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Get out! For the second consecutive year, L.L. Bean has gone “Off the Grid” in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. On May 1st, the retailer paused all social media channels to prioritize time outside and encouraged followers to join them. The retailer also issued a Feel-Good Challenge, to help raise money for Mental Health America.
Spreading thin. Seventy-one percent of CMOs said they lack the budget to fully execute their strategy in 2023, according to a Gartner, Inc. survey. In digital channels, CMO’s expected to boost spending on paid social and decreased spend on paid search.
Funding feuding. The seemingly immense power of influencers to shape brand communications has led to the phenomena of the “de-influencer” in which brands pay competing personalities to defend, debunk, or generally, argue with high-profile supporters of their competition. We live in interesting times.
Togetherness
Keeping the band together. Last week bi-partisan legislation, the AM for Every Vehicle Act, was introduced in the House and the Senate. Lawmakers are concerned about reported plans to remove broadcast AM radio receivers from vehicles since the AM band has traditionally played a vital role in emergency communications as the backbone of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).
Bringing the streams together. Disney CEO, Bob Iger, has announced that the company will roll out a single streaming app that combines programming from Hulu and Disney+ by the end of this year. 40% of the company’s domestic ad units are currently addressable and Iger sees potential for the single app to help leverage that potential.
Tacos bring everyone together. Well, except for Taco Bell and Taco John’s. The former is going to court in an attempt to cancel the “Taco Tuesday” trademark owned by Wyoming-based Taco John’s which has possessed it for more than three decades, long before it became a pop culture phenomenon.
Going it alone? ESPN is reportedly considering making the jump to become a wholly stand-alone streaming operation. The move would abandon the traditional TV distributors who, in 2022, were paying it fees totally $8.72-per-subscriber per-month. The initiative even has a cool project codename: “Flagship.”
Law and Order
Shrink is growing. Retail theft, especially organized and violent instances, seems to be on the rise. Target’s hit to profitability is projected to be about $500 million this year after topping $400 million last year. Home Depot also reports that crime is increasing at double digit rates.
Meta checking its couch cushions. In the largest fine levied since the EU’s strict data privacy rules took effect, Meta was hit with a record $1.3 billion penalty and ordered to stop transferring users’ personal information to the U.S. The sum makes Meta the unlucky frontrunner in the “who’s had the biggest EU data fine” category as it strides past the 746 million euro fine that was levied against Amazon in 2021.
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