Drawing Inspiration From Operations To Marketing With Appian’s Denise Broady

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Denise Broady is the Chief Marketing Officer at Appian, a low-code and solution-focused organization that helps customers become more agile, creative, and connected. Denise’s experience as COO and CMO gives her a unique perspective on business and expertise in transitioning between companies and distinctly different jobs. When asked how her COO background influences her current role, she says, “I really love to bring processes and data to the art of marketing.”

On the show, Denise discusses how she became the CMO at Appian. We talk about her experience transitioning virtually and things to think about for anyone managing their career or taking on a new role.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The importance of the first 100 days of a new role
  • How success centers around accountability and ownership
  • Why finding your culture fit matters

Key Highlights:

  • [01:55] Denise’s journey to becoming CMO at Appian
  • [05:55] Denise’s experience in both COO and CMO roles
  • [09:08] How Denise views ownership of driving sales pipelines
  • [11:21] Should the COO role own the sales pipeline? 
  • [13:55] The first 100 days onboarding in a virtual environment
  • [17:45] Denise’s advice on peer-to-peer interaction
  • [20:17] Denise’s advice for managing your career growth
  • [25:15] A defining experience that made Denise who she is today 
  • [27:20] Denise’s advice for her younger self
  • [29:36] Denise’s recent impactful purchase
  • [31:10] The brands, companies, and causes Denise follows
  • [35:18] What Denise says is today’s biggest threat and opportunity for marketers

Resources Mentioned: 

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Connect with Marketing Today and Alan Hart:

Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.

Post Consumer Brands Names Claudine Patel Chief Marketing Officer

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What we’re tracking today in leadership updates: Post Consumer Brands taps Claudine Patel as chief marketing officer, TMRW Life Sciences hires Amber Guild as chief marketing officer, Skyflow taps Paul Kopacki as chief marketing officer, YogaWorks names Cate Rubenstein senior vice president of global marketing and more.

Post Consumer Brands Appoints Claudine Patel Chief Marketing Officer

Post Consumer Brands has named Claudine Patel CMO, according to a press release.

Patel joins Post Consumer Brands from Reckitt, where she most recently served as general manager, marketing for the company’s North America healthcare portfolio, which includes brands such as Mucinex, Delsym and Veet.

TMRW Life Sciences Names Amber Guild Chief Marketing Officer

Amber Guild has been appointed TMRW Life Sciences’ CMO.

Previously, Guild was president of the New York Times’ T Brand. Prior to that, she spent two decades at firms including Ogilvy, Saatchi and Collins.

Skyflow Hires Paul Kopacki As Chief Marketing Officer

According to MarTech Series, Skyflow has tapped Paul Kopacki as CMO.

Before Skyflow, Kopacki held CMO or vice president roles at several software companies including Realm, Heroku and Salesforce.

YogaWorks Taps Cate Rubenstein As Senior Vice President, Global Marketing

Cate Rubenstein has joined YogaWorks as the company’s new SVP, global marketing.

Rubenstein most recently served as Ipsos’ EVP, global marketing and brand strategy.

Sonesta Names Elizabeth Harlow Chief Marketing And Brand Officer

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has appointed Elizabeth Harlow as chief marketing and brand officer.

Prior to Sonesta, Harlow worked at Howard Hughes Corporation as VP, brand marketing.

J&J Snack Foods Appoints Lynwood Mallard As Chief Marketing Officer

Lynwood Mallard recently joined J&J Snack Foods as CMO, reports Baking Business.

Prior to J&J Snack Foods, Mallard spent over two decades at Coca-Cola North America, most recently as VP of category strategy and innovation.

The Growth Of Mobile Games: What’s Next In Creativity And Innovation?

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Today the gaming industry is generating more annual revenue than the music and film industries combined. Over the next few years, the number of potential mobile gamers will grow exponentially as Ericsson predicts there will be 1.5 billion 5G smartphones in use by 2024.

During a virtual panel at Digital Media Wire’s annual LA Games Conference, Ayzenberg president Chris Younger spoke with industry leaders from Anzu, Google, Com2us and more about the growth of mobile games and how they’re navigating privacy updates, in-game advertising and community-building efforts beyond the industry’s record-breaking year.

