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NFTs & Grandma Pearl

I’d like to thank my Grandma Pearl for inspiring me to dig in and learn what I can about web3 from NFTs to crypto.

two hands arm wrestling on a chess board

Analyzing the Big Game Ad Matchups

The action on the field during the big game between the L.A. Rams and Cincinnati Bengals was matched only by the advertising contests that played out during the commercial breaks.

QR code

The Coinbase QR Ad Doesn’t… Add Up

Talk to any mobile app marketer who has run a launch plan and you’ll hear stories of one-day surges and topping the App Store charts, only to be left with the disappointing reality that such a surge of users is rarely—if ever—sustainable. That appears to be the case for Coinbase, as well.

QR code framed on display

How Brands Win With NFTs and Web3

NFTs are still in such an early phase that no one brand or marketing team is doing it perfectly just yet, but that’s not stopping the deluge of brands jumping in.

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2022: The Year of the Great Reset

The Great Reset will be remembered not by its initial calling card of ‘the great resignation’ but by the long-term shift in leaders prioritising learning and sparking the infinite power of the great retention.

david and goliath

It’s Time to Be More David

Everyone bets on Goliath, it’s the sensible thing to do after all. But think about this. David has technology at his disposal and knows how to use it.

cubes reading from fake to fact

How Adland Can Defund the Business Model of Disinformation

Tackling disinformation, and disrupting the incentives that create it, is a moral, reputational, and commercial consideration. It also feeds into a much broader narrative about responsibility within our online ecosystem.

kids playing soccer

How to Harness the Power of Sport in Marketing Year-Round

There is a unique opportunity for marketers to connect with their customers and drive greater engagement this Winter, as sport is a topic that resonates with so many – whether you’re watching, participating, or attending events.

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Welcome to the Era of Efficient Creative

Decisions based on insight and understanding of consumers the brand wants to connect with – consistently asking, “Will this execution work for them?” – reduces subjectivity and ultimately builds efficiency into the creative process.

NFT advertising

What NFTs Mean For the Global Ad Industry

Across the metaverse, spaces and communities are often fiercely sceptical of advertisers. Brands need to adapt to their advertising and communications strategies to operate in meaningful ways in virtual worlds.

graphic of woman influencer on phone

Commerce, Content and the Creator Economy: What’s New in 2022 for Influencer Marketing?

In 2022, a larger number of marketers will adopt and refine their influencer marketing strategies as new capabilities allow them to realise their full potential. From social commerce to advanced measurement and distribution, emerging trends are deepening the value of influencer marketing for brands looking to drive quantifiable business outcomes.

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TikTok Marketing Campaign Tips that Target Gen Z

TikTok is the social media platform of the moment. With over 2 billion downloads and 850 million active monthly users, TikTok is home to passionate followers who enjoy trends and content creation.

person typing on laptop

The Digital Transformation in Local-Market Advertising

While it may seem at first glance that the advantages of advanced marketing technology reside out of reach for smaller, less sophisticated advertisers, the fact is that the greatest benefits of modern marketing technology are most readily beneficial to the most modest businesses.

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The Data Divide of a First-Party Future

Now is the time for businesses to go the extra mile to show consumers that they are invested in creating reciprocal value, something that not many audiences are convinced of.

life preserver in water

Iterate to Liberate Your Creative

Everyone wants to run optimal advertising campaigns, but when it comes to honing performance, marketers can often question if they are using their content appropriately and efficiently.

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A Reality Check for the Post-Cookie World

Ultimately, replacing third-party cookies is about the industry working together to help brands connect with people in a responsible and privacy-compliant way.

game pieces moving on a board

The Era of Broad Target Segmentation Is Over

As the nation continues to diversify, brands must broaden their ideas of a target audience. They must move away from defining their consumers in traditional, broad segments like Gen Z or Gen X, and understand the diverse range of individual needs.

girl with headphones, glasses, phone, drink

The Marketer’s Dilemma: Redefining Gen Z

Gen Z could fuel growth, but they could also limit it. The actual problem, however, is not with Gen Z, it’s with the hard and fast definitions we use to label them.

