In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, organizations are aiming to improve diversity, reinforcing one important truth: consumers want brands to take a public stand against racism. In fact, 65 percent of Americans think brands should act responsibly and publicly support anti-racist initiatives, according to a Piplsay survey. Piplsay polled 30,452 people nationwide from July 12 to 13 to understand consumer sentiment toward brand responsibility.
While over half of respondents said brands definitely should take a stand against racism, just 18 percent think they shouldn’t, while 17 percent say they’re not sure.
The brand action consumers would appreciate most is eliminating racial bias from within their organization completely (31 percent).
The effort to combat racism in the workforce has been given greater urgency, contributing to the accelerated pace of resignations. After racism accusations surfaced, Ban.do co-founder Jen Gotch, Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport and Solid8 CEO Michael Lofthouse stepped down.
Being consistently vocal through statements, ads or campaigns (18 percent), eliminating racial undertone from their brand identity (13 percent), donating to anti-racism causes (12 percent) and calling out racist comments on social media platforms (eight percent) comprise other brand actions consumers would appreciate.
More than half (56 percent) of US consumers are most willing to buy from brands that take a public stand against racism, but especially Gen Z and millennials (62 percent). This finding reflects the recent actions of multiple brands who have recently retired racist names, logos or mascots. For example, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s and the Washington Redskins announced they will update their brand identity over racist origins. Thirty-nine percent of Piplsay’s respondents believe this act of symbolism will help make a difference in eliminating racism.
Nearly half (46 percent) also think that brands’ collective show of support for anti-racism will lead to a credible change. Perhaps the largest collective show of support has come from the over 400 advertisers who pulled spending from Facebook over its content moderation practices.
Trident Gum has teamed with T-Pain to launch a contest called #ChewTunes inviting fans to create an original beat via augmented reality (AR) filter around the brand’s new limited-edition Chew Tunes packs. The winner can choose between $10,500 or a trip to attend the 2021 Grammy Awards.
Upon scanning the quick response (QR) codes inside Trident Gum Chew Tunes using their smartphone camera, fans will be directed to Instagram Stories, where they can show off their original rhythm in a video using the Chew Tunes filter. Chew Tunes come in four flavors, each of which produces a different instrumental sound when scanned.
To enter the competition, fans must post their video on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtags #ChewTunes, #Sweepstakes and #TridentGum, from now through November 1. The winner, which Trident will announce on November 2, can choose between a cash prize of $10,500 or a trip for two to see the 63rd Grammy Awards. Trident will cover costs for roundtrip air travel, hotel stay, admission tickets and $2,400 in spending money for the winner.
Trident is also giving away 234 instant-win prizes such as Bluetooth stereo turntables, a $30 streaming music gift card and a pair of Bluetooth headphones to fans who enter their email on the campaign’s microsite. Participants can earn an extra bonus entry when they post about #ChewTunes with a link on Facebook or Twitter and if their friend clicks on the link and enters the contest.
T-Pain’s Instagram video promoting the campaign has received 73,000 views and over 150 comments so far.
In February, T-Pain partnered with Trident to perform live outside a busy train station in Chicago, encouraging residents to “chew through” their daily commute.
According to Statista, 3.23 million Americans chewed eight or more pieces of Trident Layers in 2019.
During this 216th episode of “Marketing Today,” I interview Lisa Roberts, the chief marketing officer at Yonder, an AI SaaS company.
Today, we talk about Roberts’ long history in Texas and then move into how her work at Yonder applies to recent waves of communication about coronavirus and the protests for racial equality and social justice. We talk about the implications these waves have for brands and marketers and what Roberts thinks we need to be watching.
Roberts shares how Yonder helps brands understand their market by looking at the activity of highly aligned online groups. She says, “If you can understand how ideas originate and take hold online, you can understand the groups and motivation behind those ideas.” We talk about how marketers can break down complex conversations to understand where individual narratives emerge and spread. Roberts discusses the reality of what brands will need to go through as they decide how to respond to current events. She reminds us, “There is no playbook for what we’re going through right now.” She shares the advice she’s giving to brands as they navigate this new territory. This discussion underscores the importance of knowing which conversations to pay attention to today.
Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today”:
Lisa’s long history living in Texas. 01:44
Yonder’s mission. 04:02
How Yolo got into understanding factions. 06:04
How marketers can think about breaking down complex conversations. 08:21
High emotions are impacting the spread of information. 12:47
The Costco face mask policy. 13:54
How narratives around protests for racial equality and social justice have been shaped online. 18:49
Brands need to be thinking about their actions as much as their words. 23:04
The advice Yonder is giving brands about how to understand factions. 24:47
Backlash in the NFL over executive actions. 29:47
Is there an experience in her past that defines who she is today? 30:52
What is the advice Lisa would give to her younger self? 33:25
The most impactful purchase she has made in the last 6-12 months of $100 or less. 35:06
Are there any brands, companies, or causes that Lisa follows that she thinks other people should take notice of? 37:01
Lisa’s take on the top opportunity and threat facing marketers today. 39:52
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.
New research shows adopting sustainability practices can boost a brand’s key metrics, as 77 percent of executives say sustainability initiatives have increased consumer loyalty. That’s according to Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report on the impact of sustainability on consumers’ buying behavior and where the consumer products and retail (CPR) industry stands in scaling sustainability initiatives.
The findings show that consumers care about sustainability and climate change. About 72 percent say they’re concerned about their environmental footprint. An even larger amount of consumers (79 percent) are changing the way they buy based on the social responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental impact of their purchases.
The main motivations for changing preferences include wanting to make a difference in saving the earth for future generations (80 percent), concerns about fair labor treatment (77 percent) and concerns about issues like poverty and hunger (76 percent).
Additionally, 53 percent of consumers say they’ve switched to lesser-known brands if they’re sustainable.
Yet consumers don’t expect sustainability to come at a higher price, as 65 percent say that sustainable products don’t need to be more expensive than similar, non-sustainable products.
Executives understand that sustainability has far-reaching implications and many feel confident their business can or already does support such programs. For example, 90 percent agree that sustainability is highly important for the industry and 66 percent say that sustainability is fully integrated into their business objectives.
Though consumers value sustainability, safety concerns raised by the pandemic are causing them to prioritize packaging hygiene over sustainable packaging. For example, 54 percent plan to reduce their use of items in refillable packaging. Almost half (40 percent) plan to buy used or refurbished products less. And the same amount prefer their products to come in disposable packaging.
That sustainability costs money and will impact profitability is very dated, says Eelco Smit, senior director of sustainability at Philips. In fact, Capgemini’s research reveals there’s a strong connection between sustainability and business benefits as 80 percent of executives surveyed pointed to an increase in customer loyalty as a key benefit from sustainability programs. Sixty-nine percent say sustainability increases brand value, which is echoed by a similar finding: 70 percent of consumers urge friends and family not to interact with brands they perceive as not environmentally sustainable or socially responsible. Nearly 63 percent of executives also agree that sustainability initiatives helped boost revenues.
Other benefits executives experience from sustainability programs include an increase in employee motivation levels (67 percent), an increase in customer satisfaction scores (65 percent) and an increase in supplier loyalty (61 percent).
Globally, there’s a nearly six percent missed revenue opportunity for brands that don’t practice sustainability. In the US, that figure is 3.1 percent whereas in Italy, it’s 7.8 percent.
While 65 percent of executives believe their customers are aware of their sustainability efforts, nearly half (49 percent) of consumers say they lack the information to verify product sustainability claims and 44 percent say they don’t trust these claims.
Additionally, just 36 percent of consumers think the packaging of products in stores is minimal and eco-friendly and only 37 percent think their retailer has in-store recycling initiatives.
Factors that empower brands to practice sustainable behavior include exploring business opportunities across markets (74 percent) and matching up with competitive pressure (70 percent).
However, companies say internal challenges block their ability to scale sustainability. For example, 80 percent of executives say a key challenge is the impact on margins or cost overruns and three-quarters say other issues or opportunities take priority over sustainability.
