Industry Insights | Marketing Knowledge Center

Media Agency Pitches Don’t Talk About Creative Data, Here’s Why They Should

Leading Edge October 8, 2024

If there’s one universal truth for agencies, it’s that no client agreement is guaranteed to last forever. Sooner or later, they will face a request for proposal (RFP) that initiates the familiar dance of re-courting client favor. But as advertising trading methods and targeting approaches evolve, sticking to “how we’ve done things before” won’t be enough.

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The Art (and Science) of Who Not to Target with Your Fundraising Campaigns

Leading Edge October 7, 2024

A nonprofit's journey to greater impact doesn’t just hinge on stellar campaigns and compelling missions. It's also about precision in reaching the right audience — those genuinely aligned with your cause and able to contribute. Amid the transformative power of technology, particularly AI and machine learning (ML), lies an often under-emphasized strategy: knowing who not to target.

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These In-House Awards Are Actually Hilarious

Pulse October 4, 2024

It’s not everyday that you get a good laugh out of an ad. At least, for me, it’s not. There’s a fine line between an ad being truly funny and hitting on something honest – and it just feeling cheesy and awkward. When the joke is really off, the audience can feel completely confused and/or disconnected.

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How to Launch (Or Re-Launch) a Brand

Leading Edge October 3, 2024

A brand's (re)launch is a down payment on future growth. It’s the fuel that keeps a business thriving, engaging customers and building relevance. That’s why companies often incubate launch efforts – whether for new products, services or corporate rebranding – for years, investing heavily in their debut.

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Building a Multicultural Fan Base

Pulse October 2, 2024

Kim Davis is Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs and Jennifer Ekeleme is Vice President of Multicultural Engagement and Integration at the National Hockey League (NHL). They will be speakers at the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference, November 18-20 in Las Vegas. ANA Director of Multicultural and Diversity Initiatives Karim Amadeo recently sat down with Kim and Jennifer for a pre-conference interview in which they discussed their inclusion strategies for building a multicultural fan base in traditional sports.

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The Future of Digital Advertising: Flourishing with First Party Solutions

Leading Edge October 2, 2024

What’s next when it comes to the use of third-party data? While there is still much uncertainty for the future of third-party cookies, long the backbone of online tracking and targeting, this update is forcing a radical rethinking of data strategies.

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From Click to Brick: Bridging Digital and Physical Shopping Journeys

Leading Edge October 1, 2024

Attribution is at a critical juncture. So, what new innovations and solutions are available to help you keep up and achieve your goals? Consider the power of trusted location intelligence, fueled by AI. New developments in the space are unlocking untapped opportunities for marketers, providing rich insights into the customer journey from exposure to visits to purchase.

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The Growing Divide Between Brands and the Internet

Leading Edge September 30, 2024

Because it is very unlikely that the internet is going to become a more hospitable place, brands need to take proactive measures to diversify their media investments to create compelling customer experiences while prioritizing brand safety and compliance.

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How Fluidity Is Powering the Rise of Intelligent Creative

Leading Edge September 27, 2024

At times, beautiful pixel-perfect creative and performance seem to be at odds. The production time involved in achieving core creatives can conflict with the speed and scale that is needed to deliver performance optimizations in real time. What if we could embrace speed without sacrificing quality? What if we could make creative excellence breathe through every optimization, protecting the integrity of the original creative, while adapting quickly?

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Editor Highlights: YouTube Effectiveness, Media Transparency, and Innovation

Pulse September 26, 2024

Do you feel like it’s a challenge to keep up with the latest trends, best practices, and marketing strategies? You aren’t alone. Bimonthly, ANA’s Pulse will highlight content within ANA’s resources hub, from Industry Insights, Knowledge Partner contributions, ANA Magazine, case studies, Marketing 101, Tools and Playbooks, and more. This way, the hard work of finding actionable insights, marketing trends, and helpful guides is done for you.

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Your Agency Is Built on Your Actions, Not Your Appearance

Leading Edge September 26, 2024

We recently took a giant leap into the unknown, leaving stable jobs to nurture the seed of an idea. We wanted to create a new kind of creative shop, one that was female-founded (only one percent of agencies are!), designed to meet the needs of a new digital reality (faster speed, higher volume, lower budgets), and rooted in the ethos of radical hospitality.

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Developing a Sales Mindset

Leading Edge September 25, 2024

One group that we, as an industry, have had problems with over the years is sales. We have heard sales staff say that insights do “fluff,” “touchy-feely,” and “numbers” that don’t help them sell anything. Salespeople don’t mess around. If you aren’t helping them sell, then you aren’t helping them.

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Transforming Customer Engagement: How Verizon Business Leverages Technology for Marketing Innovation

Pulse September 25, 2024

As digital marketing and customer engagement evolve, the companies that lead the pack are those who have embraced technological innovation as wholeheartedly as Verizon Business Group. At the forefront of this transformation is Kris Narayanan, SVP of digital experience platforms, whose extensive experience in digital transformation across various industries has positioned him as a key driver of change within Verizon Business.

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Political Advertisers Need Informed, Stable Marketing Tactics

Leading Edge September 24, 2024

Given the onslaught of current events and new presidential candidacies, a new playbook is being written for political advertisers who are looking to capture mindshare among voters. Recent historic developments present a new pool of opportunities for political advertisers. Targeting models are likely to seismically shift in the coming weeks, as undecided voters, young people, and other various demographics are presented with new candidates from different backgrounds, each with their own message. To effectively target and persuade voters in this unprecedented landscape, political advertisers should consider following a new playbook — one that centers its strategy on TV.

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Google's Day of Reckoning Won't Fix Ad Tech's Future

Leading Edge September 23, 2024

As we enter week three of the DOJ’s antitrust trial against Google’s ad tech practices, I’m hopeful that this is the turning point our industry has been waiting for. Because, like many of you, I’ve had a front-row seat to Google's rise to dominance over the last couple of decades. And it hasn’t been pretty.

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The Persistent Illusion of Brand Safety in Digital Advertising

Leading Edge September 20, 2024

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that our idea of brand safety, at least in the ad world we currently live in, is an illusion at best. Some may argue that we’ve entered a backlash era against the concept as a whole. Whether it’s the collective shoulder shrug in response to Adalytics’ latest report, or the successful shutdown of GARM, it’s evident our current brand safety approach isn’t working.

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How to Tell a Story That Matters

Leading Edge September 18, 2024

If you look at any great story, there are elements they all have: a main character, a want or need, a plot, tools the character uses, and most importantly, conflict. Conflict is the engine that drives every story, and the best storytellers not only have compelling conflict but highlight the conflict. The conflict can be internal or external, but it’s the most important element in every story. From Darth Vader to the Joker, every great story has that agent of conflict. The key for any brand is twofold.

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Political Advertising in 2024: The New Playbook Essentials

Leading Edge September 18, 2024

As the 2024 election cycle revs up, the stakes for political campaigns at every level are higher than ever. From local races to the presidential election, the ability to run effective and efficient advertising campaigns will be crucial in swaying undecided voters and securing victories. With political ad spending expected to reach record highs—some estimates suggest it could surpass $12 billion — candidates and their teams must be more strategic than ever in how they allocate their media budgets.

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