As consumers grapple with inflation, tariff uncertainty and a difficult macro-economic environment, they are prioritizing cost over brand loyalty. The overwhelming majority (77%) of consumers are actively changing their purchase behavior in response to price increases, according to EY’s “Future Consumer Index,” which surveyed more than 20,000 consumers across 26 countries. Slightly more than a third (34%) no longer consider brands when making purchasing decisions, with 54% of respondents only buying branded products when they are on sale. The increasing adoption of private label products is reshaping consumer perception, making store brands the preferred alternative to traditional branded options — 67% say private label satisfies their needs just as well as branded products. Thirty percent of respondents say they no longer consider brands at all when making purchasing decisions.

Despite a plethora of challenges that artificial intelligence (AI) brings to the advertising industry, advancements in the technology will change even the fundamentals of how brands, agencies and publishers reach and interact with consumers. Not all in the industry are ready for the change, according to findings released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The IAB’s State of Data 2025: The Now, The Near, and The Next Evolution of AI for Media Campaigns provides the first industry benchmarks on AI use, adoption, and perceptions, as well as challenges, opportunities, and future needs within the media campaign lifecycle.

After a soft start in January, headwinds persisted for many brands in February. Retailers faced a challenging environment as consumer confidence continued to decline amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs and the U.S. economy. Overall, sessions rose by 2.32%, but conversion challenges remained, with orders down -9.05% and demand falling -7.6% compared to February 2024. Apparel, outdoor, and specialty brands struggled, while home retailers saw gains in orders and sales. Brands of all sizes are feeling the impact of slowing consumer demand. Consumer confidence is at its lowest level since June 2024, and economic uncertainty is likely to continue. Brands that adjust pricing strategies, strengthen customer engagement, and highlight value will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty and capture opportunities in the coming months.

Sustainability is no longer a one-size-fits-all message. As more consumers become aware of environmental issues, their attitudes and actions toward sustainability vary widely. A recent international report by GlobeScan, backed by a mix of global brands and environment-focused initiatives, sheds light on these differences—identifying four distinct consumer mindsets regarding sustainability. These insights can help brands, including those in the print and paper industries, tailor their messaging and products to better engage customers. Based on a survey of over 30,000 consumers across 31 markets, GlobeScan’s Road to 2025 report categorizes consumers into four groups: Anxious Inactives, Indifferents, Enthusiasts, and Minimalists. Each group requires a unique approach to encourage more sustainable behaviors. Let’s explore each mindset and how companies can effectively reach them. Anxious Inactives (28%) - The largest segment of the population, Anxious Inactives, are environmentally conscious but feel overwhelmed by the scale of the climate crisis. Many of them—especially Gen Z consumers—experience guilt and anxiety about their personal impact, which often leads to inaction.

One of the main reasons direct mail campaigns fail is the lack of clear goals. Before launching your next campaign, take the time to define your objectives. Many businesses skip this step because they find it challenging, don’t know where to start, or aren’t sure what’s expected of them. But setting the right goals is crucial — without them, your campaign is just a shot in the dark. To help you get started, here’s a practical guide to setting effective direct mail goals that drive results. Key Components of Direct Mail Goal Setting: 1) Make Your Goals Meaningful 2) Be Specific 3) Stay Flexible 4) Make It Challenging but Achievable 5) Ensure Your Goals Are Supported 6) Write Down and Share Your Goals

Bipartisan lawmakers on Tuesday again introduced a bill that would further restrict companies' ability to collect and harness data from users under the age of 17. The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, introduced by Senators Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), would expand the current children's privacy law by prohibiting website and app operators from knowingly collecting personal data from users between the ages of 13 and 15 without their consent. Currently, federal law prohibits online companies from knowingly collecting personal data from users under 13 without their parents' consent.

Consumer behavior is predictably unpredictable, says Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president and general manager of Google Ads, but AI advancements have found new ways for businesses to reach people with engaging experiences on Google and YouTube. "Capturing people’s attention today is a big challenge," Srinivasan wrote. She added that helping businesses solve it is a top priority. Srinivasan on Monday published her 2025 letter to the industry, sharing insights on how consumer behavior is changing and ways that Google can help. She also announced this year's Google Marketing Live event, scheduled for May 21.

The 2025 ad market got off to a strong start in January, expanding 7.4% over the same month a year ago, and marking the best January recorded since Guideline began indexing it with the U.S. Ad Market Tracker in 2013. January's growth follows a healthy 8.5% year-over-year expansion in 2024, which ended with a 14.8% jump in December ad spending.

While January typically sees a post-holiday dip in consumer activity, the fall this year was more pronounced than anticipated. National events and weather patterns competed for consumer attention, while persistent price sensitivity and a marked decline in consumer confidence further dampened demand. Overall website sessions dipped -2.73%, with greater declines in orders (-9.88%) and demand (-12.57%) compared to January 2024. Converting customers was more challenging than last year for many brands. Despite easing inflation, consumers remain price sensitive. Increasing units sold, and refining product assortments will be important levers to drive growth in the current DTC/retail environment.

Meta is offering advertisers more control over their ad placements through comment and publisher controls as well as “blocklists” supported by additional third-party brand-safety and measurement companies, including DoubleVerify and Zefr, in addition to Integral Ad Science (IAS). The tech giant first announced its support of blocklists -- automated lists that brands can use to make sure their ads are not displayed alongside potentially disagreeable content -- last October when it partnered with IAS. Now, brands can work directly with IAS, DoubleVerify and Zefr to create blocklists for any category across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels, “so long as they adhere to the Meta's Discriminatory Practices policy,” the company says, adding that “businesses should ultimately decide what their suitability preferences are.”

Every interaction shapes your brand experience—so we’ve built our agency to ensure those interactions are seamless, intuitive, and aligned with your customers’ needs. As a brand experience agency, we take a holistic approach to creating impactful, memorable connections that drive lasting loyalty. Through insights, strategy, and execution, we help brands move people and inspire action. We exist to make brands more human. So are you searching for new ideas and fresh thinking? Do you want a brand experience agency that helps solve problems? Let’s build something unforgettable.

Marketing is evolving at breakneck speed, and 2025 is set to redefine the game. AI, hyper-personalization, and shifting consumer behavior are transforming how brands connect with audiences. From AI-driven search engines reshaping discovery to new privacy regulations forcing a first-party data revolution, brands must adapt or risk falling behind. In our recent webinar, Amsive experts Michael Coppola, CEO, and Lily Ray, VP, SEO Strategy & Research broke down the five biggest digital marketing shifts for 2025 with Ruben Quinones, SVP, Client Strategy.

Businesses increasingly recognize the importance of environmentally friendly practices, especially when it comes to packaging, proper disposal and recycling, and using truly sustainable materials like paper. However, a new trend has emerged: companies are becoming more cautious about how they communicate these initiatives. Amid a rise in greenwashing lawsuits, where businesses are accused of overstating or misrepresenting their environmental efforts, many companies are shifting to a more subdued approach. This change reflects not only legal caution but also a growing demand for transparency and adherence to credible standards, such as the FTC’s Green Guides in the U.S. or the Competition Act in Canada. In an era when consumers actively seek eco-friendly options, companies have made efforts to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. Terms like “biodegradable,” “recyclable,” and “carbon neutral” have appeared more frequently on packaging and in marketing.

Direct mail has been having a moment (or two) in the past year or so, as major media outlets and providers rediscover its worth to brands, companies, and organizations. In an election cycle of record political ad spending, a GroupM study estimated that $1.2 billion would be spent on mail to drive voter turnout. And CBS News, NBC’s Today Show, and The Wall Street Journal all took note of the return of the J. Crew catalog to customers’ mailboxes this fall after a seven-year absence. Like a lot of mail, though, get-out-the-vote mailers and catalogs are using updated tactics and technologies to appeal to today’s consumers, who have become more dissociated from standalone digital messages.

Why Marketing with Sustainability is a Must: Consumers today demand more than great products—they want brands that reflect their values. A Nielsen report found that 73% of global consumers are willing to change their consumption habits to reduce environmental impact. By integrating sustainability into your marketing strategy, you can build trust, foster loyalty, and drive growth while making a meaningful impact. This quick guide explores how to align your marketing efforts with sustainability practices to gain a competitive edge and connect with the modern conscious consumer.

Amazon is looking to expand its lucrative ad business by selling the technology that powers it to other retailers. In an email to Chain Store Age, the online giant announced a new program called Amazon Ad Retail Service that lets other retailers use its own tools to showcase ads on their own websites. Built on the hosted Amazon Web Services platform, it enables retailers to show product ads on their search, browse, and product pages to help customers with product discovery and purchase decisions. The ads can incorporate availability and price, in addition to contextual information such as shopper search query, category or product being viewed to help ensure customers see ads for desired and available products.

AI agents can analyze huge amounts of consumer data such as browsing history, purchase behavior, and social-media activity. The potential, especially for privacy concerns, could solve many of the challenges of online advertising. Google and Microsoft are working on their own individual AI agents, but there is no word on how the technology might support advertisers, brands and agencies. It is mostly speculation at this time. The technology would provide the ability to support real-time ad bidding, personalize messages and budget allocations while monitoring in real-time privacy settings based on state or country in which the ad targets the consumer.

Marketers are really starting to look at how millennials respond to marketing. In a recent study conducted by DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Tumblr, and Yahoo, millennials will have a cumulative $1.4 trillion in spending power by 2020. Therefore marketers need to be paying attention to this group of people. Since they are known as digital natives many people have felt that direct mail was not a good way to reach them. However, this has shown itself to be untrue, millennials like getting mail. How can direct mail appeal to millennials? Authenticity: All the messaging and imagery on your direct mail pieces need to be authentic and in sync with your brand. Accessibility: How easy is it for someone to reach you? How many ways to respond to your direct mail are there? Human Appeal: Create a sense of connection with each individual with not only personalization but through emotion. Social Awareness: Show case all the good things your company is doing for social causes. Technology: Since this group is very digital savvy, make sure that you are including technology in your direct mail.

Crafting direct mail that captures attention and inspires action is both an art and a science. With digital noise at an all-time high, direct mail stands out for its ability to connect in a personal, tangible way. The USPS’s Irresistible Mail website remains a fantastic resource for fresh ideas, and it’s worth exploring at irresistiblemail.com to stay inspired by the latest trends. Here are several strategies to make your direct mail truly irresistible: 1. Interactive Technology: Enhanced QR Codes: Augmented Reality (AR): Near Field Communication (NFC). 2. Sensory Engagement: Tactile Elements: Scented Inks: Temperature-Changing Inks. 3. Personalization and Data-Driven Content: Variable Data Printing (VDP): Predictive Offers: Geotargeted Messaging:

At unBoxed 2024, Amazon Ads introduced AI creative studio and Audio generator, two new generative AI tools designed to lower creative barriers and expand opportunities for advertisers to scale their reach. By building a suite of self-service, AI-powered tools, Amazon Ads is enabling brands of all sizes to create engaging content across media types and eliminating boundaries across ad formats. With Audio generator, Amazon Ads expands its suite of AI-powered creative tools – including Image generator and Video generator – empowering brands to connect with customers across the shopping journey. These tools make it simple to build and activate new campaign creatives, helping brands experiment more freely and optimize based on performance – with little more than the information on their Amazon product page. According to Amazon Ads findings, on average, brands who used Image generator between October 2023 and June 2024 saw almost 5% more sales per advertiser.

Adobe brought together the global creative community for the kickoff of Adobe MAX 2024 – the world’s largest creativity conference – where it introduced over one hundred new Creative Cloud features, including groundbreaking capabilities powered by Adobe Firefly that offer creators unprecedented power to create, collaborate and conceptualize ideas while empowering them to work more productively. Major updates to Adobe Express and an all-new Frame.io deliver new workflows to streamline collaboration for creative teams and their stakeholders. Adobe announced a new Firefly Video Model (beta) and breakthroughs in its Firefly Image, Vector and Design models, delivering significant enhancements to its family of generative AI models that are designed to be commercially safe. For enterprises, Adobe announced the general availability of GenStudio for Performance Marketing, the latest application within Adobe GenStudio, an end-to-end content supply chain solution that optimizes the process of planning, creating, managing, activating and measuring content for marketing campaigns and personalized customer experiences.

Google Ads will implement a data-retention policy on November 13 that limits historical data access to 11 years. Data-retention policies have become a major point of contention between advertisers and the platforms they do business with. The industry trend toward shorter data cycles certainly played a role in Google’s decision as privacy concerns have mounted and global industry trials have increased.

The advertising industry is being reshaped by a convergence of necessity, curiosity and opportunity, driven by consumer expectations for more privacy and advancements in technology. A new generation of performance advertising is emerging. Currently, 86% of users state that privacy is a high priority, and this number continues to grow. Mozilla and Apple have already responded to this demand by blocking third-party cookies completely, and now Chrome—the browser with the highest market share—is poised to dramatically increase the fraction of users who won’t allow third-party cookies to be set. This growing demand for privacy, combined with customer expectations for personalized interactions presents a challenge and opportunity for brands, requiring innovative solutions and a shift in thinking.

Pomegranate Inc., a brand known for its vibrant hand-block print home textiles, wanted to bring a cohesive and unified brand message to all its marketing channels. They needed a way to integrate their storytelling and aesthetic seamlessly across print, email, social media, and web platforms, making sure they resonated with their audience no matter the season. The forks are set at left, the knives at right. The tablecloth blooms with vibrant splendor, and the matching napkins are folded just so. It’s a feast for the eyes, even before the food comes out. But the most picture-perfect moments, the most memorable and colorful moments, are when the chairs are untucked.

For the first time, a joint study spearheaded by Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) measured the entire digital advertising ad spend to estimate the fraud rate for invalid traffic (IVT). The joint study -- brought together by TAG with American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) -- determined that by working together the digital advertising industry collectively saved an estimated $10.8 billion in 2023, dramatically reducing fraud related to IVT in U.S. display and video ad channels by 92%.

For Advertising Week New York, Meta has introduced generative AI ad tools designed to help advertisers capitalize on changing user behavior across Facebook and Instagram; according to the tech giant, 60% of users' time on both platforms are now spent watching videos. Due to “advertiser demand” and promising adoption of the company’s recent Image Expansion tool, Meta is unveiling a Video Expansion feature, which will automatically let advertisers adjust video creative assets by “generating unseen pixels in each video frame to expand the aspect ratio.”