unicorn with an arrow and icons

Lessons from the Unicorns of New York City

At Advertising Week New York, during the panel “Unicorns of New York City,” Pat Kiernan, award-winning anchor at Spectrum News NY1 led a discussion with business leaders from two of the most innovative businesses, built right there in New York, to tell their stories. 

type written 2022 in typewriter

Brand Language: Two Things to Try in 2022

Before you finish your list of New Year’s resolutions, add a couple about brand language. Write in a way that’s simple and inclusive – and rise to the challenges of 2022. 

golfer swinging on course

History Lesson: 40 Years of TaylorMade Innovation

TaylorMade and Zambezi, with the help of three of the top ten players in the world: Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, and Rory McIlroy, take viewers on a VFX-guided tour of the last 40 years of TaylorMade innovation.

graphic of binary code and lock and key

Third-Party Cookies and The State of Digital Advertising

Both advertisers and publishers are making efforts to harness first-party data and develop new solutions as well as leverage alternative user targeting methods to help restore trust among sceptical digital consumers. While this intent is commendable, the ecosystem has a long way to go to develop a credible solution for the loss of third-party cookies and MAIDs.

asian woman looking at phone

How Media Preferences Are Changing

Each media channel faces individual challenges, in addition to the re-appearance of out-of-home activities. But some principles can be applied across the board to retain or win back customers.

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Taking a Holistic Approach to Reaching Fragmented TV Audiences

Those who participate in a balanced collaborative ecosystem will be able to grow addressability across video and TV environments, create new and high-value first-party audiences, and overcome historic silos between linear, digital video, and CTV to measure and value holistically and at pace with modern viewing habits for the first time.

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Inside Google’s Core Web Vitals

How usable is your website? That’s a question everyone should be asking of themselves and their web presence on a regular basis. Fortunately, the answer is easier to obtain than ever before, thanks to Google’s Core Web Vitals. Clickio’s CEO, Alexander Azarov explains.

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2022 SEO Trends and Shifts from 2021

The overarching SEO themes covered here are expected to continue to be important in 2022, and as marketers and SEO’s we will continue to adapt and evolve to provide the highest benefit possible from SEO.

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From CRM to CEM: How and Why to Take the Leap

While it’s tempting to look at sales as the final story, customer engagement means playing the long game—investing in LTV, the lifetime purchasing value of a relationship.

phone screens

Social Commerce Saved Our A$$

With around 3.9 billion global active users on social media, brands have to be on all platforms to make it big and reach half of the world’s population – what a gold mine to tap into!

person using phone

WTF Happened to Mobile Advertising in 2021?

With mobile advertisers still grappling with the post-IDFA world, more iOS developments expected and Android changes on the (near) horizon, 2022 will be turbulent too.

person reading backlit by rays of light

The Year of the E-commerce Accelerator

Brand aggregators and accelerators are not really competitors but different approaches to the same goal: sustained growth for brands. And with all the aggregation that has already occurred in the past few years, perhaps acceleration will be the mandate for 2022 and beyond.

person with digital screen through window

How Accessible Art Readied Consumers for AI-Driven Brands

Tech-driven experiences provide a cool brand immersion and a low barrier to entry for the use of AI. Impactful, tangible instances of tech used for good, while brands getting involved capture greater share of attention.

phone with cubes with question marks

Why The U.S. Urgently Needs Media Compliance Auditing

Navigating the media world has become increasingly difficult for advertisers as there continues to be an ever-growing number of agency, or agency-related parties and external supplier influences involved in the delivery of campaigns.

tik tok on a phone screen

TikTok – it’s Christmas O’Clock!

Campaigns in the omnichannel environment might be better thought of, not as branches on a tree, but as snowflakes: a vast range of unique moments with shared characteristics.

Climbing the Digital Experience Maturity Pyramid

Ultimately, consistency and authenticity are what will set brands apart. All experiences should reflect the brand’s values and aesthetics. And interactions should feel the same regardless of the device a customer is using.

city square with electronic billboards

How to Succeed in the Evolving World of Digital Video

Video in DOOH can drive brand awareness and even performance that isn’t possible elsewhere, precisely by virtue of existing someplace meaningful in the physical world. Here are some factors to consider, however, for advertisers that want to get the most out of it.

graphic showing opposite tv screens for male and female

Advertising’s Contextual Future

By replacing third-party data with first-party counterparts, advertisers are presented with tools that are more potent than ever. From CTRs to conversions and even difficult metrics like retention and attention, contextual ads have seen advertising KPIs soar across the board.

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Activate Your Brand Purpose to Inspire Consumer Action

If you want to generate deeper positive consumer sentiment (and committed action) year-round, make a sustained investment to activate your brand strength around shared values with your consumers. You’ll see it delivers meaningful business value, while impacting the lives of your consumers and communities.

silly photo of man freaking out on office chair

The Hidden Work Behind Great In-Store Tech

In this environment of high expectations, new technology trends are also changing the customer experience in stores. New hybrid sales fulfillment options like buy-online, pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup are gaining popularity.

6 Steps to Content Strategy Success

With a solid content strategy in place, and ongoing optimization, you’ll be able to iterate strategic initiatives throughout the rest of your marketing touchpoints.

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A Conversation with Nestlé on the ROI of Inclusivity

The emergence of Hispanics into the American mainstream is the biggest business growth opportunity of our time, and the effectiveness of engaging this group in-culture and in-language has never been more important.  

advertising week learn new york trends report presented with amobee from Advertising Week Learn

Advertising Week New York 2021 Trend Report

This report brings key trends from AWNewYork to life, examining why they are so important, and discussing the potential impact they will have on our industry, our clients, and our target audiences.

graphic image of hand shake made of data points

Data Collaboration is a Competitive Necessity

While some organizations have deep data on their individual customers, few have the breadth to compete effectively without collaboration. Leveraging your best data along with another company’s best data has become a competitive necessity, giving you a breadth and depth of insight you may lack.

black friday ribbon

Insights on How Major Retailers Prepared for Black Friday

In the week leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, BrandTotal analyzed paid social media ad campaigns for 28 top retailers, including Walmart, Target, Costco, Macy’s, Best Buy, Home Depot, Nike, Nordstrom, and TJ Maxx — here are the findings.

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The Challenges Facing Influencer Marketing Regulations

Although regulations for influencer marketing are still being defined, the industry would welcome more robust guidelines and is taking steps toward implementing this for the benefit of brands, audiences, and content creators.

woman taking selfie

The Challenges Facing Influencer Marketing Regulations

Although regulations for influencer marketing are still being defined, the industry would welcome more robust guidelines and is taking steps toward implementing this for the benefit of brands, audiences, and content creators.

people as data points

Digital Audience Models Don’t All Look-Alike

Models built on anonymous, cohorted data give retailers the ability to target based on category or brand purchases while respecting individual’s privacy, assuming the seed file is excluded from the audience. High quality models can create addressable segments that predict purchases with better than 90% accuracy.

colorful human paper cut outs

Your Brand Is Inclusive, But What About Your Creator Strategy?

The concept of inclusivity has evolved significantly over the past decade. Inclusivity isn’t just about race, gender, or orientation, or a reaction to discrimination; it’s about different worldviews and backgrounds coming together to tell relevant, authentic stories.

hollywood sign

Could Advertising Learn More From Hollywood?

Most would probably know the Star Wars opening theme. However, only the diehard fans would be able to sing Leia’s theme, or even the more widely used, Force Suite.

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How Brands Must Prioritize Sustainability

The data is quite clear that people want brands to align with their values more than ever before, and even companies that have failed to promote sustainability have bounced back when they have made it their main goal.

person typing in a winter storm

Snowed Under With Emails This Christmas?

As we approach the Christmas period, we are likely to see our inboxes snowed under by a steep influx of emails that advertise gifts and services. In order to stand out from the crowd, it is crucial to plan your email marketing with close attention to detail.

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Dark Marketing 101: What You Need to Know

Dark marketing is a useful tool that allows brands to engage with consumers like never before, and will become substantially more important with the absence of third-party cookies.

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Unlocking the Superpowers of CTV Advertising

Streaming TV has not only become the most popular form of TV entertainment for audiences, but it has also edged out the linear broadcast for the first time this year.

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Context Shapes Content

Never before has the importance of context been clearer than over the past couple of years.

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Now Playing: Superpowered Audio

Audio enables today’s most powerful influencers and beloved brands to deliver compelling content and build deep, meaningful connections with listeners.

