GiGi Downs

We're running a webinar for Brands in a couple of weeks' time on Retail Media from an Advertiser's perspective (all of the information can be found below). If you're a CPG Brand Manager, Shopper Marketer, Ecommerce Owner, or you're in Digital Marketing, this could be a helpful session for you. A lot of the content out there right now is based on the theory - our intention for this session is to make it super practical & based on real-life case studies of those who we think are getting it right. We have a great panel line up, so you'll be hearing contributions from brands on how they're working in their organisations to set up for success in this 'new world' of advertising and I'm hoping they'll also be brave enough to tell you what they've gotten wrong too!

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Folks, we have an exciting webinar TODAY on the hottest topic in the media industry right now: Retail Media or Commerce Media. We have an outstanding panelist lined up, and you definitely don't want to miss it. If you're a CPG marketer, this topic is a must for you. I assure you that you'll walk away with actionable insights to bring back to your organization. Click the link below to register. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Solid overall performance for Omnicom in Q2 with Advertising, Media and Experiential leading the way, but Asia Pacific continues to be challenging   John Wren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom said: "Our 5.2% organic growth in the second quarter drove solid growth in adjusted EBITA & EPS, with good performance in our larger markets and disciplines. With the rapid adoption of Gen AI, creativity and talent matter more than ever to address the breadth and complexity of consumers. To serve our clients with the best, most advanced capabilities, we continue to strategically align our agencies and invest in robust data and technology, scaled content and production, e-commerce, and retail and performance media - all embedded in our industry-leading Omni platform."   Having set organic revenue growth expectations at between 4% and 5%, delivering 5.2% in Q2 (4.6% for H1) must have been satisfying for Wren to announce.   Key to this was 7.8% organic growth in the Advertising & Media discipline, which represented 53.1% of total revenue in Q2. Another discipline with very strong performance was ‘Experiential’ which saw 17.6% growth off the back of 9.5% in Q1, but this is off of a relatively smaller base of just 4.8% of total revenues.   However, these overperformers were offset by underperformance in all other disciplines: Precision Marketing, Public Relations, Healthcare and Execution & Support grew by 1.4%, 0.9%, 2.0% and 1.2% respectively – well below the 5.2% average for the quarter. But the most challenged discipline for the second quarter in a row was the curiously named Branding & Retail Commerce which saw a 3.8% organic decline (Q1 it was also down 3.8%).   It would seem that the online / retail commerce bubble off the back of Covid has worked its way through, whilst consumer appetite for experiences – physical experiences in particular – have grown. Not really new news.   The geographic split of Omnicom’s revenues shows four regions performing well: US (which is 52.8% of total revenues), UK, Euro Markets & Other Europe and Middle East & Africa grew 6.3%, 6.9%, 4.5% and 8% respectively. Latin America showed very impressive organic growth of 24.5%.   But these were pulled down primarily by a 0.1% decline in Asia Pacific. The other region that saw a decline was Other North America, which was down a rather large 8.3%. Whilst it is a small proportion of total revenue at 3% there is a story behind this to watch. Over the last week it has emerged that BBDO, TBWA and DDB are coming together under the name of Omnicom Advertising Group. I should imagine that the independent agencies in Canada are rubbing their hands in glee. In the press release Wren stares that “we continue to strategically align our agencies”. Again, not really new news – a major group streamlining its businesses and brands … but sad for someone who has been in this world for a little while as I have. Some great analysis from The Drum with a little quote in there from me...

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The media measurement landscape is as complicated as it's ever been... but it doesn't have to be. Backbone Media's Data and Analytics team is launching a new series, Measure What Matters. In it, we will break down the challenges and the opportunities for brands. For far too long, we've all relied on clicks and pixels and ROAS... it's time to open up the aperture and look at how media can drive business goals and results.

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The mutual enhancement of creativity and AI interaction can lead to innovative thinking and remarkable outcomes. 

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To help avoid a content-conversion crash out, thoughtfully examine long-term brand value. 1. Measure how cultural influence strategy impacts revenue 2. Identify which cultural products are financial winners that build brand equity over time (Which translates to customer loyalty and premium pricing power while addressing the beef between short-term sales pushes and long-term brand building.) 3. Justify investments in specific cultural products and their promotion. Not everything. In content strategy, cultural products are the tangible or intangible assets a brand creates that contribute to or reflect the cultural conversation. They go beyond traditional marketing content to become part of the cultural fabric themselves. Think: Brand-created or brand-sponsored items, experiences, or pieces of content that resonate with and contribute to the culture of their target audience. 🤔They may include: - Content: Podcasts, video series, blogs, magazines (my fave) - Experiences: Pop-up events, workshops, festivals (2nd fave) - Digital Assets: Apps, filters, online communities - Physical Items: Limited edition products, artwork collaborations (all-time fave) - Initiatives: Charitable programs, social causes We’ve seen it with: 💡Red Bull's documentaries and sponsored extreme sports events 💡Patagonia's environmental activism campaigns 💡Spotify's "Wrapped" year-end personalized user data stories Options are endless, and so is the earning potential.

