16734: Wild Wild West Side…?

 

Habilitative Systems, Inc presents “How Wellness Is Won” with odd cowboy imagery. Maybe the company is acknowledging—especially for people of color—the healthcare system feels like the Wild West.

16733: Effie To Become Extra Effin’ Exclusive…?

 

MediaPost reported further on how the merger and acquisitions mania in Adland is extending to awards. An earlier story revealed Ascential—parent company of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity—is considering a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from UK-based Informa.

 

Now Ascential is seeking to acquire the Effie Awards, merging the effectiveness trophies with Lions prizes.

 

As previously noted, Ascential and Informa appear to be run by White men and White women. While the Effie Board of Directors looks reasonably diverse, the Effie Team resembles Ascential and Informa.

 

In short, the blended awards would display more White than gold.

 

Effie Soon To Live In (Cannes) Lions Den

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Events company Ascential, parent of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and Lions Awards, has entered into an agreement to acquire the commercial assets of the Effie ad effectiveness awards.

 

Subject to regulatory approval, Effie will join Ascential’s Lions Division.

 

In addition to hosting the marketing effectiveness awards, Effie provides insights from over 125 markets, in addition to tools and training.

 

If the deal goes through Ascential will also enter a partnership with the not-for-profit Effie Worldwide organization, which will be transformed into a new global Foundation, The Effie Lions Foundation, Inc. It will be dedicated to training all marketing students, especially those under-represented in the marketing community. Additionally, the Foundation will provide a home for Lions’ existing not-for-profit initiatives and provide access to some of the Lions Division digital products.

 

Philip Thomas, CEO, Ascential, stated, “The coming together of Lions and Effie is a powerful testament to the fact that effectiveness and creativity in marketing are inextricably linked.”

 

Headquartered in New York, with offices in Beijing and the UK, Effie has a network of 59 partners covering over 125 markets. Effie will continue to be led by Traci Alford, President and CEO, Effie Worldwide.

16732: Modern Data Stacks Of Bullshit.

 

Adweek published a perspective on why Oracle Advertising is shutting down, which unintentionally underscored why Adland is shutting down—and why most White advertising agencies are in trouble too.

 

The self-promoting author typed roughly 750 words on Oracle Advertising with only a single use of the word ‘creative’—and as a qualifier for strategies. But there are plenty of references to platforms, cookies, measurement, tracking, targeting, activation, analytics, and modern data stacks.

 

In short, advertising today has little to do with creativity in the form of layouts and storyboards—and lots to do with PowerPoint decks and Excel spreadsheets.

 

Oh, and don’t expect any modern data stack to address true diversity in Adland—rather, there is endless data proving the persistent prevalence of systemic racism.

 

Why Oracle Advertising Is Really Shutting Down

 

Here’s a breakdown of what went wrong and how to rebuild successfully

 

By Zach Van Doren

 

Oracle Advertising’s recent news that it’s shuttering its business is a notable milestone in the ongoing disruption and transformation of adtech and martech. Despite its many acquisitions, Oracle failed to integrate these pieces into a marketing cloud stack that worked at a level that could compete with the likes of Adobe or Salesforce.

 

Oracle faced a few core challenges: its reliance on third-party cookies and tracking without proper consent, losing its data sharing agreement with Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and dealing with tightening security and privacy restrictions across the industry such as GDPR. This all hindered Oracle Advertising’s adoption and revenue streams, rendering Oracle BlueKai DMP obsolete.

 

But there’s a deeper cause for Oracle Advertising’s failure—the growing trend of brands centralizing data into a data lake like Snowflake, Databricks, Teradata VantageCloud or Amazon Redshift to unify intelligence and activation, rather than keeping customer data scattered across platforms and relying on third-party cookies. Brands are done with silos and redundancies in their IP. Instead, they’re looking for unified customer data storage and streamlined intelligence across identity resolution, audiences, orchestration, modeling, and measurement—for less reliance on a dying framework and more flexibility to thrive in a new advertising future.

 

Deconstructing Oracle Advertising and rebuilding a modern data stack

 

So what now? Oracle will shut off access to all tools in the Oracle Advertising Suite by September 30th, 2024. Customers have reported the vast majority of Oracle Advertising employees have been let go and that customer support functions have been taken over by off-shore contractors.

 

While Oracle Advertising’s end-of-life may present some challenges to brands who are currently using the product, it presents a bigger opportunity to build a smarter advertising strategy, with a foundation built on first-party data.

 

Audience management

 

With Oracle Advertising, brands uploaded their customer data into the platform for organization, segmentation and activation. They used Oracle BlueKai DMP to create audiences with third-party cookies, which are soon to be deprecated.

