Table of contents for December 7, 2020 in Adweek

2020 draws to a close, even the most casual observer will know the industry’s common currency for targeted advertising—third-party cookies—is on the way out. The next 12 months will see the industry prepare for Google Chrome withdrawing its support of third-party cookies, bringing it in line with the industry’s other leading web browsers. Marketers will still be able to target audiences using first-party data, for instance, by serving ads in walled gardens such as Facebook or logged-in users on a publisher’s website. However, most acknowledge that the vast majority of internet users are unlikely to log onto websites outside the walled gardens. Many in the business call this the “unaddressable web.” It all makes 2021 crunch time for the advertising industry to learn new ways of reaching key audiences. Several…

In a filing to investors a week before Thanksgiving, United Airlines said it saw an uptick in cancellations and a slowdown of its modest bookings. As a result, the airline expects to be down 67% for the last quarter of 2020. Among major travel brands, only Marriott has been able to turn a profit since the pandemic’s outbreak in March. The hotel industry has opened rooms for anyone sick of working from home. Cruise lines, however, aren’t legally allowed to sail with customers until each brand completes a “test voyage” with nonpaying guests.…

You’ve probably seen him on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. Globally recognized Mexican chef Enrique Olvera has made mole the flagship of his iconic and colorful culinary palette. This delicious dark sauce is emblematic of Mexican cuisine, a fusion of essentials that blend Baroque influences with the intense flavors of delicious complexity. Olvera, a chef trained at New York’s Culinary Institute of America who has made the ranks of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants every year since 2012, relies on history to better forge a contemporary culinary identity. What is worth noting is that Olvera chose to craft this mixture of cocoa, chili, sesame, peanuts, tomatoes and a range of spices in such a way that it keeps evolving over time. Rather than using a single recipe each morning, he starts with…

When Susan Credle arrived at FCB Global five years ago to become its creative chief, she implemented a philosophy that acknowledges—and even embraces—the volatility of a marketing world constantly searching for what’s next. “Never finished” became an agency mantra prioritizing constant evolution for FCB and clients alike. “We bet that the work would get to a place that would make us stronger,” she says. “It’s not just award-winning work; it’s the kind of work clients value.” That mindset would prove especially valuable in 2020, a year in which all the norms of work and home life were upended. While nearly all agencies suffered financial losses this year, FCB grew 10% globally, according to the agency, while entering into new or expanding relationships with clients including BMW, Kimberly-Clark and Walmart. Thanks…

Like many of us, The Martin Agency began 2020 with an optimistic outlook, blissfully unaware of the chaos to come. In fact, the agency kicked off the year with a hard-fought client win: Old Navy. After a lengthy pitch process, the relationship became official in February. Weeks later, Covid-19 would force Old Navy to temporarily close its stores, and the campaign idea that won the pitch for Martin was shelved. But it wasn’t long before the Richmond, Va.-based agency was making lemonade out of lemons. After learning that the retailer would be donating $30 million worth of clothing to families in need, Martin pitched another idea: To promote the charitable effort, what if the agency hired a local artist to create a massive installation made entirely of Old Navy clothes?…

Super Bowl ads tend to be the domain of American agencies. Yet, Droga5 London, a relative interloper from across the Atlantic, crashed the party in 2020, proving that great creativity for a uniquely American experience can come from anywhere. The agency’s Amazon ad, “Before Alexa,” starring Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, was a hit with audiences, landing No. 3 on Adweek’s list of 2020’s best Super Bowl ads and No. 7 in the USA Today Ad Meter. The spot also stole some thunder from fellow London agency Lucky Generals, which had created Amazon ads for the 2018 and 2019 Super Bowls. “Before Alexa” owed its existence to Droga5 London’s excellent campaigns for Amazon Prime Video in recent years, inspiring the client to give the agency “a bite at the…