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5 Things Brands Can Learn from Neighborhood Data

A recent Nextdoor survey found that 73% say neighbors are their most important community. This enthusiasm for the neighborhood extends to nearly every aspect of their lives, from how they’re socializing to which businesses they’re supporting.

pop art image of fashionable woman

How to Keep Gen Z From Breaking Up With You

Brand loyalty is down. “Genuinfluencers” are in. YOLO is here to stay. Confused? Fear not – here’s how to re-engage with younger consumers, on their terms.

woman looking out huge windows

Have You Got HER Back?

The pandemic took a disproportionate toll on women, but we’ve got the stats – and the solutions – to build fresh brand-led conversations that will work.

conference room in office

5 Lessons I Learned From Launching An Agency During Covid

In January of 2020, I launched the U.S. office of BAM Strategy, a 25-year-old independent digital agency headquartered in Montreal. It was, without question, one of the most exciting moments of my career and a milestone for which I’d spent the better part of a year prepping and planning.

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If It’s All TV… Now What?

TV has converged with digital-like campaign measurement and full funnel outcome-based insights are available across nearly all varieties of TV campaigns.

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Why We Should Never Go Back To A Pre-Covid Supply Chain

For the past decade, global supply chains have been running a seemingly normal path. Even a year and a half later, industries across the board are experiencing the impacts of supply chain disruptions. With massive labor shortages and continual shipping delays, there is increasing desperation to return “back to normal.”

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CTO Strategies For Building Stronger Relationships With The CMO

As organizations continue to recover from changes and setbacks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, marketing teams will be critical cogs in the engine of innovation to move forward. In order to be successful, the CMO and CTO need to be more aligned than ever before. 

pac man game board

Gaming: Levelling Up Your Brand In The Cookie-Less Future

With so much focus on how to establish and target audiences in a cookie-less advertising landscape, much of the attention has centered on the power of publishers and their communities of engaged and authenticated audiences.

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Navigating The Metaverse Through Online Community

What is your Metaverse strategy? Whether that question induces your eyes to roll or your eyebrows to raise, it’s sure to be one you’ll encounter from your customer, your boss, or your investors soon. That is, if you haven’t already.

woman playing game on phone

The Gaming Media Channel Is Not Just Mobile, But Global

As ‘mobile advertising’ and ‘mobile games advertising’ increasingly become a distinction without a difference, it’s clear that this opportunity is comparable to the early days of social media as a media channel.

collage of brands and pop culture

The Six Best Ways to Connect Brands to Culture

What is the key to increase relevance, driving brand love and, ultimately, revenue? Well, the answer isn’t far off from how one got to be class president or homecoming king/queen in high school.

artistic light traffic graphic

How to Fix Ad Tech’s Lingering Problem

As a proponent of ad tech innovation, it pains me to say this. Our industry is wildly inefficient, not automated, and not transparent. And we’re barely addressing these major faults.

person painting mural advert

Painters Wanted

Of the omni-present Covid-recovery “we’re hiring” pleas, perhaps among the most curious comes from a media company in Brooklyn aggressively seeking . . . more sign painters.

closeup-of-home-made-tasty-burger

Authenticity in Advertising

Ok, so we’re not saving lives, but if I’m selling you a hamburger, you’ll know you’re being sold a hamburger. Terms and Conditions apply.

charlie the tuna turns 60

Happy 60th Birthday, Charlie!

The celebrations keep swimming upstream for StarKist’s Charlie the Tuna! Join us a new video premiering at #AWNewYork 2021 celebrating the iconic brand mascot.

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Getting Ready For What’s Next in Video

Join Tara Walpert Levy, Google’s VP of Agency and Brand Solutions, as we explore how marketers can be ready for today’s opportunities, and what’s coming next, in streaming and shopping.

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Ready for Growth: How Mondelēz International Scaled Human Connection

Join Kate Stanford, Google’s VP for Ads Marketing, to explore a real story of what it means to be ready. Tune in to hear directly from senior leadership at Mondelēz International on how they pivoted their teams that were traditionally built for mass marketing to deliver “empathy at scale.”

