Fox Searchlight Pictures Promotes Roya Vakili To SVP Marketing, And Other Hires

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This week: executive shakeups as Fox Searchlight Pictures Promotes a marketing vice president, Foresters Financial expands its global marketing leadership, Rosewood prepares to open a Hong Kong resort and Harrods finds a marketing and customer chief from A&E.

A study by the Pew Research Center has revealed that not only are women mostly excluded from executive positions at top-level companies, but that the problem is not likely to be solved anytime soon. Just 5 percent of the S&P 1500 have female CEOs, and only 11.5 percent of C-suite employees are women. Worse, their research found that women make up only 15 percent of long-term CEO candidates.

Fox Searchlight Pictures Appoints Roya Vakili Senior Vice President Of Marketing

Roya Vakili has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing for Fox Searchlight Pictures International.

“Roya has helped to build the campaigns for many of our most successful international box office hits,” said Rebecca Kearey, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures International. “She covers the whole gamut of marketing for our films, and her consummate creativity has made her an invaluable member of our team.”

Vakili, previously vice president of marketing, has been with the studio since 2006, managing marketing for both The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Foresters Financial Hires David Longfritz As CMO

International financial services provider Foresters Financial has appointed David Longfritz as its global chief marketing officer.

“Foresters is very fortunate to attract someone with David’s deep skillset and vast experience,” said Jim Boyle, president and chief executive officer of Foresters Financial. “He is a passionate, collaborative and strategic thinker who will provide strong leadership to our global marketing teams.”

Previously, Longfritz served as senior vice president of marketing and retirement services at National Life Group.

Rosewood Appoints Simon Gilkes Marketing And Sales Director

Simon Gilkes has joined Rosewood Hong Kong as its director of sales and marketing, part of its pre-opening team for the Rosewood Hotel and Resorts based in the city.

“Simon is a vital addition to the Rosewood Hong Kong team, and we are delighted to have his valuable global expertise to steer sales and marketing strategies for the launch of our newest ultra-luxury property in Hong Kong,” said Marc Brugger, Rosewood Hong Kong’s managing director.

Gilkes has worked in hospitality for close to two decades, joining from SBE London, where he served as regional director of sales and marketing.

Theresa Lawrence Joins ERP Maestro As CMO

Provider of cloud-based and automated access control, security auditing and reporting solutions for SAP ERP Maestro has appointed Theresa Lawrence as its chief marketing officer to drive market growth.

“We are on a high-growth trajectory, and our new executive team members bring the skills and experience to help us accelerate on our path to expand into new markets and increase adoption of ERP Maestro’s disruptive, SaaS-based solution to manage internal security risks in complex and susceptible ERP environments,” said Jody Paterson, CEO of ERP Maestro.

Lawrence most recently served as chief marketing and customer officer for Fridayd.

The Rest Of The C-Suite

Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, May 4. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.

Harrods Signs Amanda Hill As Chief Marketing, Customer Officer

Retailer Harrods has appointed Amanda Hill as CM&CO, to lead the company’s brand strategy, marketing, communications and customer service efforts.

“We are delighted to welcome Amanda to Harrods, to take on this strategically important new role for the business. As we increasingly focus our business towards delivering unparalleled customer experience, Amanda’s vision as CM&CO will be integral towards building our strategy going forward,” said Michael Ward, Harrods’ managing director, to The Drum. “Her experience and valuable insight into today’s modern consumer will help us build on Harrods strong brand identity amongst our global customer base.”

The appointment comes on the heels of the retailer restructuring its brand and digital teams to account or the new role. Hill most recently worked at A&E Networks as its chief marketing officer.

Riversand Brings On Katie Fabiszak As Vice President Of Marketing

Riversand Technologies, a data management company, has appointed Katie Fabiszak to lead its marketing efforts.

“Katie is a proven executor and disruptor. Her experience in the development and execution of go-to-market strategies and building high performing teams will have an immediate and substantive impact on Riversand’s growth, ” said Upen Varanasi, CEO and founder of Riversand. “Katie also shares our conviction that a new breed of data management solutions are needed to drive digital transformation for our customers.”

