Indice dei contenuti per September 12, 2022 in Adweek

‘We are intentionally expanding the ecosystem of who we serve to better match today’s definitions of “sport” and “athlete.”’KALEN THORNTON, CMO, GATORADE ‘You have to focus on the present but invest in the future.’ANGELA ZEPEDA, CMO, HYUNDAI ‘Our marketing vision in particular rests on the idea that we need to invite more people to the bar … people of color, but also women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.’SOFIA COLUCCI, GLOBAL VP, MILLER FAMILY OF BRANDS AND ECONOMY ‘As long as there are opportunities to organically link a metaverse activation back to broader marketing strategy and efforts, we will stay on the edge of discovery.’BRIAN POVINELLI, SVP OF BRAND, LOYALTY AND PORTFOLIO MARKETING, MARRIOTT ‘I am both excited and humbled when big national global partners want to get on board…

Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Columnist Network series, which explores the tactical thoughts and actions from Adweek’s community of high-level experts. In his stand-up routine on advertising, comedian George Carlin said, “America’s leading industry is still the manufacture, distribution, packaging and marketing of bullshit.” Although the bit is decades old, the public’s attitude toward advertising unfortunately hasn’t changed much. But something has: We are now more connected than ever before. Digital technologies and social media give brands greater access to consumers and create new ways to engage and interact. But they also make it easy for customers to abandon, or even damage, a brand they feel has done wrong. It is tougher to earn brand loyalty in this environment, so marketers must continually nurture these relationships as…

THE LAST TWO YEARS have seen political and social upheaval unlike any other, not to mention soaring inflation that has crowded out personal values in favor of price value. But consumers have spoken out about what they want, both online and in their shopping habits. They expect brands they choose to be both attuned to their ethical and moral standards while also being mindful of the strains on their wallets. Ensuring that brand values and performance are mutually reinforced, as opposed to being seen as exclusive, is the challenge that signifies an Adweek Brand Genius. That right brain-left brain balance is the primary thread running through the profiles of this year’s honorees. While no single executive or brand is monolithic in their thinking, all people and organizations have natural tendencies…

Tita-Reid began her role as the global CMO for Logitech just weeks after the pandemic first put the world on pause. It was a circumstance whose ill timing quickly gave way to an opportunity for the electronics company. The 40-year-old Swiss business had earned a reputation as a trusted maker of sophisticated computers and their peripheral technology. But Tita-Reid knew the brand could tap into a larger market, one poised for growth as lockdown measures settled in. Under her leadership, the hardware firm set its sights on the expanding universe of digital creators and gamers, an audience whose ranks would soon swell during the doldrums of the pandemic. In February 2021, Logitech unveiled its first-ever Super Bowl commercial. The spot was a kaleidoscopic montage of artists, graphic designers and digital…

At a time when spending more than two years at a company signifies someone as practically a lifer, Franklin’s 15 years with Salesforce is an impressive milestone. And yet, there is a degree of newness in her role as CMO. She was promoted to lead the SaaS marketing giant’s brand efforts in January 2021. And she’s brought with her the deep institutional knowledge of Salesforce’s identity. At the same time, Franklin, who has degrees in chemical engineering and biochemistry, has absorbed a lifetime’s work around science and technology. She’s found her scientific background a useful approach to the creative industry. It’s allowed her to marry what she calls “beginner’s brain” with technical expertise. “You’re taught in engineering school [to] write down your given problem statement, the assumptions that you’re making,…

With control over an $8.5 billion ad budget across a roster of 400 brands, from Dove to Ben & Jerry’s, overseeing Unilever’s marketing department is one of the biggest jobs in the business. So it was surprising when, in April 2022, it was announced that chief digital and marketing officer Braams had a new title: chief digital and commercial officer. “We’re not dropping marketing; we’re adding sales,” Braams told Adweek at the time, saying the shift was designed to reflect the “blurring lines” between sales and ecommerce. Since then, she has appointed new category managers across beauty and well-being, personal care, home care, nutrition and ice cream to drive this transformation. Six months in, it’s proving to be the right choice, with Braams revealing Unilever is well on in its…

For the past two years, carmakers have been shifting lanes to prove they’re out in front of the electric future. As the last, best hope for capturing a true mass of viewers, the Super Bowl has been at the center of automotive brands’ efforts to balance appeals to sustainability. Six electric vehicle ads appear in the 2022 Super Bowl. All were obviously entertaining, but one stood out: Kia America’s spot for the EV6—aka the “robo dog ad.” It was Kia America’s 13th appearance in a Super Bowl. The spot touched on both the practical aspects of marketing while reflecting on Kia America’s brand purpose. Specifically, robo dog was part of a wider campaign that included a partnership with the Petfinder Foundation designed to help shelter animals find their forever homes.…