 

In a modern data stack, brands can now access licensable data within their data warehouse, allowing for easy segmentation and activation. Measurement and workflows are seamlessly integrated with connected business intelligence and analytics tools.

 

Audience and identity enrichment

 

With Oracle Advertising, brands enriched their first-party data by matching it with third-party data from available marketplaces, creating audience segments that blended behavioral, demographic and other data.

 

In a modern data stack, first-party data is enhanced with partner data for optimized paid media reach and better performance through precise segmentation and modeling. Using a robust ecosystem and data partners like TransUnion, Acxiom and Merkle, first-party data is activated through a customer data platform (CDP) with data from the data warehouse.

 

Activation

 

Using tools within the Oracle Advertising Suite, brands created segments that were exported to paid media platforms for ad targeting, relying on third-party data—a method now becoming ineffective. Brands could alternatively use a media onboarder like LiveRamp, but this approach leads to workflow inefficiencies as well as expensive and dynamic costs.

 

In a modern data stack, activation is direct. By using a data warehouse with a CDP, brands can manage profile attributes, audience segmentation and journey orchestration across paid, owned, digital and offline channels. This approach offers more flexibility, allowing brands to interoperate across identity spaces and activate data directly with partners and walled gardens.

 

Measurement

 

With Oracle Advertising, brands could verify they were serving ads to real people and not bots, ensuring brand safety, and measure ad views, clicks and post-click behaviors to improve audience targeting, channels and creative strategies.

 

In a modern data stack, verification is handled by established players like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify. By centralizing data in a warehouse that connects to audience and orchestration functions, brands can manage behaviors using both first- and third-party profiles. The industry is shifting away from third-party cookie-based measurement, so brands should now centralize user and audience data in a data warehouse, utilizing analytics, measurement and marketing mix modeling or multi-touch attribution for comprehensive measurement.

 

A major shift means it’s time to reassess

 

Oracle’s decision to sunset the Oracle Advertising Suite marks a significant shift in the industry landscape. As businesses navigate these changes, it’s crucial to reassess their digital strategy and consider alternative solutions that align with evolving market dynamics. Whether leveraging emerging technologies or migrating to robust, future-proof platforms, organizations must prioritize agility and innovation to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

16731: How Diversity Can Be Done By Doner In Detroit.

 

MediaPost reported on Detroit-based White advertising agency Doner pledging at least $1 million to hire Detroit-based talent, a regional group decimated by maneuvers like General Motors choosing a new fleet of White advertising agencies from outside of the Motor City.

 

While it appears to have noble and compassionate intentions, one can’t help but feel #HireDetroit is a self-promotional stunt.

 

It also poses global questions about hiring practices in Adland. That is, if it’s cool for an enterprise to recruit by region, why not by race? Why doesn’t Doner—in keeping with its alleged dedication to diversity—take a page from Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall’s playbook and orchestrate a cluster hire strategy? Simply pledge $1 million to exclusively hire Black and Brown staffers.

 

Based on Doner’s racial and ethnic figures (depicted below), the place has perpetuated a preference for Caucasians. What’s more, the underrepresentation of non-Whites would justify a cluster hire strategy.

 

Why not supplement #HireDetroit with #HireDiverse? Surely Doner could find qualified candidates of color in Detroit.

 

Doner Commits $1M To Hire Local Ad Talent

 

By Fern Siegel

 

Detroit-based Doner is lending a hand to ad talent.

 

The mission is to hire Detroit-based talent via #HireDetroit. The new service is a response to the disruption of agency changes and the resulting account loses in the city.

 

“Doner has been a fixture of the advertising landscape since 1937, and we’re not going anywhere,” said David DeMuth, CEO at Doner. “There’s amazing talent here in Detroit. We’re investing $1 million dollars, at minimum, to find the best our city has to offer and continue elevating our work in service of clients.”

 

The focus is hiring local talent in the next three months.

 

But to ensure ad talent isn’t limited to the Motor City, Doner will share its date with clients, agencies and recruiters nationwide.

 

Doner is also offering to aid job searches by providing LinkedIn Premium membership for 200 users. Plus, agency leadership will offer helps with resume and portfolio reviews.

 

Boon, a Detroit-based coaching platform, will provide free professional advice.

 

“Detroit advertising is once again going through extreme change. As has been the case before, the resilience of our advertising community will shine through,” DeMuth added.

 

Doner’s client work includes Coca-Cola’s fairlife, Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo), UPS Store and McDonald’s.