With the arrival of iOS14 and IDFA updates, users must opt-in to share their phone’s serial ID, which will forever alter the way mobile game publishers measure, target and acquire. Apple introduced a proprietary solution, SKAdNetwork, enabling ad measurements to take place. Nevertheless, 47 percent of people said they’re unlikely to consent to sharing their Apple device identifier with apps that seek it.

The stakes for the mobile game industry is particularly high as digital ad spending is set to increase 20 percent this year with mobile ad spending accounting for approximately 75 percent of all digital ad spending.

When asked how Google is approaching the matter, Brandon Cubillas, head of industry for app gaming at Google, said that although it’s been a pain point not being able to track the new pandemic-induced influx of mobile gaming users, he sees the privacy changes as an opportunity to test new methods.

“We’re looking at things like exploring the effectiveness of signed-in users, which is privacy-compliant and doubling down on incrementality tools. The progress we’ve made in integrating Google Analytics via Firebase SKAd partners has opened a new trove of audience data that we’re leaning into to inform creative marketing strategies, game experience strategies, dynamic deals and updates” said Cubillas.

At Zynga, the response has been to invest in in-house resources. The company recently acquired mobile ad and monetization firm Chartboost to buffer against IDFA, noted Gabrielle Heyman, head of global ad sales, Zynga.

“It’s about bringing control in-house and being more in charge of your destiny by being able to control every piece. For Zynga, we’ve acquired a lot of studios, a lot of talent and a lot of users so being able to cross-pollinate all our games to our 170 million monthly uniques and having the ad tech infrastructure to be able to do that has been part of our strategic look forward,” Heyman said.

Kyu Lee, president, Gamevil, Com2us US, said that amid these changes, one of the company’s games, Summoners War, has shifted its focus slightly from user acquisition to brand and creating more content for its 100 million monthly uniques.

“The bigger thing is instead of looking at numbers, it’s been a great opportunity to engage more with the community and listen to what they really want. User voices can have a lot of noise and numbers speak reality, but it’s a good opportunity to look at what we have and what’s important,” said Lee.

Next, the discussion turned to innovation in revenue modeling for in-game advertising. Anzu, co-founded by Itamar Benedy, who’s also the company’s chief executive officer, is approaching this in a novel way as it’s the first company to address in-game advertising in the world of programmatic.

As brands’ perceptions around the mobile gaming industry change, there’s more opportunity for developers and publishers to work with brands to find the right target audience, Benedy noted. Anzu gives developers full control of ad placements, what content they allow and what data to share. After this one-time integration, Anzu can dynamically change the content and set it in a programmatic way, according to Benedy.

Liz Waldeck Pinckert, vice president, business development supply North America and Europe, AdColony, said the company pushes its team to play the games for at least one hour a day to guarantee proper ad placement recommendations.

“We try to become a user within the game. We look at data as well as actually become players ourselves,” Waldeck Pinckert said.

Adding to that, Heyman emphasized the importance of looking past programmatic and creating authentic bespoke ads that match a game’s look and feel.

“Our game studios actually love it because it’s non-cannibalistic revenue and it’s not competing against an ad unit that could be sold for performance or brand. The whole thing about gaming is winning, like your serotonin is being boosted and you’re getting stoked to win something. So the key for brands is to play a part of that elation and to give something better than you might get just for playing the game on its own, like have it be extra,” said Heyman.

On the topic of esports, Lee touched on Com2us’ efforts to increase user engagement with their newest title, Summoners War: Lost Centuria. For example, he said they added a TV button to the right corner that enables people to view other players as well as bet on game outcomes. Though they’re not streaming the content yet, Lee noted they’re going to launch esports tournaments soon.

When asked about viewing esports as a way to retain existing users versus a way to find new users, Lee said:

“What we learned is our game is so hardcore that the first time users watching the game don’t understand what’s going on. We want it to be both, but the reality is that it’s more user-focused.”

The subject of how to innovate around the owned and earned community rounded out the panel.

“You’re selling yourself short if you’re only integrating community features within your game. The full value can only be realized when you’re maintaining that environment outside of the game. That opportunity goes hand in hand with data about your users and incentivizing folks to create more user-generated content,” said Cubillas.

Click here to watch ‘The Growth of Mobile Games: What’s Next in Creativity & Innovation?’

