Brands are wasting $600m+ in ad spend during the holiday season

A dog wearing an elf hat.

Brands are wasting hundreds of millions in digital ad spend during the holiday season, according to a new analysis by CreativeX, a technology company powering creative decision-making for the world’s largest brands.

The analysis, which assessed over 3.9 million ads from 2021-2022, from 400+ brands across 10 different industries including retail, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods, found that brands spent over $600m worldwide on ads that are not digitally suitable...

27 November 2023 | Advertising

Almost half of consumers are not currently loyal to brands

New research from Ello Group, a loyalty and engagement specialist, has revealed that almost one in five consumers would trust retailers more if when making a purchase, they were offered discounts that could help to offset the cost-of-living struggles.

Consumer trust is at a concerning level, as only 8% trust the retailers they shop with currently; while more than two in five (41%) say they are not currently loyal to brands. Close to one in six (14%) have also reduced their spend...

7 June 2023 | Branding

Demand for UX support remains top of the list for brands in May 

A customer being served.

Major brands are struggling to find people with user experience (UX) skills and are searching globally to plug the gap, new research suggests. 

The latest Marketers Most Wanted report found that chief marketing officers and brand owners from some of the world’s largest companies are on the hunt for people and agencies with good UX skills.

The report, which monitors the actual briefs posted by chief marketing officers (CMOs) and brand owners on the Studiospace...

31 May 2023 | Branding

The metaverse will change the way we interact with brands

A cartoon of a women enjoying the metaverse.

Dave Flanagan, chief product officer at Sitecore, explains how the metaverse will change the way we are going to interact with the brands we know and love.

Fashion and retail brands are already taking impressive steps into the metaverse and creating genuinely exciting experiences for their fans. Gucci has developed virtual clothes and accessories for digital avatars, while ‘Nikeland’, a store in the metaverse, has welcomed over 7 million people to date.

Though the...

16 December 2022 | Branding

1 in 4 consumers switching to more sustainable companies

A box of water.

British food and grocery brands are on notice - ignore the push to be more sustainable at your own peril.

According to the 2022 UK Brand Sustainability Benchmark Report one in four consumers have already changed brands based on sustainability perceptions and consumers are switching to brands with the strongest sustainability credentials at twice the rate of the average brand.

The report is the first in-depth look into the UK Food and Grocery Industry’s sustainability...

8 December 2022 | Best Practice

Influencers have become heart of the brand-consumer relationship

A love heart painted on a wall.

impact.com, a partnership management platform, in partnership with WARC, an international marketing intelligence company, have published a report on the rapidly evolving brand-influencer dynamic, which shows the disparity and alignment of perceptions of marketers and influencers, and offers guidance on how better alignment can lead to more effective and valuable partnerships.

The report, Aligning Marketers and Influencers: Shifting Perspectives on Influencer Marketing Across the...

23 August 2022 | Best Practice

Student Beans launches tech to connect brands with 5 million potential customers

Student loyalty network Student Beans has unveiled a new brand in its audience verification technology - Beans iD.

The newly-launched tech will enable brands to provide securely gated discounts and incentives to verified members of six key in-demand consumer groups:

• Students (through Student Beans)• Graduates (through Grad Beans)• Healthcare professionals• Military and Armed Forces• First Responders• Teachers

In the UK, there are over five million...

4 August 2022 | Branding

Social commerce soars as 61% of 25- to 34-year-olds buy on social media

Spocial media apps on a smartphone

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of online shopping, including shopping on social media as more than a third (39%) of all US consumers say they have made a purchase on social media and would do so again.

With 90% of consumers aware of brand pages/accounts on social media - and only 10% who say they avoid brands’ social media pages - the opportunity for engagement is huge.

Katie Hansen, retail and e-commerce Analyst at Mintel, said: “Social commerce...

7 June 2022 | S-Commerce

72% of shoppers more likely to return to brands with strong online communities

A woman with a latptop and bank card.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of the consumers are more likely to return to a brand that creates a strong online community, 

This is according to a study by Amity, a tech platform that powers in-app social experiences, which highlights the importance of brands creating online communities to engage with their customers.

The research also found that almost two-thirds (63%) admit they are more likely to buy from a brand that leverages engaging social features on its...

20 October 2021 | Commerce

TGI Fridays owner targets Gen Z with investment in digital experience

TGI Fridays Manchester.

Food tech platform C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) has been given a $10 million boost from TriArtisan Capital Advisors and its investors, the portfolio of which includes TGI Fridays, PF Chang's and Hooters. 

TriArtisan's investment is part of an $80 million in Series B funding that C3 secured this past month and co-led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and REEF Technology with participation from Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, managing partners and co-CEOs of Silver Lake...

23 August 2021 | Branding