16730: Delayed WTF 61—General Motors, General Market, General Mayhem.

 

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

 

GM Authority reported on the General Motors multi-car wreck, whereby the automaker decided to roll with a new line of White advertising agencies.

 

There are key issues in the GM fiasco that warrant rants, including:

 

• The GM Global Chief Transformation Officer gushed the car company “selected the very best-in-class agencies in the entire world.” Um, GM can’t manage to produce best-in-class vehicles, so their ability to identify best-in-class White advertising agencies should be questioned for sure.

 

• The corporation that took full advantage of a bailout in 2008 is now bailing out of Detroit—at least in terms of advertising—effectively decimating the Midwest marketing community. The destruction will include shops literally fabricated to exclusively service GM—as well as workers who ran the promotional assembly lines. Social media voices are reacting to the sad situation, along with even sadder regional White advertising agencies.

 

• In most of the trade journal content, there were no mentions of non-White advertising agencies affected by the GM move. On a related tip, does Shaquille O’Neal—co-founder of multicrumbtual marketing firm Majority—really know about the systemic racism in the industry? Does the NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer realize he’s playing on the B squad? Perhaps he ought to team up with Byron Allen.

 

General Motors has a shiny new fleet of White advertising agencies. But in the end, it’s the same old story.

 

GM Adding New Roster Of Ad Agencies

 

By Rhian Hunt

 

GM is significantly shaking up its advertising partners, hiring an assortment of new creative and media agencies to handle several key marketing aspects while keeping some of the “old guard” ad agencies for certain parts of its promotional strategy.

 

The General is looking outside Detroit for many of its new ad creators, ranging as far afield as both U.S. coasts and Texas as it tries bringing new blood to a challenging sales environment, as Ad Age reports.

 

Ad content creation will now be handled by a lineup of new ad agencies, including Media.Monks, Preacher, Mother, 72andSunny, and Anomaly, with as many as 16 different companies contacted by GM during its advertising review. According to Molly Peck, the automaker’s Global Chief Transformation Officer, GM “selected the very best-in-class agencies in the entire world.”

 

According to Peck, the company will move away from an “agency of record” or AOR model of advertising in which a specific agency is authorized to handle an enterprise’s advertising for it. Instead, GM will set an advertising strategy, and then “a roster of agencies” will execute “the creative vision—the brand, the look, the tone, the feel, the major campaigns” to give customers new ads in “a very fast, efficient and prolific way.”

 

Some of the “old guard” agencies will continue to have roles to play, such as Commonwealth/McCann, which will develop future international Chevy ad campaigns. Commonwealth/McCann created the “Together Let’s Drive” tagline for Chevy, an advertising slogan that also calls for unity at a time of strong U.S. political division.

 

Part of GM’s quest for a more flexible, customized, and varied ad development process seems to be a response to the challenge of marketing electric vehicles at a time when nearly half of previous American EV buyers are returning to ICE vehicles, but GM continues its mission to drastically expand its electric vehicles sales.

 

GM began its ad agency assessment at the start of this year, following its appointment of Norm de Greve as senior vice president and chief marketing officer last July. Molly Peck assumed the mantle of General Motors’ global transformation officer, following years of marketing experience at Buick and GMC, in April of this year and immediately began work on changing GM’s marketing operations to align better with the needs of the times.

 

General Motors spent $2.9 billion in U.S. advertising in 2023, a major chunk of its $3.6 billion global advertising budget, though the amount is down 10 percent year over year, according to Ad Age. 

16729: Apple Fails To Think Different About Thailand…?

Campaign reported Apple pulled an advertisement that was criticized for its “outdated and stereotypical” depiction of Thailand.

 

Interestingly enough, numerous sources indicate Apple has been producing devices in Thailand, so the technology company should’ve known better.

 

Guess Apple thought it was still 1984…?

 

Apple pulls ad following criticism for ‘outdated and stereotypical’ portrayal of Thailand

 

By Marianne Calnan and Shawn Lim

 

‘The underdogs: OOO (out of office)’ received backlash from advertising experts and on social media.

 

Apple has pulled an ad set in Thailand after it faced criticism from adland and on social media for its portrayal of the nation.

 

“The underdogs: OOO (out of office)”, which Campaign understands was created in-house and not by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, showed four characters, known as the underdogs, tackling workplace crises with Apple devices and software.

 

The film has now been made private on Apple’s YouTube channel, alongside the other four spots in the brand’s “Apple at work” series, which launched in 2019.

 

The latest ad portrayed the characters embarking on a work trip to Thailand, racing against the clock to find a packaging factory that can produce a million custom boxes for their demanding boss and client. They are also seen riding in a tuk-tuk, engaging with locals and staying in a dilapidated hotel in Bangkok.

