Tag: marketing

Marketing Briefing: Backlash ‘a sign of the times’ as major brands like Apple and Bumble pull ads drawing ire

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

Creating an ad that will get noticed is a basic tenet of advertising. If marketers are going to shell out significant ad dollars for campaigns, they’re doing so with the hope of capturing consumer attention and moving the needle in whatever way will benefit the brand. But what happens if that provocative campaign has the opposite of its intended effect? 

On Monday, dating app Bumble was the latest marketer to quickly pull its most recent ad campaign after online backlash surfaced. The company had rolled out billboards that told consumers, “a vow of celibacy is not the answer,” a message likely aimed at getting some women to reconsider dating despite the difficult romantic landscape. That message, which was reportedly created by its in-house team, was seen as tone deaf by some consumers who made it clear to the app via comments on its Instagram account and elsewhere that they didn’t not care for the campaign — not by a long shot.

Bumble wasn’t alone in navigating a recent marketing misstep. Last Thursday, Apple apologized for its latest iPad ad “Crush” — which was released just two days prior and swiftly met with its own wave of backlash. The ad featured a massive industrial crusher literally, well, crushing items associated with creative pursuits like a trumpet, piano, paint and more with the iPad shown as a stand-in of sorts for those many items. The ad, which again was made by Apple’s in-house agency, struck a nerve with the creative community as the tech giant’s ad seemed to signal that Apple is coming for creative jobs, especially with the looming threat of AI. 

Apple’s decision to pull the ad was a surprise to many in the marketing community. “I think in general it speaks to the way that social media [responses] and

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The impact of AI on marketing and advertising careers

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

AI is being utilized in various mainstream businesses, and the field of marketing and advertising is no exception. AI is being used as a Swiss army knife in various processes involved in marketing and advertising, right from ideation to the final execution.

Hariom Seth, Founder of Tagglabs spoke to India today.in and commented “There are concerns about job displacement by AI but the reality is the current tools are good enough to only compliment the humans that use them. So let’s dive into how AI is being leveraged to transform the advertising and marketing industry”.

1. Content production: While traditional ways of content creation are still relevant in today’s time. Several AI tools are used by creative individuals in the industry to streamline their creative processes. AI is not here to replace human creativity but to enhance it. Many use natural language processing tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Co-pilot to generate multiple ideas for a campaign. There are also AI image generation tools like Midjourney, Microsoft’s Bing image generator, and Pika. art. AI-generated voiceovers are also used in several video ads. Eleven Labs is one such tool that has a large library of voice styles to choose from. Another fantastic platform is runwayML which lets creatives edit videos, add motion to still images, and generate lip sync AI videos on a browser-based app.

Although there is a constant tussle between creatives in the industry regarding the superiority between handcrafted V/s AI-generated content. The fact is that AI-generated content is slowly becoming mainstream and new joiners who are comfortable using these tools for their creative processes are appreciated in the industry, especially in companies that focus on new media advertising.

2. Automation: “Several processes in advertising and marketing can be automated and various AI tools make it happen through data-driven

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12 Best Marketing Stocks to Buy

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

In this article, we discuss the 12 best marketing stocks to buy. To skip the detailed analysis of the industry, go directly to the 5 Best Marketing Stocks to Buy.

The advertising and marketing industry is a vital component of the economy and it plays diverse roles in driving growth, nurturing innovation and creativity, and facilitating market efficiency. According to a report by Solomon Partners, the projections indicate that global advertising growth for 2024 is expected to range from 4.6% to 7.2%, nearly doubling the anticipated growth rate of 2% to 5% projected for 2023. Some of the major growth catalysts in the year for marketing and advertising companies are the Paris Olympics and the US elections. According to the report, the highest ad spending year-over-year growth is expected for out-of-home advertising at 7.2%, followed by digital ad spending at 6.3%. On the other hand, print ad spending is expected to decline by 4.6% year-over-year.

