There were two truths in 2021: You gave up baking, and you (or your best friend) left their job. In fact, maybe both of you did. Neither of you would be alone—a record 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, according to the US Labor Department.

The advertising, marketing, and media industries, no stranger to churn, have not been spared. And yet, the industry is growing faster than ever—per GroupM, global advertising revenue is expected to rise 22.5% in 2021 to $763 billion, not counting US political ads. It’s considered to be the “fastest growth in the history of advertising,” according to Brian Wieser, GroupM’s global president of business intelligence .

Right now, there are a lot of jobs in the sector. Like...a lot.

• As of December 17, Roku had 750 openings, The Trade Desk had 572 openings, Criteo had 319 openings, and Google had 10,224 (!) openings on LinkedIn.
• The hiring frenzy comes as digital advertising, specifically ad tech, is especially on , thanks to interest from investors.

Roku’s VP of product management, Louqman Parampath, told Marketing Brew the most challenging roles to fill include software engineers, data scientists, analysts, and, of course, recruiters.

“I see less the ‘Great Resignation’ and more the great demand,” Eric Franchi, an ad-tech investor and general partner at AperiamVentures, told us, pointing towards the industry’s growth. “It’s an insider space, and the talent pool is quite limited.”

There is a season, churn, churn, churn

For these jobs, recruiters are often looking for functional skills and industry-specific experience, which tends to be taught on the job, explained Ana Milicevic, digital marketing consultant and cofounder of Sparrow Advisers.

“More often than not you’ll have to sacrifice one or the other to some extent to fill a role—which in and of itself isn’t the end of the world, especially for larger companies who can devote time and resources to training,” she said, adding that individuals who have “both skill sets are in short supply, high demand, and command a premium on” compensation.

More broadly, digital advertising is an industry that’s constantly recruiting, as jumping ship for a better opportunity is par for the course.

“It isn’t uncommon for people who have been in a job for a couple of months to parlay that into a more prominent role at a different company and get a nice salary bump and a nice title bump,” Milicevic said.

Read more here, including how a firm called Work Reduce is helping agencies staff up.—RB

For many of us, the days of playing make-believe are long gone. That’s not the case for the creative team at Lego, who began using their imaginations over a year ago to create the brand’s holiday campaign, which brings Lego’s characters (known as “minifigures”) to life in unexpected and vibrant ways.

We spoke with Lucas Reynoso Vizcaino, brand global creative lead at The Lego Group, about the creative inspirations and strategies behind the spot. Check out some of them below, or read the full story here.

Constantly creating: Vizcaino said “Rebuild the world,” the brand’s global tagline, is an “invitation for everyone to just create something.” The creative team at Lego applied that logic when making the ad, which he said was initially going to end with a single shot of a rocket. Then it became a rocket leaving the globe. Then it became a rocket leaving a globe that’s doubling as an ice cream cone. Practice what you preach.

Bringing imagination to life: Of the more than 500 Lego sets, the spot incorporated around 20, some of which overlap with one another (e.g., the Ferris wheel is part of both Lego Creator and Lego City sets). Vizcaino told us the team showcased items only serious fans might recognize, like the guitar from its limited-edition Mariachi collection.—KH

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

Pin it: If your brand’s on Pinterest, don’t miss this 57-page report on best practices for the platform. Yes, there is a lot of color coordination.

IG: Likes on Instagram probably do make you happier, so here are seven tips for more engaging carousel posts.

Meta meets gamers: This report from Meta explains how mobile gaming can be more inclusive. Marketers should give it a read.

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Stat: According to a survey of 76 professionals who work in publishing conducted by Digiday, 54 “indicated they had at least direct knowledge of the company’s plans to replace third-party cookies.”

Quote: “Even if a company doesn’t have your name (which they probably do), they can still acquire your address, internet search history, smartphone GPS logs, and other data to pin you down,” writes Justin Sherman, a fellow and research lead for Duke University’s Data Brokerage Project, in Wired.

Read: Retailers Find TikTok a “Sunny Place” for Advertising—Sapna Maheshwari for The New York Times

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

• Why marketers think the metaverse was 2021’s most overhyped trend
• Research: Short-form video will become even more crucial for marketers next year
• Contextual advertising firm GumGum buys company offering attention metrics to brands