The findings are based on a survey Capgemini distributed to 7,500 consumers and 750 senior executives in various sectors of the CPR industry in March.
This week in leadership updates, Eric Wong is named president and CMO of Warner Recorded Music, Ledo Pizza promotes Will Robinson to chief marketing officer, WarnerMedia appoints Johannes Larcher to head of HBO Max international, Diageo India hires Deepika Warrier as CMO and more.
Warner Music Group Hires Eric Wong As President And Chief Marketing Officer, Warner Recorded Music
Warner Music Group has named Eric Wong as president and CMO of Warner Recorded Music. According to the press release, “In this first of its kind post at Warner, Wong will serve as the head of worldwide marketing, spearheading a one-company mission to expand careers for global artists and elevate local artists to the global stage.”
Wong comes from Universal Music Group’s Island Records, where he served as chief operating officer. Prior to Island Records, Wong held senior roles at Def Jam Records and was CMO at Bad Boy Entertainment.
Ledo Pizza Appoints Will Robinson To Chief Marketing Officer
Ledo Pizza has promoted Will Robinson from vice president of marketing to CMO. In his new role, Robinson will oversee the company’s annual sales and marketing budgets, as well as the management of franchise partners and third-party marketing vendors.
Robinson has been with Ledo Pizza for over 20 years
WarnerMedia Names Johannes Larcher As Head Of HBO Max International
According to Deadline, WarnerMedia has selected Johannes Larcher to lead the global launch of HBO Max. In August, Larcher will join the company as head of HBO Max international with his first task to launch HBO Max in Latin America in 2021.
Larcher comes from MBC Group, where he oversees Shahid.
Previously, Larcher served as Hulu senior vice president of international for four years before co-founding SubVRsive.
Diageo India Hires Deepika Warrier As Chief Marketing Officer
Diageo India has named Deepika Warrier as its new CMO, according to Campaign.
Warrier comes to the job with over two decades of experience at PepsiCo, where she most recently served as managing director of NourishCo Beverages.
Current Diageo India CMO Julie Bramham will assume a global role at the company.
Kroger Names Stuart W. Aitken As Chief Merchant And Marketing Officer
Stuart W. Aitken has accepted a promotion as Kroger’s chief merchant and marketing officer, following Joe Grieshaber’s retirement.
Aitken most recently served as senior vice president of alternative business and chief executive officer of 84.51˚, Kroger’s data analytics subsidiary.
Bulb Appoints Lis Blair As Chief Growth And Marketing Officer
Bulb has hired former easyJet CMO Lis Blair as their chief growth and marketing officer.
In April, Blair left easyJet after eight years with the company amid the travel industry crisis.
DuPont Names Kimberly Markiewicz As Vice President Of Diversity, Equity And Inclusion
DuPont has appointed Kimberly Markiewicz VP of diversity, equity and inclusion to advance the company’s DE&I programs.
Markiewicz currently leads DuPont’s PRIDE Employee Resource Group.
Markiewicz has been with DuPont since 1995 when she started as a chemical engineer. Most recently, she served as VP of environmental, health and safety.
Have a job tip or a new addition to your marketing leadership team? Contact us for coverage consideration. Article updated through Friday, July 10th.
Ayzenberg creative director Gary Goodman explores his top picks for the most resonant campaigns he’s seen in the wild, this week focusing on filmmaking techniques as a distinguishing characteristic.
I thought I’d focus this week on filmmaking techniques and how some of my current favorite videos take an innovative approach to storytelling. Because of the cleverness of the idea and the level of careful planning that goes into each of these, the end result is well worth the effort.
These filmmakers dazzle us like great magicians by crafting illusions that bring a familiar idea to life in a fresh way, one that has us scratching our heads wondering “how the heck did they do that” or more importantly, “why didn’t I think of that?”
Dacia “Ingenious Productions” – Publicis * Poke London
First up is a car commercial made during quarantine for a brand you’ve probably never heard of, Dacia.
