John Wolfe

While there were many points of agreement between clients and agency prospects, sharply different views emerged in multiple areas including IP ownership, budget size, and establishing a timeline for success, according to a recent ANA/4A's survey. Industry observers say the solution to many of the issues that pit agencies against their clients often comes down to overcoming the lack of clarity in communication between the two parties.

Marketing budgets increased nicely in 2022, growing to nearly 10 percent of total company revenue, according to Gartner. But the upswing is muted by a downward economy. In an interview with B2B Marketer, Ewan McIntyre, chief of research and VP analyst at Gartner, said marketers are already feeling the negative impact of severe inflation and must continue finding cost efficiencies and moving toward a digital-first strategy.

Trovon C. Williams, Senior Vice President Marketing & Communications for the NAACP, is giving a keynote address entitled "Delivering Results Through Diversity" at the 2022 ANA Email Evolution Conference May 16–18, in Scottsdale, AZ. ANA's Director of Communications John Wolfe recently interviewed him for a pre-conference discussion.

With the economy growing at a rapid pace and rates of COVID-19 declining, companies that had sent workers home to work remotely are reopening their offices and people who left their jobs in the so-called “Great Resignation” are beginning to return. But both are bringing with them a different perspective on how the workplace should, well, work. Organizations will have to be much more accommodating compared to before the pandemic.

B2B marketers continue to struggle with developing thought leadership content that will grab their customers and prospects and drive new revenue, new research suggests.

Brands and organizations are scrambling to sign up athletes after NCAA rule changes give amateur athletes the opportunity to sell their name, image, and likeness. Some deals could reach epic proportions. Sports marketing may never be the same.

Marketers and agencies are struggling with how to tackle the issues that have taken on newfound urgency in the past 18 months, ranging from spurring diversity to protecting consumer privacy to cultivating talent. The various challenges are perhaps most vividly represented by the striking number of agency reviews, consolidations, and overall account changes in the past few months.

Unlike the campaign-to-campaign mode of traditional brand advertising, content marketing requires brands to constantly refine their storytelling efforts and strategize for the long haul.

Companies that don’t realign their priorities toward a digital-first strategy will cede their business to competitors, says Geoff Ramsey, chairman and co-founder of eMarketer. In an interview with ANA magazine, Ramsey discusses how the pandemic has put pressure on marketers to sharpen their online platforms and make sure their data reflects the new reality.

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.

Undisclosed markups are just one of several issues eroding the trust between clients and their agencies. Against an ominous backdrop, the heat is on both sides to not let pain points fester. Here’s what industry leaders at Unilever, Sam’s Club, the ANA, and the 4A’s are doing to make things better.