From the spectacle of the Super Bowl and the adrenaline of the World Cup final to the in-the-moment joy of Glastonbury or the Travis Scott X Fortnite Astronomical concert breaking lockdown boundaries—experiences are impactful, inspirational and endure in the memory. For marketers and brand managers, experiences can engage customers and bring brands to life in ways that traditional communication channels can’t, offering immersive moments that entertain while building a brand connection. 

But for some marketers yet to dip their toes into the experiential marketing waters, it is often concern over how to measure the activity that puts them off, as they remain wary of the metrics that will demonstrate the effectiveness of the experience. Marketing budgets, as we all know, are under increasing pressure, and marketers have become all too used to the instant feedback loop of digital marketing—which makes understanding the benefit of experiential marketing a much more challenging task.

For our whitepaper, we conducted a survey last year among senior marketers—375 marketers globally across four main industries—and found that while the majority had used experiential or events and exhibitions in campaigns, 22% had not. That’s a significant minority. And 41% of non-users said it was because they can’t measure its effectiveness—just behind lack of experience (49%) and not enough budget (42%). These numbers show a vicious cycle: lack of measurable evidence of ROI leading to lack of belief (and, in turn, lack of budget) and consequent lack of knowledge and confidence. To break this cycle, we’ve created a three-pronged formula for measuring the value of experiential marketing.

Experiential happens at a specific time and often in a physical place, and these constraints give some marketers the impression that it’s harder to measure this part of the marketing mix—but our formula uses easy-to-collect data, together with comparable measures from other channels, to create a measure of meaningful and sustainable ROI. The formula is simple, consisting of three variables: depth, behavior and reach.

Depth 

The first thing to look at is depth and how it impacts long-term brand value. We know there is a correlation between time spent with a brand and favorability toward that brand—experiences achieve significantly higher dwell time compared with above-the-line advertising or social media. So all it requires is a standard metric of engaged minutes for marketers to compare experiences with other forms of marketing. Then, Net Promoter Score can be used to measure the impact among attendees, or indeed other qualitative measures such as surveys.

At last years’ FIFA World Cup, Visa created an interactive football pitch experience that had an average dwell time of around 60 minutes. With over 120,000 visitors, it generated 7,920,000 engaged minutes with fans, which, compared with online video, equates to $4,752,000 of equivalent media spend.

Behavior 

Behavioral change is a long- and short-term measure. Over 10 years’ worth of research has proven the power of brand engagement in driving long-term perception and consequent preference and lifetime value. The depth of engagement measure gives us confidence in this long-term effect from experiential.

But experiential can also drive immediate short-term behaviors. By focusing on conversion metrics such as lead generation, product trialing or even product purchase, the power of experiences for short-term behavior shifts can be determined.

Reach 

Finally, by looking at the multiplier effect of the story of an experiential activation on traditional media and social channels, the reach of the experience can be measured.

Experiential marketing has traditionally focused on in-person experiences, but there is now significant additional value in designing experiences to be newsworthy and shareable. This creates a multiplier effect on social and traditional media, which can be measured with social listening and media monitoring tools. For Jaguar’s launch of the F-Pace, the vehicle was spectacularly driven around a giant Hot Wheels-style loop-the-loop in front of a select audience; rooted in experience, the story and video went viral, reaching a total of 935 million, increasing awareness of the vehicle and reappraisal of the brand. 

Technology has fundamentally changed our ability to gather data from experiences, making it easier to measure the effectiveness of activities, both for people who participate and those who are reached through additional indirect channels. By looking at, for example, the depth of engagement or the reach of a story, you are provided with data to make the comparison of experiential marketing against other channels. With these methods of measuring, marketers can build a like-for-like picture of the effectiveness of their experiential.

At Philo, we’ve observed an intriguing trend: It’s not unusual for a quarter of our daily subscription activations to come from customers who have subscribed to our service before. 

This phenomenon challenges the traditional notion of churn, as it’s not remotely a permanent loss of customers. While average churn rates may be higher in today’s competitive landscape, we’ve also noticed a higher “resurrection velocity” referring to the volume of customers coming back for various reasons. This presents an opportunity for businesses to understand and cater to different types of churn in order to improve customer retention and maximize value. 

One key insight is that not all churn is created equal; different customers churn for different reasons and it’s crucial to identify these reasons and tailor mitigation strategies accordingly.

Financial churn 

These are customers who may unsubscribe during leaner times due to financial constraints. However, many still have strong loyalty toward your product and return when their financial situation improves. 

It is very easy to misdiagnose financial churners as lacking persistent value to the business. On the contrary, the fact that they keep coming back means your product is essential to them, given the scrutiny with which they prioritize their spending. Offering alternative billing choices, modified product tiers with lower pricing or temporary subscription pausing can help manage their expected behavior and retain them as customers. 

Competitive churn 

These customers may be lured away by promotional offers from your competitors or new entrants in the market. Rather than engaging in a race to the bottom with gimmicks, a well-timed and strategic approach to branding and marketing can help keep your service top of mind for these customers even after they leave. 

The challenge with this cohort is that they are difficult to proactively identify. As such, leveraging broad-based marketing channels such as brand advertising or low-investment CRM tactics can be effective in priming this cohort to return. It is particularly important to focus messaging on new products or features that make your company the new shiny object. 

Seasonal churn 

These customers may subscribe for specific reasons or seasons, and their engagement tends to follow predictable trends and model consistent use over a limited period of time. Their value to your business may vary depending on temporal factors, such as new episodes of a beloved show or a literal season like the holidays or sports playoffs. This allows for a few weeks or months of subscription renewal with opportunities to build habits and get to know the product more deeply.

By analyzing engagement patterns during their “on” seasons, you can identify opportunities to capture more value with relevant ancillary products or features, or offer modified pricing for more sporadic use during the times they would typically lapse. 

