Month: June 2021

With in-person Pride events rescheduled for later this year (as mass in-person events are still just starting to take place in some areas), moving beyond the time constraint of June is beginning to be normalized, according to agency execs. Thrillist, for example, has landed a long-term ad deal with Orbitz to sponsor its LGBTQ+ travel content as the publication aims to extend Pride month ad budgets beyond June.

“As I told a client yesterday, I don’t stop being gay on July 1st and brands need to think beyond June as Pride month,” said Duane Brown, founder of performance marketing agency Take Some Risk. “If you are just changing your logo and or just slapping Pride colors on a product,  please don’t. That is lazy and disrespectful for what Pride is.”

Some marketers are beginning to believe in asking for briefs that are no longer “time-boxed” but can live on and do something that “goes beyond June,” explained Zack McDonald, executive creative director at B-Reel, the shop behind H&M’s recent “Beyond the Rainbow” Pride campaign. Instead of rolling out a Pride clothing collection, as it has done in previous years, H&M created a web experience where people can scan any rainbow image and be served a story from a member of the LGBTQ+ community about what Pride means for them. The chain will also be donating $100,000 to the United Nations Free & Equal Campaign.

“Brands are starting to wake up to the fact that consumers see through their marketing tactics and can tell which companies actually care about marginalized communities,” said Alexa McGriff, associate director of brand strategy at Chemistry. As some brands begin to recognize this, “Pride efforts will look different than what we’re used to seeing in June. Instead of rainbow-washed logos and products, we’ll start to see brands weave LGBTQ+ communities into everything they do.”

McGriff continued: “From inclusive ads to inclusive media buying, brands that make products for everyone will realize that their marketing efforts should also go to everyone, always — including to LGBTQ+ people beyond June. When that happens, society — and our industry — will be better for it.” 

The brands that have started to be more inclusive year-round with the continued support of LGBTQ+ people and ramp up those efforts beyond a rainbow logo during June are more likely to have those Pride marketing efforts land, agency execs said. “Pride isn’t an OOH campaign, a digital ad, or a product launch,” said Michael Looper, vp of experience strategy at RAPP. “Pride is both a statement to the world and state of living in that same world. Pride is about knowing and celebrating many moments in time and turning them into actions for a better tomorrow. In other words, Pride goes far deeper than a single date, and is much more colorful than a simple rainbow.”

3 questions with Magic Spoon co-founder Gabi Lewis

As a newer DTC cereal brand, how are you thinking about ad spend?

Recently, we teamed up with the members of the [TikTok] Hype House to do a limited-edition collaboration of two new flavors. One of the biggest challenges I think every DTC brand faces is diversifying their acquisition channels and also diversifying their customer base. So most DTC brands are overly reliant on Facebook, overly reliant on the classic DTC millennial consumer. And if you become overly reliant on those channels and those audiences, then there’s a ceiling on your business. And so we’ve been very careful from the start, not to be overly reliant on any one acquisition channel and also not to be open on any one type of consumer. So from the beginning, we’ve been focused not only on running ads and Instagram and Facebook like most DTC brands, but also leaning very heavily into influencer marketing.

The role of influencer has certainly changed in recent years. What does working with influencers mean for Magic Spoon?

We’re not only targeting, for example, macro TikTok influencers, we’re targeting influencers who are working with agencies. We’re working closely with influencers of all sizes across all platforms from TikTok to YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, and also a podcast we consider influencer marketing as well, and that philosophy I think would apply to any brand in retail. 

Working with influencers, especially on TikTok, can come at a high price tag for legacy and up and coming brands alike. Is it worth the cost?

