ANA Magazine

Brands are cutting back on producing commercials as marketing budgets are curtailed and social distancing measures remain in place. The good news is that scaling back on ad shoots can have broader benefits.

Plant-based food products continue to expand, along with a marketing strategy that goes beyond a green or environmentally correct message and focuses on what consumers crave: taste. Big brands like IKEA and Disney join the fray.

To nurture talent at every level brands need to apply an agile marketing model that holds people accountable for their work and encourages them to step out of their comfort zone.

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 expectations of millennial and generation Z workers mesh nicely with the underlying need for marketers to be perpetually innovative, flexible, and digitally savvy.

Marketers for smaller brands don’t have the same resources as their counterparts at bigger companies. But there’s still a great deal that smaller brands can learn from their larger competitors when it comes to maximizing their marketing activities.

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.

Since first appearing on Facebook and Instagram in 2016, shoppable posts have only grown, fully rolling out to 46 nations on both channels in 2018. Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok each began testing shoppables last year. As consumers' online behavior evolves, are they taking the shortcut to the shopping cart, or is the URL path to purchase as long as ever?

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.

Once the advertising domain of in-game developers, mobile gaming is starting to attract a growing number of business sectors eager to reach a dedicated audience. New (and non-intrusive) ad formats abound for buyers.

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.

More and more B2C and B2B marketers are starting to take humorous advertising very seriously. Such ads build rapport with consumers and cut through the proverbial clutter.

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.

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.

While still relatively new, TikTok has generated a fair share of users — and controversy. Despite its shaky start, the popularity and levity of the site make it an increasingly alluring option for marketers.

Once wary of the no-holds-barred social media platform, brands are finding unique ways to engage with Reddit’s 430 million monthly users.

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.

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.