D&I

Passing the Smell Test

Deodorant brand Degree is rolling out (heh) a product that’s sure to shake up the deodorant category. 

What is it? “The world’s first inclusive deodorant for people with visual impairment and upper limb disabilities,” according to the Unilever-owned brand, which worked with ad agency Wunderman Thompson on the product. Degree Inclusive, still in beta, includes things like a hooked cap for one-handed usage, magnetic closures that make it easier to take the cap on and off, and a Braille label with instructions.

We asked Josh Loebner, blind disability advocate and director of strategy, diversity, equity, and inclusion at marketing agency Designsensory, to share his thoughts on the product. 

“It shows that Unilever as a corporation, within their product design team [and] their advertising team, recognizes that the disability community isn’t a small niche,” he said. (For context, one in four US adults has some type of disability). “If brands don't commit to welcoming people with disabilities, they're not only missing out from a dollar standpoint—they're missing out from a brand loyalty standpoint.”

He also commended the company for creating Degree Inclusive with the disability community; the product stems from a project created by Wunderman Thompson’s global head of inclusive design, Christina Mallon, whose arms are paralyzed. 

• Plus, Degree says it partnered with “occupational therapists, engineers, consultants, and people living with disabilities” to bring the prototype to life. And it’s asked 200 people with disabilities in the US to trial it + provide feedback.

From an innovation standpoint, Loebner said he’s impressed with the product’s design. “It can be said that accessible design is good design,” he noted, adding that people without disabilities might find the deodorant’s features useful, too. “Often, when consumer packaged goods innovate, they create opportunities that benefit everyone.”

Campaign: While Degree Inclusive hasn’t hit shelves yet, Unilever is wasting no time marketing it. 

• Its campaign features two athletes with disabilities—a boxer and skater—working out and using the deodorant. Additional versions of each ad include subtitles and audio descriptors. 
• “Their use of authentic people with disabilities shows that they weren't trying to create some type of polished representation,” Loebner said.

Zoom out: Aline Santos Farhat, EVP of global marketing and chief diversity and inclusion officer at Unilever, told Marketing Brew that Degree Inclusive is “not the first of Unilever’s efforts to support people with disabilities and advance inclusivity.” She pointed to the fact that the company is working towards its goal of having 5% of its workforce include people with disabilities by 2025. — MS

STREAMING

Roku and Google take Public

If you’re watching YouTube TV on a Roku device, don’t get too comfortable. 

What’s going on? On Monday, Roku sent a letter to users to warn them that YouTube TV could soon disappear from the platform, citing Google’s aggressive asks at the negotiation table.

Roku didn’t mince words, accusing Google of “predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory” behavior, the company said in a statement to the press.

The spat isn’t over money. It’s over terms that Roku called “unfair” in its letter. For instance: 

• It claims Google has asked it to create a separate search results bar for YouTube within Roku’s interface—and block search results from other content providers while the YouTube app is open. 
• Roku also says that Google’s asking for hardware updates that’ll drive up the cost of its devices, which compete with Chromecast. 

A YouTube TV spokesperson told Axios their negotiations with Roku have been "in good faith." While a Roku spokesperson told Marketing Brew “it’s up to Google” now.

“Weeks ago we sent them our proposal. We hope they don’t force us to take the app down. We’re hoping with some transparency, calmer heads would prevail on the other sides of these asks,” they said. 

Bottom line: Roku claims it’s being picked on unfairly. “We’ll do everything you’ve asked us to do, as long as you're asking everybody else to do it,” the Roku spokesperson added. “But if you're not doing it in Chromecast and you're not making Amazon do it, and you're not making Apple do it, we are not going to do it.” — RB

SPONSORED BY IMPACT

Power to the Partnerships

Q for all you marketers: Why go it alone when you can leverage your brand into a partnership that benefits both parties?

If you’re scratching your head looking for the A, it’s time to check out this infographic from Impact.

Now, you might be wondering how companies are finding success through partnerships, which is another thing that this infographic can answer.

That’s because, along with Forrester Consulting, Impact talked with 454 decision-makers at companies around the world. One key takeaway: 77% said that prioritizing partnership development would be a key initiative this year.

And, like, we’d never tell you just to do what other people are doing (you are a snowflake!). But if you’ve had partnerships on the brain, there’s plenty of info from Impact here to get you started.

Check out the infographic here.

INTERNSHIP GUIDE

So You Think You Can Write a Resume and Cover Letter?

Putting together a cover letter and resume can often be the most daunting part of the internship application process. And it doesn’t help that recruiters and hiring managers often spend an average of six seconds on each resume .

Enter: Chapter Two of Marketing Brew’s Internship Guide: Applying. Inside, we’ll walk you through crafting a stellar application from resume to cover letter. And—spoiler alert—if you liked Chapter One (all about networking), you’ll love this one. 

The deets:

• We talked to marketing experts from companies like Nasdaq, VaynerMedia, Teal, and more for this chapter, mining their knowledgeable brains for the very best internship application advice.
• The TL;DR for intern resumes and cover letters in this industry = keep them short and sweet (but full of personality), and proofread your ambitious little self to bits. 

Whatcha waitin’ for? Read Marketing Brew’s Guide to Getting a Marketing Internship, Chapter Two: Applying, here. — PB

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• 7-Eleven is doubling its 2020 marketing spend to promote its “Take It to Eleven” campaign. Spinal Tap would like a word.
• YouTube’s ad revenue grew nearly 50% year over year, per parent company Alphabet’s earnings report, released yesterday. 
• Krispy Kreme and Smartfood created a doughnut-flavored popcorn. Yum?
• Bud Light is giving away 100,000 tickets to sporting events and concerts as part of a “Summer Stimmy” stunt.

SPONSORED BY STACKADAPT

Cannabis marketing is about more than just cringe-funny pot puns—it’s about understanding your audience. StackAdapt’s playbook for cannabis marketers shows you how to light up the programmatic ecosystem with strategic targeting solutions, measurement options, and best practice recommendations. Inhale StackAdapt’s insights here.

AD FRAUD

Can you tell a real marketing story from a fake one?

1. One of the top prospects in college football is getting his signing bonus entirely in crypto. Oh, and he released an NFT collection.
2. Goldfish and Frank’s RedHot team up for a spicy snack collab.
3. Grocery chain Aldi has created its own clothing line…and it’s kinda ?
4. So has Trader Joe’s, with a new Nike collab: Jordan Joe-Joes.

Keep scrolling for the answer.

FRENCH PRESS

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

Video: Rumor has it good social video content = v high engagement potential these days. So why not check out these five tips to maximize video engagement? 

SEO: It’s spring cleaning time, my friends—follow these six steps to clean up your small biz’s SEO. If you do it really well, maybe we’ll come over and clean your house, too (sorry, that’s a lie, we won’t). 

Instagram: Hot take: Customer experience (CX) is a way more important part of marketing than most people think. Enter: four ways to amplify your brand’s CX, specifically on Instagram.

Super stream: Reach households with an estimated 148 million streamers when you advertise on Roku. It’s one of the smartest ways to engage cord cutters. TV starts here.*

AD FRAUD ANSWER

While we can’t rock Trader Joe’s swag yet, we can fill our pantry with cookie butter.

ICYMI

From the Crew: We talk a lot about creators. If you know a new grad who’s an up-and-comer in the creator economy, head over to Sidekick’s Graduation Gift Guide, inspired by Charli D’Amelio and five other Gen Z idols. 

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

• What’s the deal with that Clorox ad?
• Amazon to offer email marketing tools to sellers
• An Oscars recap (for advertisers)