brands

Innovation In Google During The Tough Times Of COVID

While most of the brands are struggling to survive during the tough times of pandemic, Google has set its goals right for the whole year. It is innovating itself without any trouble. Every month Google targets to enhance itself, according to the growing demand of the society. Google makes sure, that it fulfills the need of its users by providing them with exactly what they desire.

Recently, Google introduced two new features for its search portals. One of the features is designed, and dedicated to the Black community. The feature will help in the upliftment of the community in society and will aim to end the injustice against them.
Due to the rise of anger in the community against the centuries-long injustice experienced by the community, several brands came forward to show their support towards the community. Google was amongst them.

#BlackLivesMatter!

To fulfill his promise, the CEO at Google, Sundar Pichai recently added a feature to the map and Google search listing.

This feature is launched to empower the Black community. The feature will highlight businesses owned by the Black community helping them grow. However, only those members can avail of the benefit whose business has verified profiles in the US. Also, the business must be owned by a member of the black community.

Those businesses highlighted under this feature will be marked by an image(as shown below). The symbol will signify that the business is owned by a member of the Black community.

It is said that the step was taken to provide a financial boost to the community. It is a foreseen step to finally end the orthodox discrimination towards the community. Google is also partnering with U.S. Black Chambers, inc. To provide better features like Analytics helping the businesses groom and blossom.

In a statement regarding this following statement was issued by Google:

“As part of our $300 million commitment to support under-represented entrepreneurs, we’re integrating the attribute into the digital skills training programs we offer Black business owners through Grow with Google Digital Coaches. And through Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders, we’re starting our work with the first cohort of 12 startups.”

Google is keen to develop the feature even more and is seeking ideas internally. According to the management, they have already received more than 500 creative ideas to get this model to develop more brilliantly.

The company is also working on better and much strict “Policies against hate and harassment”

“About this ad”- More power to the user!

With a more transparent approach towards their users, Google has launched a new feature popularly known as “About this ad”.

To implement this feature Google will be launching new tools. It will help the users gain information about the advertisement they are receiving. It will help enhance security and will increase user privacy on the digital platform.

According to Google spokesperson, the vision is designed for a “thriving internet where people around the world can continue to access ad-supported content, while also feeling confident that their data is protected”.

“But in order to get there, we must increase transparency into how digital advertising works, offer users additional controls, and ensure that people’s choices about the use of their data are respected not worked around or ignored.”

Read More: Google Ends All Gossips: Revealed Fee Structure For Advertisement Tools

For a long time now, tech giants like Google are have faced a lot of criticism. Most of those were linked to their explicit behavior when it comes to money and user privacy. After being criticized and called upon several times by different government authorities for blind approach in the business during the usage of advertisers’ money, Google has finally decided to be more transparent with its business policies and proposals.

Therefore, Google shared a list of pricing for its tools used by advertisers for the advertisement. It was a huge step by Google, since before this release, advertisers were kept in the dark about the spent of their share of the money, and the profit earned by Google.

The tools for which Google revealed the prices include, DV360, Google Ads, ad manager, and its publisher tech.

The revealed prices are as follows:

These prices were revealed by Google in a series of articles and blog posts.

The prices are in the ratio of percentage for a $1 amount spent by an advertiser on an advertisement, divided between the publisher and Google.

• Google tech: Publishers – 69%, Google – 31%
• DV360: Publisher – 87%, Google – 13%
• Ad Manager: Publisher – 82%, Google – 18%
• Google Ads: Publisher – 86%, Google – 14%
• Ad sense by Google: 68% share taken by Google of the total spent by the advertiser.

Google has never been so transparent in regards to its prices, the sources say that this new transparent face of Google is due to the ongoing legal hearing conducted by the state attorney general and the Department of Justice.

Read More: Google Updated Its Demand-Side Platform With DV360!

Innovation has always been the motto of the company. To make sure that the advertisers at Google are equipped with the best tools available in the market, it recently launched its new self-service toolkit known as Display & Video 360.

The tool is launched to change the landscape of the advertisement. Display &Video 360 is a gift to its advertisers by Google.

Earlier, advertisers used the tools to make a hypothetical projection while running an online marketing campaign. The most crucial question that bothered the advertisers was the amount of audience that they will reach with the campaign. To make sure it’s no more a hit and try show for the advertisers, Google launched DV360.

With the DV360, the advertisers can now create a new campaign and check its reach to the audience as the tool provides a duplicate view of the campaign. The duplicate view will help the advertisers view the exact or say a more accurate number of audiences that they will reach with the campaign. Hence, no more blind bets!

The tool has better forecasting capabilities, giving the advertisers a glimpse of the future for their campaign. It is also a better solution for the media planners as it provides them with a large proportion of benefits as better access to the tool as they always have a larger role to play.

The most crucial answer answered with the tool is, “how many unique people can I expect to reach with my overall campaign across any open auction display and video inventory as well as YouTube?”

According to Anudeep Pedditi, Programmatic Manager, OMD NZ:

“Once we commit to a reach objective, neither underachieving nor overachieving is an option. Display & Video 360 gives media planners the accuracy they need to effectively plan across all our programmatic campaigns.”

