EVENTS

Looks Like We’ll Be Virtual For a While

We’re currently in the middle of the second Cannes Lions Live and the (virtual) ANA Masters of Marketing conference. Virtual events aren’t going away anytime soon. 

No, really: 65% of advertising professionals said they won’t feel comfortable attending in-person events for work until there is a vaccine, per a recent Ad Age survey. And GDS Group, the events company that produces CMO Brand Insight Summit, predicts in-person events won’t be back until at least 2022.

Back in March, the industry’s biggest concern with virtual events was how to use Zoom. But now, it’s making these events effective and engaging marketing experiences.

As an advertiser...

Tequila brand Patrón is the latest brand to sponsor an Instagram Live benefit concert. And Patrón isn’t alone—Tecate, Superfly, Fiat Chrysler, Pepsi, Sennheiser and Verizon have also sponsored livestreamed concerts for charity over the past few months.

In Patrón’s case, it partnered with the NAACP to provide grants for Black-owned accounts and retailers, with the goal of promoting racial equality in the restaurant and bar industry. 

• 89% of consumers agreed with the statement, “I want brands to shift money and resources to producing products that help people meet pandemic-related challenges,” per a spring 2020 Edelman survey. 

TL;DR: Giving your next virtual event a charitable element isn’t just altruistic—it could make viewers more excited about attending.

As an event producer...

Outgage, a direct mail SaaS platform attempting to bridge the gap between offline and online campaigns, says its service can boost engagement rates for your event by 35%. And it’s based on something marketers already know works—direct mail.

• For example, I RSVPd to one of Outgage’s events, and the company mailed me some branded wine tumblers complete with a QR code to pick out what kind of beverage I wanted for the event. I went online, chose red wine (obviously) and a bottle arrived just in time. 

On the back end, Outgage offers tools to help measure campaign performance—which is more than you’re getting from counting the number of Zoom attendees. 

Examples of other companies that can help enhance event production: Socio, which adds gamification and networking aspects to your virtual events, and Soapbox, a virtual events video asset creation tool. 

ANTITRUST

Buckle Up, Google

It’s not every day that the Department of Justice files its most significant antitrust action in 20+ years—but Tuesday was, indeed, that day. 

• The DOJ officially filed its antitrust case against Google yesterday. Two weeks ago, the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust concluded Google enjoys monopoly power. 

The agency is most concerned with Google search. Specifically, it’s worried about the company paying carriers, internet browsers (like Apple’s Safari), and cell phone manufacturers to make Google their products’ default search engine.

Marketers, breathe easy: Google is the bigger fish within the digital ad duopoly, so antitrust investigators have been eyeing its advertising dominance along with its search practices. But the DOJ has, at least for now, chosen to set the former aside—including Google's intertwined ad tech stack.

Bottom line: The landmark DOJ suit 1) will take a long time to come to a resolution and 2) isn’t directly focused on Google's ad business.

But that doesn’t mean other regulators have forgotten about the duopoly. Texas officials are currently in the process of filing a complaint about Google's place in the search advertising sector.

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TV

Avoca-Done With Football

Avocados from Mexico—which has run Super Bowl ads for the past six years—won’t be bringing guac to the big game in 2021. It’s the first regular to publicly opt out. 

But here’s the twist: The decision has more to do with the company’s pandemic-era strategy than a lack of $$$ or uncertainty about the Super Bowl.

• Avocados from Mexico started running Super Bowl ads because everyone loves the guy who brings guacamole to the Super Bowl party. 
• But...parties probably aren’t happening this year. So, in reality, it’s social distancing that pushed Avocados out the door.

Pivot: Avocados from Mexico is currently focusing its strategy around mass personalization, developing a consumer database with 80 million IDs to build its arsenal of first-party data. The brand also doesn’t plan to ignore the Super Bowl completely—it’ll still execute strategy tied to the event across other channels. 

My takeaway: Avocados from Mexico’s exit doesn’t necessarily mean other advertisers will jump ship—but perhaps it means different types of brands (ahem, Postmates) could hop on board for the same reasons Avocados from Mexico is dropping out. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• ViacomCBS shook up its streaming leadership roster this week.  
• Apple launched a free music streamer without ads that looks a lot like the 2020 version of 1980s-era MTV. 
• Advance Auto Parts tapped Bruce Willis to rep DieHard batteries.
• LinkedIn Stories just rolled out worldwide.
• PMG is now TikTok for Business’s lead social strategy agency.

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ADWEEK OR ADWEAK?

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is satirical à la Twitter account ADWEAK?

1. Instagram Is Changing Its Logo Again
2. One In Four Brits Don’t Realise The Internet Is Funded By Advertising
3. Gucci And Giphy Add Avatars To Their Apps As Potential Digital Revenue Drivers
4. Jeffrey Toobin Suspended From New Yorker for ‘Zoom Dick Incident’

Keep scrolling for the answer.

AD ANTIQUES

eBid

Name an ad more ahead of its time than this 2003 Starbucks piece, I dare you. 

ADWEEK OR ADWEAK? ANSWER

As far as I know, Instagram’s logo is remaining the same, despite its birthday celebration.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Marketing Brew stories from the last few editions.

• The 411 on using ‘The Bachelorette’ in your marketing strategy
• ThirdLove’s TL Effect program shows the power of brand trust
• Coke just retired Tab diet soda—here’s how the brand met its fate