This moment is not just for the athletes.
Like clockwork, we’re on the verge of another Olympic Games. However, due to the scourge of COVID, we’re only three years on since athletes last took a go in Tokyo. Paris 2024 effectively serves as the first Olympic Games without a focus on the pandemic since the 2018 Winter Olympics. This year’s version of the Games is not without its own challenges – mainly security, counterterrorism and the continued runoff from global conflicts, namely Ukraine and Israel/Hamas. No matter the challenge, let the games begin!
Among the many decisions digital marketers face, one of the most crucial is how to leverage a social media platform to achieve measurable results and create deeper brand connections. Considerable dollars and time have been spent to essentially break the will of these social channels to the benefit of the marketer. All of this takes place while social channels are on their own ongoing quests to stay ahead of the consumer.
TikTok presents a unique case in this arena, as its leadership has strong beliefs about how the platform meets this challenge. With recent talks of a potential government-mandated sale of TikTok, a particularly intense debate has emerged: how might this affect its millions of users, and more importantly for us, how should marketers approach the platform during this uncertain time?
What is a brand pivot anyway? Pivoting a brand is a significant shift in strategy to attain new growth. Sometimes, it is a direct reaction to marketplace changes; other times, it's a proactive move to expand and extend the brand somehow. Either way, it’s a catalyst for share and profit gains.
When should you consider a brand pivot? Let's discuss some key indicators:
As an agency working directly with tourism boards and agencies nationwide, we have observed notable shifts over the past several months. The dynamic and often volatile nature of the tourism industry requires a keen analytical approach to stay ahead of trends. At Hart, our expertise ensures that our clients are always at the forefront of innovation. With summer being the peak travel season, it is essential for those in the tourism sector to leverage current trends to attract and engage travelers effectively.
Let’s dive into a few trends we’re keeping our eye on this summer, and how we’re leveraging those trends with our clients.
Discover how we can help destination marketers and elevate your travel marketing strategies. Let’s chat!
Today’s media landscape is a chaotic stream of attention-seeking tidbits, seemingly flying through your phone, TV, computer and just about any sightline at warp speed. So, naturally, for advertisers and marketers, standing out is necessary. But standing out for the right reasons is critical.
Want to create standout content for the right reasons? Let’s Talk.
We see examples of controversial creative advertising annually, monthly and sometimes daily. Occasionally the controversy is calculated – capitalizing on the moment to turn eyeballs into earned brand equity. Other times it’s misguided, or not intentional at all.
Let’s explore several risqué ads – funny ads, powerful ads, and some ads not as funny or powerful as they were trying to be – that popped out at us, examine why they caught our attention and determine if they were ultimately successful branding opportunities from a metrics or a feel-good standpoint.
Rebranding is a powerful marketing tool, whether you’re trying to connect with your audience in fresh ways, looking to shake loose from an outdated perception or expanding to a new demographic. But if done incorrectly, it can do much more harm than good.
From Elon Musk’s controversial renaming of Twitter to “X”, to Weight Watchers (now WW) repositioning themselves as a wellness company, to something as simple as Gap’s logo change, there’s no shortage of cautionary tales.
Most recently, online dating app Bumble’s rebrand has set off a wildfire of criticism, even going as far as eliciting an apology from the brand.
Why is this rebrand dubbed the “Bumble Fumble” and what went wrong?
This Mother's Day, let's celebrate the real, imperfect journey of motherhood. The pressure to fit the mold of the "perfect” mom is suffocating. But here's the truth: good enough is good enough.
The "good-enough" mother is flawed, real and relatable, and shatters the facade of perfection, allowing working moms to bring their whole selves to work, interruptions and all.
So what can advertisers do in this new era to embrace the imperfect?
The term "tourism" often conjures images of busy streets, landmarks and crowded attractions. However, nestled down less-traveled paths are many hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Lesser-visited cities, often overshadowed by their larger counterparts, offer their own unique charm and allure not found in bigger metros. And what better way to uncover these hidden gems than through the lens of environmental events that are driving tourism?
First, I want to congratulate both Dr. Russell Zwanka and Western Michigan University for putting together such a successful conference. From the keynote speakers and panel discussions to the amazing students that showed up to support the Food Marketing Program, the 2024 Food Marketing Conference was truly a top-tier experience. Following up on our recent blog about contextual commerce, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on the main themes of the conference as they relate to one larger overall theme: the rise in hyper-personalization in retail.
Hyper-personalization is a marketing strategy powered by data, analytics and AI, providing marketers with the insights and capabilities necessary to adapt to individual customers in real time. Examples of this include Starbucks using AI to craft custom messages to audiences in their apps, Amazon creating hyper-personalized homepages with relevant product recommendations and more.
So what are the factors driving the rise of hyper-personalization and its viability as a successful marketing strategy? Let’s dive in.
The past year has been significantly concerning for the media industry. As reported by Fast Company, more than 21,400 media jobs were lost in 2023. Just three months into 2024, the Los Angeles Times has laid off more than 20 percent of its newsroom, The Wall Street Journal has cut 20 staff members in its Washington, D.C., office (during an election year, at that), and TIME Magazine has laid off 15 percent of its staff. Even the relatively “new” media outlet BuzzFeed, which was once scoffed at as a valid news source due to its prolific spelling errors and use of memes, shut down its BuzzFeed News division in April 2023.
While these recent numbers are staggering, the collapse of traditional journalism is certainly not a new issue. In fact, newsroom employment in the United States alone dropped 26 percent between 2008 and 2021 according to Pew Research Center.
While we tend to blame the collapse of traditional journalism on the rise of social media, it is important to note that democratizing the dissemination of information isn’t an inherently bad thing. It has given a voice to many who may have not otherwise had the opportunity to have a platform.
However, there are a few key concepts we face in this new world: