We recently brought you email marketing tips gleaned from HubSpot’s annual INBOUND conference. Here’s a tour of what stood out, according to a piece in Event Marketer, from an event production and marketing strategy perspective—from wearable tech to accessibility to community building.

The post 10 B2B Event Production Strategies From INBOUND 2023 appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Advertising to gaming audiences can be a tricky business. It’s tempting to engage with a global playing audience, but difficult to craft in-game ad campaigns that don’t detract from the experience itself. As such, brands often rely on experts that can speak to game development, ad network and agency know-how all at once.

One such company, Super League Gaming (SLG), works with major brands as well as gaming platforms. AdExchanger chats with SLG CEO Ann Hand on building in-game experiences, measuring campaigns in virtual worlds and thoughts on the metaverse.

The post Super League Gaming CEO Ann Hand Dishes on the In-Game Advertising Market appeared first on Chief Marketer.

The rules of public relations have changed, with successive press releases and spray-and-pray tactics no longer cutting it. An article in PRNEWS looks at some fresh tactics to try to ensure your B2B messaging will reach your prospects.

The post The New Messaging Tactics for B2B Public Relations Pros appeared first on Chief Marketer.

BEHR Paint Company chose the neutral, moody shade of Cracked Pepper as its 2024 Color of the Year earlier this month. The annual selection, informed by consumer research, lifestyle trends and feedback from design experts, has evolved into a full-blown brand campaign with a retail media marketing partnership with The Home Depot, social media campaigns and experiential components, resulting in a dramatic increase in sales.

We spoke with BEHR Paint Company and The Home Depot CMOs on how the Color of the Year reveal has evolved over the years; the role that retail media plays in the partnership; trends in marketing home improvement to younger generations, and the intersection of content and commerce.

Chief Marketer: How do you go about choosing the Color of the Year? And why Cracked Pepper for 2024?

Jodi Allen, Global CMO, BEHR Paint Company: What’s great about the color is it’s very usable whether you’re painting inside—if you’re painting cabinets, your interior walls, furniture—but it’s also a great exterior color as well. We focused on making sure there was a color that was usable for DIYers, for designers and professionals.

We’ve created more of an experience to launch our color of the year. At the property that we’re on now in Napa, all the buildings’ exteriors are painted in a Cracked Pepper-like color, which provided the perfect backdrop for our 2024 Color of the Year announcement. We partner closely with The Home Depot, everything from picking the color to looking at the big trends that are out there around décor, and tying color and decor together to make a big statement. And with our partnership, help consumers as they’re looking to create the same experience at their homes.

Molly Battin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at The Home Depot: Our partnership goes back 45 years. Our teams have worked closely together to bring this to life for our customers, and take everything that we know about The Home Depot customer and work with Jody’s team to bring a color palette that we know will resonate with them.

CM: You’ve been unveiling the Color of the Year for several years now. What’s different about the partnership this year?

JA: We continue to evolve a little bit. The color is an important part, so we look at lifestyle trends and ensure we have a color that’s very usable—interior and exterior. The other thing is the experience, and creating this big moment to launch here at in Napa. We have a vignette where we brought the color to life here on the property, including a kitchen, a dining room and a living room, to show how the color and the decor items from The Home Depot worked together.

The other piece is a big consumer activation. We’re making sure we get this color in front of consumers so they can get it on their walls and see how it can changes the feeling of their room and their space.

We’re leveraging social media, specifically Instagram and TikTok, where we know consumers are looking for color and inspiration. We have a sweepstakes that we’re running on Instagram, where five winners will receive $10,000 to help them transform and elevate their space with Cracked Pepper.

CM: How is The Home Depot specifically involved in the partnership?

MB: We have a retail media network where we leverage our first-party data so that we can understand where our audiences are, specifically where BEHR’s audiences are. We know where they are in their project. Are they looking for inspiration? Are they in the middle of doing it? Are they completing? So that we can put the right message in front of them. This is a perfect moment in time for us to come together, leverage our data and lean into both on homedepot.com as well as partner off-channel sites. We do a lot with Google and Pinterest to deepen engagement. We’ve done a lot in that retail media space, and as we go into this fall, and even with College Game Day coming up, BEHR is a big partner in that.

