Tag Archives: cause-marketing

RAB’s Erica Farber: A Sound Strategy for Radio

February 25, 2021advertising, business, Episodes, marketingadvertising, brand marketing, business, carl fremont, cause-marketing, Digital Media, E.B. Moss, Entercom, Erica Farber, Horizon, insider interviews, marketing, measurement, media, Pierre Bouvard, podcasting, RAB, radio, research, targeting, westwood one, zoomE.B. Moss

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In interviewing the Radio Ad Bureau’s CEO, Erica Farber, my worlds collided: it’s a podcast, but about radio, the medium I grew up in and started my career in. Certainly radio IS about community, but it was still surprising to discover zero degrees of separation with Erica and two important people from my past: my dad and my first female boss, Joan Gerberding as well as a recent Insider Interviews guest and radio aficionado, Carl Fremont!

Erica and I took the conversation from the evolution of radio to the present, to how it’s defined today – audio? is digital radio still radio? – to its challenges, success stories, and current career opportunities.

We discussed:

What is radio today?

It’s broadcasting, but Radio is also available on any platform: If you want to hear it on your smart speaker…If you’re sitting in front of your computer or in your automobile. It’s multi-platform and available in any form and full of diverse content. It is a companion. It is a trusted source of information, news and entertainment. It’s available 24 seven. And there’s no cost to access it.

The ways everything is audio-focused today – with sound and voice;
The power of personalities;
Why Theater of the Mind is still key to listener engagement/conversion;
How radio served — and recovered from — the Pandemic;

I’ve never been so proud to say I work in radio as I have since March 2020. No one knew what to do…But radio rose to the occasion and stations did what they do best: they put their arms around their communities, consoled listeners and brought some humor and information. …They said to businesses that were open, ‘let us help you communicate to the market your protocols’. How can we raise money to feed or clothe people, to help people keep their homes? We have example after example of retailers who said that if it wasn’t for local radio they would have lost their business.

The role of the RAB as a nonprofit trade association;
Overcoming the digital divide and big brand success stories; (Reference: P&G and Radio)
What makes good creative (Resources Referenced: The Radio Ranch and Wordsworth & Booth)
Radio research; (Resources Referenced: RAB Research, Westwood One )
Trends for the future of radio formats and revenue; (Resources Referenced: Entercom, Beasley)
Why radio is a great career and mentoring women (MIWinRadio) in the space….

And yes, host E.B. Moss finds a way to sing in yet another episode….

RPA’s Joe Baratelli on Doing Good (Marketing) to Do Well

January 28, 2021advertising, business, Episodes, health, marketing, Uncategorizedadvertising, brand marketing, branding, cause-marketing, COVID-19, data, Digital Media, E.B. Moss, Farmers, Honda, insider interviews, Joe Baratelli, marketing, mossappeal, podcasting, research, RPA, targeting, The Continuum, UNICEFE.B. Moss

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Thanks to Los Angeles-based agency RPA, “We Are Farmers, buh bi dum dum dum dum dum” has become a bit of a jingle earworm. Great awareness and brand recognition for the insurance company. Joe Baratelli, EVP and Chief Creative Officer of the agency that’s been his home for almost 35 years, walked me through that and other creative concepts and their business results. It starts, he suggests, with the mantra of the organization: People, Relationships and Results.

(Note: You can also read a summary of this conversation in the new publication, The Continuum.)

Now, in an era of ubiquitous focus on health, though, the AOR of Farmers and Honda wants to expand its portfolio to include more healthcare clientele. Joe also explained how RPA has started to accomplish that — and did well by doing good for UNICEF and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. It’s heartwarming work and their pillars of focusing on people and relationships definitely shine through.