Cannes Lions Awards Microsoft As 2021 Creative Marketer Of The Year

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The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has named Microsoft its 2021 Creative Marketer of the Year.

The win comes after Microsoft has won Lions across a vast suite of products over the years, including Xbox, Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft Kinect, Windows 7, Windows Vista, OneNote, MSN and its Halo series.

“The accolade is presented to an advertiser that has amassed a body of creative and Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time, and has established a reputation for producing brave creative and innovative marketing solutions,” reads a press release.

Over the years, Ayzenberg has been proud to help tell the story of Microsoft’s initiatives for Xbox One X, Microsoft 365, Microsoft AI, Xbox Game Pass, Gears 5 and Minecraft Earth, among other campaigns.

Last November, Ayzenberg helped Xbox debut its new Series X and S consoles, respectively. And in February, Xbox launched its new wireless headset, the trailer for which Ayzenberg helped create.

“Watching Microsoft, the past few years at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has been like watching one of the legendary sports franchises methodically build to preeminence. It starts with veteran leaders whose experience is only surpassed by a relentless pursuit of perfection. It builds on a deep bench of players exceeding expectations by the company in which they find themselves. But to reach the pinnacle of Creative Marketer of the Year, the team has got to get to the point that they are mission-driven and playing as one. Awards aside, you can feel that this has happened for Microsoft,” Matt Bretz, executive creative director, Ayzenberg, told AList.

In 2019 alone, Microsoft won 11 Lions, five of which were captured by McCann New York’s ‘Changing the Game’ spot for the Xbox Adaptive Controller, including a Grand Prix in Brand Experience & Activation and a Titanium Lion.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized for our creative storytelling. Our ambition to amplify the voices of customers and changemakers—from kids who use the Xbox Adaptive Controller to trailblazers like 49ers Offensive Assistant Coach, Katie Sowers—help demonstrate how technology can bring us closer together and inspire meaningful, positive change in the world,” said Chris Capossela, chief marketing officer, Microsoft.

The Lions will honor Microsoft on Friday, June 25 during Cannes Lions Live, the first-ever virtual edition of the festival after last year’s edition got canceled. The fully digital experience will run from June 21-25.

This year, all Lions members will have complimentary access to Cannes Lions Live with their subscription fee, which includes awards results, analysis, commentary and a “creativity on demand” channel.

Goldman Sachs Appoints Peeyush Nahar As Head Of Consumer Business

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This week in leadership updates, Goldman Sachs names Peeyush Nahar head of consumer business, BentoBox taps Darcy Kurtz as chief marketing officer, Innovid elevates Stephanie Geno to chief marketing officer, BritBox hires Nada Arnot as senior vice president of marketing and more.

Goldman Sachs Taps Peeyush Nahar As Head Of Consumer Business

Goldman Sachs has hired a top Uber engineering executive, Peeyush Nahar, to be a partner and lead Marcus, its digital-banking unit, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Nahar replaces Omer Ismail, who departed Goldman Sachs in March to join Walmart’s new fintech startup.

Prior to joining Uber in 2019, Nahar spent 14 years at Amazon, working on the machine-learning system for Alexa. He also led software, product, and sales and marketing for Amazon’s business-to-business marketplace and Amazon Lending.

BentoBox Names Darcy Kurtz Chief Marketing Officer

BentoBox has hired Darcy Kurtz as CMO, according to a press release.

Kurtz previously served as vice president of global product marketing at Mailchimp.

She is also the founder of DLK Consulting where she helps fast-growing technology companies with business and marketing strategy.

Innovid Elevates Stephanie Geno To Chief Marketing Officer

Innovid’s SVP of marketing Stephanie Geno has accepted a promotion as the company’s CMO.

Geno has been with Innovid for over three years.

BritBox North America Hires Nada Arnot As SVP Of Marketing

Nada Arnot, former general manager of Sundance Now, has been tapped by BritBox North America as the company’s SVP of marketing.

Previously, Arnot served as CMO of Yellow Brick and VP of marketing and growth at Hearst Digital Studios, respectively.

