articles of note
scam ads were a $16 billion business for Meta in 2024 (Campaign)
The extensive report from Reuters shows that the social media giant’s various platforms are serving up as many as 15 billion scam ads a day to unsuspecting consumers (paywall).
federal government should spend ad dollars on Canadian media (Media in Canada)
In the Ipsos survey for the Toronto Star, 83% of respondents support the idea of a ‘buy Canadian’ mandate.
ChatGPT’s new ads show even AI can’t deny the brand-building power of TV (Mark Ritson)
Mark Ritson is amused that OpenAI’s first global brand campaign features emotional ads shot on film and broadcast on TV. Most marketers would have reached that conclusion without a super-AI.
Canadian NHL fans most likely to watch on live, linear TV (Media in Canada)
The annual Vividata study breaks down hockey fans by team, market — and passion.
high-attention media is more profitable, finds Peter Field, Lumen and Newsworks (The Media Leader)
High-attention media campaigns deliver significantly better business outcomes compared with low-attention ones, according to a study from news publishing marketing body Newsworks, attention measurement company Lumen and effectiveness expert Peter Field.
marketers are terrible at judging the fame and uniqueness of their brand assets (WARC)
Marketers risk significant blind spots if they use their intuition to judge their branding, but working as a group and deploying consumer research offers a way forward, according to new research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute.
Ritson’s recession playbook: 9 steps marketers should take to survive the dark times ahead (Mark Ritson)
Mark Ritson advises marketers to continue their brand building efforts: “You maintain the long of it because its impact is delayed but substantial and it will kick in exactly when you need it as the recession ends.”
why mental availability, ESOV are fading: Peter Field, Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood warn ad industry faces triple jeopardy threat, effectiveness rulebook ripped up (Mi3)
Three effectiveness experts join forces to promote brand building: “… performance marketers believe brand is a load of tosh and that there is nothing that a timely & relevantly-served promotional message can’t achieve. That, of course, is totally flawed.”
research in support of the principle of future demand (James Hurman)
Great summary from James Hurman on why we need to reframe “brand building” as “future demand” — and how TV advertising can drive long lasting business effects.
can you achieve long and short at the same time? usually, no (Mark Ritson)
Mark Ritson on why you can’t brand-build and sell in the same spot: “It’s so totally different on so many levels that trying to get a single ad to do both is highly unlikely to be as effective as splitting up your budget.”
what we know about TV effectiveness (WARC)
WARC explores the current thinking and writing on the subject of TV effectiveness, a discipline of measurement that has undergone significant change in light of TVOD and streaming.
don’t short-change your brand: the case for a return to brand-building (thinktv‘s Laura Baehr)
With the rise of short-termism, our VP of Marketing, Laura Baehr, makes the case for a return to brand-building.
the top ten drivers of marketing effectiveness from the Effie Awards — and beyond (WARC)
WARC’s must read summary of Mark Ritson’s vital advice on advertising effectiveness.
TV ads are too short-term in focus (WARC)
Brands are too focused on narrow, goal-orientated TV creative rather than making ads that are based on empathy, relationships and human connection, according to a study by Orlando Wood with market-research firm System1.
confronting the dangers of a short-term marketing strategy (AdAge)
If you fail to invest in long-term brand building, your consumer connections won’t stand the test of time.
Adidas: we over-invested in digital advertising (MarketingWeek)
Adidas admits that a focus on efficiency — rather than effectiveness — led it to over-invest in performance and digital at the expense of brand building.
is efficiency killing brands? (AdAge)
“Digital marketing has unleased an obsession with efficiency and short-termism, one that’s trading long-term brand building for short-term ROI.” This Ad Age article dives further into this troubling advertising trend — that includes a too-heavy reliance on targeting — and how it will ultimately hurt long term profit.
See also Peter Field’s presentation on the Dangers of Short-termism