Sample of UNICEF #VaccinesWork art

If you’re in advertising or #marketing, this is one to save as a download.
Joe and I talk about:

How respecting your co-workers AND the audience for the campaigns yields results
How they applied that to the UNICEF #VaccinesWork campaign and leveraged our inclination to protect our kids from danger to drive inoculations that protect them from dangers we can’t see. Brilliant!
The elements that went into a worldwide campaign and its efficacy in changing minds
How marketing #vaccines is similar to…or different from… marketing other clients like Apartments.com, Honda, or Farmers, for example.
How DID they evolve their Farmers campaign as times have changed over 10 years on the account?
What behavioral scientists can tell you about human nature…to inform creative campaigns
How pro bono work, such as for PBTF and the stunning collection of compelling animations they did to ease kids into understanding their diagnosis led to a healthy set of new clients…

Oh, and yes, I managed to sing the Farmers jingle.

Standing Up for Better Healthcare Marketing – with CMO Arra Yerganian

January 7, 2021business, Episodes, health, marketingArra Yerganian, brand marketing, branding, business, cause-marketing, COVID-19, data, diversity, doctors, E.B. Moss, healthcare, insider interviews, marketing, measurement, performance marketing, pro-social, research, SDOH, Sutter Health, The Continuum, WFHE.B. Moss

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Arra Yerganian thinks healthcare has always been a little upside down, controlled by physicians instead of the the patients. Ya think? But I misspeak – at least while speaking with Yerganian: he actually banned the word “patients” when he was CMO at both Sutter Health and One Medical. He explained that the word comes from Latin for “‘a place of suffering’ and that should be a temporary state at best.” Instead, he said, “We used the person’s name, so it wasn’t a dehumanizing experience to come into the doctor’s office.”

I liked this guy immediately. But there’s more to marketing healthcare than nomenclature. Yerganian is on a mission to raise awareness of the biggest issues impacting health for all of us: our Social Determinants of Health — or SDOH. Basically, if my zip code is wealthier than yours the overall population is likely healthier. I likely am more informed about and have better access to healthier foods or fitness facilities, I might have access to more parks for fresh air, and of course the income to afford anything from childcare to catch up on sleep and even infant mortality rates and so on. So how can we democratize health? For Yerganian, it’s awareness, it’s education, it’s communication. He also notes that, apropos our recent civic dis-ease and disease, “beyond the pandemic, the great challenge that we’ll have is the behavioral health crisis that’s affecting our country.”

He shares the details of best practices and how to get on a healthier collective path overall in this Episode 22 of Insider Interviews. (Hint: stand up more for healthy behavior in every sense of the meaning.)

NOTE: I’m proud to be Editor in Chief of The Continuum, about awareness and performance marketing. In Issue 2 posting in late January you can also read this interview along with the POVs and suggestions from other notables in the health and wellness marketing space. But, dear listeners, you get the advance insights here when you catch the full conversation with Arra Yerganian.

He and I discuss:

Discussing standing up for the Social Determinants of Health

What are the social determinants of health, and how do they fit this into the world of marketing?
How can we track and thus help modify the exposure to environmental ills
What are some new approaches in brand marketing and health and wellness, such as driving uptake of tele-health?
How can promoting value-based programs reward healthcare providers with incentive payments?
How can products or brands, like a sleep aid or gym facility or a yoga mat or bicycle manufacturer, leverage some healthcare data and apply that to their marketing
How do you market against patients deferring to Google for diagnosing themselves?
And how do you conduct business meetings standing up?!

Here’s to a happier, HEALTHIER New Year to you all, with my sincere appreciation for listening, sharing and subscribing wherever you like to listen to Podcasts.

Best-of from Palmer, Keswin and Silver: Creating Human and Brand Connections

November 26, 2020advertising, Bonus, business, Episodes, marketingadvertising, branding, business, cause-marketing, Claude Silver, coronavirus, COVID-19, E.B. Moss, Erica Keswin, gary vee, insider interviews, marketing, shelly palmer, vayner, VaynerMedia, WFHE.B. Moss

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Shelly Palmer: It was fascinating to me to see the speed with which people were willing to adopt bad lighting, accept it, bad camera, angles, bad makeup hair, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Everybody’s fine with it. And I think it’s fantastic because the most important thing is that we all get together.

Erica Keswin: From a brand perspective, how are you going to be remembered during this time in terms of what you did, what you said, what you supported and how you brought your human to work?

Claude Silver: Let’s not deny the fact that you and I are talking through a screen rather than in person and call it what it is, but also communicate trust, empathy and vulnerability.