Immersion is Far More Than a Personal Playlist

Today marketers have nearly endless choices, but audience time and attention are tight. People are moving away from many traditional sources, and they’re tired of their screens.

woman taking selfie with phone

How Top Fashion Brands are Advertising on Social Media

According to Pew Research Center, today in the US, seven-in-ten are using social media. Of that group, younger adults are the most loyal and heavy social media users, creating an unparalleled marketing opportunity.

gaming chair in front of gaming PC

How Branding In Games Has Come Of Age

The gaming industry now boasts three billion players globally with a value in excess of $175.8bn. Gamers are an older and more diverse demographic than often assumed.

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Digital’s White Whale: Marketing on Reddit

Reddit is infamous for being a marketing graveyard. It is full of buried links from entrepreneurs and marketers that just didn’t “get it.” So how do you “get it” and avoid falling into the trap?

james bond

The Name’s Brand… James Brand

The owners of successful brand characters know when to change things subtly and also know when a change can mean big publicity.

digital screens flying through space

Digital Media’s Loss is CTV’s Gain

The past year has not been kind to digital media. From the (now-delayed cookie-apocalypse) to Facebook’s continual political troubles to increased scrutiny on digital privacy, it’s safe to say digital media has not had a good 2021.

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Does Third-party Data Need a Rebrand?

Third-party data, the product, is better than ever. It’s ethically sourced and privacy-compliant and will remain so even after cookies fall away.

last puzzle piece

Amazon Gets The Whole Picture

When the Amazon juggernaut rolls into a sector, market dominance is assured – it’s a question of when not if. Its latest venture? The trusty television set.

billboard for connecticut

Covid Ad Pitch: Keep Moving

Despite Covid — perhaps BECAUSE of Covid — robust ad campaigns pitch relocation and tourism. CTvisit (Connecticut) is spending nearly triple the typical amount on its fall regional campaign.

hot dog, baseball, apple pie, american flag photo

Why “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie And Chevrolet” Has Stood The Test Of Time

From Steve Miller’s “The Joker” to Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting”, the hits of 1974 include their share of classic earworms. But over in adland, Chevrolet made a hit of its own that year – “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” which became one of the most iconic car jingles of all time.

graphic person checking off check list next to shipping

How to Be Ready for Holiday Shoppers This Year

Google and Boston Consulting Group conducted a series of surveys to understand changes in consumer shopping behavior ahead of the holiday shopping season. Suchi Sastri breaks down what the findings mean for retailers.

magnifying glass on people

Why Brands Are Moving Audience Research In-House

The role of the agency is changing. Many brands are adapting their processes, redistributing their budget to get more control of their output, with a bigger focus on in-house. This shift has been ongoing for years.

chocolate chip cookie

Why Post-Cookie Targeting Solutions Can Not Retread Old Ideas

The advertising technology industry has spent most of the past 18 months developing plans and products to fill the white space in targeting that will be exposed when Google finally stops supporting third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.

woman window shopping

How Many Shoppers Are Actually Up For Grabs?

When working with finite marketing budgets, businesses need to be sure they’re focusing on getting the right message to the right people at the right time. But who are the right people exactly, and what do they need to hear?

child holding upward trajectory arrow

Our Mis-Invested Youth

As markets threaten to close a window of opportunity on younger generations’ financial security, AML Head of Strategy Christian Barnes calls on investment firms to start showing EQ as well as IQ – before it’s too late.

audio speakers

Looking Beyond Host-Read Ads to Make an Impact in Audio

As podcast listenership continues to skyrocket, marketers are allocating a greater portion of their media budgets to this increasingly popular medium. Today, advertisers are spending more on podcast advertising than ever before.

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Get Ready for the Holidays 2021

In the heat of summer, the holiday shopping season can feel like it’s a long way away. Experienced e-commerce merchants know better.

artistic image of head made of light

The Upside of Automation and Partnership Marketing

Over the past 20 years, automation has transformed digital marketing and media, in all its forms, one way or another. Despite its ability to change the game, however, its impact has been gradual.

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Why It’s Time To Move From Brainstorming To Brainsteering

Stimulating and creating a space – both physically, emotionally and intellectually – where ideas can be formed, new thinking can be encouraged, and product development can be shared and inspired is often easier said than done.