CM: How is The Home Depot’s retail media network evolving?

MB: It’s a big growth engine for us. One of the core things that we look at is, how can we partner with all of our vendors to help them grow their business? We know our customer better than anyone, whether it’s the do-it-yourself-er or whether it’s the pro. We can leverage and understand where they are in the course of their project, what problem they are trying to solve. And we can help our suppliers come in and get in front of those customers with solutions. BEHR has been on the leading end of it, and one of the key partners as we continue to grow.

CM: Why go with such a dark shade for Color of the Year? What informed the decision?

JA: We had some great research, which is one of the places we started. We talked with over a thousand consumers to see [what they thought] of these darker tones. A couple things: one, consumers were very interested in these colors. As an example, 57 percent of Americans we surveyed said that painting a wall a darker color would give the room a designer aesthetic and make it feel more elevated. We also talked to millennials, because they’re such an important strategic audience for us, and they felt that looking at a black tone similar to Cracked Pepper instantly gave the home a fresh look. [We looked] at all kinds of fashion and lifestyle trends.

CM: What are some key trends in the home improvement space?

JA: About 52 percent of millennials own homes today. That group continues to be an important strategic audience for us. Also we think about Gen Z, which is very quickly coming into buying their first home, their first space. We’re making sure that we are where they are looking for inspiration.

One of the big things that we see with people from a DIY standpoint is that they need just a little bit of confidence. So we’ve extended our brand into some new categories. We launched our spray paint in the very recent past. It’s getting in early and helping, especially for younger consumers. We had our “To DIY For” TikTok campaign—we just launched our second year of that.

MB: I would echo that we’re looking at the millennials, the Gen Zs. And we know, similar to what Jody said, whether it’s that confidence or they just don’t know where to start. They want to get into a project, they’re excited about it, but they’re a bit stuck. We’re thinking about that intersection of content and commerce in an interesting way. And how do we use platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest to get them “unstuck,” if you will, and to give them the tools and the confidence to think about, how do I tackle this project? Those content plays are really important for us as we think about how we help this next generation along, whether it’s inspiring them, whether it’s giving them the tools that they need to get all the way through—whether the pre-planning process, the middle, the end of the project, or how do I get to the next one.

We’ve also thought about leaning into other audiences. Obviously our pro customers are essential and a key piece of what our strategy is moving forward, but we launched a campaign earlier this spring all around female doers, based on the insight that we know sometimes women don’t always feel as welcome in home improvement stores. So, how can we invite them in to feel empowered, and start them at a young age? It’s reaching out to find new audiences and make them feel included and confident when they come to The Home Depot.

CM: What other insights are you leveraging to market to younger consumers?

JA: From a home ownership standpoint, we see that Gen Z is at a faster pace than millennials. So being able to connect authentically with that audience is going to be really important as we go forward. We’ll continue to keep an eye on social media and how it’s evolving.

MB: Gen Z and millennials are digital natives, so they think about the media landscape very differently than Boomers, or even Gen X. So we think about how we lean into innovative media platforms, whether it’s shoppable ads, whether it’s regionalizing our message so we can be authentic when we talk to them.

Spring is a big time for us at The Home Depot. Weather matters where you are; it depends on the season, the warmth. I’m in the North, so I’m going to start my spring a little later than in the South. We think about the channels, the new ways we can innovate and bring that digital-first experience. As I mentioned, we lean into that connection between content and commerce, but also, it’s not one-size-fits-all anymore. We have to be really thoughtful about the uses of each channel and also segmentation across the geographies.

Image credits: BEHR Paint Company

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Got a promotional marketing campaign from the past year that you’re super proud of? Then we have just one simple question for you: Why wouldn’t you want to get your best work in front of this panel of judges?

