Whitney Wolf

🚨🚨IT’S ABOUT TIME 🚨🚨 It is frustrating how slowly (most) brands and (almost all) agencies make moves in media. - It’s been crystal clear for a decade that this was the trajectory and low-and-behold, brands are (finally) adjusting spend despite agencies urging them to waste ever more billions on the geriatric TV audience; - What’s also clear… interruptive spot advertising is a TV thing and doesn’t port well to digital native. We are all thankful to the inventor of the SkipAd button. For brand marketers: when the ad isn’t skipped, it’s not that they’re into your product… they’re probably on a second screen or got distracted; - What’s painfully clear is authentic connection between creator and brand can drive so much value. I recently worked with a creator who loves a popular kids breakfast product. This creator has over 10M followers…in the kids space! No brainer? NOPE! It was impossible to get the brand’s ad agency to see what the genuine love this creator had for the brand could do to sales (they even told me once “I’d talk about _____ for free, I love it so much!!”). - Instead brands source creators like they were products on a grocery shelf, selecting them for various reasons but never asking themselves or the creator about the emotional connections between creator<>brand<>audience. Instead, they give these creators an overworked brief and tons and tons of notes along the way. We have a LONG way to go… - Brands need to evolve their thinking; - To do this they need to ask critical questions of their agencies; -Agency incentives need to fundamentally change from simply putting dollars to work (on which they scrape a %). They need drive actual relevance in a changed (and changing) media landscape.

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Ah, the TikTok ban saga continues—the perennial “will they, won’t they” of the digital age. Just when you think TikTok’s final curtain call is upon us, it’s back for another encore. It’s the regulatory equivalent of a soap opera cliffhanger that just won’t quit. But let’s entertain the possibility that this latest threat isn’t just another empty promise. https://bit.ly/3Wz3L3o #recruitingmarketing #talentacquisiton #staffingmarketing #candidatesearch #marketing #SEOnews #SEO #socialmediamarketing #blogging #staffingfirms #staffing #recruiting #recruitingfirms

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The creator landscape is growing (no surprise here) and this should be a boom time for our profession. I applaud how some companies (i.e., Hyundai) are splitting the CMO role into multiple roles (creative and analytics/business operations - much like their teams). Creative marketers need some space to do their best work. The CMO role has evolved and I know from experience and echoed by my peers, we are asked every day to: - be the most creative (and flexible) person in our organization while being highly analytical to ensure every decision is data-driven - do more with less - manage event logistics and promotion, and be responsible for the ROI as it relates to sales/engagement - respond instantly to market shifts or a crisis, and have a strategic plan in place that provides the most effective and efficient response - manage and encourage our team to think outside of the box, have a growth mindset, and professional development goals that support succession management - analyze, learn, and implement best practices, new applications, processes, and systems - remain open to change, adapt, challenge the status quo, and take calculated risks that consider failure and response - regardless of timing and/or change in the market, grow your brand, reach, acquisition/conversion, and engagement As marketers and communication professionals, we get this and welcome these tenets with open arms. Unfortunately, too many HR generalists and ATS systems bypass the best candidates because their focus is frankly too narrow. They simply don't look at the game film. When hiring marketers, I'd recommend placing a higher value on brand consistency and equity growth through authentic creative content and engagement versus just filling the pipeline. Your funnel (and sales team) will thank you. I'd recommend looking at character, success measures, and overall "adaptable" experience. I recently spoke with an agency executive who said they only hire candidates with agency experience. I think this is a mistake; diverse experience should be weighted higher. For example, if they worked on the client side for 20 years, you should take into consideration they managed, selected, and worked closely with multiple agencies and technology vendors across different industries for 20 years. This also works for somebody who may have worked at different agencies and is entering the client side. There is value in diverse experiences. Article takeaway - I get the engagement angle, but curious to see how this builds loyalty to a particular NFL team. I was surprised to learn the NFL is third behind Amazon and the NBA for earned media on TikTok (ranking order - Amazon, NBA, NFL, Sephora, Fortnite, and Barbie). https://lnkd.in/gHn2cdSW AI Image Prompt - A professional marketer and their creative journey.

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This is a great episode of The Rebooting - specific to publishers. While it touches on a lot, including the impact of AI driven search (we all saw that coming!) and the increasing value and importance of data, I found the discussion around audience & content curation particularly interesting ... as well as the evolving role of SSPs. Worth a listen on your commute. https://lnkd.in/gyc64cqk

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I'm just learning all about ChangeUp's work with Baskin Robbins. It's a pretty perfect example of how to modernize a legacy brand. By that I mean it really delivers on the mantra "take the luggage, leave the baggage". When refreshing a brand, I feel like it's so important to retain the brand equity you have built up in your most iconic "distinctive" brand assets (e.g. the promise of "31 flavors" built into the "BR" monogram). Then use the flexibility of the identity system to create assets that can be adapted for different executions and the modern and incredibly diverse channel mix (social, digital, print, packaging etc). The use of movement, the vibrancy of the colour palette, and the bold typography all do this and deliver on the idea of everyday "happy moments". It's youthful without being childish and bold without being sickening. A perfect metaphor for the BR brand itself and the way it wants to be perceived by a new generation. Just insanely good brand design! I really would recommend checking out the case study: https://lnkd.in/gXmPhwU6

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People are People….. Because now ‘consumers’, ‘shoppers’, ‘customers’, ‘users’ are being pulled into a Societal and Environmental sustainability reckoning on 2 insightful issues. Namely, how sustainable (incl ethical), and regenerative is: 1) the PRODUCT that you choose 2) and it’s PACKAGING So, now if you think about it deeply - Liquid Death are treating PEOPLE as PEOPLE, not as mere ‘consumers’ that aimlessly drink soda. They are reframing things in people’s minds, provoking them to stop, and forcing them (that’s right you reading this right now) …. To UNLEARN what they currently do and RELEARN a new behavior to make a different choice with #purpose #planet #progress #prosperity #people in mind. (because) People are People… (and yes I’m a Depeche Mode 🎶 fan💪🏾)

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