KEY WINS Airheads, Fruit-tella, The General LOSSES None REVENUE Projecting approximately 35% total revenue growth from 2019. STRATEGIC MOVES Named Jen Passaniti head of production; hired Kelley Beaman as director of business affairs; promoted Kaley Lambeth to partner; hired Nathan Monteith as group creative director; hired Lois Castillo as director of talent and inclusion. DIVERSITY 33% of employees are people of color, and 48% are female; purchased tickets to the 3% Conference for all employees; building a “new ecosystem of inclusion training” to be implemented in 2021. According to Highdive, Castillo “plays an integral role in ensuring the work we create not only reflects the world we live in, but celebrates inclusion and diversity.”…

The 2020 holidays are missing scramble to adapt traditions and email their Christmas lists to Santa so he can browse the web for the best deals. Almost three-quarters of shoppers polled in Channel Factory’s holiday season survey said they will take to the internet to find gifts for loved ones this year, with more than 30% starting their shopping earlier than usual (even as far back as October). Only half said they expect to spend as much as in previous years. “In crises, decades happen in days, and nowhere has a trend been more amplified than in ecommerce, where in September alone we saw a 43% lift in online sales from the prior year,” said Channel Factory svp, global marketing, Lauren Douglass. Shoppers are also leaning on connected TV like…

What have been some of your most notable career moments prior to joining Danone? In my early years, I worked on Lifebuoy, arguably the first purpose brand at Unilever. We aligned our purpose to the UN Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce infant mortality via hand-washing education through rural programs in India. At Kellogg, I led the repositioning of Special K from diet to fuel for strong women, and I was proud to have forged the first-ever partnership with Girl Up, UN Women focused on female nutrition. Any key learnings along the way? I believe purpose is not a point of view but a real visible action the brand takes to make the lives of people better and ideally via its product offering or service. Don’t ever convince yourself that…

KEY WINS Amazon (Alexa and brand), Amazon Studios, Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark, VW LOSSES Mini (Electric Vehicles) REVENUE Droga5 London grew 15% in fiscal year 2020. STRATEGIC MOVES Promoted Shelley Smoler (joined Droga5 London in 2017) from group creative director to executive creative director; promoted Damien Le Castrec (joined Droga5 London in 2018 as strategy director) to head of strategy. DIVERSITY “In London, we are blessed to have a melting pot of cultures,” says Droga5 London CEO Bill Scott. “We have to broaden our scope in terms of how we’re finding that talent. We recognize that we’ve not done enough. But we’re supported by New York, and [global head of D&I] Tiffany Edwards to take meaningful steps forward.”…

As holiday gift-giving season reaches its peak, tens of thousands of Americans will soon find themselves the recipients of a trendy little item called a Gravity Blanket. It is, as the name suggests, a blanket with weights stitched inside—roughly 20 pounds for the average adult. The Gravity Blanket is currently enjoying a cultural moment, showing up everywhere from Oprah’s best-of list to USA Today’s hot gift holiday roundup. But almost every successful product has an X factor, an unexpected force that helped put it over the top in combination with timing, design and marketing. So what is Gravity Blanket’s special ingredient? Well, uh, probably President Donald Trump. When the president took office in late January 2016, the 48% of Americans who didn’t vote for him freaked out. Many of them…

For New Yorkers who wouldn’t dream of going into a crowded Times Square a year ago, the city argues now is a great time for local exploration. As of November, nearly 78% of global travelers still remain concerned about Covid-19 and 60% did not plan to travel domestically, according to travel research firm GlobalData. And the cities are feeling the pain. California could lose $54 billion in tourism alone due to Covid-19, and New York City isn’t expected to recoup its nearly $47 billion in traveler spend until 2025. Without international tourists and business travelers, tourism marketers are speaking to residents about the wonders of their cities. “Destination marketing organizations [DMOs] have had to be more reactive and creative in marketing strategies, and for many, this has urged them to…

AD INVENTORY App owners are generally expected to give 30% of their available ad load for streaming devices to monetize, Chalozin said. That can be a hard sell if a streamer wants to maintain control over all of their inventory and monetize as they see fit. DATA Streaming service owners are also expected to share data about their audience with devices, though some may want to keep that information close. Plus, the amount of data coming back to streamers may become less specific if that service is integrated into a distributor’s list of “channels” viewers can subscribe to. SUBSCRIPTION FEES Streaming services that require or offer subscriptions often must pony up a percentage of their subscription fees to platforms if subscribers sign up directly through the connected TV platforms themselves.…

