Month: July 2023

Entertainment and lifestyle publishers were quick to join Threads when it launched on July 5, after Meta exec Adam Mosseri said the goal of the new social media site was “to make a vibrant platform without needing to get into politics or hard news.” 

While it’s still early days for the new social media platform — seen by many as the latest text-based competitor to Twitter (now known as X) — lifestyle and entertainment publishers are taking a variety of approaches to their Threads strategies, with some prioritizing sharing visual content while others are focused on text and link posts.

For now, executives at Bustle Digital Group, Cosmopolitan, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Trusted Media Brands and World of Good Brands said they are still experimenting on the platform to see what kind of posts and content formats are getting the most likes and comments – the only real analytics publishers have to determine engagement on Threads due to the current lack of analytics at their disposal.

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The global sensation of Barbie — and its myriad licensing partnerships that have garnered their own acclaim — is unlikely to be replicated by other entertainment marketing anytime soon.

The film, which was directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie, has raked in over $350 million globally since its release last July 21st. Its seemingly ubiquitous marketing captured lightning in a bottle for the Mattel brand, according to agency execs, who see it as a case study rather than something to copy outright. 

“Smart marketers will see through the hyperbole of the moment and know, intrinsically, that this promotional campaign is one-of-a-kind,” said Travis McMichael, head of strategy, Wheelhouse Labs “Very few brands carry legacy IPs with depth and breadth similar to Barbie; most lack the opportunity to be as broad with their partnership strategy as Mattel.”

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Every bird hatches from an egg, but only one was born out of circles.

This week, Twitter’s beloved bluebird logo was killed by an “X,” marking the end of an era for the social network as it undergoes a first rebrand under Elon Musk.

The image, created by artist Martin Grasser and two other designers, debuted in 2012 and became iconic. However, the process of creating it included sketching countless birds and using circles to develop a sense of “underlying neutrality and simplicity” to symbolize the app.

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Snapchat’s ads business appears to be caught in a perpetual groundhog day loop.

While it manages to attract users and keep them engaged, it struggles to turn that attention into more ad dollars. No matter what Snapchat seems to do, from building a robust direct advertising business to evolving its measurement business, it can’t quite knit it all together to create a compelling proposition for advertisers to buy into — at least not as much as Snapchat would like. 

The reality is that there are still too many reasons for advertisers not to spend more of their dollars there. The numbers bear this out.

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Trump and the left are distorting Florida’s superior pandemic performance on public health and limiting harm from lockdowns.

As with the sex-abuse scandal, church leaders can ask lay Catholics for help.

Does “Barbie” have the right stuff to catapult into the “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” stratosphere?

TikTok’s new partnerships with post-purchase survey providers KnoCommerce and Fairing will give brands direct input from TikTok users.