Those are just some of the takeaways from three past episodes of Insider Interviews and as a special little bonus edition for Thanksgiving I am sharing back some of these words of wisdom from Shelly Palmer, Erica Keswin, and Claude Silver, who each happened to talk about how we can create connection and how that helps brands and employees thrive. Especially in tough times like this pandemic.

Highlights of the highlights:

Palmer: “People are quickly adapting to and evolving into good citizens in video chat. It’s fantastic. …And the other thing I love about what’s happening right now is formality has gone out the window.

…They’ve been willing, accepting of technical glitches that you would never have accepted before. It really reminds me dramatically reminds me of the change in video grammar in 1980, oddly enough.

…And I think what is most important thing is that we all get together; that we figure out how to be social animals in a time when, when coronavirus is making us forcing us to be less social.”

Erica Keswin Guests on Insider Interviews — Erica Keswin, Author of “Bring Your Human to Work” -Epi 3

Keswin: Think about communication along a continuum: you have instant message and texts and Slack and email and picking up the phone. We used to be able to walk across the hall or visit people. …Now, from a societal perspective, many of us are defaulting to that technological end of the spectrum during this COVID-19 quarantine. How can you …pick up the phone, turn on the camera…and speak in that human voice, across all mediums of communication.

…”If you’re running the meeting make sure you say to your people, ‘you need to take some time to turn it off.’…It really is up to the leaders to model and to push people, to make sure that they’re taking care of themselves.

…From a brand perspective, how are you going to be remembered during this time in terms of, you know, what you did, what you said, what you supported and how you brought your human to work?”

Claude Silver on Having a Heart at Work — Claude Silver speaks with E.B. Moss on the role of a Chief Heart Office at VaynerMedia

Silver: I believe in people and I think that pretty much anything is accomplishable with vulnerability, with people showing up to be big and authentic and not building walls, but really finding ways to bond with one another and connect.

…You know, when you’re on a screen, everyone has the same size square. It has leveled the playing field. And I definitely think that while we have to work a little bit harder to create this connection

…On one hand, I do think that brands have a very big responsibility to be as authentic as possible today and not try to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes because we are all reading the same news. We are all in the same climate. We’re in a sea of sameness right now. We’re all in this world together. So don’t try to fluff that. … I don’t think we need to be cotton, candy and Illy gooey. But I also don’t think we need to be showing things that are not attainable today…. Let’s get real about that.

I think that there is resiliency, authenticity. I think there’s fine to have a little bit of levity, which we see in these memes on Instagram and everywhere. …like me going to the refrigerator 20 times in one hour, because it’s there. Those are things that I think are they capture human emotion and that’s what it’s about. That’s what it’s always been about.

…I would like to think every brand would be mindful of the fact that we are all in this world together. … I would show more ads connecting people together, coming together on a zoom or a squad cast or a hangout, let’s not deny the fact that you and I are talking to a screen rather than in-person but also communicate trust and vulnerability.

Again, my thanks to everyone for listening and to all of the 20 interviewees that I’ve spoken to thus far.

And if you’d like help with building your own podcast or any content marketing, please reach out to me at podcasts@mossappeal.com.

I look forward to sharing more in the very near future.

IAB’s David Cohen with the Pulse of Digital Media & Marketing

October 22, 2020advertising, business, Episodes, marketingaddressability, advertising, attribution, branding, business, carl fremont, cause-marketing, CTV, data, David Cohen, Digital Media, E.B. Moss, IAB, NPR, OTT, performance marketing, podcasts, research, targeting, tech, televisionE.B. Moss

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When David Cohen joined the IAB as President, the US was two weeks into stay-at-home mandates. While that may have curtailed in-person conferences the industry association is known for, it upped the focus on all things digital. Not long after, the ante was also upped for Cohen personally when he was named CEO following the 14 year run of Randall Rothenberg. Pressure? Not to hear Cohen, who has helmed major agency divisions and had $20B in media spending under his purview during his days at MAGNA and UM. But pandemic-influenced strategy changes? Definitely.

