As a former English major, professional writer, and fan of books, I was happy to read in The New York Times that "small booksellers not only survived the pandemic, but many are thriving." More than 300 new independent bookstores have sprouted across the United States in the past couple of years. Given how bookstore sales fell nearly 30 percent in 2020, things could have turned out differently. “It’s kind of …
The Best Gifts Don’t Come from Amazon, They Come from the Heart
Amazon.com is the information economy’s superstore. One can buy just about anything one desires from Bezos and company. If you’d like, Amazon's Prime will even rush it to your doorstep. Such is the state of retail today. The mass appeal of fast-moving goods (that are just a click and a local warehouse away) is a winner for the consumer goods-based economy, and for Amazon and its investors. Sadly, the obliteration of …
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Retail Media Is the New Standard for Ad-Supported Media
Brand Marketing in the digital age has been an awkward paradox: you must win the trust and preference of consumers but activate behind a curtain of third-party cookies. To make matters worse, accountability has become lopsided. Brand teams are accountable for preference, consideration, trial, household penetration, customer loyalty, and sales lift (to name a few). Meanwhile, the media publishers financed by those …
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Know What’s Up in ’21: Read Wunderman Thompson’s New Future 100 Report
As a marketer, are you feeling cautiously optimistic about 2021? Can 2021 be a hopeful year of economic rebound and societal healing? Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, the agency’s futures think tank and innovation unit, believes so. Their findings are presented in the agency's annual Future 100 report, which helps lift the lid on trends that will shape the coming 12 months. Mel Edwards, Global CEO, Wunderman …
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A 2020 Send Off That Sounds Off
Holiday greetings from ad agencies are typically boring affairs and they're easy to toss aside after a quick glance. Public Inc., a full-service social impact agency, decided that another holiday yawn would not do. So they left a mark. https://youtu.be/SWYnVepM8VM At this rate, 2020 is going to develop a complex. There were also good things that occurred in 2020. I think it's good to see the events of 2020 …
The United States of Disarray
Winners and losers—America and its economy are full of them. Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, employing nearly half of the private sector workforce. But many small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. According to the World Economic Forum, geography makes a great deal of difference in the proportion of U.S. small businesses that have flipped their open sign. In the U.S. as a whole, data …
The Amazon Jungle Shows You How To Maneuver Through The World’s Biggest Marketplace
“I tell my clients, if you’re not on Amazon, your product isn’t really online.” — Jason R. Boyce If you’re in charge of a brand, or simply the advertising for a brand, there’s no getting around the need to interact with Amazon on some level. Amazon is far-reaching and opaque. Yet by working it properly, brands and third-party sellers of merchandise can be very successful. Jason R. Boyce and Rick Cesari lay out the …
Holiday Joy, Come On Down…
Our neighbors down the street here in Austin already have their holiday lights blazing in full glory each evening. They are violating the "Not before Thanksgiving" rule, but there are worse violations. People all over the nation are also preparing for the holidays inside their homes. According to Shutterfly's latest commercial, many are preparing to share their COVID-induced crafting with friends and …
What’s In America’s Shopping Cart? The Red, White, and You
When you watch cable news the narrative on every channel is a deep division between Americans. Yet, between the talking head-filled segments, the nation's biggest advertisers run their side of the story. Their side of the story is optimistic with a touch of realism. https://youtu.be/xi-V4JTnU3o Walmart will never be all we need to get by. But the world's largest retailer does carry hand-sanitizers and other …
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Square and Stripe Tell Powerful Stories of the Small Business Owner’s Struggle
Small business is the backbone of the economy. Small businesses are also a radiating pain point during this devastating economic downturn. According to WBUR in Boston, earlier this summer, MassINC Polling Group surveyed 1,868 small businesses (defined as having fewer than 500 employees). Their findings show that 44% of small businesses lost at least half of their revenue, and 20% lost at least a quarter of their …
Wieden+Kennedy Isn’t Used To Vulnerability or Criticism, But Here’s A Chance to Learn
Wieden+Kennedy, the agency with 11 Agency of the Year credits to its name, laid off 11% of its global workforce due to financial impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. W+K has offices in Portland, New York, Amsterdam, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Delhi, and Sao Paulo. Prominent W+K clients include Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Disney, Facebook, Old Spice, Ford, McDonald's, and KFC. A Negotiated Settlement “We negotiated …
Brands Pause to Acknowledge the American Melee and Register Their Sadness
Exceptional brands create culture, but most brands reflect culture. Reflecting the culture since mid-March has been a creative challenge, given that millions of people are stuck at home and fearful for their health and economic well being. To make matters much worse, one week ago today, a Minneapolis cop was caught on video murdering a nonviolent man—an act which has led to peaceful protests, plus burning and …
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