Considering minorities represent nearly 40% of the US population, many advertisers aren’t just interested in making sure their ads are representative of the population—they also want to make sure their ads are running against programming that is also reflective of increasingly diverse audiences.

“If you are a big brand, and you’re placing your creative advertising within content, you want to make sure that that content also speaks to your brand’s values,” Stacie de Armas, Nielsen’s SVP, DEI, diverse insights, intelligence, and initiatives, said. “It’s important in a way that it wasn’t before.”

But this can sometimes be easier said than done. That means agencies, entertainment companies, and measurement firms are developing new ways to understand how onscreen diversity correlates with metrics like bingeability and relevancy.

Those metrics, they said, are essential to highlight how better representation affects decisions—and help continue to make the business case for diverse media, especially amid concerns about losing ground in onscreen and offscreen diversity.

“In order for us to really foster and grow this ecosystem, which we all want, we have to start focusing on measurement,” Michael Roca, managing director of DE&I investment at Omnicom Media Group, said.

Read the full story here.—KS

There’s generally not much debate about which team wins the Super Bowl. But in the weeks following, it seems like everyone has a different opinion as to which brand won.

This year, USA Today’s Ad Meter said it was The Farmer’s Dog. Morning Consult said it was T-Mobile. Some might argue Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, which made an appearance during her halftime performance, outdid all the more traditional advertisers.

According to Harris Poll’s third annual “Brand Bowl” index, which tracks the impact of Super Bowl ads across several metrics, a couple of streamers stole the show, at least when it came to gains in brand equity.

A touchdown for streaming: Paramount+ experienced the greatest boost in brand equity from the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl to the two days immediately after it. PopCorners trailed in second place, while DoorDash came in third.

Paramount+ also took the top spot with regard to purchase consideration, as well as “quality,” which Harris Poll measures by looking at “how consumers perceive the quality of a particular brand’s product or service compared to the quality of their competitors’ offerings.”

New lens: When comparing brand-equity data from Jan. 1–Jan. 22 to data from “Super Bowl season and beyond” (Jan. 23–Feb. 14), thus capturing any brand lift that might have come from Super Bowl ad-related content released ahead of game day, the results changed.

• A streaming service still took the top spot, though this time it was Peacock.
• The Farmer’s Dog came in second place in this time frame, while Coors Light landed the third spot.

Puppy love: The Farmer’s Dog, the reigning champ of the USA Today Ad Meter (and the first dog food company to win the title), appeared quite a few times in Harris Poll’s Brand Bowl.

• In addition to its brand-equity growth, the brand also ranked relatively high when it came to growth in momentum (consumers’ perception of whether a company is gaining or losing market position), consideration, and familiarity.

Bud Light and Busch Light also featured dogs in their ads and ranked in the top 10 in terms of quality and familiarity, while Skechers teamed up with Snoop Dogg and experienced a notable increase in perceived quality compared with competitors. Maybe dogs really are a man’s brand’s best friend.—AM

Offices are undergoing a (let’s be honest) long overdue transformation. As office design decisions have become more closely linked to talent strategy, HR leaders have had to figure out how to reconfigure workspaces in a way that will bring employees back in the door.

“A lot of our clients are actually looking at using this as a time of experimentation and piloting and learning,” Janet Pogue McLaurin, global director of workplace research and a principal at workplace design firm Gensler, told HR Brew.

HR leaders looking to make improvements to their cubicle-farm layouts can start with adding spaces for creative group work and individual quiet work, according to recent Gensler research on the office amenities that are most attractive to employees and drive productivity. Read the full story on HR Brew here.—AK

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Optics: Why nonprofits should prioritize visual branding.

Compare and contrast: A look at social versus traditional advertising at this year’s Super Bowl.

Breakdown: How TikTok’s active user base in Europe compares with other platforms.

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The Brief, a one-day summit, is returning to NYC—and we’re upping the ante. Get ready to network and hear from top marketing leaders from Duolingo, OkCupid, Tony’s Chocolonely USA, and many more as they share their frameworks and learnings, giving you actionable insights to take home.

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Stat: US retail sales jumped 3% in January thanks, in part, to categories like auto, restaurants, and furniture.

Quote: “Going forward, Twitter is allowing advertisers to promote brand preference and informational cannabis-related content for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services.“—Alexa Alianiello, US sales and partnerships at Twitter, announced in a blog post that Twitter has relaxed its policy on cannabis advertising

Read: “A Retro Hobby for the End Times” (Vox)

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Black influencers are still facing pay inequity
• Entertainment companies are eager to make virtual product placement happen. That doesn’t make it easy
• Why ‘inserts,’ aka the ads slipped into packages, are having a moment