Event-driven churn 

These customers may be short-term, single-use subscribers who show up for an acutely specific event or promotion. In other words, they’re here for a good time, not a long time. 

The distinction of seasonal churn is important. Events are at a meaningfully higher risk of being underwater from a monetization standpoint relative to costs of acquiring users. It is critical to ensure the economics of their subscription are not upside down on a unit basis, as this group can significantly impair a sustainable business model in the long run if they show up in high volumes. On the upside, they can provide healthy surges in organic traffic, expand brand awareness and may make sense as candidates for hyper-efficient media buys.

Preventable churn 

This cohort represents customers who could have been retained with better education during their onboarding, engagement and off-boarding processes. These customers may not be fully aware of the breadth of content offerings, features and devices that your product provides, which can result in them leaving unsatisfied despite having the potential for a long-term relationship with your product. Deploying context-aware information to these customers based on their implied needs can help improve their understanding of your product’s value and reduce preventable churn. 

Many business leaders assume churn primarily fits in the preventable category. Assuming so often leads to an overestimation of the opportunity for change and underwhelming results in efforts to reverse it. It’s understandable that businesses default to this because it’s typically the most straightforward to address: If people are unaware, just send them some messages or create some onboarding to make them aware, right?

To be pithy, there’s no need to shame these polyamorous folks who love you but don’t rely on you. Instead, take a multifaceted approach and prioritize the types of churn that represent the largest customer segments and highest potential for behavior change. This will yield the greatest impact on your business value in the long run.

Meeting people where they are isn’t just a theory or hypothesis; it’s proven effective by a number of different brands that embrace this consumer-centric way of thinking. A better understanding of consumers allows brands to move from being transactional businesses to being businesses consumers trust and support, fueling deeper loyalty and sustained connection over time.

Today there are plenty of brands out there that say they’re all about the consumer. But to say it and to be it are two entirely different things.

It’s easy in principle

Which is why it’s become so prevalent. The challenge and opportunity to be a brand of action that delivers sits with the practice, not the principle. Ultimately, without the consumer as the central figure in the marketing ecosystem, we have to question: if not for them, then for who?

In examining a number of different brands, there are patterns that illustrate how these brands go from strategic vision to concept development to marketplace activation:

1. Understanding the consumer. Not superficially as demographic data points but have true deep knowledge of who they are.
2. Having a clear understanding of the brand’s value proposition.
3. Identifying the intersection between the brand and their consumer.
4. Observing the broader world and pick up on cues. Read the room, the overall consumer marketplace and current events.
5. Defining attributes based on the building blocks above to serve as a core pillar for the brand to build from and connect with the consumer.

Brands spotted in the wild

For brands that are looking for a place to start or for use cases on how this comes to life, the following is an all too short and entirely non-exhaustive set of brand examples spotted in the wild that have shown proof of concept in meeting people where they are across product, price, place and promotion. It intentionally spans industries and audiences because this concept is meant to be universally applied.

Providing the best drive-up experience: Target

Target understands that for any number of consumer-behavior-oriented reasons, ranging from pandemic safety to time-strapped shoppers or parents with kiddos in car seats, the ability to offer a seamless curbside option expertly woven into its app experience creates ease, simplicity and a dopamine rush of checking something off the list for the consumer. Center of the bullseye.

The popularity of its Drive Up offering has led to recent expansions, including adding Starbucks to your order and the soon-to-launch Returns feature. According to Mark Schindele, Target’s evp and chief stores officer, “Our journey to expand our fulfillment options starts with making it easier for our guests to shop with us.”

Attributes: Convenience, Simplicity, Ease.

Serving up comfort entertainment: HBO

HBO recognizes Sunday Scaries are all too real and a lot of people dread Sunday night with anxious anticipation for Monday. How do they meet people where they are?

They flip the script. HBO makes Sunday their premier programming block by featuring award-winning shows like The White Lotus, The Last of Us and Succession to deliver much-needed escape, entertainment and social connection.

HBO has been so successful at this that, for decades, HBO has owned Sunday night programming. At a point during the early 2000s (think peak Sex and the City, The Sopranos), the network was so synonymous with the day that they briefly had a Marketing slogan: “Sunday is…HBO.”

The business validation comes in many forms, ranging from trending social stickiness to skyrocketing ratings, even when in competition with tentpole events—The Last of Us brought in a series record 8.2 million viewers when it aired in competition with The Oscars. Viewers look forward to a new episode of these shows all week, and the “can’t miss or be plagued by spoilers” angst is so high, it’s one of the only streamers that have cracked the code on how to set up a calendar block in an age of on-demand, always available content.

Attributes: Immersion, Escapism, Social, Entertaining.

Staying reliable: Costco

Costco has committed to keeping the price of their beloved hot dog and soda combo at $1.50 because, at a time when everything else is getting more expensive, Costco believes you should still be able to get a quick meal at an affordable price. What might seem like something small or inconsequential is actually a statement.

Costco is known for a lot of things (free samples, anyone?), but most of all, it’s known for affordable, low-cost prices. What they’ve done in proclaiming the price of this hot dog will stay is really an acknowledgment that it won’t put the revenue-generating burden on its consumer, who chooses to shop with them because they are price-right.

Last summer, Costco prided itself on a member retention rate of about 93%. Looks like their approach to meeting people where they are is paying off.

Attributes: Comfort, Consistency, Reliability.

No hidden fees, no problem: Airbnb

Airbnb travelers were frustrated by fees they felt were not well disclosed when they booked their travel accommodations, sending their total price much higher than what they had expected. Airbnb then released a new feature, Total Price Display, that prioritized total price over nightly price in their search algorithm so that it’s simpler and clearer than ever to see your pre-tax total.

The decisive action, consumer-right solution, and clear communication all reinforce Airbnb’s approach to meeting people where they are.

