Anheuser-Busch Taps Consumer Sentiment, Agility To Grow Beverage Category

ORLANDO—Speed and innovation have become the main ingredients for success in the beverage industry, including such staples as beer. But it all starts with listening to consumers first. “I like to think about the CMO as actually the chief consumer officer. So I guess marketing people should always be the people with the best knowledge […]

 
 

J&J’s Sison: Marketers Need More Science, Strategy, Storytelling And Socializing

ORLANDO—Johnson & Johnson believes its marketers need to be better scientists, storytellers, strategists and socializers, according to Head of Marketing Excellence Denis Sison. “Talent is critical to the journey of transformation for marketing these days. As we all know, many of our organizations have been disrupted and are all undergoing transformation to drive growth,” Sison […]

 
 

Seeking Centennial Recruits, U.S. Navy Spends 70% Of Budget On Digital

ORLANDO—Although the U.S. Navy isn’t your typical consumer brand, it’s in the lead generation business nonetheless. And because its target audience consists mainly of the Centennial Generation, 70% of its media is spent in the digital realm. That age cohort, consisting of those born between roughly 1995 and 2008, has been the subject of focus […]

 
 

MediaLink’s Kassan Surveys The Risks, Gains For Marketers Going In-House

ORLANDO—The latest report on marketers taking certain activities in-house as opposed to using agencies comes as both sides need to produce more growth and profits. “Everybody’s under pressure at the same time,” observes MediaLink Chairman and CEO Michael Kassan. Noting margin inadequacies at agencies and profit-and-loss challenges at marketers, it’s logical to take a close […]

 
 

After Hurricane Maria, Digital Platforms Replaced Power-Dependent TV: NBC/Telemundo’s Cancela

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—When Hurricane Maria shut down Puerto Rico’s power grid in the fall of 2017, NBC and Telemundo gained a new appreciation of their digital platforms to continue engaging with viewers. “We didn’t have a business,” recalls Jose Cancela. “That really was a focus for us on seeing how without power, television is […]

 
 

Burger King’s Machado Outlines Three Principles That Underpin 17,000+ Restaurants

ORLANDO—Burger King has more than 17,000 restaurants around the world. “So imagine each of them is kind of like a small company” guided by three principles: getting the basics right, ensuring guest friendliness and using technology to help people engage with the brand, says Global CMO Fernando Machado. “We put a lot of effort on […]

 
 

At Sam’s Club, It’s More Than Marketing For Chief Customer Officer Rogers

ORLANDO—Given the huge increase in customer-retailer interaction sparked in large part by technology, it’s not enough to be Chief Marketing Officer at Sam’s Club. “Marketing’s just a piece of it,” says the company’s Chief Member Officer, Tony Rogers. “The nature of the relationship between consumers and retailers has changed so dramatically over the years.” Whereas […]

 
 

Nurture Marketing Talent ‘Every Step Of Their Career’: AmEx’s Elizabeth Rutledge

ORLANDO—For marketers looking to take back control amid a tsunami of change, it all starts with attracting the right talent. “Talent is the most important asset that we all have, including American Express. And it’s precious,” says Elizabeth Rutledge, CMO of the financial services provider. “You need to nurture it and you need to sort […]

 
 

TV Providers, Viewers Both Seeking The Best Ad Choices: A+E’s Olsen

ORLANDO—It’s not just advertisers that are in the business of balance as they try to figure out where to allocate their media spending. Consumers are seeking the right mix of ad-free and ad-supported video—an exercise that could get even trickier if, or more likely when, more providers adopt the latter option, according to A+E Networks’ […]

 
 

4A’s Kaplowitz Responds To ANA Survey Showing Rise Of In-House Agencies

ORLANDO—The latest Association of National Advertisers survey regarding in-house agencies at marketers shows they have grown in use to 78% of ANA members in 2018 versus 42% in 2008. To the president and CEO of the 4A’s, which represents outside agencies, numbers don’t represent the entire range of attributes that agencies bring to the table […]

 
 

Driven By Better Targeting, Political Spending On Local Cable Soars: FreeWheel’s Baer

ORLANDO—Driven by advances in data-driven targeting, political advertising on local cable television is soaring in advance of the mid-term elections. To FreeWheel’s Joy Baer, it’s a microcosm of what lies ahead for all advertisers. “Emotions are running high. The good news is spend is running very high as well,” already surpassing spending in the 2016 […]

 
 

Target’s Mantra: Be Big, Keep Growing, Come Across As Small

ORLANDO—With 1,800 stores, Target’s biggest challenges don’t include size. “We’re big. We have scale,” says CMO Rick Gomez. The trick is to seem small as the chain expands and tries to provide a singularly unique shopper experience on the ground and online. It’s a situation that many retailers would love to find themselves in, Gomez […]

 
 

Go With The “Flo”: Marketers Need To Be Brave, Take Risks, Says Progressive’s Charney

ORLANDO—Trying to guess what Progressive’s chameleon-like character Flo might morph into next is harder than winning the Power Ball lottery. It’s all about taking marketing risks because Progressive is “not like your father’s insurance company,” says CMO Jeff Charney. Suitably, Charney’s presentation at the recent Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing conference was titled […]

 
 

TV Viewers Pack The ‘New Living Room,’ Advertisers Must Follow: FreeWheel’s Rothwell

ORLANDO—Lack of scale has been a common excuse to avoid trying to reach TV viewers using dynamic devices to view content on the big screen in their living room. But with set-top box VOD and OTT viewing soaring, it’s time for advertisers to “catch up to that viewership,” says FreeWheel’s James Rothwell. “I think we’re […]

 
 

FreeWheel Council for Premium Video Europe Debuts At Cannes With Major Industry Support

CANNES – Expanding its premium video advocacy footprint beyond North America, FreeWheel debuted the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video Europe (FWCE) at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Right out of the gate, the FWCE garnered the support of the some of the biggest TV programmers and operators across the region. Initial FWCE members include […]

 
 

Shared Responsibility For Optimal Ad Experience Creates ‘Virtuous Circle’: FreeWheel’s Rooke

The latest FreeWheel Council for Premium Video position paper contains many insights and conclusions, one of which in particular stands out to James Rooke. When it comes to delivering optimal ad experiences across different screens, there is shared accountability and responsibility. “There was a clear understanding, based on the conversations that we had with brands […]

 
 

FreeWheel Council Research: Consumer Ad Experience Tops Agency, Brand Concerns

LOS ANGELES – More than half (52%) of 250 agency and brand leaders surveyed by the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video believe that improving the video ad experience for consumers is the biggest challenge for the industry. The findings underscore the need for creative diversity so that messaging is appropriate across all screens. Given the 2017 […]

 
 

FreeWheel’s Council Aims To Unify Cross-Screen Lexicon, Rothwell Says

MIAMI — “Multi-screen”, “converged”, “transmedia”, or “platform-neutral”? The number of ways you could describe the new challenge of reaching consumers across multiple devices is mindboggling. But one word is inarguable – “complex”. That’s why the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video, a collection of video providers advocating alongside the video ad-tech vendor, is aiming to stitch back together […]

 
 

FreeWheel Council: Frequency, Customization, Diverse Creative Key To Premium Video Ads

ORLANDO – After studying video consumption patterns, the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video has established a position on improving the consumer ad experience in three areas: proper frequency, customizing the ad experience and maximizing the diversity and quality of advertising creative. “It’s really important for us to ensure that the ad experience and all of […]