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Fireside Chat Replay: The Kansas City Chiefs and Unilever

Recently, Lindsay Teague, SVP of Client Solutions at Cadent, led a panel discussion featuring Leslie Miller, Chief Digital & Communications Officer, Ice Cream & Nutrition at Unilever and Lara Krug, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer at The Kansas City Chiefs during the Brand Innovators Sports Marketing Upfronts: Super Bowl LVIII. Their discussion focused on growing female fandom, the “celebrity effect,” and how we are entering a new era of sports marketing. Leslie, Lara, and Lindsay explored the opportunity presented by women increasing their viewership of sports and the importance of women taking on bigger roles in sports-related sponsorships – both as athletes and executive brand marketers. Learn more about how The Kansas City Chiefs and Unilever brands like Hellman’s and Dove approach their marketing efforts around the Big Game.  

Watch the full discussion below.  

Fireside Chat Replay: Mattel, Rare Beauty and Thrive Market

Recently, JC Kawalec, SVP of West Coast Sales at Cadent led a panel with Amina Pasha, CMO of Thrive Market, Jason Horowitz, SVP of U.S. Marketing/Global Head of Media & Digital at Mattel, and Katie Welch, CMO of Rare Beauty. As part of the Brand Innovators Sports and Culture Summit hosted by the LA Rams, the discussion focused on the importance of tentpole marketing strategies. Amina, Jason, and Katie shared how their organizations plan around key tentpoles, create their own tentpole moments, and use marketing activations throughout the customer journey. Learn more about how Thrive Market, Mattel, and Rare Beauty approach event marketing campaigns and what other brands should consider when it comes to tentpole marketing.

Watch the full discussion below. 

5 Key Takeaways for Marketers from Cannes Lions 2023

This year, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity gathered over 15,000 people, including advertisers and marketers, AdTech companies, agencies, and more to celebrate creativity at its finest. The week-long event left attendees with new connections, bits of inspiration, and strategic takeaways that will shape the future of advertising through 2023 and beyond. Whether you were able to make it to the French Riviera or not, here are five takeaways to keep in mind for your upcoming brand campaigns.  

1. AI is front and center with a focus on advertising insights and uncertainty around content creation. 

AI is everywhere, especially generative AI since ChatGPT entered the conversation. Amazon, Snap Inc., Omnicom Group and others put a spotlight on their AI initiatives at Cannes. For instance, Snap Inc. showcased their conversational AI product, My AI, which can act as an ad targeting and social listening tool and even improve advertising on the app.

Throughout the festival, some industry leaders obsessed over AI and its productivity potential, while others warned that AI is not a substitute for human creativity and content creation. There’s no doubt about the growing importance of AI for advertisers. A recent survey from EMarketer has shown that 70% of brand marketers are most excited about generative AI’s ability to accelerate market research on prospects and customers, as well as create content. AI is sure to remain at the forefront of advertising development, so now is the time to experiment with this new technology.  

2. Advertising creative that evokes nostalgia and sparks fandom proves successful. 

At its core, Cannes brings creativity into the limelight to celebrate creative excellence across the marketing community. ‘Clash from the Past’, a two-time 2023 Grand Prix winner, harnessed the power of nostalgia by creating 40 years of faux history and lore for the game Clash of Clans. The campaign went back in time, using fun and fandom to tug at their audience’s heartstrings and show how nostalgia is a powerful tool for brand exposure and lift. 

Video games aren’t the only thing that sparked fandom. The festival also welcomed the Stagwell Sport Beach activation with sports playing fields featuring professional athletes playing sports, giving lessons, and chatting with brands. The activation found a clever way to connect sports fandom and marketing by following Apple’s Tor Myhren approach to successful advertising: embracing the product, being confident, and having fun. Ultimately, brands that found their version of fun made the biggest waves at Cannes.  

