December 16, 2024

Unlocking the future of advertising: What can we expect from media investments in 2025?

Get a sneak peek into the future with exclusive insights from Meghan Fraze, Chief Product Officer at MediaRadar, Inc., in our latest blog.

In the ever-evolving world of advertising, brands looking to capture consumer attention and drive growth need to stay ahead of the curve. To help advertisers, agencies, and publishers understand what trends are shaping the future of advertising, MediaRadar undertook a comprehensive review of US advertising expenditures across top media channels between January and August 2024 and compared those expenditures to the year before. The analysis revealed important strategic insights for brands looking to make the most of their media investments in 2025 and beyond.

Digital media now captures two-thirds of total media spending

One of the most significant findings from this new analysis is the dominance of digital media. It now captures nearly two-thirds of total media spending in the US, surging 8% year-over-year and reaching $107 billion for the first eight months of the year. Led by paid search, mobile, and paid social, digital media meets consumers where they spend the most time and checks all the boxes for advertisers: seamless engagement, quick conversions, and measurable impact. Brands across industries as varied as home improvement, department stores, automotive, QSRs, software, and financial services are investing heavily in digital channels to reach consumers at every step of their path to purchase.

Traditional media shows signs of resilience

While digital media is growing, traditional media channels are experiencing varied fortunes. Television saw a healthy 3% increase in media spending this year, buoyed by major sporting events like the Olympics as well as political campaigns. However, print media faced a significant decline, dropping 11% overall as advertisers continue to shift their focus to digital platforms and concentrate their print budgets on fewer major publications. Radio remained relatively stable, with local radio seeing slight growth, underscoring its continued relevance for local advertisers as well as national advertisers looking to tailor their messages to local audiences.

The line between traditional and digital is blurring

While most industry reports still count them separately, channels like radio (traditional) and podcasts (digital), or linear TV (traditional) and OTT (digital), are essentially two sides of the same coin these days. Podcast advertising, for instance, offers advertisers a unique opportunity to engage listeners in a personal and targeted manner, and its rapid expansion is a shot in the arm for traditional radio stations and producers willing to bridge the gap. Similarly, OTT promises targeting capabilities advertisers could only dream of with linear TV, and most traditional media companies today are developing streaming offerings to get in the game and safeguard their TV budgets in the process. While the expectation is that linear TV will continue to slide over the next few years, the growth of OTT will more than make up for it, and we anticipate that TV in one shape or another will remain the cornerstone of many companies’ marketing plans.

AI will play both savior and disruptor in 2025

As the advertising ecosystem continues to morph and adapt to complex market realities, advertisers and agencies will increasingly rely on AI and other advanced analytics to enhance campaign design and delivery, and publishers will use it to improve how they monetize their audiences and control ad fraud. But AI will also create new challenges for the industry. For example, on most search engines today, AI-generated answers are taking up much of the top space and pushing traditional search results off the screen. This makes it difficult for sponsored search results to stay visible, especially among young users who are more likely to take AI results at face value. To come out on top in 2025, brands will need to recognize those challenges, not bury their head in the sand.

The future is decidedly omnichannel

As media consumption becomes more fragmented, and consumer attention more divided, advertisers can hardly rely on a single channel anymore to meet their objectives. The future of advertising is decidedly omnichannel. Whether they’re trying to build brand awareness, acquire new subscribers, or close more sales, advertisers today need to spread their action across multiple platforms while ensuring a seamless and integrated brand experience for all their customers and prospects. It’s far from easy, but it’s also very achievable with the right supporting data.

 In the many years of political transformation and the winds of economic shifts, local businesses have often local at media marketing with fear in their hearts and trying to understand what's ahead for them in the world of media marketing. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

Commentary

Business TV Brand Messages: Concerns Over Tariffs, Higher Interest Rates Ahead?

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 24, 2025

TV’s business marketing messages are becoming clearer.

NBCUniversal’s cable business network CNBC keeps talking about a “high level of uncertainty” of the entire economy when it comes to the Trump Administration’s tariff plans.

Many economists are strongly concerned that global tariffs will raise prices for all consumers -- in other words, that a bad downturn in the U.S. economy is on the way.

This would be the opposite of the Federal Reserve's current thinking over the past few years during the Biden Administration with reference to its monetary policy direction and its tools to bring down inflation.

With a decent economy continuing, the Fed had been very gradual in making interest rate cuts -- with a sharp eye that any big cuts would cause inflation.

Perhaps all bets are off now.

A January 2025 reading shows that inflation is at 3% -- a slight increase from 2.9% in December. The Fed’s target remains at 2.0%. “We could be heading for something worse,” said one business analyst on CNBC last week.