I don’t think it’s as simple, unfortunately, as the costs, in general, being justified or not justified for influencer marketing as a whole. When we’re working with other influencers on various channels, whether it’s YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or Facebook, we’re generally working with influencers that are a little bit smaller. And we’re often coming up with creative arrangements — for example, revenue share, commission, affiliate structures and things like that. I think if a young brand were simply to start partnering with the largest 5% of influencers and pay them the cash amount they asked for immediately, it probably wouldn’t generate an amazing return on ad spend. Asking for certain data points before going into the partnership and using that as a basis to negotiate the rates, or creating more creative partnership structures can see incredibly efficient results in influencer marketing in general, and it’s a very scalable channel as well. — Kimeko McCoy

By the numbers

It’s no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way shoppers buy and brands sell. Amidst the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, a few new brands launched. Maybe the founders had a hunch because it seems customers are willing to follow. Recently, full-service advertising agency the EGC Group released research around consumer spending habits and behaviors post-Covid, including data around shoppers’ increasing willingness to try new brands. Find the data points below:

• 75% of customers have tested new methods of shopping.
• 36% are willing to try unfamiliar brands they see while on Instagram and Facebook.
• 73% of those trying new brands they’ve never heard of will continue the practice after the pandemic. (Source: McKinsey & Company). — Kimeko McCoy

Quote of the Week

“You can go through the whole marketing funnel in one step on TikTok.”

— Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, CMO of L’Oréal U.K. and Ireland told senior news editor senior brands editor Seb Joseph of why TikTok stands out when it comes to boosting commerce.

What We’ve Covered

• Ad-supported streaming services aren’t yet reaching the watch time levels of subscription-based streamers, reports senior media editor Tim Peterson.
• Omnicom Media Group is launching a diverse creators’ network, reports senior editor media buying, planning Michael Burgi.
• Pinterest is getting closer to social commerce with a new shopping list feature, reports commerce reporter Erika Wheless.

Instagram will offer sessions hosted by Instagram execs such as Alex Cook, part of Instagram’s strategic partnerships team, and Besidone Amoruwa, part of the content and creator partnerships team, as well as folks from the creator economy like Adam Wescott, head of content studio at Creator+, a film studio and streaming platform. Panels will cover topics ranging from algorithm myth busting to how to manage finances and talking to the press. And to keep the (virtual) room engaged, the platform is holding two pitch-like competitions, one to fund a participant’s merchandise line, and another to fund video a series. Some programming will be available on Instagram’s account for creators, aptly named @creators.

Instagram, like other platforms, is hoping to capitalize on brands’ growing interest in influencer marketing after the pandemic kept people home with their attention on social media apps. Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok have been doing more to work influencers, courting them through their own influencer summits and creator funds. YouTube started VidCon in 2010 as a way for YouTubers and fans to meet in person and Snapchat hosted its first Partner Summit in 2019. YouTube Shorts, Snapchat and TikTok each have their own Creator Fund.

“This is the first overt prelude Instagram has made in defining being a creator as a legitimate career,” said Ali Fazal, vp of marketing at GRIN, an influencer marketing software company. “Facebook and Instagram make revenue from brand advertising, so they know they need to stay close to brands, and brands are relying on influencers.”

But Instagram is facing stiff competition. An April 2021 report by Linqia, an influencer marketing platform, found that 93% of U.S. marketers plan to use Instagram for influencer marketing, down from 97% in February of last year. But 68% plan to use influencers on TikTok, up from 16% last year.

“All platforms are competing for creator market share,” said Gabe Feldman, business development lead at Viral Nation, an influencer marketing agency with two clients attending – Luca Whitaker and Dr. Danielle Belardo. “They want creators to think of their platform as the first place to upload content, and being creator-friendly. Where creators go, followers go too.”

For the creators themselves, these events are a great networking opportunity, said Cyrene Quiamco, an AR artist and influencer on Snapchat who has attended three Snapchat creator summits, and several Instagram events. “If I need help with a project later, I can reach out to them because I’ve seen them in action,” she said. She also noted that it’s a good time to meet with product developers to give feedback on creator tools.

They’re also a chance for influencers to learn more about platform products to expand their marketability to brands. “A lot of creators start on one platform, but brands often want content across several platforms,” Quiamco explains. “If you can create across several apps, that makes you more marketable.”

And those brand collaborations are many influencers’ bread and butter when it comes to revenue. Nearly 70% of U.S. influencers said that brand collaborations are their biggest revenue stream, according to an April 2021 creator survey by eMarketer. Only 9% of influencers surveyed said that affiliate links and promo codes were their main source of income.

But not everyone is convinced that the event is worthwhile.

