Adweek August 1, 2022

The second quarter of 2022 was not a highlight reel for Meta, as Facebook’s parent company reported a year-over-year decline in revenue—its first in 10 years as a publicly traded company. Monthly active users across Meta’s family of applications totaled 3.65 billion as of June 30, up 4% YoY, but its flagship Facebook platform saw just 1% growth. Meanwhile, ad impressions delivered across Meta’s family of apps rose 15% YoY, but the average price per ad was down 14% over the same time period. Insider Intelligence principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson called this decline “a steep change coming on top of the first quarter, when ad prices dropped 8%.” Meta posted revenue of $28.8 billion for the quarter, down 1% from $29.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Analysts pointed to inflation broadly,…

With new variations of Covid-19 appearing, the need for blood donations has reached crisis level. Amid the all-too-real danger of a nationwide blood shortage, the Red Cross has turned to the queen of Scream, Neve Campbell. The agency declared its first-ever blood crisis in January, and to emphasize the need, the nonprofit has launched “A Bloody Nightmare,” a short film made with BBDO New York. Campbell—or, to Scream fans, Sidney Prescott—walks through a handful of tried-and-true horror tropes to assure us that nothing is scarier than what’s happening in the real world. In one scene, Campbell casually roots through the kitchen looking for a weapon to stave off a killer, explaining that lots of people need blood for things like fighting cancer, giving birth, “or say, potentially getting stabbed.” —Sara Century…

It’s a tale as old as work: One day you’re going through the motions at your desk. The next, your company has run out of money and you’re left looking for a new job. That’s the position Zach Kitschke was in nine years ago. At the time, he was writing about technology and startups for From Little Things, a news site in Australia, but was on the hunt for a new role just six months later when the company was sold. Between his journalism experience and a past life in communications and PR with the city council of Wollongong, Australia, Kitschke leveraged his network to find his next gig. Eventually, he connected with Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, who were in the process of launching a graphic design platform called Canva. But after…

Talk to any brand executive from any type of company, and you’ll get the same answer: Successful companies have to focus on both branding and performance. But if you talk to these same leaders on background, they’ll admit it’s indeed tough to accomplish both when the economy—and along with it, consumer confidence—dips. As marketing budgets shift to driving sales and concentrating on immediate business goals that keep the lights on (and marketing teams employed), that’s when brand campaigns get reined in. Branding is regarded as foundational. A brand is about a connection that goes beyond the immediate utility of a particular product, and a strong brand identity is grounded in clearly conveying brand values. When seemingly everyone is shifting to performance, such as highlighting the latest deals at a store and issuing targeted…

The film opens on a woman standing by herself in a room, but as the camera pans out, we see she isn’t alone. A group of women join in for a mesmerizing dance as a voiceover says: “This is a woman. She has a body. Her body has … never been studied properly, ever. Not like men’s bodies, not by medicine, not by science. Her body is ‘too mysterious, too complex, too hormonal.’ … Now is our time. Time to demystify our bodies.” It’s part of a recent campaign from Hertility Health, a U.K. startup that produces an at-home hormone and fertility test. Hertility is part of a burgeoning wave of femtech brands, and its ad encapsulates the mission of many in the category: Dismantle the gender gap and underrepresentation of women…

Traditional TV product placement takes months or even years to plan and execute. But with advancements in digital effects, almost anything is on the table—and Amazon is taking that sentiment literally. During its NewFronts presentation in May, Amazon showcased an example of M&M’s digitally appearing on a table in an episode of Prime Video’s series Bosch. Despite the candy not being on set during filming, Amazon’s Virtual Product Placement (VPP) had the brand front and center in the scene. “The goal is to give a relevant brand or product exposure organically within the viewing experience,” an Amazon spokesperson told Adweek. But Amazon isn’t the only streaming service looking to virtually shake up product placement and help marketers find new ways to reach audiences outside of traditional ads. NBCUniversal’s Peacock also revealed its…