T-8 days until Black Friday! Though BFCM season is always a hectic one, for marketers, this year seems to be busier than most. With that in mind, we've gathered everything you need to know now within the marketing and creative space (+ a few things that are nice to know 😉).
This issue covers ripple effects of the SAG-AFTRA strike on the marketing world, a last-minute BFCM checklist and a must-read interview with investor and Head of Partnerships Kira Mackenzie Jackson.
So from us to you (❤️), consider this newsletter a resource for marketers, by marketers. Enjoy!
Ripple Effects of the Sag Strike on Marketing
The news cycle is never-ending. Marketing is ever-evolving. Here we’ll keep you in the know on timely topics and key learnings that can *elevate* your marketing game.
Last week, SAG-AFTRA came to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to put an end to the 118-day strike — but the ripple effects on the marketing world may linger. Here are a few things marketers should note about this historic resolution.
AI Protections Were Key In the Agreement
A large part of this agreement included protection for actors from the threat of artificial intelligence and machine-learning advancements — requiring consent and compensation for all actors when their likeness is AI-generated, regardless of status. Though some feel satisfied with these guidelines, others feel there are loopholes, and with AI being a hot topic in the media space as a whole, many people are looking to see how these guidelines will roll out, if they will accomplish protection effectively and if they will become the norm across industries (marketing, advertising, music, etc.).
Premieres, Events and Promotions are Back — And We’re Seeing it on Social
Throughout the strike, actors could not attend premieres or promotional events to share projects. This affected events like the Venice Film Festival and the highly-anticipated London premiere of "Oppenheimer." Additionally, actors could not discuss projects during media appearances or on social. The result? We're now seeing an uptick in social content surrounding projects that occurred during the strike as actors jump to share their thoughts, promotional content and BTS.
TV Ad Revenue is Down — Will Brands Return?
Between both the writers' strike and SAG-AFTRA strike, no new content was being produced, leading to a decline in TV ad revenue north of -10% YoY. This number not only represented brands spending less on TV ads but fewer brands turned to TV ads as a marketing channel as a whole. Now, with both strikes coming to a conclusion, ad spend is expected to improve — the big question is, will the brands that completely turned away from this channel return? Time will tell.
Brands are Tapping Into the Strike in Their Own Ads
While the question of if brands will return to TV as an advertising channel remains, some brands have already jumped at the opportunity to share content related to the strike post-resolution. Notably, Apple released [a spot] paying homage to the conclusion of the strike, showing the efforts of those both in front of and behind the cameras on TV and film sets — and highlighting the iPhone 15's advanced camera system, as it's being used by camera operators throughout the ad.
Though the long-term ripple effects of the SAG-AFTRA strike on the marketing and advertising world remain to be seen, as always, we'll keep you in the loop on further developments. 🤝
How to Harness Partners, Time, and Your Core Consumer for Impact
No one knows the intersection of PR, brand and growth quite like Kira Mackenzie Jackson. With an extensive background in spearheading brand strategy for companies of every stage, Kira has seen it all. Now, as Head of Partnerships at RX3 Growth, she continues to lead brand growth strategy for an impressive portfolio of clients, in addition to working as an angel investor and strategic advisor to consumer brands across industries. Our Brand Marketing Lead, Maria Beer, had the pleasure of chatting with Kira about the power of partnerships, the importance of your core consumer base and how to stand out amongst "the noise" during this busy time of year. Here’s a glimpse into their conversation.
MB: Starting broad — how can brands, especially early-stage brands, take advantage of seasonal marketing whether it's end-of-year campaigns or looking ahead to the new year? How can this strategy shift for brands with a large suite of product offerings vs. small?
KMJ: There’s so much to consider with seasonal campaigns, however, across the board, they are a huge opportunity to increase average order value.
For brands with broader product suites, there are so many opportunities through creating higher AOV gift sets or programs that encourage consumers to "buy one, gift one." Another strategy I love is running a campaign with multi-day offerings, where there are different perks offered across consecutive days, incentivizing a customer to come back and shop two or three times.