The jury for this year’s PRO Awards, the industry’s largest and longest-running recognition program for B2C and B2B promotion marketing, is stacked with CMOs and high-level marketers from the likes of e.l.f. Beauty, Dickies, IBM, Disney Parks, Walgreens and Bayer.

Their brands are household names because they’ve mastered the art of promotion marketing. And come next week, this crew will share their thoughts on industry trends, best practices and stand-out brands in the marketplace. Get your work in front of them today.

The post 2023 PRO Awards: Call for Entries appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Live events and marketing experiences are back in full swing, but this post-pandemic period continues to be one of transition when it comes to social and interpersonal relationships. To sum in up: Networking styles are evolving. In this Event Marketer article, three communication experts share best practices on making strategic and successful connections during in-person and online experiences.

The post Three Communications Experts Share Networking Tips for In-Person and Online Spaces appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Leading up to its record-breaking premiere last week, the team behind Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” produced a dizzying amount of marketing activations and brand partnerships to build buzz for the film across the globe. Here are five marketing insights gleaned from the Barbie frenzy, according to an article in PRNEWS, from well-aligned partnerships to amplification to unique UGC.

The post Lessons Learned From Barbie-Mania: Five Tips for Marketers appeared first on Chief Marketer.

To kick off back-to-school shopping season, Target-owned delivery service Shipt launched its first foray into virtual experiences with an immersive racing game on Roblox, where players can deliver school supplies and snacks, claim orders for pickup and delivery, and earn currency for accurate, on-time deliveries. Based on the insight that 77 percent of American parents play video games with their kids, the campaign’s goal was to craft an experience shared by children and their parents during this busy retail moment.

“We wanted to create unique, value-oriented experiences for the 2023 school season in a way that instilled connectivity for our key consumers—which in this case are millennial parents and their children—by identifying moments where we could take the stress out of this time and create connection and fun in a meaningful way,” according to Shipt CMO, Alia Kemet. “This was a great way to put kids and their parents in the driver’s seat of this experience.”

We spoke with Kemet about the back-to-school campaign, marketing challenges unique to the retail tech space, its new creative venture with actress Issa Rae, and much more.

Chief Marketer: Why did you decide to go the virtual route for your back-to-school campaign with Roblox? Is this a shift for the brand?

Alia Kemet, CMO at Shipt: Marketing campaigns have evolved over the years from brick-and-mortar promotions to offering new products to large-scale initiatives to attract customers during what is a saturated and busy time of year. And it’s also hectic for the parents. I have four children, so I’ve lived this experience. You have so many priorities, so many things you need to get, and you’re also focused on the emotions of your children going back to school.

We wanted to cut through that clutter, obviously, but also create unique, value-oriented experiences for the 2023 school season in a way that instilled connectivity for our key consumers—which in this case are millennial parents and their children—by identifying moments where we could take the stress out of this time and create connection and fun in a meaningful way. Seventy-seven percent of American parents actually play video games with their children. This was a great way to put kids and their parents in the driver’s seat of this experience.

This is a shift, absolutely. This is our first foray into virtual reality, so we’re really excited about the innovation. Given our audience for back-to-school, we thought, what better way to do virtual reality than a driving game? Roblox is something that a lot of young people play and enjoy, and with their parents as well.

CM: Was there a learning curve there since you hadn’t done anything in the space before?

AK: Many of our team members, including myself, have worked in virtual reality with other brands. So it’s less of a learning curve. We have a strong innovation team, too, that stays on the forefront of what is happening and current. What we learn from this experience is going to be the most exciting. What do we do next, when we think about digital innovation for our brand? It’s more about the learnings as we think about 2024 and beyond.

CM: Your latest creative campaign features actress Issa Rae. What are the strategic marketing goals there?

AK: Our biggest goals are to increase brand awareness, loyalty and brand love. The program is designed to show that everyday delivery is attainable. It’s accessible for each and every person, whether you are a successful business woman, hosting an event on a yacht, at home with friends or having a girls night in. A lot of our customers who really lean into Shipt are busy people. They’re trying to get 36 hours into the 24-hour day. But they’re also trying to pour into others, whether it’s their family or their friends.