For its part, CNBC has not been an alarmist as a TV news network through any of this, even considering the massive potential jobs cuts to federal agencies the Trump Administration has been trying to make. It sticks to the nuts and bolts of the marketplace and how to make investors money -- both large and small -- and stays away from much of the political polarization of general news networks.

Steve Liesman, senior economics reporter on CNBC, said last week: “It is clear 'uncertainty' over fiscal policy by the Trump Administration has taken a central role in the minds of central bankers.”

What happens then? Perhaps even a dramatic rate hike? Liesman adds: “I think it’s a low probability. [But] it has to be on your radar screen... This is not 2018. Tariffs may not be as benign as they were last time [during the first Trump Administration]."

Stock-market declines and volatility should send shock waves through the current administration. President Trump wants the opposite, and has not only called for dramatic interest rate declines, but hinted that he would like some control over the independent Federal Reserve, perhaps with a “shadow” Federal Reserve chairman.

One data point to consider is that since the start of the Trump Administration, major market indices have seen virtually flat or slightly down results, with no gains.

Right now there is a cautious approach to things. The VIX -- the volatility index, known as the “fear gauge” -- is now up 5% or (to 15.90) since the Trump Administration took over. On February 3, it spiked up 18%.

Are stock market indexes also sending a marketing message? Who is buying into that?

 

Political Winds Shift, And So Do Networks: Changes at MSNBC

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

In a perfect world, any Presidential administration should not have too much effect on any linear or streaming TV network -- news channels in particular.

But these are not traditional political times. The new Trump administration has directly affected TV news networks, resulting in major declines at both CNN and MSNBC -- all while Fox News Channel widens its lead compared to the other two major competitors.

In January’s prime time, Fox News Channel grew 40% in total viewers versus January 2024 -- while MSNBC sank 33% and CNN went 14% lower.

Political-skewing news channels are now fairly obvious to many viewers, and figure prominently in pulling in specific audiences: The conservative/Republican-focused Fox News Network and the liberal/Democratic-leaning MSNBC and CNN.

MSNBC is making major changes with its on-air personalities, particularly Joy Reid -- host of "The ReidOut" -- and possibly Alex Wagner, according to reports. Reid will be let go, and Wagner will be reassigned as a network correspondent.

Replacing Reid's 7 p.m. show will be Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, the current co-hosts of “The Weekend." There will also be a two-hour edition on Mondays. 

Jen Psaki will expand her Monday show and move to the 9 p.m. hour Tuesdays through Friday. Rachel Maddow -- who has returned for the first 100 days to cover the new administration -- will return to just Mondays at 9 p.m.

It isn’t just the new administration affecting cable TV news networks, but the overall dynamics of the linear TV industry, which continues to see massive cord-cutting. To a great extent, that is why Comcast is spinning off seven networks including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel.

This all means there is even more pressure on MSNBC -- now without the added help of the NBC News operation, which remains with Comcast, as well as the Bravo channel.

MSNBC will be looking to create its own important Washington, D.C. news bureau to replace the NBC News operation. For a long time, MSNBC had the on-air brand association “The Place for Politics.”

Whether right or wrong, many TV news networks -- particularly MSNBC and CNN -- are mulling efforts to offer up more "mainstream" personalities to adapt to the new Washington, D.C. realities.

Reid was more of an outspoken, opinionated host who expressed her political views. CNN also had its opinionated correspondent/host Jim Acosta, who recently departed from the network.

Rebecca Kutler, the news president of MSNBC, has announced to her staff that its trio of weekend hosts -- Symone Sanders-Townsend Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez -- will take Reid's 7 p.m. hour.

What's next? All three networks need to look not just at their on-air personalities going forward, but making a broader transition to streaming -- and perhaps slightly different audiences that will be tuning in.

Will any changes networks make now stick going forward?

Commentary Clutter Is People's First Impression of Marketing

 

Commentary

Clutter Is People's First Impression of Marketing

• by J. Walker Smith , Op-Ed Contributor, 8 hours ago

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly—yet often overlooked. So, over the course of my biweekly column this year, I want to share some snippets for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful.

This week’s thought: Clutter is people’s first impression of marketing.

Marketing Means More

A Yankelovich survey fielded the year before the turn of the century found that telemarketers were tied with Jerry Springer -- the pioneer of trash TV -- as the No. 1 thing people did not want to carry into the new millennium. Nothing much has changed over the past quarter-century.

This poor opinion is not limited to telemarketers. People have a beef with every sort of marketing. Because the very nature of marketing is interruption and intrusion. Sometimes it’s as bad as privacy breaches; but even at its least invasive, marketing is always testing the limits.

