Laird Stiefvater

“THE POWER OF ONE” IN A WORLD DIVIDED. Just for the record … The key difference between Publicis and other agency holding companies like WPP, Omnicom, and IPG is that Publicis actually has and makes work a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) … “The Power of One”. That is, the promise and delivery of truly and fully integrated Brand marketing communications services where there are ultimately only two questions to be answered: 1) Are we making money for our clients? and 2) Are we making money for ourselves and shareholders? That’s it. Because one follows the other if the individual agencies and their holding company parents do their jobs harmoniously. Hence, the power of one! “One Brand, One Voice. With Distinction” for consumers, investors, and shareholders alike. 😎       

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The YinYang - 135k employees in the Group. Assume that 6000 are going to be squeezed out, with the new Group looking for “efficiencies” of around 5%. The upside:- - new agencies will form off the back of it from leavers - great talent will become available - clients will churn and look for new homes

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Jounce Media's newly published State of the Open Internet Report explains the industry’s chronic bidstream congestion issue and how to address it. This latest research highlights the trend toward consolidation we are seeing on the supply side and is a must-read.

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A smart move by Colgate-Palmolive. It's not that people don't want to share any of their data - they want a fair exchange of value in return (and they want to be the ones to make the decision, not the other way around). “We’re not collecting data just to have it. It’s important that there’s a reason behind everything we collect – a value proposition.” #FirstPartyData #DigitalMarketing

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Human Centered AI will continue to shape our marketing and experiential campaigns. We introduced Amp's Brand Emotional Index to understand how deeply connected our client brands are with their target consumers and customers. But it is the correlation between those measured emotions with loyalty and purchase intent that allows for AI-driven personalization. Considering that most purchase decisions are irrational and based on how we remember and feel about a brand, Human Centered AI allows for the design and activation of real time personalized experiences that evoke the right emotions and the desired behaviors.

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🛠️Want to build durable growth strategies that stand resiliently against today's uncertainties? 🔨 Learn how to prioritize outcomes over one-off transactions and foster sustainable, loyal customer relationships with Salesloft's Durable Revenue Engagement Model. #SalesExcellence #B2BRevenue #GTM #AI https://hubs.ly/Q02WVJvv0

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Proving that brand content can be authentic and totally entertaining: https://lnkd.in/em7CPvvQ

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#WednesdayWisdom This back-to-school season, brands are navigating through financial turbulence, making capturing attention with fresh, relatable strategies crucial. As spending tightens, marketers like Amazon and JCPenney are focusing on value, while others like American Eagle are tapping into the power of Gen Z and inclusive messaging. With kids influencing parents' purchasing decisions more than ever, connecting with the entire family could be the key to success. #BackToSchool #MarketingTrends

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Solid overall performance for Omnicom in Q2 with Advertising, Media and Experiential leading the way, but Asia Pacific continues to be challenging   John Wren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom said: "Our 5.2% organic growth in the second quarter drove solid growth in adjusted EBITA & EPS, with good performance in our larger markets and disciplines. With the rapid adoption of Gen AI, creativity and talent matter more than ever to address the breadth and complexity of consumers. To serve our clients with the best, most advanced capabilities, we continue to strategically align our agencies and invest in robust data and technology, scaled content and production, e-commerce, and retail and performance media - all embedded in our industry-leading Omni platform."   Having set organic revenue growth expectations at between 4% and 5%, delivering 5.2% in Q2 (4.6% for H1) must have been satisfying for Wren to announce.   Key to this was 7.8% organic growth in the Advertising & Media discipline, which represented 53.1% of total revenue in Q2. Another discipline with very strong performance was ‘Experiential’ which saw 17.6% growth off the back of 9.5% in Q1, but this is off of a relatively smaller base of just 4.8% of total revenues.   However, these overperformers were offset by underperformance in all other disciplines: Precision Marketing, Public Relations, Healthcare and Execution & Support grew by 1.4%, 0.9%, 2.0% and 1.2% respectively – well below the 5.2% average for the quarter. But the most challenged discipline for the second quarter in a row was the curiously named Branding & Retail Commerce which saw a 3.8% organic decline (Q1 it was also down 3.8%).   It would seem that the online / retail commerce bubble off the back of Covid has worked its way through, whilst consumer appetite for experiences – physical experiences in particular – have grown. Not really new news.   The geographic split of Omnicom’s revenues shows four regions performing well: US (which is 52.8% of total revenues), UK, Euro Markets & Other Europe and Middle East & Africa grew 6.3%, 6.9%, 4.5% and 8% respectively. Latin America showed very impressive organic growth of 24.5%.   But these were pulled down primarily by a 0.1% decline in Asia Pacific. The other region that saw a decline was Other North America, which was down a rather large 8.3%. Whilst it is a small proportion of total revenue at 3% there is a story behind this to watch. Over the last week it has emerged that BBDO, TBWA and DDB are coming together under the name of Omnicom Advertising Group. I should imagine that the independent agencies in Canada are rubbing their hands in glee. In the press release Wren stares that “we continue to strategically align our agencies”. Again, not really new news – a major group streamlining its businesses and brands … but sad for someone who has been in this world for a little while as I have. Some great analysis from The Drum with a little quote in there from me...

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New Insights on Gen Alpha to help brands prepare.

