This Year’s Ad Market Begins On Healthy Note, January Expands 7.4%

As brands jump on the hashtag brand-wagon, one wonders if the effort truly makes a difference to the bottom line. Short answer? Absolutely. But, have some brands experienced major fails at achieving an ROI? Absolutely. Does it take a lot of effort and resources to get it right? Absolutely. Why even bother? Campaigns are an excellent tool to create brand awareness, drive traffic, engage customers, promote a product or service, boost social media followers and ultimately helps track and quantify your content. For a stale brand, a brand campaign is the perfect opportunity to blow new life into your business. click read more below to continue

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.

For the generations that grew up on Blue’s Clues, mail time is pretty few and far between these days. As a Gen Z/millennial “cusper,” Emily Loof, development and marketing manager at education nonprofit Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC), said she’s pushed for an increased use of direct mail in her current and past roles. Since last year, she said CYC has “about doubled” its direct-mail marketing budget. In addition to seeing increased donations, Loof said she’s also received feedback that indicates younger people may be itching for more things in their mailbox. One person “tagged our organization on Facebook and said, ‘This is so cool. Like, I never get letters from people that I donate to,’” she told us. Given growing data-privacy concerns, clutter in online advertising, and demand for brand authenticity, some marketers we spoke to said the best way to reach younger consumers could be through some good ol’ fashioned snail mail.