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The New Era of Data-Driven Creative

It seems obvious that performance marketing and creative teams should work together but most agencies and brands have created silos within marketing to decentralize their operations between creative, media buying and performance marketing.

person holding sony playstation controller

Why Adtech Needs to Learn from Kidtech

With under 16s making up almost 40% of all online users, they are having profound and long-lasting changes on how the internet is perceived and used.

man in data center in dark

How to Choose a Data Provider

We bring on a new data provider at least every quarter, if not every month. Along the way, we’ve learned some lessons about how to bring on new data partners.

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The Creative Impact Of CTV In A Privacy-First World

While this has been going on, connected TV (CTV) – which is free from third-party cookies – has seen its viewing figures increase in a massive way, growing by four billion hours per week in early 2020.

digital cart button

What Retailers Should Know About Digital Circulars

Old print vehicles aren’t grabbing attention or influencing purchase behavior the way they once did. Most Americans—46% according to Pew Research Center—don’t even look at print circulars anymore.

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Why Brand Purpose is your Business Value

Between two products of identical quality and cost, today’s consumers will choose the product that stands for something they support ten out of ten times. We promise.

bar graph made of glass cylinders

Finding the Future of Measurement with Cohorts

The history of innovation follows a familiar pattern: New technology comes along that improves our quality of life—like the car—then time reveals its unintended consequences, and innovators jump in to create something even better. 

girl looking at phone in front of mall escalators

Using AR to reach ‘Camera Native’ Gen-Z

Born during a time when consumer technology was exploding, GenZ spends up to 10 hours per day scrolling on their mobile devices and has become a ‘camera native’ generation.

Which Fast Food Fans Are Still Avoiding the Vaccines?

A recent survey found that 6 out of 10 consumers think that brands have a responsibility to be encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations. Major brands, from Budweiser to Krispy Kreme, are stepping up to this challenge by offering incentives unique to their brands.

art shot of robot and child hand

The Answer Is Automation

For digital media, advertising and numerous other industries, automation is the key solution needed to improve efficacy and efficiency, allowing businesses to outperform the competition.

art image of people standing on stacks of coins

Solving for the Browser Imbalance

Considering that Safari is the most popular mobile browser in the US, there is a lot of missed opportunities for monetization.  Publishers are now fighting with one hand behind their backs.

Sport is Finally Catching Up

Like most sectors, frankly, Sport has done an excellent job of papering over the cracks of this issue. Mental health has a stigma tied to weakness, which is absolutely the antithesis of what most sporting professionals want to portray.

Hypercasual’s Golden Age Doesn’t Have To End

There have never been so many talented developers and titanic publishers working within the genre, and that’s owing to the never-ending appetite for hypercasual games in the world today.

More Than Ever, We All Need The Olympics This Year

More than ever, as a national and even global community we need what the Olympic Movement provides – an antidote to the cultural tenor of the past two years; a push to exhibit “the best of us.”

Are You Ready to Go Social with the Summer Games?

Euro 2020 was the tournament in which sports consumption went truly social. With public venues in many countries still subject to social distancing or lockdown restrictions, fans took to more accessible digital channels in greater numbers than ever before, and the Tokyo Olympics is sure to continue that trend.

How Brands Can Succeed on TikTok

More and more brands are wanting to appear on TikTok, and the platform seems to have achieved a rare level of viral popularity among the most desirable audiences. TikTok, however, is not a typical media platform. Here are some very important points to consider for brands that want to get onto the newest, most popular digital platform.

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How to Calculate the Real Benefits of ROI

There’s a healthy number of ROI opportunities within the payment automation sphere, and it’s relatively easy to estimate for any given organization by doing a payment analysis.

CTV Completes the Puzzle for Cross-Channel Marketing Campaigns

The average UK home now uses 10.3 internet-enabled devices. With an excess of channels to choose from, audiences are no longer fully reachable via one platform. To keep up with consumption habits, marketers need omnichannel solutions that connect with their core customers as they move between touchpoints.

man with dog on couch and laptop on lap with graphics laid over the top of image

CTV & OTT Advertising Guide: 5 Big Challenges Solved

A decade ago, a cable television subscription was your ticket to news, entertainment, sports, and the shows everyone was talking about. Now, cable is just one of many ways that consumers can access video content thanks to the rise of connected TV.