Ad Revenue on the Rise for Digital Advertising Companies

In recent weeks, companies with digital advertisement segments saw a healthy rise in their ad revenues. Mega-cap tech stocks such as Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) beat their estimates and experienced a significant rise in their advertisement businesses. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) reported its earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2024, on April 24, posting an EPS of $4.71, up $0.39 from forecasts. The company’s revenue was up 27% year-over-year at $36.46 billion, ahead of estimates by $240 million. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) reported that the number of ad impressions delivered across its Family of Apps increased by 20%, compared to the previous year and the average price per ad was up 6% year-over-year. Nearly 98% of the company’s revenue comes from advertisements. At its Q1 2024 earnings

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Advertising and marketing | Unilever

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

Communicating with consumers

Dove Real Beauty campaign poster with a diverse group of women standing in a line

We have four clearly defined principles that guide our communications with consumers:

  • We are committed to building trust through responsible practices and through transparent communication – both directly to consumers and indirectly through other key stakeholders and thought-leaders.
  • It is our responsibility to ensure that our products are safe and that we provide clear information on their use and any risks that are associated with their use.
  • We fully support a consumer’s right to know what is in our products and will be transparent in terms of ingredients, nutrition values and the health and beauty properties of our products.
  • We will use a combination of channels, which includes product labels, websites, careline phone numbers and/or consumer leaflets to communicate openly with our consumers.

Responsible marketing and advertising

We are committed to responsible marketing and advertising. As a leading global consumer goods company, we promote the benefits of our products using many different channels of brand communication.

Marketing and advertising can be a powerful force for behaviour change. They help inform people about the benefits of our products and innovations. It is also a way for us to engage with consumers on issues that matter to them. For example:

  • Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty challenges current stereotypes about beauty.
  • Omo/Persil’s ‘Dirt is good’ campaign promotes getting dirty as a natural and positive part of growing up for children – all part of their learning and development.
  • Comfort One Rinse’s campaign explains to consumers that they only need one bucket of water for rinsing their clothes rather than three, helping them to save water.

At the same time, we recognise the influence of marketing and advertising on consumers and take our responsibilities seriously. We apply the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) code ‘Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice’ as the

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Instagram Marketing for 2024 | Sprout Social

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

Ready to get started with your own Instagram business profile? It’s easy to create one and start sharing content immediately. Let’s walk you through the process.

How to create an Instagram marketing strategy

Now that we’ve outlined why you should be marketing on Instagram and how to create a business profile, let’s get to work in creating an Instagram strategy.

1.      Define your Instagram marketing goals

This might seem like a no-brainer, but you need to be able to answer exactly why you want to have an Instagram presence in the first place. What’s in it for your business? Do you want to generate leads? Build a community? Increase brand awareness?

Setting social media goals is an essential step in any strategy. These goals determine everything from your content strategy to how much time you need to spend on the platform to accomplish them.

There’s no “right” or single goal you have to commit to, either. It’s going to fully depend on your overall business goals and what you’re hoping to achieve. And your ROI from Instagram really boils down to these goals.

For example, West Elm is a shining example of a retail brand whose Instagram strategy is laser-focused on social selling. Its entire feed centers around showing off its products and encouraging followers to check them out as well. The furniture brand creates shoppable posts so shoppers can buy directly on the app. It even has a stunning Instagram storefront showcasing its products.

one photo showing west elm shoppable post that features a brown leather armchair in a living room and tagged items in the photo and another picture showing the West Elm Instagram shop page with offers and collections
Source: Instagram

Meanwhile, beauty brands often focus on highlighting their products in use. They also aim to build a community by constantly going back and forth with followers.

Local, brick-and-mortar businesses want to keep customers in the loop on their latest promotions while simultaneously building relationships. Notice how Cedar Palace Chicago takes the time

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NAIT instructor honoured for shaping local marketing and advertising community

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

A “cheerleader” for students and industry

Influence is at the heart of marketing. If successful, the creator of an advertising campaign can convince consumers that acting on it will have a positive impact on their lives.