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Articles like this are why creative and media teams need to be in lockstep more than ever. A great piece in The Wall Street Journal calls out how brands are leaning more into happiness, humor, and nostalgia in their products and creative messaging. This strategy will hopefully woo customers downtrodden by everyday problems and distracted by chaotic realities in a 2024 full of wars and before the upcoming presidential election. So, P&G is introducing a fun, foamy toilet bomb based on consumer "research." Miller Lite introduced retro ads to remind people of the good ol' days. Will fun, foamy toilet bombs cure people's everyday problems? Of course not. Do I fear marketers are thinking too much about pre-election brand safety, and not enough about the dark temperature that might come after November? Yes. Am I curious about what kind of messaging advertisers run if people are actually happy (dramatic? Serious?) I do. But putting all of that aside, I worry brands' attempts at happiness aren't being given a fighting chance. Why? Because while creatives are making more and more ads that are emotional and pull on people's heart strings, media teams are placing these ads in more and more small and / or invisible screens. WARC just put out a paper that 40% of brands / marketers upped their performance spend last year, vs. 36% who upped brand investment. That follows a three year trend of performance gaining with brand modestly rising or staying flat. How can you expect to make people happy, if the screens we are buying are low attention - below the 2.5 seconds required to make a lasting memory - or low positivity - within the doom scrolling of social media - or low reach - because we continue to buy banner ads full of fraud? After all, creative teams rely on media teams for research tools they don't have access to and expertise from being tapped into what works on the various platforms creatives are building for. But often, that consultation is compromised by the fact that media teams either have annual partnerships with certain platforms they need to honor, regardless of the creative strategy, or certain goals they are responsible for, so they opt for attributable channels over the most effective ones. Ultimately, creative teams need media teams that will put their ads in the best canvases possible to make their attempts work, and media teams need to also be honest with their creative teams about what sort of message will actually resonate with the people they're trying to reach. But I fear too many are merely doing hand-offs without enough consultation or mutual respect and support. If you find yourself in that position, I'd love to talk. https://lnkd.in/eCY2HYTm

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Adrianne Pasquarelli of AdAge just published this piece with advice from veteran CMOs to rookies https://lnkd.in/e7-X_hAS This is exactly why Marisa Mulvihill and I created this quick guide for new CMOs, including What to Ask, What do Do, and Where to Look (might be time to update resources!): https://lnkd.in/er-dEYh9

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Check out this article from my partner in crime, Michelle Edelman as she introduces our new agency positioning!

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I believe one of the most incredible thinkers in #B2Bmarketing today is Jann Martin Schwarz. There are writers who are much more than the stories they tell. These stylists deliver more than anyone else. Nabokov, Kafka, Elliot. Today I believe James Parker and his new book “Odes to Being Alive” is the greatest contemporary example. Jann shares something with them – it’s not simply the content of his argument that makes engaging with Jann so valuable. This is important because he’s famous for taking “contrarian” points of view on modern marketing challenges. He's pioneering thinking during his leadership of The B2B Institute, collaborating with brilliant thinkers like Mark Ritson, Roger Martin, and Les Binet around topics like customer promise, category entry points, etc. He’s challenged widely held assumptions around hyper-targeting and other supposed truisms of our industry. While there are incredible practical insights in this work (and I’d recommend heading to Linkedin's B2B Institute without hesitation), the way Jann thinks and considers our area of the marketing ecosystem is even more important than the content of his thinking. Finding inspiration in how Jann thinks will help ALL of your work – beyond the specifics of any given topic. I was lucky enough to spend a moment with him at The Saturnalia Chateau, where he shared incredible insights about the buying committee and the complexity of how groups make decisions. A few friends who might enjoy: Dan Rosenberg, Toni Clayton-Hine, Jessica Deckinger, Amanda St L Jobbins, Christopher Burns, Dan Petrossi, Jonah Goodhart, Patrick Reynolds, Noah Brier, Natalie Ely, Jeremy Botwinick, Hannah Budreski, Anna Griffin, Tisha Hulburd, Christi Moot, and Jeff Brooks #B2B #buyingcommittee #marketingstrategy

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I got that feeling, because Im at Target, Sipping a latte, Shopping for nothing, but buying everything. Isn't this Yargets overall strategy? They want us to stroll, roam, browse, and enjoy being in their store. This ad is absolutely hilarious and brilliant. It highlights the thing about Target that we all love and evokes emotion. While watching this commercial I saw myself in a few of these characters (cough, cough, the latte drinker, and plant enthusiast). 🎵 Perfect song choice. When it feels like a no-brainer that this ad worked.... that means its a real gem and a marketing win. Watch the Ad 👉 https://lnkd.in/gSQ2e9nY #Target #TargetStores #targetCommercial #FunnyCommercial #Marketing #MarketingWin #MarketingSuccess #MarketingInsights