Why You Need A UX Marketer

In the world of commerce, the power balance between seller and consumer has dramatically shifted. It was comparatively simple to convince consumers to convert and purchase a product or service in times past.

Audience Targeting And Why The Industry Needs To Do Better

Despite gathering significant momentum in recent years, the concept of diversity seems to remain a separate workstream for many businesses, as opposed to manifesting itself as a significant shift in policy, process, and approach.

K-Shaped Recovery: How Brands Can Come Out On Top Post-COVID

The economic impact of the pandemic has not been spread equally. Hard-hit industries like travel, retail and automotive were forced to rethink fundamental principles underpinning their normal business practices. While some faced hardships due to a prolonged disruption in trading, others capitalised on this new digital-first environment.

Your Brand Strategy Failed. It’s Not Your Fault.

Your brand strategy was never destined to succeed. Months of work, resources, discussions, and meetings that somehow never get you to the gold at the end of that proverbial rainbow. It’s a chronic problem caused by the system we’re working both in and against.

Creativity and the Power of Scale

Coming from the world of a creative agency, it can be hard to fully appreciate all of the digital advancements the industry has experienced in the last 5-10 years. Companies have talked about breaking down silos for years now, but implementing change is notoriously difficult.

Equally AI CEO Commentary: Why Technology is the Great Digital Democratizer

It’s estimated that 98 percent of websites aren’t fully accessible, creating a significant digital divide that’s harming people and businesses. In response, digital platforms need to understand the case for accessibility while taking practical steps to improve their operations moving forward.

Gen-Z Rising

Highlighted by GenZ, youth are pushing brands to dispense with the BS, contribute to social progress, ease their considerable anxieties, and help them course-correct the imperiled planet they and their children will inherit. Expect more brands to wake up to their power and influence.

Diversity and Trust: Your Marketing Medium Matters

The size and influence of Black and Hispanic audiences continues to grow – and along with it, the importance of these communities in the advertising ecosystem. Is your brand doing everything it can to reach them?

Re-Thinking The HFSS Debate: A Call To Arms For Context

The imminent UK government ban on advertising products that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) is almost certainly well-intentioned. But it is also heavy-handed, especially given the positive impact of industry self-regulation, as well as the advanced technologies available to manage and control ad exposure.

AWEurope 2021 Trend Report

This report brings those key trends to life, examining why they are so important, and discussing the potential impact they will have on our industry, our clients, and our target audiences.

All Shoppers Do Research – Even The Impulsive Ones

We’ve all learned what that feels like over the past year or so, so it should be easy enough to understand: when the situation is always evolving, we have to roll with the punches. As marketers and advertisers, that’s what ongoing shifts in shopper behavior demand of us.

Tips for Success from Working Moms in the Digital Marketing Field

As a bi-racial, divorced, and working mom of three, I have faced more than my fair share of hurdles as a female working in tech. I have taken the lessons I have learned over the years to my current position at  NetBlaze, a digital marketing SaaS company for small businesses. 

Catching Some Z’s with HiSmile’s Nik Mirkovic

Generation Z is arguably the choosiest when it comes to the brands they support. But as 20-something entrepreneurs Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic prove, if you get your product and comms strategy right, you can ride the wave of approval and build a really strong brand.

Looking to the East: The Future of e-commerce

2020 was a game-changer for e-commerce in Europe. Brands and retailers have surged towards digital channels and omnichannel marketing has become a true buzzword. Some of our clients have seen their e-commerce sales double after just a few weeks.

What’s the Purpose of Purpose?

Brand Purpose (capital ‘p’) offers the WHY a brand does what it does. It goes beyond profits, offering a reason for being that’s grounded in humanity. And, as many brands have recognized this past 18 months, that Purpose can be a guiding and stabilizing light in dark times.

How Conscious Brands Can Help The LGBTQ+ Community

In the past few years, brands have started to embrace the LGBTQ+ community, often changing their logos to feature rainbow colours during Pride months to show their support. Having worked in the media ecosystem, I noticed that there were still things that needed to change for brands to show their support further.

connecting with audiences through mobile presented by mopub

Connecting with Audiences Through Mobile

In this report, you will discover the six main themes that emerged from this summit, explaining how marketers should approach the fast-growing mobile space.