3. CMOs are shifting their marketing strategies to go back to the basics. 

Many CMOs at the festival shared that they are going “back to the basics” with marketing budgets and staying true to their brand’s values. P&G’s Chief Brand Officer, Marc Pritchard mentioned returning to the fundamentals in an interview with Ad Age and sticking to areas of advocacy within your brand’s wheelhouse. Other brand leaders stressed the same importance for brands to show up authentically in response to the recent political backlash Bud Light faced after their influencer campaign with Dylan Mulvaney. 

Ad Age recently published an ANA report which found that “$20 billion out of $83 billion in open programmatic ad spend was wasted going to ineffective ad placements on bad websites,” which indicates that marketers may need to pay closer attention to where their ad budgets are going. Sweta Patel, VP of Growth Marketing and Merchandising at Roku shared with Business Insider that tighter marketing budgets are driving greater focus and incremental success as teams home in on goals and measurement. Moral of the story: going back to basics isn’t just playing it safe and can have a hand in protecting brand health and marketing budgets. 

4. Retail media networks are on the rise along with a push for data standardization. 

Retail media continues to grab the attention of both advertisers and networks, especially with retailers’ ability to utilize first-party data to target their audience based on their direct needs. According to eMarketer, retail media advertising spend is expected to hit $45.15B in 2023 and more than double by 2027 with spend is expected to reach $106.12B.  

Although retail media has the potential to dominate, it has also missed the mark in key areas like measurement and data standardization. At Cannes, Albertsons pushed for more data transparency by proposing a retail media framework that aims to “create common definitions and standards among retail media networks (RMNs)” for metrics like ROI, conversion rates, and more. The framework serves as a call to action for the industry to come together and discuss how we can better enable retailers to compare their data across the media activation workflow. We expect to see more on the adoption of Albertsons framework and RMN standardization in the months to follow. 

5. Purpose-driven campaigns continue to gain traction, especially in social impact and sustainability. 

Purpose-driven marketing remains prominent as campaigns for a cause generate brand equity and maintain audience attention. A study by Porter Novelli found that 78% of survey respondents are more likely to remember a brand with a strong purpose. While Dove took home a 2023 Grand Prix award for its campaign called #TurnYourBack aimed at combatting false beauty standards, ‘Working with Cancer’ also won for its global campaign focused on erasing the stigma and insecurity of cancer at work

Along with social impact, sustainability became one of the most talked about issues at Cannes as CleanCreatives called on agencies to stop working with fossil fuel companies. Sustainable media also came into play as the same ANA report revealed that not only are made-for-advertising (MFA) sites wasting value advertising dollars, but they’re also contributing to large carbon footprints. Cannes brought valuable attention to the report and began to discuss ways to make sustainable media buying more appealing. When it comes down to it, people want to buy from brands that are making a difference in areas like social impact and sustainability. 

Overall, the 2023 Cannes Lions served as a reminder of how fast the advertising industry can change as new technologies come into play. A few things you should consider in the coming months: AI continues to evolve as new capabilities emerge. Retail media networks are expected to gain more traction given the insights retailers can provide to advertisers. Chief marketers are erring on the side of caution to stay authentic, while purpose-driven marketing still resonates the most with audiences. And when in doubt, lean on fun creative and nostalgia to help make your next brand campaign successful.  

Fireside Chat Replay: GroupM’s Mike Fisher and Cadent’s Lindsay Teague

Recently, Lindsay Teague, VP of Advanced TV Solutions at Cadent led a fireside chat with Mike Fisher, Executive Director of Investment Innovation at GroupM during the spring Brand Innovators Media Buying Summit. Their discussion focused on the change in consumer TV and video viewership, how to reach these audiences as their behaviors shift, and the importance of accountability across the end-to-end media buying transaction. Learn more about GroupM’s approach to fluidity, emerging consolidations within the TV space, and targeting and measurement.  