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This is hysterical…and scary accurate. As someone who grew up in the agency world and has received reems of feedback on my own work, is equally guilty of commenting on drop-shadows (sorry Bill), and is now client-side and has fed back to many agencies, I can relate to both struggles: 1) It’s hard to receive feedback graciously. I find it helps to prepare for it and then interpret it through a simple lens: feedback represents expectations and familiarity. It is important to present work through those lens, even if your intention is to go beyond them. 2) It is even harder to give feedback. The desire to return to what we know or what we expect is innate. Breaking from those expectations opens up your mind to new thinking. These days, my mantra is: “examine newness with care.” If it makes me or my target audience uncomfortable it's probably tapping into something new, so examine that with care. https://lnkd.in/gEZKCayj #uncovertheunexpected

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More and more brands are wondering how they can advertise effectively to consumers across a fragmented identity ecosystem. Kristina Prokop's recent article in AdExchanger drills down the 4 ways brands can continue to maintain addressability for their omnichannel advertising strategies. 💫 Integrate audience data and first-party data: Brands can unlock more information about their customers and enable more precise targeting and personalized experiences by enriching their first-party data with audience data. These enriched data sets can then be used to find new like-minded audiences that represent a brand’s most receptive prospects. 💫 Use context: Contextual data and targeting – fueled by data and insights into the content people are consuming and how they’re consuming it – enables brands to tap into predictive audiences without relying on cookies. 💫 Adopt universal ID solutions: Brands can engage their users without cookies across channels by shifting to strategies that embrace universal IDs. While no single ID will replace the cookie, an ID-agnostic approach that combines the power of multiple IDs can go a long way while complying with all applicable privacy rules. 💫 Target omnichannel environments: Brands should also deepen their investments in channels that have never depended on cookies, including audio, CTV, DOOH and others. These channels represent growing opportunities to reach relevant, engaged audiences. Dun & Bradstreet Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company https://lnkd.in/ex87Grxe

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Last week at Google, at my team's (Agency Data, Measurement, and Analytics) onsite, I had the distinct privilege of moderating a fireside chat with my client (and friend!) Helen Lin, Chief Digital Officer at Publicis, who is a total industry powerhouse. Helen brought immense inspiration to the conversation and dialogue on change, staying agile, and how to best collaborate with clients. My three favorite lessons below - 🚀 Be introspective and iterate - Take time to be thoughtful about reorganizations and new titles because it’s all about aperture. Give each other grace for the discovery phase because that takes time, and it’s not simple. Messy means opportunity! 🚀 Change is hard - Swing change like a "sledgehammer" and push through noise. When you’re transforming quietly, you have the opportunity to come out strong. Play to win! 🚀 Become client’s trusted advisor - Truly understand clients’ problems and have no preconceived expectations on the solutions. Spend more time listening and understanding their aspirations, absorb it, and then reflect with ideas.  Even when we don’t have the answer, we can always provide a perspective! Thank you Marta Martinez Christina Mohebbi Nadia ✨ Carta for your support and Ada Rice for being my partner in crime!! 🙏🏽 #stayingagile #change #trustedadvisor #data #measurement #analytics #agency

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🚀 Exciting News! 🚀 I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be speaking at the IABC World 2024 in Chicago on June 25, 2024, from 1:30 PM-2:15 PM CT. Join me for a deep dive into PR industry trends, where we'll explore the intersection of media analysis and AI. 🌐🤖 In our rapidly evolving media environment, trust in institutions is eroding. However, communicators can play a pivotal role in mitigating this impact. In my session, I'll share insights from novel datasets, demonstrating how measuring qualitative data can boost brand trust. Plus, we'll discuss why scaling these efforts with AI is crucial. Here's what you'll gain: 1. Strategies to use demographic analysis for risk evaluation. Insights on handling online interest groups in communities like Reddit. 2. Techniques to measure trust through qualitative data and avoid risky conversations. 3. And don't miss my pop-quiz comparing pop-culture moments to major news themes! #IABC24 #MediaAnalysis #AI #Communications #PublicRelations #TrustInMedia

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I'm curious and want your input. Today we're seeing all of these major brands stepping back from DEI-related promises they made in 2020. I imagine these brands would be supported LESS by people who care about a brand's focus on inclusion. Is there a source out there that calls out brands that are failing or back-tracking away from their efforts to be more inclusive? I could imagine myself about to make a purchase from a brand and then searching their name on this source or list only to see they are not doing a great job of being inclusive and then deciding to spend my money elsewhere. What do you think? Does something like this already exist? #inclusion #dei #brandinclusion

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Do you make purchases based on good press? Earned media can be powerful, but its role is often under strategized. Add to that, with mainstream media forced to clickbait and comment-spark for its own survival, it’s not surprising many strong brands choose to make their own news rather than risk sensational headlines or hyperbole. Here’s my take in Forbes. Thanks Lilian Raji for the inclusion. “Any PR practitioner placing all their weight in earned media is losing. It has a purpose but only works alongside owned media and heavy brand community work. The broader questions PR must solve for are reputational in nature: Who matters to your brand, what do they know of you, what do they think of you, what happens when they look for you, and what do they tell people about you when you leave the room?”

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