Why it matters: While the brand was unknown to me, I was so blown away by this spot that I wanted to know more. As a creative director, I’m always curious how something so good comes to life and what drove the decisions behind-the-scenes. Foundationally, there’s the impact of COVID-19 that makes a fresh production approach mandatory, but car commercials generally follow such tried and true methods that it’s rare for one to jump out from the pack—even more unlikely for a car brand with very little brand identity to those outside of Europe.
So after rewatching it about 20 times, I dug a little deeper and was really pleased with what I uncovered. First off, the car company has said that because they are so competitively priced, people new to the brand often want to know if there’s a catch. This led me to discover their smart engineering approach, which apparently is different to other manufacturers and nothing short of ingenious. The ad extends this thought by asking: why shouldn’t everything with the Dacia name also be an ingenious production?
The details: Clear brief in hand, the agency brought in the Israeli filmmaking duo, Vania and Gal, who had previously made the music video for Coldplay’s “Up & Up.” Vania and Gal had a clear vision from the start and put together a proof of concept test film featuring the illusion they had in mind. What’s so impressive is all the attention to detail that makes this spot soar, from the Macbook Pros serving as ground and background planes to the actors multitasking to create the soundtrack and lighting FX in real time. Note: the entire spot was done in-camera in Vania’s Tel Aviv flat in one take.
Vertical Salon – Starburst Swirlers
Next up is another clever use of filmmaking techniques and also an appreciation of how one’s audience likes to best consume media, that is, vertically on their phones.
Why it matters: This one starts with the clever realization that the new Starburst Swirlers are their first “vertical” candy when compared to the normal square shape of Starburst candies we’re all used to. As an ad guy, I appreciate being able to land such a clear and foundational premise that everything else can be built on. In this case, it’s not an obvious observation, but I’m sure once one of the creatives said it aloud, everyone in the room probably just smiled because of all the possibilities unlocked. As one of my former colleagues used to cavalierly say, “now the spot will essentially write itself.”
OK, it was never actually that easy, but I always appreciated it when he said it with such confidence.
So where do you take the “world’s first vertical candy?” Well, of course you’d want to construct a simulated vertical world. The added benefit? The primary candy buying demo is a younger audience who live on their phones and consume most of their media in the vertical format. Double-win for the agency.
The details: There’s a great BTS on YouTube if you’re curious to see all the details of how they brought this to life. To simulate the physics of verticality brought to the real world, the filmmakers constructed a hair salon set in a large rectangular box, then flipped it on its side so everything now had the proper vertical orientation. The actors were harnessed and wired for safety while the crew could tilt the set, notably when achieving the shot where the actor with the broom slides through frame. It appears that the actors had to master the effects of gravity along the way, but all to great effect as one actor shares her Starburst with her neighbor in the chair below.
Santa Cruz Bikes, “Get Creative With Your Surroundings” – Cut Media
Thanks to my friends up in Vancouver, The Sequence Group, for turning me on to this amazing stop-motion and miniature gem for Santa Cruz Bikes.
Why it matters: Picking the right way to visually narrate a story can make a huge difference in its audience impact. Although it would have been easy, even in the time of COVID-19, to ask fans to strap cameras to their bikes and helmets and go out to shoot their favorite trails and tricks, SCBs chose a different path. By going with a representative approach vs. showing the real thing, we are invited to use our imaginations and think of all the things we wish we could be doing right now. It’s open-ended enough that everyone can envision their experiences biking through nature, carving up trails while maybe pulling off some IG-worthy tricks. Just careful you don’t end up mimicking the 2:00 mark.
The details: The campaign was originally slated as a road trip through Greece with some of the brand’s top athletes, but because of the quarantine a new solution was needed. The solution came from one of the agency’s in-house creatives along with his brother, some clever miniatures and their back garden in Glasgow, Scotland. The brothers manufactured the hand-crafted bike, all the props and sets and painstakingly captured the micro-moments of magic.
We’re back with another episode of a.network’s weekly series Listen In, created and hosted by Ayzenberg principal and ECD Matt Bretz. This week we’re featuring a conversation between Matt and Sam Reich, integrated marketing communications lead at Microsoft. The discussion includes tips on how to make your client/agency relationships better with trust, openness and empathy, no matter which side of the brief you’re working on.