The Tools main aim is to provide the following features to its advertisers:

• • • • Focus

      • Options For Buying

      • Optimization And Reporting

      • Security

      • Conclusion

Read More: How Google’s Page Experience Will Change the Face of SEO in 2021

Google will launch a new algorithm for its page experience and design. The new model will be based on user experience.

The new algorithm will surely affect SEO and web traffic. Therefore, to make sure that the advertisers are not affected by the changes, Google has announced that they will apply the changes in 2021. They have promised to inform upfront, at least six months beforehand.

An early reminder will help advertisers to prepare themselves for the changes.

However, Google made it clear that the new algorithm will be even stricter in ranking the web pages. If the user experience of a web-page is poor, Google will not rank the page on to the top list.

Google has also published a detailed document dedicated to the page experience criteria.

The new algorithm will consist of some core vital features. This feature includes the following:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the loading performance of your webpage.
• First Input Delay(FID): Measures the user interaction with the page.
• Cumulative layout Shift: Checks the stability factors of your webpage.

The Accelerated Mobile version (AMP) will also play a major role in the ranking of your page, as will be a metrics for the page experience.

Also, good content will always play a lead role in the page ranking.

As per a statement:

“While all of the components of page experience are important, we will prioritize pages with the best information overall, even if some aspects of page experience are subpar.

A good page experience doesn’t override having great, relevant content. However, in cases where there are multiple pages that have similar content, page experience becomes much more important for visibility in Search.”

Hence, entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses should be well prepared for the new changes.

Read More: Every 2020 Google SERP Feature Explained: A Visual Guide

Have you ever imagine the amount of traffic Google experience in a minute, month, or year?

Well, here are some fun facts, every second there is an approximate of 63,000 search queries entered on Google search.

Also, near to 2 trillion searches are conducted every year!

Isn’t it amazing? However, you might ask, why does it matter?

Let us understand!

Google holds an approximate 72% market share of search engines. To make sure that your webpage is listed on the top of the list of Google search results you must have an understanding of Google SERP (Search Engine Result Page).

What is SERP? And, what all it provides to the advertisers on Google?

The Search Engine Result Page of Google has gone through a lot of changes according to the user view. It has become much more dynamic, relevant, personalized, and helpful.

Now the search engine of Google is equipped with several enhancements that use structured data. The search page consists of visual enhancement, better index, and optimization for the website. You must be aware of all these changes if you are planning for a better organic ranking for your website.

Here is the new enhancement for the search page of Google:

• Direct answer Box
• Rich Snippet
• Rich cards
• Knowledge Graphs
• Knowledge Panels
• Local Pack
• People also ask
• Image Pack
• Site Links
• Twitter
• Newsbox

You must be equipped with the knowledge of these for better results in organic ranking.

Read More: Rejoice Small Retailers: Selling Products is Now Free On Google Shopping

MSME’s got adversely affected due to the widespread of COVID-19. Several small and medium scale businesses have lost their source of income due to the sudden breakthrough of this epidemic. 

Therefore to make sure that these businesses sustain the effects of the crisis, Google is allowing small retailers to list their products for free on Google Shopping.

Explaining this decision, Bill Ready, President of Commerce at Google cites the fact that it is difficult for struggling businesses to pay for Google shopping listings at this time.

“And as consumers increasingly shop online, they’re searching not just for essentials but also things like toys, apparel, and home goods.

While this presents an opportunity for struggling businesses to reconnect with consumers, many cannot afford to do so at scale.”

Earlier, Google charged its customers as Pay per click (PPC). It can also be seen as a tactic by Google to compete with Amazon in the market of e-commerce.

Read More: Privacy Sandbox By Google Shows Backdoor To The Third-Party Cookies.

Two years ago, Google announced that it will discontinue the usage of third-party cookies in its browser, which is Google Chrome. Since the announcement, several speculations surfaced, to understand its effects on internet traffic and advertisement. However, Google seems determined about the elimination, and this year Google announced “Privacy Sandbox” a step towards the replacement of third-party cookies.

It is developed to provide a secure browsing experience to its user.

According to a spoke person from Google, “This is an early-stage concept, and we don’t have more details to share right now, We plan to publish updates and progress in GitHub as part of the process.” 

The concept uses a new algorithm designed by performing “Bit Request Signal Experiment”.

Privacy Sandbox was launched in August. The idea was to innovate ad recurrence and behavioral advertising. It aimed to help them work on the web without using third-party cookies. A mega event was organized, 163 giant tech organizations like Apple, Facebook, Axel Springer, The Washington Post, Criteo, The Trade Desk, and even Google participated. All are requested to share their views via. World Wide Web Consortium or GitHub to help the project succeed. 

However, according to the Google developers, it is still in its initial stage and there is a lot of work that is needed to be done in this field.

Read More: Google pledges $800 million to coronavirus relief, including Ad credits

Google CEO Sundar Pichai explained:

“As the coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen around the world, it’s taking a devastating toll on lives and communities. To help address some of these challenges, today we’re announcing a new $800+ million commitment to support small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), health organizations and governments, and health workers on the frontline of this global pandemic.”

