A Wall Street Journal Report

Several top radio execs have described the “dampening effect” that the sometimes-vicious presidential campaign had on overall ad spend in early fourth quarter. Now, several senior-level ad agency execs say the advertising chill could continue after the election, due to uncertainty over what a Donald Trump administration might do in the areas of trade and regulatory policy.

“I believe there will be a slowdown” in the first quarter, Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy told The Wall Street Journal, as marketers take a “wait-and-see” approach to Trump’s election.

During times of uncertainty, marketers typically hold back on spending. “Uncertainty is bad for ad spending growth,” Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting for Zenith, told the Journal. Barnard isn’t calling for an “apocalyptic pullback” but rather said how much belt-tightening occurs will be driven by the economy and specific policy changes the new administration makes. Should Trump make good on promises to revamp trade policies and deport illegal immigrants, the country’s economic growth could weaken, which would diminish ad spending, Barnard said. Trump has promised 35% tariffs on cars imported from Mexico, which could have repercussions for the auto industry, radio’s top ad category.

“It’s plausible that if tariffs are applied there will be a countrywide impact but there are also specific sectors that may be punished like autos,” Brian Wieser, senior research analyst at Pivotal Research Group, told the Journal. “It depends on policy and that is a massive wild card right now.”

Others were more reserved in their predictions. Jack Hollis, group VP for marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, described Trump’s win as having a “neutral” effect on the industry. “People want to combine politics into the auto industry,” he told Ad Age. But “the auto industry has pretty much stayed on its course with ups and downs that are not politically based. They are economically based.”

Still others said the pullback is likely to last only a short time. And some noted that it remains to be seen how far Trump goes with the more controversial promises he made during the heat of the campaign. “It’s going to take a significant amount of time to assess the implications beyond the short term,” Martin Sorrell, founder and CEO of WPP, told Ad Age.

Both the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers issued communiqués to members on Wednesday. The 4As warned members to expect “quick action” on tax code reform, something that House speaker Paul Ryan and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) also are major proponents of. Recent tax reform proposals in both the House and the Senate would end the immediate write-off of all advertising expenses and force marketers to amortize 50% of these expenses over 10 years. That would impose a $169 billion-$200 billion increased burden on the ad community during that period alone, the ANA warned in a blog post. “It is likely that protection of full deductibility will be the first item of business that the advertising community has with the new government,” the 4As said. The 4As and other members of the ad community plan to begin talks with new Trump appointees to get a better understanding of what policies the new Administration is likely to follow and how they might impact advertising. “Right

By Todd Lilly, Senior Digital Producer, Dieste

L’Oreal, Chevy and Jarritos have all done it – and with huge success.

What did they actually do? When it comes to unbranded advertising content, it’s more about what they didn’t do. They put their brand in the backseat and ventured into creating unbranded campaigns and content.

In recent months, brands have started to experiment with developing campaigns and content that is void of heavy branding and strong hard-sell offers in an attempt to re-position themselves in their marketplace.

Use It To Remove Bias And Promote Your Self-Confidence
L’Oreal felt so confident of their brand and products that they developed a non-branded beauty product comparison and review site to solicit real world customers and reviews. The idea being – unsolicited reviews and testimonials work hard to convince, persuade and influence prospective buyers into making well-informed decisions.

Is it a matter of trust? Every product and brand in a competing space will tell you why their product is the best and deserves your hard earned money. However, in this Internet age where people overwhelmingly turn to reviews, whether on specific sites or social media, it’s a safe bet that your brand’s voice is not the only one people tune into.
Chevy recently took their logo and marks off their new 2016 Chevy Malibu to see what people thought of the car without having any preconceived notions about the brand. It worked! People are comparing the car to a BMW or Lexus and talking about it being worth 50k, 60k … even one seemingly out-of-touch customer saying she wouldn’t be surprised if it was an $80k car. Chevy recognized their brand came with some biases and prejudices. They lifted their branding to see what unbiased consumers would say about it.

