A Comprehensive​ Marketer’s Guide To Cannes Lions 2019 Panels

Are you packed yet? Ready to learn, discuss, debate, explore and connect with the fellow peers at one of the main marketing events of the year? Before you embark on the yearly journey to the South of France, do a little homework and learn what the crowd will be buzzing about at Cannes Lions this year with the must-attend panels guide, carefully curated for you by AList.

And by the way, we know you work hard and you like to play hard, so the complete party guide is to follow.


Monday, June 17th


Wake Up With The Economist

Every morning during Cannes Lions week you can join the lively discussion about the marketing industry issues and examine the true value of creativity in the challenges marketers face on a day-to-day basis.

When: Monday – Friday, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30  a.m.

Where: Cannes Lions Beach

Speakers:

Nina Bibby–CMO, O2

Syl Saller–CMO, Diageo

Diego Scotti–executive VP and CMO, Verizon Communications


Why Did We Stop Thinking?

This panel will explore the techniques marketers can use to effectively influence consumer decisions and what steps brands should take to find that “human truth.”

When: 2:30 p.m. – 13:00 p.m. 

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers: Pedro Earp–chief marketing and ZX ventures officer, AB InBev


Welcome To A Brandless World

In this panel, you will learn how companies are building new brands for today’s conscious, tech-savvy, modern consumer.

When: 2:45 p.m. – 13:15 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Matt Hofherr–co-founder and chief strategy officer, M/H VCCP

Aaron Magness–CMO, Brandless

Elizabeth Geri–founder, Wit & Whittle


Badass Women

In partnership with Meredith, the sessions revolve around some of the major disrupters in the marketing industry. The world’s most Badass Women in marketing (and not only) will share their outlook and experiences on great creative leadership and discuss what a badass future for the industry could look like.

When: Monday-Friday, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where: Cannes Lions Beach

Speakers:

Jodi Harris–VP of marketing culture and learning, Anheuser-Busch

Shelley Zalis–CEO, The Female Quotient

Maithreyi Seetharaman–co-chair, Fortune Most Powerful Women International


Tuesday, June 18th


It’s The Real Thing

“It’s The Real Thing” panel will focus on content marketing and what’s at its heart– a relationship between brand and consumer.

When: 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers:

Islam ElDessouky–head of integrated marketing communications, The Coca-Cola Company

Sasan Saeidi–CEO Gulf, J. Walter Thompson


When Worlds Collide: The Evolution of Creativity

Join Brian Whipple from Accenture Interactive and Droga5’s David Droga for a lively conversation about the moves they made, their view of the industry today and in the future and their hopes for it.

When: 12:00 p.m.- 12:45 p.m. Also available for watching online with digital pass.

Where: Lumiere Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

David Droga–founder and creative chairman, Droga5

Brian Whipple–CEO, Accenture Interactive

Suzanne Vranica–advertising editor, The Wall Street Journal


Marketing Transformation And The Quest For Multisensory Brand Reinvention

In this panel, Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard will talk about the transformation of marketing in a digitally immersive world.

When: 2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Raja Rajamannar–chief marketing and communications officer, Mastercard


Fast, Cheap AND Great: Breaking The Laws Of Marketing Physics

Innovation will be the center of this panel’s discussion, highlighting the ways to solve human-centric problems.

When: 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Brad Hiranaga­–chief brand officer, North America, General Mills


Has The Influencer Marketing Bubble Burst?

This panel will have three brief talks on the power, pitfalls and rewards of influencer marketing. It will answer the questions of whether or not influencers still hold influence and do they still offer a viable and valuable option for brands?

When: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers:

Ian Forrester–SVP research and analytics, Whalar

Ben Jeffries–CEO, influencer

Caspar Lee–CMO, influencer


Power To The People! The Blinding Effect Of “Consumer” Marketing

How can you move past bureaucracy and fear in order to build brand relevance? How can treating people like people, and overcoming stereotypes lead to impactful marketing? How can you build a culture of creativity by empowering your team and partners? Come to the panel and find out.

When: 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais

Speakers:

Marcel Marcondes–CMO, Anheuser-Busch USA, Anheuser-Busch

Dwyane Wade–NBA all-star, Olympic gold medalist, NBA


Storydoing: Moving Beyond Marketing To Bring Stories To Life

This panel, moderated by Havas Media Group’s global chief strategy officer, Greg James and PUMA’s global director of brand and marketing, Adam Petrick, will focus on StoryDoing, engagement and innovative brand experience.

When: 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Where: The Terrace Stage, The Terrace

Speakers: Adam Petrick–global director, brand marketing, PUMA

Big Sean–recording artist, Entrepreneur

Greg James–global chief strategy officer, Havas Media Group


Wednesday, June 19th


The Future Of Strategy

WARC’s annual Future of Strategy panel will unveil the results of the annual WARC Future of Strategy survey, stressing the latest trends in planning and strategy. It will then invite the panel speakers to share their advice on how to succeed in the fast-changing marketing industry.

When: 10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers:

Deirdre McGlashan–global chief digital officer, MediaCom

Crystal Rix–chief dtrategy officer, BBDO

David Tiltman–head of content, WARC, WARC


State Of Commerce 2019

In this panel, Scott Galloway will provide a No Mercy / No Malice perspective on the biggest trends, challenges and innovations impacting organizations and digital leaders and answers the question: How can a brand increase its revenue 10x and become a trillion dollar company? The four “horsemen:” Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google will, of course, be at the center of the discussion.

When: 11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I Also available for watching online with digital pass.

Speakers:

Scott Galloway–founder, professor of marketing, Gartner L2, NYU Stern


Survivor’s Guide To The Adpocalypse

Burger King’s Fernando Machado and Marcelo Pascoa will go far beyond Burger King’s advertising to talk about how the brand continues to reinvent itself through design, technology and product innovation.

When: 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Where: Lumiere Theatre, Palais I Also available for watching online with digital pass.

Speakers:

Fernando Machado–global chief marketing officer, Burger King

Marcelo Pascoa–head of global marketing, Burger King


Beefin’ Up Brands: The Power Of Creative Transformation

Join Mark Read, Debbi Vandeven and Kurt Kane to explore and discover the secrets of the recent, award-winning work behind the reinvention of Wendy’s brand.