BE FLEXIBLE Speed and agility are really key. We had a big launch for denim this August around our Sky High Rise denim. We were so excited. And you know what? People were not in the mood for denim in August. Every year, the industry knows that August is a denim month. And nope, they [the consumers] weren’t having it. They wanted more fleece, sweats, joggers and cozy things because people still aren’t back to work. They wanted shorts and dresses. We were able to turn around, pivot, change the messaging—and recreate an entire experience within five to seven days. STAY CURIOUS Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous because that’s really where true creativity comes [from]. And find yourself a partner/brand/mentor who’s willing to listen to all of your ideas—the…

KEY WINS FCB Brazil: Sky Brazil; FCB Chicago: Barilla, Walmart; FCB India: Google; FCB New York: Axe, Centrum, Mike’s Hard Lemonade; FCB/SIX: BMW North America CRM, Uber; FCB Toronto: GE, Sephora LOSSES FCB West: Ameriprise (went in-house) 2020 REVENUE IPG policy prevents revenue disclosures, but according to FCB, it saw organic revenue growth of 10% worldwide and 16.3% in North America. R3 estimates 2019 revenue at $850 million. STRATEGIC MOVES Hired FCB New York co-CCO Michael Aimette, global CFO Carmine Battista, FCB New York chief talent officer Yoonjung Crosby, evp, global growth Mish Fletcher, FCB Health New York ecd Laura Mizrahi, FCB Joburg/Hellocomputer CCO Tseliso Rangaka, FCB/SIX managing director Janet Thompson; promoted FCB West co-president CCO Karin Onsager-Birch, FCB Chicago chief technology officer Fernando Espejel, FCB Canada CCO Nancy Crimi-Lamanna,…

KEY WINS Old Navy, Twisted Tea, Axe Global, Century 21, AmeriSave, Happy Egg, Simple Mobile, Three by Berkshire Hathaway; new assignments: Hanes and CarMax (Social); Pluto TV (PR) LOSSES None 2020 REVENUE $22 million in net new and organic revenue, representing 30% growth STRATEGIC MOVES Named Danny Robinson chief creative officer; hired Elizabeth Paul from MullenLowe as chief strategy officer; brought on Ashley Marshall as executive creative director, previously creative director at W+K Portland; promoted Neel Williams to lead creative on Geico following retirement of Steve Bassett. DIVERSITY Established talent development program that pairs employees of color from across disciplines with officers; became inaugural sponsor of the One Club for Creativity’s One School, a free portfolio school for Black creatives. Roughly 24% of employees are people of color, 62.8% identify…

‘Learning to accept that there will always be ways to improve on the next one has been one of the most valuable lessons of my career so far.’ At the end of her time at MIT, where she received a Ph.D. in material science and engineering, Olivia Hentz realized she wanted to pursue a career in a field that had a more immediate impact than research and chemistry. That’s when she discovered data science. “I came directly to Known from graduate school, where I studied defect migration in a novel solar cell material,” she said. “While the world of media and advertising was new to me when I joined Known, my time as a graduate student taught me how to think critically about complex problems, work independently and drive projects…

In 1933, a newly minted college grad landed a mailroom job at Schenley whiskey, where he dashed off some promotional copy that so impressed the brass that they ran it as an ad. Hence began the rise of Bill Bernbach, who in 1949 founded Doyle Dane Bernbach—better known as DDB. Bernbach’s firm pioneered practices that are now industry standards, such as having copy and art departments work in tandem. By combining wry humor and simple imagery to formulate an indirect selling technique, the firm perfected an approach that spoke to consumers’ intelligence. DDB convinced Avis to be proud of being the No. 2 car-rental company. Its “Think Small” campaign for Volkswagen put the Beetle on the map. Bernbach died in 1982, but his wisdom rings as true as ever. “Nobody…