The commitment includes:

• WHO and other health organizations will get $250 million for advertisement.
• MSME’s and NGO’s will get $200 million. 
• An additional $15 million in cash will be granted by Google.org to non-profits to bridge the gap between SMB’s.
• Those small businesses that are already active for a year with Google advertisement will get the help of a total of $340 million in Google ad. They will receive the credit in their accounts and can spend it by the end of 2020.
• The academic and research institutions in the field of COVID research will get $20 million.
• Financial support will be provided to the organizations to increase the production capacity for life-saving equipment.

However, not everything went great for Google during this tough time of COVID:

Read More: Google Cuts Marketing Budgets by 50%, Freezes Hiring.

Key Points

• Budget cuts and hiring freezes across marketing and across Google.

• For the second half of 2020, Google is cutting its marketing budget to 50%.

• The cut is due to the reduced expenditure on advertisement by the brands during the time of the crisis.

• The development comes in less than a week from where Google is scheduled to discuss Q1 2020 results on 28th April.

According to a statement released by email: 

“There are budget cuts and hiring freezes happening across marketing and across Google…We, along with the rest of marketing, have been asked to cut our budget by about half for H2.”

A company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to CNBC,

“As we outlined last week, we are re-evaluating the pace of our investment plans for the remainder of 2020 and will focus on a select number of important marketing efforts….We continue to have a robust marketing budget, particularly in digital, in many business areas.”

…we continue to invest, but will be recalibrating the focus and pace of our investments in areas like data centers and machines, and non-business essential marketing and travel.”

Read More: Google Withhold Programmatic Data, Advertisers Pulls Back Ad Spend

As quoted by Digiday, the Head of Display at the U.S based retailer said,

“Google’s ad exchange didn’t make the list primarily because they’re not willing to give us any transparency or data around not only their take rates on our media sped but also anything we could already pull from our demand-side platform.”

“We’re seeing Google’s ad exchange become slightly less of the total pie,” said Jay Friedman, president at programmatic agency Goodway Group to DigiDay.

”I don’t have a percentage but it’s less but not significant.”, he further added.

The advertisers registered their doubts and raised concerns regarding the non-transparent behavior of Google. However, this must have been resolved after the release of the price list for its advertising tools by Google.

Exit Lockdown. Enter Reality – What Comes Next?

How Email Marketing Will Help Your Business Grow in 2020

Does Email marketing still exist in times of social media, artificial intelligence, chatbots, videos? A thought to ponder.

If you feel email marketing has lost its charm, then you are far away from the truth.

The truth is, email marketing is growing and email campaigns are still the best strategy for brands and businesses.

Here it is, Why?

 

As per data by Statista(2020), In 2019, the email users were 3.9 billion users and are expected to grow to 4.3 billion users in 2023, which is half of the world’s population. This clearly shows email marketing is an opportunity that should not be missed.

The above infographic on Email Marketing Stats 2020 provides facts and figures about the email market which is still robust and one of the best marketing strategies.

What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is more effective than SEO, affiliate marketing, or social media because it has a direct line with the audiences. It helps you connect with your leads, nurture them, and convert them into customers.

However, with the growing fervor of TikTok Facebook, Snapchat, will this old school tactic still work?

Emails have a better reach than social media and converting a prospect into a buyer. This shows email leading social media. Email is 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined. (McKinsey)

A third of customers who have subscribed to the retailer’s newspaper is a direct result of email marketing messages. (E-marketer) 

These numbers are nice to know but you are still wondering, how are email marketing campaigns important in 2020?

Well, that’s what the next chapter is all about.

How Is Email Marketing Important In 2020?

With the booming popularity of social media and search, the importance of free emails in email marketing is higher than ever.

Let us comprehend the value of email marketing in 2020.

1. Everyone uses Emails: 

Young people use email for several things – social media and personal expenses, mailing lists, and brand promotion or business. So, everyone has a valid email address.

2. Emails are easy to design and create:

An attractive and eye-catching email campaign for a small business budget with a reputed email marketing service provider can create wonders and similar to big brands.

After finishing designing the newsletter or free emails, businesses can quickly start to use email campaigns for promotion.

3. Email marketing  links all other channels

Email campaigns are a direct line of communication with the audience and a suitable way to promote marketing strategies.

Social Media

Most email service providers have footers with social media icons at the bottom that includes links to LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram. Subscribers can access those links and share the campaigns by clicking on it. Also, brands can share the reviews, posts on the social feed so subscribers can connect with the brands online.

For instance, the example of Urban Outfitters is a visually appealing email that highlights their most-liked Instagram posts. Also, note the share buttons at the bottom of the email.

Content Marketing

77% of people prefer to get permission-based promotional messages via email campaigns. To start with, first, a sizable email list is to be prepared. There are several ways to do this like giving something away for free or offering a newsletter update, videos, research report, infographic, or valuable content.

Make good use of content with interesting pictures and custom RSS feeds. For instance, the US outdoors always include interesting content in their email campaigns.

