Chaucer Barnes

A reminder that we’re one week away from our early deadline for entries in this year’s Clio Music Awards program. Realize savings on entry fees by submitting your work before next Friday, 6/21, at 11:59 pm ET. In addition to the numerous music marketing and music in advertising mediums and categories from past programs, we've added six new mediums this year: 1) LIVE MUSIC - Entries in this medium include creative work that promotes live musical performances at music venues, festivals, concert series, events, stunts, or activations (IRL or virtual) and/or work promoting a live music organization or venue in a new, unique, or especially creative manner. (Venues, Festivals, Concerts, Brand or Company). 2) MERCHANDISE & PREMIUMS - Entries in this medium are for licensed or in-house-produced physical products or apparel that promote an artist, music product, or music service. (Apparel, Footwear, & Household Goods, Beauty, Fitness & Health, Collectibles, Food & Beverage, Technology). 3) USE OF MUSIC IN ADVERTISING CRAFT - Entries in this medium include songwriting technique and the craft/skills used in the execution of audio content in advertising or a trailer/teaser (Arrangement, Casting/Performance, Collaboration, Editing, Lyrics, Music Supervision, Score, Songwriting). 4) DESIGN CRAFT - Entries in this medium include technique and craft/skills used in the execution of design (Copywriting, Graphic Design, Typography, Illustration, Use of Photography). 5) DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA CRAFT - Entries in this medium include technique and craft/skills used in the execution of digital, social, and or mobile content (Copywriting, Direction, Editing, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Sound Design). 6) USE OF MUSIC IN ADVERTISING INNOVATION - Entries in this medium include brand work that utilizes music in advertising in a new, unique, or especially creative manner. Get started at https://lnkd.in/g24-yKNC

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The headline is click-bait, but the article is very interesting specifically to the gaming industry, it's audience, and how they consume media.

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Everything Gavin Bridge says here about the opportunity for FAST (Free Ad Supported Streaming TV, eg Tubi) is why streaming platforms are a partnership and ultimately exit opportunity for MakeLoveNotPorn, because our 'human curation layer on top of the internet' offering represents the partner/investor Holy Grail - how to monetize sex, safely: 'FAST services shouldn’t shun brand extensions from adult brands, especially given the interest in the genre and their higher than average adoption of FAST. .. At the end of the day, capitalism will ultimately see that the most money to be made is made, and it is for reasons like this that I think what’s outlined here will happen sooner than later.' https://lnkd.in/etq9KYJe

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I don't typically post about my former activism, but today X announced that it was suing GARM, an advertising industry group dedicated to brand safety. It is bullshit. I know because I was threatened with the same lawsuit. Back in 2018, when I was running Sleeping Giants, Breitbart, an influential blog run by Steve Bannon, tried to sue me for tortious interference. Not quite the antitrust case that X is bringing, but it was filed for the same reason. All we had done was show advertisers, ironically via Twitter (now X), the actual content on which their ads were running. Over 4,000 advertisers backed out. Breitbart was obviously not happy, so they sent a letter notifying me that they were filing suit and asking me to preserve any and all documents between me and a number of people and organizations that had literally nothing to do with our organization. My attorney, R. James Slaughter, the greatest attorney on this green earth, sent them a note back asking them to preserve any and all documents between them, their funder Robert Mercer, the Trump campaign, and Steve Bannon, among others. We never heard back from them and the suit never made it to court. But the more important piece of his reply was that I was covered by the First Amendment. I was, of course, able to voice my opinion on their content and ask advertisers if they supported what I believed to be racist, sexist and bigoted content. I was also allowed to post screenshots of their own printed content. Advertisers, also protected by the First Amendment, were able to make their own choices that benefitted and protected their businesses. This case filed today is frivolous and I would imagine that Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino well know this. For a platform that purports to protect free speech (but often doesn't) they should understand that advertisers have a right to make up their minds about where their ad dollars go. If they don't want to appear next to posts from actual self-proclaimed Nazis, who are now allowed back on X, it is their right. If they just don't want to be on the platform because they think it hurts their brand overall, it's their right. If they don't want to be on the platform because it's not worth the cost, it's also their right. I can tell you exactly how this suit is going to go. X will lose. But the goal is to both bankrupt GARM and scare advertisers into HAVING to advertise on their platform, and I hope that does not come to pass. As an industry, we are here to do what's best for the companies we work with and for. Any limits on that ability are truly anti-free speech. We can and should advertise in the places we feel work for us and our customers. Such is the First Amendment. You can sue all you want, but the rights you claim to protect for your users also protect your critics. You can't have it both ways.

