Intelligence Briefs

Marketing in a cost of living crisis, a shift in Big Tech strategies, and audience fragmentation are some of the big challenges for brands in 2023. WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit 2023: Global Trends Report, released today, offers a deep dive into the subject.

Do you like the sound of your voice? Veteran PR executive Rosemary Ravinal notes, "If you’ve ever taken voice lessons, you’ve experienced the rigor of working with your vocal toolbox. But average folk seldom consider the sound of their voice until they hear themselves recorded on video or audio." If you are someone who squirms when you hear your voice, this column is for you.

"I see bad microphone technique everywhere these days: at a business conference of 1,000 people, an awards gala, small panel discussion, a school graduation, even at a wedding," says PR veteran and "Zoom expert" Rosemary Ravinal. This led her to create a video in which she offers tips about microphones in business settings—some of which you may not have heard before.

Based on interviews with futurists, academics, authors and experts; multiple proprietary consumer surveys; a comprehensive innovation patent scan; and extensive secondary research and case study analysis, a dentsu consumer vision report has been released. We've digested it, and offer a synopsis of its key points.

There are many techniques to counter stage fright. "If you think of your talk as a service or gift you are giving to the audience, you will shift the attention away from you and toward the people in front of you or on a screen," PR veteran Rosemary Ravinal shares in this latest column.

During the first half of 2022, beloved kids’ shows are being revived by successful reboots and spin-offs. Programs extend from platforms to TV channels and also explore the audio environment with podcasts inspired by TV series and vice-versa. In terms of contents, trends reinforce and fine-tune existing topics.

Global consumer experiential marketing, including event sponsorships and live event marketing, grew 8.2% in 2021 to $67.63 billion, following an unprecedented 25.7% plunge in 2020, as the economic blowback from COVID-19 dealt a punishing blow to one of the most consistently growing media segments for two decades prior to the pandemic.

As the radio industry prepares to gather in New York at a reimagined NAB New York conference that, in many ways, is a successor to the Radio Show, longtime New England radio station broadcast advisor and licensee Clark Smidt offers a reminiscence — and fresh ideas — for Radio as its 2022-2023 programming and advertising season commences.

New data released this week about consumer experiences with LGBTQ+ advertising and brand commitments could prove revelatory to your broadcast media properties. The findings are the result of a new study timed to coincide with National Coming Out Day, which was October 11.

As Rosemary Ravinal sees it, the role of video as an everyday work tool has only expanded since spring 2020. And, hiring managers are replacing the screening function of résumés with video interviews. In this column, Ravinal offers advice both hiring managers and those seeking their next great opportunity should heed.

If your radio or TV broadcast station is looking for ways to thrive well into the future, you need to be selling diverse advertising solutions, says Christian Kligora, the SVP of Client Success at Marketron. "With digital ad spending in the U.S. projected to hit $278.53 billion in 2024, the writing is on the wall: digital is a must," he says.

A new survey of consumers across 17 markets conducted by Altman Solon confirms that live sports consumption has steadily risen over the last two years as sports came back to full schedules. At the same time, new technologies are being increasingly used by sports teams and leagues to build fan connections, including augmented and virtual reality and blockchain.

Have U.S. televised programming consumers reached a tipping point when it comes to their preference of streaming video platforms versus linear, traditional platforms? New research from Horowitz Research illustrates just how dominant SVOD, AVOD, OTT and Connected TV already are in the 50 states and its territories.

On Thursday in Orlando, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel addressed attendees of The AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration, an annual gathering that brings the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Rosenworcel shared how, as Chairwoman of the FCC, she's broken through a glass ceiling by remaining committed to key passion points — namely bridging the nation's digital divide, especially with schoolchildren.

Thanks to a newly forged partnership between a major Wall Street financial institution, a local two-year college and a foundation established by the owner of Circle City Broadcasting, a one-year degree program for news and media producers has been established for students. This makes an Indianapolis junior college the first institute of higher learning to create a two-semester program focused on multimedia producing in the multicultural space.