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: Danone at SXSW

Recently, Andrew Horlick, VP of Channel Partnerships at Cadent led a fireside chat with Linda Bethea, Head of Marketing at Danone, and Eric Flinn, Executive Creative Director at Danone. As part of the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit in Austin, the conversation centered on the importance of ad creative when it comes to CPG marketing. Linda and Eric shared how their work together requires collaboration, trust, and honesty, and how they are finding ways to engage consumers through innovative and inspired campaigns for Danone’s portfolio of brands. Learn more about their creative process and what other consumer brands should consider when it comes to cross-channel marketing.  

Watch the full discussion below.  

Fireside Chat Replay: General Mills and Mindshare

Recently, Jim Tricarico, President of Sales and CRO at Cadent led a fireside chat with Jay Picconatto, Global Commerce and Media Lead at General Mills, and Jaime Martin, Shop+ Commerce Lead at Mindshare. As part of the Brand Innovators Marketing Innovation Summit, their conversation focused on how CPG brands are leveraging audience-based targeting and finding new ways to engage consumers on their path to purchase. Discover how today’s technology is changing the CPG landscape – for both consumers’ in-store shopping experiences and advertisers.

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: CVS Health’s Stephen Murphy and Cadent’s Lindsay Teague

Recently, Lindsay Teague, VP, Advanced TV Solutions at Cadent led a fireside chat with Stephen Murphy, VP, Media, MarTech & Medicaid Marketing at Aetna for CVS Health. Their conversation focused on CVS Health’s approach to emerging media, measurement, and agency relationships for their health, pharmaceutical, and insurance-focused customers. From creating channel-specific advertising to the challenges of building audiences for programmatic media, learn how CVS Health is reaching today’s consumers across the evolving media landscape.

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: AB InBev’s Vitória Bina Monteiro and Cadent’s Rick Beispel

Recently, Rick Beispel, SVP, Sales and Strategy at Cadent led a fireside chat with Vitória Bina Monteiro, Head of Global NA Bev Connections at AB InBev. Their conversation focused on AB InBev’s global non-alcoholic beverage marketing and how the organization uses first- and third-party data. From experimenting with TikTok to activating their Creativity Lab, learn how this multi-national business is finding unique ways to engage audiences.

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: Intuit’s Lara Balazs and Cadent’s Rick Beispel

Recently, Cadent SVP, Sales and Strategy, Rick Beispel led a fireside chat with Lara Balazs, EVP, General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer at Intuit as a part of the 2022 Brand Innovators Kickoff Summit: Setting the Stage for 2022. Their conversation spanned a variety of topics including Intuit’s brand ethos, purpose-driven marketing, and how resiliency paves the way for progress. As an ‘AI-driven expert platform,’ Balazs explains how Intuit’s products and services support individuals’ and SMBs’ financial needs.   

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: Henkel’s Melinda V. Johnson and Cadent’s Lauren Treinen

Last week, Cadent Account Executive, Lauren Treinen hosted a fireside chat with Henkel Director of Marketing, Hair, Melinda V. Johnson as a part of the Brand Innovators’ Women in Retail Marketing livecast. Their conversation focused on Melinda’s experience as a leader in the CPG sector, how the beauty industry has responded to shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors in light of the pandemic, and how she brings a multicultural perspective to each of her brands.   

Watch the full discussion below. 

Fireside Chat Replay: Headspace’s Valerie Kaplan and Cadent’s Paul Alfieri

Last week, Cadent CMO, Paul Alfieri hosted a Cannes fireside chat with Headspace CMO, Valerie Kaplan. They discussed Kaplan’s experience joining a company remotely, the wins and losses of leading a marketing team during the pandemic, as well as how Headspace is responding to changes in consumer opinion and behavior around mental health and wellness.

Watch the full conversation below.

Fireside Chat Replay: Danone’s Surbhi Martin and Cadent’s Jes Santoro

This week, Cadent SVP, Advanced TV and Video Jes Santoro hosted a fireside chat with Danone VP of Marketing Surbhi Martin. They discussed Surbhi’s exciting work with Danone’s Two Good yogurt brand, Danone’s commitment to “walking the talk around purpose” and how the brands Surbhi serves are responding to changes in consumer behavior during COVID and beyond.

Watch the full conversation below.