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🚨Trend/Rant/Insight Alert🚨   Across almost every sector and industry, content production is moving in-house. I’ve seen a marked shift towards building out small to mid-level production capabilities inside major brands and agencies in the last six to eight months. From full-time, production and post-production ready teams to Creator-minded TikTok and Reels specialists armed with nothing but an iPhone and a ring light, companies are finding the investment and overhead worth it to ramp up their content mills.   I think there’s a few implications here. For one, the demand to increase speed and decrease the time between inception and publishing is real. Companies and marketing teams, especially for huge global brands, can see social trends come and fade before their processes and workflows can even be engaged, let alone capitalize on them. Smaller, faster teams, closer to the decision-makers give them a puncher’s chance at striking Trending gold. “Learn TikTok,” seems to be the “learn to code” for 2024 and if your marketing team isn’t hiring an in-house creator to be a TikTok machine, they’re one of the few.   And secondly, and likely what I think is truly driving this, brands and agencies want to hold on to as much revenue and fee as possible. Instead of outsourcing specialist contractors, vendors or freelancers on a project-by-project basis, they want established, known-quantity teams with consistent workflows, fixed cost structures and to minimize OOPs. When advertising and marketing budgets get tight, it’s easy to look at production (which is basically *all* OOPs) and see an easy area to trim.   I think there’s pros and cons to this approach. In-house teams can be fast, agile and will know your brand inside and out. They can also get stylistically stale and, at some point, cap out on capabilities and technical know-how. The upside of engaging a wide freelancer and vendor network is the ability to bring in new talent, exciting technologies and fresh perspectives regularly. Additionally, the vendor marketplace (hopefully) means there’s true competition on price and while revenue may be going out, it is (ideally) actually more efficient on a per project basis.   I think the most successful brands will balance a well-rounded internal team for regular, drumbeat content with an extensive network of freelancers and vendors for must-win moments and big swings. Going forward, it’s important brands that build in in-house production continue to train, grow and invest in those resources and not see it as a one-time hit to this fiscal year’s numbers. And production vendors need to understand what role agencies and brands want content to play and continue to bring innovative, efficient offerings to the table. It's never been easier to make great content and tell great stories. But who you choose to make those stories will determine just how successful those stories get told.

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✅🖥️ The Hollywood Reporter (6/26): “By now everyone in Hollywood seems to accept that streaming is a cutthroat business. It may not be zero sum (most studies suggest that consumers will pay for about four streaming services at a time), but it is mighty close to it. And with Netflix holding a secure lock on one of those subscriptions for most consumers, there is increasingly little room for error. But the streaming wars between giant services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, Max, Peacock, Paramount+ and others also obscure an entire ecosystem of streaming offerings that are trying to carve out their own niches in an increasingly difficult environment. For all the press that the big streaming platforms get, there is a surprisingly vibrant world of boutique and specialty streamers chasing loyal and engaged fans at a much smaller scale. And new players continue to enter the space. In the world of comedy, there is Dropout, born out of the comedy website College Humor. And BuzzFeed veterans-turned YouTubers The Try Guys and Watcher have launched dedicated subscription streaming offerings of their own in recent weeks in an effort to more effectively monetize the sometimes fleeting audience that YouTube or social platforms deliver. Sony offers CrunchyRoll, an anime-focused service, which boasts 13MM subscribers; AMC Networks operates services like the horror-centric Shudder and the British-focused Acorn TV; and Cineverse operates the horror service Screambox and independent film service Fandor.” ⬇️ #streamingtv #ctvadvertising #avod #svod #fast #ott https://lnkd.in/eyBBAdWE

