Zain Raj

"Warner Bros. Discovery saw TV advertising fall 13% in the third quarter of 2023, to $1.71 billion. Paramount Global registered a 14% dip in the same category, to the same figure, while NBCU logged a decline of 8.4% to $1.91 billion. Disney noted “a decrease in advertising revenue” at ABC and its local TV stations and “a modest increase in advertising revenue” at ESPN and around its other sports programming. Even Fox, which relies more directly on sports, saw its overall ad revenue fall by 1.6%. These results challenge the conventional wisdom that TV advertising will grow even with declining ratings because major advertisers can’t resist the power of the medium’s mass-market reach. Many observers were surprised to see the double-digit drops at Paramount Global and WB Discovery, both of which are heavily dependent on big bucks from ads to bolster the bottom line." by Brian Steinberg https://lnkd.in/gzdhFfTF

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If you’re thinking about what your Qual strategy looks like in 2025 and beyond, this new webinar with our own Liz White and Karen Lynch from Greenbook is a must see! Don’t miss it!

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Great and provocative read on Liquid Deaths’s success story. So many insights and examples which are relevant for FMCG challenger brands as well. Mark Ritson claims that “… if you step back and look at the original ‘four Ps’, it is almost impossible not to acknowledge that while the promotional P has its place, the product P is invariably the most important tactical consideration. Shitty marketing can surely kill a great product, but without a successful, product even the best marketing does little other than speed its own demise.” And I fully agree (see my earlier post for details) - so if you’re not yet following Mark, do it asap. It’s worth it (and entertaining). #challengerbrands #productlaunches #offlineretail

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What does it take to win in #CPG? Circana’s CPG Growth Leaders report measures the omnichannel performance of more than 600 consumer packaged goods companies with sales greater than $100 million. 🚀 Get a copy of the 2023 U.S. CPG Growth Leaders report here 👉https://lnkd.in/g4BBBMfE

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David vs. Goliath: How OBM Triumphs Over GroupM In the world of advertising, the classic tale of David and Goliath is playing out once more, this time between agencies and not consumer brands. Ocean Bridge Media (OBM), a powerhouse built from humble beginnings, helped transform a brand from $9 million to over $150 million in annual sales revenue. After nurturing it to over a half-billion-dollar acquisition, we continued to lead the business with the new owners. With larger budgets now at play, enter GroupM, the largest media placement firm globally—the Goliath in our story. Leveraging their influence, they convinced the new brand owners to shift their business to GroupM, claiming it was essential for the "ecosystem." This was misleading and the new owners accepted their pitch. GroupM’s intervention cost us tens of millions in billings annually—a drop in the bucket for them, but for us, those budgets sustained part of a team that helped build the brand's success. Goliath strikes at OBM again. This time, it was a newer client, and GroupM didn’t have our proven blueprint of success to poach and amplify with larger budgets. They placed a campaign and failed, surprisingly with dubious studies offered to mask the failure. Those digital CPMs were also extremely high. With that failure, we got another chance. The OBM formula being the stone in our sling, we did what we were born to do and let a winning campaign fly, striking Goliath and he fell. OBM was victorious and the account returned to us. Today, the brand is now thriving, breaking sales records and achieving major wins in retail. Here's what we've learned that may help against your Goliath: 1.) Bigger isn’t better. Goliaths are more in the public eye, which is a measurable vulnerability, and they're slow. Your size and unique attributes become their weaknesses—stay true to who you are and you'll win. 2.) Do what you were born to do. We provide better results through a custom approach, and that supports the families of our clients and our dedicated team. It's not about inflating executive bonuses or shareholder profits. Offer something uniquely better— and succeed for all of those around you. 3.) Transparency matters. Goliaths have insatiable appetites and must solely focus on profit maximization or they cannot sustain their size. At times, this monetary focus brings about questionable practices and makes Goliaths vulnerable. Execute from integrity. GroupM’s former chairman, Irwin Gotlieb, said this about their arbitrage practice: "It doesn’t say in Genesis that everything we do has to be on a fully disclosed basis to clients." This philosophy underscores their approach, and as they attempt to use Genesis to conceal, we point to 1 Samuel to reveal, Goliath was in fact beaten. Join us in standing up to Goliaths. Message me anytime to help—let's chat on positioning and media!

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If you want to understand why Meta pivoted back to politics, it's because that's where voters are getting their news and information. In the 2024 post-election survey I did with the Center for Campaign Innovation, more voters now get their news from social media than from their local TV news. Between Facebook and Instagram, Meta has 2 of the top 3 social media platforms that voters use on a daily basis (along with YouTube). While Meta and other social media companies may have tried to downplay politics the past few years, it's clear that their users are still wanting to get news about politics and government through social media. https://lnkd.in/em79gWtp

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So quite a potential saving...'The two companies employ over 130,000 people and expect to find $750m (£588.4m) of annual synergies, partly through offshoring and reducing duplication. Cuts are more likely to fall in back-office “overhead”, than “client-facing, client-servicing”... 'That will be achieved through nearshoring and offshoring jobs in cheaper locations, automation and other “platform investments” to drive smarter working... Clearly data and technology with Ai is the north star for any size companies in the sector such as our own much, much, much smaller Salocin Group...still... you have to start somewhere :o) as “a media platform, a CRM platform, a dynamic content generation platform” — and expand in new areas such as generative artificial intelligence... It will be very interesting to see if the vision can become reality and make 1 +1 =3

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For Marketers: This article could also have been titled "How Brands Got So Boring." Agencies have always dealt in cultural arbitrage, but to create true and lasting differentiation we need to start paying more attention to the divergent ideas and get off the short-cycle hype machine. https://lnkd.in/eXh8Juqw