Webinars: 

Brands can promote webinars on emails to their subscribers who are genuinely interested to hear and respond.

Performance Analysis

Email service provides information on how to improve future email campaigns and learn about subscribers. However, this will be a paid service. 

Analytics aids in keeping a  track of active and engaged subscribers and identifying trends as well as new markets. This data can help in retargeting campaigns and use marketing resources in the right way.

Capitalizing On The Data Collection:

Email marketing is one of the most scrutinized marketing methods in the post GDPR world. 78% of people say they are likely to trust companies with their personal data if they use it to personalize their experience through different channels like emails.

Emails give access to understand subscribers’ behavior and learn about their habits and interests to create customized email campaigns. Personalized email campaigns can be created by conducting surveys to collect quality data from active subscribers.

4. Encourage more subscriber participation:

Marketers gain the trust of the subscribers when they encourage more participation from them and let them control their inbox.  Put a preference center link at the bottom of the email campaigns and prompt new subscribers to fill it.

A preference center allows the subscribers to tell the brands on how often they want to be emailed and what type of content they prefer. Below is an example of a preference center by Brooks Running. 

5. Stay updated with automation and technology

Email service providers always give access to the latest automated features to give an enriching experience to the audience in the following areas:

-Segmentation

-Post-sales communication

-Re-engagement

-A/B Testings

Best Email Marketing Campaigns 

With in-depth details on the importance of Email marketing, in the next chapter, we will see the best email marketing campaign examples.

1. BuzzFeed 

Email Marketing Campaign: “Buzzfeed Today” Newsletter

Newsletters are Buzzfeed’s top sources of traffic. Buzzfeed has amazing, punchy, and short subject lines. They have awesome preview text that compels the reader to open the email.

If their subject line is a command, the preview text is the logical elaboration of the subject line.

Their newsletters are from politics and daily news to DIY and cooking. They cover different audiences as they know exactly what to recommend to whom because of their email segmentation.

2. Amarso

Email marketing- another way to approach the cart abandonment.

If your product is enticing then put it at the center of your email marketing campaign directed at the customers who shopped but didn’t purchase. In this two-step email marketing campaign, Amarso is doing the same thing.

The 1st image is sent to the shoppers after an hour of shopping for those products whereas the 2nd image is a reminder of Amarso’s amazing products seen a few days back.

 

3. Airbnb 

Short, Crisp and Communicative Feedback Survey in their Email Campaign

 Their email campaign is short, crisp, fresh, and minimalist with a clear objective. Their emails are straight to the point and with a clear CTA. The email campaign looks good and engaging. In every email, you will get guides to different cities.

 

Email Marketing Platforms or Email Service Providers (ESPs)

There are many email marketing platforms but obviously, there is no single ‘best email service provider’. The best option depends on the objectives, goals, features, and list size of the marketers.

In this chapter, I am reviewing five of the top Email Service Providers. The features, pricing, pros, and cons of each email marketing platform are highlighted to help the marketer choose the best option for you.

 

1. Mail Chimp

 

Features

-It is the most popular and leading email marketing platform.

-It has an excellent dashboard with prebuilt templates, reports, lists, and more.

-There is email automation, better integration, optimization, and analytics.

Pricing

-A forever free plan allows 12,000 mails every month to 2000 subscribers.

-There are 3 packages based on features and the number of subscribers.

-Essentials for $9.99, standard for%14.99, and Premium for $299 are email marketing plans.

Know more about pricing

Pros

-It is best for small and medium-sized businesses at an affordable cost.

– It can handle large volumes of emails.

-The messages can be sent to email clients as well as for promotion on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

-It has easy to use WYSIWYG editors and can access reports on the open rates clicks, spammed, unsubscription.

-It has friendly customer service and excellent email analytics.

-It helps you to customize the tools for your business with over 300 integrations.

Cons

-The regular updates and reconfiguration disrupt the entire working system as users have to understand and adapt to the new changes.

-Apart from the chat function, phone support is not provided. 

-The individual addition of email contacts is cumbersome and has limited segmentation features.

-Emails sent via Mailchimp often goes to the promotion tab of Gmail or spam at times.

2. Mailjet

 

Features

-It has the best real-time dashboard and is preloaded with free responsive email templates and newsletters

-There are advanced reporting features like to track deliveries and know user actions.

Pricing

It has a free email marketing trial for 30 days for 6000 emails a month and 200 emails a day. There are 3 Packages like Basic, Premium, and Enterprise plans for each month. 

Free email marketing trial for 30 days for 6000 emails a month and 200 emails a day.

Know more about pricing here! 

Pros

– The dashboard is incredibly innate and the drag and drop editor option allows users to create different email templates. 

– It provides a report that shows usual data including bounces, clicks, and so on.

-It is Reasonable and economical pricing compared to the competitors.

-It’s an all in one platform to send, track, and deliver marketing and transactional emails without any additional cost.

Cons:

-There are limited designs for email templates and cannot store images.

-Unsubscribing inactive users from the list is tiresome using Mailjet’s removal interface.

