Industry Insights

The weeks leading up to the holidays can be stressful for retail marketers desperate to hit their goals, and that can lead many to throw good money after bad tactics to gain some quick traction. A common example is the focus on reach. Too many retail marketers focus on acquiring customer contact information (usually email addresses) to get in front of net new shoppers and hit acquisition goals without any focus on the relevant data that can help them turn those email addresses (read: shoppers) into first-time buyers.

For marketing teams, the fourth quarter of the year can feel like a tug of war between wanting to maximize the seasonal opportunity and wanting to keep advertising costs under control. Between rising media expenses and declining share of voice, brands must make each dollar work harder. In fact, ads in November are 43 percent more expensive on Meta, according to Good Rebels, meaning buyers are literally getting less for their dollars. In many cases, brands may attempt to optimize advertising spend by adjusting a media plan, updating creative or including a new offer.

Marketing Futures Podcast host Mike Berberich shares top marketers’ thoughts on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Though we cannot predict exactly what 2024 will have in store, we can certainly make a few educated guesses. Consider these macro trends when planning your brand’s 2024 social media strategy.

In today’s data-driven world, businesses strive to understand and connect with their customers on a personal level. This connection goes beyond mere transactions; it’s about building meaningful relationships.

Marketers have now spent considerable time discussing why inclusivity is the future of marketing. By now, the term has become a staple part of the business lexicon. Brands are slowly evolving, with inclusive messaging no longer being confined only to isolated cultural moments.

People are scared of AI, and it's our collective responsibility to try to understand this fear. Because, after all, as experience has suggested in the past, it is through the act of making sense of the unknown that we are able to move beyond our existential anxieties regarding it.

Leslie Miller of Unilever and Smita Reddy of Edelman spoke to Marketing Futures Podcast host Mike Berberich about the keys to their strong, effective partnership.

Sights and sounds have always been part of branding and marketing. However, modern brand activations need to include a multi-sensory experience for customers and potential customers. By using sensory marketing efforts, you can appeal to a wider range of customers and better influence purchase decisions and brand loyalty.

In 2020, more than 500 companies and marketing executives signed the ANA AIMM Pledge, doubling down on eradicating systemic inequities and achieving equity in the marketing and advertising industry. In the years that followed, there were remarkable transformations, increased investment in diverse media, improved representation behind and in front of the camera, a rise in inclusive marketing and authentic cultural portrayals in ads and content, and far-reaching commitments to diversifying talent.

With 2024 on the horizon, the challenges presented by the market’s unhealthy addiction to cookies and the limitations posed by misguided investments in walled gardens like Google and Meta have shifted from constant chatter to clear and present danger for those who have not shifted practices to hit their goals. The good news? The gaps that will increasingly prevent those invested in programmatic from reaching their full potential are evident and addressable.

Three principles are crucial in changing ad experiences for people. The first is what I call Less is More. Over time, we have allowed the Big Data approach to guide our thinking. Big Data is data led and looks for insights without any assumptions. Prior to that the approach was based on hypothesis testing; it still exists but our data strategies are led by the Big Data approach. The Big Data approach works with volume; hence the focus of most organizations has been on collation of data and investment in infrastructure to process these large datasets.

Niche marketing can be the game-changer for your small B2B business with many benefits including a higher return on investment (ROI) and more personalized customer interactions. In this article, we'll look at real-life examples of successful niche marketing, and offer actionable tips to help you identify and reach your own niche market effectively.

Extreme industry-wide demand for talent development prompts the launch of ANA’s latest Global Day of Learning - with participants from around the world. The ANA's Global CMO Growth Council will hold its fifth and final Global Day of Learning in 2023 to offer master class-level insights, innovations, and best practices from leading marketing experts around the world. Global Day of Learning is available at no cost to anyone in the marketing industry, including interns, students and professors.

By 2025, 85 million U.S. customers will be in the gen Z age group, according to MarketSplash. Gen Zers, born between 1997 and 2012, is a generation that’s reshaping the rules of engagement between brands and their audience. Born into a world of smartphones, social media, and instant connectivity, these digital natives approach shopping and brand interactions in unique and innovative ways.

AIMM explores its impact on driving multicultural marketing and investment, its pledge for systemic interventions, and resources and tools its providing marketers and suppliers to advance diversity across the marketing ecosystem.

As advertisers grapple with the phasing out of essential signals like Mobile Ad IDs (MAIDs) and third-party browser cookies, a renewed emphasis on creative optimization becomes inevitable. To harness this burgeoning opportunity, brands are required to use creative management platforms that not only offer omnichannel support but are also attuned to emerging formats and the impending elimination of cookies.

While AI holds many promising capabilities to enhance the marketing function, there are clear causes for concern if AI is deployed irresponsibly. R3’s Craig Stein joined the Marketing Futures Podcast to discuss.

Many organizations have adapted to a privacy-centric world by addressing several fundamental aspects of consumer data privacy, including cookie notices, privacy policies, and managing complaints. Focus has often been on the first State regulations in the U.S.: the California Consumer Privacy Act and the California Privacy Rights Act.

As so many companies can attest, affiliate and partner marketing programs can generate tremendous ROI and serve as a core monetization method within a company’s broader portfolio. One way to make the most of this opportunity is to expand such efforts in a multinational capacity. This global orientation is especially useful for the aspirational fashion marketer — namely those inclined to follow the playbook of luxury brands who’ve gone all in on partnership marketing.