When: 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Where: Lumiere Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Kurt Kane–chief concept and marketing officer, Wendy’s

Mark Read–CEO, WPP

Debbi Vandeven–global chief creative officer, VMLY&R


Re-Inventing Digital Marketing With The Smart Camera

This panel will revolve around the questions of how will the shift from 2D to 3D drive higher consumer engagement; when is Augmented Reality a relevant technology to enable better brand experiences; and how can brands and creators take advantage of visual search to engage with consumers in their physical environment.

When: 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Where: Interactive Stage, Palais II

Speakers:

Matthieu Lorrain–global head of creative, AR/Lens for Brands, Google

Alexander Nick–global go-to-market lead, AR/Lens, Google


Game Changers – New Blood Brands Come To Cannes Lions

Are game-changing start-ups the “disrupters” in the marketing industry or innovators? Come and hear from co-founders of Away, Hubble and Candid Co. and discuss.

When: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where: The Terrace Stage, The Terrace

Speakers:

Bobby Ghoshal–co-founder, Candid Co.

Jesse Horwitz–co-founder and co-CEO, Hubble

Jen Rubio–co-founder and chief brand officer, Away

Human-To-Human Marketing In A World Of Technology

In this panel, American Express CMO Elizabeth Rutledge will expand on what the company learned from its recent journey to promote the brand worldwide while balancing technology and the human factor.

When: 4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Elizabeth Rutledge–chief marketing officer, American Express


Artists Block – Using Blockchain As A Creative Medium

Blockchain can do so much more than solve issues of transparency and fraud. It can actually enhance creativity. Visit the panel and see for yourself how blockchain can be relevant to creatives.

When: 4:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Where: Interactive Stage, Palais II

Speakers:

Simon Gill–chief experience officer, EMEA, Isobar


Thursday, June 20th


What CEOs Really Think About Marketing, Creativity, And Growth

In this seminar, McKinsey and Cannes Lions will uncover the findings of a new study on evolving expectations of the modern marketing organisation in the eyes of the CEO, CFO and board of directors. But most importantly, it will answer the question of how has the role of the CMO evolved and what does it mean to be a marketing leader in today’s world.

When: 11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Biljana Cvetanovski–senior expert, McKinsey & Company

Jason Heller–partner, global lead digital marketing, McKinsey & Company


‘Disrupting Big’ – The Start-Up Approach For Global Organisations

In this session, Pedro Earp, joint chief marketing and ZX ventures officer for AB InBev, discusses AB InBev’s using disruption to provoke creativity by working with and learning from start-ups.

When: 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Where: Palais II Stage, Palais II

Speakers:

Pedro Earp, joint chief marketing and ZX ventures officer for AB InBev


Building Brand Love With Purpose, Brick By Brick

Join Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer of the LEGO Group, to hear how purpose can drive innovation and ensure a brand remains inspiring, trusted and loved, from one generation to the next.

When: 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Join Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer of the LEGO Group


Friday, June 21st


The Future Of Brand Experience Is Human Experience

In this panel, Optimist, along with the leading marketers from UberEats, Marriott and ŠKODA, will talk about the specifics of brand experience in different industries and explain how all brands should create quality experiences to build meaningful relationships with consumers.

When: 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers:

Marc-Andreas Brinkmann–head of marketing, ŠKODA AUTO

Jennifer Utz Ilecki–vice president, Buzz Marketing & Partnerships, Marriott International

Rose Odeh–CMO, Optimist


Simple Is Hard

Come hear from Apple’s Tor Myhren, who will talk about the importance of removing all “artifice and stripping both message and execution down to only what matters.”

When: 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Where: Lumiere Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Tor Myhren–VP of marketing communications, Apple


The Future Of AI In Advertising

This panel will explore the future of AI in advertising and highlight ways in which the marketing industry players can reach their goals by embracing new technology and emphasizing humanity.

When: 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where: Audi A, Palais I

Speakers:

John Elder–CEO, Heat, part of Deloitte Digital

Jocelyn Lee–head of the AI advertising practice, Heat, part of Deloitte Digital


From Startup To Global Brand: How Away Redefines Performance Marketing

How do you define performance marketing today? What can you learn from D2C companies on building global communities of loyal customers?What is the real power of ‘brand’ today? This and more in the panel hosted by Away’s execs.

When: 2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Also available for watching online with digital pass.

Where: Debussy Theatre, Palais I

Speakers:

Selena Kalvaria–vice president, brand marketing, Away

Sarah Wattson–vice president, creative strategy, Away


The Road To Cannabis Normalcy: From Counterculture To Culture

In the controversial industry, where not much marketing work has been done yet, hear from Grey’s Anatomy star and social activist Jesse Williams, MedMen CMO David Dancer and Mekanism Founder/CCO Tommy Means. the speakers will touch upon how they used the industry’s restrictions to their creative advantage in building the world’s first major cannabis campaign.

When: 3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Where: Palais II Stage, Palais II

Speakers:

David Dancer–CMO, MedMen

Tommy Means–founder and chief creative officer, Mekanism

Jesse Williams–actor, activist, director at August Moon

Moderator: Stephanie Paterik–executive editor, Adweek

New CMOs At New York Media, Rite Aid And Tyson; Joy Howard Lands At Dashlane

This week’s executive shifts include Joy Howard heading to Dashlane, Tyson Foods and Ride Aid hiring CMOs, a cannabis company hiring a former AB InBev marketer, BMW promoting for a VP role, UpWork hiring a senior vice president of marketing and Lime hiring a brand and content director.

Check out our careers section for executive job openings and to post your own staffing needs.


New York Media Promotes For Chief Marketing Officer

New York Media, the parent company of New York Magazine and Grubstreet, promoted Jackie Cinguina to be the company’s first chief marketing officer. Cinguina joined New York media in 2017 as head of sales marketing.

Previous appointments include senior executive director, marketing solutions at Conde Nast and director of integrated marketing at the New Yorker.

“Jackie has been an essential partner to me and business leaders across the company in her two years here. I’m thrilled to have her as our first CMO, as we continue to diversify revenue and reach consumers in new ways,” said CEO Pam Wasserstein in the press release.


