Do it big: Go micro
Niche branding. It’s about building a relationship between your brand and a community. But what drives that connection? One growing force is micro-influencers: “relatively ordinary, down-to-Earth people” whose tweets may be worth more than celebrity endorsements. This...
DON’T GIVE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT, LET THEM MAKE IT
Producers are no longer in charge. User-Innovators are taking the lead and modifying products to fit their needs, filling in gaps that producers couldn’t see.This MIT Sloan article looks at what companies can learn from niche user-innovator communities, and how they...
We can now make it official: Liberals complain more than conservatives ☺
The Journal of Consumer Research is publishing a new study that, amongst other findings, ties political ideology with our attitudes as consumers. There are some interesting insights here for national brands navigating our Red and Blue...
The utopian tech campuses and their impact on diversity
Although a bit apocalyptic, this WIRED article on the impact of utopian tech campuses like the ones built by Apple, Facdebook and Google, is an interesting read. The author claims that self contained, all-inclusive mini city type campuses where employees get...
The role of leadership when there is no trust in the system
It is hard to deny the lack of trust in government, media and institutions. In a must watch TED talk, Rachel Botsman explored how is it possible that we are willing to go on a car with a perfect stranger but mistrust a bank executive. In a more recent conversation...
Brands move from mission to activision
We are starting to see how brands take a stance. That was unthinkable just a couple months ago. Brands would rarely risk alienating some of their potential customers. There is no way around it. People want to know what are the values of the companies they do business...
The Importance of Demystifying Creative Leadership
Creative leadership is so much more complex than the romantic notion of a visionary head who can transform an entire corporation or industry through the power of their charisma and ideas. The great David Slocum, Faculty Director at the Berlin School of Creative...
The future of the gigging economy. Will it change the ad agency model?
Few people look forward to being an “employee.” The word itself belongs to another era. As the gigging economy grows, some companies are leaving space in their organizations for giggers. In the ad agency world, where high levels of employee dissatisfaction are...
A Seismic Change for the Hispanic Industry
It took many by surprise: Univision, the untouchable cornerstone of “Hispanicity” in the United States, is losing ground. Its Mexican-produced programming is no longer dominating prime time Spanish-language viewership. We are witnessing the beginning of a major shift...
Diverse talent is ready for a new type of ad agency
Madison Avenue is having a hard time becoming truly diverse. Yes, women are starting to make strides in our industry and that is great; but there is an enormous amount of talented people of color who get lost in the lower ranks of traditional agencies. Their loss is...
Hyperlocal Media and the Need for Latinos to tell their own Stories
Today, more than ever, Multicultural America needs to find a way to tell its own narrative. The Boyle Heights Beat in Los Angeles is a great example of the hyperlocal journalism trend that will play a role in keeping communities informed of the issues that matter most...
Diversity: An Opportunity for Silicon Valley
18% of computer science graduates each year are Black or Latinx, but they fill only 5% of jobs that require programming in the tech industry. Are recruiters looking in the wrong places? The New Yorker looks at the obstacles to diversity in the tech sector, but all...
Advertising Needs to Evolve from ASPIRATION to INSPIRATION
When creating communications for Multicultural America, particularly to Hispanics, most brands cast their campaigns with actors who do not represent the people whom they are trying to connect with. Being “Aspirational” is an old concept in the age of social media....
Research reveals new Hispanic TV viewing habits
A new study by Horowitz Research debunks the idea that Spanish-dominant Hispanics are less tech savvy and heavy viewers of live TV. They are streaming free sources such as YouTube or simply “Googling” for relevant content. Are you giving it to...
How to apply the creative process to business
In the context of advertising, “creativity” is still tied to a department and is limited to the practices of a specific group of people. We need to move past this. Saying “we are all creative” is a cliché that at times can sound condescending, but there are a lot of...
Three strategies to create a culture of everyday experimentation
Advertising may be the only creative industry that works without R&D. The way that agencies get paid, (FTE’s against a pre-determined scope of work), do not leave any budget for research development. This is a big disadvantage for creative innovation unless the...