-The segmentation options are limited. Eg. One can run a campaign but cannot set conditions like whether a recipient has/unopened/bought the product.

3. Active Campaign

 

Features

– It has an intuitive email template builder and advanced marketing automation

-It has features like segmentation, machine learning, CRM and sales 

-It has the best campaign tracking, free image hosting, email funnels, and autoresponders. 

Pricing:

There are no free plans available but an email marketing test run can be done for 14 days. Active’s pricing packages are affected by two factors: contacts and features. It has 4 packages available – Lite for $9, Plus for $49, Professional for $129, and Enterprise for $229.

Know more about pricing

Pros:

-The dashboard shows the full history of your contacts and gives access to real-time reports that features display tracking of essentials like geolocation, clicks, opened rates, unsubscription details.

-It has great integrations with other tools like Facebook Ads, Gmail suite, websites, and more.

-The Lead scoring helps to prioritize accounts for the sales team and has dynamic content.

 -It offers a free migration service. Unlike other tools, Active Campaign doesn’t charge you to move data from one email marketing tool to another.

Cons:

– The pricing isn’t the lowest but it is worth the value.

– The layout is not user friendly and many good features cannot be accessed seamlessly by the users.

– It becomes difficult to handle large volumes of emails.

4. Klaviyo

Features

–It helps e-commerce marketers to build, measure, and optimize email campaigns.

-It has a hassle-free dashboard that showcases all the recent campaigns based on revenue, days, and more.

-The segmentation of the platform is excellent based on the behavior and transactional data.

-Start your campaigns with pre-built email templates that can be customized.

– Use an autoresponder to send automatic emails to the audience.

Pricing

It offers a free trial of up to 250 contacts and can send 500 emails. The plans are devised based on the number of contacts. Pricing increases with the number of contacts- the maximum pricing option is up to $1700 per month for up to 146,00 contacts and a minimum of $25 for 500 contacts.

Know more about pricing 

Pros

-It is easy to set up and user friendly.

-Enhance the eCommerce business on integration with Shopify.

-Create Personalized product recommendations for post-sale engagement.

-Visually transform email workflows and sign up forms to collect leads.

-Access to marketing automation to follow up with customers after they abandon a purchase.

-Integrate with the Facebook custom audience and create a comprehensive marketing campaign.

Cons

– The pricing is aggressive and high for smaller businesses.

– For beginners, the interface can be challenging initially.

– Limited customer chat support and no phone support.

-It can be difficult to use while integrating with Magneto and checking analytical information.

5. Gmail

 

Features:

-Everyone’s favorite Email marketing tool.

-A free, advertising-supported email service offered by Google.

-It’s a part of Google G Suite with 15 GB storage, color-coded inbox, and filters.

-Appropriate for all types of businesses.

-GMass extension can be used to send personalized and mass emails to every email address in the Gmail account.

Pricing:

It is a free service.

Pros:

-It is free, stable and fast

-It provides 99.9% spam and virus protection.

-It has Integration with the whole Google suite.

-Secured web platform and can be customized to an extent keeping it clean and simple.

-Integrated with Hangout that helps to directly reach the customers via call or chat.

-Excellent handling of large attachments and volumes of emails.

-A business email address can be used by logging into a Gmail account.

Cons:

-It might not work easily with a few desktop software or enterprise applications.

– There is no backup of emails in the inbox.

-It is connected to Google Drive storage, therefore, if it is full then it creates problems in receiving emails.

-Many client emails get sent to spams.

-It collects mail from the hosting server and will not collect email quickly.

Why do many use Gmail for email marketing?

• It has spam filters that reduce the risk of domain spoofing, phishing, and other malevolent practices.
• It has great features and saves time in searching for mails and referencing old mails.
• Gmail users are highly engaged which is the key point in email marketing.

How to use Gmail to send a newsletter?

GMass turns your regular Gmail account into a powerful email marketing platform. Without GMass, Google’s platform allows you to send email marketing campaigns to limited people in your G-suite. 

Using GMass helps you send emails through the world’s highest delivering servers and gives the highest open rates. It also includes features like 

GMass provides access to following email marketing features to your Google or Gmail account:

-Open tracking,

-Click tracking, 

-Mail merge 

-Message Personalization, 

– Mass emails or bulk email service

-Scheduling.

-Create a mailing list

Best Practices To Follow For Email Marketing

 

Wrapping Up

 The importance of email marketing has grown over the years. With all the insights provided in the article, here are a few takeaway points:

-Email is easy to integrate digital marketing campaigns.

-Email marketing gives a scope to build personal relationships with users.

-Email marketing is constantly evolving implies that email marketing strategies should also change with time.

-Technological innovation continues to improve email marketing and the way subscribers are engaging with emails is also changing,

-This proves that email marketing is here to stay and email marketing automation is the new trend that is catching up. Time to up the game and think about the new techniques and strategies for your next campaign.

Learn more: Facebook Is All Set To Launch Its Toolkit For “Email Marketing”.

Major Brands Condemn George Floyd’s Death | Supports Black Lives Matter

• Major brands released various statements condemning racism and voicing their support for protesters.