CM: In terms of talent, why partner with Issa Rae?

AK: We pulled insights about our customers and coupled those with our objectives, and then we needed to define a partner that could exemplify those things. Issa Rae is an actress, publisher and producer. And she’s a business woman. But she also has this fun side, and people find her approachable.

At the same time, because this is our biggest campaign ever, it has the potential to set the tone for the way people think of our brand. It was important for us to find a partner who also shared our passion and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s not always easy to pull together your business goals, your objectives and your brand values and make a meaningful moment. But when your brand values are so ingrained in how you do business, it becomes easier.

CM: You’ve worked at retail companies in the past, including Nike, Whole Foods and IKEA. Now that you’ve moved to the retail tech space, what’s your strategy to get people excited about a service as opposed to a more tangible product?

AK: I love this question, because it is different. I’ve worked in retail my whole life; my first job was in retail when I was 14. I developed the first social media strategy at IKEA, in 2007. So I’ve seen the evolution of tech in the retail space—and that’s what’s happening now.

Shipt felt like the evolution of the customer experience. Back when there was no social media, people used to have to come to the store to access their goods. But then it became pickup points. Now, you don’t have to leave your home because through the Shipt app, you can access these reliable, amazing shoppers who will then deliver products to you and make your life easier.

That felt like the right path for me. But it is very different from a tangible product, like a hot sauce or a mustard, or even a piece of furniture. I’ve tried to stay true to being customer-obsessed, consumer-obsessed, and think about the needs, the insights and the data that the customer is telling us. The customer is not thinking about the tech first. They’re thinking about their individual needs. And the tech is there to service that need.

CM: The delivery space is a crowded one. How are you trying to set yourself apart from competitors?

AK: We are a brand that tries to punch above our budget weight. It’s no secret: We definitely need to grow our brand awareness in comparison to our competitors. For us, it’s leaning into our brand values, our purpose and making sure that we are elevating our brand identity. And then focusing on things like personalization and adding significant value to customers is how we’re setting ourselves apart. The other thing is going to market leveraging the cultural moments, what’s happening in the world, and finding ways to put our brand at the center of that, so it becomes seamless to think about us and you’re not making people work too hard.

CM: How are you meeting customer needs in the digital space? How are you innovating?

AK: We’re always looking for ways to add value to people’s lives, and personalization continues to be the way to do it. We recently launched dietary choices in the app, ensuring that people can find the things that are most relevant to them. As we’re thinking about holiday time, gifting is something that comes up for us. We’ve implemented a one-stop-shop hosting hub—everything you would need if you were hosting or if you were having a dinner party or a brunch, and curating those products. Especially as we move into the holiday season, that’s another important one.

CM: You’ve mentioned that you’re passionate about creating a more diverse marketing industry, but that you’ve also been disappointed by the progress. Any thoughts on how the industry could improve in that regard?

AK: This is something I’ve been watching for decades now, and I think we’re having the same conversation over and over, where it’s, “we know, the representation in our advertising industry and marketing, it’s not that great. Let’s keep talking about it.” You have some organizations that are trying to do some meaningful work, but I firmly believe that great ideas and talent can come from all walks of life, from anywhere. What sets us apart, what makes it difficult and why we don’t have representation, becomes about access. It’s about doing away with things like gatekeeping. At Shipt, we feel that we have a role to play in not just bringing representation to marketing, but also to tech in general.

I personally take it very seriously, and I think that you have to be extremely intentional about it. Those of us who are in positions of power, or positions where we can create impact, should be thinking about how we provide access to those who are underrepresented—whether it’s in front of the camera or back of the house, or tech or marketing. My advice: It can’t just be people of color who are pushing these issues in meaningful ways. We all have a part to play. I’m excited to see change in the industry and I’m happy to do my part with Shipt to create that change.