Hearst Hires First VP Experiential

Hearst Magazines hired Liz Morley-Ehrlich to be the company’s VP of experiential and brand partnerships. She comes to the company after working for the year at her own event production company.

Previous appointments include, executive director of events and conferences at Billboard and director of marketing at WIRED, a position she held for nine years.


Greg Velasquez Hired At The London West Hollywood

The London West Hollywood hired Greg Velasquez to be the company’s director of sales and marketing. Velasquez was previously chief marketing officer at Hotel Figueroa and has worked in marketing at Four Seasons and Destination Hotels.


Joy Howard To Leave Lyft For Dashlane In August

Only a few days after it was reported Joy Howard would be leaving her post as chief marketing officer at Lyft, her new position was announced.

Howard will become the chief marketing officer at Dashlane in August, according to an email sent to AList. Dashlane, a password manager, also announced it had raised $110 million in investment from Sequoia Capital. Dashlane has both consumer and business products.

Prior to Lyft, Howard spent three years at Sonos in the CMO position and two years before that at Patagonia as VP of marketing. Howard also had previous roles at Coca-Cola, Nike and Johnson & Johnson.

“For years the tech community has maintained that people don’t care enough about their digital security to invest in real protection,” said Joy Howard, who will become CMO of Dashlane. “We don’t believe this is true. Rather, people care deeply about protecting their digital identities, but lacked the effective means. Dashlane is a powerful yet simple tool that empowers users to control their digital identities. I look forward to helping them build a world-class brand and a company that makes digital life worry-free for everyone.”


Tyson Foods Hires Noelle O’Mara As Chief Marketing Officer

Tyson Foods announced Noelle O’Mara will be the company’s first chief marketing officer. O’Mara has been with Tyson Foods since 2016 and most recently was SVP/GM Tyson portfolio and company innovation.

Before joining Tyson Foods, O’Mara was with Kraft Foods for 13 years.

“Noelle has a proven track record of building brands and high-performance teams, the kind that accelerate growth and lead to results,” said Tyson Foods CEO Noel White in a press release. “She’s focused on modernizing Tyson Foods’ existing brands while building the next generation of innovation.”


Ride Aid Hires Erik Keptner For Newly Created CMO Position

Rite Aid announced via press release the company had hired Erik Keptner for the newly created role of chief marketing and merchandising officer.

Keptner comes to Rite Aid after a year at Wakefern Food Corp, where he was SVP marketing. Keptner also spent time in marketing executive roles at Giant Food Stores and Ahold USA.

“Erik is an experienced retail executive who has proven that he can integrate and manage all aspects of an organization’s marketing and merchandising assets to provide great customer experiences, operate efficiently and deliver growth,” said Rite Aid COO Bryan Everett. “We’re excited to welcome Erik to our team as we continue to integrate our marketing and merchandising teams and enhance our omnichannel presence to deliver a seamlessly connected customer experience that drives growth. We will benefit tremendously from his knowledge and expertise as we accelerate these critical efforts.”


SERES Hires Former Cadillac CMO As CEO

SERES, a Chinese electric vehicle company, hired James Taylor to be the company’s chief executive officer. Taylor’s brings both marketing experience and executive leadership to the company after spending much of his career with automakers.

Most recently Taylor led and founded an auto brand consultancy, JET Group. Notably, Taylor was CMO for Cadillac from 2005 to 2008 before becoming CEO of Hummer.

In 2015, Taylor was hired to be chief marketing and sales officer at Karma Automotive, he also previously had the same position at Fisker Automotive.


Peloton Hires VP Content

According to Variety, Peloton hired Kevin Chorlins to be VP of content. He Will report to Jennifer Cotter, who was also newly hired to be chief content officer.

Chorlins comes to the company from Scripps, where he was most recently SVP International content and brand strategy. Before that, he served in two marketing roles at Scripps, first as director of marketing at the DIY network and later as vice president of marketing.


INSP Hires Executive Vice President, Marketing

INSP, a cable channel focused on family programming, hired Hayes Tauber to be the company’s executive vice president of marketing. “Hiring Hayes signals a new aggressive phase in INSP marketing,” INSP’s COO Dan Ardizzone said in a press release.

INSP was founded as a Christian cable channel, but in recent years at pivoted sharply to family programming, namely syndicated western TV shows. In recent years Tauber has worked as a strategist at RevelOne and Foundermark, but before that he spent a number of years at as a marketing executive at National Geographic and TruTV. Tauber also worked in brand marketing and social media at ESPN.

“This decision is the result of an extensive search process over the past several months,” said Ardizzone. “Reporting directly to me, Hayes will have overall responsibility for all INSP related marketing activities, including Distribution & Consumer Marketing, Creative Production & Promotion, and, Digital / Social Media Marketing.”


BMW Promotes For VP Of Marketing

BMW of North America promoted Uwe Dreher to the position of vice president of marketing, the top marketing position at BMW in the USA. Dreher replaced Trudy Hardy, who will shift to vice president of BMW Motorrad of the Americas.

Dreher has been with the company for 17 years.

“We thank Trudy for all her great work over the years and are excited to welcome Uwe to the U.S., one of the biggest BMW markets in the world, to build upon that momentum,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president & CEO of BMW of North America, said in a statement. “His passion for the brand, combined with his varied global marketing experience makes him a great addition to our leadership team. As BMW continues the largest product offensive in our history, we look forward to working together with Uwe to further sharpen our customer focus and solidify our brand position.”


Vireo Health Hires Former AB InBev Marketer For CMO Role

Vireo Health, a cannabis company, hired Harris Rabin to be the company’s chief marketing officer. Rabin comes to the company after a brief stint as co-founder and partner at his own cannabis company. Prior to that, Rabin worked for almost five yeras at AB InBev as a vice president of global marketing.

Rabin also worked at Bayer Healthcare for nine years, most recently as global brand director.

