Media Roundtable's First Ever Insider Edition

In what could be described as a midsummer daydream, The Influencer presents our first ever Media Roundtable “Industry Edition” where industry insiders discuss recent industry news in true “roundtable” fashion.

This week, host Dan Granger is joined by fellow Oxford Road team members Jennifer Laine Vanbeek (Head of Marketing), Stew Redwine (VP Creative Services), and Kyle Jelinek (Senior Account Lead Director).

Together, these four “Roadies” discuss the hottest topics of the day and provide insights into what they mean for your business.

For readers short on time, a recap of each topic is shared below, but to hear the team’s whole hot take, listen to the entire episode by clicking the link below.

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Do Brand Values Still Matter?

A warning to all well-meaning brands: according to an article from Insider Intelligence, purpose-driven ads are not received well during economic downturns. Consumers are de-emphasizing social values when it comes to spending habits and focusing on switching to brands with lower prices. As players across the advertising industry experience setbacks and cut ad sales jobs in the uncertain economy, it’s vital for brands to always showcase a product’s value proposition in their messaging.

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Brands are Shifting Towards Influencers

Springboarding off of our first article, while consumers are becoming less brand-loyal, they’re still following the people they love, says a recent Marketing Brew article. In order to stay in front of the trend, brands should consider shifting their spend to trusted influencers. Podcast hosts are the ultimate influencers and also lay solidly within the most intimate channel (audio). In fact, Podcast listeners actually like the ads more than on any other medium and trust what their hosts say–2x more than radio. So if you want to stay present and relevant, consider Podcast.

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Audio Ads Hitting Gaming

Global, the international media & entertainment group, has announced that it has invested in Odeeo, a tech start-up that delivers non-intrusive audio ads in mobile games. We’re not talking console-type games, but the puzzle and word games you’d see on your smartphone. Audio ads in games are said to be immersive, non-intrusive marketing, so your message can be delivered without leaving the game itself. Is this a viable marketing channel that has yet to be tapped, or just another flash in the pan?

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Ban TikTok Now?

TikTok is all over the news lately about privacy concerns, both stateside and internationally. China has access to all of the world’s TikTok data and while they’ve banned the use of the app in their own country, the rest of the world is giving it away. We recommend that advertisers who are serious about sponsoring TikTok take a step back. Hit pause now, and wait for the promised fix on privacy concerns to be properly addressed before moving forward. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly during our discussion on the subject, Dan cited a recent Prof G podcast episode that suggests despite this threat to personal and national security, at least this is one problem both sides of the aisle can agree on.

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Cowboys and Rifles

The Dallas Cowboys announced a partnership with Black Rifle Coffee a day after a mass shooting left seven dead. “Set it and forget it” is great for a coffee maker – but not for your ad campaign. Here’s the real question, who owns each campaign? Was this just poor timing, or was someone asleep at the wheel? The team dissects the intent and backlash of this incredibly ill-timed promotion. In this dynamic newscycle, do you have someone looking over your entire MarCom who dissects every word, every image, every single customer, and every promotion, to craft the best, most relevant advertising for your company? If not, give us a call.

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Misinformation Added to GARM

GARM (Global Alliance for Responsible Media) just added “misinformation” as a brand safety element in their reporting. GARM’s brand safety framework has already changed how brands set strategies, how media agencies build media schedules, and how platforms and ad tech partners structure their tools. Historically called the evil 11, GARM expanded the brand safety list to include misinformation alongside topics like illegal drugs, explicit sexual content, arms & ammunition, and terrorism. If you’re concerned about ensuring your advertisements align with your company values, Oxford Road’s partnered with brand safety leaders like Barometer and AdFontes to help.

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