Attributes: Transparency, Trust, Ease.

Opting out of irrelevant occasions: Etsy

Etsy knows that not everyone celebrates every holiday and that some holidays can be difficult. Rather than blast emails and deals for every cultural moment, they offer consumers an opportunity to opt out of communication around holidays like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, in an effort to show consumers they get it and will adapt to suit their needs.

Optionality as a form of personalization is a strong way to connect with consumers and by design confirms this brand is listening.

Attributes: Empathy, Relatability, Compassion.

Capturing the (real) moment: Google

Google Pixel 7 took a simple human gripe and turned it into a creative masterpiece.

There is nothing more frustrating than a photo bomb of any kind ruining what would otherwise be a perfect shot. They designed technology within the product that lets you remove anything from your picture that gets in the way, presented in a commercial that is entirely relatable and humorous.

As stated by Doja Cat, one of the celebrities featured in the campaign creative, “Pictures capture life. Just like life, pictures can be blurry. With Pixel’s new Photo Unblur feature, you can clean up a messy picture. Now, if Google could create the same button for life, that would be great.” Acknowledging that truth and building around that? That’s what it means to meet people where they are.

Attributes: Humor, Relatability, Functionality.

Tuning into TikTok: Chipotle

The Fajita Quesadilla is here and it’s because Chipotle listens to its consumers on TikTok, which is where the socially-forward brand finds it best to connect with one of its core audiences. What started as a secret menu hack has turned into a proper menu offering, credited to two creators who sparked the idea.

Chipotle menu hacks have garnered five billion views on TikTok and rather than dismiss that data point, Chipotle maximized the opportunity to connect with their audience and meet them where they are.

Attributes: Fun, Playful, Tangible.

Creating safe spaces: Pinterest

Pinterest is deeply aware of how burnt out and distraught people are over the toxic and harmful nature of social media. While their platform is technically social, they’re more anti-social media, offering a safe space for positivity, inspiration and engagement.

The brand has built safety features into their product, established a Creator Code and created a communications platform and campaign advocating for more social media safety across the industry. They recently launched a new set of features around protecting teens on their platform noting, “Teens have told us that they come to Pinterest to plan and manifest their futures without the fear of being judged. We believe it is important to protect this experience on the platform. That includes safety, of course, because it’s impossible to feel inspired if you don’t feel safe.”

As Pinterest continues to work towards greater internet safety, they continue to understand what it will take for consumers to feel safe, seen and inspired.

Attributes: Comfort, Sanctuary, Protection.

All roads lead back to the consumer

Whether it’s journey mapping, product development, messaging or any myriad of ways in which you inject consumer-centricity across the marketing ecosystem, there will be a rising tide across all aspects of your business and brand when you lead by meeting people where they are. The key to success is to be precise and focused in both the strategy and the execution with a solution that is genuinely consumer-oriented.

I have good news and bad news. The good news is 34% of the world’s largest companies are now committed to “net zero.” That’s up 7% since December 2021. The bad news is 93% of these companies are on track to miss their net zero targets within any timeframe that could realistically save our planet.

Voluntary corporate targets can be, rather ironically, full of hot air, and climate action is quickly becoming the world’s greatest procrastination station. So much so, the UN chief recently called for a “fast forward” of net zero targets by at least a decade, warning the “climate time bomb is ticking.”

But corporate targets are also extremely valuable. It’s been proven that companies with net zero targets cut emissions faster than those without, and, on average, targeted companies managed to cut operational emissions by 18% in the last 10 years. So rather than dismiss them for their inadequacies, let’s dive into what science-based targets are and what we can do to ensure they remain a powerful weapon in the fight against climate change.

What do we need to do?

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the culmination of eight years of work by hundreds of leading climate scientists, and their report definitively concluded that global emissions must fall 48% by 2030 and 90% (otherwise known as net zero) by 2050. Frankly, what we need to do is extremely clear. 

In spite of this, the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023 reported the world’s 24 biggest corporations—who are responsible for 4% of global emissions—have committed to delivering a median reduction of a rather pathetic 15% by 2030.

Why do we need to do it?

As we all know, fossil fuels, industrial agriculture and deforestation lead to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Then, just like an actual greenhouse, greenhouse gases trap heat, causing things like extreme weather, melting glaciers and warming oceans. 

UN climate scientists have concluded that since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve already warmed up the planet by 1 degree Celsius—as evidenced by the terrifying number of recent droughts, famines, storms and floods. These same scientists have concluded anything above 1.5 C of warming will cause catastrophic climate change, and at 2 C, the damage will be irreversible. 

At our current rate of emissions, without making any reductions, we will reach 1.5 C of warming in the early 2030s, which is why collective action is so urgently needed. 

What is a science-based target?

A “target” is simply a public ambition for decarbonization, ideally with a stated timeline and strategy for how to get there. Targets are considered “science-based” if they’re in line with the 1.5 C objective laid out by the UN. 

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is an organization focused on supporting the private sector in setting and hitting these targets. More than 4,000 companies, over a third of the global economy, have set targets via SBTi. 

Unilever is planning to achieve net zero across its value chain by 2039. Diageo is working toward 2030; Amazon and Walmart have committed to 2040; and Volkswagen will be net carbon neutral by 2050 “at the latest.”

But notice how the last example uses different language. “Carbon neutral” is not a commitment to emissions reduction—and if you find that confusing, you’re not alone. Climate language can be misleading and very open to interpretation. Nike’s Move to Zero initiative has been an interesting example of this, highlighting an overall passion and commitment from the brand—with some impressive sustainability initiatives—but without actually setting a formal SBTi net zero target. 

What can advertisers do about it? 