AI advancements have expanded the ability to get visual. Google claims people who use AI Overviews also use Search more, with better results. Products like Lens, which launched in 2017, help people search for what they see with their camera. Google’s rollout of AI-powered updates for search results and links was announced Thursday, along with AI Overviews ads on mobile in the U.S. and redesigned Shopping Ads to run along with Google Lens visual search results. The company said Lens also will now work with video and voice. Ads that serve within AI Overviews are search and shopping ads from existing campaigns.

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to leverage its cloud services in the development of a data, creative and personalization powerhouse. Quad’s leading-edge solutions are designed to give advertisers and marketers exceptional accuracy, transparency and cost-efficiency in making direct connections – on-line and off-line – with their customers. By empowering Quad’s proprietary data stack with Google Cloud’s artificial-intelligence (AI) optimization capabilities and large language models (LLMs), Quad’s new AI-driven solutions will enable brands to create highly personalized content at scale across multiple marketing channels. In addition to providing image generation, processing, content creation, layout design, translation and more, the innovative, data-driven offering from Quad will address the complex challenges of managing large product catalogs and diverse audience segments.

Black Friday is one of the most competitive times of the year for retailers, with every brand vying for a share of the consumer’s attention and wallet. For CMOs, the pressure to make this Black Friday the best one yet is always top-of-mind. While it’s easy to get swept up in the frenzy of discounts and promotions, the key to a successful Black Friday lies in strategic differentiation and understanding what truly matters to your customers. Here are some expert insights on how to navigate the season effectively and set your brand apart. 1. Focus on Your Value Proposition, Not Just Discounts - In the lead-up to Black Friday, many brands fall into the trap of thinking that bigger discounts automatically lead to better results. But in reality, it’s the value proposition that sets your brand apart, not just the lowest price tag. 2. Timing Is Everything: Be Strategic About Your Promotions - One often overlooked aspect of Black Friday planning is the timing of your promotions. This year, timing could be even more critical with events like elections or other significant happenings that can distract consumers from shopping.

Adobe announced innovations across Adobe Experience Cloud that will empower brands to unlock greater value with AI-generated content and demonstrate business impact. As organizations embrace image and copy generation tools—from Adobe Firefly to Adobe Experience Manager—to assist in the ideation and refinement of marketing assets, the need to show return-on-investment has also heightened. Brands can address this by matching AI-generated content with customer preferences, while creating a feedback loop through actionable insights. These AI innovations address key pain points in brands’ content supply chains by ensuring that campaigns can be adjusted and optimized in real time. Adobe’s latest solutions enable brands to drive greater performance and meet business goals for customer engagement. New offerings across Adobe Experience Cloud will enable teams to personalize, test and measure AI-generated content. With Adobe Content Analytics, actionable insights will pinpoint specific content attributes that resonate most with target audiences, informing what teams create in the future. In Adobe Experience Manager, real-time experimentation capabilities on the web—a digital front door for many brands—will direct visitors towards AI-generated variants that are driving the best conversion.

Google added encryption to a core advertising product intended to secure an advertiser's customer information during a time when more data is being used to serve personalized ads. The technology, turned on by default, also ensures transparency into a product’s code and the ability to receive proof -- known as “attestation” -- that data is processed as intended. It is the first time the technology -- which Google calls confidential computing -- has been used in Google's advertising products, but the company plans to bring it to more products over time.

Media buyers expect to spend 11.8% more on ads in 2024 -- up 2.3 percentage points from the 9.5% they projected last November. Paid search is forecast to rank third in terms of percentage of growth behind connected television (CTV) and social media.

At a time when some industry insiders have begun ruminating about the possibility of another downturn, the U.S. ad market got its third quarter off on a very high note, posting a nearly 14% year-over-year expansion in July. Significantly, that compares with a nearly 7% expansion for the same month a year ago, indicating the double-digit gains aren't about easy comps, but signal material growth. Whether the data from Guideline's just-refreshed U.S. Ad Market Tracker proves to be more of a lagging indicator, is not clear, but July 2024 also represents the 15th consecutive month of marketplace expansion, and is the best one since the U.S. ad market pulled out of a mini recession.

Siding against Google, a federal appellate court on Tuesday revived a privacy lawsuit brought by Chrome users who said the company wrongly gathered information about their web-browsing activity. In a unanimous 23-page decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers's determination that the plaintiffs consented to Google's alleged practices, which she said were disclosed in various privacy policies. The appellate panel ruled that questions regarding Chrome users' consent to data collection require further analysis, and sent the case back to Rogers for additional proceedings.

Consumers exhibited caution with their spending in July. Although there was an increase in sessions for many retailers, this did not translate into higher sales, with order volumes remaining flat. Overall, U.S. retail sales grew modestly by 0.74% month-over-month, indicating that while consumers continue to spend, they are doing so carefully. The July jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also painted a mixed picture of the U.S. labor market, further highlighting consumer restraint in discretionary spending. Apparel and Outdoor brands outperformed many Home and Specialty retailers, buoyed by the back-to-school season and the Olympics, respectively. Nevertheless, demand appears constrained across verticals. In this challenging environment, refining strategies to enhance customer conversion rates and focus on improving customer lifetime value (LTV) will be crucial.

In a defeat for Meta Platforms, a federal appellate court late last week left in place a recent decision allowing Facebook and Instagram advertisers to proceed with a class-action fraud lawsuit over inflated metrics. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, Meta must now face a class-action on behalf of all U.S. advertisers who used Facebook's Ad Manager or Power Editor to purchase ads on Facebook or Instagram after August 15, 2014. Meta hasn't yet said whether it will ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. The battle between Meta and the advertisers dates to 2018, when business owner Danielle Singer alleged in a class-action complaint that Facebook induced advertisers to purchase more ads, and pay more for them, by overstating the number of users who might see the ads.

Rising postal rates pose a significant challenge for industries that rely heavily on direct mail. However, increased costs don’t have to spell the end of your direct mail strategy. With a few strategic adjustments and considerations, brands can offset these higher rates while continuing to achieve their marketing goals. Here are some strategies to consider: 1. Optimize Mail Specifications - Postal rates often vary based on the size, weight, and format of your mail. By designing your mail pieces to fit cost-effective dimensions, you can reduce postage expenses. 2. Purchase Paper Directly from Midland - Paper costs can make up a significant portion of your direct mail budget. One effective way to manage these costs is by purchasing paper directly from Midland. 3. Utilize Postal Discounts and Programs - Take advantage of postal discounts and incentive programs offered by postal services. For example, USPS often has promotions that can help reduce costs. 4. Test and Analyze Campaigns - Regularly test various aspects of your direct mail campaigns—such as design, copy, offers, and targeting criteria. Use the results from these tests to refine and optimize future campaigns. 5. Invest in High-Quality Creative - Eye-catching, high-quality designs can significantly boost response rates. Unlike website or email designs, direct mail benefits from professional, compelling visuals and copy.

The controversial Kids Online Safety Act, which was passed by the Senate earlier this week, reportedly will not move forward in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill aimed to address potential harms associated with social media use by teens, including depression, eating disorders, and online bullying. The measure would have required tech platforms to guard against those harms when implementing design features such as personalized recommendations, notifications and appearance-altering filters.

The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would impose sweeping restrictions on tech companies' ability to serve content to minors and handle their data. But the measure's fate is uncertain, given that it's expected to face opposition in the House of Representatives. The Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, approved 91-3, combines two previously separate bills -- the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), introduced by Senators Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana).

As a creative agency, we often get asked “Where do your ideas come from?” The truth is that sitting behind a desk makes creative ideas harder to come by. For real creative inspiration, it’s important to change your view. Get up, get out of the office, take in a sunset, or simply take a walk. The ideas will start to flow. See video at: https://jschmid.com/get-out-to-get-creative-inspiration/

Advertisers tapping into retail media networks (RMNs) continue to struggle with performance, data and metrics, mainly because methods are inconsistent, making comparisons across RMNs and other media platforms challenging. The insights were published by the ANA on Wednesday in its second report. This year, the organization titled it Retail Media Network: Optimism Tempered with Caution. Some 55% of marketers emphasize the need for RMNs to meet advertiser measurement standards, with it ranking as the No. 1 challenge for them, followed by 48% citing attribution to sales, and 40% said timeliness of data and analytics.

As we prepare for the Holiday season and consider last-minute changes to our media spend, it’s essential to ask: Can print media be a digital champion? Overwhelmingly, the data tells us YES. Print campaigns are often perceived as more credible and trustworthy than digital ads. This trust translates into a stronger brand presence and higher engagement when audiences encounter the brand online. Print media also has a lasting presence; customers and prospects may keep the printed piece for weeks, providing ongoing brand exposure and serving as a reminder that drives people to engage with the brand digitally. Moreover, shoppers tend to spend more time with print media compared to digital ads, which are often skimmed or skipped. This higher engagement can lead to better recall and a stronger inclination to explore the brand online. Just think of our own shopping experiences around digital ad fatigue. Digital and Meta channels are saturated with ads, leading to ad fatigue. Print campaigns faces less competition, allowing your message to stand out and capture attention more effectively.

Google said on Monday that it will scrap its years-long efforts to eliminate third-party cookies on Chrome. The search company plans to keep third-party cookies for those who don’t want to disable them, but will roll out a new solution that gives people a choice of how and when to protect their privacy in Chrome. They can adjust that choice at any time. "We're discussing this new path with regulators, and will engage with the industry as we roll this out," Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox, wrote in a blog post published Monday. Developers will continue to have access to Privacy Sandbox APIs, so they can invest in them to further improve privacy and utility.

The apparel sector shows strong demand compared to other industries experiencing subdued or stable demand. Despite this, all sectors saw increased consumer engagement in June. The rise in website sessions, alongside flat demand, indicates heightened consumer interest. However, fewer orders may reflect economic uncertainties despite a 3.38% increase in average order values from the previous year, suggesting cautious consumer spending. Businesses should adopt strategies to capitalize on consumer engagement while navigating economic challenges for sustained growth. Economists anticipate a slowdown and speculate on potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts by September. The upcoming 2024 presidential election introduces financial and investment uncertainties, with J.P. Morgan Wealth Management discussing these implications and emphasizing sector-specific impacts like finance and healthcare. Despite short-term market volatility, the long-term effects of elections on markets and the economy remain unpredictable, urging investors to maintain a stable, long-term financial strategy.

Google researchers warn in a report that "mass production of low quality, spam-like and nefarious synthetic content" created by AI may promote distrust of all digital information. The paper presents tactics in generative AI (GAI) misuse. The researchers observed and analyzed approximately 200 incidents of misuse reported between January 2023 and March 2024. The group identifies patterns such as potential motivations, strategies, and how attackers leverage and abuse system capabilities across images, text, audio, and video.

Adobe announced the general availability of Adobe Content Hub with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Assets. AEM Assets is the leading digital asset management system (DAM) used by brands to manage their entire library of images, videos and other content that drives the creation of marketing campaigns and digital experiences. AEM Assets is used by the majority of the Fortune 50, including 8 of the 10 largest media companies, 9 of the 10 largest financial services companies and 8 of the 10 largest retailers. Customers worldwide include ASICS, Cisco, The Coca-Cola Company, Henkel, Prudential Financial, T-Mobile and Volkswagen. Content Hub enables brands to reimagine how creative assets are used across their organization and with external partners, driving major efficiency gains. With a new easy-to-use interface, teams have every brand-approved asset at their fingertips while being able to access an all-in-one design tool through Adobe Express and Firefly generative AI — directly in the existing flow of work. Content Hub also removes inefficiencies by ensuring proper asset reuse and resolving any inconsistencies, while providing usage analytics and governance controls for sensitive launches. With Content Hub, brands can optimize a key component of their content supply chain, the end-to-end business process every company needs to deliver content required for marketing campaigns and personalized customer experiences.

Direct mail is considered by consumers to be the most trustworthy of all marketing channels. It is extremely important to create copy, calls to action and offers with honesty. This is not the time for a bait and switch or a poorly worded offer that is interpreted wrong. Direct mail is about respect. Respecting the recipient’s intelligence, as well as their time is very important. That is why we strive to help client’s create targeted offers consumers want to receive. I like the quote by James E. Faust “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living and truth loving.” Can your customers count on you to help them create direct mail pieces that are honest?

Despite economic challenges like inflation, consumer engagement remains strong, supporting our positive outlook for 2024. While we expect a temporary slowdown in the economy, there are still consistent growth opportunities across various sectors. While apparel demand remains vigorous, demand in other sectors appears relatively stagnant compared to the previous year. Nonetheless, all sectors witnessed a notable uptick in consumer engagement throughout May. The surge in sessions underscores heightened consumer interest, yet the decline in demand and orders suggests possible financial constraints or economic uncertainties tempering purchasing intentions.

The festive atmosphere at Cannes may have been cooled a bit during a panel, titled “Trust and the Future of Media,” presented during Day 3 of Bloomberg Media’s Cannes Lions programming. “Winter is coming from a data privacy standpoint,” said Tracy-Ann Lim, chief media officer at JPMorgan Chase. Lim urged listeners to bring the right people to the table when trying to comply with regulatory bodies, saying the parties should realize “that you don’t know what you don’t know.” GroupM’s CEO North America Sharb Farjami added that “consumers now see data as a case of ownership,” and that there are now more questions about what brands are doing with that “property.”

Bloomberg Media provided robust sessions during Day 2 of its “Good Business” programming at BOBO Bistro in Cannes. In one session, titled, “Balancing Speed and Responsibility: AI and Marketing in 2024," speakers said marketers must understand the technology, according to a summary of the event provided by Bloomberg. Doug Martin, chief brand and disruptive growth officer at General Mills, stated that it’s no longer “possible to be a successful CMO … without having a close relationship with your CTO.” But Martin and others cautioned against rushing things.

The self-regulatory privacy organization Digital Advertising Alliance on Wednesday plans to unveil a downloadable browser extension that will enable people to opt out of receiving behaviorally targeted ads -- meaning ads selected for web users based on their activity across sites or apps. The tool, which is still undergoing testing, initially will be compatible with the four largest browsers -- Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox, Microsoft's Edge and Apple's Safari. The new mechanism eventually will also give users the choice between rejecting all behavioral targeting, or accepting targeted ads in certain categories -- such as automotive, travel or pets.

