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Better Metrics, Maintaining Creativity and Other Challenges for 2019 |
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Hello CMOs. Happy New Year. Starting tomorrow, CMO Today editor, Nat Ives will take the reins of this newsletter.
You’ll still see me popping up here on occasion, and be sure to follow my marketing coverage (and that of my colleagues) at at CMO Today.
Thanks for reading, sending feedback and for all the pun appreciation since I took over this newsletter in May 2017. It’s been quite the ride.
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| Rising Up to the Challenge of Our Rivals |
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PHOTO: MICHAEL NAGLE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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As you head into your 2019 planning, spare a thought for five CMOs who have recently taken on demanding roles at brands contending with image problems.
CMO Today’s Alexandra Bruell outlines the tasks ahead for Facebook’s Antonio Lucio, Uber’s Rebecca Messina, the NFL’s Tim Ellis, Chipotle’s Chris Brandt, and Alessandro de Pestel of Under Armour.
Aside from those brands’ specific issues, marketers everywhere face challenges this year. From the countdown to California’s new privacy law, to balancing data with creativity and making sense of metrics, CMO Today’s Nat Ives takes you through the major preoccupations for marketers in 2019.
While we’re on the “year ahead” theme, have a look at the Journal’s review of the tech industry’s 2019 plans, from the U.S. debut of 5G, to the streaming wars heating up and Pokémon Go maker Niantic finally releasing its much-hyped follow-up—Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
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PHOTO: KRIS TRIPPLAAR/SIPA USA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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One thing that would make life easier for CMOs in 2019: a cross-platform measurement product, universally adopted by all the major players.
It’s a big ask. Digiday’s Tim Peterson reports on how rival measurement firms Comscore and Nielsen are racing to become the chosen one.
The two companies are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum—Nielsen with its traditional TV ratings heritage and Comscore from the digital side—but “nobody’s made it into the middle yet,” said Jonathan Steuer, chief research officer at Omnicom Media Group. Expect more cross-platform product launches in 2019.
Another pressing matter for Nielsen, meanwhile, is its ongoing contract renewal negotiations with CBS. The current deal reportedly lapsed on New Year’s Eve. “The situation—for now—remains fluid,” Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports.
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| Credit Where Credit's Due |
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PHOTO: ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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For years, rewards credit cards have been an important marketing tool for banks. Lenders figured premium perks like airfare and sign-up bonuses would encourage consumers to spend more, earning the banks more interest and boosting their returns. Plus, many banks view rewards programs as a way to reach younger consumers and upsell them on other products.
But their calculations were out of whack: People soon worked out how to game the system, and rewards costs for large banks are rising.
Now JPMorgan, Citigroup and American Express, among others, are discussing how to cut back or rejigger their card reward programs, the Journal reports. If you’ve been busily collecting hotel nights and points, fear not. They’re not planning to end the programs entirely, but the banks do want to shift them in a way that encourages more loyalty and fewer “gamers.”
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“CMOs are more like chief experience officers now. Their job description is being redefined, because there has to be messaging at all touchpoints, not just when someone is buying something.”
| — Andy Main, head of Deloitte Digital, speaking to AdExchanger |
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$33 Billion |
The amount spent across 465 M&A deals in the marketing services industry in 2018, up 144% from 2017, according to consulting firm R3
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From bot traffic to dodgy measurement metrics, a look at how much of the internet is fake. [New York Magazine]
The hottest toy of 2018 was the L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise—a plastic suitcase filled with mystery contents, including dolls and accessories. [New York Times]
MGA Entertainment, the maker of those L.O.L. Surprise dolls, filed a complaint Friday to stop Louis Vuitton interfering with sales of another of its products: a poop emoji-shaped toy purse called Pooey Puitton. [Reuters]
The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson explores how the “media’s post-advertising future is also its past”—a hark back to 19th century publishing. [The Atlantic]
Jack O’Dwyer, founder of an influential public-relations newsletter and magazine, died Dec. 19. He was 85. [Washington Post]
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