Trends and Technology

As consumers migrate to streaming services in droves, more and more brands hop on board to supplement their spending on linear TV. But the tide may be turning in favor of streaming services. Product placement may never be the same.

For brands born to a digital world, such as Uber, Twitter, or Airbnb, establishing a detailed set of brand guidelines is a natural course of action. But for more traditional brands forced by the pandemic to adjust to a future online, developing a digital-friendly set of brand guidelines may come with a bout of growing pains.

Theaters and other live performance venues are following changes in consumer behavior closely and creating new media plans that try to anticipate what people will want once they start returning to live theater. While the streaming of Broadway shows has helped keep theater in the public eye amid the pandemic, virtual shows pale in comparison to the real thing.

It’s up in the air whether megacasting will become the new normal. But running the same program across disparate networks should attract brands looking to land new audiences and stretch their marketing dollars.

Unlike the campaign-to-campaign mode of traditional brand advertising, content marketing requires brands to constantly refine their storytelling efforts and strategize for the long haul.

As the Biden administration takes charge, major brands are stepping up their efforts to educate the public about vaccinations and bracing for how the new tone in the nation’s capital will impact their overall marketing strategy.

The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines will spur additional opportunities in DOOH, as consumers return in droves to shopping in brick-and-mortar stores and eating inside restaurants after being stuck in their homes because of the pandemic.

Brands ranging from P&G to PepsiCo are rolling out various initiatives to tackle issues such as climate change and environmental waste across several touchpoints, including product development, packaging, and raw material sourcing.

The demise of third-party cookies provides marketers with an opportunity to be more transparent with consumers and recalibrate their methods of measurement.

Mailchimp's latest ad campaign draws on classic animation to help its small business customers build big ideas. Michael Mitchell, director of brand marketing at Mailchimp, calls the campaign a "love letter" to entrepreneurs making their way through the pandemic.

As space travel revitalizes, NASA wants help from commercial enterprises to support various missions. The move opens up new venues for companies and organizations eager to distinguish their brand on a cosmic scale.

As consumers stay home during the pandemic, they are spending more time than ever with screens and video games. The trend, which has sent many brands scrambling for innovative ways to reach their audiences beyond traditional methods of digital marketing, is expected to continue post-pandemic. Here’s how Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Rock the Vote, among others, are engaging consumers in the virtual space.

Creative, wide-ranging internships from brands like IBM and Verizon must become the rule rather than the exception if marketing is going to win an increasingly fierce battle for entry-level talent.

In the wake of the pandemic, a rapid shift in experiential marketing is underway — and none too soon. The industry as a whole is expected to decline more than 15 percent this year following years of solid growth. Brands are scrambling to pick up the slack.

In gender-related marketing, ads no longer adhere to pink-and-blue protocols. An increasing number of companies realize that moving beyond the binary is not only good business, it cultivates brand affinity among communities that might not otherwise pay attention to their products and services. Here’s how P&G, Mastercard, and Mattel, among others, are evolving their marketing to avoid gender stereotypes and be more inclusive of trans and nonbinary people.

The recent decline in podcast advertising is merely a pandemic-induced blip on the radar. The longer-term outlook remains quite attractive, with spending projected to reach more than $1 billion in 2021. Marketers are whetting their appetite.

Marketers need to develop a plan for catered messages for different audiences, as consumers have had starkly different experiences during the pandemic based on factors such as geography and income level.

Companies that don’t realign their priorities toward a digital-first strategy will cede their business to competitors, says Geoff Ramsey, chairman and co-founder of eMarketer. In an interview with ANA magazine, Ramsey discusses how the pandemic has put pressure on marketers to sharpen their online platforms and make sure their data reflects the new reality.

Despite growing privacy concerns among consumers and a lurch toward the ‘dark web,’ brands can still drive actionable insights from social listening.

Following the initial rush among brands and organizations to donate money and supplies, some companies are opting to build on their relief efforts and assist the community at large.