Industry insights that make
us go mm-hmm.
Brands increasingly seek indie shops and their 'nimble' models in the pandemic
AdAge | Nov 17, 2020
When Domino’s Pizza broke up with MDC Partners’ CPB in favor of a new creative agency, independent WorkInProgress, Chief Marketing Officer Art D’Elia was asked why the company was splitting with its holding company-owned agency after 13 years. “I really feel that the independent agency model gives us more flexibility and less distractions,” he said...
Are New Biz Account Reviews Spooky?
Familiar Creatures | October 30, 2020
Look, the pandemic and 2020 in general has ruined a lot of things. And one of the biggest things this tag team of trash ruined was Spooky SZN, aka Spooky Season. If you google that phrase or hashtag, you’ll see lots of posts about it from years past, but this year? Not so much...
Welcome to Your Bland New World
Bloomberg | Sept 7, 2020
Why do disruptive startups slavishly follow an identikit formula of business model, look and feel, and tone of voice? Because it works, sort of. A week or so ago Colgate unveiled Hum — a smart toothbrush that “guides consumers to brush better and to build healthier habits without sacrificing fun for functionality.” Hum doesn’t look or feel like Colgate’s other toothbrushes … but it does rather resemble Quip...
It’s called a recession, not a regression: why the downturn is the perfect time to level up.
Familiar Creatures | Sept 10, 2020
Do a favor for me. Google “advertising during a recession.” I’ll wait a few seconds. Okay, what’d you see? 100s of articles right? So why read this one? Well, none of those articles were written by actual brands themselves. They’re all by places with minimal, if any, skin in the game...
The Covid Marketing Landscape is Lava: Why going with a fractional AOR now might be right for you.
Familiar Creatures | July 24, 2020
A new show came on Netflix during quarantine that took a popular kids’ pretend activity and made it way more intense and harder to complete. Floor is Lava. Contestants face an enclosed obstacle course featuring shaky pyramids, spinning beds, bouncy planets, secret keys, magical pizza pans— you name it. Oh and of course the “floor” isn’t solid ground. It’s lava! ...
New Creative Startups Are Springing Up, As The Nature Of Advertising Changes
Forbes | Jun 18, 2020
“Think Small” might as well be the ad business' motto in 2020. In the last 18 months, a veritable constellation of creative stars has shrugged off the confines of the holding companies for their own startups. Jeff Kling, a former colleague of mine at Havas, where he created Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man In The World,” started Lightning Orchard. Craig Allen who reinvented Old Spice when at...
600 Black Advertising Professionals Demand Meaningful Action From Leadership in Open Letter
Adweek | June 12, 2020
The recent outcry over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black men and women both known and unknown has forced formerly “apolitical” brands and advertising agencies to reflect on how they should respond to the racism pandemic…
Vox Media Research Shows 9 out of 10 Consumers Have Tried New Brands During the Pandemic
Vox Media | May 18, 2020
The most fascinating element of this pandemic is the abruptness with which it stopped all of our current routines and rhythms. As we search individually for ways to reframe and reformat our lives, we surveyed more than 900 Vox Media consumers to examine how circumstances have affected…
Candidate Noodle Soup: What the 2020 Election Can Tell Us About Advertising Your Brand
Familiar Creatures | Mar 18, 2020
Whether you’re a soup or a presidential nominee, the same principles of branding apply. It doesn’t matter if you have tender juicy beef chunks or concrete plans to eliminate the wage gap, your audience will only choose you if they KNOW you.
How do you get people to know you? …
