Indice dei contenuti per February 15, 2021 in Adweek

One of the earliest event casualties of Covid-19 last spring was media companies’ in-person upfront presentations, which were either postponed and shifted on the fly to virtual events, or outright canceled. But a year later, the industry is returning to a more normal upfront cadence and schedule, with several companies announcing they will once again hold their usual events beginning this week. WarnerMedia will kick things off with its inaugural Kids and Family Upfront on Feb. 17, followed by A+E Networks on March 3. During the traditional upfronts week beginning May 17, several major companies have committed to virtual presentations with Disney leading the charge—after all, most marketers “are back to their regular cycle” following the pandemic disruptions, according to Disney ad sales chief Rita Ferro. Discovery, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS…

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, despite social distancing protocols limiting singles’ chance for romance. Even still, online dating apps had a record-breaking year, according to mobile analytics provider App Annie. Avoiding boredom appears to be behind that surge in dating app activity. According to App Annie’s research, audiences flocked toward anything entertaining during lockdown. That dynamic ultimately produced $3 billion in consumer spending across dating apps, for a gain of 15% year over year globally. Dating apps owe their success to more than simply facilitating in-person meetups, said App Annie analyst Lexi Sydow. They provide a view into others’ lives, much like Instagram. “The swiping is a really strategic gamification feature. [Users are] passing the time,” Sydow said, noting that distractions can take many forms. While none of the…

In 2020, major media companies including Fox Corp. and Comcast rushed to acquire ad-supported streaming services so they could build out their over-the-top footprints and win over consumers. A year later, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision is following suit. The broadcaster said this month that it would acquire the Spanish-language ad-supported streaming service Vix to build out its streaming assets, which include a soon-to-be-launched free ad-supported service called PrendeTV. The acquisition is, according to Univision CEO Wade Davis, aimed at “building the most comprehensive, ad-supported streaming offering ever amassed for Latino audiences.” Univision’s ambition underscores the opportunity that Spanish-language programmers and ad-supported streaming services are seeing in super-serving the growing U.S. Hispanic market. At nearly 20% of the entire U.S. population, with an average age of 29 and buying power that is…

IT’S ONE THING TO ESPOUSE a “people first, better results” philosophy; it’s another to actually practice it in the middle of a global crisis. In 2020, MediaCom proved its devotion to that creed, deciding early on to invest in talent and save as many jobs as possible globally at the expense of short-term losses. “Our ambition was to make sure we came out of it together, our culture intact. We spent the best part of 20 years building MediaCom’s culture,” MediaCom global CEO Nick Lawson says. “Protecting that culture was really our No. 1 priority.” The process was not painless, with employees making salary sacrifices or transitioning to shortened workweeks to help save jobs. In the end, the WPP media agency claims it avoided layoffs entirely in the U.S. while…

How did you come up with the idea for Hello products? I feel like personal care was impersonal. There was nothing very human about it and everything was kind of threatening. So the need I was trying to fill was on a couple levels. One is anything that goes in your mouth should taste awesome. And anything that goes in your mouth is ultimately going in your body, so it should be as natural as possible. You take that and then layer in this humanity, this personality. That was what I thought was the opportunity. ‘Every category could use something a little bit more fun and natural.’ What innovation has Hello Products brought to the space? If you use charcoal toothpaste, ours might be better than most of the quote-unquote…

Following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. But he was also impeached by corporate America. All of a sudden, social media companies cut ties with Trump en masse, despite years of him violating platform rules. “Does it have to be a violent insurrection at the Capitol?” Shannon McGregor, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina who researches social media platforms, commented on the tipping point in an interview with Adweek. Often, McGregor noted, social platforms give politicians more leeway than regular users under the guise of “newsworthiness.” The extent to which companies should moderate content has been a messy debate, testing the parameters of free speech on private platforms and culminating with Trump’s removal.…

LAST YEAR THREW A Texas-sized wrench into media plans everywhere. But while businesses had to slam on the brakes and figure out how to react, Fort Worth, Texas-based PMG had a plan—one that didn’t involve furloughing or laying anyone off. Since the agency was built as a digital-first ecommerce-based company, it was easier to pivot for its client base, leading to an estimated 30% or more revenue growth year over year, the majority of which was from media operations. As an independent agency with offices in Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin, Texas, as well as London, New York and Los Angeles, PMG has risen in prominence since its founding in 2010 thanks to its “Digital made for humans” approach to business, which founder George Popstefanov describes as a “pursuit to…

In a year that saw groundbreaking Black Lives Matter protests across the world, this Black History Month hits a bit differently for many consumers. According to data from analytics company Engine Insights, many of the talking points around diversity, equity and inclusivity that sprouted up earlier in the year are still fresh in people’s minds. In fact, 66% of respondents said they agree with refocusing on being more conscious about DEI since George Floyd was killed by police in May 2020, with 26% saying they strongly agree. Going further than personally educating themselves around DEI, respondents said they also want to see that these values have impacted the brands they buy from (48% agree with that sentiment, and 19% strongly agree), celebrities they follow (49% agree, 19% strongly agree) and…

Code and Theory was just handed a rebranding assignment like no other, tasked with reimagining the identity and visual representation of one of the NFL’s oldest franchises as it moves away from a former team name widely regarded as one of the most racist in professional sports. The new brand and identity will be developed with the goals of inclusivity, reflecting the D.C./Maryland/Virginia region, and resonating with fans both regionally and across the country, while also nodding to the team’s long history. “A team embodies itself in the community almost unlike any other brand. It’s important to make it very transparent and inclusive,” Code and Theory founder and CEO Dan Gardner told Adweek. “We wanted to take the history and not forget it’s one of the older organizations [in the…

Last year, shops of all sizes made changes on the fly to weather continuous economic headwinds and changing client demands. Most managed to survive, and some even thrived. However, in the middle of it all was looming data from industry analyst Forrester: By the end of this year, 50,000 agency jobs at all levels will disappear. There is a great deal of talent out there now. Not only do they have the agency experience, but many also have the brand contacts to start their own shops. Some industry insiders speculate that the next great indie-agency boom could be on the horizon. “People at some of these agencies [were] already ‘intrapreneurs,’” agency consultant Peter Levitan said, referring to those who drove innovation and growth at their previous shops. “So these people…

How did you get to where you are today? The learnings and inspiring leadership from my grandfather and my father, both self-made entrepreneurs, had a massive impact on my values, principles and work ethics. Courage has also been an important driver—courage to step into different roles, industries, countries and places outside of my comfort zone. How do you foster strong professional relationships as you grow in your career? Fostering and keeping relationships strong is important. Connect when it makes sense, share ideas, ask for their point of views and offer any support I might be able to provide. It is easy to connect when you genuinely care about the people you are talking to. What’s one way you’ve invested in yourself that has had the most impact over the course…

THERE ARE A LOT OF WORDS that can be used to describe 2020. For Nancy Tortorella, Wavemaker’s U.S. chief client officer, one, in particular, comes to mind: “whiplash.” “We went from clients wanting to very quickly pull back on dollars to wanting to reinvest and then wanting to be smart about understanding trends, media consumption and consumer behavior,” Tortorella says. The frenzy came just as Wavemaker unveiled a new visual identity and “Positive provocation” rebrand. The rollout was March 12, just days before New York, home of the agency’s U.S. headquarters, went into lockdown. The repositioning included practical changes, like a new operating system, but it also served as the basis for a new mindset at the agency, one that encouraged employees to challenge clients and old ways of thinking.…