In early October, Google Flights rolled out a new feature: Now, anyone can not only hunt for the cheapest plane ride on the search engine, but also seek routes emitting the smallest amount of carbon.

• Google’s update has come at a time when ad agencies find themselves increasingly concerned with how to run an environmentally friendly shop, as well as when many agency employees are not only still working from home, but are also (in some cases) still wary of traveling because of Covid.

A lingering question: With all of this taken into consideration, how, if at all, are agencies changing their travel policies?

Answer: As it turns out, agency leaders are actively wrestling with new travel policies for business models that were very IRL-based pre-Covid. And just like the return-to-the-office debate, some agency execs aren’t itching to return to the skies full-time, in part because of flying’s negative environmental consequences, especially for those based where train travel is popular.

Are agencies flying less?

Sam Kelly, managing partner and CMO at AKQA, told Marketing Brew that since the pandemic, AKQA’s travel policies have changed to better align with the agency’s environmental priorities.

• “We are finding more sustainable ways to travel, from reducing the number of flights we take to encouraging the use of two wheels over four with cycle-to-work schemes. In Amsterdam, 90% of our employees come to work by bike,” he said.
• “We see business travel being at least 50% less than pre-pandemic levels. Any air travel needed CFO approval during the pandemic, and this remains in place as individual countries emerge from the crises,” he explained.

Philip Brett, TBWA\Worldwide’s chief operating officer, told us that while TBWA\Worldwide is still working on a “formalized approach” to travel post-lockdown, environmental consciousness is certainly a factor it’s considering while making these decisions.

• He also told us the agency is only flying when necessary. “In 2019, ‘necessary’ would mean ‘important’…now it would mean when video conferencing will not suffice. The threshold has changed,” he explained, and, no one who is uncomfortable traveling by plane is required to.
• Brett, who is based in London, added that more people at the agency are open to other forms of travel besides planes now too. “I’ve been to France this year, and I went by train. I was hoping to go to the Netherlands…by train, but they hadn’t unlocked the routes as fast as our desire to travel. But I think people are more open to other forms of travel,” he told us.

Click here to read the full piece.—PB

Two companies whose businesses were upended by the pandemic have hired new lead marketers as they head into what’s expected to be a busy 2022. Victoria Vaynberg has left Resy to join wedding platform Zola as CMO, while Melissa Weiss, previously a marketing consultant, will lead marketing at luggage company Away.

• Zola’s former CMO Mike Chi left the company earlier this year to join telehealth brand Hims & Hers. Away’s former marketing chief, Selena Kalvaria, joined Gucci this summer.

Flashback: Both Away and Zola had a pretty rough 2020 since travel and weddings weren’t much of a thing. At the start of the pandemic, Away saw its sales drop 90%. And Zola let 20% of its staff go last April, slashing salaries for remaining employees.

But things are looking up: Dust off your cocktail attire—there will be nearly 2.5 million weddings in the US next year, per research from The Wedding Report. The country hasn’t seen that many weddings since 1984, according to Axios. And travel has been rebounding all year.

Now, both companies appear to be getting their marketing ducks in a row with their latest hires. This week, Away’s cofounder and CEO Jen Rubio told the Wall Street Journal the brand has “set aggressive growth targets for the business, which include a significant emphasis on our brand strategy” for next year and beyond. And Vaynberg said in a statement she’s joining Zola at a time when its tools, which include wedding websites and registries, “will support more couples and vendors than ever before.”—MS

This week, change was the name of the game at ad agencies. We’ve highlighted some of the biggest exec shufflings below.

• Amber Guild has joined Grey New York as its CEO. She previously spent years at the New York Times as president of its branded content studio, T Brand.
• Susie Nam, who’s spent the past five years as Droga5’s chief operating officer, has been promoted to CEO, Americas, at the agency. The agency, which has offices in New York, London, and Tokyo, is expanding to Brazil and China this year.
• Fabiano Coura has been named president of the Americas at R/GA. He’s been with the agency for more than 10 years, most recently leading its São Paulo office.
• Publicis Groupe selected Magnus Djaba as its first global chief client officer. Djaba was previously global president of Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi.

+1: Speaking of moves, Dunkin’ has wrapped up its creative-agency review; the coffee maker is saying farewell to BBDO and hello to Anomaly. And Visa’s CMO is leaving after leading a massive brand refresh this year.—MS

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

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Content marketing: Fix these 21 content mistakes that impact ROI stat.

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

• You can now buy a Cameo from an AI Thomas the Tank Engine
• Kraft Mac & Cheese wants to be everyone’s comfort food— not just kids’
• Edelman to review its client list after climate-change activists call out firm for working with the likes of Exxon

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. TikTok star launches celebrity meal for himself with giant unauthorized in-store display
2. Facebook hands out cash to creators to boost Clubhouse rival
3. Target is rebranding Black Friday
4. Thanksgiving air travel will suck this year

Keep scrolling for the answer.