We’re searching for the most pressing marketing insights this week.
Why WFH Isn’t Necessarily Good For Women
Harvard Business Review
Flexible working may actually increase work and family-related conflict, reduce opportunities for face-to-face networking and increase a businesses’ bias for rewarding employees who are physically in the office.
Why it matters: Many believe that remote work will enable women to maintain full-time jobs and avoid losing traction in their careers during their caregiving years.
Imagine There’s No Facebook, Where’s The Easy Media Buy?
The Drum
Experts believe that if the Facebook boycotts continue, media buyers will redistribute wealth to Google and Amazon, who are able to provide smaller businesses the targeting that they value from Facebook.
Why it matters: Over 1,000 advertisers have pulled spend from Facebook amid an uproar over its content policies.
Office Hours: Ad Agency Goes Permanently Remote
Ad Age
San Francisco agency Traction permanently shut its doors and switched to working remotely after adopting behaviors and tools that eliminated the need for face-to-face interaction, such as Miro, an online collaborative whiteboard platform.
Why it matters: AdAge’s research shows that agency employees believe teleworking allows for cost savings and help with childcare.
U.S. Retail Sales Surged Higher In June To Pre-Pandemic Levels
Ad Age
As some states started to lift restrictions, the value of retail sales rebounded to about pre-pandemic levels but the trend may reverse amid a resurgence of cases and closures.
Why it matters: The Labor Department announced that first-time applications for unemployment insurance last week were higher than predicted and remain about double the peak in the 2008 recession.
Instagram Influencers Explain Using Expanded Shopping Features
Business Insider
For the first time, creators can enroll their personal Instagram accounts and use Instagram Shopping features to promote their own products as well as brands’ products.
Why it matters: Influencers who were part of the beta test of Instagram’s new shopping features are frustrated about the limited number of brands available to tag and the lack of affiliate links.
Why Better Measurement Is The Secret To Proactive Branding
Ad Age
To accurately measure responses to ads during COVID-19, marketers should couple brand metrics with other behavior signals and test first-party, second-party or third-party audiences prior to launching a campaign.
Why it matters: The IAB’s recent research revealed that less than one-third of marketers felt very confident in the key performance indicators (KPIs) they’re using to measure their success.
As Virus-Wary Shoppers Opt For Online Purchases, Retailers Pay The Price
Reuters
In addition to write-downs for unsold inventory and lower online profits, retailers like Macy’s and Target must deal with higher expenses related to ecommerce amid the pandemic.
Why it matters: RSR Research estimates that typical online orders cost retailers about 10 to 15 percent more than in-store purchases.
Rubik’s Cube Sees 17M TikTok Views With 40th Anniversary Campaign
Mobile Marketer
In honor of its 40th anniversary, Rubik’s launched a TikTok challenge called #CubeAtHome, which invited fans to share videos of themselves solving the puzzle and generated over 17 million views.
Why it matters: The brand has seen a resurgence in interest as people are stuck at home, leading Rubik’s to launch mobile-friendly solution guides on its website.
B2B Marketers Get Down To Business With Digital During COVID-19
AdExchanger
Ernst & Young CMO for the Americas, Toni Clayton-Hine, says the company pivoted its pre-pandemic ad campaign into a content series of five-minute soundbites featuring clients’ top-requested topics.
Why it matters: Over a three-week period, the video received 1.5 million views and moved people from awareness and eventually to Ernst & Young’s website for more information.
The Facebook Backlash Is More Than A Brand Safety Issue
Adweek
Brands are working hard to find a new way to buy media that doesn’t rely as heavily, or at all, on Facebook. Because the stakes are too high, brands probably won’t resume Facebook advertising until the company revises its hate speech policies.
Why it matters: Facebook’s hands-off approach has exposed the importance of contextual relevance, something many brands have long ignored on programmatic advertising.
Opinion: You Can’t Ask Us To Think Outside The Box If You’re Going To Box Us In
Ad Age
Oliver Fuselier, managing director and executive producer at Great Guns USA, believes US advertisers suppress true creative production due to an inability to look beyond the American perspective and because they use the same talent to shoot ads.
Why it matters: Adobe research found that 61 percent of US consumers value diversity in advertising and that they put their trust and money behind that belief.
Avoid Making This Strategic Mistake In A Recession
Harvard Business Review
While navigating COVID, differentiators should not try to change strategies, but instead reduce costs quickly, to a point, and focus on their strengths.
Why it matters: A report from the Becker Friedman Institute of the University of Chicago found that 42 percent of jobs lost so far due to COVID could be permanent losses, which could lead to a demand crisis like in 2008 and therefore a much slower recovery.
Nielsen Data Shows How Consumers Around Globe Have Begun Behaving Alike
The Drum
People are spending more on products that keep them closer to home, and between March and April, 30 percent of new online buyers repeated their online purchase habit.
Why it matters: As per Nielsen, COVID-19 is one of the few times in history when much of the global consumer population is behaving alike.
Facebook Promises Better Guardrails For Brands Scared Of The Chaos In Its News Feed
Ad Age
Scared about brands getting burned, Facebook boycott organizers are demanding Facebook provide transparency about where ads run and provide refunds when content appears near controversial material.
Why it matters: Last week, Facebook released the results of an independent audit performed by the Media Rating Council, which confirmed that Facebook abides by industry-set content standards. Facebook also announced stricter rules against promoting white nationalism.
Gamification, It’s Not Just Fun And Games!
Mobile Marketer
Different ways to apply gamification to initiatives include playable ad units, augmented reality-powered campaigns, incentivized in-app ads and interactive videos.
Why it matters: At a time when people are stuck inside, brands should leverage hard-wired human desires to compete and earn prizes as they pivot digital.
A New 30-Page Report Breaks Down How To Use Instagram Stories Effectively In 2020
Business Insider
Conviva analyzed the 920 top Instagram accounts and over 28,700 stories and found that the most effective users of Instagram Stories were micro-influencers or those with 10,000 to 50,000 followers.
Why it matters: According to the report, having eight or more frames in your Instagram Stories and turning on replies help increase reach rates.
