Editor's Picks for ANA Magazine

The pandemic will require marketers to master a new set of media buying skills, adopt KPIs that transcend return-on-advertising spending, and move e-commerce toward the center of their marketing strategy.

As the internet has matured from a novelty to a mainstream source for news and entertainment, digital content creators have carved out massive audiences who are enormously loyal. Many fans consider this content essential to their lives, and they are willing to support the brands that make it possible.

A number of inspiring brand stories have emerged over the past several months, with companies providing ample resources to both combat the pandemic and make things easier for first responders. Here’s how Budweiser, Crocs, Publix, and Hyundai, among others, have seized on opportunities to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The advertising, marketing, and media industries are coalescing to fight the coronavirus. PSAs and content designed to educate the public about the disease lead the charge.

Petfluencers spark an instant connection with consumers and attract the kind of audiences that should make most marketers jealous. A growing number of brands are giving it a whirl, building marketing campaigns around these unconventional social media stars.

Ongoing changes wrought by AI and machine learning will completely upend client-agency relations, transforming everything from deliverables and metrics to projects and interactions. But the changes could spur much tighter relationships, as well.

With as much as one-fifth of the world’s population told to stay inside, effects of the novel coronavirus on the economy have been swift and could be long lasting. Here’s how the virus is affecting marketing.

While an outside perspective can be helpful, fresh ideas readily exist within an organization. The onus is on upper management to encourage those executives who aspire to be the CMO.

Looking to make a bigger-than-life impression on consumers, some brands are tapping big-name directors to produce ad spots with a cinematic flair. While the end result can be a scene stealer, it requires more than just a large budget. Marketers must be willing to cede some creative control to let the director’s vision — and the brand — shine through.

California’s data privacy law is a sea change for brands, enabling consumers to opt out of data sales and compelling marketers to track down any party to whom it has sold that consumer’s data during the preceding 90 days.

Alphas may be little in size, but their influence on their parents’ purchasing behavior is growing by leaps and bounds.

To boost their appeal to gen Zers, brands need to rip up their existing playbooks and develop an entirely new media mix centered on social channels and entertainment.

As they earn bigger salaries and grow their families, millennials are becoming the predominant consumer force, moving marketers to embody the values they espouse.

Compared to other generations, gen Xers are a little more cynical, a little more realistic, and a little more loyal. Brands need to craft their messages accordingly.

To effectively communicate with baby boomers, marketers need a more accurate picture of this still-vital generation. Shattering a few myths is a good place to start.

A focus on niche subjects and unique customer experiences is helping indie bookshops in the fight to survive in the age of Amazon.

With digital marketing moving at a furious pace, ethical guidelines must be enforced, modified, and amended on a regular basis.

NASCAR’s business strategy provides valuable lessons for marketers about the importance of being customer-focused first.

To increase the odds that their content will cut through the clutter, marketing departments must behave more like media companies.

Influencers, it turns out, come in all different sizes. Nano influencers — those with followings that range from 1,000 to 5,000 people — are proving they can help brands in ways the mega influencers can’t.