Fabiszak has been in the data management industry for two decades, joining Riversand from Informatica, where she served as vice president of marketing, strategy and planning.

Gulf Oil Hires Sue Hayden As CMO

Sue Hayden has joined Gulf Oil as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, a newly created role.

“I am excited to welcome Sue to our company,” said Johnson. “Sue’s extensive commercial and retail experience combined with her passion make her the ideal champion for our mission to drive change and develop the Gulf brand along with our partners.”

Hayden has worked in the oil industry for over 35 years, most recently as vice president of fuel sales for North America.

Diageo Ships Edward Pilkington Overseas To Fill NA CMO Slot

As top leaders of Diageo’s North America business retire, the alcoholic beverage manufacturer is shipping in talent overseas to replace them, transporting Edward Pilkington and Claudia Schubert from Europe. Pilkington will take over as chief marketing and innovation officer, while Schubert will assume the role of president for Diageo’s US and Canada business.

“We are delighted to welcome two of Diageo’s most talented and experienced senior leaders to North America,” said Deirdre Mahlan, president of Diageo North America. “Claudia and Ed have both played critical leadership roles in the recent transformation of our Europe business, and both bring world-class multi-market experience that will help drive their respective functions forward.”

Pilkington has spent over 24 years at Diageo, and has led the company’s marketing efforts at separate times for Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Cenergistic Appoints Luis Pajares As Chief Revenue Officer

Energy-conservation tech firm Cenergistic has hired Luis Pajares as executive vice president and chief revenue officer, where he will oversee the company’s strategic growth, sales and marketing teams.

“Luis has proven experience in executive leadership at some of the world’s leading technology companies; he’s a strategy guy who will focus our sales effort, expand our offering and grow our business in current and future markets,” said Ray Hood, CEO of Cenergistic. “As we continue to invest in software development, sales and marketing, Luis will be instrumental in our transition to intelligent building solutions to complement our existing offering for energy conservation in schools, universities, municipalities and healthcare.”

Before joining Cenergistic, Pajares served as group vice president for Oracle Communications, handling the company’s worldwide sales operations.

Samantha Yanks Joins Douglas Elliman As CMO

Real-estate broker Douglas Elliman has hired former Gotham editor Samantha Yanks as its chief marketing officer, a role in which she will expand the firm’s sponsorship, such as Art Basel Miami, and magazine marketing efforts.

“She is a powerful marketer and branding expert, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the team,” Howard Lorber, Douglas Elliman chairman, said to Page Six.

Mattress Firm Hires Scott Thaler as CMO

Set to lead the specialty mattress retailer’s brand marketing and consumer engagement operations, Scott Thaler has joined Mattress Firm as its chief marketing officer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Scott Thaler to the Mattress Firm family. He brings a well-rounded marketing and business perspective and fresh, bold ideas that will help tell our story and demonstrate the value of a good night’s sleep,” said Steve Stagner, executive chairman, president and CEO of Mattress Firm. “He understands our culture, our industry and our customer, and will play a pivotal role in driving our continued retail transformation across all marketing channels.”

Prior to signing with Mattress Firm, Thaler spent 14 years at Zimmerman Advertising, serving at times as chief interaction, digital and client officers.

Keith Belton Joins Phynd As Marketing Vice President

Phynd Technologies announced a number of executive appointments today, including that of Keith Belton as vice president of marketing and Cathy Jones as vice president of sales operations.

“Phynd is pleased to bring aboard customer-facing leaders of Cathy and Keith’s caliber,” says Tom White, CEO of Phynd. “Together they bring a collective 40+ years of health care sales and marketing leadership to Phynd. We are counting on that experience and leadership to continue accelerating our growth as the leader in provider information management.”

Belton most recently led Nuance Communications’ Dragon Medical line of business, which during his tenure grew from $6 million to $180 million in annual revenue.

Intex Technologies Appoints Rajiv Bakshi CMO

India-based consumer electronics company Intex Technologies has tapped Rajiv Bakshi as its chief marketing officer, The Economic Times reports. In the role, Bakshi will oversee the company’s go-to-market strategy across its over 25 product verticals.