Our industry really has two roles to play in this delicate dance. Firstly, we have a responsibility to ensure sustainability targets are communicated honestly and clearly. The ASA recently found environmental claims were one of the most misleading topics for consumers. So with the instances of ads banned for greenwashing tripling in a year, it’s important to hold brands accountable. Secondly, advertising significantly contributes to the footprint of an organization, so it’s our business to know what, if any, decarbonization targets we’re contributing to. 

Just to give some idea of the scale, a recent study by Purpose Disruptors suggests advertising adds an extra 32% to an individual’s carbon footprint.

Brands can make significant reductions by following the five-step Ad Net Zero action plan. For example, by going veggie on production shoots, an advertiser can remove 1.17 metric tons of CO2 emissions from their footprint. By flying economy rather than business, they save more than 3 metric tons per seat.

The energy required to power digital advertising also leaves a hefty carbon footprint. A typical online ad campaign emits 5.4 tons of CO2—a third of what an average U.S. consumer produces in a year. But there are simple fixes advertisers can make that won’t impact their ad performance or cost. These include stripping down font files, testing more efficient image formats, experimenting with different file types, buying more directly, focusing on high-attention sites and filtering out carbon-intensive publishers. 

For example, converting image files to SVGs can easily save 30-40% of your ad load. You can also switch your display formats from .jpg or .png files to a .webp, which can reduce the file size by 33%, while switching video to display formats can reduce emissions by up to 7.75 times. 

Targets are the ambition, not the achievement

Targets are only valuable if hitting them matters more than making them. So 2025 is an important date for your calendars.

2025 is a big milestone for many brands making public commitments, and many are likely to miss them. This can’t go unnoticed and must be a wake-up call. We must be ready to hold these businesses accountable. The emperor has announced he’s going clothes shopping, and if he returns naked, we must be ready to call him out.

This story is part of Adweek’s The State of Sustainability digital package, which spotlights climate-focused marketing solutions across the beauty, experiential and media spaces, and examines how an industry that was built to drive consumption is adapting to reduce its impact.  

Recently, local governments in France have been demanding that digital out-of-home advertising screens be cut for various reasons, sustainability being key among them. While visual pollution is a concern, clutter is everywhere, including in the ads we see online.

Sustainability will play a vital role in the years to come, and embedding it at the core of an organizational strategy will be crucial to meet consumer demand and regulatory requirements.

There is no doubt that adopting a greener, more conscious lifestyle has become increasingly necessary in recent years as climate change becomes imminent. The advertising industry started paying close attention to sustainability in 2022 as consumers prioritized it, so many brands are now taking concrete steps to reduce their CO2 footprint from their marketing. There’s also a clear need for governments to buckle down on their policies to reach the Paris Agreement, and this has made organizations think about transforming their operations to be more environmentally conscious.

When it comes to digital advertising, what if we pruned back the ads available to enable a cleaner environment and serve a smaller number of advertisements? Fewer advertising opportunities mean premium pricing for what is available, and uncluttered environments lead to better ad recall, according to a recent media trials study with Magna IPG.

So how do we enable a cleaner environment and take advantage of the opportunity that decarbonized media brings?

Long-term vs. short-term gains

For starters, we need to think longer term when it comes to sustainability and consider the financial gains. As businesses, we are often forced to think of a short-term plan due to pressure to demonstrate growth, be it month-to-month results or quarterly outcomes. But our focus should really be on the horizon.

Short-term planning yields quick and effective results at a potentially lower cost, but long-term actions are worth prioritizing because of the desirable ROI that comes with them and the vast potential to uplift the financial health of your organization, and ultimately the industry at large.

Ads in a low-clutter environment are more effective at driving brand trust and are more memorable for consumers.

And a bonus? We get to course-correct while we’re at it. We have a tremendous opportunity now to transform the way we execute advertising and ensure balanced success for all stakeholders.

According to Scope3 and Ebiquity data, one programmatic impression for a banner ad equates to 0.67g of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). A million ad impressions equal a metric ton of CO2e. (That’s one roundtrip flight from Boston to London per passenger.) Now that we know the impact of ads on the environment, let’s do what we can to minimize our footprint by reducing clutter.

Keeping the creative clean

In addition to addressing cluttered environments, how about rethinking our creative formats?

Low-bandwidth formats (i.e. static ads that are nonintrusive, clearly labeled and do not occupy more than 15% of the visible portion of the webpage) generate lower emissions. Those types of ads in a low-clutter environment can help publishers and advertisers lower C02e emissions by around 11.5 times compared to high-clutter webpages. And if you’re asking how this change can benefit the way you create and present ads, let’s put it this way: Formats and creative choices are a direct way for advertisers to reduce or limit energy consumption/carbon emissions and can have a lasting impact.

While we may be used to seeing ads that leverage animation and other rich media features, low-bandwidth creative offers a unique opportunity to pinpoint the messages and visuals that truly connect with consumers. Cutting away the special effects and motion-heavy graphics and distilling the creative into something clean, light and powerful could be a win on several fronts.

By keeping the focus on minimizing clutter and making more sustainable creative choices, the ad industry can lessen the carbon footprint of digital advertising across platforms and serve user demand. At the same time, we will be creating a new breed of premium ad offerings that will ultimately drive more money for the industry.

And with consumers placing more emphasis on sustainability, there may be a “halo effect” that positively impacts brands that advertise in this new sustainable manner. That too could provide new incentives for revenue generation.

The benefits of decluttering the online environment

Brands and consumers can both benefit from less clutter, as findings from the Magna study suggest. Ads in a low-clutter environment are more effective at driving brand trust and are more memorable for consumers, which goes to show that brands can remain competitive in today’s sustainability-focused landscape and improve on costs by listening to what their consumers want.

Of course, this is concerning for those of us in the industry on several fronts. Shifting our ecosystem onto a greener path is a tremendous undertaking that will require time and attention and could impact bottom lines for stakeholders across the media and marketing landscape.