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• The protests intensified across the U.S after the death of Geroge Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on 25th May.

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Following a long history of Black Americans losing their lives in police custody, the death of George Floyd has sparked nationwide protests and civil unrest. 

Why it matters: Even the brands that remained silent against social injustice, such as ad agencies or marketing professionals have raised their voice in the Trump era to fill the void created by the government. 

Driving the news: Brands like Twitter changed their official display image as a part of the change. Other brands like Google, YouTube, Disney, Netflix, Amazon followed the suit.

However, the brand’s support has received mixed reactions of praise and criticism. Supports that include tangible steps to action like donation or building up of links and resources with statements are welcome to combat racism. However, generic statements that lacked depth are being accused of commercializing the tragedy.

L’oreal drew criticism from British model and activist Munroe Bergdorf, who claimed that she was previously dropped out from a campaign for speaking on racism.

https://twitter.com/MunroeBergdorf/status/1267460238678069249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1267460238678069249&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrum.com%2Fnews%2F2020%2F06%2F01%2Fbrands-show-solidarity-with-george-floyd-protests-can-they-contribute-real-change

Facebook donated $10 million but received backlash from critics. Social media is still taking heat for not taking a stand against the controversial post of President Trump that promoted violence, unlike the competitor Twitter.

One commenter wrote on the Facebook social media post, “If Facebook was serious then Facebook would censor the president’s inflammatory posts the same way the rest of us are censored. This is just lip service at this point.”

Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout over the issue and one employee, software engineer Timothy Aveni, wrote on LinkedIn about why he’s leaving the company altogether.

How have brands and media companies shown solidarity: They took to social media to support the Black Lives Matter movement using a set of hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #JusticeForFloyd.

• Social posts go black for Blackout Tuesday

Scroll through any social feeds on Tuesday, June 2 and there will be a sea of black images on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms with the hashtag  #BlackoutTuesday. Brands, celebrities, ad agencies, influencers are participating in support of racial injustice.

Sony postponed a PlayStation 5 event to give fans a sneak peek at the games in a tweet. On the other hand, prominent music labels and musicians participated in Blackout Tuesday with hashtags – #BlackoutTuesday and #TheShowMustBePaused. Others are participating by staying silent on social media.

In solidarity with the Black community, our employees, our friends, our families, and our colleagues across industries we are proud to take part in #BlackoutTuesday.

Savage X Fenty will NOT be conducting any business on Tuesday, June 2 – globally.

— Savage X Fenty by Rihanna (@SavageXFenty) June 2, 2020

Visit this link for a list of actions you can take: https://t.co/tjNjsYlTft #BlackLivesMatter #TheShowMustBePaused #BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/iKvf84Ioav

— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) June 2, 2020

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Lucky Brand will observe “Black Out Tuesday.” We will be closed for Business. This is not a day off. We have work to do. #BlackOutTuesday #BlackLivesMatter #LuckyTogether pic.twitter.com/CWLCo5SI15

— Lucky Brand (@LuckyBrand) June 2, 2020

Interscope vowed not to release new music for the entire week.

pic.twitter.com/aWQrKcs5QI

— interscope (@Interscope) May 31, 2020

• Other Brands

Bank of America: It plans to donate $1 billion and four years of support at the local community level to help with economic and racial inequality which has intensified in the pandemic. In a statement, CEO Brian Moynihan, “We all need to do more.”

The financial giant will focus on health, training, small business support, and housing with the help of Bank of America’s 90 local U.S. market presidents.

Verizon: Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg initially fought back tears during a webcast and pledged $10 million to social justice organizations. A full list of those receiving donations can be found here. 

"We have the responsibility as a large corporation to do right in these times. We cannot commit to the brand purpose of moving the world forward unless we're committed to helping ensure we move forward for everyone." –@HansVestberghttps://t.co/fHH4TWe52g pic.twitter.com/9wGIjhwBgw

— Verizon (@Verizon) June 1, 2020

Ben and Jerry : This brand has been consistently conscientious. The ice-cream maker has previously also taken a stand in response to Ferguson unrest.

4 years ago, in the wake of Ferguson, we felt compelled to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We’re heartbroken those words are just as relevant today. These racist and brutal attacks against our Black brothers and sisters must end. #JusticeForFloyd https://t.co/7ngefmtqnu

— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) May 27, 2020

Starbucks:  In 2018, Starbucks came into limelight after a store manager called the police as two black men were sitting at a table and had yet to order. This incident raised an alarm against racism and the coffee chain conducted training on race, bias, and inclusion and had shut the store one afternoon for discussion.

pic.twitter.com/CUXFFEY9yQ

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) June 1, 2020

Microsoft: The company shared the black employees’ quotes and feelings in this turbulent time on its social channels.

At this time, we will be using our platform to amplify voices from the Black and African American community at Microsoft.

And we’re starting with Megan Carpenter: https://t.co/cFFHxFQCrQ. pic.twitter.com/nDrMi4MPR2

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) June 1, 2020

Lululemon: The company extended its support not merely by statements but pledged $100,000 donations on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAy3PtKJOdN/?utm_source=ig_embed

• Entertainment:

Netflix – Their move drew accolades online including director Ava DuVernay and “Orange Is the New Black” and “Mrs. America” star Uzo Aduba.