“We are delighted to have Mr. Bakshi amidst us and are certain that his diverse experience will go a long way in contributing to the growth of the company in India and international markets,” said Keshav Bansai, Intex Technologies’ director, in a statement. “His immense expertise in strategic marketing and brand management will augment Intex’s growth and profitability.”

Previously, Bakshi served at Discovery Networks for 13 years, rising to the level of vice president and head of marketing and products for the India and South Asia regions.

Scott Heimes Joins Zipwhip As CMO

Business-texting cloud platform Zipwhip is expanding its marketing suite, appointing Scott Heimes as its chief marketing officer.

“We are thrilled to have Scott join the Zipwhip team,” said John Lauer, CEO of Zipwhip. “His track record in B2B communications technology and proven results propelling startups to the next stage comes at the right time for Zipwhip.”

Before joining Zipwhip, Heimes served as CMO for SendGrid, a digital communications platform, where he helped drive the company’s 40 percent growth during his tenure.

Shangri-La Hires Irene Lin As Executive Vice President Of Marketing

Joining the company as its first-ever executive vice president of marketing, Irene Lin will oversee the hospitality brand’s global marketing efforts, Marketing reports.

Lin joins the company from Marriott International, where she served as vice president of digital, loyalty, partnerships and portfolio marketing.

Job Vacancies 

Events Producer AList Pasadena, CA
Director, Global Strategic Marketing Johnson & Johnson Irvine, CA
Senior Director And VP Of Marketing And Communications adMarketplace New York, NY
VP, Digital Marketing And Analytics Herbalife Los Angeles, CA
VP, Marketing And Communications Yamaha Buena Park, CA
VP, Digital Marketing Channels  Capital Group Los Angeles, CA

Make sure to check back for updates on our jobs page.

Brandless Opens L.A. Pop-Up Shop That Doesn’t Sell Anything

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Beauty and lifestyle dark-horse brand Brandless only sells its products online, for $3 apiece. But, between May 1 and May 13, the company has a single physical location, a small pop-up storefront in Los Angeles, with one catch: none of the products on display are for sale.

For a brand that (until now) exists exclusively online, overcoming consumer incredulity over their products is a major hurdle, Lee Anne Grant, head of business development & partnerships at Brandless, told AListDaily on a tour of the shop. Especially since Brandless’ brand focuses on unobtrusive labeling and unflashy packaging, the company has taken a handicap on selling its own products as part of its brand mission.

“We have over 300 products: [our community] want to understand what they taste like, how big they are, touch, try it, et cetera,” Grant said. “[Opening the pop-up] was to help them experience the actual products.”

Called a “Pop-up With Purpose,” the physical location aims to address these issues: visitors may not be able to take the boxes of products home with them but there are a number of sampling stations, letting potential customers try out the products firsthand, and order them later, if they choose.

“We’re not doing a pop-up to drive revenue or be in retail,” Grant said. “We’re doing a pop-up to give our community an experience. We wanted to focus more on creating social moments for them.“

And indeed, the other activities hosted at the pop-up were consistent with Grant’s stated goal. Over the two weeks the pop-up is running, Brandless is hosting a number of events at the location, ranging in subject from gluten-free cooking tutorials to kid-friendly activities to meditation seminars—customers can shell out $9 for a ticket for the events and in addition 10 meals donated to the company’s charity partner, Feeding America, in their name.

Grant identified Brandless’ target audience as two separate groups: anti-establishment millennials seeking out non-GMO, vegan and gluten-free home and beauty products (a group Grant identified as “belief buyers”), and “heads of household” buying for larger families, looking for convenience and to avoid the higher cost of brand names, something Brandless calls a “BrandTax.” The e-commerce startup’s social media presence around the pop-up is designed to reach both groups in their own ways.

“We wanted to try an event space where we could bring thought leaders and community members to interact and talk about everything from living celiac disease and being gluten free to how to give more back to nonprofits,” Grant stated.

The store features a number of branded Instagrammable items, such as a floating box exploding out Brandless products, a wall of do-it-yourself empowerment phrases (contributed to by Beyoncé) and a huge bottle of maple syrup.

