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Notes on a Facebook Scandal |
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Hello CMOs. Should you ever reach the point where you feel you’ve completed the internet, may I suggest a fun LinkedIn game? Think up the silliest (yet halfway realistic) job title, and search for how many people in the world might actually have it on their business cards.
You know what I mean: “data ninja,” “sales rockstar,” “senior monk”—that kind of thing.
The Journal reports on how more companies are adopting playful job titles to attract talent in a tight labor market. And while the article doesn’t go into it, you just know the marketing and advertising industry must be among the sectors leading the charge.
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Join the #cloud conversation this week with Deloitte. |
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Join the #cloud conversation this week with Deloitte. |
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, Facebook's new policy and communications head, Nick Clegg, and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. PHOTO: Facebook
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Calling all Latin scholars: What do you call an “annus horribilis” that keeps stretching beyond a year? Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 2016, you can’t have failed to notice Facebook’s lengthening litany of public scandals, from lax data-privacy practices to the platform's role in the spread of misinformation and the impact of its growth-at-all-costs culture.
But what was happening inside the company while all of this was going on? “Delays, deny and deflect” is the headline of a New York Times investigation that goes some way to answering that question. There are so many new details that the Times created a handy tl;dr. On Thursday, Facebook published a rebuttal to several of the claims in the story.
The Times reported that Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg (who has largely escaped the kind of admonishment often heaped on Zuck) “ignored warning signs and then sought to conceal them from public view,” when told about the potential for the Facebook platform to be exploited.
When criticism of the company intensified, Facebook ramped up its lobbying efforts. It hired a public-relations outfit which, among other things, reportedly pushed negative stories about its rivals and detractors. Facebook denies that it asked the firm, Definers Public Affairs, to spread false information. Facebook said it ended its contract with Definers on Wednesday night.
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Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now |
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PHOTO: ALEXANDER POHL/ZUMA PRESS
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The Times article promises to make Facebook’s effort to restore trust in its brand even more of an uphill struggle.
It’s not just an external communications fight. Morale inside the company is at a low ebb, the Journal’s Deepa Seetharaman reports. In a recent employee survey, just over half of employees said they were optimistic about Facebook’s future, down 32 percentage points from last year.
Negative sentiment extends to former Instagram employees. “No one ever leaves a job because everything’s awesome,” former CEO Kevin Systrom said after he and co-founder Mike Krieger stepped down. The Washington Post reports on how five of the first 13 original employees working on Instagram, pre-Facebook acquisition, have grown disillusioned by the app. Three have deleted it— permanently or periodically—and one said he felt embarrassed to tell people he worked there, according to the Post.
My oh my, does new Facebook CMO Antonio Lucio have a job on his hands.
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| I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day |
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This year's Christmas ad from John Lewis rolls back the years on Elton John's career, to the moment he was given a piano for Christmas. PHOTO: JOHN LEWIS & PARTNERS
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The U.K. doesn’t really have a tentpole live television event like the Super Bowl for advertisers to show off their creativity and spend lavishly on big-production commercials. For the British advertising community, Christmas is its Super Bowl moment.
For almost a decade, department store John Lewis has created the most highly anticipated Christmas spot each year. It’s out today with its latest effort: an Elton John biopic that traces his career back through the decades—from stadium concerts to the moment he was given his first piano at Christmas as a little boy.
But as I report for CMO Today, U.K. ad land is questioning whether Christmas commercials, with their sleighbells and good tidings and cheer, have become too formulaic.
With Brexit looming and the high street struggling, some agency executives wonder whether marketers are taking fewer risks with their campaigns this year. Indeed, data from System1 Research, which rates ads on their likelihood for longterm brand growth, found this year’s Christmas crop is ranking lower than last. Is the bauble bursting? Is the turkey overstuffed? Is the star fading? Is the [insert every single festive cliché here]?
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PHOTO: KAREN BLEIER/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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I’ll say it quietly, but there’s a school of thought out there suggesting that scrapping the CMO role is a good idea.
Coca-Cola disposed of the CMO position last year when it appointed Francisco Crespo as its chief growth officer.
Speaking to Marketing Week, Coca-Cola Global Vice President of Creative Rodolfo Echeverria said the switch has helped broaden the approach of the marketing department. Not long before Mr. Crespo’s appointment, Coke had announced a strategy to become a “total beverage company,” reducing its reliance on sugary soda, and diversifying into new product areas as it looks to respond to changing consumption behavior.
Marketing at Coca-Cola, Mr. Crespo said, is about driving business. “The basic elements of awareness and winning awards at the Cannes Lions Festival no longer satisfies us,” he added, providing the latest industry dunk on Ad Land’s gluttony for awards (I’m looking at you, Alex Bogusky).
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“Brands need to act like a concierge. Is the brand prepared to provide that? This might be the real differentiator”
| — Nestlé’s Global Head of Digital Innovation Service & Service Models Pete Blackshaw speaking to Digiday on the need for brands to rethink customer service |
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A deep look at how intelligent chatbots could one day automate all our interactions with businesses. [New York Times]
Uber has launched an airline-style rewards program. [The Verge]
There’s a new cottage industry of ad agencies that cater specifically for direct-to-consumer brands. [Business Insider]
Google has added a messaging function to Google Maps so users can keep track of messages they’ve sent to businesses. [Engadget]
Instagram stars have a new side-hustle: Selling custom photo filters. [The Atlantic]
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