TikTok Starts Testing In-App Shopping In Europe

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This week in social media news, TikTok partners with brands to test in-app shopping in Europe, Reddit is developing an in-house agency to help with brand strategy, Pinterest will host a three-day livestream event with creators via its app, Twitter is reportedly working on new paid tweet options, Facebook Workplace shares a guide for hosting effective livestream company events and more.

TikTok Tests In-App Shopping In Europe

Gearing up for a broader global ecommerce service, ByteDance-owned TikTok has started to work with brands like Hype to test in-app shopping in Europe, reports Bloomberg.

Why it matters: As Bloomberg notes, TikTok’s goal is to replicate the success of its Chinese twin Douyin, on which ecommerce transactions brought in $26 million during its first year of operation.

With the online retail segment set to generate $5 trillion in sales this year as per eMarketer, platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are all developing and testing ecommerce features. TikTok has been working on enhancing in-app shopping features since last year when it announced a partnership with Walmart and Shopify, respectively.

The details: According to Bloomberg, TikTok’s goal is to sell more ads to merchants, increase traffic and take a portion of business. As part of its collaboration with Hype, the streetwear label will run dedicated stores on TikTok, taking orders from and engaging with shoppers directly.

In December, ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming noted that their recipe for big opportunities outside of China includes a combination of ecommerce, live streaming and short videos, reports Bloomberg.

Reddit Is Developing An In-House Agency To Help With Brand Strategy

Reddit is creating an in-house creative agency called KarmaLab that will host regular workshops to help brands enhance their advertising strategy under the guidance of the agency’s global director, Will Cady. KarmaLab already names Samsung and Snickers as previous clients, according to Digiday.

Why it matters: The launch of an in-house agency marks Reddit’s larger efforts to bolster its ads business in response to the difficulties brands have faced in being perceived as authentic by Redditors. Last May, the platform hired Pinterest’s former vice president of growth, Harold Klaje, amid a restructuring of its ad sales team.

The details: As Digiday notes, KarmaLab’s aim is to eventually help with overall brand strategy but to start, it will offer brands regular workshops and tips on approaching sponsored Ask Me Anything events, plus ways to enter popular subreddits like gaming via paid and organic posts.

Pinterest App To Host Three-Day Livestream Event With Top Creators

Pinterest is running three days of livestream sessions hosted by top creators from May 24 to May 26 on the Pinterest app, reports TechCrunch. Each day, users can tune in to seven different virtual events covering a range of topics including beauty, fashion, food and DIY.

Why it matters: This marks Pinterest’s formalized approach to virtual events. Last fall, it tested a “class communities” feature enabling users to attend Zoom classes via Pinterest which included a group chat option and shopping features.

The details: TechCrunch says that during Pinterest’s three-day virtual event, users can interact with the creator and shop products that creators can tag via Pinterest’s Product Pins. Moderators will oversee the sessions and will have the ability to remove people from the chat if they violate Pinterest’s community guidelines.

Users will be able to view the virtual event schedule and join the livestreams on the Pinterest app through a new ‘Live’ tab that the platform is adding.

Twitter Tests New Paid Tweet Options Under Monthly Subscription Model

After surveying its users last July on what in-app functions they’d pay for, Twitter is developing a monthly subscription called ‘Twitter Blue,’ as spotted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong and reported by Social Media Today. The plan would cost $2.99 a month and give users access to a range of new Twitter tools, such as a saved tweet folder, undo tweet option and more.

Why it matters: In preparation of launching its own subscription plans, earlier this month Twitter acquired Scroll, a subscription-based service that removes ads from news sites for $5 per month.

The details: As noted by Wong, Twitter Blue would give paying users access to a ‘Collections for Bookmarks’ tool as well as a feature for retracting tweets within a certain period.

Wong also says Twitter is developing a tiered subscription model, with the higher-priced tier offering premium tools such as clutter-free news reading experience, which is where Scroll would come in.

As per Twitter’s survey last year, some other potential subscription add-ons could be custom profile options, advanced video publishing tools, auto-replies, custom stickers and insights into other accounts.

Facebook Offers Playbook For Hosting Effective Live Company Events

With many companies adopting a hybrid work model this year, Facebook has published a six-step guide on using live video within Facebook Workplace to host effective company events, help build community and improve employee wellbeing.