For the older and out-of-town, Brandless has been live-streaming many of its live events on Facebook for free, reaching the former group on their preferred platform. Additionally, the company will soon debut a pair of national television ad campaigns, focusing on the brand’s consistent pricing through the lens of both an overworked mother and younger consumer testimonials.

The pop-up focuses much more on exposing the still-new Brandless brand to the largely ignorant public—for as much the company appears both in print and social media, it is only 9 months old. “We’re barely a toddler,” Grant was quick to remind. The intent behind the pop-up’s strategy comes from Brandless’ belief that for consumers to be convinced to buy in, they need only see the products in action.

Study: Google And Hershey’s Top List Of America’s Most Loved Brands

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America’s most loved brands include Google, Betty Crocker and Campbell’s Soup, according to a recent survey by Morning Consult Brand Intelligence, but consumer favor depends on community, age group and gender.

Morning Consult conducted roughly 250,000 interviews between January and March 2018 that asked US adults to rate a randomized set of brands on areas such as favorability, community impact and purchasing intent. Favorability ratings are then calculated by subtracting negative favorability from positive scores.

Based on the survey results, Americans love technology and food. Eight of the top 25 brands are related to food and five include technology brands. According to Morning Consult’s methodology, “The final rankings were determined using surveys conducted online among a national sample of adults. Between 2,500 and 50,000 adults rated each of the over 1,000 companies from January through March 2018.”

Google topped Morning Consult’s list as America’s most loved brand, with a net favorability rating of 78.7. Hershey’s came in at a close second with 78.6. Rounding out the top five are Pillsbury at 76.1, with Amazon and UPS tied for fourth place with a favorability score of 76.

YouTube was the only social media brand to top the list. The video sharing site holds the number nine spot with a favorability score of 73.8.

Brand views vary by where Americans live, the survey found. For example, Carhartt scored 52.1 with respondents from rural areas, compared to a general population score of 39.8. In urban areas, BET ranked 26.7 compared to 14.9 overall.

Americans making $75,000 or more with at least $50,000 invested in the stock market had varying opinions, as well. Boeing, for example, received a 64.6 favorability score from this demographic compared to 39.6 when combined with the general population.

Young adults between the ages of 18-29 have their own brand views, as well. This age group likes Wells Fargo more than the general population, scoring the brand 13.1 and 2.8 respectively. The biggest gap goes to Red Bull, which received an overall score of only -1.3 but 19.2 with young adults.

Most Loved Brands Are:

  1. Google
  2. Hershey’s
  3. Pillsbury
  4. Amazon
  5. UPS
  6. Kellogg’s
  7. Sony
  8. Betty Crocker
  9. YouTube
  10. Campbell’s Soup

Social Media News: YouTube On TV, Snapchat Woes And A First For Twitter

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This week in social media, YouTube aims for TV viewers, Twitter touts live video, Snapchat defends its redesign and Facebook joins the dating game.

YouTube On The Boob Tube

With over 150 million hours of watch time per day, TV screens are now YouTube’s fastest-growing segment, the company reported on Sunday. To help advertisers reach and tailor campaigns to this demographic, YouTube will add a TV category to AdWords and DoubleClick Bid Manager in the coming months.

In the meantime, a new AdWords segment called “light TV viewers” has been added for brands who want help reaching cord cutters.

Twitter: New Kid At NewFronts

Hot off the heels of a profitable first quarter, Twitter hosted its very first NewFronts presentation on Monday, which focused heavily on live video.

The social network showed up ready to unveil 30 new content and renewal deals, including NBCUniversal, ESPN and Viacom.

Twitter’s biggest selling point for marketers was transparency about where ads appear on the site. During the company’s NewFronts presentation, Matthew Derella, Twitter global vice president of revenue and content partnerships, told marketers that they could say goodbye to unsafe brand environments and “hello to you being in control of where your video aligns . . . we say hello to a higher measure of transparency, we say hello to new premium inventory and a break from the same old choices.”

Snapchat: Sorry, Not Sorry

Backlash over Snapchat’s app redesign contributed to lower than expected daily active users (DAU) count in March, but the company stands behind the move . . . or does it?