However, there is a financial upside to all this: It’s a key business opportunity that can generate revenue for those in the ad industry, all while keeping the health of our planet in check.

This story is part of Adweek’s The State of Sustainability digital package, which spotlights climate-focused marketing solutions across the beauty, experiential and media spaces, and examines how an industry that was built to drive consumption is adapting to reduce its impact.  

Intention isn’t lacking. The funds are real. Since 2020, holding companies and brands have committed millions of advertising dollars to Black and minority-owned media, but too many of those dollars are sitting in the accounts into which they were deposited.

What’s holding them back? Is it demand? Or is it supply?

There is no lack of desire, but a lack of inventory. While there is no shortage of premium content or programming, the ecosystem is fragmented enough that it is hard to put capital directly into the hands of minority-owned media companies.

The good news is that there are several key players in the market working tirelessly to change that. Brands would be wise to educate themselves on how these companies are shoring up inventory so they can continue putting their committed dollars to work in new ways and places.

Spotlight on minority-owned businesses

As marketers try to push dollars top-down into the marketplace, these companies are successfully pushing dollars up into the ecosystem from its foundation, infusing creators and talent with resources that result in more content and programming.

Spotter

Spotter is one of the leaders of the pack; the company is committed to fueling diverse creators with the cash and resources they need to create.

Spotter empowers YouTubers to accelerate their business and unleash their full creative potential by giving them access to capital, which includes knowledge, and community, to succeed at scale. The company has given $740 million to creators as of Q4 2022 and plans to reach $1 billion in total creator funding in the first half of 2023.

What makes this a particularly encouraging data point for pledge makers is that 30% of that $740 million has been deployed to a diverse roster of creators from multicultural and diverse backgrounds; Aaron “AB” Brown, Deestroying, Lizzy Capri and Kinigra Deon, to name a few.

Group Black

Group Black is also working to build the marketplace. Launched in June 2021 with the goal of getting advertisers to deploy $500 million in ad dollars to Black-owned media businesses, the company invests in and takes ownership of Black-owned media companies. With over 150 portfolio companies, they have poured funding into the media sector, helping it grow and making it easier for brands and agencies to meet their DEI media investment commitments.

Last fall they joined with other partners to offer a hip-hop-inspired media platform that will offer curated programming throughout 2023. This is a brilliant opportunity for buyers to explore.

SpringHill

SpringHill is another company with a mission to provide marketing opportunities for culturally inspired brands, entertainment and products. They fund the creation of content, from short-form to films and connect partners to support the work.

A great example of their impact is the funding of Naomi Osaka’s company Hana Kuma, which offers scripted and unscripted television series, documentaries, anime and branded content. SpringHill is also supporting the operations and production of Hana Kuma.

Direct Digital Holdings

Through operating companies like Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses and Orange 142, Direct Digital Holdings (DDH) is simplifying the process of investing in minority-owned media. With both a sell-side platform (SSP) and an insights engine, they manage about 79,000 clients monthly, generating over 98 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.

My Code

My Code is opening apertures to multicultural audiences across its suite of cultural and affinity Codes specific to (H)ispanic, (B)lack, (W)omen, (A)ANHPI and (Pride) LGBTQ+ communities. Leveraging proprietary data, My Code helps companies develop strategies, campaigns and messaging that resonate with underserved audiences. The team abides by its Codes, supporting and funding diverse publishers, creators and producers, while reserving 100% of content studio production for diverse-owned, led and operated companies.

Brands are also doing their part

At the end of 2022, P&G launched #WidentheScreen, an initiative designed to expand the Black-owned media ecosystem and create more programming and ad inventory for marketers to invest in. Danone’s Activia brand invested in video content with Canela Media, a minority-owned media company, with further plans to invest in diverse creators and influencer networks.

There are others supporting this mission, funding multicultural content creation, investing in media, movie producers and YouTube stars, and putting capital directly into the hands of diverse creators. Ultimately, these actions are helping expand a fertile marketplace where brands can celebrate, reach and systemically change the growth trajectory for minority-owned media, while also reaching the audiences that are integral to their own growth.

To any marketer or agency buyer who is concerned about access to inventory that empowers them to fulfill their commitments and pledges, doors are opening. Scour lists like this one, schedule time to meet with the companies that can serve as a conduit to the communities you need to reach and take their calls when they work to engage with you directly. Evaluate your current media mixes and schedules and challenge them to be more diverse.

Increasingly, your ability to make brands resonate with diverse consumers is going to be essential. Not just the stuff of pledges. Leaning in will be good for your business and can help you grow exponentially.

And the options are finally there for the taking.

Disclaimer: Spotter, Group Black, My Code and DDH are MediaLink clients.

We have all become more comfortable with a little augmented reality (AR) in our lives, although many of us may not realize it.

AR has always had a magical ability to amaze and delight, from those early days of chasing Pokemon across the city to the recent virtual shows by Gorillaz in New York’s Times Square and London’s Piccadilly Circus to launch their new single “Skinny Ape.”

Brands have also experimented with harnessing this magical quality in a variety of ways, from consumer-led entertainment to customer-led utility. The AR dragons and direwolves created by AnalogFolk for Game of Thrones bottles of Johnnie Walker elevated the consumption experience on social occasions, while Ikea Place was a groundbreaking way for customers to arrange virtual furniture in living spaces.

However, despite the advancements in AR technology, it has not yet reached the level of public adoption that many futurologists predicted.

AR goes mainstream

Social media has played a significant role in the mainstream adoption of AR, weaving the functionality into their user experience. Of course, consumers don’t necessarily call it AR or even know that it is AR. But that doesn’t matter. In fact, it merely demonstrates the pervasiveness of technology.