“Influencer marketing has existed for over 10 years, and this is the first time they host a large-scale event?” said Gil Eyal, a partner at Starfund, a VC firm that pairs influencers with products. “It speaks to how YouTube and TikTok are threatening them in the influencer space.”

In 2020, the average time per day spent on Facebook by U.S. users was 35 minutes, up from 33 minutes in 2019, according to a January 2021 report by eMarketer. For Instagram, average time in 2020 was 30 minutes, up from 26 in 2019. TikTok jumped up to 33 minutes last year, up from 26 minutes in 2019.

“People need to stop underestimating creators and the power they have over commerce,” said Fazal. “They’re the biggest force.”

In May, Digiday reported that Facebook had committed to allowing the MRC to conduct an independent audit of the transparency reporting data it supplies to GARM. That followed Facebook publicly stating in July 2020 it would allow MRC to evaluate its compliance with GARM’s brand suitability framework and described the decision as a “direct result of feedback from the civil rights community collected through our civil rights audit.” However, “there’s an ambiguity that’s developed,” said Ivie.

The ambiguity revolves around GARM-approved brand safety standards. Facebook and other platforms involved in GARM use the standards, when providing brand-safety related measurement data specifically for GARM’s Aggregated Measurement Report, the first of which was published in April based solely on numbers self-reported by the platforms. Once made official by GARM, the standards for formatting data supplied to GARM will be incorporated into the MRC’s current brand safety audit approach.

However, the standards have yet to be finalized by GARM, and therein lies the rub.

According to Ivie, Facebook did not realize the standards — which will be applicable to the transparency reporting Facebook will supply to GARM — would eventually be a component of the MRC’s audit. He said the MRC assumed that Facebook realized that once finalized by GARM, the standards would be an element of the audit. It is not known when GARM expects to finalize the standards. Several GARM representatives were contacted to comment for this article with no responses.

“Facebook didn’t realize this,” Ivie said, adding, “They came back and said we didn’t agree to auditing that transparency report.”

By contrast, Facebook said it does understand the standards will be incorporated eventually, but does not want to commit to as-yet-unofficial standards. When GARM does finalize its reporting standards, Ivie said integrating them into the MRC audit Facebook has agreed to won’t be too difficult. “It’s pretty easy,” he said, explaining that any changes will encompass things like language and format for information that platforms will need to supply to GARM.

Despite not committing to the GARM transparency reporting standards element of the MRC audit, Facebook claims to be committed to GARM in other respects. For instance, a Facebook spokesperson told Digiday on May 27 that the content monetization and brand safety controls audit by the MRC is “part of our commitments to GARM.” When the company announced its commitment to have the MRC oversee that audit, Facebook said it would include “but not be limited to” assessing its application brand safety controls to ads shown within publisher content such as in-stream, Instant Articles or the Facebook Audience Network, and “an evaluation of the development and enforcement of our Content Monetization Policies and how these policies enforce the 4A’s/GARM Brand Suitability Framework, and comply with MRC’s Standards for Brand Safety.” 

No signed formal agreement

The MRC still plans to launch its audit of Facebook’s brand-safety controls at the end of June. However, there is still no signed formal agreement between MRC and Facebook for that audit yet, according to Ivie. Agreement exists in email communications at this point, and official documentation currently is being finalized, he said. Whether the GARM-approved standards will be part of that audit remains unclear, though.

“If Facebook wants to be audited by us, they have to be subject to the [GARM transparency reporting standards-based] audit,” said Ivie. He also told Digiday, “We’ve learned from experience to discount public pronouncements that platforms might make about auditing, and generally don’t consider agreements to be in place until we have written commitments to a formal agreement that spells out the details of what the audit will entail. Citing agreements prior to then leaves too much gray area that’s subject to interpretation or later shifting of positions by platforms.”

A separate audit

At the risk of further muddying the issue, Facebook will undergo a separate audit of the numbers the platform supplies for GARM reporting.

EY, better known as Ernst and Young, will audit Facebook’s self-published content enforcement and standards reports, according to the Facebook spokesperson. Those are the same numbers that the company supplies for GARM’s platform measurement reports, the spokesperson noted.

But what will be missing from that audit is the MRC, the decades-old measurement oversight body relied upon by advertisers and agencies as a trusted arbiter of all-things media and ad measurement.