Marketing with Wharton's Hip Hop Prof

On today's podcast, we dive into Marketing and AI predicting human behavior from voice. As marketers when we are looking at segmenting the market in a traditional sense are we really reaching our target market correctly? Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania joins us this week and discusses his idea of 'segment making media' and 'society making media' and the importance for us to have a healthy balance of both within society making media.The capabilities of AI are mind-blowing and today companies are trying to understand more about artificial intelligence and how to enable this technology to help identify human behavior but as exciting as these advancements in technology where do we drive the line with privacy? Some companies might be playing with that line of what is allowed to be used and how much of that is known to consumers.

Retail Dive's Carra Salpini joins the Marketing Matters show to discuss Hit or Miss: Here we describe Business Showers and the partnership of Casper and Bed Bath and Beyond.Congratulations! It's a Start-up. Some friends have babies, and some are starting companies so the new trend is to hold a 'Business shower' in the early stages o a start-up, sometimes when the business is still just developing as an idea. What is definitely a new concept, it allows an entrepreneur to celebrate a major life milestone. Similar to other types of showers these also include food, games, and yes, even a registry.In the summer of 2021, Bed Bath & Beyond and Caspter Sleep Inc. announced a new national partnership that will bring Casper's award-winning suite of sleep offerings to Bed Bath & Beyond customers through the website, mobile app, and select retail stores. Part of this partnership will also include a one-of-a-kind branded shop-in-shop at Bed Bath & Beyond's newly designed flagship store in New York City.

This week we are joined by Elissa Bloom of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator to discuss a few unique concepts in Fashion today. Elissa brings a unique and fresh understanding to the world of fashion and business and within her company manages all aspects from design, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution.Within the Incubator program, some new interesting products have launched during the pandemic. One unique product is the Juno Jones Safety Boot which is targeting a relatively untouched market with women who work in construction, engineering, architecture, and all kinds of hazardous industries. The boots a brainchild of Emily Soloby, a designer-in-residence at the Philadephia Fashion Incubator joined the incubator to take the boots "from an idea to a powerful reality".While creating the boots Soloby created a private Facebook group penned 'The Hazard Girls' and simultaneously built a target group in which would benefit from the creation of her boots that also allowed them to provide feedback to the creation of the boot. She really took her product marketing to the next level.

Retail Dive's Cara Salpini joins the Marketing Matters show to discuss Hit or Miss: Here we describe Victoria's Secret's new brand direction in their attempt to return to the runway. Victoria's Secret wants to get back on the runway - but in a more relevant way. Over 20 years the annual fashion show where the VS Angels flaunted bedazzled bras and lacy underwear ran but was ended after its December 2018 show when it suffered the worst ratings in its history. Victoria's Secret has now replaced its Angels with brand ambassadors who represent all body types and ages. While in-store the brand is also refreshing by using plus-size mannequins and updated fixtures. The seven founding ambassadors feature soccer star Megan Rapinoe; actress and businesswoman Priyanka Chopra Jonas; models Paloma Elsesser, Adut Akech, and Valentina Sampaio; professional skier Eileen Gu; and Advocate Amanda de Cadenet. Will Victoria's Secret new direction be an authentic change or a disaster in the making?Next, we discuss Reebok and the opportunity this brand now faces to reinvent itself. Adidas has owned Reebok since 2006 but after several years of revenue decline, Adidas announced that it would sell the business in December of 2020. Now, Reebok has been purchased by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) it now looks to re-invent itself to benefit from the ever-changing consumer environment.