During its first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told investors that they will continue to optimize the app redesign, especially for Android users.

“We are already starting to see early signs of stabilization among our iOS users as people get used to the changes,” Spiegel said.

Despite Snap’s apparent lack of concern, the company is quietly testing a design that undoes some of February’s controversial changes. The design would reportedly reunite Snapchat Stories from friends and celebrities—the biggest complaint from users.

Facebook’s Status: It’s Complicated

Facebook’s annual F8 developer’s conference tried its best to instill hope during a time of controversy and privacy concerns. Mark Zuckerberg poked fun at himself for his congressional testimony but otherwise assured developers that the site will continue to evolve, albeit with a new attitude of accountability.

Among the biggest announcements at F8 was an upcoming dating profile feature. The new opt-in dating feature only suggests other Facebook users who are not already friends. The tool will allow users to build separate dating profiles that use first names only, which will be hidden from regular friends and news feeds.

Other notable reveals include the ability for users to clear their Facebook tracking history, WhatsApp video calls, live commentary on Facebook videos and the launch of Oculus Go—the latter of which was gifted to attendees Oprah-style.

Refinery29, Condé Nast Continue Niche OTT Trend With Separate Launches

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Refinery29 has announced plans to launch Channel29, an ad-supported niche OTT service aimed at millennial women.

Announced during the company’s Newfronts presentation on Wednesday, Channel29 will feature live and on-demand video that includes both live and on-demand programming with ties to ecommerce. Although free, the OTT service will be ad-supported, Refinery29 said. It will be available on connected TVs, smart TVs and the company’s digital platforms beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018.

In addition to its new OTT channel, Refinery29 will redesign its site to focus on “consumer action”—creating a funnel that offers original news, entertainment and lifestyle programming while promoting its ecommerce portal.

Niche OTT is a common theme at this year’s Newfronts. Condé Nast Entertainment is creating a dedicated OTT channel for Wired, which will launch later in 2018. Next year, OTT channels for Bon Appétit and GQ will follow. These new channels will be available for AppleTV, Roku and Amazon Fire.

“Our new OTT expansion is significant because it brings the quality of Condé Nast to next-gen consumers on new platforms, and in new ways,” Pamela Drucker Mann, chief revenue and marketing officer of Condé Nast said in a statement.

Like Refinery29, Condé Nast Entertainment is using OTT to include entertainment as part of the buyer’s journey. An internal study found that 69 percent of respondents take a purchase-related action after seeing a product featured in a Condé Nast brand. The company did not specify how advertisements would be integrated into its new OTT offerings and declined to comment to AListDaily requests for more information.

Exactly how ads are integrated within niche OTTs is still a topic of much discussion.

In an interview with AListDaily in April, Tosca Musk—co-founder of niche OTT PassionFlix—highlighted the annoyance of mid-roll ads for many viewers, “I find it annoying and I lose sight of the story. If I’m paying for something, I really don’t want ads, I don’t care how much I’m paying.” But, she also noted, “advertising is necessary. It offsets the costs dramatically on a film and it allows you to do so much more… There’s a definite need to have those conversations [with brands] but we all need to work together to create great content and get brands that work for that specific audience out there.”

TiVo, ANA: #SeeHer Ads Improve Sales When Paired With Gender-Equal Programming

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Portraying women fairly in advertising is directly correlated with improved sales performance according to new research. Debuting a system called GEMfit, the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) #SeeHer Movement and TiVo found quantitative evidence that gender-parity ads enjoyed an increased return on investment.

“The foundation of the #SeeHer Movement is data. Our research consistently proves that consumers reward the marketers who create advertising and support programming that accurately portrays women and girls,” said Stephen Quinn, chairperson of #SeeHer.

GEMfit, or Gender Equality Measure fit, is based on an ANA metric that quantitatively scores media based on on how accurately it portrays women. The “fit” aspect comes from placing high-scoring ads next to high-scoring programming.

“The research showed that ads with a high GEM score generated double-digit incremental sales per rating point post ad exposure, when they’re aired on shows that also have a high GEM score,” the organization declared in a statement.

