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Samsung Audits Its Marketers; Walmart Trains an Automated Personal Shopper; MillerCoors Sues Over Corn Syrup
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PHOTO: DON EMMERT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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First up, a Samsung audit of its U.S. marketing operation resulted in layoffs for a number of staffers, Alexandra Bruell and Suzanne Vranica report for The Journal.
Samsung looked partly at dealings between its marketing staff and business partners such as media companies and ad agencies. Marketers frequently go with such partners to events they’re sponsoring, like the Super Bowl or the Oscars, or let vendors seeking business pay for perks like a decent lunch. But that can also pose a conflict of interest, calling into question whether marketers are steering resources toward the best-performing marketing channels. Some employees who were fired said they have been treated unfairly, and that Samsung’s findings in some cases were trivial and didn’t merit its actions.
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Customer agents Nicole Jaffoni and Kylie McLaughlin at Jetblack offices in lower Manhattan. PHOTO: KEVIN HAGEN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Walmart is running a money-losing order-by-text service called Jetblack to train an AI system that could eventually fuel automated personal shopping, preparing for a world where the search bar matters less and voice assistants matter more.
“This is a long journey,” says Jetblack CEO Jenny Fleiss, a co-founder of Rent the Runway. “And I think we were aware of that going in.”
On the other hand: “I know a full cemetery of companies that have tried to do that and failed,” an AI pro says.
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PHOTO: ANHEUSER-BUSCH VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
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And now, the lawsuits: MillerCoors wants a jury to decide whether Bud Light misleads consumers when its ads drench rivals in corn-syrup innuendo, as it has since its Super Bowl commercials called out Miller Lite and Coors Light for using corn syrup in their brewing process. (Not that there’s anything wrong with corn syrup, all parties repeatedly insist, earnestly toasting American farmers and affixing a hashtag.)
MillerCoors argues in its suit that the ads “deceive beer consumers into believing that there is corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup in Miller Lite and Coors Light.” There’s no corn syrup left once brewing is done, the company says, and high-fructose corn syrup is never involved. So billboards declaring that Bud Light has “100 percent less corn syrup” than its targets are grinding gears over at MillerCoors, which wants all the ads to stop and “corrective” advertising to take their place.
Anheuser-Busch says it stands by its campaign.
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Cardi B filed to trademark her “okurrr" catchphrase (also: “okurr”) for use on clothes, posters and paper cups. [Billboard]
Procter & Gamble is promoting Secret in ads advocating equal pay. [Campaign]
Netflix is staffing up to strike more deals licensing its characters and placing more products in shows. [Cheddar]
Auction-theory Ph.D.s have advice for advertisers and publishers as online auctions move to a top-bid-wins model. [Ad Exchanger]
Pinterest, which is pitching itself to investors as an advertising alternative to Facebook and Google, sped up the timing of its IPO and could list shares on the New York Stock Exchange next month. [WSJ]
Former Netflix marketing exec Stephen Bruno was named CMO at Metro Goldwyn Mayer. [TheWrap]
Bumble hired Grindr executive Michele Tobin as its first vice president of partnerships, responsible for lining up business with other brands. [The Drum]
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We bring you the most important (and intriguing) marketing news every day. Write me at nat.ives@wsj.com any time with feedback on the newsletter or comments on specific items. We want to hear from you.
And follow the CMO Today team on Twitter: @wsjCMO, @natives, @alexbruell.
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