Adweek's Robert Klara joins the Marketing Matters show to discuss Hit or Miss: Two very interesting collaborations with Gap X Yeezy and Swim Soups by Panera. In an attempt to revive itself, The Gap Brand has teamed up with Kanye West and Yeezy, his fashion company for a new clothing line called Yeezy Gap which launched in the first half of 2021. The overall mission was to create 'modern, elevated basics for men, women and kids at accessible price points." The line which is featured both at Gap Stores and online launched first with a bomber jacket that sold out in mere minutes and retailed for $200.The next collab might have you saying, 'what?!" In July Panera launched the Swim Soup Collection that featured four swimwear styles - two one-piece bathing suits and two pairs of swim trunks that pay homage to your favorite menu (soup) items. The collection was available for a limited time online only and retailed at $25 and sold out in less than a week.

Adweek's Scott Nover joins the Marketing Matters show to discuss Hit or Miss: Here we describe "Casa Blanca" the "Bumble" of real estate software solutions. Casa Blanca combines personalized technology with bespoke services for simple, stylish, and stress-free real estate. This intuitive app curates property listings based on what matters most to you, giving you a far more enjoyable search.

Movers + Shakers is an award-winning creative agency, born in 2016 as a collaboration between Broadway performer & director Geoffrey Goldberg and marketing expert Evan Horowitz. Their unique combination of music and marketing has led to a series of record-breaking campaigns across digital platforms. Throughout, the team focuses on spreading joy, and turning this positive emotional experience into brand love.Market advertising is always a shifting landscape. If you look at the evolution of advertising originally it was just about conveying a brand's message in a very one-directional sort of way. That evolved to the inclusion of entertainment and connecting with the audience on a more emotional level. And more recently we've seen participatory advertising where a brand is inviting their users to co-create the marketing in collaboration with a brand campaign. A recent campaign was launched last summer with e.l.f. cosmetics in the form of a TikTok native reality show. The reality show was created and aimed at TikTok users to help them become beauty influencers. Over 3,000 nomination videos were received and from there three lucky winners got to go through a month-long beauty camp where they were being mentored and trained by successful TikTok influencers on how to be successful. The daily series was broadcasted on e.l.f.'s TikTok brand channel and ended up increasing the following of their channel by over 50%.Digital disruption should happen in an organic and native way to the user, as opposed to being jarring. In addition, brands should not just copy/paste their brand strategy across the many social media channels that are available. Movers + Shakers provides those proven shortcuts and strategies to implement for success that feels authentic to the environment.

John Rowley, founder of Counterpoint Messaging has worked on over 500 democratic political campaigns in 47 states and has won 91% of his campaigns. Political "brands" involve a myriad of techniques to sell ideas, ideals, and political candidates to the general public through commercial branding and advertising in presidential political campaigns. However, nowadays it has become the norm to bash and minimize the opposing incumbent, instead of speaking to the political transformations and advancements that a candidate brings to the table. John refers to Frank Lloyd Wright in that his architectural designs come organically from the landscape and the same notion applies to political strategies. He has been involved in campaigns where they did not have to say one word about the opposing incumbent and achieved defeat because of the current circumstances. Building a political campaign strategy that is able to absorb negativity is a huge factor, especially with the inclusion of social media which allows for a rapid spread of information and reaching a much larger audience pool.

We have two guests on this episode, Bill Blubaugh, SVP Marketing & Communications, and Mark Schrieber, EVP and Chief Customer Officer at Utz Quality Foods.When the pandemic hit there was a big response to eating at home, therefore snacking throughout the day, and companion snacks to main meals were increased. Utz specifically saw an uptick in their core indulgent portion of their portfolio (potato and tortilla chips), and eventually started to see growth as well with the more permissible and healthy snack options such as popcorn, veggie straws, and snack mixes. The loyalty, love, and following for the Utz brand comes from the fact that they are a smaller, crafted brand and the idea of unmistakably delicious flavors that are family crafted resonates with people. Utz has been family-owned and run for 100 years, and to celebrate their hundredth year anniversary the brand has organized A Year of A Hundred Wishes which extends to consumer activation, employee engagement initiatives, and local community involvement. In addition, a consumer promotion called Our Candles, Your Wish is launching soon where consumers can blow out the candles on the Utz milestone celebration cake and win prizes.