To gather these results, TiVo used its set-top box viewership measurement and shopper loyalty cards to aggregate data from over 2 million US households. To provide GEM measurement figures to the viewer researcher, the ANA partnered with Advertising Benchmark Index.

“Our analysis demonstrated that, when you have good GEMfit, both women and men respond positively, with an uptick in purchasing behavior,” said Walt Horstman, senior vice president and general manager of advanced media and advertising for TiVo. “The accurate portrayal of women and girls in media needs to happen in both advertising and programming content to see effective sales lift.”

AT&T has already pledged to achieve completely gender bias-free advertising by the end of 2018, and Fiona Carter, the company’s chief brand officer, indicated interest in placing unbiased ads with the proper, unbiased, media context.

Additionally, the #SeeHer movement has announced plans to release its GEMfit findings to support brands hoping to improve their ROI and cultural impact.

“We are creating a portfolio of research solutions using our GEM scores as the foundation for advanced performance evaluation,” added Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient. “GEMfit is a great tool for contextual planning.”

Snap Q1 2018 Earnings Call Promises Quality Over Quantity For Its Ad Products

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User stagnation and less-than-expected revenue growth marred otherwise good news during Snap’s Q1 2018 earnings call, as Snapchat’s developer exacerbated investor concerns over the poorly received app redesign with hints at further user-interface changes.

Snapchat’s average daily active users (DAUs) increased by only 2 percent over last quarter, hitting 191 million, while Snap CEO Evan Spiegel admitted that the company’s DAUs were even lower during the month of March, a problem the company fully owned was due to the app redesign.

“We have known for a long time that creating public-facing content is a very different behavior from interacting with close friends, which makes it challenging for both to exist successfully in the same ecosystem,” Spiegel declared.

Despite the redesign’s unpopularity, Snap is not done tinkering with its app’s user experience.

“We are now focused on optimizing the redesign based on our ongoing experimentation and learning,” Spiegel stated. “We are already starting to see early signs of stabilization among our iOS users as people get used to the changes, but still have a lot of work to do to optimize the new design, especially for our Android users.”

Snapchat’s executives were remarkably candid during the earnings call, owning up to the revenue consequences of the company’s controversial steps in the past quarter.

“We should have put Android first,” Spiegel admitted during the earnings call’s question-and-answer session. “We started rebuilding it [Snapchat] from scratch.”

Not all of Snapchat’s commentary on its Q1 earnings was negative, however. Total ad revenue increased by 62 percent year-over-year, reaching $229 million, according to Imran Khan, Snap’s chief strategy officer. This growth was driven predominantly by Snap Ad revenue, as Snapchat’s stagnant user growth has caused many brands to hold off on buying its Lens and Filter products.

“The rapid pace at which we changed the core product introduced increased volatility into our ads marketplace,” Khan said. “While we did not grow as quickly as we wanted, our Snap Ad revenue grew 102 percent year-over-year.”

Much of this increased ad revenue was a result of a large growth in advertiser volume, as Snapchat attempts to expand its programmatic self-service advertising tool to entice small businesses.

“Our self-serve products helped us increase the number of advertisers actively spending on our platform by twenty times over the past year, and we still have a lot of opportunity to expand from here,” Khan declared. “In Q1, both the average cost per app install and the average cost per swipe in the United States were well under half of what they were the year before, and we are continuing to make improvements.”

Due to Snap’s shift to programmatic platforms, advertisers are paying nearly 65 percent less for Snap Ads from Q1 last year, and achieving greater return on investment, with Snap Ad impressions increasing by 450 percent year-over-year.

“Quarter-over-quarter, for campaigns optimized for swipes, we increased our swipe rates by 8 percentage points, while also increasing total swipes by nearly 14 percentage points,” Khan continued. “We believe we can drive broader advertiser adoption and ultimately, a long-term, sustainable business.”

While these numbers look promising, Snap’s executives cautioned that they do not expect a major turnaround in the coming quarter.

“We are planning for our Q2 growth rate to decelerate substantially from Q1 levels, with growth in auction impressions,” said Drew Vollero, Snap’s chief financial officer.