Snap reports that more than 70% of users engage with AR elements every day, sharing effects that contort and transform how they look on screen. But whether it’s Snap Lenses, TikTok Effects or Meta Spark, the potential use cases for brands continue to evolve from entertainment to shopping and from viewing 3D products to virtually trying on items within a brand’s channel.

Debates about hardware and public adoption

The conversation about the future of AR often gets wrapped up in debates about hardware. And it’s easy to see why. AR through smartphones or tablets is magical, but through dedicated eyewear, it is otherworldly. There is a paradigm shift on the horizon. But when it will arrive depends on a number of factors.

Ever since Google Glass, futurologists have imagined a world in which we could look up and around us, instead of always down at our handheld screens. They created hype films showing how AR could be used to assist with our everyday lives, creating quality-of-life enhancements. But as humans, we had just as many questions about data, privacy and social behavior as we did about the practicality of any technology.

A headset can be quite an antisocial device. You’re effectively closing out the real world to enter a virtual one. It can also get hot and sweaty, in gaming for example, if you’re playing for a while. And if you’ve spent all day staring at a screen, the last thing you might want is to climb into another computer at the end of the day.

There are many among us (particularly and perhaps surprisingly Gen Z) who are actively trying to escape the grip of their smartphones, let alone buy more internet-enabled tech. But AR-specific eyewear is likely a few years away yet.

As Google discovered, it is a significant technological challenge to develop advanced assistive eyewear that is light enough (and has enough battery power) to be worn comfortably throughout the day. As such, Google has already decided to stop selling the Glass Enterprise Edition, and wind down support for it.

Headset manufacturers pivot to industrial use

In recent years, most headset manufacturers have pivoted away from everyday consumer use to focus on specific industrial use. This makes sense: The technological performance and immersive experience of these headsets are genuinely jaw-dropping, and so is the price tag.

Even big businesses are thinking twice about reordering or upgrading headsets in these challenging economic times. Both Magic Leap and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 have been used across many industries from design and architecture to science and medical care, with the latter being adopted by the U.S. Army and even by NASA to help astronauts carry out maintenance work on spacewalks.

In most of these cases, the benefits of heads-up AR assistive displays have been quantitatively proven. And at SXSW, futurist Amy Webb posited that 10 years from now, we will look back on today and find it utterly incredible that we would let any surgeon operate on us without an assistive display!

Apple has entered the chat

But there is one factor that may just accelerate any paradigm shift.

Rumors have persisted for many years now about the launch of an Apple AR/VR headset and what that might mean for a nascent category struggling to gain traction with consumers. Those rumors may finally be turning into reality, with reports that an Apple AR/VR headset will be announced later this year.

Can Apple change the game? They have a unique ability to define a category, and so it would not be a surprise if consumer demand accelerated the marketplace. However, there are suggestions that any launch will happen despite reservations from the Apple design team that the device is not yet ready for release. And that a reported cost in the region of $3,000 will put it out of reach of even the most ardent Apple fanboys. It is probably better to think about it as a developer version (much like the Meta Quest Pro), with cheaper models likely to follow for a wider consumer base over the next few years.

Advice for brands

For brands, it is very much a case of wait-and-see when it comes to headsets or specific eyewear. However, this should not distract from the reality that AR is already being used in the channels their consumers engage with most regularly.

Brands should continue to explore how they can incorporate AR into their customer experience, from providing utility to entertainment. Test, learn and level up your AR knowledge, services and capabilities.

But first, you must discover just what value AR can add to your consumers’ lives. As technology advances and becomes more affordable, it is likely that AR will become more prevalent in our daily lives, creating new opportunities for brands to engage with their customers.

In Procter and Gamble’s latest film for My Black is Beautiful hair care brand, Unbecoming, we see Black women and girls slowly and gently undo their hair. The campaign tackles the acceptance of Black women and natural hair.

The stunning film joins a series of acclaimed P&G films hitting on the stereotypes and the racism the Black community faces, which includes “The Talk,” “The Look” and “The Choice.” It’s clear that P&G continues to do the work on its journey to be an ally to the Black community.

Marketers, it’s time to take notes. P&G reminds us once again that we can represent and serve the Black community authentically, without shortcuts, quick fixes or checking the boxes.

Here are three lessons to remember as we race to build products and campaigns.

Diversify your portfolio of production partners

Too often, I have heard “I’m all for diverse talent as long as they are good,” “It’s a pipeline issue” or “The talent is just not there.” P&G shows us that when serving the Black community on an issue as deeply personal as hair care and beauty, you can hire an all-Black creative and all-Black production team. No more excuses. The talent is out there waiting to work with you.

Make hiring an all-Black creative and all-Black production team a priority from the start. Don’t keep that priority a secret; share it with the broader team. Build a diverse slate of agencies to consider, just like you would create a diverse slate of candidates when hiring for a role. Start with resources like Agency Spotter, Agency Vista and WP Engine; they share an expansive list of Black-owned agencies that have expertise in digital, creative, production and more.

Make it an ongoing priority to meet with new agencies even when you don’t have a particular project in mind. Because when there’s a campaign you do need help on in the future, you can with intention invite the right partners into your ecosystem.

Dig deep into consumers’ lived experiences

“When we got this brief, we realized we had never seen undone Black hair and unfiltered Black womanhood celebrated on screen together,” says Cartwright creative partners Chelsea Ceasor and Taylor Whitelow, who led the creative work for the P&G film. The film goes on to tackle all the things “they” (society) tell Black women they need to become: patient enough, desirable enough, manageable enough. And that Black women are taught and told that beautiful is something “we become.”

The film redefines what the word “unbecoming” means for Black women; that by unraveling themselves, and their hair, they are free to define beauty as who they are. It ends with: “What’s unbecoming of a Black women? It’s becoming who you are.”

As marketers, let’s not forget it’s that powerful insight we uncover that helps us understand how we can surprise and delight our consumers. In order to find that insight, we need to truly understand the lived experience of our consumers.

