Michele Magazine

In a rapidly evolving marketing landscape, what sets successful brands apart? Industry leaders from Rokt, Cincoro Tequila, The Wall Street Journal, and Veronica Beard came together in NYC to share their insights on authenticity, relevance, and the delicate balance of AI and human creativity at the most recent Marketers That Matter®, a 24 Seven Talent company, Forum. We're sharing the insights from the full conversation here: https://bit.ly/4fipxit #marketersthatmatter #mtm #marketing #AI #brand #brandvoice #blogpost #marketinginsights

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📣 PR's Comeback: From Struggle to Spotlight at Cannes 🏆 This post sums up a few recent PRWeek articles ('Consider the Code Cracked' and 'Richard Edelman reflects on Cannes') with POSITIVE NEWS for the PR industry!!! YIPPIEEE! As Richard Edelman noted, "The market has moved toward PR firms." We're not just supporting clients; we're driving their most successful campaigns with earned-first ideas." (He also expects an uptick in business for the second half of 2024, citing a more robust pipeline across tech and healthcare) 📈📈📈📈LFG! The PR industry has recently faced hurdles, but Cannes Lions 2024 showcased our incredible resurgence! 🌱➡️🌳 Key highlights: -PR firms dominate with purpose-driven, action-oriented campaigns 💪 -Multiple agencies securing recognition across various categories 🏅 -First-ever PR agency sole credit for Grand Prix in PR category (Golin, 2024) 🥇 -Innovative campaigns like "The Misheard Version" and "Michael CeraVe" showcasing PR's creative prowess 💡 Industry evolution: -Improved storytelling in award submissions 📽️ -Emphasis on ideas over technology 💡>🖥️ (TAKE THAT, AI!) -Blending creativity with strategic problem-solving 🎨🧠 PR's emerging strengths: -Ability to shape and inhabit culture 🌍 -Flexibility to adapt across platforms 📱🎬 -Understanding of brand safety in uncertain times 🛡️ -Tackling complex, politicized issues head-on 🌎 Looking ahead: -Richard Edelman predicts strong end to 2024, with tech and healthcare sectors rallying 📈🖥️🏥 -Increased confidence for PR-led creative campaigns 🚀 -Greater agency collaboration and integrated approaches 🤝 This renaissance isn't a fluke – it's our new normal. As we continue to push boundaries and showcase our capabilities, the future of PR looks brighter than ever. #TWSearchPartners #PRWeek #PRAgency #PublicRelations #CannesLions

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And Then There Was One Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder and non-executive chair of Paramount Global, is wavering on the potential sale of the media conglomerate, according to recent reports. Redstone has been exploring various options for Paramount, including a potential acquisition by Skydance Media. However, she has been sending mixed signals in recent days regarding her willingness to sell the company. What will be her final decision? #media #streaming #entertainment

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Big news in ad land. Will this merger work? It’s not surprising Omnicom and IPG want to merge given that the big bloated ad holding cos are way overdue for consolidation. They are losing control of ad spend which is the cornerstone of their outdated biz model. And now they’re trying to pivot fast. But, will a merger solve for this? My take? This merger buys them time. It’ll work if they streamline in a hard and painful way. That means a lot of job cuts and some new hires. And it means a totally new structure of how services are designed and delivered. That means reducing the hold co layer (useless expensive overhead) and blowing up all the agency silos. No more P&Ls that fight each other. Refocus to deliver what clients want. Services that are agile, specialized and seamless. And refocus to be the client advocate- something they’ve lost sight of. Having worked for IPG, Omnicom, WPP and Publicis during my career, I’ve seen that they are all alike and share the same challenge. I fear the newly merged holding co will cut everyone below them - not themselves. And they don’t understand how to design for the future given most of them don’t understand digital media or technology. What do you think? How can this merger be successful over the long term?