Influence, it turns out, is also at the heart of the work of Teresa Sturgess (Marketing ’83). She’s not a marketer in the formal sense; instead, as an instructor at the JR Shaw School of Business for more than two decades, she sells students on the idea that the field is for them, giving them the skills they’ll need to thrive in it.

And, as a major recent award proves, her impact has been positive and far reaching.

On April 27, Sturgess was recognized by the Advertising Club of Edmonton (ACE) with the Fellowship Award, granted annually to “an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advertising industry and community in general.” Her nomination featured 17 lengthy endorsements from colleagues, grads now in industry and students preparing to join them.

Each was a variation on the theme that Sturgess, who spent her early career in the industry in Edmonton, has built her reputation on a commitment to the success of others, students in particular, creating a ripple effect that has benefited agencies in Alberta and beyond.

From those testimonials, here’s a look at how Sturgess has inspired a legion of influencers in their own right, shaping a community that, in many ways, shapes us.

Learn more about what you can do with a NAIT Marketing education

“[Teresa] has shepherded an entire generation of marketers in Edmonton. She is a cheerleader for all of her students, always making sure they know about ACE and other industry opportunities to help [them] get early exposure to the industry.”

– Tania Nease, Director of

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As Ad Spend Rises, Marketing Budgets Switch To Commerce

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

Advertising spend is likely to be up 5.6% in the U.S. this year to $360 billion, according to financial analyst Brian Wieser. Before you write this trend off based on the impending election year, the increase excludes political advertising, which on its own Wieser expects to hit $15.5 billion across all media. The moderately bullish forecast is on the back of positive economic data and sees a return to “mid, single digit growth,” which is where we were in the 2000’s.

Growth is good for the ad industry and marketers, but what caught my eye was how the media pie is being sliced. As you might expect, dollars are being diverted to digital and what we now call performance media. Wieser says that digital advertising should carve off 76% of all advertising spending in 2028 (versus 64% in 2023).

This year, digital ad revenue is predicted to grow at 10.7% — close to double ad spend overall. Within that figure, what Wieser calls out as “commerce media” (more broadly known in the industry as retail media) and social commerce will lead the pack.

Focusing on retail media, Wieser believes that channel will rocket to $82 billion in ad revenue by 2028, by my calculations about 19% of all ad spend. Globally, GroupM states that retail media will top television revenue in that year.

Whatever the eventual number, retail media is big business today, and seemingly has grown up overnight led by big marketplaces like Amazon. Retail media used to be much more about trade spend centering on compulsory co-op expenditure between suppliers/manufacturers with retailers, ending up in product displays, endcap promotions, in-store signage, and catalogs.

Most marketers paid only minimal attention, preferring to focus on the “sexier stuff” such

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The Pitch: Advertising and marketing news for 4.30.24

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing



Owen Design Co. developed a campaign supporting client Har-Tru’s sponsorship of this year’s WTA Credit One Charleston tennis tournament. The multi-channel campaign for the Virginia-based tennis equipment supplier included a national TV commercial, in-stadium motion graphics, digital court displays, court banners, an event space with engagement activities, souvenir items, and social media ads.

Owen collaborated with Alice Blue to create the TV spot, which aired on Tennis Channel throughout the tournament. Event materials were designed in conjunction with Richmond artist Mickael Broth, who created a digital mural for the tournament.



The Martin Agency released a campaign for UPS in tandem with the shipping company’s sponsorship of this year’s Masters golf tournament. The campaign includes a 45-second spot highlighting a small business that impacts a community of golfers. The “Two Dreams” spot is the latest iteration of UPS’s “Be Unstoppable” brand platform.

Addison Clark was hired by Hope Springs Marina in Stafford County. The agency is providing website support, social media marketing and ongoing digital advertising.

Wildfire sponsored the Ad Club at VCU’s Robertson Rush this month. The agency participated in the weekend-long creative sprint in which students compete on teams to respond to a client brief, develop a creative campaign and pitch their executions to a panel of industry professionals.

