Hey, did you notice that it’s March? Weird, right? February felt like a blur, and not just because it’s the shortest month of the year. There was so much that happened in those 28 days, it’s hard to wrap your mind around it. So, we’re here to walk you through it, starting with a primer on the chicken sandwich wars and ending with the evolution of influencer marketing. Enjoy our clickable list of all the best news and munchable marketing snacks from February. Happy reading!
- McDonald’s is releasing its new chicken sandwich like a hot sneaker drop, with a limited edition hoodie and vinyl
Customers can buy the chance to taste the new sandwich early, along with a limited-edition capsule of other McDonald’s merch at CHKNDrop.com.” — Business Insider - Popeyes takes aim at McDonald’s new chicken sandwich with its own free sandwich giveaway
“Popeyes… is offering free chicken sandwiches to fans who missed out on McDonald’s sneaker-like sandwich drop… [by buying] URLs close to McDonald’s drop to find customers who misspelled.” — Business Insider - Taco Bell—an Unexpected Competitor—Just Joined the Chicken Sandwich Wars
“For its next act, the restaurant is reigniting the chicken sandwich wars by reminding us just how much it loves to break the rules.” — Adweek - Facebook launches ad campaign to defend personalized advertising ahead of Apple privacy change
“Facebook executives said the initiative is meant to support small businesses that are struggling during the pandemic…But Facebook has another motive: Apple is making a change to the iPhone that’s expected to upend the mobile advertising sector, making it harder for advertisers to target ads to mobile phones and track their performance.” —CNBC - Microsoft research suggests hybrid work is here to stay
“Over 4,000 UK office workers took part in Microsoft’s ‘Work Smarter to Live Better’ survey, conducted in partnership with professional body CIPD, and their responses suggest that hybrid working strategies are here to stay.” — IT Pro - Does Your Small Business Need a Chatbot?
“Simply having the option for a conversation via chatbot proves to customers that your company values their time. Chatbots are known to increase customer satisfaction.” — Findsome & Winmore - Cannabis Product Tie-In With Kristen Wiig’s Trippy New Comedy Highlights a Growing Trend
“A new movie called Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar… is a surreal candy-colored mashup of buddy comedy and crime thriller with random musical numbers thrown in for good measure. Sound like a head trip? Then the flick’s cross-promotion with a Los Angeles cannabis dispensary chain makes perfect sense.” — Adweek - U.S. Hotel Occupancy Up 4 Percentage Points in Second Week of February
“Boosted by Valentine’s Day and the long weekend with Presidents’ Day, U.S. weekend occupancy (Friday/Saturday) came in at 58.5 percent, which was the highest level in the metric since mid-October.” — Lodging Magazine - Campaign Trail: RXBAR embodies ‘no BS’ philosophy in return to fitness roots
“The new campaign embraces transparency, an attitude that has defined RXBAR since its 2012 launch, but was crafted to also empower consumers to “go for it” in 2021 in regards to wellness” — Marketing Dive - Purple Is The New Red: How Alert Maps Show When We Are Royally … Hued
“So purple is worse than red. When did purple become the color most associated with danger?” — NPR - Here’s the Story Behind McDonald’s ‘Aesthetically Minimal’ Global Packaging Redesign
“At the center of the redesign…is “single visual framework” that both communicates a “modern expression” of the brand, while “evolving brand perception along the way.” — Adweek - TJA Designer-Recommended Illustrator Tutorial
“Forget the pattern tool”. How to more easily create patterns with a little-known hack. TikTok continues to surprise us. - Unusual Call to Action Examples That Actually Work
“Often, there is no rhyme or reason and for no seemingly good reason at all, the weirdest possible CTA option is the winner.” — Search Engine Journal - Let’s Celebrate the 15 Travel Sentiment Metrics that Broke Pandemic Records this Week
“With new daily cases and COVID-related deaths down significantly from January peaks, Americans are exhibiting more capacity for positive thoughts and feelings, especially about their travel.” — Destination Analysts - 20 Modern Web Design Trends of 2021
This list includes horizontal scrolling, dark mode, colorless designs, and many more. - Can Out of Home ads really create PR fame – or will high expectations hurt the industry?
“Social media’s provided somewhere for impactful out of home ads to further resonate but is the congratulatory feedback loop blinding marketers to the true value of the medium – reaching real people?” — The Drum - PepsiCo Wants to Make Cocktail Mixers Cool Again
“Cocktail mixers were already seeing a slight resurgence in popularity prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. But as happy hours went virtual and people began drinking more in their own homes, that upward trend saw a sudden acceleration.” — Adweek - How Walmart is trying to reach Amazon sellers
“In recent months, Walmart representatives have reached out to a few large Amazon sellers whose products they want to bring onto the platform…” — Modern Retail - Spotify’s podcast ad plan: what you need to know about Spotify Audience Network
“Spotify is to monetize its newly won podcast audience with the launch of Spotify Audience Network, an audio advertising marketplace where advertisers can reach listeners across ad-supported music and premium podcasts…” — The Drum - Pepsi Gets Personal in New Campaign that Uses More than 70 Customized Voiceovers
“With “Zero Sugar, Zero Compromise,” the soft drink marketer is angling to engage a specific set of buyers — men in their 30s and 40s — who are making the switch to sugar-free soda and also feeling stretched thin as they juggle responsibilities with work, family and the broader challenges of the pandemic.” — Marketing Dive - Another Cool Illustrator Tutorial We Found
TikTok tutes for the win! Trick the eye with this neat flip book effect. - 2 Super Bowl Ads Used the Same Stock Clip, Showing Why Exclusivity Is Worthwhile
“The situation highlights the explosive demand for stock and user-generated content since the pandemic began in early 2020. In that time, marketers who would have sprung for custom production often found themselves relying on preexisting footage.” — Adweek - Client-agency relationships: The Seven Behaviours that Set the Best Apart From the Rest
“The figures, drawn [from a] database of more than 23,000 client-agency evaluations over 20 years, show qualities like trust, communication and resilience are now outstripping functional skills – the ability to ‘do the job’.” — The Drum - TikTok taps into surging soccer interest with Portland clubs deal
“Along with a pledge to create frequent and exclusive content that could encourage return viewers, the partnership will put TikTok’s logo on player jerseys, a move that will both increase the platform’s visibility and benefit a Portland nonprofit. The effort also puts a men’s and women’s team on equal footing.” — Marketing Dive - How influencer marketing will evolve as Gen Z’s sway grows
“Among other trends, Generation Z consumers will have a greater effect on influencer-generated content as their spending power continues to swell, and marketers will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their influencer campaigns with improved metrics…” — Marketing Dive
