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A closed, decentralized ecosystem like Discord might not seem like a place for brands to flock to. But in recent months, a growing number -- including those outside of the gaming world -- have begun testing the platform. Resale site StockX debuted a Discord server in June, and brands like AllSaints, Chipotle and Jack in the Box have all hosted events and Q&As in their own Discord servers.
A recent Glossy and Modern Retail survey highlights how DTC brands have increasingly turned to back-to-school promotions this, compared to pre-pandemic times. It's indicative of an overall marketing shift -- especially for online brands known for forgoing sales cycles. Instead, in an attempt to win back sales and attract new customers, more brands are thinking about participating in seasonal campaigns like back-to-school.
Over the past ten years drinkers stateside have slowly begun to embrace apéritifs, flocking to the aperol spritz in summers 2017 and 2018 or the negroni in April 2020. Now, aperitif brands are hoping to move from one-off buzzy cocktails into a more mature category resonance in the U.S., playing towards pandemic trends and expanding distribution models.
As buy now pay later services achieve ubiquity across e-commerce, they are looking to advertising as a new revenue stream. Last week, Afterpay announced the launch of its in-house ad network, which it is calling Afterpay Ads. . For these companies, advertising is a way to earn back their losses elsewhere -- and convince retailers to pay more for their services.
In 2021, at-home gym brands have to work harder to court fitness consumers in an increasingly crowded space. Last week, for example, Peloton’s revenues decreased quarter-over-quarter for the first time in two years and the brand announced a 20% price cut on its bike. Peloton’s struggles aren’t fully endemic to the at-home fitness industry at large -- but competition in the space is still increasing.
School is back in session, but the marketing landscape is shifting. Now, many brands are forgoing the opportunity to offer up big promotions around their school-perfect product categories. However, many have returned to investing in back-to-school campaigns to get in front of those in shopping mode.
A significant challenge for Twitch as it tightens its moderation policies is content like hot tub streams, which dance on the edge of acceptability.
This week, Target's Circle Rewards reached 100 million members, a major milestone since launching in the fall of 2019. Now, Target is looking to further grow the free opt-in program by updating its e-commerce capabilities.
Farmer's Fridge makes fresh salads in plastic bottles that used to be distributed via push-button machines in highly-trafficked areas -- like airports or hospitals. Its model was essentially business-to-business. When the pandemic hit, the company was forced to build out a direct-to-consumer sales channel -- and fast.
Last March, airports became ghost towns and as a result, airport advertising ground to a halt. While some brands are exploring airport advertising again, some are waiting until closer to the holidays, which will be the biggest advertising season for them anyways.
For years, hard seltzer has dominated the ready-to-drink alcohol space, especially among young consumers. Now, brands offering elevated packaged cocktails are hoping the success of spiked seltzer will spill over into their growing category.
Modern Retail rallied a squad of marketing leaders and entrepreneurs from top brands to come together for the Marketing Leaders Forum. The speakers brought their varied talents to the table to share their experiences and offer suggestions for marketers on how to ride out the storm to succeed in 2021 and beyond. Here are the highlights.
In 2018, during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, TikTok had only just been introduced to the U.S. a year before. It hadn’t caught on as the sensation it is now, growing nearly 800% in monthly active users from 2018 to 2020. Throughout the last two weeks, Olympic athletes like Ilona Maher of the U.S. women’s rugby team have been taking to TikTok to show what life is like inside the Olympic village. And fashion brands are benefiting from it.
While McCormick has previously partnered with other brands to co-launch a product -- Frank’s RedHot Goldfish is one example -- this is the first time an influencer has created an original McCormick product. That is important because, although fashion and beauty brands have forged similar influencer partnerships for years -- the D’Amelio sisters’ fashion line with Hollister is one rough equivalent -- that model of influencer-branded products is spreading into other industries.
Digiday Media’s CMO Summit on July 19-20 covered some of the big issues facing marketers in this pivotal year, including the new timeline for the phase-out of third party cookies.
Watch this on-demand webinar where experts discuss the changes to the back-to-school season and what it means for retailers now and in the future.
In 2020, Amazon Logistics delivered 4.2 billion parcel shipments, up from 1.9 billion in 2019. It now makes up, by volume, 21% of the parcel shipments in the U.S., behind the USPS (38%) and UPS (24%) but ahead of FedEx for the first time (16%).
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Summit, retail executives will come together to discuss effective strategies for driving sales by building a loyal customer base both online and offline.
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