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https://lnkd.in/gSNGxFQp The Spencer Stuart annual CMO Tenure Study offers compelling insights into the evolving role and stability of CMOs, particularly noting the tenure stabilization at 4.2 years for Fortune 500 CMOs. It's intriguing that B2B CMOs tend to have longer tenures compared to their B2C counterparts, with 4.5 years versus 4.0 years respectively. This difference likely reflects the distinct challenges and market dynamics each sector faces. The study also highlights the increasing trend of CMOs taking on broader responsibilities and the significant number of first-time CMOs being promoted internally, suggesting a strong emphasis on leadership development and succession planning within organizations. It is great to see that women now represent half of Fortune 500 CMOs. I believe it's important now for companies to turn their attention to improving development and support systems for diverse high-potential leaders. #CMOtenure #B2BMarketing #Leadership #WomeninMarketing

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For some brands, the approach to being Different is obvious, explicit and intuitive. But the challenge to build credentials of Difference requires understanding which positioning will most effectively and credibly work for your brand. What can you do in 2025 to build Difference that works for your brand? Register for the learning session tomorrow (14 November) to get guidance and insights from our experts and Kantar data: 📌https://lnkd.in/giH8JnQA #2025Plan #Marketing #Webinar #Brand #Difference

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To my strategy friends in the agency world… Here are some considerations to keep in mind when you run into a scenario that requires creative or strategic positioning testing, whether it’s a full exploration or just a gut-check to find red flags before launch. While specific challenges always exist, the tradeoff points below will definitely help you optimize the research experience. 👉 BUDGET CONSTRAINTS: Not all stakeholders agree that the testing is necessary, so you may be left with a limited budget. There are options that allow for quick testing upfront to prove a strategy or red flag testing on the back end before launch. While this type of testing doesn't allow for depth of analysis, it does provide the ability for optimization of the creative. 👉 TIMING CONSTRAINTS: To meet production timelines or other critical due dates, you may only be able to fit in one round of testing. In this case prioritizing what will make the most impact on your creative development can help you focus your efforts. You can also consider parallel processing phases if budget is available. Again, you’ll give up some depth of analysis, but if optimization is the goal, you can always get timely feedback for editing. 👉 NORMATIVE DATA: Some stakeholders require normative data to judge new creative – and that’s ok. Many companies offer large banks of normative data. Just know that this can be expensive, and you may not have a lot of ability to customize. Furthermore, especially in the case of B2B creative or unique product categories, norms may not exist at all. So, if budget is an issue OR if you have a very niche audience/category, you may also choose a “custom norm” methodology where you can test new creative against existing campaigns to get a basic comparison. As a research consultancy with a deep history with agencies, we’re always here to help you navigate challenges like the above. Certainly, don’t be strangers, even if you’re just looking for a POV or back-of-napkin sense of approach, costs and timing. #creativetesting #brandstrategy #marketresearch #advertisingresearch #concepttesting

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Measuring brand impact goes far beyond clicks. I spoke with Matt C. about the challenges marketers face in understanding what happens between a view and a purchase decision. While clicks may signal interest, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. True brand influence often unfolds over time, especially in long buying cycles like automotive. Click the link in the comments below to learn more. #Analytics #MA #Data #Strategy #Innovation #Acquisitions #MRX #Restech

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The role of AI is likely to vary based on the attributes and equities of each brand. Chick-fil-A's consumer-facing version of AI will likely continue to be Awesome Individuals. For others, whose equity and ad campaigns aren't as focused on hospitality as part of their value prop, it's just a matter of time before there's widespread adoption at the D/T. The benefits of labor savings or the ability to reinvest labor, personalized suggestive selling, order accuracy (key driver of D/T satisfaction) and overall consistency will make it a compelling proposition for the industry. The question is whether it will deliver a better overall experience for most guests across chains or....will it forge a greater divide between the chains that will use it merely as a way to save on labor and ultimately deliver a cold, functional experience and those that truly get it and make the best use of their people to deliver great hospitality. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/gb9mRkCK #AI #drivethru #innovation #QSR

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Its not just brands that lose buyers, the average category loses 1 in 3 buyers year-on-year. Not surprisingly, as with brands, the level of leakiness is closely related to the purchasing frequency of the category: In frequently purchased categories (more than ten occasions in a year) 1 in 7 buyers does not rebuy in the next year, whereas in infrequently purchased categories (less than five occasions in a year) just more than half of the buyers return. Read the full article from 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUJCNkFB Worldpanel by Kantar #consumerbehavior

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If you need some inspiration today, read this article and watch the video that’s included. Perspective is important. This ad from Brooks provides perspective on several levels: 1) You don’t have to be the biggest company in your space to convey a meaningful, impactful message. 2) You are what you think. If you think failure is the end, you are only failing yourself. 3) How bad is it, really? If you think you’ve had a bad day, realize that there is someone who has had it worse. I hope this provides some perspective for you as it did for me. https://lnkd.in/gQKj8k3k #inspiration #perspective #curiosityworks

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For decades CONSUMER CENTRICITY has been marketing’s holy grail This makes the suggestion that ‘consumer insight' is overvalued almost blasphemous Yet the belief that ordinary folk hold the key to marketing success is nearsighted. So-called 'consumer truths' do not just live inside our mind. We are locked into a wider cultural context that drives what we think, feel and do To truly understand people, we need to explore the CULTURAL LANDSCAPES they inhabit This is the final part of a 3 part blog; enjoy 🙂 BTW: it's not either/or - we need psychology AND cultural insight #semiotics #culturalinsight #marketresearch #marktonderzoek #insight #marketing #marketingintelligence SemioCentral https://lnkd.in/gM3a7atX

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