Trends and Technology

Despite some companies dialing back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and the gloomy narrative in the media about the prospects for DEI, companies that have embraced diversity are forging ahead, according to recent studies. Companies that downplay diversity may be at significant odds with younger demos such as millennials and gen Z, who put a premium on diversity and inclusion.

"Principal media," or when agencies purchase — or negotiate — inventory from media owners at bulk rates, then resell it to their clients at a markup, is taking off. In a recent ANA study, 41 percent of respondents expect to use principal media throughout the next year. But while offering myriad benefits to marketers, principal media is fraught with challenges, ranging from potential conflicts of interest to low-quality inventory.

Pickleball tops a growing roster of niche sports that are attracting legions of fans, with a smorgasbord of games for advertisers to tap into. The appeal to marketers is twofold: affordability and the opportunity to integrate a brand into the consumer experience.

Lena Lewis of Mark Anthony Brands shares how White Claw uses cultural events and trends to connect with consumers and maintain its position as the hard seltzer market leader.

Committing to ethical data and marketing practices can earn consumer trust — a commodity that's in short supply. The ANA's newly released Ethics Code of Marketing provides principles, best practices, and resources for making ethical decisions across six areas of marketing and advertising, including data privacy and artificial intelligence.

Reddit has grown up. The 19-year-old social media platform has tamed its sometimes tumultuous, often passionate communities, enabling the company to broaden its reach with advertisers and promote its brand safety efforts.

Most CMOs plan to hire new workers this year, according to a recent study. But the hiring smacks up against a growing number of traditional, junior-level jobs growing obsolete due to automation. If there's to be a new generation of marketers, the onus is on managers to offer training that accounts for marketing's AI transformation.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how marketers conceptualize, craft, and distribute advertising creative. But as they integrate AI with their ad design, marketers need to be aware of several potential stumbling blocks.

With many tax reforms set to expire after 2025, policymakers will feel the pressure to keep individual tax rates down while finding new sources of government revenue, but taxes on advertising could have a devastating impact for marketers.

The level of real-time personalization and immediacy has made SMS marketing an increasingly important marketing tool for more and more brands. But as companies ramp up their investments in SMS marketing, they have to make sure to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach when targeting consumers and be cognizant of new regulations for the channel.

Google's latest delay to shut down third-party cookies until 2025 presents another reprieve for marketers who are scrambling to develop fresh data strategies. One hurdle is whether companies will be able to dismantle their silos and share more first-party data across the organization.

Agency consolidation continues to shake up the advertising industry. Rachel Barek, CEO and co-founder of Said Differently, says changes are brewing, as the current agency model does not meet marketers' needs.

Agency-client relations can be problematic for SMBs (small-to-medium sized businesses), which have fewer resources than larger brands and less margin for error when hiring creative services firms. Yet despite the inherent challenges, SMBs increasingly see the value of marketing to fuel growth, with 94 percent planning to maintain or increase their investment in digital marketing spend in 2023, per a study by Taradel.

To combat cybercrime, a growing number of companies are developing red teams, or in-house groups designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization's cyber defense. As these groups start to proliferate, marketers may be recruited to assist in the endeavor and educate employees about the role they can play protecting the company against bad actors online.

A vast majority of marketers (87 percent) say they plan to maintain or increase their email marketing investments this year, according to a recent study. Part of that spending will need to go into strengthening their email safeguards amid a growing number of state laws designed to protect consumer privacy online.

Social media and influencer marketing have started to blur the line between celebrity athletes and brand ambassadors. The challenge for brand managers is how to harness the new constellations of stars without putting the company in jeopardy or alienating people.

Human influencers, move over. Nearly two-thirds of marketers said they are open to teaming up with AI-created virtual influencers, according to a new study. As the trend gains momentum, marketers need to ensure that their AI-driven partners are tightly controlled and sync up nicely with the brand.

While damning, the widespread and growing accusations against social media companies have not been a deterrent for brand advertisers. In fact, they're boosting their spending on most of the major social channels, with beleaguered X as an exception.

Despite being the majority in the U.S., small- and mid-size companies have long played second fiddle to their larger competitors. But cloud computing, digital platforms, and social channels have enabled smaller players to break down barriers and punch above their weight.

While animation marketing enables marketers to create places, situations, and characters that transcend the real world, it also provides brands with the ability to suffuse their messaging with a kind of clarity that can often be elusive in a physical environment.