The post Brands on Fire: Shipt CMO Talks Roblox Back-to-School Campaign, Retail Tech and Issa Rae appeared first on Chief Marketer.

We recently heard from Dickies’ Global CMO about the apparel brand’s collab with Jameson whiskey, which features a 10-piece capsule collection, a pop-up retail experience and co-branded creative touted by influencers across the pair’s digital platforms. This week, we’re presenting part two of our coverage, from the spirits side of the campaign.

“We talk about this idea of using collaborations to build fame for our brand in places you wouldn’t expect to see them,” said Brendan Buckley, International Marketing Director at Irish Distillers. “Showing up in the space of fashion is kind of new for us. It’s a way to bring a bit more cultural stretch to our respective brands.

Following are the highlights of our conversation with Buckley as he discusses what Jameson looks for in a partnership, the brand’s connection to the music scene and localizing the campaign for global audiences.

Chief Marketer: What does Jameson look for in a collaboration? And what are your goals with this?

Brendan Buckley, International Marketing Director at Irish Distillers: With any brand collaboration, both parties need to have some degree of a common goal. We’ve used this phrase for years to describe our principle and who we collaborate with: We search for “kindred spirits,” our brands, people, venues, with whom we have a shared outlook and shared values.

The other strategic marketing objective for us is this idea of using collaborations to build fame for our brands in places you wouldn’t expect to see them. Showing up in the space of fashion is kind of new for us. It’s a way to bring a bit more cultural stretch to our respective brands.

CM: How are you using influencers to get your message out?

BB: Influencer marketing has become one of the standard tools of modern day marketing. Our teams around this program will be active in 26 markets worldwide. So all of our market affiliates in those countries will be working with local influencers, tapping into the world of streetwear and fashion. It gives us another way to turn up in culture beyond the conventional way that we currently do.

But that said, Jameson has a long and storied past of being more than just a whiskey. We’ve got this strong reach into the world of music and movies that I’d love to say was brilliant marketing, but it wasn’t. It was just organic. It happened 20, 25 years ago. Lots of famous musicians adopted the Jameson brand because they just liked who we were, what we did, and the unpretentiousness of it.

We had this phrase that describes Jameson, which is: “We’re a serious whiskey that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” We’re incredibly serious about making extremely high quality whiskey, but we’re not so precious about it. We ended up getting adopted, and we were unknowingly doing influencer marketing before influencer marketing became a thing. Nowadays it’s a bit more coordinated.

CM: How are you launching across different localities?

BB: We give all our markets inspiration. We’ve got the two big tentpole pop-ups, one in New York and Carnegie Station in London. But others might do smaller scale pop-up experiences in their respective markets. Especially post-pandemic, people are much more interested in and happy to get into those experiences again. But by and large, most markets will follow a fairly common approach, which is working with influencers using digital/social media.

CM: When it comes to collaborating with another brand, what are some best practices?

BB: In practical terms, we’re looking for shared passion points. We’ve got a strong understanding of who the Jameson consumer is. But there are other cultural passion points, be it music, sports, cooking, fashion.

You need to be very careful to pick the right partner. At times there is a sense that collaborations jump the shark somewhat. Some brands seem to be doing quite unusual collaborations. We do a strong sense of, look, if the collaboration makes sense, well good, but let’s not go forcing it or chasing something if it doesn’t make sense. Because at the end of the day, we’ve got a strong belief in our brand. If there’s going to be a positive synergy from two brands doing something interesting together, great. But don’t be trying too hard.

The post Irish Distillers’ International Marketing Director on Promoting Jameson Whiskey to Global Audiences appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Attention, experiential marketers: Event Marketer‘s full coverage of the Ex Awards  is here. Check out these 100 case studies of the year’s best experiential marketing campaigns—from Reddit’s future-forward “Find Your People” activation to killer campaigns from the likes of Anheuser-Busch, LinkedIn, McDonald’s, Xbox and Hilton.

The post 100 Experiential Marketing Case Studies From the 2023 Ex Awards appeared first on Chief Marketer.