Michelle Blaser

Hard to believe that this continues to be hotly debated and protested by both client and agency slide leaders. The answer seems obvious. I would argue against testing a Brand's positioning strategy with consumers. If the right leaders have the right inputs / data (especially consumer and competitive understanding), I recommend not testing a strategy per se. Rather, I encourage clients to move briskly into creative development and then test the creative. This serves as a disaster check on the strategy and also paves way to getting business building creative in market.

31

9 Comments

Struggling to get your audience to take action? 🤔 Discover how clear, concise, and well-placed CTAs can transform your conversion rates: https://lnkd.in/ejiHYSFj #CTAOptimisation #MarketingTips

1

"Neglecting measurement is like working ineffectively. If you can't show results, it's hard to justify continuing." Amen to that. Top article from Wavemaker that highlights some myths worth busting: 1) Does measurement stifle creativity? Not if you're measuring emotions. As my colleague Barney Worfolk Smith 🦩 likes to quote, the goal is 'just move me, dude'. We are helping brands understand that emotions felt at a high level moves the consumer to do something because the content becomes sticky, it creates a memory, and that memory creates the desired outcome. And yes, that's the same for B2B. 2) It's just for hero content. It used to be because testing was expensive. But the hero is the tip of the iceberg of what we test today because the model has changed. What used to cost thousands per asset to test is now a fraction of that. This means we're testing everything: static and video created internally and externally. At that price point, it makes sense to know how all of your content/ads are working, not just the hero. Otherwise, how can you truly benchmark your performance or feed the data back into a proper learning agenda? 3) It's too late to make changes. It is if testing is going to take 4 weeks, but what about if it's real-time? Testing can now be iterative not just because it's real-time (but also because of the cost model). You can refine the assets for the chosen media environment to ensure that it hits home. Not so long ago, it was purely a 'tick box' exercise, whereas we can now test multiple edits, not just the top 1-3. We've seen the impact this has: a real-time 11x increase in sales of the original vs. the optimized. 4) Testing is too expensive for MMM. This was true up until the application of AI. It's now completely feasible to add a creative signal into the model. With creative driving almost 50% of the campaign performance, this is a game-changer. 5) It's hard to prove that testing drives outcomes in the real world. The challenge for this is that brands didn't used to have or want to share sales data. This has changed rapidly. We're now working with brands to help model their sales data with our testing to help improve hard outcomes. We can show them what's working and help them use this data to predict future performance and power highly valuable insight that helps improve the content. As pointed out in the article, effectiveness and creativity go hand in hand. This is a fact. Because the data in the creative, when applied to the media mix, is pushing effectiveness through the roof. Creative data improves targeting, powers DCO by explaining not just which creatives to optimise for but why. What does this mean in the real world? As above at DAIVID 🦩 we're seeing improved performance for our clients on their media metrics and importantly, hard sales metrics.

5

2 Comments

I love the current algorithmic chaos we're experiencing on Instagram and other apps. It signals rapid change to at least attempt to adapt to changing user behaviors. It also reminds me a lot of the approach many of these platforms had early on, and that excites me. Would I like a consistent algorithm that works predictably? Sure, but it's much more valuable to have platforms that constantly chase user behavior because that helps deliver on the core value they have for us as marketers: an engaged audience. #Socialmedia #Instagram #Socialmediamarketing

9

3 Comments

Today, Havas Media Network launches a groundbreaking research paper that combines Lumen Research’s predictive attention models with Brand Metrics’ brand lift studies to uncover the drivers of brand awareness, consideration, preference, and action intent. “What do 9,000 brand lift studies teach us about attention and memory?” analyzes over 9,000 campaigns, involving 1.8 million respondents and 5.6 million impressions, and finds a clear positive link between attention and these brand metrics. This study integrates viewability and frequency data with scaled brand lift responses. While attention metrics have grown rapidly, they’ve been underutilized in media planning—until now. "Our study with Lumen Research and Brand Metrics bridges this gap, offering actionable insights to embed attention into planning and activation," said Jonathan Waite, Global Managing Director of Mx, Havas Media Network London. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gSUQ4Cin #HavasProud #ResearchReport

57

1 Comment

What does attention mean for your brand’s success? One thing is certain: longer attention times are closely tied to greater brand lift – from awareness to purchase intent. Focusing solely on lower funnel metrics is no longer enough; attention metrics are also critical in driving advertising effectiveness throughout the entire funnel. Discover how optimising attention can elevate your brand strategy in our latest whitepaper 👇 Havas Media Network | Havas APAC #HavasMediaNetwork #BrandLift #Whitepaper