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While I can’t speak to the legitimacy of the accusations herein, this is still a worrying situation for advertisers everywhere. Publications whose reputations are staked on their image of legitimate business are not what many may expect to be perpetrators of MFA Ad fraud. That being said, we can better understand ad fraud by looking at the incentive changes on the supply side of these AdTech deals. Ad fraud particularly harms multicultural publishers, as their reach and impact receive decreased impact when improperly assigned to Ad spaces. #AdFraud #AdTech #ProgramaticSupplyChain

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I'm nervous about tomorrow, but it gave me a little extra comfort to weigh in on this year's election. CBS Sunday Morning News was a chance to go mainstream with the perspective I can bring. I got the "walk and talk" shot with David Pogue and I got emails from my family and friends who watch the show. In this business I'm in, we're responsible for help shaping messages and experiences that define what people think about brands. Hopefully based on a truth. Can't say the truth piece feels quite as true anymore for political ads. Although that was probably debatable about marketing as a whole, unfortunately. And It's harder than ever to unify people around a message-- we've moved beyond the broad message to much more niche. In many ways good because there was an assumed bigger perspective that left many out. But we're also losing a shared narrative, which makes truth impossible. And in media today we must navigate the complexity of platforms and subculture to try to align people around a set of values and beliefs, if not a message. We must try and break through peoples' bubbles-- that they aren't even aware they are a part of. Or maybe they are and don't care. Luckily with brands we still have to play the long game. So we haven't gone all negative. We need to build the brand over time. In politics, fear of what could happen can be more unifying than the hope and belief of real change. It's an all or nothing for candidates, so they have to go all in. They don't just have a low sales quarter. The winner of the election controls the next 4 years. The loser gets nothing. However while fear can serve as a unifier or at least a barrier to voting for your opponent, it doesn’t work as well as a motivator for most. I just hope we've given people enough to show up for: pride, hope, optimism, joy--belief that moving forward is a good thing.

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Sharing some thoughts on maximizing ROI from trade shows. We have extensive experience with B2B trade shows, marketing a few large shows and supporting many brands that exhibit at these events. While our agency’s focus is primarily digital, we believe well-executed trade shows are among the best investments B2B brands can make. However, given the cost, it’s essential to leverage every opportunity to maximize your return. Here are a few strategies to help you get the most out of your trade shows: Pre-Show Marketing: Align your marketing calendar with your show schedule and promote your attendance on relevant channels beforehand. Take advantage of email, search, social media, trade publications, and website content to build anticipation. Leverage First-Party Data: Use past show leads to build segmented, look-alike, and geo-targeted digital campaigns around the event. Enhance your reach and engagement through search, display, social, and programmatic media. This works. Capture Content: Trade shows offer a wealth of content opportunities with subject matter experts, sales leaders, and customers. Capture videos, photos, and research insights to fuel your email, social, and sales enablement efforts long after the event. Engage Influencers: Many B2B sectors have influential voices who can bring credibility and reach to your brand. Trade shows are ideal settings to connect with these influencers, capture content together, and build long-term partnerships. Plan Fast Follow-Up: Create a follow-up strategy that combines sales and marketing. Automated, targeted follow-up emails sent soon after the event can leave a powerful impression on new leads. I’d love to hear your ideas too, what’s worked well for you and fee free to ping me if you would like some additional info on the topic.

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Building a B2B Brand: Inside Secrets from 50 CMOs ➡ Strategic differentiation matters. Building a B2B brand effectively involves finding and leveraging unique differentiators. Top CMOs emphasize the importance of innovative strategies to stand out in a crowded market. ➡ CEO collaboration is key. Successful B2B branding is greatly enhanced by strong collaboration between CMOs and CEOs. Building a B2B brand requires integrating leadership into brand strategies for greater impact. ➡ Embrace experimentation. For effective branding, adopting an experimentation mindset is crucial. CMOs recommend testing various approaches and adjusting based on data to build an adaptable brand. https://lnkd.in/eQv9j94V #branding #demandgen #b2b #marketing