For each of the 135 flights it made, the space shuttle program never failed to churn up plenty of media coverage. But few launches drew more attention than STS-26, Discovery’s launch on Sept. 29, 1988. This was the Return to Space mission following the Challenger explosion two years and eight months earlier. Accordingly, reporters scoured NASA’s 68-page statement to expound upon features like the new Crew Escape System and the redesigned solid rocket boosters. But few (if any) noticed a detail that appeared at the bottom of page 57. It, too, made STS-26 a distinctive launch in its own tiny way. That page listed the meals the crew members would be eating in space, plus their snacks—including one box of Goldfish crackers. Pepperidge Farm’s famous crunchy orange snack was literally…

40% of Disney’s total upfront dollars went to streaming and digital. Peacock doubled its upfront revenue to more than $1 billion. Investment in TelevisaUnivision’s ViX more than doubled, with 70% of clients investing in linear also leaning into ViX. AVOD service Tubi received significant commitments in only its second year as part of the greater Fox upfront offering. BILL BRADLEY IS ADWEEK’S DEPUTY TV EDITOR. HE JOINED ADWEEK FROM SCREEN RANT, BEFORE THAT, BILL SPENT 7 YEARS AT HUFFINGTON POST AS ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR. @GUMGUMERSON…

Even in a nation that had grown accustomed to “challenging times,” few months in recent memory were as dire as November 2020. Some 4 million Americans contracted Covid-19 that month, more than most countries had reported for the entire year. Refusing to concede the November election, former President Donald Trump was instead filing lawsuits to overturn it. The number of demonstrators killed while protesting the death of George Floyd by police had risen to six. Some 3.6 million people were out of work. Prices for everyday necessities were climbing. And, that month, the CDC suggested Americans cancel any holiday travel plans. It was probably the worst time imaginable to launch a new brand—but that was exactly what Pharrell Williams was doing. The artist, songwriter and producer had already invested countless…

Airbnb debuted an ambitious new booking approach this past summer, breaking all listings on its app and website into 56 categories. What’s more, the company began arranging listings by date rather than location. That might not seem like a major innovation, but it reflects Airbnb’s recognition of subtle changes in travelers’ mindsets. By last summer, the world was grappling with the contradictions of living life in a new phase of the pandemic. There was a sense of openness, almost like a return to the “before times.” At the same time, Covid-19 surges continued to wax and wane. For Airbnb, those two feelings don’t represent a dichotomy. It’s not a choice of paths or a clear divide in travelers’ sensibilities. Asai, Airbnb’s global head of marketing, echoed company CEO Brian Chesky,…

‘We remain humble in our journey to learn every day and ambitious to act as a leader for our category and our industry.’ If mere mention of the words “beer” or “cold one” conjures a mental image of the red Budweiser logo or a blue can of Bud Light, that’s largely due to good marketing. And parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev is great at marketing. So great, in fact, that this summer the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity named the planet’s largest brewer its Creative Marketer of the Year, placing AB InBev into a venerated realm populated by Apple, Google, Burger King and Coca-Cola for its history of exceptional work. “It’s an incredible recognition for our company and the entire team’s work to transform our business,” said Marcondes, the company’s…

‘We invest the same level of craft and storytelling into our marketing that our viewers expect from our programming.’ When Enterlin joined HBO in 2002, streaming didn’t exist at the company. Now, as evp of marketing for HBO Max, Enterlin is tasked with overseeing strategy, development and marketing for HBO and HBO Max brands and programming. He’s also leading campaigns for some of the most high-profile series out there. “I’ve essentially grown up at HBO and HBO Max. I really put down roots at HBO at the right time as original programming was continuing to take off and expand,” said Enterlin, who’s worked on campaigns over the years for original series like Westworld, Veep, True Blood, Big Little Lies and, of course, Game of Thrones. “From where I sit as…

When Alexis McGill Johnson became acting president and CEO at Planned Parenthood in 2019, after serving as a board member for more than 11 years (including a 2013-2015 stint as board chair), there were some pressing items on her to-do list. One of them became increasingly critical after she permanently assumed the role in 2020, particularly in the last three months: She needed to build up the infrastructure around abortion services as threats to Roe v. Wade mounted in the form of gerry-mandering and limits to abortion access on a state-by-state basis. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision on June 24, it didn’t necessarily change how Planned Parenthood, Adweek’s 2022 Purpose Brand honoree, approached its day-to-day work. Instead, the ruling made the organization’s mission…