6

"Over the years, the size of PR teams hasn't changed - but demands are exponentially higher. We need to evolve with new tools and tactics, or risk becoming ineffective." - Adam Christensen, CMO of Notified Learn more about how corporate storytellers can navigate new networks of influence to build trust and maintain control of narratives. https://ow.ly/Esbs50S2aU0 PRWeek #PR #PublicRelations #Communications

9

As influencers of creativity, Account & Client Leaders can directly SUPPORT their creative partners in strengthening their partnership with the client. Here are a few key takeaways from this fabulous piece about business-minded CMOs by Jaime Robinson of JOAN Creative. 1. Join your creative teams in the process of 'living, loving, playing and experimenting' in social media 2. Immerse your teams in the business and sales cycles, leveraging their creativity to solve tough business problems 3. Empower your teams & your client by having a plan that includes experimentation 4. Encourage your teams to openly share their expertise and learning 5. Support your teams in delivering work that drives business outcomes AND makes clients proud

8

2 Comments

One Creator's Opinion Plummets a Company to Near Bankruptcy?! 🤯 Marques Brownlee published a video titled "This is the Worst Car I've Ever Reviewed" which was a detailed review of the Fisker Ocean. True to the title, he didn't recommend the car. The stock was at 75 cents per share on the day he published that video and is currently at 6 cents per share today. Shortly after the video went live, the Fisker team wanted to know how Marques got a hold of the car. They tracked down and called the owner of the vehicle that rented Marques the car for the review. They asked him a variety of questions and showed a lot of concern. Little did the Fisker team know the owner was recording the whole conversation and, shortly after, published it on TikTok. The TikTok went viral, and it has racked up 6+ million views so far. The video is definitely worth a watch: https://lnkd.in/gFmcWpJx MKBHD gave them another fair shot because they stated they've resolved many of the issues with an update. The video just went live and already has wracked up 990k views so far: https://lnkd.in/gNhtT__H Kudos to Marques for giving them a second shot. The real question is, did Marques really cause Fisker to lose that much value? No. Fisker has been losing value since their IP back in 2020. Do I think this is the perfect case study of the power of creators in the press? Absolutely. If you plan to offer a product or service to the public, be prepared for genuine reviews. Be prepared for consumers and creators to share their opinions about your company. Ensure that your product or service is truly valuable to the general public. If it is, this will build up your brand in the marketplace. If it isn't valuable, it will hurt you.

30

5 Comments

As one who interacts with CMOs all the time I can tell you this topic is at or near the top of their collective priority list. And while I am skeptical of those who espouse best practices when it comes to generative AI - only because it is so nascent - I felt compelled to share this particular piece from my fellow CMSWire scribe, Tiffany Holland Why? Glad you asked. I felt compelled for the simple fact I agree with everything Tiffany opined on, which she breaks down into four truths, which are below along with my brief commentary. Do yourself a favor and read her piece. ➡️ Truth #1: Inaction With Generative AI in Marketing Is the Greatest Risk Yes, yes and YES. If I could climb the highest mountain I would and bellow this to the masses below. This ain't the time to "sit this one out" whilst the rest of the world, AKA your competition is taking full advantage. ➡️ Truth #2: Generative AI Offers More Value Than Just Operational Efficiency Tiffany deftly writes of the "narrow view" many CMOs and marketers have of Gen AI, which "offers only short-term benefits and overlooks the true power of machine learning." Dating myself big time here but this reminded me of the late 70's campaign professing that orange juice is not just for breakfast anymore. https://lnkd.in/e95uWbex ➡️ Truth #3: Generative AI Solutions Fails in the Traditional Marketing Model "Generative AI won’t deliver its full potential if organizations try to plug it into outdated operating models." Full Stop! Read and re-read that over and over and over and then, for the love of all things Holy, do NOT blame Gen AI if you do not adhere to this sage advice. ➡️ Truth #4: Ethical Governance of Generative AI in Marketing Is Critical I love that Tiffany saved this one for last because it is THE most important truth, by far. Gen AI and AI in general, is very much akin to the wild west right now; no rules of governance other than those self-imposed. Brands MUST self-govern the way they use Gen AI if for no other reason, it is the ethical thing to do. Please share your thoughts on all of this. I love a good conversation and yes, a debate if need be. Jeanniey John Aakansha Srota Manny Shelly Lou Jeff Raja Ted Lee David Alma Dom Rhonda #ai #GenAI #cmo

18

3 Comments

Our Susan Wu discusses findings from the new State of the Industry Report with Digiday, sharing how marketers are redefining their performance marketing strategies: https://lnkd.in/ezMFjCmK

15

Join Kantar live on LinkedIn on October 29 as our innovation and brand strategy experts discuss how to successfully stretch your brand to drive growth. They'll explore the risks of maintaining the status quo, the importance of an incremental approach, why brand size matters, using #AI to identify innovation opportunities, and more. Reserve your spot for this can't miss session!