“Without a doubt, cannabis will continue to be a positive disruptive force transforming consumer wellness, and my background in consumer health care and beverage alcohol gives me a unique perspective on the potential of the fast-growing cannabis industry,” said Rabin in a statement. “I look forward to helping grow Vireo Health’s brands at a time when the company is uniquely positioned to leverage our medical and science expertise to provide best-in-class products and experiences.”


UpWork Hires SVP Marketing

UpWork hired Lars Asbjornsen to be the company’s senior vice president of marketing. Asbjornsen comes to the company after spending the last 17 years at Robert Half Staffing, most recently as vice president of digital marketplace solutions.

The company also announced a promotion for Hayden Brown “from senior vice president of product and design to chief marketing and product officer.”

“Upwork is on a mission to positively impact the future of work as we help businesses grow while creating more economic opportunities so people have better lives. We can’t accomplish these bold goals without extraordinary talent in place,” said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, in a statement. “Lars is an ideal fit for Upwork as we move forward, and Hayden has proven herself to be invaluable to driving our efforts ahead.”


Lime Hires Head Of Brand And Content

Last week, Lime hired Stacey Kawahata to be the company’s global brand and content director. Kawahata comes to the company after spending only a few months at Acreage Holdings, a New York-based cannabis company.

Prior to that Kawahata spend four years at Vice Media as strategy director. According to Ad Age, Kawahata will oversee “brand campaigns, social media, and content strategy.”


Editor’s Note: Our weekly careers post is updated daily. This installment is updated until Friday, May 31. Have a new hire tip? We’re looking for senior executive role changes in marketing and media. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.


Job Vacancies 

Chief Marketing OfficerStila CosmeticsNew York, NY
Vice President, Film MarketingWarner Bros.Burbank, CA
Chief Marketing OfficerThirdLoveSan Francisco, CA
VP, Investment MarketingPrudentialShelton, CT
Vice President of Marketingsbe Entertainment GroupLos Angeles, CA
Vice President of MarketingBelkinPlaya Vista, CA

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

Spotify’s ‘Social Listening’; Snapchat Originals Are Popular

This week in social media news, eMarketer estimates users will spend less time on Facebook and Snapchat, LinkedIn acquires a machine learning company, Meredith doubles Pinterest impressions, DTC brands turn away from Instagram to advertise on Snapchat and Spotify developing social listening.


Spotify Is Developing Shared Listening 

Spotify was spotted working on a “social listening” feature designed for real-time sharing, which will allow listeners to add songs to a queue they can enjoy collectively.

Why it matters: The social listening feature is a shared experience between listeners. This could also be another way for companies to market their brands via the app.

The details: To use the feature, the user can just scan one friend’s QR-style Spotify social listening code, and then anyone can add songs to the playlist. The participants of a social listening session are visible in connected devices menu and the users can share a link to join their social listening session with others.


Snapchat’s TV Series Are Exploding 

According to SocialMediaToday, Snap original shows are seeing over 20 millions of views. 

Why it matters: Snapchat had gone through a rough patch, but it’s still holding its ground with Snapchat original shows. Although the platform is not as popular as Instagram, its audience is young and engaged.

The details: One particular show, Endless Summer, reached 28 million unique views.


Twitter Rolls Out Live Broadcasting With Guests 

Twitter announced in a blog post that starting today users can host a live video and invite up to three people as guests.

Why it matters: The new feature will drive more conversations and engagement on the platform and allow for more content creation opportunities.

The details: “We’ve learned how valuable the audio experience is for people to discuss topics they care about, because when you can chat live together, it’s more fun! We’re thinking about ways we can add video for guests too, so stay tuned. Check it out, tap the smilies and go live with guests on Twitter,” the blog post says.

The instructions on how to create and find videos and go live with guests can be found here. No word if business accounts will be able to use the feature or if Twitter will expand the limit of three guests


DTC Brands Shift Focus From Instagram To Snapchat 

DTC brands are reportedly seeking advertising opportunities on Snapchat rather than an overcrowded Instagram.

Why it matters: Instagram’s popularity creates more competition and higher prices. DTC brands are looking for alternatives and actually, greatly benefit from turning to Snapchat. 

The details: According to Business Insider, DTC companies benefit from Snapchat Story Ads in several ways. First of all, Snapchat’s Story ads are cheaper and DTC brands are seeing positive ROI with them (the cost per 1,000 ad impressions on Snapchat are eight times cheaper than Instagram ads.) 

Story Ad format also allows the brands to build campaigns for multiple images (up to 20) and draws users more organically. Finally, Snapchat’s Story Ads allow DTC brands to better examine the shopping behavior of the users, who actively choose to watch the ads. 


Meredith’s Pinterest Impressions Double In The Past Year 

Digiday reported that media giant Meredith was able to significantly grow impressions on Pinterest with the special team the company launched in the fall of 2018.

Why it matters: “There’s a natural fit. Pinterest users want to find a recipe, or they’re moving into their first apartment, or first home or they’re having a baby — all those lifestyle moments especially of female consumers — it was a really good place for us,” said Lorraine Goldberg, Meredith’s director of social strategy. 

The details: Meredith’s dedicated team currently manages Pinterest accounts for AllRecipes, EatingWellTravel+LeisureBetter Homes and GardensSouthern LivingParentsShapeHealthInStyleMartha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings. These accounts have more than 12 million followers and drive 200 million impressions every month, Digiday reported. 

One of the team’s content strategy techniques revolves around investing more in video on Pinterest. Since October 2018, Meredith has seen about 143 million video views on Pinterest; some individual videos reached more than 1 million views. A pin about a DIY fire pit from Better Homes and Gardens, for example, has 10.9 million views and about 228,000 saves.


Twitter Is Looking For ‘Tweeter In Chief’

Twitter posted a job listing, looking to hire a “tweeter in chief.” 

Why it matters: Twitter is often criticized for not understanding its own platform, and with the new resource it hopes to solve this problem.

The details: The tweeter in chief would almost certainly be a marketing mouthpiece for Twitter. According to the job posting, the social media platform is looking for someone who loves Twitter and is passionate about its purpose and a storyteller with “understanding of the broader marketing landscape.”

The job listing also explains the tweeter will be, “writing the Tweets for @Twitter, setting the editorial direction and leading a team of incredible community managers. So every day you’ll be reacting to culture, as it happens.”