The company reiterated its plans to release several other ad products, such as its Reach and Frequency tool, which will allow larger advertisers to plan and purchase ad space in advance, and Snap Pro, a premium service for advertisers and creators. However, “there’s still a lot of work to do to fully bring this tool to market” was a common refrain, and the company did not provide release windows for any of their planned updates.

Even with Snap’s growing ad revenue, significant layoffs and cost-cutting measures this quarter, the company still posted an almost $400 million loss over the quarter.

Apple Q2 Earnings Reflect Growth Outside US Markets

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Apple reported revenue of $61.1 billion for its second fiscal quarter in 2018, attributing growth to iPhone popularity and expansion in both China and Japan.

This was the best March quarter ever for Apple in terms of revenue, the company reported on Tuesday. Revenue increased 16 percent over the same quarter last year and quarterly earnings per diluted share were up 30 percent.

Solve For IPhone X

IPhone sales attributed to most of Apple’s income last quarter, at $38.03 billion. Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed the company’s success to its $1,000 iPhone X, which proved to be the most popular model in the month of March. Overall, the company sold 52.2 million iPhones, 9.11 million iPads and 4.08 million Mac computers.

Cook told investors that Apple grew revenue in all of its geographic segments, with over 20 percent growth in Greater China and Japan. This growth is reflected in Apple’s quarter revenue—22 percent originated from Japan and 21 percent from Greater China, compared to 17 percent in the Americas.

Q2 2018 marks the third quarter of growth in China after six quarters of double-digit declines. The iPhone X was the most popular iPhone model in China in the last three months.

Steady On The Services

Apple’s services revenue grew 31 percent in the March quarter to $9.2 billion. This category includes the App Store, Apple Care, Apple Pay, iTunes and cloud services.

Last year, Cook said that he wanted to double service revenue—$7.17 billion at the time—by 2020.

Privacy On Point

With Facebook under fire and GDPR around the corner, it’s no surprise that Cook was asked about Apple’s data collection practices.

“Privacy is a fundamental human right,” Cook replied, adding that Apple collects less data than others and keeps most of it, encrypted, on the phone itself.

3 Hot Trends For Retail, CPG, QSR And Auto Marketers

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New technology is emerging on a daily basis, with the rise of mobile first consumers and younger generations existing entirely in a “always-on” world, agencies are constantly being pushed to find captivating and innovative ways to better engage with their consumers. From AR/VR to voice, from IoT to the new Snapchat shoppable lenses, find out how the best brand and agency marketers are adopting new technology to increase efficiency and challenge conventional ideas at MMS Chicago on May 23. Below we’ve outlined three trends we’re hearing about that are top of mind for retail, CPG, QSR and auto marketers.

Content And Commerce

There’s a lot happening in this space, but the latest is Snapchat’s launch of shoppable lenses, including a buy button and advertising within lenses—one of their most popular features. Similar to Instagram’s “buy now” ads, the new Snap feature has the potential to reach more than a third of Snapchat’s daily users, according to a recent Mashable article.

Voice

Agency partners say that clients are asking them what it means for marketing, and wanting to strategize ways to test it.

“More than a handful of clients are wondering how it will impact engagement with audience,” says one advisor.

According to a recent survey by Narvar, consumers use their devices for a few things, including: researching products (51 percent), adding to shopping lists (36 percent), tracking a package (30 percent), making a purchase (22 percent), providing ratings or reviews (20 percent), contacting support (18 percent) and reordering items (17 percent). One of the biggest questions is brand loyalty—will consumers ask for your brand specifically, or will they just ask for “toilet paper?” How will your brand rise to the top? And when it comes to advertising and marketing, who will incorporate brands in a non-invasive way? How do you provide a useful and interesting experience in voice?

AR And VR

There is a lot of potential for augmented and virtual reality. From Rebecca Minkoff’s connected store of the future with smart walls, smart mirrors in dressing rooms, etc… to Amex’s shoppable AR experience in this year’s Coachella app. In auto, Nissan has embraced the tech a few times over with Battle Test: A Nissan 360-Degree Virtual Reality Experience for the Samsung Gear VR and Star Wars: Droid Repair Bay for the HTC Vive and Samsung Gear. So far, we’ve only seen a taste of what’s in store.

