Innehållsförteckning för October 9, 2017 från Adweek

State Street Corp., parent company of the investment firm behind Wall Street’s iconic Fearless Girl statue, agreed last week to pay a combined $5 million to more than 300 women and 15 black employees who were paid less than their white, male counterparts, according to a federal audit. (State Street has officially denied the claims.) The payout comes at an especially awkward time for the company’s subsidiary, State Street Global Advisors: its Fearless Girl campaign (and McCann New York-designed statue), which aimed to celebrate women in leadership and encourage investment in corporations with women in top positions, has dominated advertising awards shows since debuting in March of this year.…

Whether they’re developing groundbreaking ad tech products, creating viral content or breathing new life into iconic brands, the members of this year’s Young Influentials list can be counted on to shake things up in media, marketing, tech and more. On our cover is Issa Rae, the multitalented star and creator of HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy series Insecure—not to mention an actual CoverGirl herself. She joins a remarkable group that includes a YouTube phenom making the jump to TV, the product guru behind Slack’s huge success and a 20-year-old former VC. For more, read on. —Emma Bazilian ISSA RAE It’s a Friday afternoon in late August, and Issa Rae—the creator, star and executive producer of HBO’s Insecure—is leaving the bar at The London hotel in midtown Manhattan. But before she can…

It’s rare that an ad takes a serious look at one of the most fundamental of human problems: the pain caused by difficult family relationships. Volkswagen steps boldly into that fray with a lovely new long-form ad in Denmark, “Generations.” Made by creative shop Very Agency, it features a man taking a road trip with his aging father in the old man’s vintage Beetle. From the start, it’s clear this will be a bumpy ride, as the son emerges from the car screaming in anger at the sky and punching the air. Only later do we understand what’s happened. (Suffice it to say, old wounds have surfaced.) In the end, it’s an intriguing way to compellingly connect person and product.…

1 LAY OFF THE HARD SELL Creating a voice skill or app solely for self-promotion can be seen as aggressive or off-putting. 2 MAKE IT HELPFUL If you want people to use a skill more than once, you need to give them useful information that aligns with your brand message. 3 DON’T FORGET THE ANALYTICS Early voice apps provide an excellent opportunity to experiment, gather data and learn what resonates with consumers. 4 THINK VISUALLY AS WELL AS VERBALLY In addition to audio, well-designed voice apps display a card in a mobile app or on a device like Echo Show. 5 MINIMIZE FRICTION Voice is ultimately another interface, like keyboards and touchscreens, but with less room for error. It’s got to be brutally simple and intuitive.…

Over the course of my career, I’ve seen all sorts of agency-client relationships. I believe long-standing partnerships are thanks to huge amounts of trust, communication and understanding. Trust is especially important. Almost all clients and agencies (98 percent, in fact) believe that a relationship that’s based on trust leads to better work. But let’s be honest, not every agency-client relationship is perfect. Here are the four types of agency-client relationships we all may be in (whether we want to admit it or not). The crappy agency with the great client Hard to spot (since every agency thinks it’s great), but this is way more common than you think. I see it all the time. Agencies love to criticize their clients. “My client doesn’t want to do great work.” “My client…

THE GLASS For decades, crystal makers added lead to achieve clarity in the glass. But Swarovski recently patented “Advanced Crystal,” which has no lead in the formula at all. THE COLOR Crystals are available in 73 colors, but the hue varies further with the addition of various coatings. Even so, the most popular color is none: clear, natural crystal. THE CUT Swarovski’s plant in Wattens, Austria, holds its top-secret cutting machines that facet the crystals for maximum light refraction—er, sparkle. On the night of May 19, 1962, Peter Lawford, hosting a Democratic Party fundraiser for JFK at New York’s Madison Square Garden, ceded the podium for one of the most famous performances of the 20th century. Having snuck away from the set of her latest film, Marilyn Monroe strode into…

“No wonder ad blockers are growing 20 percent a year. I mean, how many times does a person need to see a toilet paper ad to get the point?” 80.6% ESTIMATED SHARE OF U.S. MOBILE AD DOLLARS THAT WILL BE SPENT ON IN-APP ADS BY 2018. (SOURCE: EMARKETER) P&G CHIEF BRAND OFFICER MARC PRITCHARD ADDRESSING EXCESS FREQUENCY AT LAST WEEK’S ANA’S MASTERS OF MARKETING ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO, FLA. THE EXECUTIVE ALSO REVEALED THAT THE COMPANY IS “DESIGNING ADS TO WORK IN TWO SECONDS.”…

Whether she was launching her own PR agency or overseeing social media strategy at digital firms like iCrossing and T3 or covering entertainers as a freelance writer, God-is Rivera has always been passionate about including people of all cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds not just in the marketing industry, but in the creative work that agencies produce. It’s that same drive that led Rivera to her current role as the director of inclusion and cultural resonance at VML, where she focuses on bringing diverse talent into the agency while also helping clients create messaging for a diverse audience. “I don’t think that agencies are paying enough attention to resonating with cultures. It’s not a tool you can buy,” said Rivera, adding, “As the advertising industry, we have to understand that we…