It is not in the nature of marketers to hold back. Consider virtuoso Atlanta adman Joel Babbit who once lamented the wasted billboard space on the sides of stray dogs. When he ran marketing for the 1996 Olympics, he sparked a global outcry with his plan -- ultimately vetoed -- to promote the event with a gigantic geosynchronous metallic billboard that would be visible at night to most people around the world. (This idea still circulates.)

Nor is it good marketing to hold back. The quantity of information and data bits vying for attention is growing multiplicatively. While the number of ads consumers are exposed to each day is far short of the fabled 10,000 (yes, I am person zero for that flawed viral figure), digital media and channel proliferation mean more ads than ever. Not to mention more entertainments, more SKUs and more stores. Clutter is the most common experience people have with marketing.

The natural response to more is even more. Which traps marketing in an accelerating feedback loop of proliferation, excess and clutter. Which is the reason that attention is front and center these days as a research and business priority, with major initiatives by trade groups like the ARF, IPA, MRC, IAB and The Attention Council, as well as initiatives from practitioners like Kantar, Dentsu, Infillion, Microsoft, GroupM and Google.

The quandary is that marketers want more and more of what consumers have only so much to give.

Cognitive Capacity is Fixed

Attention is limited. This is old news, yet it has enduring relevance. The post-WW2 surge of computing spurred a lot of work into the best ways to integrate computers with people. Information theory was an originating idea in the budding field of cognitive psychology (as it butted heads with behavioralist orthodoxy), from which came George Miller’s 1956 paper on the cognitive limits of working memory, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two.” Seven is our real-time cognitive capacity. Computer interfaces must be designed around that, and indeed everything else as well. The influence of Miller’s paper has been so great that it has its own Wikipedia page.

The related concept of the attention economy -- and its corollary elements of overload, scarcity, storage, processing and technology fixes -- was first articulated in a 1971 conference panel on computers and communications by Herbert Simon, whose innovative career was recognized with both the Turing and Nobel prizes.

In 1988, educational psychologist John Sweller followed up all this initial work by showing that learning could be improved by reducing the cognitive load involved in problem-solving. Which is to say that people have to throttle their attention to keep from being overwhelmed by overload, and learning protocols must reflect this.

In short, consumers are trying to do less. While marketers are trying to do more. From which comes clutter, people’s first impression of marketing.

The Consumer Gripe is Clutter

Clutter comes from the mismatch between cognitive capacity and the quantity of information consumers must sort through to find what they want.

Consumers have no gripe with marketing, especially not with ads. Consumers like ads. What they dislike is clutter. Increasingly, though, it can be hard to separate one from the other. Because marketing is part of the clutter, and ads are often the biggest part—the unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of our overfull information society. Well before consumers can attend to ads they must deal with clutter.

The shopping journey is a jaunt through clutter. What consumers encounter is clutter -- it is their first impression of marketing and their most common experience of marketing. Clearing a way through clutter is the process by which consumers are finally able to pay attention to ads.

This issue is misunderstood, though. Push back by consumers is not about ads. Consumers are not resisting marketing. They are dodging clutter. Consumers like ads. The issue is clutter. Consumers hate clutter.

Consumers are more than happy to invest time with marketing if it’s not wasted time. Clutter is annoying because time sorting through clutter is of no value. Clutter gets in the way of what consumers want.

Marketing Works but Could Work Better

Clutter notwithstanding, advertising—and marketing in general -- still works. Consumers need information to make good decisions. Ads continue to sell products, influence pop culture and elect politicians. Marketers keep spending because there is a measurable return on these investments.

As marketers push harder, though, piling more onto more, clutter grows, which raises costs, lowers efficiencies and, most of all, motivates consumers to ratchet up delegation. This has been the dance for decades. But with the smart technologies afoot of late, a tipping point is at hand for delegation.

Marketers make demands on the most precious resource consumers have -- time. Marketing doesn’t work unless consumers spend time with it. Time to watch ads. To browse the aisles. To search online. To compare and decide. To review and share.

Technological advances, AI in particular, will eventually enable consumers to opt out of clutter and save time by letting technologies take over shopping, particularly the steps of consideration and evaluation. It is the ultimate delegation and thus a fundamental flip of engagement -- meaning that algorithms will become the (perhaps sole) audience for ads. So, the only way to keep consumers engaged directly will be to offer more value for their time, not more clutter.

One of the paradoxes of digital technologies is that people want to send the time they save with non-digital activities and entertainments. Which is not a rejection of digital. It’s just people using digital to get more of what they want.

That’s the answer for marketers, too—add value to the experience, don’t subtract value by overloading it with more and more marketing. People want more value and less clutter, which has long been their first impression of marketing.