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A few thoughts on pop music hits not cutting through like they used to. The first is just how much influence a single platform can wield on an entire vertical of content. This mornings WSJ points out how despite lots of pop stars releasing new albums so far this year, they’ve been met with mixed fan and critical reaction. One of the factors the article overlooks is the impact the TikTok and Universal stand off has had. TikTok and Universal had a months long disruption to promotion of Universal artists on the platform. It seems based on release dates, at least Ariana Grandes album was affected. Tiktok has such a large influence over what pops in music that it’s not a surprise a lapse in ability to promote on that platform would cause a lukewarm response to albums released during and even after that lockout. It’s also why I feel like the 2024 presidential election has felt somewhat invisible; without Trump on Twitter, the news feels less in our face all the time. Giving users the chance to appreciate TikTok beyond music likely made it less important to rally around artists once their music was allowed back on. Second is just how much people are looking for unpolished over polished right now. Look at the song of the summer - it’s not a Taylor Swift or Beyoncé song. It’s an influencer signing about a man in finance. This is not necessarily a plea to brands to work more with influencers, as many partnerships can come off forced. It is advice though that brands should let their hair down more if they want to cut through. The last point is one I’ve said to my teams from time to time: “Fitzgerald only wrote one Gatsby.” I apply every ounce of energy into making media plans great but it’s important to recognize that greatness is achieved every so often and most of all in doses. Just look at these pop singers - working too fast or too much is causing their releases to lose, well, their pop. Trying to be relevant and excellent all the time comes at a cost of customer attention and quality work. As much as want to rush the best work possible, and feel every brief is the one to win an award, we must realize that to do the best work possible, we need to focus our attention and time on the ones we feel the most belief in, and then, spend the most time to crack those challenges. Otherwise, we’re churning out plan after plan every month, that don’t so much as sniff the bar they should be held to. So take a cue from the pop singers. Don’t try to achieve greatness so often. Space it out and save it for the projects that have the best potential to break through. https://lnkd.in/eBrnbVaf

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The Great Debate: Streaming vs. Theater 🎥🎬 While some may argue that streaming is merely a means of passive consumption, a closer examination reveals a more nuanced reality. Streaming platforms have the potential to offer a highly engaging and personalized viewing experience. At home, viewers have the power to control their watching experience, pausing and rewinding at will to fully appreciate the intricacies of the narrative and performances. This level of control creates a sense of intimacy, akin to a private screening tailored to the individual. Theatrical releases must appeal to a broad audience, which can sometimes hinder the formation of a deep, personal connection. While the grandeur of the big screen and the communal experience of the theater hold undeniable allure, the focus on spectacle over substance can occasionally result in a more superficial engagement. The power of streaming lies in its ability to forge a profound connection with the viewer. Through personalized recommendations and a viewing experience that adapts to individual preferences, streaming has the potential to become an integral part of our entertainment lives. Marketers and communicators, take note. Great storytelling that is personalized is the future. #StreamingRevolution #TheFutureOfEntertainment #CinemaEvolution #ViewerEngagement

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You remember this Spider-Man drawing meme from a few years back? https://lnkd.in/gXwXApdd You know, the one that shows the level of quality you get when you give an artist 10 minutes vs. 1 minute vs. 10 seconds? I remember when it started doing the rounds, a lot of creative types used it as an example of how much worse their work is when it's rushed vs. when they get enough time to truly ideate. What's funny is, this isn't even the best depiction of that. Imagine instead if you started by giving someone 10 seconds to draw a *brand new* superhero — one that doesn't already exist. My guess is the result would go something like "Uhhhmmmmm.... I dunnnoo.... (hastily scribbles rough silhouette with a cape)". Then give them 1 min and watch more detail get added. And then 10 and watch really rich character and story elements emerge. I see this a lot in organizations that put a premium on sprints and MVPs. It's one thing to put time constraints on refinement, evolution and optimization of an idea. It's another to rush the ideation itself. That's typically not a good recipe for innovation, since (as my example illustrates) when people are rushed, they tend to regurgitate/replicate the familiar. There is something to be said for putting some time constraints on ideation as a generative exercise. And when facilitated with a focus on lateral connections sparking new combinations, there is a way to hack novelty at pace. But often the main value is in getting all the obvious ideas out of the way, and getting the gears turning in the back of brains to let time do its work of mental marination. Then the real gems that team members can't stop thinking about can be prototyped/MVP'd/etc. Have you seen rapid ideation produce novel concepts (in product, comms, org design, etc.)? Or has it tended to churn out ideas that feel like replications/regurgitations, logical/linear progressions and slight incremental improvements on what already exists? #innovation #creativity #ideation #agile #mvp #prototyping #poc