To be silent is to be complicit.
Black lives matter.

We have a platform, and we have a duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up.

— Netflix (@netflix) May 30, 2020

YouTube: The company pledged $1 million in support of efforts against social injustice whereas Amazon Studios released its own message in support of the Black community and against racism on Twitter and Instagram. Other companies showing their support include HBO, Viacom, Pop TV, Quibi, and more.

HBO changed its name on Twitter to #BlackLivesMatter whereas ViacomCBS President of Entertainment and Youth Brands Chris McCarthy wrote in an internal memo that all entertainment and youth brands and platforms would be going dark on Monday for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the precise amount of time the police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck.

A new spot was created that read “I CAN’T BREATHE” on the black background as audio plays the sound of breathing. A Call-to-action was included to support the non-profit Color of Change for civil rights advocacy.

For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, we will go dark in tribute to George Floyd. We dedicate this time to the victims of police brutality and the powerful movement fighting for justice. Join @ColorofChange. Text DEMANDS to 55156. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/X6587CxuOw

— VH1 (@VH1) June 1, 2020

• Sportswear 

Adidas: Adidas and Nike, the two rivals came together to support the movement and support George Floyd supporters. Adidas shared Nike’s video.

Together is how we move forward. ⁣
Together is how we make change. https://t.co/U1nmvMhxB2

— adidas (@adidas) May 30, 2020

Business in Minneapolis:  Many businesses and stores have been damaged or looted during the unrest but still some of the brands and business owners are voicing their support for protesters

Brand ‘Target’ has seen many of its stores looted in the Twin Cities region, however, the CEO put out a statement sympathizing with the movement.

“We are a community in pain. That pain is not unique to the Twin Cities — it extends across America. The murder of George Floyd has unleashed the pent-up pain of years, as have the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We say their names and hold a too-long list of others in our hearts.”

“As a Target team, we’ve huddled, we’ve consoled, we’ve witnessed horrific scenes similar to what’s playing out now and wept that not enough is changing. And as a team we’ve vowed to face pain with purpose.”

Can Brands make a real change: It is difficult to gauge how only words of support for the fight against racial injustice is sufficient. Brands voicing their support needs to translate into action for a meaningful impact. Brands should support lobbying and campaigning pressure on the government and institutions to change the structure which few of the organizations are trying within limited means. 

What’s next: Even though these protests will eventually cease, brands must ensure they are doing everything to dismantle the pillars of structural racism. Expect brands that have stayed silent until now will feel the pressure to respond quickly to the ongoing crisis with a viewpoint.

Tough Times For Ad Agencies As Brands Refuse To Settle Payments Amid Corona Crisis.

During the recent time when every industry is having their share of struggle in the pandemic, ad agencies are being deprived of their money by the brands. Brands refuse to pay ad-agencies, they are blaming the COVID crisis, for their non-payment.

This has been declared as “betrayal of trust” by TCC (The Communication Council). Tony Hale the CEO stated that this is just a “Convenient excuse for non-payment.” 

Tony further released a statement in which he stated: “We believe this is unacceptable: no client should ever expect its ad agency to bankroll its business.” Adding to it he said, “This is especially relevant during COVID-19 when agencies are having to manage their businesses and cash flows more carefully than ever.” 

Communication Council members met to clear this up. This concern has not yet been raised by many, but several brands have been seen adding these clause in their new set of terms and policy, according to the industry insiders.

Media agencies are the most to be affected by these crises. They have registered a downfall of approximately 40% in their bookings. However, the creative agencies are getting good business even during the time of crisis.

Hale, a member at communication council stated:

“It is gratifying to note that the bulk of clients and their ad agencies in this country have been partnering productively to find solutions for businesses who are experiencing genuine cash-flow problems.

“Strong partnerships will always find mutually acceptable ways to overcome challenges by working together.

“However, TCC strongly believes it is an egregious betrayal of trust for any client to deliberately use the COVID-19 crisis as a convenient trigger to delay payment or extend contracted payment terms.”

Due to COVID, many brands are rethinking and re-evaluating their strategy during the crisis. Therefore, several campaigns have been cancelled, delayed, or have been reworked upon.

World Federation of Advertisers reported that large MNC’s will be cutting their advertisement budget, and might not spend on advertisement, for a long period now.

CEO of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), John Broome said:

“In a crisis, productive strategic partnerships are even more valuable to maintain and foster. Therefore any instances where advertisers are using a crisis to impose additional payment terms on their agency partner is counter-intuitive to me. Fortunately, I do not know of any instances of this happening in Australia.” 

Alliance VoxComm a global ad agency has confirmed that many companies are delaying payment due to the crisis.

VoxComm released the following statements:  

“Late payment is a pernicious habit that even cash-rich companies employ to falsely enhance their liquidity ratios,” “Agencies are de facto being asked to act as banks for bigger client companies.

“These companies bully agencies into longer payment terms or just flagrantly flout contractual payment terms.”