A federal appellate court has revived a lawsuit by two Meta Platforms users who say they lost money after responding to fraudulent ads on Facebook. The ruling, issued last week by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, allows Oregon resident Christopher Calise and Nebraska resident Anastasia Groschen to attempt to prove that the company violated its terms of service by allegedly failing to police Facebook ads placed by third parties. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by Calise and Groschen in 2021, when they accused the company of soliciting fraudulent ads from advertisers based in China.

The tech industry group TechNet, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations are urging lawmakers to revise a proposed federal privacy law by more sweepingly overriding state privacy statutes. The proposed American Privacy Rights Act “falls short of creating a uniform national standard due to its inadequate federal preemption of the ever-growing patchwork of state privacy laws,” the groups say in a letter sent this week to leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. As currently written, the proposed law appears to require businesses to allow consumers to opt out of online behavioral advertising -- meaning ads served based on cross-site and cross-app data. The current iteration also would require data brokers to let consumers opt out of data collection, and request deletion of their data. The measure additionally would allow consumers to sue over violations.

The latest quarterly results from JICMAIL reveal that 6% of mail (including Direct Mail, Business Mail, Partially Addressed Mail and Door Drops) prompted a purchase in Q1 2024, while the average amount of time spent with a piece of Direct Mail across 28 days climbed to 134 seconds. JICMAIL – The Joint Industry Currency for Mail – has revealed that while the UK economy grappled with the recovery from a technical recession, those advertisers who maintained their confidence in the mail channel were rewarded with 43% year on year growth in purchases driven by mail.

Hearst Magazines, the world’s largest lifestyle publisher, announced the launch of AURA, a revolutionary, first-party ad targeting tool that utilizes proprietary AI-enabled technology and multi-dimensional contextual, behavioral and commerce signals to connect advertisers to their most valuable and engaged customers at scale. The announcement was made by Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella and Global Chief Revenue Officer Lisa Ryan Howard. AURA analyzes and activates Hearst’s broad and deep portfolio of first-party data and hundreds of millions of purchase actions from Hearst’s 145 million monthly visitors across its portfolio of more than 25 U.S. brands. The next-gen tool — which leverages a new, proprietary content taxonomy and sophisticated AI — provides a more comprehensive picture of a user than ever before and makes predictive and informed decisions about which ads to serve. The tool will expand globally across Hearst’s 50 brands and 300 million users in late 2024.

If you thought the punchline was going to be a Wanamaker paraphrase, "the trouble is I don't know which two-thirds," you might be right. But the point of this column is that AI-enabled media-buying now has a benchmark -- 69.5% -- according to GroupM, which devoted a chunk of its mid-year update to calculating that figure. It also updated its own internal estimate for when AI-enabled media buys will top 90%. "Two years ago, we said we would pass 90% by 2032. We are now going to hit more than 90% in 2029, three years earlier than we had previously predicted based off of just how quickly this space is growing and how quickly tools are being incorporated," GroupM Global President of Business Intelligence Kate Scott-Dawkins late last week said during a press briefing ahead of today's update release.

The postal price increases in the near term have proven to be a failure. The USPS modeling predicted that revenue would increase and demand wouldn't fall. However, the data tells a different story. In 2023, revenue of “marketing mail” decreased by $920 million and volume decreased by 7.7 billion pieces. The USPS produced and relied on an economic model that proved to be wrong. Mail volume fell for “marketing mail” and the result was a loss in top-line revenue and a bottom-line loss of $1.6 billion. These losses prove that the postage increases were counterproductive and need to be rolled back. The USPS is a classic fixed cost business where incremental volume is highly profitable because the increased volume has little incremental cost. The postage increases for marketing mail clearly resulted in the huge volume declines between 2022 and 2023. The losses from volume declines were not made up by the postage increases.

The U.S. ad market expanded for its 13th consecutive month in April, rising 9.1% over the same month in 2023, according to the latest installment of data from Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. April also in the first month in quite some time to post an increase on top of a prior year increase, albeit a modest one: April 2023 was up 0.7% over April 2022. That said, the data indicates the U.S. ad market is well past its recessionary period and fully into an expansionary mode, with recent months rising at high single-digit increases or approach of surpassing double-digit ones.

Lawmakers on a House subcommittee on Thursday advanced a draft privacy bill that would impose sweeping nationwide restrictions on companies' ability to collect and use data. The American Privacy Rights Act -- introduced in both chambers last month by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), and revised earlier this week -- now moves to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which could make additional changes. The current version of the bill appears to require businesses to allow consumers to opt out of online behavioral advertising -- meaning ads served based on cross-site and cross-app data. The original version had language that would have either required companies to obtain opt-in consent for behavioral advertising, or banned online behavioral advertising altogether.

Federal lawmakers have made some advertiser-friendly revisions to a bipartisan privacy bill that would regulate the collection and use of consumers' data. Among other changes, the new draft of the bipartisan proposed American Privacy Rights Act, unveiled late Tuesday, appears to require businesses to allow consumers to opt out of online behavioral advertising -- meaning ads served based on cross-site and cross-app data. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce is scheduled to mark up the bill on Thursday. The new language relating to online behavioral advertising is less restrictive than language in the original version, which was introduced last month by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington). That version, widely considered ambiguous, would have either required companies to obtain opt-in consent for online behavioral advertising, or banned such advertising altogether, depending on interpretation.

There are many times when customers reach out to us to help them increase their response rates. When that happens, the first question is “What was the response rate on your last mailing?” Now you would think after 32 years in the business that the standard response to this question would no longer shock me, however that is not the case. When I hear “I am not sure”, I cringe. In 2024, how can they not know what the response rate was? They need to know this information. So, let’s take a look at what the 2024 Lob State of Direct Mail found: > 84% of marketers agree direct mail provides the highest ROI of any channel they use. > 82% of respondents are increasing direct mail spend in 2024. > Personalized URLs are the most popular way to measure conversions from direct mail campaigns. > Letters and postcards are the most popular direct mail format sent by respondents followed closely by brochures, catalogs, and self-mailers. One key takeaway is that direct mail response rates are higher than all digital media in the study. Direct mail can benefit the marketing mix, but you need to know their numbers so that you can keep doing what works and fix what is not working.

Following a sluggish trend, shopper activity remained subdued in April. Although demand for apparel remained robust, other sectors experienced declines compared to the previous year. Despite economic challenges such as inflation, consumer engagement persists, contributing to our optimistic outlook for 2024. While the economy is expected to slow in the upcoming months, steady growth is still anticipated throughout the year. The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales will increase 2.5% to 3.5% in 2024, signaling a return to pre-pandemic growth levels. Monitoring this trend closely, especially as we transition into Q2, will be crucial.

Siding with Amazon, a federal appellate court refused to revive a class-action complaint alleging that the company wrongly targets ads to consumers based on their interactions with Alexa-enabled devices. In an unsigned opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein's ruling that Amazon notified users about its practices in a privacy policy. “The district court correctly found that Amazon disclosed the relevant conduct in its privacy notice,” Circuit Judges Danielle Forrest, Patrick Joseph Bumatay and District Court Judge James Donato wrote.

The Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE), which in February announced it was expanding its curriculum and certification program to include so-called "greenwashing" prevention, this morning unveiled a new "Greenwash Prevention Toolkit" to help individuals and companies in the ad industry avoid the practice. The toolkit includes a new "Environmental Advertising Integrity Checklist," a guide on "Prevention Mechanisms," and a template for planning strategies over windows ranging from 30-days to one year.

Vermont lawmakers early Saturday morning passed a comprehensive privacy bill that would limit the amount of data that companies can collect, impose restrictions on online ad targeting, and allow consumers to bring private lawsuits in some circumstances. If enacted, the bill would require companies to enable consumers to opt out of targeted advertising -- meaning ads served based on non-sensitive data collected across distinctly branded sites or apps. The measure also would explicitly obligate companies to honor opt-outs made through mechanisms like the Global Privacy Control, which transmits opt-out requests to every site consumers visit.

The very first thing that direct mail needs to do in the mailbox is catch people’s attention. Many times, customers need help to create the most effective direct mail. We can help them by making suggestions on ways to create an eye-catching mail piece. There are many options out there for you to choose from. Five Eye-Catching Ideas: 1. Foil Stamping: In a study by the Foil and Specialty Effect Association they wanted to determine what would make products stand out on a shelf with similar products. 2. Embossing: When you bring lift to your mailer with embossing you are able to add dimension and pop. 3. Texture: There are many options for adding texture to paper. You can purchase paper that comes textured such as laid, linen, vellum and mottled. 4. Smell: Adding scent can be really fun. Scent can easily trigger good as well as bad memories. 5. Ink: There is a wide variety of reactive inks now that can really catch the eye.

Over the last several years, we’ve seen catalogs come and go. And we’ve seen many retailers jump into the game, spend a LOT of money (we’re talking tens of millions of dollars) and then abandon the model after a couple of seasons. This literally breaks my heart and makes me want to scream! Why does this happen? Here is my very quick opinion. These brands have a combination of the following: 1. A flawed merchandise concept that is not unique, delivered with out-of-date benefits or sent to an audience the brand knows nothing about. 2. Bad math that doesn’t take into account mail efficiencies, an understanding of their own database, mailing to bad names at the wrong time or how the catalog model fits into a cross-channel world. 3. A lack of understanding of how to create a landscape of words and imagery that truly sell off the page and drive activity to either a website or store.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Thursday signed a privacy law that imposes tough new restrictions on online data collection and ad targeting. Major ad industry groups had urged Moore to veto the measure, which the groups said includes “the most onerous and restrictive approach to data privacy in the United States to date.” “The bill’s limitations on data collection are likely to result in significant degradation of beneficial products and services for Maryland consumers and harm local businesses,” the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Advertising Federation and Digital Advertising Alliance wrote in a letter sent to Moore last month.

If one clear trend is dominating marketing, it’s personalization. In fact, personalization is now considered essential for any brand that wants to stand out with consumers and successfully nurture customer relationships. A recent study by Salesforce found that 73% of shoppers expect brands to understand their unique needs and expectations.1 The best way to demonstrate this understanding of individuality among consumers is by creating marketing messages that apply to the recipient and are engaging in their presentation. Personalized print took a big stride forward with the advent of variable data printing capabilities. At one time, simply adding the customer’s name to printed materials was impressive. Today, marketers are using much more sophisticated approaches than simple text substitution.

Redesigning a logo is a monumental task not meant for the faint-hearted. From the font choices to the use of graphics to choices of color and style, this critical piece of a brand identity conveys much about your brand at a glance. So, it’s important to spend time and attention consideration for each choice. Recently, a UK brand made history with a logo update. What made it noteworthy? In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Lyle’s Golden Syrup as the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging, making their redesign the end of a 140-year-old reign. Feedback on the redesigned packaging was not kind, with commenters comparing the new logo to a poorly designed Starbucks knockoff.

The U.S. ad market expanded for its 11th consecutive month in March -- rising 4.3% over March 2023 -- according to the latest monthly installment of Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Smaller ad categories outpaced the growth of the top categories by a margin of nearly four-to-one. While the top 10 increased spending only 1.9% over March 2023, all other categories expanded 7.9%. March's growth was also due to a massive increase in digital vs. traditional media ad spending.

The U.S. ad market expanded for its 11th consecutive month in March -- rising 4.3% over March 2023 -- according to the latest monthly installment of Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Smaller ad categories outpaced the growth of the top categories by a margin of nearly four-to-one. While the top 10 increased spending only 1.9% over March 2023, all other categories expanded 7.9%. March's growth was also due to a massive increase in digital vs. traditional media ad spending.

Google has once again delayed the death of the third-party tracking cookie in its Chrome browser. This is the third reprieve Google has given cookies since it first promised to phase them out in 2020. The next year, it pushed the date back to 2023 and then delayed it again to 2024. In its latest postponement, Google said in a blog, “we envision proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting early next year.” The search giant seemed on its way to phasing out cookies earlier this year after it cut off access to 1 percent of cookies in January. However, how and when Google would phase out a greater percentage of cookies was never clear, multiple ad industry insiders said. Total Retail's Take: This is interesting news for retailers, and particularly their marketing teams, which rely on third-party cookies to identify and track customer behavior on their websites.

A study released today by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) reveals that 91% of marketers with print marketing programs are embracing strategic integration of print and digital channels in 2024. Of those, 51% describe their print and digital marketing channels as “closely integrated and tightly coordinated.” The Print Impact Report, the company’s latest annual printing industry report, compares how 300+ marketing decision makers are planning, executing, and adjusting their strategies as well as integrating technologies into print marketing campaigns. The Print Impact Report found marketers are embracing technology to support their print campaigns, with 31% of marketers planning to use AI to support their print marketing efforts and 32% already using the technology. The study also found that 39% of marketers have adopted web-to-print technology, citing the following main advantages: reduced costs through on-demand printing (50%), personalization and customization of the message (37%), improved efficiencies and streamlined workflow (36%) and enhanced brand consistency (31%).

Two Midwest summer mainstays joined forces on a new product bringing together two flavors long associated with each other. Wisconsin brand beer Leninenkugel’s and sausage company Johnsonville partnered on the Summer Shandy Beer Brat, a grilling sausage infused with the flavor of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy (a shandy is a style of beer mixed with lemonade). The beer brats will be available for sale through late July at participating retailers across 19 states in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast. Johnsonville is also making it available for sale to consumers outside these regions through its website, while supplies last. It’s a partnership with an air of inevitability, bringing together two brands often served alongside each other.

Bipartisan lawmakers on Sunday unveiled a discussion draft of a sweeping privacy bill that could restrict companies' ability to serve targeted ads to consumers. The proposed American Privacy Rights Act of 2024, introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and House Energy And Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), would require companies to allow consumers to opt out of targeted advertising based on non-sensitive data that is linkable to individuals or devices. The measure would also prohibit companies from transferring consumers' “sensitive” data for targeted advertising without their explicit consent.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) announced that RRD GO Creative℠ was listed as a Major Contender on Everest Group’s Marketing Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2024 for the second consecutive year. RRD GO Creative advanced its position within the group of Major Contenders based on continued investments in technology and an increased scale and scope of solutions, including the use of data for better targeting and optimizing campaigns. The Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment aims to assist providers, enterprises, and technology vendors in understanding the current state of the marketing service provider landscape. “This recognition by Everest Group validates RRD GO Creative’s best-in-class services and solutions, which assist our clients in telling compelling stories, leveraging data, and fine-tuning strategies to increase their return on investment,” said Kiran Shankar, President, RRD GO Creative.