Why it matters: Earlier this month, Facebook Workplace reached 7 million paid subscribers, up 40 percent from 2 million last May. Comparatively, in April Microsoft’s Teams reported 145 million daily active users, up more than 93 percent from 75 million in April 2020.

The details: First up, Facebook says to avoid overlooking employees who aren’t in the office, users can create polls that help teams build more inclusive agendas.

Next, Facebook suggests using Workplace as a central space to share details of an upcoming event including an agenda and how to join.

Preparing leaders to be more authentic is Facebook’s third tip for more effective use of live video. The platform recommends asking leaders to think of personal anecdotes to share during the event to build trust between team members.

Interactive polls during a Workplace Live are also another great option for engaging and monitoring your whole audience, notes Facebook. In addition, organizers can check the Live Producer’s Stream Health tab to view key metrics and event logs.

For improved accessibility, Workplace Live also gives you the option to enable captions before or after a Live post.

Lastly, Facebook suggests keeping track of unanswered Q&A questions via the Q&A functionality which allows organizers to track all employee questions that need following up.

Twitter May Soon Reopen Verified Profile Applications

Twitter could be reopening its application for profile verification, as spotted by researcher Jane Manchun Wong. This time, though, it’ll be a self-serve process.

Why it matters: Applications for Twitter verification have been on pause for some time now after in 2017, followers expressed confusion over the meaning of the blue tick. Since then, Twitter has provided more transparency on who would qualify for verification once it re-launched the applications.

The details: On May 13, Wong tweeted:

“I was told by multiple sources that Twitter plans to launch the new self-served Verification Request form next week.”

As you can see in these screenshots from Wong, the updated verification process will ask a series of questions to determine if the user qualifies for the blue tick. You must fall into one of these six categories to be considered: activist, organizer or influencer; company, brand or organization; entertainers or entertainment groups; government official or affiliate; journalist or news organization; or professional sports or esports entity.

Why CMOs Love/Hate Data

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Can data be fun? Ayzenberg VP of Product and Technology Chris Strawser believes so. He and Sepulveda Partners founding partner Ben Tiernan join Listen In to make the case that the golden age of data analysis is here—and we need not fear it.

Chris and Ben share the work they’ve put into Datarithm, their solution for making meaning out of the mess and complexity of data. They explain why it’s finally time for CMOs to shake of anxieties regarding data analysis, and to start embracing it.

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About Listen In: Each week on Listen In, Ayzenberg VP and ECD Matt Bretz and a rotating cast of hosts from Ayzenberg will interview experts in the field of marketing and advertising to explore uncharted territory together. The goal is to provide the a.network audience with actionable insights, enabling them to excel in their field.

Exclusive: The Emotional Factors Motivating Gen Z And Millennial Consumers

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The tragic events of last year forced many brands to face the music: replace platitudes with meaningful action against racism or say goodbye to the 80 percent of consumers globally who expect brands to consistently display a commitment to diversity and inclusivity in advertising.

To understand what emotional factors motivate young consumers, Fuse Media, a Latino-owned entertainment company, conducted a study among 1,700 Gen Z, millennials and Gen X. The key takeaway from “Establishing an Emotional Connection Through Empowerment,” which the company sent to AList, is that brands must successfully empower young consumers if they want them to spend, advocate and engage with their brand.

According to Fuse Media, 76 percent of Gen Z and millennials somewhat or strongly agree that brands should be empowering—38 percent more than their Gen X counterparts. A brand requisite for empowering young consumers is aligning your values with theirs via your brand image, message and actions. 

“In order for brands to overcome their wariness and to gain this generation’s trust, they need to be transparent and inclusive in every way.  Their image, messages and actions need to align. A brand can’t act like they care about the welfare of humankind but then use sweatshops to produce their products. This would show that there is a disconnect between what the brand says and how they really feel,” Fuse Media’s head of research Michelle Auguste told AList.

Fuse Media reports that 83 percent of Gen Z and millennials believe that a brand is empowering when it does good for the world. Another 80 percent feel that a brand is empowering only when it has values its consumers agree with.

Empty promises won’t suffice though as these consumers expect brands to invest in diverse talent and increase diversity in advertising. For example, 78 percent of Gen Z and millennial respondents told Fuse Media that they see a brand as empowering when they provide a platform for marginalized groups to tell their authentic story. Nearly the same amount (76 percent) said a brand is empowering when it features people from marginalized groups in a positive light in their ads.