LinkedIn Acquires Drawbridge To Provide Better Businesses Solutions 

Professional social media platform, LinkedIn, announced in a blog post, the company’s recent acquisition of Drawbridge, the machine learning service that helps companies to target user-focused issues such as customer experience, digital security and risk detection.

Why it matters: With the new technology from Drawbridge, LinkedIn aims to continue to innovate and deliver solutions that help to drive greater ROI.

The details: According to LinkedIn, “Drawbridge’s team and technology will allow [LinkedIn] to accelerate the capabilities of [their] Marketing Solutions platform, helping [LinkedIn] customers better reach and understand their professional audiences and measure the ROI of their campaigns across mobile and desktop.”


Federal Trade Commission Struggles To Regulate Influencer Marketing

Morning Consult reported that it’s difficult for the government to regulate influencer marketing on Instagram due to lack of resources and the platform’s seamless ad design.

Why it matters: From 2017 to 2018, the advocacy group Truth in Advertising investigated more than 1,400 influencer ads—all from influencers who received official warning letters from FTC. The investigation revealed that not a single ad met the standards laid out by the regulatory agency.

The details: FTC investigations are usually complaints by consumers and advocacy groups, research by the agency’s staff and pressure from Congress, Morning Consultant reported. In the past, the FTC tried to warn influencers and encourage them to make their payments more transparent.

“It is a daunting challenge for the FTC to try and keep pace with everything” under its jurisdiction, said Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and noted that the FTC is looking into influencer marketing, “is therefore nontrivial.”


EMarketer Predicts Less Time Spent On Facebook And Snapchat

EMarketer’s lowered estimates for users’ average time spent on Facebook, according to their new report. Spapchat’s estimate was also lowered in time spent.

Why it matters: Is Facebook finally seeing a movement away from the platform after a rough couple of years?

The details: Per eMarketer, in 2019, US adult Facebook users will spend an average of 38 minutes per day on the platform (on all devices), down 2 minutes from eMarketer’s previous forecast. In 2020, the average daily time on the platform will drop to 37 minutes.

For Snapchat, time spent among users fell slightly in 2018 as well. EMarketer attributes this mainly to the company’s failed redesign and competition from Instagram. EMarketer expects time spent among Snapchat’s adult users to remain at 26 minutes per day through 2021. The research firm’s previous forecast projected 28 minutes per day on Snapchat in 2019.


Facebook To Launch “GlobalCoin” in 2020

BBC News reported that Facebook is finalizing its plans to launch its own cryptocurrency in 2020, named “GlobalCoin.”

Why it matters: Facebook’s goal is to develop a digital currency that would provide affordable and secure ways of making payments; possibly competing with banks in the future.

The details: According to BBC News, Facebook will be outlining more detailed plans for GlobalCoin this summer and has already spoken to Mark Carney of Bank of England. Mark Zuckerberg and Mark Carney had a meeting in April to discuss the opportunities and risks associated with a cryptocurrency launch. The social media company also spoke to officials at the US Treasury about the regulatory issues and is currently having conversations with money transfer firms such as Western Union, in its efforts to make it possible and convenient for people without a bank account to make purchases.


Chipotle’s New Campaign For The NBA Season Closure

Chipotle is giving away $1 million in free burritos as a part of the company’s new social media campaign targeting basketball fans.

Why it matters: The campaign helps Chipotle (which is still trying to recover from several food safety crises) to target basketball fans at the moments when they’re most engaged on social media.

The details: According to the company’s website, “During the series games, every time an announcer says the word FREE on air, [Chipotle]’ll Tweet a unique keyword that unlocks up to 500 free entrées during the first half of each game and up to 1000 free entrees during the second half of each game. The first 500 people to text the unique offer code to 888222 when ‘free’ is mentioned in the first half, will receive a code for a free entrée. The first 1000 people to text the unique offer code to 888222 when ‘free’ is mentioned in the second half, will receive a code for a free entrée.”


Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, May 31. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com

Air Wick Chooses Interesting But Familiar Locale For Branded Podcast

Air Wick launched an irreverent podcast that features real people recording from a public bathroom stall to promote its V.I.P. Pre-Poop Toilet Spray, which traps odors in the bowl for “Very Important Poopers.” The Very Important Podcast (VIP), “The Podcast That Doesn’t Stink” is available on iTunes and Spotify.

The company published three video spots of the podcast to the product’s YouTube channel showing host Dru Johnson interviewing experts on topics ranging from how to “not stink” at dating, martial arts or making animal balloons. Both host and guests are seated on toilets.

The podcast marks Air Wick’s third push for its V.I.P. Spray campaign. In 2018, the company released a 45-second video spot showing a “Very Important Pilot,” saying:

“Folks, when I drop off my cargo at 30,000 feet, I use V.I.P. I don’t use aerosols, because why would I let odors get in the air in the first place? I wouldn’t. If you expect nasty tailwinds, go with V.I.P. Flight attendants, prepare for a sweet-smelling landing.”

Air Wick’s video spots reflect a larger trend in the proliferation of branded podcasts, and positions itself as more relatable to customers. According to The Podcast Consumer 2019 report from Edison Research, today, 51 percent of Americans ages 12 and over have ever listened to a podcast. Additionally, 54 percent of podcast consumers say that they are more likely to consider podcast-advertised brands compared to 7 percent who say they are less likely.

Air Wick takes customer feedback into consideration. This year, the brand created a customized questionnaire to inform the development of its personalized fragrance products. The research-focused campaign sought the opinion of its target audience—millennials—on the kind of experiences it would prefer when making a personalized scent and product packaging.

“We have demand from markets who want to activate the idea based on the results, which has been a completely new way to validate a concept,” said Caroline Stewart, global digital brand manager of parent company Reckitt Benckiser.

Reckitt Benckiser’s Q1 earnings reveal a slow start to the year in its health business unit. Chief executive officer Rakesh Kapoor said that it was “impacted by the unusually weak cold and flu season across the US and several European markets and associated retailer inventory movements.”

Air Wick products are available in 78 countries.