At Adobe Summit – the world’s largest Digital Experience Conference – Adobe announced major product innovations that will empower brands to optimize their entire content supply chain with generative AI. For most organizations, their content supply chain – the end-to-end business process that every company needs to deliver the content required for marketing campaigns and personalized customer experiences – is a web of disconnected workflows, teams and systems that often break down. At the same time, the demand for content that is personalized and engaging is exploding. Adobe has an integrated set of best-in-class products to help companies automate and optimize their content supply chain. With Adobe GenStudio, Adobe will be releasing a new generative AI-first offering that lets marketing teams quickly plan, create, manage, activate and measure on-brand content.

In February, there was significant growth in online activity, with sessions up by 12% year-over-year (YOY), indicating increased traffic to the platform. Additionally, orders surged by 19% YOY, reflecting a substantial rise in purchases made through the website or service. Moreover, demand saw a remarkable increase of 23% YOY, indicating heightened interest and consumer engagement with the products or services offered. With February coinciding with the start of tax season in many regions, the surge in online activity towards the end of February may also be attributed to consumers seeking everyday purchases, paying off debt, home improvement and vacations. This presents an opportunity for targeted marketing efforts tailored towards addressing tax-related needs and offering relevant solutions. Leveraging this seasonal trend, businesses can further capitalize on the increased demand and drive engagement through strategic promotions and messaging.

LocaliQ, Gannett Co., Inc.’s Digital Marketing Solutions business, successfully achieved Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II audit and certification, which validates LocaliQ’s robust controls, effective risk management and adherence to industry best practices. LocaliQ is an all-in-one marketing platform used by local businesses across the country to attract, convert and retain customers. The certification provides a greater level of trust for both current and prospective business partners and customers after an extensive review which evaluated LocaliQ’s control design, implementation and operating effectiveness. Designed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the SOC 2 Type II auditing procedure examines a company’s commitment to data privacy and information security standards through five key criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. Obtaining SOC 2 Type II certification demonstrates rigorous safeguards protecting clients’ sensitive information and reassures stakeholders that client data is in capable hands.

Dilly dilly. I’m lovin’ it. Get a Mac. Why is it so easy to rattle off the brands that introduced us to these catchphrases? Because Bud Light, McDonald’s and Apple are among the best at telling stories, catching us off guard and even making us laugh. They understand the power of a campaign and how disruptive a “big idea” can be. And how powerful it can be—helping us consider their products for the first time, or again in a whole new way. But for a campaign to reach—and disrupt—the most people, it must be executed across all touchpoints (in digital and in print).

Direct mail can be a very powerful marketing tool for your customers. How do you communicate that to them? Obviously, direct mail is not the be all and end all for marketing. However, it is an important channel to utilize in conjunction with other marketing channels. Direct mail can even give a lift in online engagement. Let’s look at how they should use direct mail to shine. 10 Best ways to use direct mail: 1. Counter a competitive offer: 2. Generate Traffic: 3. Customer acquisition or referrals: 4. Generate sales leads: 5. Building brand awareness: 6. Customer loyalty: 7. Announcements: 8. Cross sell or upsell: 9. Combining mailings with other companies: 10. Augmenting other media efforts. 85% of marketers say direct mail delivers the best conversion and response rate of all their marketing channels.

Advertisers still rely on third-party cookies for programmatic, with retail becoming the largest programmatic buyer on the programmatic. Although Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies by the end of 2024 and fully implement the Privacy Sandbox, its targeting cookie alternative, the industry is far from prepared. Despite several setbacks, the industry continues to move forward. The larger programmatic spenders have shifted more investments to cookie alternative traffic to test and analyze performance before third-party cookies disappear.

Are you a faceless brand? Are you talking to your customer in an authentic, meaningful way? Studies in neuroscience have proven that 95% of all buying decisions are driven by emotion, not logic. We’re all drawn to products or brands for much deeper, primal reasons. Hear from J.Schmid President and CCO, Brent Niemuth, on what those primal reasons are and what you and your brand can do to appeal to deeper emotional instincts.

Even as U.S. consumer price inflation has begun moderating, advertisers and planners and buyers are seeing their costs move in the opposite direction -- especially for TV and "print" media -- according to just-released first quarter media price inflation estimates form ECI Media Management. While TV ad costs continue to be under water and moving in a deflationary direction, the erosion of TV ad pricing power has improved from -5.1% in 2023 to -3.1% this year, according to ECI's tracking. Despite improvements in TV, newspaper and magazine prices, the overall cost of U.S. media has declined from a 1.5% inflation rate in 2023 to a 1.4% rate in 2024, with the main drivers being digital and out-of-home media, though radio has been inching up too.

Two thousand twenty four has gotten off on an upward start, with U.S. ad spending rising 4.3% over January 2023, according to just-updated data from Guideline's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Sequentially, January was the 10th consecutive month to post a gain, signaling an end to the U.S. ad recession beginning with the second quarter of 2023. The momentum continues to come from smaller ad categories, which in aggregate, rose 5.3% over January 2023, which compares with an aggregate gain of 3.7% for the top 10 ad categories.

Your customer’s direct mail is not effective if their recipients don’t read it. The first thing that direct mail needs to do is get noticed. This can be a real challenge. Direct mail is a very effective tool when done correctly. Do you help your customers stand out? The golden rule is list, design, and offer, generally in that order. However, if you stop to think about it, there is a reason for the golden rule. You need to help your customers send mail to the people who want it. Here are 5 ideas to get your direct mail campaign noticed: 1. Variable data messaging: Target the message to the individual or to grouped personas. 2. Use color envelopes: Color is inviting and not used often enough. 3. Use stamps: Many direct mail pieces use indicia’s for postage. 4. Use larger pieces: They can use up to a 6 x 10.5 self-mailer or a 6.125 x 11.5 postcard and still pay the lower letter size postage rate. 5. Add fun taglines: Get recipients excited about what they are going to find in the envelope.

The Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is expanding its role with a new program focused on the ethical use of environmental claims in advertising. The initiative, which expands on seminal discussions and webinars the IAE has hosted on potential ad industry liabilities related to greenwashing, is part of a new institute charter for greenwash prevention. The move expands on a variety of ethical education, training and certification programs related to advertising ethics, including the use of data, consumer targeting and messaging, and comes as the ad industry has been confronting liabilities for harmful marketing in other categories, including the opioid crisis.

Entering the New Year, consumers are adjusting to heightened prices, growing personal debt, and prevailing economic unpredictability, coming to terms with these conditions as the new standard. Nevertheless, this adaptation should not be misconstrued as indicating that consumers find themselves in an unchanged financial state compared to earlier times. Facing these hurdles, consumers have demonstrated remarkable fortitude, enthusiastically seeking out and taking advantage of New Year promotions. This consumer behavior has culminated in an unprecedented surge in sales for many businesses when comparing year-over-year figures.

Traditional search-engine volume and traffic to publisher sites is estimated to fall 25% in two years, with search marketing losing share to generative artificial intelligence (GAI) chatbots from Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI as well as other virtual agents, according to research published Monday. Alan Antin, vice president and analyst at Gartner, believes GAI tools will become the "substitute answer engines, replacing user queries that previously may have been executed in traditional search engines," forcing companies to rethink marketing channels and strategies. Organic and paid search remain vital channels for technology marketers seeking to reach awareness and demand-generation goals, according to data released in November 2023, but search and content generation is about to undergo massive changes.

CPG behemoth P&G saw its stock value increased today on the strength of its earnings report for the quarter ending with December, 2023, which included a 4% increase in organic sales. The company made it clear it considers its marketing investments an important ingredient in its growth. In an investors relations call, P&G Chairman, President and CEO Jon Moeller described the company’s strategy as being focused on “superior innovations that are driven by deep consumer insights.” He cited products such as Charmin Smooth Tear Ultra Soft and the Gillette Labs razor as examples of such innovation.

It’s difficult for marketers to adapt to most changes, especially those who have concerns about losing the ability to measure and track advertising campaigns. Attribution and measurement will look very different. “It’s been a good run for the cookie,” said Patrick Gut, vice president of U.S. at Adlook, an enterprise demand-side platform (DSP) focused on brand growth. “But when thinking through privacy concerns and legislation, it’s not about finding a transition away from browser tracking cookies, but finding a new way for digital marketing to operate.” The roots of Adlook, which launched in the U.S. about 1.5 years ago built on GDPR standards, originate from RTB House Group, a Polish advertising-technology company that specializes in targeted advertising.

You’ve probably seen Hydro Flask everywhere, on college campuses, hiking trails, and even around the campfire or climbing a mountain face. They’ve become a household name, which is impressive in a crowded competitive landscape with big-name brands and budget knock-offs. Hydro Flask, a digital-native brand, was ready to capitalize on its market position and expand into the catalog realm. They wanted to impact the holiday season and show people they’re more than just water bottles. They wanted something that could build on the success of their digital channels to reach their customers in a more powerful and tangible way. So they reached out to CohereOne and J.Schmid for help launching a catalog. Taking the leap to first-time cataloger is as dramatic as any adventure with a Hydro Flask bottle in your pack. It’s an exciting trek to build on their proven designs and draw in their customers in a new way. This catalog launch targeted holiday shoppers in Q4, allowing them to show off their full product line and connect with their loyal customers, showing them gifting opportunities and introducing them to new product lines. Read the Case study at: https://jschmid.com/portfolio/hydro-flask/

Google has officially begun to phase out third-party cookies by implementing a default browser feature called Tracking Protection. When activated, it will cut off a website’s access to third-party cookies. The browser feature began rolling out randomly to 1% of Chrome users globally today, marking the year’s first notable step toward privacy for consumers and third-party cookie deprecation for the industry. Marketers will adapt. “While it’s an adjustment for everyone, it’s actually a valuable move,” said Anthony Yell, Razorfish chief creative officer. “It might take some adjustment to communicate as effectively in a world with cookies, a world without cookies is a wonderful thing.”

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday proposed new restrictions on companies' ability to use behavioral advertising techniques to serve ads to children under 13. The proposal effectively would require operators of websites and apps to obtain opt-in consent from parents at least twice before serving behaviorally targeted ads to children. First, the companies would have to obtain parents' consent to collect children's personal data, including data stored in cookies or other pseudonymous identifiers; then, companies would have to separately obtain parents' consent before sharing that data for behavioral targeting purposes.

In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind boast, Cox Media Group claimed in marketing materials that it can use microphones in smartphones and other web connected devices to listen in on people's conversations, and then target ads to people based on those conversations. “It's True. Your Devices Are Listening to You,” the Cox Media Group (CMG) Local Solutions division wrote on a website (now archived) touting “active listening” technology. “With Active Listening, CMG can now use voice data to target your advertising to the EXACT people you are looking for.”

Just as U.S. consumer price inflation appears to be flattening out following a period of protracted increases, media price inflation paid by advertisers has moved in the opposite direction, according to a new quarterly update from ECI Media Management. The U.S. data estimates ad-supported media prices in the U.S. dropped sharply throughout 2023 -- from +6.6% in the first quarter to -5.1% in the second quarter. The analysis attributes U.S. ad-price deflation mainly to the impact of the Hollywood strikes, which have been settled, but won't impact the ad marketplace until the first quarter of 2024.

A study released today by R.R. Donnelley Sons & Company (RRD) revealed that marketers' preference for channels with proven return on investment more than doubled over the past year (38% compared to 15%). The Modern Marketers Report found that economic uncertainty, increasing privacy concerns, and consumer fatigue toward marketers’ digital strategies are driving the resurgence of “tried and true” marketing channels. In addition, managing vendors was reported as a more common top organizational challenge this year than it was in 2022 (23% compared to 7%). The Modern Marketers Report, the company’s fourth annual marketing industry report, compares 1,000+ US consumers’ purchasing behaviors and preferences and attitudes toward brands’ marketing tactics with how 500+ U.S.-based marketing professionals are planning, executing, and adjusting their strategies. “During the holiday shopping season, consumers are thinking twice before they open their wallets or provide their personal information to receive deals,” said Al duPont, Chief Commercial Officer at RRD. “Results from our latest report show that marketers pairing their most reliable channels with positioning that blends convenience and savings stand the best chance for fostering customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive market.”

IPG Mediabrands Magna unit this evening released the latest in a series of quarterly updates on the U.S. ad spending outlook, increasing its 2023 estimate up two-tenths of a point, and its 2024 projection up four-tenths of a point. Magna's 2023 estimate still is down dramatically from its first estimate published in June 2022, but has been climbing steady since it bottomed out at +2.5% in June 2023. Magna's 2024 estimate has climbed steadily since benchmarking it at +7.3% in June 2023.

The latest analysis of the effects of invalid traffic/IVT estimates that the problem will result in $72.37 billion in wasted ad spend in 2024 — up 33% from an estimated $54.63 billion wasted in 2022. The report, from marketing efficiency platform Lunio, was based on an analysis of 2.6 billion paid ad clicks and 104 billion impressions from more than 60,000 ad accounts across Lunio’s clients — all resulting from paid media campaigns — conducted between May 2022 and May 2023. The analysis found 8.5% of all paid traffic, and one in every 11.7 paid-traffic website visits, to be invalid.

“Direct marketing has evolved from a linear process to a delicate science of understanding how each channel plays a unique role in the customer journey,” says Stefanie Cortes, Director of Strategic Analysis, Direct Marketing, RRD. “As marketers continue to feel the pressure to deliver and prove ROI, it’s critical we provide our clients with verifiable methodologies that match messaging and touchpoint strategies to the individual preferences of their target audiences." With the direct mail channel being core to the DMG offering, this specialized group has developed a simplified three-phase approach — identify, create, deploy — that fuses audience insights and creative expertise with intentional delivery strategies to meet the needs of performance-minded marketers: *Identify, understand and prioritize the right audience *Create messaging and design that drives awareness and response *Deploy coordinated direct marketing campaigns via scheduled, automated or complete journeys

If you’re unsure about the answer to this question, I strongly advise you to pause for a moment and check. In light of the persistent rise in inflationary expenses, many brands are cutting back on their acquisition efforts without closely monitoring the potential shrinkage of their customer file. To illustrate this point, consider the case of one brand’s decision in 2022, which reduced its acquisition circulation by 34%, resulting in a 24% reduction in the 0-12M customer file. This reduction in the customer file meant they had fewer individuals to target with print materials throughout the year. Consequently, this contraction led to an estimated loss of $1,500,000 in top-line demand for 2023. There are many ways to dial in your acquisition efforts without aggravating your budget, but below are my top 5 strategies to consider as you plan 2024: read more at: https://cohereone.com/is-your-0-12-month-customer-file-shrinking/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=280440906&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--2RMCk0KRLkt8nQfXB5LCibiZOfPApH28buNWyQ4TmEgBnqOxHmPz76aYYMnO60Vqexl-n9Gv33ljTKJ9fvU8POCXtPpJmsno09JIHt5RBjxnUtkE&utm_content=280440906&utm_source=hs_email

The U.S. ad market rose just 0.1% in September vs. the same month a year ago, but it nonetheless marked the third consecutive monthly gain, following a protracted period of sequential declines. While not necessarily great news amid growing concerns that the macro economy remains uncertain, including speculation over another U.S. and possibly global recession, it's not terrible news either. And while this September was down 2.0% from September 2021, that year was the best September ever since Guideline began tracking the U.S. advertising marketplace.