Chevy removed the logo from their 2016 Malibu to see what people would think

Are You Brave Enough To Let Go?
There are downsides, of course. It’s hard to convince brand managers to not lead with their baby, so to speak. When making a sizable investment, you can certainly understand their hesitation and desire to take pause. But, as stewards of brands, we have to take a different approach these days. It’s no longer sufficient or effective to just think you can force features, benefits and discounts down a consumer’s throat. You have to show some heart, be authentic, and in-touch. You have to show you’re listening in order to be relevant to the mindset of your consumers.

And if you’re not in such a great place, that’s okay. The first step to solving the problem is acknowledging that there is one to start with. If your brand makes the top 10 list of most hated brands – ask yourself if your customers really care about this new sponsorship or that funny video.
“If you build it, people will come,” James Earl Jones as Terrence Mann said in ‘Field of Dreams’, and it’s as true as it was for Ray, portrayed by Kevin Costner, as it is for brands. Making content that your brand stands behind makes it easy for people to stand behind, as well. Just look at the recent buzz around Jarritos’ Better Together campaign. That’s how you earn respect, change perceptions and cause a shift in the value of your brand.

Strategizing For Unbranded Advertising Content
So, does it still make sense for your brand to consider a campaign that’s not dripping with branding? There’s only one way to know: listen.

• What are your customers saying and thinking?
• What’s the brand sentiment that consumers feel when they hear or see your brand?
• What’s their visceral reaction?

Consider what frame of mind your consumer is already in. Think about how you can advance on that sentiment. Maybe it’s fine time to run a survey to say you’re looking for suggestions on how to improve things and prioritize them.

If people are put off by your brand, then continuing to force your brand in all your communications is not the right approach. For unbranded content, it is important to position your brand as a thought leader and reach people that are resistant to your brand. Recognize that there is a time and place for a hard sell; based on where your brand sentiment is, are people responsive based on how you present your brand? Be sure that you remove preconceived notions on brands and relative expectations. Listening and being armed with all that info will help your brand figure out how much or how little to lead with branding.

Some more points to keep in mind when considering unbranded advertising content:

• Ensure it adds value to a consumer’s life
• Take a risk – do something conversation-worthy
• Don’t be afraid of getting emotional
• Spark curiosity
• Look for the open space – if your content niche is saturated, this might be a differentiation strategy
• Create a strategy that builds momentum, not just one hit – continue to provoke thought, deliver value and inform

WE CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER…
Is Chevy leaving money on the table?
Could they get $3,000-5,000 more for an unmarked Malibu?
Or even more?

Images from Chevrolet

Curious how this could work for your brand? Start a conversation with Dieste CMO, Carla Eboli.

At the heart, unbranded advertising is all about the consumer and if you want consumers to be engaged with your brand, you have to be aligned with how they feel so you can build a relationship from there. Looking for some non-traditional thinking about your brand and how to advance it with your consumers? That’s what we do and we’d love to talk with you about it. Get in touch by visiting Dieste.com and subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly dose of relevant advertising trends impacting the multicultural market.

Your Editor Suggests: If you try it, please let us know

Post Consumer Brands Names LatinWorks as Hispanic Agency of Record

Following a competitive review, Post Consumer Brands announced last week LatinWorks has been named its new Hispanic Marketing Agency of Record for Posts’ Hispanic-investment brands. LatinWorks will lead Hispanic campaign strategy, creative, planning and execution for Post Consumer Brands, beginning work immediately on the Post Honey Bunches of Oats® and Post PEBBLES^TM brand cereal franchises. LatinWorks will also be the lead across Post Consumer Brands for Hispanic best practices and corporate learning.

“We are incredibly proud that Honey Bunches of Oats® is the #1 ready-to-eat cereal brand among Hispanics in the United States, and are continuing our commitment to support and engage with this growing audience through culturally-relevant content and meaningful experiences,” said Melissa Saldana-Chase, Sr. Associate Marketing Manager, Multicultural, Post Consumer Brands. “We are thrilled to welcome LatinWorks to the Post family. We know the strategic and innovative work they are bringing to PEBBLES^TM and Honey Bunches of Oats® will perfectly complement the brands’ current integrated marketing communications initiatives; and will help our brands strengthen our relevancy with this important consumer.”