Commentary FAST Channels Making TV Stations Happy - But Not So Fast

 

Commentary

FAST Channels Making TV Stations Happy - But Not So Fast

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 8 hours ago

Reinventing the over-the-air broadcast model finds executives focusing on one similar -- yet different -- streaming segment: FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV).

At a recent industry event, General Manager of Data Solutions at ad research company AdImpact Don Norton said there was a 30% increase in the number of ad impressions available on the top five FAST channels.

In terms of Super Bowl viewing, 25 million viewers out of this year’s Super Bowl total of 127 million for the event came from Tubi.

It’s all about extended reach -- in the wake of linear TV cord-cutting. One NBC executive said there was only a 16% overlap of viewers when comparing NBC prime-time programming to that of NBC content on streaming.

On Bravo it is even less -- the overlap of viewers between its linear TV cable TV network and Bravo content on streaming is just 6%.

Shawn Makhijani, senior vice president of business development and strategy for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming and NBC Spot On, said 90% of local OTT deals have advance targeting. This is in contrast to the NBC Television Network, which has yet to reach 50% with advanced targeting.

While this is a key positive part of what FAST can bring, nagging issues remain -- especially cross-platform measurement, and where advertisers and brands might need to shift to make good underperforming ad inventory from local linear TV to local OTT TV.

All this gives legacy TV media companies some hope that fast-growing FAST channels will help them pull in more consistent viewership, helping them when it comes to guaranteeing audiences and providing specific return on media investment results.

National media buyers are already seeing strong results from Fox Corp’s Tubi, Paramount Global’s Pluto TV, Roku’s The Roku Channel, and Comcast Corp.'s Xumo.
Tubi, for example, is nearing advertising revenue of more than $1 billion.

Good news is that FAST local channels are a step up for local TV stations from the initial digital media business: news-related websites and the like, which started up at least two decades ago. NBCUniversal, for example, has 11 local FAST channels.

Last year, BIA Advisory Services estimated local broadcast TV ad spend to be $23.8 billion, with around $3.23 billion coming from digital media platforms, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

TV station executives now hope FAST will help them pull back some local advertising dollars that have gone to big digital-first platforms like Facebook and Google.

There is still a long, slow way to go. Not so fast.

Commentary Premium SVOD Subscribers Up 10.4% In 2024, Average Churn Moderating

 

Commentary

Premium SVOD Subscribers Up 10.4% In 2024, Average Churn Moderating

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 8 hours ago

Premium U.S streaming platforms -- subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) -- grew 10.4% in 2024 versus the year before (26.5 million to a current total of just over 260 million, according to the subscription research platform Antenna.

Netflix has a 26% market share of all U.S. SVOD subscriptions -- 67.5 million, according to estimates. Hulu and Paramount+ are next at 14% share (36.4 million) each, followed by Disney+ with 13% (33.8 million) and Peacock at 11% (28.6 million).

While the total number of gross additions in 2024 exceeded that of cancellations -- at 173.3 million versus 147.8 million -- the rate of cancellations grew over the rate of gross additions the year before -- 15.8% versus 11.6%.

Still, this churn is stabilizing somewhat in the near term -- at least over the final three months of 2024, at around 5%.

In addition, the average monthly churn netted just under 3% for 2024 -- when accounting for those that resubscribed to that service.

Antenna says the average price of an ad-free subscription monthly service grew to $14 from $11 last year -- with all premium streaming platforms raising prices. Ad-supported plans grew to average $7.50 from $6.00.

Overall, well over half of consumers choose an ad-supported plan when they are offered. Subscriptions to ad-supported accounted for 45% of all streaming subscriptions, up from 36% in 2023.

Antenna says bundling is having the desired effect, keeping cancellation and churn at modest levels: “Bundles are showing signs of life.”

It adds that the new Disney+/Max bundle has the highest retention rate --at 80%, which is the percentage of new subscribers who are still subscribing to those packages in its first three months in the market.

It also notes that the “Disney Bundle” -- Disney+, Hulu, and/or ESPN+ -- is at 73%.

This story has been updated.

 For local clients whose message on your station is vital to their new business development and helping the target consumer get more from their message: Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

How To Elevate Your Brand Voice and Reputation

• by Robert Wheatley , February 21, 2025

"The future of communications is going to be working with leaders and organizations on their narrative, which is their message, reputation and positioning, rather than exposure and publicity," said Adam Mendelsohn, founder of Upland Workshop, in AXIOS’ report from Cannes.

Nothing is more critical to successful engagement with stakeholder audiences than the strength and distinctiveness of your stories and business narrative.

Doesn’t your business deserve the kind of storytelling that quickly, clearly sets your business apart from all others based on its boldness, authenticity, personality and relevance?