Join Brent Niemuth, President, as he jet-sets across Europe's cultural highlights in a journey through the French Riviera, Italy, the Swiss Alps, and Spain. At each destination, Brent draws from local landmarks to reveal a unique facet of branding. From Madrid Spain, Brent encourages us to not only think about the past, but also the future. As a brand it’s important to know your history but it’s equally important to spend time talking about where your brand is going. Watch Video at: https://jschmid.com/branding-abroad-madrid-spain/

Reviewing email programs for the holiday season is crucial to ensure that your email marketing campaigns are optimized for this busy and competitive time of year. The holiday season presents a unique opportunity to engage with your audience, drive sales, and strengthen customer relationships. To make the most of this season, brands should ensure their email marketing efforts are well-prepared, strategic, and effective. Read more from our sister company, CohereOne, to learn the key areas to focus on during your holiday email program review. https://cohereone.com/is-your-email-program-ready-for-a-competitive-holiday-season/

Join Brent Niemuth, President, as he jet-sets across Europe's cultural highlights in a journey through the French Riviera, Italy, the Swiss Alps, and Spain. At each destination, Brent draws from the local landmarks to reveal a unique facet of branding. From Cinque Terre, Italy, Brent asks us, "What makes brands 'sticky'?" and outlines how brand assets can make or break your brand perception, using examples of iconic Italian brands. Watch video at: https://jschmid.com/branding-abroad-italy/

Last week, we discussed improving email programs to ensure retailers are ready for the busy holiday season. Today, let's dive deeper and explore strategies for maximizing eCommerce conversions during this critical time of year. To achieve goals, retailers must be strategic, customer-centric, and proactive. Below are some key strategies to consider as we aim to maximize holiday eCommerce conversions: 1. Incorporate shipping deadlines on the homepage and essential product pages. 2. Emphasize scarcity and urgency. 3. Maximize internal site search. 4. Testing and optimizing website speed is crucial, especially during high-traffic periods. There is more to this article at: https://cohereone.com/maximizing-holiday-ecommerce-conversions/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=278597570&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8s0V14TFsoW4bcfc7U2uB4fPcwxQPi7cDd6Prt3rI8oafZwwguolaVQ60O0C1zTInsqUhjYJGsKVd-RxFchTiPANisvwC816r4THwwwXIGMEv7e2k&utm_content=278597570&utm_source=hs_email

Google has built an ad-measurement tool that connects with marketers’ first-party data and is designed to work without browser cookies and other data tools that measure performance based on old methods. Google Ads Data Manager -- the measurement tool announced Wednesday -- will become available in Google Ads early next year. The product roadmap includes rolling it into other Google platforms as the company continues to streamline the management and use of first-party data. Advertisers will learn about connecting data sources and ensuring consumer data privacy as the advertising industry heads into the new year, and Google deprecates third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users globally in the first quarter of 2024.

Digital media is significantly expanding the opportunities for printed direct mail campaigns. NAPCO Research has launched a comprehensive report, Direct Mail and Digital Media: A Winning Omnichannel Marketing Combination, which explores the key drivers behind the increased effectiveness of direct mail, the methods through which digital media enhances its performance, and the fresh opportunities accessible to those in the direct mail printing industry. Evolution on many fronts has heightened the value of direct mail and strengthened opportunities for direct mail printers. Over 89% of direct mail users participating in a NAPCO Research survey currently integrate or plan to integrate digital media and direct mail. A top factor driving direct mail demand is the ability to boost its performance with digital media to create omnichannel campaigns.

Reviewing email programs for the holiday season is crucial to ensure that your email marketing campaigns are optimized for this busy and competitive time of year. The holiday season presents a unique opportunity to engage with your audience, drive sales, and strengthen customer relationships. To make the most of this season, brands should ensure their email marketing efforts are well-prepared, strategic, and effective. Here are some key areas to focus on during your holiday email program review: 1. Ensure that your automated feeds are actually on and working. 2. Abandon cart emails have one of the highest engagement and conversation rates. 3. Is your ESP capturing all abandoned cart / browse emails? 4. Incorporate a first-time buyer nurture series. Click Read More below for additional insight.

Customer loyalty is much more nuanced than points-based rewards programs! Explore five research-backed strategies with real-world examples from brands like Patagonia, Lego, Native and more. You'll walk away with a score of new ideas that you should embrace to drive true loyalty and connection. Lauren Ackerman, VP Client Strategy at J.Schmid will share insights related to customer loyalty and translate them to marketing tactics that will: • Use emotion to move your audience • Build a strong community with social media and in-person events • Refine the customer journey around the points of the purchase – online and offline, from triggered emails to the box experience • Turn error into opportunity by above-and-beyond handling of returns and mistakes • Prove you “know” them with customer journey messaging, personalization, versioning in direct mail and beyond. Register at: https://www.ana.net/membersconference/show/id/MOC-OCT23E6

Join Brent Niemuth, President, as he jet-sets across Europe's cultural highlights in a journey through the French Riviera, Italy, the Swiss Alps, and Spain. At each destination, Brent draws from the local landmarks to reveal a unique facet of branding. This time, Brent draws inspiration from the top of the Alps in Lausanne, Switzerland. Welcome to a series where culture meets branding insights, delivering quick and practical insights that redefine your understanding of brand identity and success. Watch video at: https://jschmid.com/branding-abroad-the-swiss-alps/

Join Brent Niemuth, President, as he jet-sets across Europe's cultural highlights in a journey through the French Riviera, Italy, the Swiss Alps, and Spain. At each destination, Brent draws from the local landmarks to reveal a unique facet of branding. This time, Brent draws inspiration from the iconic brands omnipresent in the French Riviera, like Hermes and Louis Vuitton, to draw parallels between brand perception and price. Watch Video at: https://jschmid.com/branding-abroad-the-french-riviera/

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – committed to protecting the world’s forests through sustainable forestry – is calling brands and consumers around the world to amplify the voice of forests. From September 23-29, the Forest Week campaign will empower individuals and businesses to help safeguard the world’s forests, and those that depend on them, by making positive shopping choices. This year’s theme, Trust the Tree, will highlight the key role forests play in fighting the climate and biodiversity crises. Forests sustain us, and sustainably sourced forest products can help ensure resilient, thriving forests for all, forever. Renowned global brands and retailers will partner with FSC, posting daily content across leading social platforms for the seven days of the campaign.

Understand the TWO Critical Factors that Influence Consumer Perception • Recognize that our brains are hardwired to make instant judgments based on deep human emotions • Learn how to establish loyalty based on how your brand is perceived • See examples of successful marketing efforts that have taken a more human approach. Don't miss it – This is sure to be an inspiring keynote! Register Now at: https://web.cvent.com/event/482ecfdd-3ebf-48a1-aeae-568b7d6929c0/regProcessStep1

Major ad organizations and other business groups are pressing to derail a bill that would enable residents to easily remove their information from every data broker registered with the state. In a recent letter to state lawmakers, the organizations argue that the Delete Act (SB 362) would hinder a wide variety of programs and services, including anti-fraud initiatives, loyalty programs and public interest research. “If passed, SB 362 would negatively impact Californians,” 19 groups including the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies, California Retailers Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and NetChoice. “Without data, companies would not be able to deliver critically important products and services consumers benefit from today, sometimes without even being aware of how this data supports their safety and enjoyment of everyday life.”

Any seasoned direct marketer the importance of understanding the numbers side of the business. You have to know both the left-brain (analytic) and right-brain (creative) rules for maximum success. My philosophy is “know the rules before you break them.” People often ask me for the most important direct marketing metrics. As we have evolved to a wider use of selling channels (Websites, e-mail campaigns, search engines, in-store selling), do the tried-and-true tenets of catalog marketing still hold up? see more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/5-crucial-omnichannel-metrics/

An alarming new study on click fraud should sober up both publishers and advertisers. Large percentages of clicks qualified as invalid traffic (IVT) in June 2023, according to Q2 2023 Global Click Fraud Benchmarks, a study by Pixalate. For starters, there was a 17% invalid click rate for all open programmatic advertising across desktop web, mobile web, and mobile in-app in June. In addition, there was a 21% invalid click rate for desktop web open programmatic advertising, a 16% invalid click rate for mobile web open programmatic ads and 13% invalid click rate for mobile app open programmatic ads. However, the 729x90 Leaderboard ad size drove an invalid click rate of 26% on mobile apps, twice that of the total mobile app invalid click average (13%). Moreover, 20% of all invalid clicks on mobile apps are now generated by click farms, the study says.

Invalid traffic (IVT) in open programmatic advertising averaged 17% globally across the desktop web, mobile web and mobile apps in this year’s second quarter, according to the latest report from fraud prevention/analytics firm Pixalate. The desktop web had the highest average IVT rate, at 21%, followed by the mobile web at 16% and mobile apps at 13%. Overall, 57% of invalid clicks were generated by click farms and datacenter IVT. On mobile apps, 20% of all invalid clicks were generated by click farms.

JICMAIL’s diary-based data captured from a panel of one thousand households every month reveals that in Q2 2023: *Mail continued to prove its value as a commercially effective marketing channel for advertisers with 9% growth year on year in the proportion of mail items prompting commercial actions among consumers, up to a level of 30.5%. *Mail proved its effectiveness at all stages of the customer journey: from driving brand discovery through brand discussions (up to 16% of mail in Q2 2023 from 14% in Q2 2022); to customer engagement through website visits (8% of mail); through to purchase fulfillment (up to 5% from 4% last year). *Given the continued challenges that the UK high-street faces in the cost-of-living crisis, it was noteworthy that mail recorded a 30% increase in effectiveness at driving consumer footfall in store.

The major ad organizations are urging California lawmakers to reject a bill aimed at enabling residents to easily remove their information from every data broker registered with the state. The California Consumer Privacy Act already allows people to request removal of their information from data brokers, but on a company-by-company basis. The new Delete Act (SB 362), introduced earlier this year by Senator Josh Becker, would require all data brokers in the state to honor an opt-out request made through a single mechanism. “Without data, companies would not be able to deliver critically important products and services consumers benefit from today, sometimes without even being aware of how this data supports their safety and enjoyment of everyday life,” the groups write.

Omnichannel Marketing Part 9: A Powerful Human Narrative - Garmin’s Women of Adventure campaign has been a bastion of the company’s sports, fitness and outdoor recreation division since it launched over 5 years ago. Recognizing the growing trend of predominantly male customers in their outdoor segment, Garmin launched an initiative focused on engaging the female community, proving that Garmin GPS and wearable tech can support and enhance their outdoor experiences. They started telling stories. Sharing photographs. Documenting adventures. All while inviting the fearless, persistent, and resilient women who live out their passions daily to engage with them across their platforms. By working with everyone from professional athletes to outdoor hobbyists, Garmin has created a space for women to engage with other women, whether they run, ride, sail, or anything in between. It’s a hook built on invitation, inclusivity, and a shared place to explore wide open spaces… together.

Advertising has long been a vector for nefarious actors ranging from organized crime to a variety of other bad actors, but the proliferation of digital media and especially the programmatic advertising marketplace has given rise to increasing opportunities for purveyors of "malvertising" -- digital ads served to unsuspecting users that spread malware, compromise computer systems and harm consumers, publishers and platforms. And while the magnitude has been difficult to benchmark, much less track, weakening advertising marketplace conditions are projected to accelerate the proliferation of malvertising, according to the first of what is planned to be an ongoing series of "threat assessment" reports published for the ad industry by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG).

Why are marketing campaigns so effective? What is the secret behind the good ones that people remember and talk about (REI’s “Opt Outside”)? Quite simply, a BIG IDEA. The best marketing and advertising over the decades have always been driven by a singular great idea (“Got Milk?”). A core idea that ties everything together. An idea that resonates with the audience and makes them think about your product or service in a different way. Remove that big idea and all you’re doing is selling products, just like the other brands. Blah. But when you build your marketing efforts around a campaign, and use that “big idea” consistently across all touchpoints, it’s more likely to get noticed, more likely to be remembered, and more likely to engage people on a human level. In other words, campaigns work.

Want to make a huge difference in response across all your channels? In this fast-paced digital era, capturing and retaining customer attention requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. But sometimes, we create complicated marketing programs without a true understanding of the consumer or what we ultimately want them to do. The formula for great marketing is quite simple. We must DISRUPT their busy lives, we must DELIGHT with content that emotionally resonates and most importantly, we must DRIVE them to do something. Disrupt: Breaking Through the Noise - In today’s oversaturated marketplace, capturing customer attention is an ongoing challenge. Delight: Creating Content that Emotionally Connects - What is it you are truly selling? It’s not about the product and it’s not always about the discount. Drive: Creating Immediate Action - While disruption and delight are essential, your goal in the omnichannel world is to drive customers to act.

Marketers and PR people are in a wary mood, judging by a new study from CommsCo PR. Of those polled, 55% are more stressed than they were this time last year, and 63% now say they are expected to do more with less. But they are pushing ahead — 58% are increasing their budgets, versus 26% who are reducing them. Another 16% are keeping their budgets the same. Meanwhile, 45% believe AI will drive more investment in marketing, while 34% believe it will lead to reductions. In addition, 65% say AI will drive a wave of productivity. Only 13% are nervous about AI.