About Listen In: Each week on Listen In, Bretz and a rotating cast of hosts from Ayzenberg 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.
In 2019, companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 36 percent in profitability, slightly up from 33 percent in 2017 and 35 percent in 2014. That’s according to the third report in a McKinsey series investigating the business case for diversity, “Diversity Wins.” Though the research predates coronavirus, the findings remain highly relevant as companies examine their diversity and inclusion practices and seek to mitigate systemic racism in the workplace.
McKinsey’s research reveals that the companies whose leadership has the most gender and ethnic and cultural diversity are now more likely than ever to be more profitable than their less diverse counterparts.
Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to achieve above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile, up from 21 percent in 2017 and 15 percent in 2014.
McKinsey also found that the greater an executive team’s representation, the higher the likelihood of outperformance. For example, companies with over 30 percent women executives were more likely to perform better than companies where this percentage ranged from 10 to 30; these companies were more likely to outperform those with even fewer female executives, or none at all.
The most gender-diverse companies were 48 percent more likely to perform better than the least gender-diverse companies.
Ethnically- and culturally-diverse companies are 36 percent more likely to be profitable than the least diverse companies.
Echoing McKinsey’s finding from its 2017 and 2014 reports, the data also suggests ethnically-diverse companies outperform gender-diverse companies.
However beneficial championing diversity is to a company’s bottom line, there’s been a lack of material progress in representation across organizations. Since the researcher started analyzing the data globally, in 2017, gender diversity grew just one percentage point, from 14 percent in 2017 to 15 percent in 2019. In the companies from McKinsey’s original 2014 data set, which were based in the US and the UK, female representation on executive teams grew from 15 percent to 20 percent in 2019.
Additionally, over a third of the companies McKinsey analyzed still have no women at all on their executive teams.
The representation of ethnic-minorities has also stalled: on UK and US teams, the figure grew from seven percent in 2014 to 13 percent in 2019. Globally, the number increased by just two percentage points—from 12 percent in 2017 to 14 percent in 2019.
McKinsey also noticed a growing polarization between inclusion and diversity leaders and companies that have yet to embrace diversity. McKinsey identified five cohorts based on the progress of companies on executive diversity from 2014 to 2019—Fast Movers, Diversity Leaders, Moderate Movers, Resting on Laurels and Laggards.
Fast Movers on gender diversity have nearly quadrupled the representation of women on executive teams to 27 percent. Whereas regarding ethnicity, the same cohort increased their level of diversity from just one percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2019.
The Laggards cohort have regressed even further—in 2019, women comprised just eight percent of the executive team members at these companies and members from ethnic minority groups accounted for none.
The remaining two cohorts, Moderate Movers and Resting on Laurels, have similarly become less diverse since 2014.
The findings are based on an analysis of more than 1,000 major companies in 15 countries.
As the pandemic hit, many brands swiftly shifted from product-centric to purpose-driven messaging to avoid appearing insensitive. A new study from Unruly that measured viewers’ emotional responses to coronavirus ads around the world shows that brands successfully pulled at consumers’ heartstrings during the pandemic.
Unruly measured the emotional reactions of 18,499 global consumers to 52 coronavirus ads, using its emotional testing tool, UnrulyEQ, as well as its EMO Index to account for differences in how people emotionally express themselves worldwide.
Google Japan’s 60-second “Thank You” spot—a compilation of mobile phone and video call footage of health care workers on the front lines of coronavirus—was ranked the most emotionally engaging coronavirus campaign in the world.
The “Thank You” campaign, Unruly found, is three times more emotional than the average Japanese ad. The campaign also received the highest score for brand favorability and purchase intent. Additionally, 83 percent of viewers considered Google to be an empowering brand after watching the ad.
An ad from the Singapore government called, “Together, We Can” came in second, followed by Tourism Australia’s “With Love From Aus” in third.