The review, which began in July of this year, aimed to find a new agency partner to bring forward strategic planning, thinking and creative campaign development across all mediums.

About LatinWorks

LatinWorks is a full-service advertising agency specializing in cultural branding. A certified minority enterprise and member of the Omnicom DAS Global network, LatinWorks brings forth a fresh and progressive vision for a multicultural America that has made them one of the most in-demand and awarded creative agencies in the country. Some of their clients include: Anheuser-Busch, Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Target, PepsiCo, MLB, Mars and Domino’s Pizza. LatinWorks has brought nine Cannes Lions home to its Austin, Texas headquarters and was named Multicultural Agency of the Year three times from AdvertisingAge and Adweek.

Following a competitive review, Post Consumer Brands announced today LatinWorks has been named their new Hispanic Marketing Agency of Record for its Hispanic-investment brands.

Your Editor Confesses: We have been following LatinWorks since its inception and are proud to call its founders our friends. We even borrowed part of their name for our use

By Lourdes Tilly

Tecate Light has an answer to Donald Trump’s wall — and, yes, it involves beer.

The Mexican import debuted a TV ad during coverage of the first presidential debate that makes light of Mr. Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the southern border. In the spot Tecate proposes its own wall — but it’s only three-feet high, which is the perfect height to rest a beer on for a neighborly chat between Mexicans and Americans.

The ad, by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, opens with ominous shots of the U.S.-Mexican border. But the spot then shows beer-drinking dudes from America and Mexico plopping a cooler on the wall, shaking hands and partying. A guy even hops over the wall onto the other side to grab a Tecate Light out of the cooler. The “Tecate beer wall” is “a wall that brings us together,” says a voice-over.

The ad looks like a light-hearted takedown of Mr. Trump’s wall proposal, which has been a key plank of his campaign. Tecate-owner Heineken USA seems to be fanning the flames with its media buy: The spot ran on Republican-leaning Fox News during debate coverage, as well as Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.

Asked if the brew was taking a side, Tecate VP Felix Palau said the brand is not trying to get political. Rather, the debate — and the border issue — presents a marketing opportunity for the Mexican brand to inject itself in the conversation, he said. “We are totally neutral,” he said. “We don’t have any political point-of-view or affiliation. We just want to tell a story where people from two bordering countries are united by beer.”

The ad continues Saatchi’s “Born Bold” campaign for Tecate Light that debuted in 2015. The campaign has emphasized the brand’s black eagle symbol while targeting so-called bi-cultural consumers who identify equally with the U.S. and Mexico.

The debate ad buy — which also includes Facebook, Twitter and other digital media — is aimed at reaching the broadest group of consumers possible, rather than scoring political points, Mr. Palau said. “No matter their affiliation, no matter their point-of-view, we will target a very well-balanced and structured group of consumers because … we want to amplify our reach as much as possible,” he said.

“There was some competition in acquiring the debate inventory. Our team was able to secure units, and given the expected reach and tune-in excitement surrounding the debate, we were thrilled to highlight the creative on a night we know a number of people will be watching,” Jennifer Weiss, VP-director for Mediavest/Spark, which is Heineken USA’s media agency, said in a statement.

Tecate’s ad was shot just outside of the border town of Tecate, Mexico, where the brand was founded in 1943. Tecate crossed the border into the U.S. in 1955, while Tecate Light debuted in the states in 2007. The light brew has mostly been sold in the Sun Belt region. But Heineken USA has been expanding it nationally as sales surge. Tecate Light now ranks as the 11th-largest imported beer, with sales growing 33.5% to $75.4 million in the 52 weeks ending Sept. 4, according to IRI.

Your Editor Reveals: The Tecate Wall was paid by Mexico