The P&G film reminds us we have a responsibility to help shatter stereotypes of what Black women face every single day. This includes facing white beauty standards that do not represent and reflect who they are, as well as the pressure they face to conform to what society deems is beautiful. We as marketers have the power to help reimagine and redefine what beautiful means in the beauty industry.

Deliver products that serve the community

“While Black women love the versatility, pride and strength derived from their hair, there is inherent tension there,” shares Lela Coffey, P&G Beauty’s vp for North America hair care. “Through Unbecoming and our My Black is Beautiful products, we are re-affirming our prioritization of hair health for Black women, with formulas that embrace the inherent beauty of their hair texture.”

P&G’s journey to be an ally to the Black community doesn’t just include representation of Black women in this film; it also includes representation with products that work for Black women. The My Black is Beautiful collection celebrates Black beauty and culture, created by Black women for Black women. All products are designed to nourish type 4 natural hair, for healthy coils and curls, from styling, scalp care and moisture for natural hair, with specially formulated ingredients like coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, honey and coconut oil.

As marketers, let’s continue to educate ourselves on the deep inequities Black women have faced in the beauty industry. According to a recent McKinsey Report, Black consumers are three times more likely to be dissatisfied with their choices for hair care, skincare and makeup vs. non-Black consumers. And addressing these racial inequities in beauty is a $2.6 billion opportunity.

We must go beyond just simply casting Black talent in campaigns and sharing their stories; we must also provide products and services that meet their beauty needs. P&G’s film Unbecoming serves as a best-in-class example and a reminder of how we as marketers can represent and serve the Black community; not with shortcuts or by checking the boxes, but with authenticity.

“If you build it, they will come.” That may have worked for Kevin Costner, but Major League Baseball (MLB) can no longer afford to follow the “Field of Dreams” theory. Baseball has been a cornerstone of American culture since the 1800s, but it appears America’s pastime has lost its mojo.

As the new season begins, the lessons of last season still hang in the air. If the 2022 World Series’ low ratings taught us anything, it’s that people need new ways to relate to and connect with baseball. And TV viewership isn’t baseball’s only problem; attendance also continues to drop.

That waning fan attention threatens critical sponsorship dollars that sustain the league. While the MLB touted a 5% increase in sponsorship dollars last year, they pull in nearly half of what the NFL and NBA command. The NHL is knocking on the MLB’s door and the MLS, a league formed over one hundred years after the MLB, commands half of what the MLB generates. It also increased the number of sponsor brands by 25% last year.

As a league, the MLB hasn’t invested in developing a new generation of fans. While it ranks fourth among the most popular sports with Gen Z, it’s double digits away from the NBA and NFL. Baseball only edges out newer competitors like eSports and UFC by a point or two.

It’s safe to say the relevance of America’s pastime is waning and is ripe for reinvention. And marketing holds the key.

Give people stories to root for

Historically, baseball is full of stories and great characters. From the 2004 Red Sox “bunch of idiots” to “Billy Ball,” baseball is best when fans have a story to root for. By putting human stories at the center of baseball, the MLB has the potential to build buzz among the American general audience rather than limiting it to baseball fans.

During the build-up to LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, the NBA did not waste any opportunities to tell this story and build interest in casual fans and die-hards. The league stoked the fire with every game leading up to the record-breaking night. And then, they stopped the game to bask in the moment.

The league knew it was special. They wanted others to know it was special, too.

Interestingly, while the World Series ratings were dismal, the pennant races were the most-watched in the U.S. for the past five years. Why? Because there were stories to be told. For instance, the Seattle Mariners ended the longest active playoff drought in North America last year … with Julio Rodriguez, the contender for the HomeRun Derby as a rookie. Beyond that, look at moments created by players like Aaron Judge, who by October of last year, had surpassed every Yankees’ home run record for the season—passing Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

Baseball is a data-driven game, meaning stories big and small should be plentiful. I recently read that Steph Curry is three times more likely to miss back-to-back free throws than Mike Trout is to swing and miss three times in the same at-bat. With a little added context, we’ve made a somewhat dull batting stat relatable because that’s what stories do. They offer access points for people. The right stories can motivate people to lean in to baseball again.

Tap into the star power

Gone are the days of Big Papi, A-Rod, Johnny Damon, Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter. Other professional sports leagues have leaned into the unique personas of their players, providing access points for people to connect on a personal level. Today, baseball needs more star power.

The MLB is full of young talents like Julio Rodriguez and Ronald Acuna, both full of personality off the field. In comparison, the NBA has celebrated the personal pursuits of Steph Curry, Damien Lillard and Pat Beverley. The NFL got behind DK Metcalf when he wanted to become an Olympian and embraced Gronk’s quirk. On a more strategic level, the league’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign encourages athletes to put their personalities on display.

The MLB isn’t just a league of players; it’s a league of people. Letting players have a little fun is critical to keeping fans invested emotionally. From touchdown dances to Steph Curry’s “night night celebration,” competing sports leagues have figured out how to promote what fans love about the game and the players.

While it’s up to the players to embrace their celebrity, it’s also on the league to encourage it. Give the fans behind-the-scenes action, lean into the walk-up song tradition with a Spotify playlist featuring each player’s walk-up song and create content around what makes it theirs. Get the fans emotionally involved with their favorite players to keep them coming back.

Commit to new fans

The MLB has been vocal about the importance of Gen Z and has even introduced new rules designed to make the game faster and more attractive for younger viewers. While the efforts are there, it also assumes they’re watching in the first place. It’s time to double down on the commitment to finding new fans.

The NBA brought the game to younger people through the 2K League. The NHL’s Big City Greens Classic, a fully animated broadcast of a game, ran not only on ESPN and ESPN+, but on Disney and Disney+. These leagues aren’t waiting for people to come to them; they’re being proactive about connecting with the next generation of fans.