Geniuses come in all shapes and sizes. But as brilliant as they are, there’s one attribute big dreamers often lack: a sense of practicality. So it was with Buckminster Fuller. An architect, engineer and philosopher of indisputable brilliance, Fuller invented the geodesic dome (which sort of caught on) along with floating cities and igloo housing (which didn’t). His most dashing creation, however, was the Dymaxion car. A portmanteau of “dynamic,” “maximum” and “ion,” the three-wheeled Dymaxion could turn on a dime, carry 11 passengers and—owing to its aerodynamic profile—notch 30 miles per gallon (great economy even by today’s standards). But in 1933, when the prototype model flipped over and killed its driver, this vision of the automotive future was quietly consigned to the garage of history.…

The age of the reanimated brand is stumbling forth to a new future. Formerly irrelevant retailers and torpedoed platforms of yore are clawing their way from brand history into today’s zeitgeist—but in some cases, the association with the original brand is only skin deep. Following two bankruptcies and an acquisition by Alex Mehr- and Tai Lopez-owned holding company Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), RadioShack rose from the grave and shuffled to social media, unleashing a near-constant stream of crude, R-rated commentary that has gone on for weeks and prompted an astronomical surge in social engagement. Meanwhile, LimeWire has also emerged from the netherworld. In 2010, the platform was shut down due to copyright infringement, but over a decade later, the brand has returned to reestablish itself as a legitimate venture. Neither…

Co-founds The Neptunes in 1992, a production powerhouse that would define the sound of the 2000s. Founds Billionaire Boys Club apparel brand, 2003. Founds Icecream apparel, 2004. Launches Millionaire sunglasses with Louis Vuitton, 2005, kicking off long-term partnership. Becomes creative director for recovered plastics textile company Bionic Yarn, 2008. Pharrell Williams x Moncler outerwear collection launches, 2010. Founds Billionaire Girls Club apparel, 2011. Creates I Am Other, 2012, an umbrella for his business ventures. Williams’ tune Happy drops in late 2013, becomes most successful song of 2014. Uniqlo launches limited I Am Other collection, 2014. Adidas Originals x Pharrell Williams debuts 2014, starting long-term partnership. Starts long-term partnership with Chanel, 2014. French fashion boutique Colette does capsule collection with Billionaire Boys Club, 2014. 2014–2017: Williams appears as a judge on…

In 2021, Google’s revenue grew by a staggering 41% to $257.6 billion. With media consumption at new highs and advertisers eager to capitalize on pent-up demand, one of the world’s biggest media and advertising technology companies stood to benefit. Twohill, Google’s CMO, took advantage of the attention and dollars the tech giant had at its disposal in 2022 to not just accelerate growth but also make a difference. Much of Google’s brand messaging this past year involved the company’s efforts to use technology to benefit underrepresented communities. Starting early in the year, Google used its coveted spot in the Super Bowl to highlight its Real Tone feature, which captures the nuances of diverse skin tones, on the Google Pixel 6. The soundtrack for the spot was Lizzo’s “If You Love…

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey’s story is one of multiple founding stories. But all those stories of the spirit brand named for Nathaniel “Nearest” Green, the former slave who taught Jack Daniel how to distill, converge around CEO and founder Weaver. Weaver has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 25 years. Her career profile includes real estate executive, historian and marketing maven. Inspired by a news story highlighting the previously overlooked Green, Weaver contacted his descendants to start the company in 2016. Two years later, the Nearest Green Distillery opened. Since then, Uncle Nearest has sold 3 million bottles. Not only is Uncle Nearest the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history, according to Inc. magazine, but it’s also the best-selling African American-founded spirit brand of all time. Weaver has…

When Chavez made the leap from gaming to fast food, he didn’t just ease into the role—he hit the ground running. Chavez left Nintendo after 11-and-a-half years last November to become the KFC U.S. CMO. The initial goal for his new role was to “usher the brand into its next phase of growth and customer acquisition,” he said. The fast-food chain immediately went to work. Just a month after Chavez settled in at KFC, the brand collaborated with agency partner Nimbus on a yearlong partnership with Grammy-nominated rapper Jack Harlow, who happens to be from Louisville, Ky. Between a concert series in Harlow’s hometown and a $250,000 donation to the American Red Cross for those impacted by the Kentucky tornado in December, the brand also introduced the Jack Harlow Meal,…

51% of voters support brands speaking about abortion access.* 72% of Gen Z respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” support brands discussing abortions, compared to 56% of millennials, 49% of boomers and 42% of Gen X.* 51% support brands covering medical services, travel and lodging for employees traveling to another state for abortion access. 56% support brands allowing employees to relocate to a state that provides access to abortions. 49% support a brand making a statement in opposition to the Roe v. Wade ruling, while 29% would like to see a statement endorsing the ruling. 52% want brands to donate money to organizations protecting abortion, while 31% oppose such donations. 70% of Gen Z respondents believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. 44% of Gen Z respondents said they would not accept a job that did not…