Here’s What It Will Take to Reach People Who Are Avoiding the Vaccine

COVID-19 vaccines have been rolling out across the U.S. for six months now, but the real work for vaccination campaigns is just beginning. As supply eclipses demand, all eyes are turning to Americans who have expressed hesitancy or outright resistance to being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Billboards are Part of Billy Graham’s Multi-Media Story

On June 24-26, 2005, evangelist Billy Graham held his “last crusade” at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, speaking to approximately 242,000 people. Today, from Graham’s birthplace Charlotte, NC, Gale Bonnell of Adams Outdoor Advertising looks back at the connection between the legendary preacher and out of home media.

Boosting Your Sales with the Right Product Video

Even though people are getting more used to the idea of shopping online, the fact that they can’t see, touch, or try the actual product is a big purchase stopper. Luckily, eCommerce companies and their marketing teams have product videos to help them with that.

Catching Some Zs with Iyia Liu

Wooing Generation Z can be a tough sell. Educated, dedicated and increasingly conscious of their consumption habits, they can be a tricky cohort to engage in authentic ways. Unless of course, you’re New Zealander Iyia Liu, a serial entrepreneur who has shown again and again she knows what Gen Z wants.

The Changing Definition of What It Means to Travel

To many, it feels as though the skies have parted and the world around us is opening up. Our worlds have been ‘unlocked’ and it has us ready for what’s next. In fact, the first place we’ve gone is to our computers…“Get me the heck out of here!”

Why Contextual is Not the Answer

Everyone is talking about the end of the cookie and what kinds of targeting will survive in the aftermath. Many continually debate that context is or isn’t the answer to this loss of signal.

Communication Gaffes Can Derail Sports Careers, So Don’t Wing It

You would never think about doing your job without ensuring you’re fully prepared for what’s in front of you. And yet, time and again, many people continue to wing it when it comes to one of the few areas that can immediately derail projects, reputations, even careers.

Corporate Buzzwords? Just Say No!

“Synergy.” “Leverage.” “Paradigm shift.” Why do people talk like this at work? Here are 20 words and phrases to cut from your work vocabulary.

The Participation Economy presented by braze

The Participation Economy

Everything You Need To Know About Customer Engagement in 2021, all in one report. Download The Participation Economy presented by Braze.

5 UX Best Practices for Online Checkout Design

The checkout flow is easily the most crucial phase of any online business. But, with customer expectations for an easy purchase journey at its peak, the process is not always smooth-sailing.

How To Build A Data Quality Playbook For 2022 And Beyond

The digital advertising industry is a space of constant evolution. From the emergence of smartphones to the adoption of Connected TV, to the laser-focus on data privacy, ongoing developments continue to transform online advertising.

A Year of Lessons: The Future of OOH

The Out of Home industry took some big blows from the pandemic, but it is recovering fast. Along the way, we have learned some interesting things over the last year.

The 5 Ways Airline CMOs Can Help Their Brands Take Off

Business travel expenses will be scrutinized like never before as companies weigh them against the cost of videoconferencing (which is virtually free). Mainstays like privacy and comfort will remain important, but new values like flexibility have emerged.

Balancing Image Licensing with a Post-Pandemic Brand Refresh

AW360 sat down with Brad Ralph, Senior Director of Content Development at Getty Images, to talk about his experience as the founder of iStock.com and share some of his hard-earned insights as to how small businesses can keep in step with copyright laws and protect creators’ rights.

Securing C-Suite Buy-In for Search Campaigns

While digital ad spend may be rising, overall marketing budgets are still contracting, albeit at a slower rate than last year, meaning marketers need to account for every penny spent and prove they are delivering real value.

Brand Gen is the Future of B2B Marketing

Why follow one track only when you can combine the best of all worlds to maximize returns. This is how you build a real B2B brand that you can actually take to the bank.

The Creative Lens with Dan Monheit, Founder, Hardhat

Hardhat is an agency that works to marry the best of creativity with an understanding of the ins and outs of human behaviour. Here, Co-Founder Dan Monheit gives us an insight into how he uses psychology to fuel creative output.