Industry insights that make
us go mm-hmm.
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.
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? …
Old Navy Will Shift Back to Brand-Building in a Growing Trend Among Advertisers
CNBC | Nov 22, 2019
Gap said this week it has made the mistake of advertising its discounts at the expense of building brand loyalty for Old Navy.
It seems to be a trend, as Gap joins several other companies lamenting that they’ve…
Adidas: We Over-Invested in Digital Advertising
Marketing Week | Oct 17, 2019
Adidas is on a journey to shift from marketing efficiency to marketing effectiveness, admitting a focus on ROI led it to over-invest in digital and performance marketing at the expense of brand building.
The sports brand’s global media director, Simon Peel, explains that four years ago the company didn’t have any econometrics…