In support of its mission to “empower the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy” – let alone during a COVID economy — Cohen has “brought an unprecedented number of industry captains into their leadership councils and transformed the timeliness of their strategic initiatives.”

Those words from Rothenberg’s commendation of Cohen on his promotion sparked a song from me. Of course. No one is safe. But that didn’t curtail a compelling conversation about more serious matters, such as Cohen telling me about the advantages that came with adapting to the digital world as early as the 90’s and how he – and the IAB overall – are continuing to innovate with today’s current technologies for marketers. I also put Cohen in the same hot seat he put recent panelists in when moderating a Reach Conference talk himself, asking what he would most like to see fixed in our current digital eco-sphere.

We also discuss:

Cohen’s A-ha! Moment – from the Yellow Pages!
The lessons he learned after joining the IAB family that every marketing agency should know
“Pulse studies” on changes in consumer consumption trends to media buyers/seller polls
The IAB’s Brand Disruption Summit
How to navigate through your Brand and Demand goals
The shift in how digital engagement is being accomplished
How IAB is helping in pushing cross-platform forward
Like his friend and recent Insider Interviews guest, Carl Fremont, Cohen has a pro-social personal mission. Hear how he — and ANA’s Bill Tucker — are helping push support of disadvantaged children.

Resources Mentioned:

Social Media Links:

David Cohen LinkedIn
IAB on Twitter IAB, IAB Tech Lab

Insider Interviews is on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Please share the podcast and share how smart you are about media, marketing and advertising! To reach out to be considered for an episode or suggest questions or a guest — or to have your own bespoke podcast series produced and/or hosted by E.B. Moss — email podcasts@mossappeal.com. We’re “hear” for you!

Andrea Palmer of PHM on Marketing Healthcare – with Innovation and a Conscience

September 24, 2020business, diversity, Episodes, Uncategorizedadvertising, Andrea Palmer, branding, business, cause-marketing, coronavirus, COVID-19, Digital Media, diversity, E.B. Moss, healthcare, innovation, insider interviews, marketing, PHM, podcasting, Publicis, targetingE.B. Moss

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Andrea Palmer, now President of Publicis Health Media (PHM) has wanted to be in Healthcare Marketing since her college days despite the field not always getting credit for being dynamic or embracing creativity. With PHM’s reputation for having their “finger on the pulse” (sorry), she’s proven those perceptions wrong and inspired many to follow or stick to the healthcare marketing path.

In Episode 18 of Insider Interviews, in which I perhaps sing again (umm, twice, I’m just sayin’) Palmer clearly demonstrates just how creative and important messaging around healthcare can and should be. It’s certainly an area that’s very top of mind with us all these days and Palmer makes it digestible. You’ll pick up on why she rose through the ranks quickly at PHM — the strategic media planning and buying agency within PHCG, and the only global media agency solely dedicated to the health and wellness space. This industry trailblazer of nearly 20 years shares what’s currently happening in the healthcare media space, along with some interesting projections from PHM’s prescient “Disruptors List.” Get the insider scoop on what inspiring innovations emerged from the “Shark Tank”-type element of their industry-convening Health Front, and what we should be concerned about.

Palmer is determined to ensure the right information is getting out there and helped drive home PHM’s mission to equip brands AND people with the tools and communications they need to make healthy decisions. We learn why it’s important to create content with conscience and why brands need to listen to other voices than their own.

What we talked about:

What’s happening in healthcare marketing
How a childhood illness put Palmer on the path to healthcare…and college led her to marketing
Health trends and disruptors
How PHM markets to consumers who’re apprehensive about embracing telehealth
How PHM helps its clients with being ‘the resource’ instead of Dr. Google
Defining the concept of Content with a Conscience
Facing down racism: communicating to diverse audiences and not just “to the mean”
How Palmer is advising her clients on approaches to ensure that health message is communicated well and heard by all cohorts and communities
Thinking about the bigger picture
Pushing for innovation in the health realm
The future of healthcare

And yes, I find a reason to close with a song…again.

Follow Andrea on Social Media

Resources mentioned in the episode

PHM: Publicis Health Media

Health Front 2020

The Healthcare Industry’s Big Disruptors