VoxComm stated that several companies are stating that they are socially accountable:

“And yet we are hearing from our members all around the world that many of those same ‘corporately responsible’ companies are using the crisis to delay paying their agencies.

“The unintended consequences mean agencies in-turn struggle to meet payroll, often 75% of their costs. Then have to delay paying their freelancers and sub-contractors (who have been hired to work directly for these clients).

“These are often niche and diverse community-based media owners as well as voice over artists, photographers, illustrators etc. Their fees are their salaries. It’s what pays the rent and what puts food on the table.

“Extended terms often come with consequences, including strained relationships with vendors, reduction in flexibility, and higher prices. …the business models and livelihoods of smaller players in the marketing supply chain can be threatened by extended terms. Such companies are not banks.”

World Federation of Advertisers CEO, Stephan Loerke: “It cannot be in clients’ long-term interest, when reputation is so critical to ensuring you can work with the best possible talent, to unfairly extend payment terms.”

Payment Terms report, of the Association of National Advertisers in the US: “Extended terms often come with consequences, including strained relationships with vendors, reduction in flexibility, and higher prices. …the business models and livelihoods of smaller players in the marketing supply chain can be threatened by extended terms. Such companies are not banks.” 

11 Global Brands Create Epic Ads Entirely From Home During Covid-19.

Just weeks into global lockdown, advertising production has changed. It is now confined to homes with shoots canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future. Out of adversity, now comes creativity as advertisers are overcoming the hurdle of not being able to venture out with ads made remotely or entirely from home.

Video advertising isn’t stopped amidst the pandemic but is showcasing creativity in lockdown. 

We have handpicked the best ads produced remotely in the COVID- era from around the world.

1. Apple: Creativity goes on

Apple is one of the top names of all brands creating ads from home. The tech giant has captured how consumers are creative amid the COVID outbreak and are using its products for drawing pictures on the iPad, produce video content on Macbook or Facetime with near ones. The film is produced  in over two weeks starring many celebrities from their homes and ends with a line reading “Creativity Goes On.”

2. Women’s Aid: The Lockdown by Engine

Engine and Knucklehead created a campaign ‘The Lockdown’ – uses video shot during the daily excursions in London to capture the empty roads and emphasize that domestic abusers are no longer on the streets and are locked inside with their families. Women’s aid has set up a coronavirus advice page to help victims of domestic abuse.

3. IKEA: Making Home Count 

An absolute delight to watch the video advertisement and beautiful creative ad in coronavirus outbreak. Ikea Singapore released ‘Making Home Content’ –  a short ad made remotely by a team of creatives from TBWA to give thanks to those abiding the lockdown rules. It covers simple ‘joys’ like pets, cooking, and playtime with children and family, using the footage shot by the team who captured their lockdown lives.

4. Vodafone Italy: Importance of Connectivity

Vodafone Italy launched an ad campaign made remotely by the crew to demonstrate the importance of connectivity and raise funds for the Italian Red Cross during the pandemic. The ad features the strapline “Even when we can’t be close, we can be together”.

5.Honda Civic: #StayHome

The 35-second spot is the latest video ad made from home entirely for the Dubai region with Memac Ogilvy Dubai. A classic example of creative video advertising where it started like any other sheet metal commercial but with a twist. Honda uses a full-scale miniature car and the camera shots managed to trick the viewers for some time and feel like watching a real car. The ad ended on a hopeful note reading” Until we drive again” with the hashtag #Stayhome.

6.Porsche: Let it Not Tempt you

Another automobile ads made remotely is Porsche for Poland which created a film overnight with a series of graphics to encourage viewers to stay home despite the beautiful weather. It inspires Porsche owners to share photos of the parked cars on social media and comply with safety recommendations.

7.Nike: Play for the World

 

Next on ads made remotely is Nike’s inspiring campaign where it is paying a tribute to all the athletes who are training indoors due to quarantine. 

8. Birds Eye: So, What’s For Tea?

https://youtu.be/Fy4OULzv8QM

This creative video advertising ad was made to help families cope with the coronavirus crisis presenting life hacks like entertaining families that include coloring pages and word searches. Families can download the life hacks on the brand’s website or social media page.  

9.Ad Council: #StayHome, Save Lives

The Ad Council has joined hands with Google, the ANA, and other advertising, media, marketing trade associations, on a wide movement that pleads to the people of America to #StayHome Save Lives in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.

10. The BMW: Contactless Experience

The highly affected sector due to these unprecedented times is automotive. A unique and creative corona ad introduces the BMW India Contactless experience with a digital-purchase experience that gives the feel and benefits of a brick and mortar dealership at a click of a button and from the comfort of the home.

11. Audi: The Drive

Audi is offering a pleasant and innovative experience to house-bound Australians through the freedom of open roads. Audi Australia created a 4 hour long long-slow TV film, a masterpiece of creativity in lockdown for the viewers to experience the soothing nature of the road trip from the comfort of their home.

The creative ads in coronavirus pandemic show that it has not put a damper on the creativity of the people and will inspire audiences to StayHome, StaySafe to win over these tough times.