The North Face Scheme Manipulated Wikipedia, Image Ranking At Cost Of Consumer Trust

The North Face is apologizing for a campaign, called ‘Top of Images’ project, in which the company’s Brazilian division manipulated North Face’s search engine optimization (SEO) rankings on Google via a Wikipedia hack that went unnoticed until reported by Ad Age.

As part of the campaign, VF Corporation-owned The North Face used photos of travelers clad in North Face to update the Wikipedia pages of famous global destinations such as Peru’s Huayna Picchu, Scotland’s Cuillin and Brazil’s Guarita State Park. The stunt catapulted the images that North Face planted to the top of Google Image search results for those locations.

“Our mission is to expand our frontiers so that our consumers can overcome their limits. With the ‘Top of Images’ project, we achieved our positioning and placed our products in a fully contextualized manner as items that go hand in hand with these destinations,” said Fabricio Luzzi, CEO of The North Face Brazil in a statement.

The head of the agency that devised the campaign boasted in a video that North Face “did what no one has done before … we switched the Wikipedia photos for ours” and “[paid] absolutely nothing just by collaborating with Wikipedia.”

After Wikipedia editors noticed the hack, the organization and angry users were quick to rebuke North Face on Twitter, as Wikipedia tweeted:

“When companies like The North Face take advantage of the trust you have in Wikipedia just to sell you clothes, you should be angry. Their actions have gone directly against the spirit, purpose, and policies of Wikipedia to provide neutral, fact-based knowledge to the world.”

Wikipedia noted that the campaign breached “the Terms of User for undisclosed paid advocacy.”

North Face then pulled the campaign and apologized for “engaging in activity inconsistent with Wikipedia’s principles.” The North Face Wikipedia page has since been updated to reflect a section titled, “Conflict-of-interest edition of Wikipedia # The North Face,” explaining the scheming campaign and reactions to it.

The fact that The North Face was honest about the exploit shouldn’t equate to the kind of honesty and authenticity consumers are expecting more and more from brands.

In 2018, North Face pledged to embody a more female-inclusive marketing strategy, even doubling its investment in the design and manufacturing of its women’s apparel. The brand also expressed a commitment to authenticity and working with influencers who “genuinely love” the brand, according to Marketing Week.

In the interview, The North Face’s former vice president of marketing said, “More than ever, consumers see when you’re just trying to talk at them, so you have to continue to be as sincere as possible so that the dialogue is genuine, or you’re just not going to break through.”

Google’s Digital Museum Crowdsources Untold Stories From Women’s Soccer

Google is launching a digital museum called The Offside Museum that aims to crowdsource the undocumented history of women’s football from when the sport was banned between 1921-1979. The exhibit will live on Google’s Arts & Culture platform.

To promote the digital museum, Google created a video spot featuring first-ever female referee Léa Campos, who was arrested 15 times during the women’s soccer prohibition. The spot gives a virtual tour of the digital museum with narration by Campos:

“They said women don’t know what offside is, but this is the rule applied to us off the pitch in many ways. For playing football, we were judged, condemned even. And yet we kept playing. Yes, we know what offside is. And if this part of history still remains untold, it’s time to tell it,” Campos says.

The spot concludes with Campos holding one hand straight in the air, as to mimic an older photo of her as a referee in 1967.

The Offside Museum was created after Google noticed an insufficient amount of information on the history of women’s soccer. The sport was banned in various countries including Brazil, the UK, Germany and France due to a widely-held belief that soccer would masculinize women and cause infertility.

Starting May 30, anyone can digitally submit information, stories and photos to The Offside Museum. Google will unveil the massive crowdsourcing initiative on June 24, the month of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with a complementary out-of-home (OOH) campaign, as well as via print and social.

Meant to inspire new generations, Google’s Offside campaign fuses a purpose-driven content with user-generated content. When used correctly, crowdsourcing can lead to lower ad costs and a higher quality of content. Colgate Speed Stick, for example, utilized crowdsourcing to create a Super Bowl ad for $17,000, compared with the nine-figure price tag associated with traditional agencies, as Deloitte reported.

No stranger to emotional storytelling, Google made an impact on Super Bowl viewers in a tearjerker of a video spot that inspired the highest emotional engagement, according to Ipsos.

Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman says that the subconscious influences 95 percent of consumers’ purchase decision making. The surefire way to tap the subconscious? Raw storytelling.

Brands can also expect higher engagement on content that exhibits a particular stance on a social issue. As Pixability CEO Bettina Hein reported on Think With Google, her research found that among the top 100 brands, cause-related ads on YouTube have increased four times over the past five years. Among those top videos were those rooted in messages promoting women’s equality. Not only are purpose-driven ads growing, Hein says, but so are the engagement rates they receive compared to non-purpose-driven ads.

Oregon Brewery Deschutes Targets Cannabis Consumers In New Campaign

Deschutes Brewery called on marijuana culture to launch an ad campaign titled, “It Comes With The Territory” which encourages cannabis consumers to drink its beer.

The company promoted the campaign with three video spots set to a Pacific Northwest theme, a nod to Deschutes’ roots in Oregon, where it was founded in 1988. Digital ads from the campaign will run across Oregon and Washington, where cannabis is legal.

Both video spots, published to the brewery’s YouTube, feature a Martha Stewart look-alike who proudly tells the audience what the Pacific Northwest’s favorite thing to do is when it’s not smoking weed: drink Deschutes beer. In the 15-second spot, she pulls out a tray of “famously dank sativa space cakes” before referring to a six-pack of the brand’s IPA beer as “the beer of choice in the land of recreational cannabis.” In the 30-second spot, the same woman describes Deschutes as “the super dank refreshment when you’re not toking the refer.” A third video spot exudes Pacific Northwest pride as a compilation of images shot in the Evergreen and Beaver States plays to The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie” song.

“. . .we have longer-term plans to bring the campaign to life nationally in ways that are relevant to local markets,” VP of marketing Neal Stewart, told Craft Business Daily, adding that the brewery will promote the campaign through social channels and via a “pretty robust digital/paid media buy.”

Neal added that Opinionated, the agency that created the spots, “did a great job of leveraging the cultural truth that a lot of people are participating in cannabis here in the Northwest. We call that out in some of these spots and remind people that beer is still a fun thing to ‘participate’ in as well.”