Crafting memorable creative that will compel and delight an audience is likely the most challenging task in the campaign process. Without a creative, brand-right theme, the campaign won’t get traction and meet objectives. That said, coordinating and executing the big idea is just as important. If the campaign isn’t organized and executed well the investment will be wasted. Here are the five essential steps for getting a marketing campaign off the ground: 1. Get the channel leaders on board 2. Budgeting 3. Metrics 4. Coordinated launch 5. Assign a wrangler

Harry Quadracci founded the company 52 years ago this month. Harry’s son, Joel, is now CEO. He took over in 2006, as print continued its slow decline and before the great recession upended the global economy. “I did everything my father told me not to do, which was go public and buy broken down printing companies,” Quadracci told Adweek during Cannes Lions last month. It was Quadracci’s first time at the Festival of Creativity where the intersection of creative, brand, platform and production merge. It’s also the intersection Quad aims to transect with a rebrand resulting from a 15-year transformational journey. “For us, it was we better become the consolidator, or the consolidating is going to be done to us,” Quadracci said. While its roots are indelibly in print, Quad now calls itself a marketing experience company that aims to rid companies of wasteful processes.

Despite the fact that the retail landscape continues to undergo massive waves of post-COVID evolution, there are many things that still haven’t changed — like the fact that consumers continue to go to physical stores to shop and that the physical portion of retailers' businesses still command the largest share of their revenues by a very large margin. Despite this, many retailers still only focus on the e-commerce sales impacts of their digital marketing, and ignore the in-store sales impacts because it's “difficult to measure.” This myopic focus is costing them — a lot. Web analytics tools or the measurements provided by the large platforms like Google and Meta have always relied on clicks to tell the story of campaign value. However, with major privacy changes in the market made by Apple and coming soon from Google, any measurement approach that relies on tracking individual consumers has been dying a death of a thousand cuts. Even measuring digital ads’ impact on e-commerce is getting a lot harder.

Two Sides has written to the German retail group REWE about making misleading statements concerning the environmental impact of print communications. Two Sides, the global organisation dedicated to promotion of the sustainability of print, paper and paper packaging, has written to REWE following the German retail group’s published decision to cease production of its weekly promotional paper flyers from 1st July 2023. In a press release published in July 2022, REWE stated that: “This will have a huge impact on the environment, climate, and the sustainable use of resources, saving more than 73,000 tonnes of paper, 70,000 tonnes of CO2, 1.1 million tonnes of water, and 380 million kWh of energy per year.” Two Sides believes that these statements are sensational and misleading in terms of their environmental claims and the statistics used.

The U.S. Ad Market Tracker rose 2.5% in May -- the first expansion in 11 months. The expansion compares with the year-ago period that was only up modestly and is the best May since Standard Media Index began tracking it. The growth is the first material sign that the U.S. ad marketplace is pulling out of a recession that began in July 2022, based on the SMI data, which is derived from a pool of actual ad spending processed by the major agency holding companies and independent media services agencies.

If you want your business to survive in the coming months, focus is the name of the game. Consider conducting an omnichannel audit, an in-depth review of your business that will allow for the creation of a blueprint you can act on with focus rather than fear. A focused audit does not have to cost you anything more than time, mental energy and a collaborative attitude. Just remember that success is not immediate, and you must critique each of the silos within your business. Most companies begin by auditing their selling channels. Instead, you should go back to the basics. What are the ingredients of a successful direct marketing program? Veteran marketers would say it covers three categories: 1) marketing strategy 2) the offer and 3) creative, and we would agree! However, there’s an initial, critical component missing. As it’s the key foundation to any marketing effort, we must start with brand FIRST, prior to discussing and auditing those classic three.

Omnichannel success is all about breaking down barriers between channels and building cooperation. Every company that strives for omnichannel success is trying to change from being company-centric or channel-centric to being customer-centric. In a channel-centric company, one channel typically dominates the others. In this business model, the company is more important than the customer; everything revolves around improving sales and making more money for the company. Retailers think first and foremost of their stores; other channels are an afterthought. Pure-play catalog or ecommerce companies concentrate only on their method of selling. A customer-centric business is totally oriented toward the customer. Customers decide when, where, and how they wish to shop with the company. From the customer’s perspective: *The customers control the relationship. *Customer service is seamless across all channels. *Customers see a single face/identity/voice/brand from the company, regardless of channel. *Customers have the feeling that the company cares about them and works for their loyalty. *Most if not all merchandise is available from all selling channels.

Quad/Graphics, Inc., a global marketing experience (MX) company, is rolling out “Built on Quad.” This new campaign showcases Quad’s latest brand identity and marks the company’s first large-scale marketing and advertising effort in its 52-year history. Quad’s new brand campaign will run through digital, OOH, print, events, experiential, direct mail, sponsorship and sales assets. It will also be showcased at the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, including the Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. Quad provides end-to-end marketing solutions that removes friction wherever it occurs in the marketing journey for more than 2,900 clients, including Sirius XM, Amazon, the Albertsons Companies, and other major brands. The “Built on Quad” campaign focuses on the company’s strength as a one-stop partner for the modern marketer, and it also pays homage to its roots as one of the largest and most successful commercial printers in North America. The company produces over 765 billion pages and mails more than 8 billion direct mail pieces per year making Quad one of the USPS’ largest clients.

Chances are, you’re currently trying to reach your audience in a variety of ways. Maybe digital ads, search, social media, catalog, direct mail and your retail environment. What if you could tie all those efforts together with a single creative concept—a “Big Idea” that unifies all of those touchpoints? And what if that consistent message was delivered in such a unique and bold way that you now stood out from the competition? People now notice you. They remember you. And now they will consider you. THAT’S the power of a campaign. Learn more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/the-impact-of-omnichannel-integration/

Generative AI has been quickly absorbed by the marketing industry. According to a report from Botco.AI, after a short introduction period, 73% of marketers are now using AI tools. Of those still holding out, 31% expect to use it within a year, and 46% expect to within two years. Two-thirds of respondents who currently use AI say they do so for brainstorming sessions, first drafts and outlines. Forty-nine percent say they use AI to produce final content. The Botco report was based a survey of 1,000 B2B and B2C marketing professionals in March. Three-quarters of them were from companies with more than 100 employees.

Join us for our new series: Omnichannel Marketing. Mountains of data, endless options of ways to reach customers. No wonder marketers are overwhelmed. We work so hard to get their attention, but what happens once you have it? What are you going to say? In those precious few seconds, when you finally have their attention, what will your message be? That’s what we do at J.Schmid. We tell brand stories. We'd love a chance to help you tell yours. Watch Video at https://www.jschmid.com/blog/storytelling-and-songwriting/

Dotdash Meredith (DDM) has launched an ad targeting tool that it says provides intent-based targeting without cookies. The new product, D/Cipher, connects advertisers and consumers in key moments of intent across DDM’s 40+ brands, on all devices and platforms, the company claims. In addition, D/Cipher provides access to Apple (iOS) audiences. This group, which comprises more than 50% of U.S. digital users, has been unreachable by advertising cookies for the past two years.

Think paper isn't sustainable? Think again! We are super proud to be owned by a brand who believes in sustainability. MIDLAND has partnered with the World Land Trust, and their exciting Carbon Balanced Paper program. Ultimately this program helps protect endangered forests and threatened habitats. Learn more here. Thankfully, recycling has become almost a given in the corporate world and the majority of homes. But it's time to move into the new frontier, looking beyond recycling to tap more heavily into the other two, often overlooked R’s in the sustainability trio: reduce and reuse. These initiatives can reduce pollution and waste on the production side, while simultaneously giving consumers easier access to greener choices for their households, something that 88% of consumers reportedly want. As every business takes a different shape depending on operations and industry, finding ways to reduce and re-use at the corporate level is a complex and highly individual challenge. But some companies have found creative ways to limit their carbon footprint and give products a second life, forging the way for other companies to follow suit. So what can we learn from them? read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/the-overlooked-rs-reduce-and-reuse/

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a leading global provider of marketing, packaging, print, and supply chain solutions, earned recognition in Ad Age’s 79th Agency Report as one of the world’s biggest agencies. The 2023 report represents the fifth consecutive year RRD Marketing Solutions is featured in the agency report. Produced by Ad Age DataCenter, the industry’s most authoritative source of competitive intel, the Ad Age Agency Report includes listings of advertising, marketing services, and media agencies based on 2022 revenue.

The new research, which was carried out by environmental experts WSP, and commissioned by Marketreach, has produced a full carbon Life Cycle Assessment of mail. This is the first time Marketreach has looked in-depth at every element, from forest source to end-of-life, via the processing, design, production and delivery stages. It has found that, by taking every opportunity to regenerate, reinvent, reduce, reuse and recycle, mail can contribute to a circular economy, and be part of an effective marketing mix. *New industry-first study by WSP and Marketreach assesses full carbon lifecycle of mail and its contribution to a circular economy *Interactive online tool from Marketreach empowers commercial mail users to determine the carbon impact of different formats across the supply chain *Bold and disruptive creative campaign, including direct mail and out-of-home (OOH) launches today and throughout the planning and delivery teams have been considerate of the environment.

ChatGPT just arrived a few months ago, but the implications of generative AI can seem confounding to the average marketer. Here are a few ways marketers have found to use generative so far in 2023: Image generation: Tools such as Rosebud.ai and Midjourney can generate multiple versions of the same ad to try on various audiences. Notably, Heinz used OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 to create images of ketchup and it did so in a memorable fashion, in which all the images looked like Heinz bottles. Personalization: Using the traditional methods, creating personalized campaigns is often too much work, but generative AI has the promise of making personalization much easier.

As part of its ongoing efforts to help mitigate greenwashing on Madison Avenue, the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is exploring the creation of a new industry entity that would help develop common standard and guidelines the ad industry can use to self-regulate the practice. The entity, dubbed “Common Consortium for Greenwashing Prevention” (CCGP) was disclosed in a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission this morning, in response to the commission’s request for public comments to update the agency’s own “Green Guides” for the use of environmental marketing claims, which followed several congressional hearings last last year on the practice of greenwashing campaigns developed by major ad agencies and PR firms for fossil fuel marketers.

Montana lawmakers on Friday passed a privacy bill that gives state residents new rights to wield control over data about them, including the right to reject some forms of targeted advertising. Senate Bill 384 now heads to Governor Greg Gianforte for signature. Lawmakers in seven other states have passed comprehensive privacy laws -- California, Connecticut, Colorado, Utah, Virginia, Iowa and Indiana. If enacted, the Montana bill will give residents the right to opt out of the use of data linkable to them -- including pseudonymous data, such as information stored on cookies -- for behaviorally targeted ads.

About 10 years ago, REI made me so stinking mad that I swore I’d never grace their check-out again. A brand-advocate no more, I huffed my outraged “customer-no-service” story to everyone that cared to listen. Their offense? They made me pay for return shipping on a few items that didn’t fit. And worse, because I didn’t get my way, I decided the phone rep was rude and dismissive. Yes, I’m guilty of perpetuating the “all-about-me” attitude pervasive in the consumer world. WORD OF CAUTION: YES, one bad experience can ruin a customer relationship forever. And the reason can be as petty as feeling dismissed. But then, darn it, suddenly I couldn’t avoid them – they were everywhere. Read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/rei-me/

Retailers have always been at the forefront of consumer needs. They know their markets and have adapted to meet them. From blade signs to the metaverse, retail has transformed itself over and over. But like many things, trends can be cyclical. And what used to work, then didn’t work, can ultimately work better than before. How? Nostalgia is one explanation, but, more often, we find that while people evolve, they don’t ultimately change — at least not completely. People still want to connect with others. They need to engage, have experiences, explore, learn, be entertained and establish their position/identity within society. What we're seeing is that post-pandemic/quarantine psychology has elevated a renewed interest in physical engagements over digital. Thus, opening the once locked door to print marketing, direct mail and catalogs.

They’re like a frustrating older sibling. They get all the attention, and they get away with pretty much everything. They’re incredibly well-liked, and it seems like everyone aspires to be them. And regardless of how you feel about them, Patagonia is one of the most impressive brands out there. Why? Because they do so many things that other brands don’t. Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, our brand doesn’t sell outdoor adventure apparel, so we don’t really care what Patagonia’s doing.” But if that’s your philosophy, I challenge you to think of it this way: When their polarizing campaigns, beautifully designed catalogs and killer social media efforts drive consumers to drop $800 on a parka, guess who Patagonia is taking attention (and dollars) away from? You. see more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/why-youre-not-patagonia-2/

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company enabled Wizards of the Coast (Wizards) to supply key retailers with customized, launch-specific marketing materials. The partnership increased new product launch visibility and won the award for “Most Innovative Supplier of the Year” at the 2022 Toy and Game International Excellence (TAGIE) Awards. Wizards is a family of studios specializing in building role-playing, trading card, and digital games for all genres of players. With a focus on community, they partner with more than 6,000 local game store retailers through the Wizards Play Network (WPN) to bring products like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons to players around the world.

As inboxes become more cluttered, mailboxes have become prime real estate. In fact, the latest data from the United States Postal Service shows that 73% of all households read their mail daily. Brands can cut through the noise and create memorable and tactile brand experiences by using and investing in technologies that take into account how customers interact with and use mail. Through their 2023 Monthly Mailing Promotions, the USPS is encouraging marketers, printers, and mailers to leverage advances in print and finishing technology to improve how consumers interact and engage with mail to drive customer engagement and response rates. Promotions range from using dynamic color and new print techniques to integrating mobile technology. Participants in these monthly promotions are eligible for significant discounts of up to 5%. This can add up to significant savings for big brands. One promotion to note is the 2023 Tactile, Sensory, Interactive Promotion which enhances how customers interact and engage with mail through multi-sensory experiences from visual effects, sound, scent, touch, and even taste!