If you’re a brand with one product or a limited product line — for example, Seed Health — seasonal campaigns are great for incentivizing higher AOV through programs like subscription offerings — taking advantage of the fact that people are more willing to shop and gift.
Though not necessarily AOV-focused, I also love the idea of creating partnerships around your seasonal campaign — co-creating something with an influencer in your niche, or doing a like-minded non-competing brand partnership that allows you to capitalize on top-of-funnel buzz while also giving your consumer something new to try is extremely valuable.
MB: Such great advice — speaking of partnerships, what are your thoughts on pinpointing a good partnership and / or partner?
KMJ: Partnerships are so valuable when tapped at the right time — and when done right can certainly help a brand rise above "the noise." I do often see brands launching partnerships before they've fully developed their own brand. That can easily hurt more than help — if you haven't built a brand ethos, voice, message or solidified a consumer base, you run into the possibility of diluting your brand before you’ve fully developed it.
Once you have that foundation, there are a couple of routes you can take when it comes to partnerships. Broadly, there's the talent partner and there's the brand partner. If looking for a talent partner — i.e. an influencer or celebrity, it’s integral that you be really strategic about who you partner with. Of course, the talent should fit within your brand story — but additionally, looking into the numbers behind their audience is so important. Ask questions like, "What does their following look like?", "Who is their core demographic?", "What’s their engagement like?", etc. You should be looking for some level of overlap, but also looking for new subsets of demographics that you could start to market to — that really makes a partnership impactful.
On the brand side, if you're building a like-minded, non-competing partnership, sharing customer lists and access is paramount — and having a clear understanding of your potential partner’s core consumer is at the core of success in a symbiotic brand partnership. Asking questions that go beyond "Do their consumers fit our demo?" is key. I would consider questions like, "Does this brand’s core consumer have disposable income?", "Do they have interest and appetite within my brand category?", "Do they already own my product?", etc. If the answers to these questions are in alignment with your goals for the partnership, that’s a great foundation for a successful collaboration.
MB: I love that, it all comes back to the consumer. One trend we’ve been seeing recently in the partnership space is the "unconventional partnership" — for example, Lisa Says Gah x Hunt's Tomato Sauce or Tito's x Martha Stewart — what are your thoughts on tapping that kind of unexpected partnership vs. a super cohesive one?
KMJ: That's a really great question, it all comes down to your goal. In general, when doing a super cohesive partnership, you're playing for conversion — to acquire a customer and then convert that customer. When doing a more surprising, out-of-the-box partnership, you're not necessarily trying to acquire a consumer, you're more so leveraging the partnership to bolster brand equity or target a different storytelling avenue than you might otherwise have access to. With the Lisa Says Gah x Hunt's example, one is in the food category, one is in fashion — neither are trying to jump categories, but the collaboration does allow them to play and story-tell in a different space, which builds a lot of top-of-funnel awareness and buzz.
MB: I’m curious — when it comes to partnerships (or general campaigns), where do you recommend early-stage brands put their focus: growth and building that brand equity, or conversion and retaining high-value customers? How do you balance the two goals?
KMJ: Balancing the two is challenging, but so important — I’m seeing so many brands shifting marketing budgets down and I'm shouting from the rooftops to maintain budget, but do so from a retention lens. Especially at this time of year, when you're fighting for so much inbox space and wallet share, your job as a marketer is to maintain your core consumer base. For very young companies, of course, they are still building that core base, so, in that case, I would say in this season and economic client, any focus on customer acquisition needs to be matched with retention efforts. There are many different ways to achieve this, for example, this could be the time of year to tap your current community with campaigns around sharing your brand or product with a friend — whatever your approach, that core base cannot be forgotten in your strategy.
MB: 100%, such good advice — so important to keep that core base top of mind. Lastly, is there a brand that you feel has been balancing it all — in the partnership space and beyond — and successfully standing out?