Think about this iconic example from Apple:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

This is storytelling that offers a distinctive point of view, that makes you think, that draws you in and installs a baseline of deeper meaning. It is meant to inspire. What drives this narrative is a bold higher purpose and vision for what the brand’s business stands for. When you operate with a swing-for-the-fences strategic foundation, you are opening the door to creating a more captivating story.

Here are six fundamental rules to help direct your thinking on a better foundation for brand storytelling:

Start with a refined expression of your brand purpose and vision. This should be the litmus test of whether a topic is right for you.

Use brand archetype discovery and refresh to help guide your thinking on voice, tone and manner of communication.

Build the story in layers of relevance to address the different objectives of various stakeholder audiences.

Express a clear point of view. Focus on values, issues and cultural influence that matter to your community.

Make consumers the heroes of your story. It’s about them and not you or your company. Your role in the story is coach,  educator and enabler.

Use emotion and emotive language wherever possibleto enhance audience engagement. People are feeling creatures who think  -- not the other way round.

Says Yvon Chouinard, the CEO and founder of Patagonia:

“It’s been nearly 50 years since we began our experiment in responsible business, and we are just getting started. If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a thriving business—50 years from now, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is another way we’ve found to do our part.

Despite its immensity, the Earth’s resources are not infinite, and it’s clear we’ve exceeded its limits. But it’s also resilient. We can save our planet if we commit to it.”

That message permeates every aspect and corner of  Patagonia’s narrative, and has helped make it one of the most respected brands anywhere. When you identify your “why” and work to extend that foundation throughout your brand narrative, you are in effect embedding the storytelling with consistency, resonance, meaning and value.

 

Another educational article for your direct clients. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

Consumers Are Logging Off: Where to Shift Your TOFU Efforts Now

• by Maggie Sullivan , 90 minutes ago

After 17 years, I finally deleted Facebook and Instagram. Being constantly bombarded with news, ads, and content that is at best, a waste of time and at worst, harmful misinformation, is overwhelming. The shift from seeing posts from friends and family to algorithm-driven content from strangers, combined with privacy concerns, made it an easy decision to step away.

And I’m not alone in my social media fatigue. A Gartner survey found that 53% of consumers believe social media has deteriorated due to misinformation, toxic communities, and bots. Gartner predicts 50% will significantly reduce or abandon social media this year.

Rather than relying on social media for awareness and relationship-building, brands must diversify their top-of-funnel (TOFU) efforts to meet consumers where they’re shifting their attention. Here’s where to invest next:

Owned content. Traditional social media may be fading, but content remains king. Investing in a well-optimized website, engaging email newsletters, and timely blogs creates a sustainable, long-term marketing foundation that isn’t subject to shifting algorithms or rising ad costs.

If social media reach declines, PPC costs skyrocket, or influencers lose their following, owned content ensures your brand’s visibility and credibility remain intact. By prioritizing content that you control, you build an audience that can keep coming back—regardless of external platform changes.

Even as AI reshapes search, engines will still prioritize trusted, in-depth content. Especially for B2B brands with long sales cycles, expert-driven content and branded search remain key for visibility and conversions.

Trade media. A Broadsheet survey reported that 82% of respondents found trade media coverage has a material impact on sales. Earned media coverage, or bylines in trade publications, allows you to reach a highly engaged, niche audience without competing with the 24/7 news cycle of mainstream media.

With trust in social media declining, third-party validation is more powerful than ever. Plus, with many consumers shifting their attention away from social media, some may turn to the trade publications they’ve relied on for decades to fill the information gap. Trade media coverage can be repurposed across marketing channels, extending its impact far beyond the initial publication.

Advertising on podcasts, TV, and traditional media. Podcast advertising is booming, with 500-plus million listeners worldwide, set to reach 650 million by 2027. Host-read ads feel like trusted recommendations, driving 60% of listeners to consider purchases. Similarly, use of CTV and streaming ads is rising as cable declines.

While digital marketing took center stage in recent years, many marketers are seeing success in bringing traditional tactics back into the fold. As consumers grow numb to digital ads in an always online world, strategic traditional media campaigns -- including billboards, print, and direct mail -- leave a lasting impression on potential customers.

Diversifying your TOFU marketing tactics beyond social platforms gives your brand more opportunity to reach consumers in moments of real engagement rather than mid-doomscroll. As always, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, and be ready to pivot your marketing efforts to other channels as they gain popularity.

 Here's something for your direct clients whose merchandise or services are best to reach the mom of the household. Hope you find it useful: Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

Commentary

5 Marketing-To-Moms Trends For 2025

• by Maria Bailey , Columnist, Yesterday

It is estimated that U.S. moms spend approximately $3.1 trillion in the economy each year, and 2025 will be no different. With the emergence of Gen Z moms, who are more digitally astute than any prior cohorts of mothers, retailers can expect to see online sales increase and a much more educated shopper evaluating product options. Gen Z moms are not carbon copies of millennial moms, so consider these trends in marketing tactics to help you hit your mom marketing goals this year.