3

👀 Check out this session on navigating the evolving terrain of generative AI in Market Research with Forrester’s Thought Leader and Industry Leaders from buzzback and Quadrant Strategies. Discover how AI can align with your #qualitativeresearch objectives leading to practical applications that will help you gain next-gen #insights and save dozens of hours per project and thousands of dollars. 📹 Watch Now: https://lnkd.in/ghKdcHu3 #MarketResearch #QualReserach #GenAI #GenerativeAI #ResearchAgency #MRXAgency

14

Amazing week at Brandweek last week- Spending time with fellow marketers reminded me why I love media, experiences and brands so much. Had a fun chat with Nicole Parlapiano and Adam Grossman (and thank you Mark Stenberg!) about changes in the TV landscape- how/when fans view, how TV lives beyond the screen and what makes for an authentic and compelling ad experience in this new fragmented world. Key takeaways: being a TV fan today is both amazing and a lot of work. There are more opportunities to reach fans than ever before but it takes a lot more insight and planning to get it right. Attended the Marketing Vanguard dinner at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's school and "lab" where we experienced his creative genius and how he thought about the fit of environment + structure + human was inspiring. Key Takeaway: the details matter- if you want your guests to sit, relax and get to know each other, keep the ceilings low! And learned more about the journeys of heritage brands including Crayola, Hilton and Wendy's (with amazing CMOs Victoria B. Lozano, Mark Weinstein, Lindsay Radkoski), all of which have become so much more than a product. They're experience brands with loyal fans for whom these brands are part of their identities (I pulled my Wendy's booklet out of my wallet as Lindsay was speaking, a roadtrip isn't a roadtrip without a stop at Wendy's for my family!) Key Takeaway: Brands that focus on who their fans are and what they care about beyond a transactional moment will thrive for (hundreds of) years! Big thank you to Jenny Rooney for getting this amazing community together to take a moment to remember why we love what we do- bringing joy to fans! #fortheloveoffans #brandweek #adweek https://lnkd.in/eTmxpU2Y

46

1 Comment

So, Omnicom just bought Interpublic Group (IPG). Another day, another merger... another rant. While many in the business press will see this as a strategic move, I can’t help but think about the people—the real talent—who might find themselves out of a job. It’s heartbreaking. I know some of these folks personally. They’re brilliant. Brilliant in ways you can’t measure with spreadsheets or profit margins. The creative industry is special that way. The best among us? They... we, are not here because we aced high school or followed some Ivy League pipeline. We’re here because we’re oddballs in an island of broken toys. We were lucky enough to find this profession, one built on sensitivity, imagination, and seeing the world differently. Allow me to throw a little story here… Imagine coming back from France, it's the summer, and your plan crashes. Fortunately, everybody survives, but it's a remote desert island. The passangers are for the most part creatives, coming back from Cannes 🫣 probably they’re not the first people you’d think of as useful under the circumstances. We’re not builders, farmers or doctors… But when problems arise, often is a different way to look at the situation what comes handy, and at night, when the fires are lit and the camp needs stories we’re fun to have around, usually more so than bankers and VC capital managers. That’s part of what makes this business so human, so irreplaceable. It’s not about the size of the corporation or the weight of the logo on the building. Creative talent doesn’t need a big group to thrive, it requires creative people. So, as we head into 2025, here’s a reminder: think carefully about your partnerships. Choose collaboration over consolidation. Build something with people who will bring you more than profits, if you can; leave space for a little creative magic. #Creativity #CreativeMagic #CreativeIndustry #CreativeVoices #AgencyLife #entrepreneur #business #interpublic #omnicom #merger

11

If advertisers want the scale of targeted linear audiences in multiple markets--maybe also blend it with a targeted layer of CTV viewers--we're the independent alternative to the vanilla corporate option! Your campaign has a flavor all its own--your media partner should too. Centriply

1

The importance of putting brand and consumer relationship on perspective.

1