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Today's report from Madison and Wall on IPG's results contains an interesting comment. Noting that IPG is behind Omnicom and Publicis in principal-based trading (aka Inventory or Proprietary Media), M&W states the following: "...because essentially all large clients by now accept that their agencies participate in these activities, additional growth opportunities will surely follow". Brian Wieser, CFA and his team are nearly always on the money but this time I'm not sure they are right. It is possible that all large clients know that their agency groups do this, but this is not the same as agreeing to do it. There are big advertisers who don't agree with the principle and practice of principal -based trading and do not allow it. The recent study by Association of National Advertisers showed that understanding of it is far from universal (although this wasn't only 'large' advertisers). Principal-based trading delivers very little advantage to advertisers compared to the benefits to the agency groups, and advertisers need to jump through many hoops if they agree to it but with limited upside. It is interesting that Publicis and WPP have engaged in trading blows over their reliance on this. It is far from certain that Principal-based media is the panacea it appears to be for the big groups. Steve Boehler

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This holiday season, brands need to rethink their OOH strategies to stand out. Clear Channel Outdoor research shows that combining proximity targeting with audience-focused planning is the way to go. While it's great to target people nearby, you also want to reach those farther out based on their interests and habits. Using both strategies together helps you connect with the right people for maximum impact—meeting consumers exactly where they are. #OOH #HolidayMarketing #AudienceTargeting

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We craft transformative brand strategies into compelling visual narratives that engage and drive results. Positive happens. Book your free strategy call today and turn your brand’s success into its next level: https://lnkd.in/eFBywzi5 #EngageYourAudience #DriveResults #TakeAction #BusinessGrowth #MarketingStrategy #ElevateYourBrand #StorytellingForBusiness #CreativeStrategy #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusinessGrowth #MarketingExperts #CreativeAgency #DesignThinking #InnovationInDesign #VisualMarketing #Branding #Marketing #DigitalMarketing #CreativeMarketing #StartupSuccess

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We craft transformative brand strategies into compelling visual narratives that engage and drive results. Positive happens. Book your free strategy call today and turn your brand’s success into its next level: https://lnkd.in/eFBywzi5 #EngageYourAudience #DriveResults #TakeAction #BusinessGrowth #MarketingStrategy #ElevateYourBrand #StorytellingForBusiness #CreativeStrategy #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusinessGrowth #MarketingExperts #CreativeAgency #DesignThinking #InnovationInDesign #VisualMarketing #Branding #Marketing #DigitalMarketing #CreativeMarketing #StartupSuccess

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Please - whatever you do. Don’t put the “manosphere” in your next marketing deck. I know you want to. It’s a new, shiny label right there for the taking. Because that’s what we do as an industry. Rather than understand something, we simply label it, and by labeling it, we pretend to understand it. I’ve seen this manosphere word in about 4-5 articles since the election, including what brands should do about it. Nonsense. Enough. It reminds me of a few weeks ago when in the Wall Street Journal, I read an article about another dreaded term - “chaos marketing.” It sounds interesting. It sounds fun. It sounds extreme. “Chaos marketing.” The examples in the article were fantastic. Sunscreen from a whipped cream can. A tampon brand using ice cream packaging to stand out. This wasn’t chaos, this was clever. Incredibly creative and different ways to capture attention. But by using the word chaos, we reduce the tactics to unintelligent. It’s insulting and demeaning. It makes them appear like random thoughts of surprise, unserious marketing efforts that have no calculation associated with them. Why would a CFO want to fund chaos? Or let’s take it back even further. John Hagerty and Orlando Wood on the Uncensored CMO podcast a few months ago rightfully lambasted the word “consumer.” They were right - it’s a terrible word. It assumes that all your customers want to do is consume - consume media, consume creative, consume your product. That we are all just hungry seekers for content, leeching from one thing to the next. Maybe we’re just people, and the nuances within those people can create exciting opportunities to build product and promotions where those people are? And now we have the manosphere. Sure to be in every strategists 2025 predictions deck. “Aha, this is what the rise of the manosphere means for your brand!” Rather than label, investigate. Understand. Explore. It’s not the manosphere, it’s what young men interact with, talk and think about. It’s why they’re thinking what they’re thinking. It’s not some blunt term that simply means, go partner with Theo Vonn. By labeling trends or phenomenon we keep them at arms length. We don’t need to understand them completely, because we know the label, and that’s enough in a world that prioritizes speed over depth. And we sound even more cringey and detached from offering up any sort of powerful marketing strategies to influence customers. So please, I beg you. No “what the manosphere means for you” predictions for 2025. Do that only if you have already dug beneath the surface.

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near 8 decades of marketing and marketing research experience Steve and I have taught one key lesson ... marketing is all about knowing matters to people not consumers enjoy the series .. more to come

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Folks, we have an exciting webinar TODAY on the hottest topic in the media industry right now: Retail Media or Commerce Media. We have an outstanding panelist lined up, and you definitely don't want to miss it. If you're a CPG marketer, this topic is a must for you. I assure you that you'll walk away with actionable insights to bring back to your organization. Click the link below to register. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Yep, scale still matters in media, especially if you’re an agency. Further agency consolidations aren’t necessarily good news for advertisers, who are facing more competitive conflicts sharing agencies with rival brands and facing reduced transparency as agencies grow more powerful. Possible this could trigger some high profile media pitches in 2025 as rival brands race to secure the best terms within the merged group. #MediaForGrowth https://lnkd.in/g4NnXTsE

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The majority of the US population affected by macroeconomic forces aren’t bound together by age, gender or geography; they don’t share a common buyer profile or fit a neat target audience definition that can be isolated and addressed. They do, however, share a trait: disaffectation. With inflation, interest rates, layoffs and supply chain disruption reshaping business and consumer priorities, brands risk losing loyal audiences unless they adapt to meet the needs of the “disaffected generation”. https://lnkd.in/e8zxDnSv

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