Affiliate integration: More and more influencers are discovering the fact they can make money linking their content to affiliate programs. Marketers can expect to see more social media campaigns with affiliate links integrated into mom influencer content. 

Tik Tok shop: Big brands will discover what smaller companies already know: Moms buy from Tik Tok Shop. Even better, they buy from Tik Tok Lives. Start-up brands like OPU Probiotics and Pop Daddy are seeing substantial growth from live selling events on Tik Tok.  This could possibly be the next direct-to-consumer move for big brands in 2025.

Ambassadors: One-off mom influencer campaigns are so 2024. Moms want a relationship with their favorite brands, and that goes for mom influencers as well. Ambassador programs allow brands to develop a relationship with moms that extends into insights, 24/7 feedback, organic social support, and authentic social posts.

Mom hacks: With the birth of a remote workforce, brands have forgotten that moms are still busy people even if they are working in the home. Moms -- no matter what stage of motherhood -- want solutions. Content that showcases hacks, time-saving solutions, and repurposing of old products gets shared most often with other moms.

Focus your digital content on how moms can use your product for more than its intended purpose, even if it causes your product team to snarl at you when you walk past their desk. Moms appreciate when your content recognizes her struggles.

Retail-specific campaigns: Part of being busy is that mom doesn’t want to have to search for products she sees on social media. In 2025, brands should work on creating retail-specific campaigns that showcase end cap displays, pallet placements, and social posts from the aisle of retailers so moms can easily find the product as they dash through the doors of a store

Moms buy products from companies who “get” her, so adapting your marketing tactics to their behaviors, values and motivations will go a long way in 2025 toward winning their business.

Here's a solid marketing tip to share with your local-direct client whose efforts may be waning online! 

Stop Settling for Lazy Positioning: It's Hurting Your Business

• by Michael Baer , February 19, 2025

“It’s simple: We’re the best."
“We care more than the competition."
Our product is an innovative AI solution.”

These are the kind of placeholder statements masquerading as positioning that I see far too often. They’re vague, generic, and devoid of insight. Worse, they fail the most critical test of all: giving your customers a compelling reason to choose you.

So why do so many companies settle for this lazy approach to positioning -- or skip it entirely? Weak positioning generally isn’t a conscious choice, but the byproduct of several inaccurate perceptions.

They Think Positioning Isn’t a Priority

In the rush for growth, companies often prioritize tactics over strategy. “We need leads!” takes precedence over “We need clarity about who we’re for and why they should care.” Without a clear positioning strategy, marketing and sales efforts are scattered, unclear, and underproductive.

They Fear Narrowing Their Audience

Many companies fear being too specific, so they craft broad, one-size-fits-all messages. As I’ve written here before, when you try to speak to everyone, you resonate with no one.

They Confuse Product with Positioning

I often see companies touting product features as if they are strategy. But listing what your product does isn’t positioning. Positioning answers why you do it.

They Underestimate Its Value

Working on positioning may feel like wasted effort, especially compared to the action of launching a marketing campaign or new product. But positioning provides the underpinning for every marketing and sales (and beyond) activity, and having a strong one makes all activation more efficient and effective.

But generic -- or worse, absent -- positioning isn’t just ineffective, it’s bad for business. It leads to wasted marketing dollars, apathetic customers, and frustrated teams.

On the other hand, clear, strong positioning is the foundation for building a brand that grows and lasts.  Consider:

-- Bain studies show companies with strong brand positioning grow 30% faster than their competitors.

-- Forbes research demonstrated consistent brand positioning can increase revenue by up to 23%.

-- HBR reported brands with clear differentiation see higher customer loyalty and retention rates.

Here’s how to build positioning that truly resonates:

Understand your customers deeply. There is no substitute for developing -- and documenting -- a deep understanding of your audience. Who are they? What goals are they trying to achieve? Your messaging should address their needs, not those of your CEO or product team.

Define customers’ pain points clearly. Strong positioning revolves around the challenges your offering solves. The more clearly you can articulate your customer’s needs, the more credible and relevant you become.

Frame the value of your solution through their eyes. Instead of talking about your product’s features and benefits, communicate them in the context of customer outcomes. How does your solution make their or their end-user’s life easier, their job more successful, or their business more competitive? Customers don’t care about what you do; they care about what you can do for them.

Articulate your purpose.  Define the deep-seated reason behind your offering and its benefits.  Why did you create it?  What beliefs led to your brand’s focus on addressing this challenge for these consumers? 

