Industry Insights

ANA events bring together some of the smartest and most-talented marketers in the industry to share insights and best practices that help ANA members get the most out of their own marketing efforts.

The ANA Center for Ethical Marketing is dedicated to advancing ethics and accountability for our members and the industry while safeguarding advertising and marketing freedoms. Our comprehensive self-regulatory enforcement program offers education, tools and compliance services for ethical marketers and consumers. Key offerings include DMAchoice, ANA DPF Dispute Resolution and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA).

In a crowded industry with endless content and information to sift through, it can be challenging to discern quality content that provides relevant and factual information and helpful case studies. ANA’s Marketing Knowledge Center can help, however; the MKC provides trusted information meant to inspire concrete and actionable next steps.

The other day I found myself crying at the synchronized diving. It’s not something I’m embarrassed to mention (why would it?), but it is slightly out of character. You see, unlike my partner, who regularly sobs at just about anything on the TV, I genuinely can’t recall the last time I cried at something on the box.

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.

Ever since Google announced its intention to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome way back in 2020, the digital advertising ecosystem has been in obsessive pursuit of new identity solutions. Now, even though Google has abandoned its plans, industry initiatives launched in recent years will continue to transform the landscape.

There’s a good chance most of us are familiar with the place of “relationships” as one of the key outcome groups of ABM (reputation, relationships, revenue, retention). What’s discussed less is the importance of all the other relationships that contribute to long-term ABM success, such as the ones we need to build internally, those that exist between our systems, data, and technology, and the connection between relationships and ROI.

Unless you’ve been under a rock, there is no escaping the hype of retail media networks. Retail media is the fasting-growing ad channel today and is projected to account for more than one-fifth of total U.S. ad spending by 2027.

Yes, it’s still summertime. But as the 2024 holiday shopping season nears, businesses are increasingly turning to location intelligence to seamlessly integrate physical and digital experiences, creating a cohesive customer journey across both realms. This powerful technology leverages data about places and movement to inform smarter marketing strategies, enhance customer experiences and boost ROI.

The advertising industry is facing an ongoing transparency problem: Buyers too often don't have the visibility they need to make the best possible decisions on how to allocate their budgets. This can not only result in buyers overpaying for unintentional inventory, but it also can prevent publishers who have engaged, addressable audiences from realizing the full potential of their premium inventory.

While many brands are embracing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in their marketing, tackling gender nonconformity authentically can still present a challenge or missed opportunity for some. However, this is a necessity for brands existing in the now and moving into the future gracefully.

Slick data processing has been a big part of artificial intelligence (AI) use to date, including generative solutions. So, it makes sense that predictions about gen AI’s impact have tended to focus on enabling streamlined use cases and applications that could bring trillion-dollar productivity gains, as long as data is effectively governed. Beyond creating potential new efficiencies, however, there is fast-growing scope for gen AI to help transform the entire shape of customer experience.

Nike’s 2024 summer Olympics campaign, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone” fuels the mindset that you must be relentlessly driven by the idea of winning. Nike makes a bold statement that elite athletes’ desire to win is the main determination in bringing home a gold medal.

To promote a common set of rigorous standards and solutions for ethical marketing, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) developed a new comprehensive marketing ethics framework, the ANA’s “Ethics Code of Marketing Best Practices.”

Connected TV (CTV) advertising holds a lot of promise. At a time when brands are seeking privacy-conscious alternatives amid the phasing out of third-party cookies – and viewers are continuing to flock to streaming in droves – the opportunity for advertisers to reach new audiences on the big screen is ripe.

When Smoothie King was preparing to launch its X-Treme Watermelon Smoothie in 2023, the brand faced several challenges: a peak summer season crowded with promotions, a tight five-day timeline, and a vacant media budget.

About a decade ago, I had dinner with some clients from one of the three largest banks in America. In between bites of his $75 steak, one of them proudly boasted, “In the future, we’re not going to be a banking company. We’re going to be a data company.”

When strategizing and ideating on campaigns, it’s important to prioritize serving your audience effectively. What are the pain-points your brand and/or products are trying to address and alleviate? Taking this human approach is an integral step in marketing more inclusively and compassionately. Below are campaigns that successfully consider their audiences authentically and inclusively.

While retail media networks (RMNs) have been around for well over a decade, they have really come into their own over the past few years. Retail media ad spend is growing steadily and eMarketer estimates that retail media will make up more than one-fifth of U.S. media spend by 2027. That deserves attention.

ANA’s Center for Ethical Marketing recently released its 2024 Ethics Code to help marketers navigate complex issues and audiences appropriately and fairly. The guide includes guidance on how to foster inclusivity and tips on how to ethically market to the needs of specific audiences, such as children, people with disabilities, and older audiences.