BrandcenterRecruiter1 McNairEvans

Recruiters meet with students at their personalized stations during last week’s recruiter session at the Brandcenter. (McNair Evans photo)

VCU Brandcenter held its annual recruiter session last week. The two-day event saw nearly 100 recruiters from various agencies and companies participate in-person or virtually to connect with this year’s 70 prospective graduates.

New recruiters this year included CoStar Group, Disney, Peloton, Snap and SoFi. Local participants included CoStar, Brand Federation, CarMax, Familiar Creatures, Sylvain, Martin Agency, Ukrop’s, and Arts &

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Digiday+ Research: A guide to ad-supported streaming services, from the top platforms to marketing spend

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

This is the first installment of a two-part series on the top ad-supported streaming services. This report provides an overview of the platforms’ offerings and an analysis of how brands and agencies distribute their ad budgets and ad placements across platforms. Topics covered include:

The second installment will dive into the results of Digiday’s recent survey of brands and agencies to analyze how advertisers’ preferences for ad options, ad targeting and ad campaign measurement match up to the platforms’ offerings. We’ll also examine challenges marketers face on the platforms and provide a guide to which platforms are right for key advertiser needs.

Streaming video continues to gain steam over linear TV, as Americans are tuning in to streaming platforms in record numbers. Streaming services accounted for 38.7% of total U.S. TV usage in July 2023, according to Nielsen — a new record high for the category. Just a year prior, streaming claimed the largest share of U.S. TV viewing for the first time. 

Meanwhile, cable and broadcast usage fell below 50% in July 2023 in terms of total share among U.S. viewers, Nielsen reported. Total broadcast viewing was down 3.6% to finish the month at 20% of TV, representing a new low. Cable viewing lost a full share point to capture 29.6% of TV usage in July.

What’s more, Americans have been adopting ad-supported streaming services at a faster rate than purely subscription-based options: The number of CTV households streaming ad-supported streaming services reached 83.7 million, a 17% increase from May 2021 to May 2023, while households streaming non-ad-supported services reached 81.1 million, a 9% increase, according to Comscore’s 2023 State of Streaming report.

“Even though streaming viewership continually increases, it is not cannibalizing linear but rather casting a wider net of fans for our advertisers to build

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3 Advertising & Marketing Stocks to Watch Amid Industry Woes

by  on  in Advertising & Marketing

The rise in service activities, along with increased digital marketing services and the success of the work-from-home trend, is enabling the Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry to counter the prevailing revenue softness.

Customer-centric approaches to business, digital strategies, and technology investments are helping Publicis Groupe S.A. PUBGY, National CineMedia, Inc. NCMI and AdTheorent Holding Company, Inc. ADTH to sail through the current testing times.

About the Industry

The Zacks Advertising and Marketing industry comprises companies that offer an extensive range of services, including advertising, branding, content marketing, digital/direct marketing, digital transformation, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications and in-store design services. Prominent players from the industry include Interpublic and Omnicom. The pandemic has changed the way industry players have conducted business and delivered services so far. Currently, the industry’s key focus is on channelizing money and efforts toward media formats and devices. To position themselves suitably in the post-pandemic era, service providers are increasing their efforts toward formulating strategic initiatives and identifying sources of demand.

What’s Shaping the Future of the Industry?

Economic Recovery: The sector is a major beneficiary of the broader economy and service activities. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in 2023 compared with 1.9% growth in 2022. Economic activities in the non-manufacturing sector are in good shape. The Services PMI measured by the Institute for Supply Management has stayed above the 50% mark for the past 14 months, indicating continued expansion.

Reviving Demand: The industry is mature, with demand for services remaining stable over time. Revenues, income and cash flows are anticipated to gradually reach the pre-pandemic levels, aiding most industry players to pay out stable dividends.

Digital Marketing Gathering Steam: Digital media consumption has shot up, with consumers spending more time on

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