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Brief: find us that nearly CSO that gets lit up by the idea of launching their own agency. That rolling with the punches and making something new feeling. This new agency are pathing their way as the creative agency to look out for. Maybe you’re a seasoned strategy lead in a big agency feeling like you’re not quite making enough of an impact but has the appetite to build something. Orrrrrr Maybe you’re a head of strategy somewhere smaller and you’ve done this start up thing before but never really believed in the brand. Either way speaking to a larger purpose and making break-through work is what energises you. You’re resilient  Your passionate And you’re a strategy leader with the personality and spirit to have a lot of fun along the way. London 110-120k

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Today's marketers are turning to nontraditional advertising formats to garner consumer attention, thanks to a highly fragmented marketing environment where mass media moments are few and far between. Mother New York strategist Evan Giordano sums it up nicely: "You can’t rely on advertising around a piece of culture anymore and expect that anyone and everyone will see it, because they won’t.” #Marketing #NontraditionalFormats #MarketingTrends

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After reading all of the Doom and Gloom in PRWeek's last issue, the Agency Business Report 2024 (read: 3% industry growth as opposed to the 15% in 2021/22, Layoffs, Cost-Cutting, AI's uncertain impact on the industry etc.), the last page of the magazine struck a chord with me. Industry Veteran Don Spetner's (Weber Shandwick) article titled "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" (alla Biggie Smalls) looked back on his PR career with a tinge of regret. He had been hyper-focused on his salary and career progression and missed out on a few things he later realized were much more important... As PR industry pros, we often get caught up in the stress, long hours, and ambition of our careers. But in today's uncertain economy with layoffs and cost-cutting, it's more important than ever to prioritize work-life balance. Our family memories, fun traditions, and cherished moments together - those are what will truly endure. I'm not saying professional success is unimportant. A good income provides stability and psychological benefits. But we need to be mindful of that tipping point where work demands overshoot quality time with loved ones. If our legacy is just PowerPoints and client meetings rather than laughter, adventures and undivided presence with family, we've missed something precious. His last two sentences summed it up nicely: "What I do know is that if my kids ever write a song about me, it’ll be about something I did while coaching their little league team or perhaps falling out of a boat while on vacation. It certainly won’t be about the killer offsite I put together for the senior management team. It’s something to think about." #TWSearchpartners #PRWeek #PRagency #PublicRelations #balance #family

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A recent report by Sounds Profitable and CoHost showed that Branded Podcasts is finally taking shape in CMO's marketing planning. High Satisfaction: 90% of brands are satisfied with their podcast’s performance, showcasing its effectiveness in marketing. Brands Need Support: 42% of brands feel under served in podcast marketing and competitor research, highlighting opportunities for industry innovation. #brandedpodcasts #audio #media #impact #authenticity BrandAudio Branded Podcast Media

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(Variety) NBCUniversal pulled out all the stops to market its blockbuster adaptation of the Broadway smash Wicked, partnering with over 400 brands for IP tie-ins. The Big Picture: In the words of Universal chief marketing officer Michael Moses, “The world doesn’t operate like a monoculture anymore, so you have to be everywhere.” In an entertainment ecosystem, where big-budget streaming releases debut without a sound, and movies only stay in theaters for a month, a robust marketing campaign may be more important than ever for financial success. Behind the Scenes: Wicked represents the biggest worldwide marketing push ever for NBCUniversal… and maybe any movie studio ever. ▪️The marketing campaign is rumored to have cost $150 million, on top of the two-part franchise’s $320 million production budget… and it’s unclear if the marketing budget includes the campaign for Part 2. ▪️ The campaign included drinks with Starbucks, hotel suites at Hilton, toys with Lego and Mattel, apparel at Target, cast voices on Amazon’s Alexa, and even lighting up Manhattan’s Empire State Building in pink and green. ▪️ The promo partner retail campaigns reached two billion shoppers and notched 25 billion impressions, according to Deadline. (Note: Everyone likely read about the opening this week but the numbers and business model behind it are what’s even more interesting.) #brands #marketing #entertainment #businessmodel #campaigns https://lnkd.in/eWgK2W4w