Augmented reality is a growth market, and smart marketers should take note. AR & VR are the perfect platforms to create deeper engagement, fandom, and next generation product stories that illustrate how technology can win the game.

MMS Chicago: Consumer Activation is coming up on May 23, 2018!  Join us as more than 20 of the most recognized names in marketing take the stage at Downtown Chicago’s Mid-America Club to discuss how they’re utilizing the latest marketing platforms and evolving ad tech to drive consumer activation relevant to their consumers and brand. Check out the agenda and speakers you’ll meet at MMS here, and use the code “AListChicago” for 20 percent off your pass to MMS Chicago!

From Data To Dating: Key Takeaways From Facebook’s F8 Conference

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F8, Facebook’s annual developers conference is addressing privacy concerns while touting new features, VR offerings and an internet famous dog—here’s what you need to know.

Customer Control Will Trump Ad Targeting

Facebook users will soon be able to clear their history of activity tracked by the company just like clearing browser history. The “Clear History” tool will display information about apps and websites users have interacted with and allow users to clear and effectively reset that information or opt out of tracking altogether.

Zuckerberg warned in a Tuesday Facebook post that clearing history will deliver less relevant information to users.

“To be clear, when you clear your cookies in your browser, it can make parts of your experience worse, he said. “You may have to sign back into every website, and you may have to reconfigure things. The same will be true here. Your Facebook won’t be as good while it relearns your preferences.”

The tool is limited to Facebook users and Zuckerberg’s announcement did not address how the site tracks those who do not use the site at all, much less what non-users can do to control their data.

Dating And Conversation

Zuckerberg said that despite the challenges ahead, Facebook will “keep building and bringing the world closer together.”

Facebook announced a new opt-in dating feature that only suggests other Facebook users who are not already friends. The tool will allow users to build separate dating profiles that use first names only, which will be hidden from regular friends and news feeds.

A dedicated inbox for dating messages won’t allow photos, Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox explained—a relief for anyone who has ever received unsolicited photos of the NSFW variety. Facebook hopes its dating app will foster relationships over casual hook-ups, which may also explain the no photo policy.

In a move that mimics Twitch, a feature called “live commenting” will allow users to comment in real-time alongside Facebook videos.

One of the problems of online interaction is the prevalence of hate speech and bullying. Facebook is privately testing a new feature that automatically blocks certain comments and allows users to report abusive behavior. A bug pushed the feature live for a limited time on Tuesday, momentarily bringing awareness to its existence.

All In For AR And VR

Standalone headset Oculus Go launched on Tuesday, retailing for $199 compared to the existing $399 Oculus which requires a high-end PC. Oculus Go launches with over 1,000 games and experiences, including Oculus TV and Venues, which allows users to hang out with friends at live events.

WhatsApp will soon offer video calls and tools for businesses to use the platform as a service. AR camera tools will potentially enhance these calls and continue to rival Snapchat.

New AR features for Instagram were demonstrated by petfluencer JiffPom. The famous little dog has over eight million followers on Instagram alone.

A New Age Of Accountability

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage on Tuesday and wasted no time in addressing concerns that have dominated recent headlines, from data privacy to election interference. Zuckerberg adopted a positive approach to the problems his company has faced, even using his recent US Congress testimony as a joking way to introduce group video interaction.

“We are all here because we are optimistic about the future,” said Zuckerberg in his keynote speech. “We have real challenges to address but we have to keep that sense of optimism too. What I learned this year is we have to take a broader view of our responsibility.”

Facebook recently purchased a full-page print ad in the US and UK in March that apologizes for data leaks amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The headline reads, “We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can’t, we don’t deserve it.”

A video “apology” was also issued last week that gets specific about how users enjoyed Facebook in the beginning, but paints user concerns with a broad brush, referring to ads, fake news and other issues as “something” that “happened” rather than taking direct responsibility. Zuckerberg’s statements during F8 indicate that he—and by extension, Facebook—is starting to realize the global impact it has on its users.