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I've always wanted to hear more from Eric Seufert on creative, specifically. Eric has written a few brilliant pieces on the subject over the past few years (including The inflationary impact of AI-generated ad creative,) but I've never found a Q+A that dives into how he'd approach ideation, testing, learning and scaling in this new era. So we're having a chat. Eric is next week's Screenshare Session and it's a can't miss. We'll be joined by one of our top strategists, Aly Freeman who will help dig into the grittier parts of the latest testing strategies, et al. that she knows a lot more about than I do. We’ll unpack: → Trends and challenges affecting performance markers → Why creative is still the ultimate growth lever → Creative production and optimization frameworks geared to boost ROAS Lots of screen sharing and real talk as always. It’s happening on Wednesday, July 17 @ 10am PT Space is limited https://lnkd.in/g9yDWxQb

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Amplifying Mark Ritson's well-worded article. Liquid Death is a smart brand with fresh positioning and awesome, attention-grabbing creative. They're doing a great job, but to me, the point is to avoid proclaiming that 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑛. When you highlight excellent engagement stats, yet don't know or stay silent about the brand's economics (Is there evidence of pricing power or distribution/supplier power? Is the marketing spend efficient and is the product profitable at current scale?) then unfortunately you're highlighting when and why marketers and agencies are often stuck and sad at the kiddy table. Mark writes "Most marketing teams no longer work on any form of product implementation. Like price, it has become the province of organisational others who enjoy more of your company’s confidence." Fun story: my rude awakening was during my MBA program while working full-time in agency-land. I was scolded by a marketing professor who despised our industry's tendency towards self-aggrandizing. He claimed creative agencies only offer "a tiny sliver" of positioning. Say what? 😡 My takeaway was that great marketing is a long game, played across an extraordinarily wide field... and really fucking fast.

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Last week, Pesach Lattin, who I consider among our industry's most animated and entertaining personalities, published a 30 minute video podcast, which he and I recorded shortly after the last MFA bombshell and Google's (yet again) delay of Chrome cookie deprecation. The two primary topics haven't lost any relevance in the weeks between our recording and ADOTAT's publication. When I open a conversation here on LinkedIn, I write what I believe and try not to mince words. I stay true to this mantra in our video dialogue, which I hope at least some of you will watch. We had a good time bantering back and forth on a handful of heavy digital advertising subjects, and I have to hand it to Pesach, who makes the conversation all the more entertaining with his clever quips and fast-paced, provocative questions. Grab yourself a kale smoothie, a glass of Amarone or your favorite breakfast cereal ... and let me know what you think. I'd appreciate your comments.

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For producers like myself, practice is essential. And then practicing more is important. You're doing a lot to produce a live stream. You are seamlessly managing the visual aspects of a live stream while engaging with the run-of-show document, monitoring the internal comms, and ensuring the stream is running smoothly. I was recently featured as a speaker for an event to talk about productivity tools. For once, I was IN FRONT of the screen. It was my turn to go LIVE, and then.... looped audio with an echo. Oops, there was an audio issue that was happening LIVE. I couldn't do much because I wasn't in charge of the live stream. We got it sorted out quickly. So, this is your reminder. Practice, practice, practice... AND have a backup plan too! #bepresent #production #livestreaming

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Conquering your fear of flying solo is just the beginning. So many more fears to squish. Crib Notes: Not flying solo was the answer. Thanks ADWEEK for the feature. #adweek #advertising #marketing #startuplife #creativeviolence

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Communication is crucial for maintaining a buzz around the political party. Doordrops provide a visibility boost, a personal touch, and friendly reminders; giving the party a home-turf advantage. #PoliticalParty #CommunicationIsKey #DoorDrops #VisibilityBoost #justWhistl