In the US, the most emotionally engaging coronavirus ads include Google’s “Thank You Healthcare Workers” spot, which ranked seven and was 91 percent more emotional than the average US ad. Other strong performers in the US include Oreo, whose “Stay Playful” ad was 70 percent more emotional than the average US ad and Budweiser’s “One Team” campaign, which was 54 percent more emotional than the average US ad. Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” ad and Walmart’s “Heroes” ads ranked 18 and 19, respectively.
Three UK ads made the top ten list, including ITV’s “Apart. But Never Alone” spot, which was 101 percent more emotional than the average UK ad, NHS’s “Stay At Home” ad and Jack Daniels’ “With Love, Jack” ad.
Viewers resonated most with ads that focused on supporting or thanking communities and people affected by COVID, says Alex Maguire, senior insight manager at Unruly.
“Meanwhile, ads that instruct viewers in the ways that they can still interact with the brand and their products during the pandemic tended to not only be less emotionally engaging, but also attracted lower scores for more rational metrics, such as purchase intent and intent to find out more,” says Maguire.
Unruly’s findings come as Ace Metrix released a report on the top-performing ads in Q2, broken down by the most empowering ads and the most “Prodtastic” ads. Ace Metrix’s research reveals that the most effective ads during Q2 focused either on purpose or product.
Frito Lay’s COVID-themed “It’s About People” spot received the highest score for empowering, indicating the ad’s message inspired, encouraged or motivated viewers.
The second most empowering ad in Q2 was Mercedes-Benz’s coronavirus-related “Be The Best” ad, which resulted in 77 percent of viewers reporting a positive change in brand perception (Ace Metrix notes that the COVID ad norm is 60 percent).
Ace Metrix’s Prodtastic category measured a viewer’s emotional response to an ad primarily driven by a product rather than storytelling. Tide’s 15-second, non-coronavirus-related “Get It Clean” spot topped the Prodtastic list, earning an Ace Score 18 percent above the norm. Additionally, 66 percent of viewers reported they were much more or more likely to buy the new product Tide features in the ad.
This week in leadership updates, Microsoft Latin America hires Mariana Castro as VP of sales, marketing and operations, United Natural Foods brings on Amanda Helming as its CMO, Netflix hires Bozoma Saint John as CMO, Realtor.com names Mickey Neuberger CMO and LegalShield hires its first-ever CMO, Cameron Scott.
Microsoft Hires Mariana Castro As Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Operations For Latin America
Mariana Castro is joining Microsoft Latin America as VP of sales, marketing and operations after current CMO Paula Bellizia stepped down.
Castro will be responsible for driving Microsoft’s digital transformation and artificial intelligence adoption across the region. She has been with Microsoft for over 20 years.
United Natural Foods Inc. Names Amanda Helming As New Chief Marketing Officer
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) has hired Amanda Helming as its new CMO, effective July 13. Reporting to UNFI president Chris Testa, Helming will oversee the company’s Brands+ product portfolio, branding and creative and communications teams.
Helming comes from UNO restaurant Holdings, where she served as CMO. Prior to that, Helming spent seven years at Dunkin Brands, most recently as VP of brand strategy, global consumer insights and pricing for Dunkin’ US.
Netflix Appoints Bozoma Saint John As Chief Marketing Officer
Netflix is bringing on Bozoma Saint John as its new CMO after the company’s current CMO, Jackie Lee-Joe, stepped down for personal reasons.
Saint John comes from Endeavor, where she served as CMO since 2018. Prior to Endeavor, Saint John worked as chief brand officer for Uber and before that, head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.
Realtor.com Announces New CMO
Realtor.com announced in a press release today that Mickey Neuberger will be joining its senior leadership team as chief marketing officer.
Neuberger previously served in marketing roles at 24 Hour Fitness, Loyalty Lab, and Travelocity. He most recently held the position of VP of global marketing at eBay.
LegalShield Hires Cameron Scott As First Chief Marketing Officer
LegalShield named its first-ever CMO, Cameron Scott. In his new role, effective today, Scott will lead the company’s global marketing strategy and execution.
Prior to LegalShield, Scott was chief brand officer at GoDaddy. He has also held a variety of senior marketing and strategy roles at Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T.