The NFL has also increased engagement among young fans through its Nickelodeon partnership. More importantly, they’ve made significant investments in flag football, creating a new access point for young kids and females alike.

Those types of commitment are critical, as building new fans isn’t just about attracting kids. It means reaching out across genders, ethnicities and more. A good example of this is the NFL.

The NFL didn’t take a growing female fanbase for granted. They doubled down on their outreach efforts, from product evolutions like flag football and strategic cause alignments like Breast Cancer Awareness to marketing and merchandise. Today, more than half of the league’s 32 teams have female fan clubs with uniquely designed programming.

The Pittsburgh Steelers host a Women’s Training Camp, where women get to practice on the field. Now, over 60% of females say they’re avid or casual football fans. Conversely, 60% of women said they were not fans of Major League Baseball.

Pink jerseys and Pride nights no longer cut it. The MLB must identify new audiences and actively court these potential viewers with thoughtful, engaging outreach.

It’s time to swing for the fence

Admittedly, the MLB has just released a new campaign designed to modernize baseball nostalgia. The debut spots, beautifully executed by an agency that has a brilliant history of creating cultural sports moments, focus on core baseball traditions.

The work is designed to give current baseball fans all the feels and there is potential to provide even more connection points for the potential new audiences (the story of Aaron Judge requires a bit of historical knowledge about the game). Most interesting might be the idea of MLB Life and connecting dots between baseball and culture, often IRL.

In theory, this has a huge opportunity to open up new points of connection amongst new audiences. As stated by CMO Karen Timpone, these efforts were “intended to build the game’s brand over time.” Now we wait.

As the chief content officer of a publishing business, I’m often asked to predict the trends that will impact advertising in the year ahead.

Let me offer one here: While ChatGPT and ad measurement get most of the attention these days, one trend that’s altering the advertising world dramatically and irreversibly is the rise of creators. When you look at the soaring popularity of TikTok, Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s growing disinterest—and distrust—in traditional advertising, and the success of several big brand partnerships with creators, it’s undeniable that 2023 will be a breakthrough year for creator marketing.

Yet whenever I give talks and appear at Adweek events, people always seem to pose the same question: “How should brands begin to work with creators?” While some marketing organizations are committing small portions of their ad spend to creator campaigns, many others are waiting for the creator economy to mature and for KPIs and industry best practices to emerge. Many also still conflate the creator economy with influencer marketing.

The question of how to get started and scale a creator marketing program comes up so often that we at Adweek decided to make the theme of this year’s Social Media Week the “Creatorverse.” We wanted the program to focus on how marketers and ad agencies can collaborate with creators to drive next-level engagement. We felt both a responsibility and an urgency to use our platform to do the deepest dive yet into the democratization of creativity and what lies ahead. The benefits of getting this right are too great.

Take the case of Marriott International. I had the chance to talk with Brian Povinelli, Marriott’s senior vice president of brand, loyalty and portfolio marketing, at last year’s Brandweek. Povinelli told me that working with creators did two important things for the company. First, it gave Marriott the ability to be quicker to market with creative. Second, it allowed the hotel giant to become more relevant to its audiences in a more organic way. At the time of our interview, Marriott had produced about 700 pieces of content with creators in that year. With performance marketing, the company typically only does 50 pieces of content annually.

Reflecting on the power of creators, Povinelli added, “It’s us trying to think about who’s the most important demographic that we want to reach with the little funds we have.” 

Coming together as a community

To me, the emergence of the Creatorverse feels a bit like déjà vu. In the early 2000s, the marketing and advertising industry needed to come together to reckon with this thing called digital media—and define the future of advertising together. Whether people realize it or not, we’re at that same moment now. Creators are positioning themselves as next-gen creatives, and marketers and agencies need to figure out how to work with them effectively and make them a vital part of the marketing mix. Otherwise, they may be left behind.

To be sure, the creator economy is not the easiest thing to navigate—for either side. Based on my conversations with marketers, creators and agencies, the following challenges are ripe for discussion:

Understanding the creator economy. While billions are being spent on creator marketing, it’s still a relatively young industry: 72% of the respondents to a survey conducted recently by Later, a social media management platform, only started monetizing in the past two years. According to Monique Thomas, editorial content marketing manager at Later, this indicates that the industry is still in growth mode. 

Finding the right creators. Recruiting the right creators to boost brand images and induce purchases over social media takes time and requires resilience. In a recent survey by eMarketer, almost 60% of influencer marketers said they have difficulty identifying the right creator for their brand.

Ditching a transactional mindset. The most successful marketers treat partnerships with creators as worthwhile investments and relationships—not as last-minute, transactional campaign add-ons. One CMO told me recently that her team has engaged in conversations with creators for as long as eight months before beginning to discuss whether and how to work together. 

Getting measurement right. Measurement is the crucial component in helping still-skeptical marketers buy into the idea of the creator economy, especially at a time when ad budgets are under scrutiny. In the eMarketer study, 79% of marketers ranked measurement as a leading challenge, followed by ROI (76%).

Scaling smart. Why are so many marketers seemingly not “bought in” to the creator economy or behind their competitive peers? Often, they have trouble scaling. They might have had some success here and there, but they haven’t prepared themselves to manage the growth and learn new ways of operating and behaving. Those that have stand a much better chance of making it in the long term. 

Despite all these challenges, I believe that we’re finally on the cusp of a new era in the creator economy, one in which next-generation, enterprising creatives and brands work together seamlessly to create advertising that matters.

As creator David Suh put it to Adweek recently, the beauty of the creator economy is how it’s evolving. “A lot of creators are now treating their platforms like businesses,” he said.

Every time I’m asked to make predictions these days, I say that the most successful marketers and agencies of the next ten years will be those who seize this opportunity before their competitors do.