 

The 10-minute ad was shared on Apple’s social media platforms.

 

Apple said it meant no offence and had collaborated with a local production company on the film. “Our intent was to celebrate the country’s optimism and culture, and we apologise for not fully capturing the vibrancy of Thailand today,” Apple said in a statement. “The film is no longer being aired.”

 

Campaign has contacted the tech brand for further comment.

 

Despite the backlash, Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, warmly received the ad, and the video had garnered more than six million views before being pulled down by Apple today (2 August).

 

Speaking to Campaign US, Jeremy Chia, co-founder, chief executive and chief creative officer at Goodstuph Thailand, said Apple’s “The underdogs” series has always had an element of exaggeration. He noted that it was unfortunate that it chose to exaggerate aspects of Thailand this time.

 

Chia said: “Does it make the country feel backward? Yes. Was the ad doing it for a comedic effect? Also, yes. Advertising in Thailand thrives on not taking itself too seriously, but the sentiment seems that it wasn’t the place for Apple to do it. It’s the old adage – only we have the right to laugh about ourselves, so don’t you dare do it, international brand. One young Thai colleague I spoke to told me that watching the ad makes the brand feel old, which I thought was interesting.”

 

Jan Harling, chief executive of Virtus Asia, said that while some of the elements shown in the film do exist, it fails to portray modern Thailand accurately, relying on outdated and inaccurate stereotypes. He noted that the work “fuels inaccurate perceptions” about the country, as many viewers may not recognise it as a parody.

 

Harling added: “The ad’s simplistic image does not depict the country’s continuous evolution, placing it decades into the past. While Apple may have intended to cater to the stereotypical image many have of Thailand, this approach does a disservice to the country’s recent developments and the evolution of Thailand.”

 

In May Apple apologised following criticism of its “Crush” ad, which showed creative objects including musical instruments and pots of paint being crushed in a hydraulic press to form an iPad Pro.

16728: Ethical Marketing Academy = Super Deceptive And Delusional.

 

Ethical Marketing Academy claims copywriting is a superpower that anyone can master. Forget that the copy in their advertisement sucks—and its awfulness is compounded by contrived conceptual art direction. Sign up now, er, no.

16727: Programming Chief Marketing Officers.

 

Northwestern Kellogg School of Management offers a 12-month Chief Marketing Officer Program…?

 

Seems like a lengthy course, given CMOs tend to last for roughly 4.2 years. So, maybe the lessons include instruction for making rapid transitions—as well as Caucasian cronyism.

16726: Brief Critique Of AI.

MediaPost spotlighted an AI stunt—Slipstream from OLIVER—designed to generate creative briefs, presumably for lazy, lousy clients partnering with spineless, brainless advertising agencies. Why not simply use the AI-generated briefs to churn out AI-generated campaigns? Of course, creatives of color could expect to receive AI-generated crumbs.

 

Building A Better Brief: Oliver Unveils Slipstream

 

By Richard Whitman

 

For years agencies have complained about client pitch briefs and their lack of clarity. Now in-housing company Oliver, part of The Brandtech Group, believes it has a solution. It has launched a new generative AI tool for brands that’s designed to develop more effective creative briefs.

 

Called Slipstream the tool takes the initial brief – whether a formal document or a hurried email – and first validates that it contains all the key components, such as budgets, timings, target audiences and objectives. The tool helps fill in any gaps.

 

It then restructures the brief into a templated format and uses historical data to compare it against what Oliver already knows about the client and its priorities and business objectives.

 

The tool is part of a larger initiative Oliver is undertaking to reduce the time and expense invested by brands in seeking new agencies by half.

 

“We created Slipstream to improve a part of the process that can fall through the cracks,” said Jason Ballis, Global Chief Operating Officer at Oliver. “If the brief is more accurate from the start, it’s more likely that the final creative work will match what the client wanted. That means fewer anxious emails and texts and fewer iterations.”

 

“It also enables better reuse of existing creative assets,” added Ballis, “which is an issue the industry has been struggling with in recent years. There might not be a need to create entirely new audience profiles, for example, if the brand did a campaign targeting similar audiences recently. It helps them develop efficiencies of scale.”

 

Slipstream is built on Oliver’s Marketing Resource Management platform and uses a Weaviate database for storing and analyzing content.

16725: Blitzing Bombs & Burgers.

 

While the US launched a defensive airstrike in Iraq, Burger King countered by launching The Royale Collection. Not sure which launch will have a greater impact in the region.