Deschutes’ tongue-in-cheek pro-cannabis campaign comes at a time when category-wide beer sales are slow. Domestic-made shipments of beer declined by about 2 percent, according to the Beer Institute, as reported by Brewbound. In December 2018, Deschutes laid off dozens of employees, citing missed growth projections.

Deschutes isn’t the first to push the boundaries of recreational marijuana. Lagunitas, the Northern California brewery, released a THC- and CBD-infused sparkling water available in two dosage levels. The water, called Hi-Fi Hops, was sold at select California dispensaries. To avoid the risk of getting its federal license to make alcohol taken away, Lagunitas brewed the water in-house and shipped it to CannaCraft, where the water was then infused with the special ingredients. Still, Lagunitas also scaled back with a 12 percent cut to its workforce in 2018.

Influencer Marketing Council Releases Guidelines To Combat Influencer Fraud

As part of its efforts to minimize influencer fraud, the Influencer Marketing Council (IMC) released “Fraud Best Practices and Guidelines,” marking the first major initiative to define influencer marketing industry standards on a platform-by-platform basis.

Spearheading the guidelines is a group of leaders from Clorox, Publicis Media, Initiative, Horizon Media, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, Haworth, Havas Media, Lippe Taylor, StubHub, Abrams Artists Agency and Captiv8—as listed in a press release.

The establishment of measurement standards follows the industry’s collective outcry for regulating the gray areas of influencer marketing in the digital space, as lambasted by former Unilever chief marketing officer Keith Weed. Weed, who since leaving Unilever has invested in influencer platform Tribe, urged companies to stop working with influencers who bought fake followers, calling for “urgent action now to rebuild trust before it’s gone forever.”

A noteworthy statistic introduces the guidelines: “More than 11 percent of the engagement for influencer-sponsored posts on Instagram are generated by fraudulent accounts.” The guidelines include 12 metrics including follower patterns, engagement spikes and variations in audience locations—aiming to help guide marketers’ decisions about influencer-driven initiatives and campaigns.

“Influencer marketing presents many rich opportunities for brands, but fraudulent activity—particularly around acquiring followers and driving engagement—in the space remains one of the key barriers to achieving true engagement and trusted measurement,” said Jeremy Cohen, VP, head of global content partnerships at Publicis Media.

To ensure they’re allocating budget dollars to campaigns that will forge authentic connections with their real targeted audience, not fake followers, brands should keep the following best practices in mind when selecting talent for partnerships. First, monitor any spikes in the influencer’s followers and engagement—likes, impressions and comments can be bought—as spikes indicate bot activity. Next, make sure they have a proportionate follower to engagement ratio, and that the origin of their engagement matches their audience’s location. As for gauging impressions, the guidelines advise that on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, “you should generally expect 20 percent of the impressions compared to the influencers’ followers.”

“Fraudulent activity is a major pain point for the industry and we don’t see this slowing down until we, as a whole, step up. The IMC is focused on ‘action-oriented’ initiatives, we believe by putting out tactical solutions for brand marketers, we will make a difference,” noted Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of Captiv8.

Though the IMC has set forth best practices, identifying fake activity and determining the true reach of social media spend remains elusive, simultaneously money spent on influencer marketing continues to increase. Seventy-eight percent of marketers surveyed by influencer agency Linqia said that the biggest challenge of influencer marketing is working out the return on investment. Marketers spent $570 million alone on Instagram influencer marketing in 2017, eMarketer reported.

FoxNext CMO: “Our Job As Marketers Used To Stop When We Got Somebody Into The Game, But Now It’s Just Beginning”

FoxNext Games—a two-year-old mobile games maker recently acquired by Disney—made waves with its Marvel Strike Force game over the past year. Specifically, the game garnered recognition from the Google Play, who deemed it “Best Breakthrough Game,” at Google I/O—a prize awarded to new games based upon distinguished “user experience, engagement and retention.” In March, the company announced Marvel Strike Force had generated $150 million in revenue, due in no small part to the amount of daily active users.

“It’s a great way for us to celebrate the community,” CEO Aaron Loeb told Venture Beat. “A lot of players have playe[d] the game every single day in the past year.”

FoxNext’s chief marketing officer, Steve Fowler, recently sat down with AList to speak about the company’s marketing strategy, user retention and overall brand message. Fowler also spoke about the company’s upcoming titles including Avatar and Aliens.

What is the core brand message that FoxNext wants to impart in 2019?

We are reliant on known IP, and one of the challenges that my team focuses on is, how are we breaking through on our own brand identity around licensed games.

The first game out of the gate for us was Marvel Strike Force. The second game we’ve got is a conglomeration of both owned and original IPs, a game called Storyscape. Then, we’ve got an Avatar game in development and an Aliens game in development. From an awareness perspective, it’s super easy for us. That’s one of the advantages. That, inherently, gamers have almost ubiquitous awareness around Marvel, Avatar and Aliens. That’s not our challenge. Our challenge is, how do we differentiate ourselves within the category? Specifically, Marvel Strike Force‘s challenge is—there are seven other Marvel mobile games, how does Strike Force breakthrough? Some of the things we’re trying to do are build consistency with our communities, and consistency with our message.

A specific example is the branding icon and element that we chose for Marvel Strike Force. If you look at our icon on an app store, it’s a little eagle with an iconic looking golden seal, if you will. We did a lot of testing around the pros and cons of not having our brand or an icon that is a more familiar thing like Hulk’s face or The Avengers team standing together or more prominently building up Marvel. That was a conscious decision as to how to build [brand] equity around Strike Force.

How do you implement that in the new games you mentioned?

We’ve taken that [and] applied it directly to our second game. Storyscape is an interactive storytelling game. There [are] Titanic stories, there’ll be stories from The X Files [and] there [are] a couple of original stories. We tested a whole bunch of different brand icons, app icons, and went with one that was very minimal with just a black background. [What] we’re trying to do is build long-term consumer familiarity with our brands within the IP that we’ve licensed.

How are you using data to inform your marketing decision-making?