Stop settling for vague promises and product descriptions. Take the time to define who you are, who you’re for, and why you matter. Because if you don’t, your competition will --and they’ll take your customers with them.

 

Commentary

Air Ball: NBA All Star Game Misses Nielsen Net

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 7 hours ago

The second-biggest U.S. TV sports franchise -- the NBA -- just recorded its second-worst performance of the NBA All-Star Game ever -- with just 4.7 million viewers on TNT, down 13% from a year ago.

The least-watched All-Star Game was two years ago, with 4.6 million viewers.

Give the NBA some credit -- this year, anyway. It looked to boost interest in the game, which had been continually devolved to a weakly competitive event between Western and Eastern conference teams. These contests had come with virtually no one playing defense -- and a whole lot of scoring.

The new event consisted of a series of “tournament” games -- a reimagined format: Three shorter games (the first to score 40 points) featuring four teams. All this replaced the traditional 48-minute game between two teams.

The winning Team Shaq OGs (Old Guys) featured Steph Curry being named MVP in a 41-25 contest beating Team Chuck's Global Stars.

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To be sure, professional All-Star games -- NFL Pro Bowls, and the like -- are not what viewers ultimately want to see because they are games with very little value for the players, and for their respective teams going forward.

Those leagues are also doing different stuff. The NFL Pro Bowl for instance, is now significantly different in that it no longer features a traditional tackle football game. Instead it is all about a week-long series of skills competitions culminating in a non-contact flag football game between the AFC and NFC teams.

For the NBA, this year there was also a lot of skills-based and contest-based content. Plainly, it was just a big TV marketing platform for brands to make a bigger visible impact for NBA fans/consumers.

No doubt hardcore fans -- who always want to see their favorites play with some vigor -- were not interested.

The low Sunday turnout for the All-Star game was also dinged by a special “SNL50 -- NBC’s “Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary show -- featured on the same night, which earned a big 14.8 million viewers on NBC Television Network and Peacock.

Perhaps the new NBA format can find a way to build some internal competition: “Old guys” versus global non-U.S. players versus "rising stars" could have some value. But it also needs to be competitive -- with some defense-action improvement.

And -- sorry, brands -- it also might help to get rid of the iffy, fringe content.

 

Commentary

YouTube Model for TV Station Future: Podcasts, As News?

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Is YouTube a model for where TV is going -- for younger consumers to come back to more traditional-looking video screens?

Nielsen says YouTube now has a commanding lead over all streaming platforms -- at around 11% of all TV and streaming viewing.

For the better part of the last 12 months, the big Google platform has had almost nonstop growth. According to other research, 74% of U.S. adults regularly used YouTube.

We have been told for years that local TV viewership keeps getting older and older -- at least 60-65 years of age and higher -- especially for TV stations with heavy news content.

While there is certainly a mix of users, we know YouTube can attract many more younger viewers. So... should local over-the-air TV station programmers think about YouTube more when looking to the future in trying to transform their aging platforms?

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One area to look at is podcasts. According to one piece of research, 65% of podcast listeners under the age of 30 prefer to watch their podcast as a piece of video content. For many that means the ease of YouTube.

This makes sense when looking at all the social media mobile apps with heavy video elements. Young users, of course, can get YouTube via mobile, desktop, and increasingly the big TV screen.

The hard part is finding a way to transform local TV station news content. Are video podcasts a model?

For some time, TV platforms -- nationally and locally -- have tried to transform news content to interest young viewers, with weak results. Recent efforts includes Vice Media and Cheddar News.

There are many obstacles for TV stations. First of all, this is on-demand or near on-demand world -- not a local TV station’s main thing. It is still linear TV -- though many stations do have websites, of course, where there is on-demand content.

The good news is that young people don’t necessarily mind advertising, but they want to get to the content quickly. Think TikTok, Instagram and other social media. They want to be in control to tap into stuff, consume, and then move on.

And yet there is some hope: Google executives now report YouTube is now watched on TV more than any other device. So, let's make a somewhat fanciful leap:

Does all this mean that young users/viewers are coming back to TV?

 

What 5 Million Cold Calls Reveal About Selling in 2025

By

 Peter Mollins

 -

February 17, 2025

Last quarter, the Nooks sales team crushed its goal. The secret wasn’t a clever email template or gimmicky approach. They picked up the phone and had real conversations. While some teams blast automated emails – volume is up by five times in the past year – the most successful companies build 80% of their pipeline through direct conversations.

The shift back to voice isn’t just a trend; it’s a response to digital fatigue. Prospects receive hundreds of automated emails daily, but rarely engage in meaningful dialogue. Our analysis shows that when a prospect receives a thoughtful call addressing their specific challenges, they’re over two times more likely to engage compared to any other outreach method.