Are you a faceless brand? Are you talking to your costumer in an authentic, meaningful way? Studies in neuroscience have proven that 95% of all buying decisions are driven by emotion, not logic. We're all drawn to products or brands for much deeper, primal reasons. Hear from J.Schmid President and CCO, Brent Niemuth, on what those primal reasons are and what you and your brand can do to appeal to deeper emotional instincts. Watch video at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/the-power-of-emotion/

We spend a good deal of our marketing efforts incenting customers to be loyal to us; to be our brand advocates. But doesn’t loyalty go both ways? Don’t we, in turn, need to demonstrate our commitment to our customers? It’s a two-way street, after all—a dialogue. One way to display your commitment—or loyalty—to your customers is to show them you know them: who they are, where they are, what they buy, and what they want. We all experience this kind of dialogue daily online: ads served up to us reflect our searches from 5 minutes ago; recommender engines tell us what else we’d like based on what is in our baskets. These days, it’s expected. Ubiquitous, almost. But what about in print? I’d posit that sending a targeted, relevant print mail piece audience conveys a more authentic investment to your customer. The real impact comes from using data and understanding your customers’ behavior. Variable data printing allows us to create powerful, relevant direct mail that speaks to individuals on a truly 1:1 basis. Personalization allows us to move beyond mass mailings and “spray-and-pray” direct mail. Instead, we can create messages and offers based on customers’ demographics, preferences, and histories… and show them we know them. Let’s revisit a few ways to consider showing your customers you know them in print. I’ve written about them before: they are the Three Ps. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/show-them-you-know-them/

Are you headed to the NEMOA conference in Everett, MA April 4 - 6th? We'd love to see you and catch up. Join J.Schmid President & CCO Brent Niemuth as he hosts a hands-on interactive workshop on Creative and Content: Develop a look, feel and content that is clearly aligned with your brand and resonates with customers. But that's not all! J.Schmid EVP of Client Services, Michele Drohan will be leading an interactive Catalog Critique session where you'll learn the building blocks of an effective catalog, then work with peers to review and critique a catalog. If you're not registered, it's not too late! We'd love to see you there and we have a special discount to share with you. Use code BRD15 for 15% off your registration. Register now at: https://nemoaevent.org/?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=NEMOA&utm_campaign=website

In today's digital world, the importance of humanity marketing cannot be overstated. With so much competition for attention online, businesses must stand out by showing their human side. Join J.Schmid President & Chief Creative Officer, Brent Niemuth as he shares valuable insights on implementing the humanity marketing strategy for business success with Infidigit's Country Director - Americas, Shelly Singh. watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvVKkFPF3lA

So many businesses don’t do nearly enough to greet a customer warmly, and give them a brand hug at the all-important point of purchase. Every business should carefully examine how all of your customers are being exposed to your brand. “Consumers state that the post-purchase journey is the most emotional part of their customer experience, with 63% invested in the shipping, delivery and fulfillment process.” Read More at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/new-customer-journey/

Integrating a strategic technology-driven extension is more than just a trend in direct marketing. It can be a game-changer. Applications such as Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, Voice Assistant, Near Field Communication, or Video enable your mail to captivate your audience for a longer period, making for a more memorable brand experience that can expand the campaign’s reach. Most important, it can drive greater response. Augmented Reality (AR) adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on a smartphone. AR is more than QR codes. AR both heightens engagement with a mail piece and links it directly to the online channel to extend the sales process. Now, the USPS has made this even more enticing with the Emerging Technology and Mobile Shopping postal discount incentive which runs between May 1st — November 30th. This promotion provides a 3-4% discount depending on the complexity of the technology.

Along with “storytelling” and “authenticity” the word “community” gets tossed around a lot these days by brands and marketers alike. While all three of these terms, and the sentiments they carry, are often used as empty platitudes or attractive phrases to sprinkle in an ‘About Us’ page, in their best uses they come from a place of sincerity and real consumer ramifications. In a 2021 study from ebbo, ‘community’ was the second highest factor that contributed to customer loyalty after product quality. But what does community mean for a brand? How can it be grown and nurtured? What does it look like? To answer these questions I want to take a look at three different brands each instilling community with their consumers in vastly different ways. Some take place in online chat rooms, others in secret shopping opportunities, and some through in-person engagement. No matter how they approach it, each of these brands takes what people love about their products and their mission and create a space for that to flourish. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/creating-community/

Join J.Schmid President & CCO Brent Niemuth as he hosts a hands-on creative workshop at the Spring NEMOA conference April 4, 2023. If you're not already familiar with NEMOA, here's what you need to know: • It's the only summit for true omnichannel marketers, helping brands harness the power of print in the marketing mix. • The thought-provoking discussions and enriching sessions are 100% guaranteed to drive actionable insights. • This is the last week to get the very best prices on hotel rooms. • And one more thing...we can offer you a 15% discount with code BRD15! That's right, it's a perk we get as a board member. So if you're interested in going, register now! Register at: https://web.cvent.com/event/9a4bcadf-2109-4eb0-8ea6-305c5c036d05/regProcessStep1?_ga=2.221219032.1124295288.1677590315-614130158.1677590315

Are you ready to skillfully apply the principles of human behavior to your direct mail marketing messages to gain a competitive advantage? Since people default to hardwired behaviors without giving them a thought, we can use that to drive them to the response we want. We will use those behaviors to trigger them to buy our product or service leading to better direct mail results. In part one of this series, we will focus on the decision-making process and how we can use it to convert more sales with direct mail.

One of our clients challenged us this week to find a way to call out a product they had improved. The perception (and the truth) was that this particular product—in this particular niche industry—was indeed subpar for a while. And our client fixed it. Really, really well. What brand doesn’t slip now and then? From large, global corporations accused of being environmentally negligent, to the small online retailer that suffers an inventory issue, most businesses, at one time or another, experience the Unhappy Customer Moment. The good news? There is such an abundance of feedback channels and data now to provide immediate and rich information on how our customers are experiencing our products and our brands. The even better news? This information provides us with an extraordinary opportunity for change. To respond. To fix the problem. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/unhappy-customers-and-unexpected-opportunities/

Did you know that messing up can be good for your brand in the long run? Find out more with Lauren Ackerman, VP of Client Strategy at J.Schmid as she walks through the five key moments that drive customer loyalty. watch video at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/5-key-moments-that-drive-customer-loyalty/

Months after rolling out a carbon calculator to estimate and influence the carbon impact of digital media buys, GroupM this morning unveiled a new version capable of measuring the carbon footprint of its client's media buys across various media -- both digital and analog. The new "Channel-Level Carbon Calculator" was developed in partnership with carbon impact researcher Scope3, and GroupM currently is working with it to engineer a new media-planning API (applications protocol interface) that any agency or advertiser will be able to integrate into their media-processing tech stack to seamlessly ingest Scope3's data in order to adjust their media mix or specific suppliers that do a better job of complying with their goals of reducing carbon emissions in their advertising and media buys. While GroupM will have a "first-to-market" access to the API for a period of time, the WPP unit said the plan is for it to be "open source" for the entire industry to use.

As marketers, we work really hard to make buyers aware of us, and even harder to make them buy from us. Now, we're faced with the ongoing challenge of how to keep them coming back. The real question is: How do we make them loyal? How do we turn them into brand advocates? Want to create brand loyalty? Think of marketing, branding, and customer experience differently. Watch video at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/the-holy-grail-brand-loyalty/

Marketers are always looking for ways to influence how consumers perceive their brands to build more than simply transactional relationships. They know that effective brand positioning helps separate them from the competition and not just capture but keep a larger share of both consumers’ minds and wallets, driving long-term customer loyalty. Here are six of the most common brand positioning strategies that companies use. Depending on the product category, some will be more effective than others and all come with some potential drawbacks. Get the details at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/customer-loyalty-2-brand-positioning/

A new Gartner, Inc. survey1 found that 87% of business leaders expect to increase organization investment in sustainability over the next two years. As packaging professionals, we can help customers reach their sustainability goals while continuing to meet day-to-day business needs. As companies prioritize sustainability, its importance grows across organization departments – all of which have different day-to-day business needs to consider. Understanding customers’ unique motivations and needs will help guide impactful conversations. What are their goals? How do they measure success? What keeps them up at night?

A study released today by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) found that amid concerns of an economic recession or downturn, organizations see a strategic opportunity to gain market share through increased marketing spend, according to 73% of marketers surveyed. Despite widespread talk about budget cuts, more than half of respondents (54%) expect their organization’s overall marketing budget to increase this year. Findings from RRD’s Optichannel Opportunity Report, which surveyed 300 in-house marketing decision makers, show many marketers are primed to invest the extra budget in print channels, as social media turmoil complicates the digital landscape. More than two-thirds of respondents agree recent large-scale changes to social platforms have influenced their digital marketing strategy. Of this group, 71% have reallocated budget from digital to direct mail, brochures, signage and other print channels.

Disrupt. Delight. Drive. Three words that, together, form a mandate for our catalogs. From crowded mailboxes our books need to stand out and garner attention; pay off that attention with content that creates desire, and – ultimately – compel our customers to click, call or visit. It’s a tall order. And that first piece, Disrupt, is the 1st priority. If it doesn’t happen, the other two won’t. We could mail an 11” x 17” oversized book. That will get noticed. So would a ‘scratch and sniff’ cover? But most of us don’t have budget to add a bunch of bells and whistles just to make us louder than the other guys. I’m particularly mindful of this as I wade through the current flood of women’s clothing catalogs in my own mailbox, most of them conveying the long-suffering mashup: covers graced with women pouring each other glasses of Rosé, or bikes with flower-filled baskets. Make no mistake: this is not a judgement, but a shared burden.

Did you know that the sense of smell is linked to the systems in the brain that evoke emotions and memory more directly than any other sensory system combined? What does this mean for marketers? It means that we can use smell to influence emotion and purchase intent. This therefore increases purchasing. In 2023, the USPS is offering a 5% postage discount if you integrate scent into your mail piece so you can not only drive additional sales, but you can also save money on postage. The purpose of this USPS promotion is to encourage sensory engagement with physical mail pieces. This is my favorite promotion that the USPS is running because you can only provide a tactile experience with direct mail. No other marketing channel can do this! Interesting Scent Facts: 75% of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell. 81% of consumers would choose a product they can smell and touch over one they can only see. 65% of consumers can remember a memory associated with scent after a period of one year. 90% of respondents indicate the scented advertisement stood out from the clutter

Phoenix Innovate (PI), a leading marketing communications firm headquartered in Troy, Mich., has acquired Carmel, Ind.-based UN Communications Group, Inc. The leadership and staff at UN will remain on and are thrilled to integrate the strengths of both companies with a focus toward creating a new standard for effective marketing solutions. “Our ability to serve our clients' brand awareness and marketing supply chain needs got a big boost today,” said Denise Purvis, President of UN. “The addition of strategic marketing, application development and data analytics expertise Phoenix Innovate provides will help our clients achieve a new level of integration, automation and increased ROI. The combination of our talented team members will continue to create game-changing marketing solutions for our clients.”

As part of a growing ad-industry recognition that ad fraud isn’t just the illegal theft of marketers’ working media dollars, but also unethically funds nefarious parts of the media ecosystem, the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is updating its professional certification program to include a new module focusing explicitly on fraud. The module, which was developed in partnership with the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), is mainly educational and is designed to inform advertisers, agencies and others in the supply chain about the “serious ethical issues surrounding” ad fraud in their media-buying decisions.

After several years dominated by pandemics and remote work, it should come as no surprise to anyone that digital fatigue is starting to set in. Microsoft released a study earlier this year reporting that Teams — the digital meeting platform many businesses have turned to as a replacement for in-person meetings — has seen an increase of 252% in weekly meeting times since February 2020. Digital marketing is just getting lost in the crowd right now, with consumers pulling away from connecting with brands on yet another platform that requires the use of a screen. This is a great time to put direct mail back on the minds of customers struggling to stay relevant in this day and age, and the numbers support it. According to the Direct Mail Advertising Global Market Report 2022, the average response rate of the direct mail is around 2.7% to 4.4%, while the email has around 0.6%.

Consent will be a critical issue for publishers next year, according to Richard Reeves, managing director of the Association of Online Publishers (AOP). Specifically, Reeves means informed programmatic ad consent, as opposed to, say, email opt-in. Publishers are seeking tech solutions that “do not rely on personally identifiable information,” Reeves said in an interview with the UK’s PressGazette. In the marketing world, that requires anonymized data solutions and reliance on first- and zero-party data.

I know I do. Well, now here’s your chance to watch me fail spectacularly. Join me, Matt Fey, Vice President and Creative Director at J.Schmid for an ANA (Association of National Advertisers) webinar where I take you through my past glories, revel in my successes, and wallow in my crippling, crippling failures. Hope to see you on Wednesday, November 30th, at 10:40am CST to watch me fail spectacularly. Thank you. Register at: https://www.ana.net/membersconference/show/id/MOC-SEP22E3

The ad industry and advocacy groups on Monday weighed in with the Federal Trade Commission on potential new privacy rules, with the ad industry voicing opposition to possible regulations, but consumer advocates contending that new rules are needed. “Advertising is the lifeblood of the American economy,” the Association of National Advertisers said in comments filed with the agency Monday. “The FTC should not presuppose that any kind of data-informed advertising is harmful without the administrative record necessary to support such a bold assertion.” The umbrella industry organization Privacy for America added that the FTC “should not cast itself as a quasi-legislature capable of regulating any activity it sees fit without a grounding in its congressionally granted authority.” “The more prudent path would be for the Commission to refrain from seeking broadly to regulate the entire U.S. data-supported economy while Congress is actively considering a comprehensive, preemptive standard,” writes Privacy for America, whose members include the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Digital Advertising Alliance, Interactive Advertising Bureau and Network Advertising Initiative.

In another sign of the toll that macroeconomic disruption has been taking on the ad economy, more than a third of advertisers (35%) say they have reduced their 2022 advertising budgets due to increasing inflation and/or disruptions in their supply chain. While most of the executives who have cut their ad budgets said they have reduced them by less than 20%, the median was 15% among all of them. The good news is the percentage saying they have reduced their 2022 ad budgets due to the economic factors is down from 40% who said so in a similar survey conducted by Advertiser Perceptions in July and August.

It occurred to me the other day while I was noodling email subject lines (trying to eke out another 1 or 2% increase in open rate) that even if I was successful, it would only lead to a fraction of a percent of click-through improvement. We tend to call email marketing “consumer direct,” but really, it’s “inbox direct.” This is no joke: I have 42,933 unopened emails in my Gmail inbox. Promotional emails have become invisible. As marketers, we try to get our emails noticed by using emojis in subject lines, or we drive curiosity with verbiage like, “You won’t believe this!” (urgency); “Only hours left!” (exclusivity); “For our best customers” (value); “FREE!!” … and the list goes on and on, like a barker on the midway. Sometimes we get results from barking, but results are more likely due to timing rather than “clever” subject lines. So, how do we drive consideration (and business) beyond natural demand? read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/100-open-rate-guaranteed/

The Institute for Advertising Ethics will hold the second of two webinars focusing on the ad industry's role in greenwashing on December 8 at 10 A.M. The upcoming webinar -- which focuses on tools and frameworks for preventing greenwashing -- follows one held October 19, which featured industry experts providing a benchmark for understanding how pervasive and how problematic greenwashing actually is for the advertising industry.

