Michael J. McDermott

Clubhouse, the invitation-only audio-chat app that launched last year, is attracting a growing number of consumer brands. But will the app end up being a creature of the pandemic and lose its appeal as things start to loosen up and people get back into circulation?

More than 300 brands are participating in the Ad Council's COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, rolling out various advertising campaigns that urge people to get vaccinated and address those who are reluctant to get the shot.

As consumers migrate to streaming services in droves, more and more brands hop on board to supplement their spending on linear TV. But the tide may be turning in favor of streaming services. Product placement may never be the same.

As the Biden administration takes charge, major brands are stepping up their efforts to educate the public about vaccinations and bracing for how the new tone in the nation’s capital will impact their overall marketing strategy.

Creative, wide-ranging internships from brands like IBM and Verizon must become the rule rather than the exception if marketing is going to win an increasingly fierce battle for entry-level talent.

The recent decline in podcast advertising is merely a pandemic-induced blip on the radar. The longer-term outlook remains quite attractive, with spending projected to reach more than $1 billion in 2021. Marketers are whetting their appetite.

Regardless of where B2B brands are on the social media spectrum, generating solid returns from LinkedIn requires careful planning, insight, and continued stick-to-itiveness.

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.

The concept of branding is not new in the nonprofit world, but it now plays a broader and more strategic role. This is most evident in beefed-up efforts to ensure a unified branding message permeates every level of the organization; achieving alignment between branding and fundraising is a big part of that.

States offer financial breaks to entice advertisers and generate much-needed revenue. Here’s where the brand and procurement teams can look for big savings.

Call it the yin and yang of brand advertising: Six-second ads enjoy a halo effect from related content, while longer ads have more opportunity to tell a story and engage consumers.