KMJ: Ahh this may be basic but I’m going to say SKIMS! SKIMS recently launched their men’s category and I thought the campaign was incredibly smart. I have gotten some flack for this take, some felt the athlete partnerships were expected, however, there was a ton of nuance behind the campaign that I thought was super strategic. First, the timing. They launched this brand new category ahead of BFCM — a time when consumers are sitting on their wallets, waiting to buy things for the holiday season — SKIMS gave them a reason to use their credit cards before Black Friday, and on the inventory side, gave themselves enough time to sell out with the campaign launch, then restock for Black Friday, and likely sell out again — brilliant!
Talent partnership-wise, initially, I would have expected a partnership with a well-known celebrity couple to launch the expansion into the men's category, but then I thought about the global presence that SKIMS has, their market outside of the US is sizable, and the focus on athletes — a basketball star, a soccer star, and a football star — targets demos not only in the US but on a global scale. How clever to tackle all three industries in one fell swoop!? Additionally, though geared to a new customer segment, their core audience certainly still loved it.
Though ultimately time will tell the impact this campaign has on the longevity of the category, I think it's an example of a very well-built campaign — incorporating talent partnerships strategically and timing a launch in a sweet spot that’s smart for both conversion and generating buzz.
Your Last Minute BFCM Checklist
It's that time of year... BFCM is *literally* right around the corner. This year, we want to help you take the load off, so we're sharing tips and tricks to help you maximize your efforts while minimizing your stress — because everyone deserves a #BreefBreak.
We're in the BFCM final stretch! With Black Friday just 8 days away, here's your last-minute checklist to ensure a ~seamless~ rollout.
📈 Test website for traffic surges
👩💻 QA BFCM-specific landers
📝 Proof all captions + copy
🗓 Schedule content in advance
🤝 Solidify an 'always-on' plan with your agencies + internal team to avoid stressors
Marketing Wins We <3
Who doesn’t love a marketing win? Below are recent marketing moments we couldn’t help but share — and their main takeaways.
Paris Hilton + Grey Goose Parody the Trend Consumers Love to Hate: Celeb Creative Directors
Grey Goose has a new celebrity Creative Director — or do they? Last week, the legendary vodka brand hilariously spoofed the polarizing trend in a campaign starring Paris Hilton. The 60-second spot showed Hilton highlighting their new pre-mixed martini cocktail — and swapping her iconic line, "That's Hot" for "That's Cold."
💡 Takeaway: Poking fun at industry trends that consumers don't find relatable can make you relatable. While the celeb CD boom has delivered monetarily for many brands, it doesn't resonate with a large sector of consumers. This spot pokes fun at the trend, and people are laughing along with it.
IKEA Canada Shares How to Take a Holiday from the Holidays
IKEA Canada addressed the overwhelming side of the holiday season with this campaign, highlighting people taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. The spot sends the message that it's okay to take a moment to be alone and relax — with the help of your furniture (i.e. your cozy bed, soft rug, or comfy chair, etc.).
💡 Takeaway: In a sea of marketing noise, new angles stand out. Most holiday campaigns highlight the excitement of the holiday season — in this case, sharing the message that it's okay to feel overwhelmed (in fact, it's normal!) is refreshing.
GQ Names Kim Kardashian "Man of the Year"
Shortly after the launch of SKIMS' men's category, Kim was featured on the cover of GQ's "Men of the Year" issue. The interview featured her family and discussed everything from business to her late father's influence on her life.
💡 Takeaway: Finding cohesion in unlikely places can mean *big* awareness — for both sides. For GQ, naming a Kardashian "Man of the Year" has generated massive media attention — and for Kim, not only has it made the already bright spotlight on her even brighter, it's also shown a light on her recent category expansion with SKIMS Mens... just in time for BFCM.
Marketing Jargon
In marketing, it feels like there's a new term being thrown around every day. We've got you! Here are a few you should have on your radar (and mention in your next meeting).
Intelligent Automation: Refers to a combination of artificial intelligence and process automation — sometimes called cognitive automation.
White Label: A product / service created by a company or producer that is subsequently rebranded to appear as if it is made by another company.
Snackable Content: Refers to content that is short, to the point and easy to understand. Most often used when referencing content that will be viewed through a mobile experience.
---
That wraps issue no. 12 of The Breef POV! Keep an eye on your inbox for the next edition. In the meantime, browse more on The Breefing Room.