One of the things I’ve tried to instill on my team is trying to think about customers holistically and in different facets of their consumer journey, which is a fundamental of games, and [the difference between marketing] service-based games and product-based games. We broke it down in kind of six categories that we measure consistently on a weekly basis: unaware of us (Awareness); aware but not convinced yet to try us (Consideration); ready to install and play (Conversion), a current active player/payer (Active Players), evangelizes on our behalf (Evangelists), has lost interest and left the game (Lapsed).

Our job as marketers used to stop when we got somebody into the game, but now it’s just beginning because we haven’t made any money yet. One of the big fundamentals that this company has is the philosophy of regularity of play, and that percolates down not only to what the development team builds in the features of the game but also what we as marketers measure against what was successful or not.

We have a series of six dashboards that we have chosen as the most critical KPIs to look at on a weekly basis, these include: awareness, consideration, conversion, regularity of play, evangelism, and lapsed players. We are constantly deploying tactics and efforts against those six buckets and measuring what happened and whether we did good or bad. When things go up or down, why did that happen? Can we get better? Can we learn from our failures?

Measurability is critical to the systems and teams that are under my guidance here on the marketing side for FoxNext.

What are some ways that you measure brand effectiveness for the FoxNext?

We’ve had a lot of debate on being choosy about the KPIs that we pay attention to. One of the things I found early—when games as services and free-to-play business models first started—was just being overwhelmed with the amount of data and [figuring out] what data is important. We’ve distilled down, at least for Strike Force, is one kind of KPI (to rule them all) for each of those six categories I listed earlier, and then there are supporting KPIs underneath that.

For instance, when we’re looking at generating awareness, we believe that the most important KPI to look at in a week-over-week basis is how many impressions we’re generating, just all-up impressions—whether those come from paid efforts, from owned efforts or earned efforts. We’re calculating everything we do with our paid media spends, PR efforts and with our own channel efforts.

We look at fluctuations in how we’re generating impressions to see if we are doing well for awareness. We also supplement that with survey data quarterly. We go out, and we ask questions to potential players: have you heard of our game? Are you interested in installing our game? We come in every three months and look at a survey data piece, in addition to the actual measurable data that we are generating to our marketing efforts.

Similarly, we’re concerned about the quality of impressions. Not “have you ever been exposed to this,” but “have you actually engaged with some of the content we’ve put out there.” Things like a quality video view on YouTube. That’s one example. In that consideration phase, what we’re most interested in is: are people looking more deeply into our game? Are they going to our website? Are they going to the app store page? Are they watching the video there? How much time are they spending on the website?

The third is very simple—installs. We look at how many installs are coming organically and how many installs are coming from paid efforts. Then, all of the factors, like how successful we are at driving those installs? Are we driving ROI positive installs? Are we driving quality installs? Where are the installs coming from?

What do you think is the key issue facing game marketers this year?

We’re mostly a mobile platform. If I think about the industry as a whole, the thing that’s going to be most challenging is transitioning from relying on the systems that work for one particular platform as platforms start to blend. The [Google] Stadia announcement is a good example of that. The convergence of distribution platforms and competition within the platforms on PC—if you think about Epic Games and what they’re doing versus Steam. On the Android side, in the U.S., there are multiple stores that we have to deal with: Amazon, Samsung, Google Play. But in [Asia], it’s even more fragmented. Discoverability used to be somewhat easy on mobile. You cozied up to Apple and Google, they featured you and you got millions of installs. That is no longer the case.

Apple, with iOS 11, drastically changed the way their store works. Now, if you open up the app store, the first thing you see is a bunch of editorial stories. But from a game publisher perspective, that hurt us. Organic discovery of apps on the app stores has dried up.

In the short-term, for us, discoverability [is the key issue]. As I mentioned, we kind of hack-the-system [in terms of] awareness because we have known IP, but people get lost in the middle: from “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that Strike Force thing” to “What is it about? Where do I go to get it? How do I find it? Do my friends like it?” Consideration is getting harder and harder not only because there are hundreds of thousands of apps out there but because platforms have become more scattered.

Travel Michigan’s Novel Tourism Tactic Includes An Ambient Album

Pure Michigan released an album showcasing a diversity of natural Michigan experiences through a combination of ambient noise and music, as part of its Pure Sounds of Michigan campaign.

Available on top streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Google Play and Amazon Music, the compilation album soundscapes come from raw, recorded sounds interpreted by a handful of Michigan’s most talented composers and artists that the travel brand enlisted.

Partnering with Assemble Sound, Pure Michigan sent two Michigan-based composers to acquire high quality field recordings of pure sounds—rolling waves, a crackling campfire and the faint roar of dune buggies, to name a few—captured across 10 state parks throughout the peninsulas, in celebration of the state park’s centennial. Travel Michigan supplemented the album’s launch with a behind-the-scenes video showing a glimpse of the process.

Dave Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan tells us, “The Pure Michigan campaign has been very successful in creating what we think is the real vision of Michigan, a place that offers spectacular natural experiences and urban adventures. But our research shows that for a state that brought Motown music to the world and hosts major art competitions and festivals, somehow we were not well known for being friendly to the arts. That’s when we realized one of the few weaknesses we have in the brand presentation, which served as one of the sources of inspiration for Pure Sounds of Michigan.”

The sensory campaign marks new territory for Pure Michigan and exhibits a creative decision to augment traditional marketing with new opportunities created by technology, a tactic that all travel brands can learn from. Given the travel brand is known for targeting to a national audience via television video spots, its Pure Sounds campaign will likely reach a younger, affluent audience who is active on music streaming platforms and celebrates the talents of up-and-coming artists.

“When they hear the album, I’m hoping in the back of their mind, people also think, ‘Wow, [Michigan] must be a place that really values music as a form of communication and the arts as a valuable part of life,” Lorenz said.

In 2018 alone, the budget for the Pure Michigan campaign was $35 million, as Crains Detroit reported. According to Pure Michigan 2018 Advertising Effectiveness, the Pure Michigan campaign was introduced to regional markets in 2006 with investment having grown from $6.2 million to $16.5 million in 2018. Though awareness declined in the regional markets in 2018, its 2018 marketing efforts influenced about 2.1 million trips resulting in $153 million in state tax revenue.