Sorry to Interrupt, But These Numbers Are Wild

The data from 5 million analyzed calls shows what works has fundamentally changed. Teams focusing on calls generate 40% more opportunities than those relying on automation. And successful reps don’t launch into rehearsed pitches. They ask permission to speak (2.4x higher meeting rates), reference specific customer stories (1.8x better results), and lead with problems they’ve solved for similar companies (6.3x higher conversion).

But the numbers tell only part of the story. The most successful calls share common patterns. Reps who spend the first 30 seconds listening rather than talking see double the engagement rates. Those who reference recent company news or developments show prospects they’ve done their homework. And reps who ask open-ended questions about business challenges convert at three times the rate of those who lead with product features.

Robots Can’t Connect with the Room

Despite massive investments in automation, prospects still crave human connection. When someone takes time to understand your challenges and engage in real dialogue, you notice. The best reps don’t compete with AI – they let it handle the busywork while they focus on meaningful conversations. Modern cold calling demands research, strategic thinking and genuine curiosity about customer problems.

This shift requires rethinking how we develop sales talent. The old “smile and dial” approach fails today’s sophisticated buyers. Top-performing teams now spend more time studying their market, discussing customer challenges and practicing the art of good questions than rehearsing scripts. They use technology to automate research and data entry, freeing up time for what matters: understanding customer needs and building relationships.

When Teams Dial Together, They Smile Together

Building a successful calling culture requires more than just good training. Our highest-performing teams block out dedicated time for collaborative calling sessions. They share wins and learnings in real-time. When one rep discovers an effective approach or spots a new market trend, the whole team benefits.

The data shows that teams who spend at least two hours daily in collaborative calling sessions outperform isolated callers by 60%. They’re also more likely to stick with difficult prospects, leading to our most surprising finding: 52% of all meetings come from follow-up calls, yet only 21% of reps actually make those follow-ups when asked.

Plot Twist: The Future Still Needs Humans

In the future, we’ll have even more powerful tools. Virtual reality might let reps walk through customer facilities together. AI assistants could suggest handling tricky objections in real time. But the fundamentals won’t change. People buy from people who take time to understand their needs. The future belongs to teams that master both technology and human connection.

The most successful organizations will use technology to enhance human capabilities, not replace them. They’ll automate the repetitive tasks that currently waste three hours of every rep’s day, freeing them to focus on meaningful dialogue. They’ll use AI to identify the best times to call and the most relevant talking points, but leave the actual conversations to skilled humans who can build genuine relationships.

Don’t Call It a Comeback

Reality check: While technology transforms how we work, human connection drives results. Organizations that build cultures around meaningful conversations supported by smart automation will thrive. Those that hide behind automation and treat prospects like entries in a database will fall behind.

The future of sales isn’t about choosing between technology and human touch – it’s about using each where it works best. Let automation handle the busy work. Save your people for what matters most: having real conversations that solve

 

Commentary

YouTube Model for TV Station Future: Podcasts, As News?

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 8 hours ago

Is YouTube a model for where TV is going -- for younger consumers to come back to more traditional-looking video screens?

Nielsen says YouTube now has a commanding lead over all streaming platforms -- at around 11% of all TV and streaming viewing.

For the better part of the last 12 months, the big Google platform has had almost nonstop growth. According to other research, 74% of U.S. adults regularly used YouTube.

We have been told for years that local TV viewership keeps getting older and older -- at least 60-65 years of age and higher -- especially for TV stations with heavy news content.

While there is certainly a mix of users, we know YouTube can attract many younger viewers. So... should local over-the-air TV station programmers think about YouTube more when looking to the future in trying to transform their aging platforms?

One area to look at is podcasts. According to one piece of research, 65% of podcast listeners under the age of 30 prefer to watch their podcast as a piece of video content. For many that means the ease of YouTube.

This makes sense when looking at all the social media mobile apps with heavy video elements. Young users, of course, can get YouTube via mobile, desktop, and increasingly the big TV screen.

The hard part is finding a way to transform local TV station news content. Are video podcasts a model?

For some time, TV platforms -- nationally and locally -- have tried to transform news content to interest young viewers, with weak results. Recent efforts includes Vice Media and Cheddar News.

There are many obstacles for TV stations. First of all, this is on-demand or near on-demand world -- not a local TV station’s main thing. It is still linear TV -- though many stations do have websites, of course, where there is on-demand content.

The good news is that young people don’t necessarily mind advertising, but they want to get to the content quickly. Think TikTok, Instagram and other social media. They want to be in control to tap into stuff, consume, and then move on.

And yet there is some hope: Google executives now report YouTube is now watched on TV more than any other device. So, let's make a somewhat fanciful leap:

Does all this mean that young users/viewers are coming back to TV?