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Is 10.4 billion the magic number? Not according to Del La Soul, but 10.4bn might just be when humanity reaches it’s limit according to this piece from The Week. As they say, “A shrinking population means that more jobs will go unfilled and economic dynamism will reduce. The most immediate fear is that welfare systems - which rely on people of working age to pay in and support the elderly - will be underfunded.” Longevity is a macro-trend that’s impacting many categories but the big challenge for brands (and governments) to help solve is not just helping people to live longer, but helping them to actually afford it. And that will only come with long-term thinking for both consumers and the business.

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The average tenure of Fortune 500 CMOs shows signs of stabilizing, though volatility remains high at leading consumer brands. According to Spencer Stuart’s latest report, the average #CMO tenure was 3.1 years in 2023. Further, 71% of all Fortune 500 CMOs were acting in that function for the first time, a figure that climbs to 74% among the top-100 advertisers. 58% of Fortune 500 CMOs were promoted from within last year, up from 54% in 2022, according to Spencer Stuart. This trend was more apparent at #B2B firms, where 63% were likely to do an internal hire versus 53% of #B2C brands. 68% of exiting Fortune 500 CMOs either being promoted internally or taking a lateral or larger role elsewhere, the report said. Taco Bell for example appointed brand chief Sean Tresvant as CEO while Starbucks in March named global #marketing chief Brady Brewer to chief executive of international operations. #marketing #leadership

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Explore the intricate dynamics of brand support in today's news ecosystem. 📰 Hear from industry leaders The Rebooting's Brian Morrissey , GroupM's Kate S., Outbrain's David Kostman, and Johanna Mayer-Jones from The Washington Post: https://lnkd.in/eFW7pquP They highlighted the importance of viewing news as a diverse category, segmented into different verticals for more effective advertising. The shift towards performance marketing and the need to prove value to advertisers were also key topics. This conversation underscores the crucial role of trusted journalism in our society and the potential for innovative approaches in news advertising. _ #GroupMCannes

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I had the pleasure of joining Lou Paskalis, Tim Brown and the Association of National Advertisers to attempt to move the needle on buying quality media in lieu of cheap CPM inventory of questionable origin. Our panel dialogue, "Is the Programmatic Juice Worth the Squeeze," concluded it is because, among other things, quality media produces outcome metrics that matter. Drilling in specifically on news media -- a publishing category that continues to be in a world of hurt, Lou writes in AdExchanger that "... many presenters attempted to debunk the myth that brands that advertise adjacent to divisive or provocative content risk exposing themselves to backlash. Stagwell Global released research that showed virtually no difference in purchase intent for brands when their ads appeared next to editorial content, whether it was inflammatory or not. The question remains: Will marketers overcome their gut feelings in light of compelling research to the contrary?" I am always encouraged by this type of research, but I've come to expect that I'll be discouraged by the lack of change in media spend across trusted, professional journalism. IMHO, what we need to demonstrate *in addition to* these consumer sentiment findings is the hard data that shows equal or better RoAS (or other measurable outcome metrics) in the news content category. Evidence supports my hypothesis of better results in news vs. other content categories. For example, one recent TRUSTX advertiser experienced a 2.5x decrease in cost-per-acquisition on a campaign that was 59% targeted within news domains. News works because it's a lean-in environment where the audience is actively engaged. I am begging brands to give news a second chance. And not because its any advertiser's duty to save journalism, but because the stuff just works.

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Centriply couldn't agree with you more #AlisonLevin! We've been "doing" targeted, advanced audience TV buying for 25 years. And heck, we've been measuring and optimizing all those campaigns too! Bring us your in-market, intent, behavioral or same audience data you use for digital channels, and we'll give you TV solutions that you never knew existed. Today. h/t to AdExchanger for the article/podcast: "Talking Advanced Audiences With NBCU’s Alison Levin" https://hubs.ly/Q02PzPx90

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