For a brand to truly make inclusivity part of their DNA, Auguste says brands should give individuals from marginalized groups a platform to share their authentic stories and put people of color in management so they can help make decisions.

“Having a team that resembles their audience would only be beneficial since they would know how to build trust with their consumers by communicating to them in an authentic and genuine way. Millennials and Gen Z’s feel empowered by brands when they think that the brands truly know and understand them,” said Auguste.

When asked how being empowered by a brand makes them feel, Gen Z and millennial respondents had several responses, including confident, happy, strong and inspired. As Fuse Media observed, these cohorts see empowerment as both a societal and personal need whereas older members of Gen X perceive empowerment as a personal need — such as having accessibility, authority and strength to make a personal change. For Gen Z, the feeling of empowerment is associated with the freedom and power to change the world.

The positive emotions that respondents associated with empowerment from brands results in greater revenue and trust. For example, 88 percent said they’ll purchase a product and 79 percent said they’d pay more for the product when a brand is empowering.

Also when empowered by a brand, 87 percent said they’ll tell a friend or family member about the brand and 84 percent will feel more connected to it. The benefit translates to social media too, with 74 percent reporting that if a brand is empowering they’ll engage with their social media accounts.

Not only must brands consider what they stand for and how they’re conveying it but also where they’re communicating their message. Sixty-eight percent of millennials and Gen Z said they’re more likely to buy a brand’s products if it advertises on empowering networks. The same number of respondents said they’re more likely to purchase products from brands that feature ads that reflect them or their culture, according to Fuse Media.

“There is definitely a risk that some brands will come off as being inauthentic. When that happens, this generation will turn their back on those brands and it will be hard to ever get back their trust. To be able to communicate in an authentic way, brands must exhibit transparency, know their audience well and understand that the right language, words and tone have the power to make any consumer feel included,” Auguste told AList.

The study also revealed young consumers’ preferences on the types of brands they’re more likely to support. As per Fuse Media, given that Gen Z and millennials express their identity via physical objects, the industries they expect to be empowering are fitness (82 percent), clothing (76 percent) and cosmetics (73 percent).

In addition, 81 percent of respondents said they prefer small businesses or independent brands while another 80 percent prefer businesses owned by women, people of color or members of the LGBTQ community.  

For 72 percent of consumers, supporting these kinds of businesses makes them feel accepted. These emotions are stronger for people of color, which Fuse Media found are 7 percent more likely to feel understood and 14 percent more likely to experience relief.

Before taking a stand on a social or political issue, Auguste says brands should do their research and fully understand the complexity of the issue. This, she notes, involves avoiding three key actions—cultural appropriation, tone deafness and pandering.

According to Auguste, some ways brands can avoid cultural appropriation include celebrating or appreciating cultures by giving them credit where credit is due, recognizing their history and roots, donating money to that culture, partnering with individuals from that culture and featuring people and their specific culture in the ads.

Lastly, Auguste says that to avoid tone deafness, which she says is “corporate suicide in the eyes of this generation,” brands should ask the right questions and speak to individuals who are involved in the matter. Should they decide to take a stand on the matter, choosing the right advocates to speak on behalf of the brand will be extremely important. 

“Millennials and Gen Zs are smart and sophisticated and they will be able to see right through the insincerity behind the brand’s message and will automatically feel that the brand is trying to capitalize off of that specific issue. Brands should also know when it makes sense for them to jump into a larger cultural conversation and when to sit one out.”

71 Percent Of People Will Continue Social Distancing For At Least Another Six Months

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Though businesses are reopening and vaccination rates are increasing, people are still cautious about certain activities like taking flights, going on cruises and attending sporting events as evidenced by Invisibly’s latest survey. Using its ‘Realtime Research’ tool to poll nearly 3,000 people, Invisibly found that 71 percent of people will continue social distancing for at least another six months.

The survey shows also that people want to experience new places but they still plan to avoid crowded areas as much as possible. As a result, the travel industry—which lost $1.1 trillion last year due to COVID-19—will have to find fresh ways to inspire travelers to get out there again and allay safety concerns.