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"Chaos asks questions of you order never will" The wonderful Colleen DeCourcy retells her experience working with Dan Wieden when she took over as Chief Creative Officer at Wieden+Kennedy Her immediate response to me asking about working with Dan was this quote about chaos. We have a natural reaction against chaos because it can be destructive and unsettling but what if we reframed it as a necessary condition for achieving something truly breakthrough 🌪 Chaos propels you forward while order maintains the status quo 🌪 Chaos creates leaders while order creates managers 🌪 Chaos demands a response while order delays it 🌪 Chaos reveals the cracks while order papers them up 🌪 Chaos forces ownership while order delegates it 🌪 Chaos fosters creativity while order fosters compliance 🌪 Chaos requires trust while order replaces it It got me thinking whether there is an optimal mix of Chaos and order required to achieve breakthrough ideas and momentum? We spend most of our time creating order but what if what we actually needed was an injection of chaos? To hear more from this episode check out the links in the comments John Kearon Kerry Collinge Orlando Wood

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Our industry hates two pieces of inventory right now: display ads and online video bought programmatically through demand side platforms. Those two things are largely deemed to be "ineffective" by a lot of media consultants and party muckety mucks. I think by current definitions that is likely true -- but that the reason why has to do more with how we test and use them than whether they are "good" or "bad" ad units. Our industry is a big fan of message testing. And when you get a poll back the winning message is typically a 4 sentence block of text. That works well for 30-second television ads and mail pieces. It's useless for short-format digital ads. But because we tested that message -- and because pollsters have in no way adjusted to people getting information in 3-second blocks rather than 30-second blocks -- the campaign, committees or funders assign a lot of weight to that message being the winning one. So when you make a TV ad or mail piece that hits that message exactly you are rightfully congratulated for completing the assignment. But with display ads or click for sound video it is IMPOSSIBLE to complete the assignment. You can't fit 30-seconds of message into a display ad, nor can you convey the same amount of information in a pre-roll or outstream ad that you can in a 30-second tv spot that people watch all of. We also just assume that people read a full mail piece or actively pay attention to a full TV ad and because there is no way to disprove that the assumption stands. But giant advertisers that have much bigger budgets for testing and measuring than we do use these ad units all the time...so what gives? Is Walmart just dumber than us? Kinda doubt it. I think instead we have too rigid of a way to test messages and it reinforces our belief that voters need to hear all of what we test. Basically we've created a self-reenforcing system where short-form content can't possibly work because we never actually find out if it does or doesn't. In a perfectly controlled environment where people are paying close attention to the ad they are being served I would guess 30-second and full mail pieces are still much more persuasive. But that's not how people experience reality -- and the way we currently test leans on the assumption that people actually register the full 30-second block of attention required for that message rather than the 3-second blocks they more frequently experience in real life. When big brands use display and online video you don't typically see them just put a talking head TV ad on there and calling it a day. A lot of those ads work without sound and are designed to be passively consumed relying a lot on short statements and animation rather than emotional resonance and story telling that is more common in political. So is there a way to persuade voters by largely using short-clips and static images with no sound? We don't know and may never find out.

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✅🖥️ Variety (5/22): “Last year, the writers strike kept boldface names from appearing at the upfronts. This year, everybody turned up the star power to 11. NBCU stuffed its presentation with performances from Little Big Town, Michael Bublé and Kelly Clarkson. Amazon went overboard with a nonstop parade of A-listers, including Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhaal and tennis great Roger Federer, with none other than Alicia Keys as the opening act (and yes, she promoted her Amazon line of skin care products). Disney also hauled out the heavy hitters: Ryan Reynolds, Michelle Williams, Sterling K. Brown, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, just to name a few. Opening Disney’s upfront was Emma Stone, introducing CEO Bob Iger while getting in one more plug for her Oscar-winning film “Poor Things.” The sheer number of movie mentions (NBCU took time to debut the trailer to “Wicked”) felt unusual at an event traditionally tailored to ad-supported TV. But in the streaming age, everything’s for sale — and there’s nothing brands like more than cozying their messages up to the biggest names in showbiz. Sports franchises were put on a higher pedestal than usual as networks lean on live games to deliver the audiences that advertisers covet. Sports personalities, from Tom Brady to Jason Kelce to Dawn Staley, were all over the presentations. Fox made it clear to anyone in earshot that it has the Super Bowl next year and it has Brady, a bona fide NFL legend, joining the Fox Sports team in the booth for football season this fall. Disney used a hunk of its time to tub-thumb the future of ESPN. Netflix bragged about landing two Christmas Day NFL games. WBD pledged allegiance to the NBA even as the company is kneedeep in contract negotiations with the league.” ⬇️ #upfronts #newfronts #streamingtv #ctvadvertising

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