Join Us For An ANA Exclusive Webinar Featuring J.Schmid's Matt Fey Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at 10:00am Central. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat. Any direct mail creative endeavor has the potential to go from “All hail!” to “Epic fail!” Join Matthew Fey, vice president and creative director at J.Schmid & Assoc. Inc., for an honest, amusing, and sometimes painful examination of why some creative efforts yield spectacular successes and why others, well, not so much. From high-fiving wins to head-scratching losses, examine a series of catalog and direct mail case studies from a variety of brands – including apparel, food, retail and more on the consumer side, with a few business-to-business examples thrown in for good measure. What went in to the creative decisions? How were they successful? And when they weren’t, where did they go wrong? Glean valuable lessons from both success and failure to get the most out of your direct mail creative. register at: https://www.ana.net/membersconference/show/id/MOC-SEP22E3

Join Us For An ANA Exclusive Webinar - Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 10:00am Central. Think data is only about numbers? Think again. Data insights have proven that making a true human connection based on emotions is far more effective than relying on data and logic alone. In fact, if you’re only relying on data to make marketing decisions, your brand is likely getting left behind. Consumers say that 80% of the brands they buy from don’t matter to them. See how data and analytics is proving that a more HUMAN approach is far more effective.

In a digital-facing world, any brand would be smart to think twice before adding print into the mix. And yet, several times a month we get inquiries from wholesale companies or online brands interested in testing mail for the first time. What would compel them to consider print? They reach out because they understand that, if executed correctly, print can add significant dollars to their bottom line, driving customers and prospects to their website or store. There are many reasons why print still works. To find out why this intrusive, tactile, personalized tactic works check out our blog at https://www.jschmid.com/blog/ready-to-mail-3-ways-to-be-sure/

At a time when the ad industry is coming under fire from regulators, advocacy groups and grassroots organizations for helping fossil fuel companies greenwash their reputations and/or obstruct climate action, a majority of consumers believe it should be held liable for that role. That's the finding of a survey of U.S. adults conducted Monday by Pollfish for MediaPost. The survey, which was fielded in response to recent Congressional hearings on the subject, as well as an Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) informational webinar to help the ad industry benchmark potential threats related to its role promoting fossil fuel brands, found Americans are more concerned about the ad industry's role in obstructing climate change than simply greenwashing fossil fuel company reputations.

The U.S. advertising marketplace fell 4.6% in September vs. the same month a year ago, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline, and suggesting the beginning of a new U.S. ad recession. While the June-September 2022 declines compare with healthy gains for the same months a year ago, the 2021 boom was also the beginning of downward trend (see chart above). The new monthly data comes as major agency holding company forecast units have been reaffirming double-digit growth expectations for calendar year 2022 and mid-single-digit gains for 2023, at least at this point.

In a world in which digital marketing continues to grow, a new brand is still mailing a catalog for the first time every month. That’s not the strange part, however. What is strange is WHO is mailing these catalogs: e-commerce retailers. Amazon, Wayfair, One King’s Lane and Everlane are just a few examples of formerly online-only brands that took the leap into the catalog sphere. Ironically, one such catalog I received in the mail is called “OnlineShoes.com”! Furthermore, brands which have traditionally sold through brick-and-mortar stores are increasingly adding catalogs to drive traffic to both their website and stores. In many cases, these brands have discovered that by adding a catalog to the marketing mix, customer value increases fourfold! According to the Direct Marketing Association, close to 90 million Americans currently purchase from a catalog. Interestingly, nearly 60 percent of them are women. So why do catalogs still work in a digital world? Check out our recent blog to learn more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/designed-for-growth-the-catalogs-resurgence/

Come next year things are going to go from bad to worse. Senior marketers know it and are already making contingency plans. Read: rationalizing ad dollars. Less than a third (29%) of the world’s largest advertisers plan to slash ad dollars next year, according to a study of 43 multinational companies from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and Ebiquity. Three quarters of the sample “agree strongly” or “agree” that 2023 budgets are under heavy scrutiny. Marketers are already being required to justify their investments. For many of them, 2023 will feel a lot like a recession. It’s not all doom and gloom. Some of those marketers surveyed (28%) claim they will invest more next year, per the study.

As a former CEO of two advertising agencies, Bob Hoffman knows a thing or two about the advertising world. The US-based former adman has ruffled many feathers in his demolishing of many of the myths about online advertising, and he remains a thorn in the side of the industry. Hoffman’s blog, ‘The Ad Contrarian’, is in my view, required reading for anyone who cares about the future of the advertising industry, while his many books on the topic make for uncomfortable but necessary reading.

Over the last several years, we’ve seen catalogs come and go. And we’ve seen many retailers jump into the game, spend a LOT of money (we’re talking tens of millions of dollars) and then abandon the model after a couple of seasons. This literally breaks my heart and makes me want to scream! Why does this happen? Here is my very quick opinion. These brands have a combination of the following: 1. A flawed merchandise concept that is not unique, delivered with out-of-date benefits or sent to an audience the brand knows nothing about. 2. Bad math that doesn’t take into account mail efficiencies, an understanding of their own database, mailing to bad names at the wrong time or how the catalog model fits into a cross-channel world. 3. A lack of understanding of how to create a landscape of words and imagery that truly sell off the page and drive activity to either a website or store. learn more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/5-reasons-catalogs-work/

At a time when greenwashing is emerging as an important issue on Madison Avenue, the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) is planning two industry events to discuss, educate and develop guidelines to help advertisers, agencies, PR and lobbying firms to build awareness and prevent it. The events follow a week of Congressional hearings about the practices of big and independent agencies and PR firms paid by fossil-fuel companies to distort what they are actually doing to about the climate crisis, as well as the release of a Congressional report citing examples by divisions of big agency holding companies, including Interpublic’s UM unit’s work for ExxonMobil. This also follows Interpublic’s decision to revise its policy of accepting new business from fossil fuel companies that don’t meet its own climate and ethical standards.

Why do you think so many digitally native brands are suddenly discovering print? Print is still the best ‘proactive’ method of getting your message in front of people. Studies show it’s far more memorable than a digital message read on a screen – people remember things far better when they’ve held it in their hands – there’s something special about it. But you don’t have to choose between digital or print – when used together, they drive people to your website, to your retail store, and help drive better response. Watch the video at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/catalog-is-a-digital-champion/

A study released by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company reveals marketer perceptions of macro trends impacting today’s consumers, which in turn influences the approach to reach them. The Macro Marketing Reportshowed primary concerns include shifting of buying power to new generations (89%), ESG-related concerns (84%), a changing political climate (80%), and workforce changes (78%). The company’s third annual marketing industry report found that while marketers are embracing new channels, such as the metaverse, they are also looking for innovative ways to leverage more traditional approaches. Marketers are turning to direct mail to engage with today’s digitally fatigued consumers, with nearly three-quarters (73%) reporting direct mail has either kept the same level of importance or increased in the last year.

When we create a new brand, or refresh an existing one, we’re tapping into brand clarity, conveying that key, driving purpose. When we’re creating marketing assets on behalf of a client, the brand has to be in the forefront of our minds. With each touchpoint, each interaction, we know that when we’re reinforcing what you stand for we’re going to connect in a much deeper way. So it’s no wonder that branding, and our clients’ brands, are a huge part of what we think about, talk about and write about. We’ve rounded up this collection of our favorite musings on branding that gives some insight into the thinking, passion and creativity that goes into everything that we do. Enjoy. go to: https://www.jschmid.com/branding-best-practices/

Last month, a federal appellate panel revived claims that ad-tech company NaviStone violated a Pennsylvania wiretap law by allegedly tracking users who visited online retail sites. Since then, at least 10 new lawsuits with similar allegations have been filed against other web companies -- including online pet store Chewy.com, travel service Expedia, and real estate company Zillow.com -- NaviStone's lawyers said in papers filed Friday with the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In a letter filed Friday with the appellate court, NaviStone's lawyers write that the new cases “illustrate that the panel’s decision effectively renders any company with a website accessible in Pennsylvania” subject to a lawsuit alleging violations of the state's wiretap law. NaviStone is calling attention to the new cases to bolster its request that the 3rd Circuit reconsider its recent ruling.

The White House on Thursday called for a host of new technology laws -- including ones that would restrict data collection and targeted advertising. “There should be clear limits on the ability to collect, use, transfer, and maintain our personal data, including limits on targeted advertising,” the administration stated Thursday at a meeting regarding tech platforms. “We especially need strong protections for particularly sensitive data such as geolocation and health information, including information related to reproductive health.” The Biden-Harris administration also said it was seeking an overhaul of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which currently protects tech companies from a broad range of lawsuits over material posted by users.

Reinvigorating a decades-old plush toy brand. In a mass-produced world where words like quality, creativity and authenticity are little more than unsubstantiated marketing-speak, Mary Meyer is the real deal. A family-owned company with a storied 85-year history of making soft and cuddly stuffed toys for gift-givers who know and appreciate quality and want to give something truly memorable that will be loved by that special someone. But the look of this storied brand needed an update to bring it forward in time, and make it more appealing to new parents and gift-giving grandparents. It was time for a refresh. That’s where J.Schmid came in. Read the Case Study at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/portfolio/mary-meyer/

What don’t people realize about branding? How has branding changed over the years? And what makes a BrandQuest with Brent Niemuth so special? Hear the answers firsthand as J.Schmid President and CCO, Brent Niemuth answers burning questions about branding from VP Account Strategy, Lauren Ackerman. see more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/brand-lounge-3-branding-isnt-one-time/

That's right! Sign up for NEMOA's Fall Summit in Boston Harbor, MA and save 15% by using our code: BRD15. You'll join J.Schmid President & CCO Brent Niemuth as he delivers a keynote session on Messaging That Matters: Creating Powerful Content Across Channels. But that's not all! In addition to the Keynote Address, Brent will lead a hands-on workshop with Cindy Marshall, Founder & CEO of SHINE Strategy and Jason Baer, VP Sales & Marketing of Vermont Teddy Bear. This interactive session will explore the latest trends in Print Marketing. It's perfect for marketers who want to do a deep-dive into Strategic Planning, Merchandising, Creative & Messaging, Formats, and Circulation. Space is limited so register now! If you're not already familiar with NEMOA, here's what you need to know: • It's the only summit for true omnichannel marketers, helping brands harness the power of print in the marketing mix. • The thought-provoking discussions and enriching sessions are 100% guaranteed to drive actionable insights. Register at: https://nemoaevent.org/?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=NEMOA&utm_campaign=website

It all started with the love of an island. After decades of running a successful diving business on St. John in the US Virgin Islands, the business owners could feel that there was just more that they could offer. They saw an opportunity to tap into the island lifestyle and offer more: leisure wear, swim, and diving gear, even home décor; to build a lifestyle around the island life. But with limited existing product, and no existing tangible brand beyond the diving business to speak of, where does one start? That’s where J.Schmid came in. We started with research to understand the unique connection that people have to the island; then we used that learning to craft a brand story, and bring it to life in words and pictures. Read the case study at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/portfolio/low-key-branding-case-study/

What’s that sound you hear? It’s marketers gritting their teeth as they’re being asked to give up their precious advertising dollars to help insulate their brands from the looming recession. Or you may have heard the marketers or agencies say “Let’s only focus on hardworking media,” which typically means lower-funnel, digital-only, highly targeted, easily measurable, promotional campaigns designed to boost short-term sales and eliminate “waste.” They’re all part of the marketer’s recession playbook. But should they be? In reality, we should all consider a different path forward: Now is an opportune timeto shore up brand awareness and loyalty by increasing media investments with brand-building, mass-reaching, highly creative advertising campaigns.

The U.S. advertising marketplace contracted 12.7% in July versus the same month a year ago, marking its first double-digit rate of decline since July 2020, according to a MediaPost analysis of data from Standard Media Index's U.S. Ad Market Tracker. Compared with July 2020, which was the tail-end of the COVID-19 ad recession, the U.S. ad market was up 29.7%. Smaller ad categories continue to be sustaining ad spending better than the largest ones. While the top 10 ad categories declined 14% in year-over-year ad spending in July, all other categories contracted only 11%.

Over the last few years, the concept of ‘brand voice’ has been construed to mean how your favorite potato chip company feels about the latest socio-political development. There are two main problems with this perspective. First, consumers are smarter than that. They recognize the inherently self-serving nature of that kind of commentary. Secondly, it narrows the scope of what brand voice actually means. Brand voice isn’t just about the copy on your website or in your emails, and it surely isn’t just a tagline – it is all forms of communication between your brand and consumers. From the literal copy to your packaging, voice is a manifestation of a brands mission, vision, values and story. It is something literal, yet ethereal, it should survive CMO changes, product alterations, and re-branding exercises. This isn’t to say it should stay the exact same, over the years it should evolve and grow but always remain a recognizable, human part of your brand and how you communicate. Let’s take a look at how three different brands are using their unique and authentic voices across a variety of mediums and touch points at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/brand-voice-its-more-than-a-tagline/

The costs of digital advertising are skyrocketing. By some metrics, prices on major platforms such as Meta, Google, and TikTok grew by anywhere from 61–184% year-over-year in 2021. At the same time, returns are plummeting; recent changes in privacy policies, such as those by Apple, have made it more difficult to target ads to consumers, who are increasingly likely to tune out the advertising that they see anyways. All of these trends are making digital advertising increasingly unprofitable and ineffective, forcing companies to rethink their marketing strategy and spending. Increasingly, companies that are rethinking their strategies are turning to an analog method: physical paper catalogs. And it’s not just traditional retailers that are increasing their catalog investments either. Even online disrupters such as Amazon, Bonobos, and Wayfair have entered the catalog game. But does this mean that every retailer should consider a direct mail strategy? If not, when does it work best?

Yes, the rumors are true—the United States might actually get a federal privacy law. Introduced in June, the American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA) actually has bipartisan support, though there are a few kinks to work out. But one section of the bill, which is now eligible for a floor vote in the House, could fundamentally change how consumer privacy is protected and enforced in the US: the proposed creation of a Bureau of Privacy, which would be a part of the Federal Trade Commission, broadening the scope and definition of how the regulator could enforce the law. “It would dramatically elevate the profile of privacy in this country and the agency internationally,” Daniel Kaufman, a partner at BakerHostetler who previously held several roles at the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said during a LinkedIn Live hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). “It’s almost limitless in terms of what the FTC can do.”