As per Invisibly, people are more willing to travel by airplane or go on a cruise now than they were in July—58 percent vs. 33 percent and 22 percent vs. 16 percent, respectively. Still, for 59 percent of cruise-goers, it’ll be at least another six months before they consider taking one.

Nearly half (45 percent) of male respondents said they’d considering traveling via plane now compared to 34 percent of female respondents and 29 percent of those who identified as non-binary.

Yet people are less willing than before to visit crowded vacation spots (17 percent now vs. 21 percent previously) and in general want to continue avoiding crowded places altogether, reports Invisibly.

Fewer people would consider attending a large sporting event now than they did back in July, with 27 percent saying they’ll wait another six months or more to go to a sports event compared with 60 percent who would’ve waited in July. Today just 15 percent of respondents are willing to attend a sporting event. Another 52 percent said they’d consider doing so in three to six months.

According to Invisibly, 45 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t consider vacating somewhere with crowds for another one to two months compared to just 11 percent who said that 10 months ago. Additionally, 24 percent of people will wait another six months before vacationing somewhere crowded compared with 54 percent who said they’d do so last July.

Invisibly conducted a survey from March 24 to April 5, 2021 and compared the findings with an identical survey taken in July 2020.

What We’re Reading—Week Of May 10th

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A look at the marketing and advertising insights we’re sharing internally for the week of May 10th, 2021.

New Balance Taps Jaden Smith, Olympian Sydney McLaughlin To Preach Impatience To Gen Z

The Drum

Ahead of the Tokyo Olympic games, New Balance has launched a global campaign comprising three spots that show a group of millennial and Gen Z stars, including Jaden Smith, engaged in activities they love. The campaign, which “encourages the idea of impatience” to pursue your passions, represents the biggest quarterly media investment in the history of New Balance.

Why it matters: The campaign represents one part of New Balance’s larger plan to increase sustainability efforts. It aims to use only 100 percent renewable electricity in its operations by 2025 and plans to use 100 percent environmentally preferred leather and 50 percent recycled polyester in its apparel production.

How To Set Up A Remote Employee For Success On Day One

Harvard Business Review

James M. Citrin and Darleen DeRosa, co-authors of Leading at a Distance: Practical Lessons for Virtual Success, say that some ways to create a seamless onboarding process virtually include identifying a dedicated onboarding liaison, creating a blended series of informal and formal experiences to build community and sharing explicit guidance around norms like the company’s tone and virtual etiquette.

Why it matters: As the co-authors note, onboarding is one of the most critical drivers of employee success and what sets apart firms that do it best is that the work is intentional and doesn’t end after the first week or even the first 100 days.

We Need A Vaccination CMO

Forbes

After an early surge in COVID-19 vaccine injection rates, vaccination is now in a marketing phase. Returning to normalcy depends on reaching millions of Americans who haven’t been motivated enough to get vaccinated.

Why it matters: Public health officials need to utilize the same behavioral marketing strategies that chief marketing officers do to encourage people to get vaccinated—such as highlighting the desires that align with getting vaccinated, offering incentives such as cash payments or access to exclusive events and leveraging celebrity endorsements rather than testimonials from infectious disease experts.

How Marketers Can Put Transaction Data To Work

Adweek

If you want to understand what elements would effectively nudge your customer in the right direction, Stephen H. Yu, president and chief consultant at Willow Data Strategy, suggests figuring out both sides of the equation: “action” (what you, the marketer, did) and “reaction” (what recipients did in response).

Why it matters: Before analyzing customer response data, Yu notes, marketers must classify and record specific ad servers as necessary, create multi-level categories if you have diverse product lines and capture the serial count if a campaign was dropped in a series.

Hyundai Names First African American AOR Amid Increased Demands For Diversity

Marketing Dive

Hyundai Motor America has named Culture Brands its agency of record. The multi-year agreement will see Culture Brands help Hyundai engage African American audiences via marketing strategies, campaign creation and guidance on experiential, social media strategy and media buying.

Why it matters: Hyundai’s partnership with Culture Brands comes as other major agencies and groups ramp up investment in diversity and inclusion. General Motors, for example, is holding an upfront dedicated to diverse media owners on May 14 and IPG Mediabrands recently announced it will invest a minimum of 5 percent in black-owned media channels by 2023.