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How do this year’s Super Bowl ads stand up to an all-time top 10?

First of all, know that this post is not a review of this year’s Super Bowl Ads. We’ll leave the comparing and critiquing up to you. Instead, this is about embracing the originality, creativity and boldness of previous spots which have left a lasting impression.   The latest compilation of this year’s ads, which you can view here, have some standouts for sure with one being Michelob’s The Ultra Hustle. But compared to the classics below, don’t expect to see this year’s crop of ads to show up on a future top 10 list (or even a top 100). Today’s marketers and their agencies should jump into our wayback machine and see what it takes to land a spot in the hall of fame that exists in our collective memories of Super Bowl Ads.   Reminisce with our top 10 favorites in chronological order: Coca-Cola "Mean Joe Greene" (1979) One of the most heartwarming commercials...

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Five Top Trends Reshaping Marketing In 2025

Survival in the marketing world has always been about evolving with societal and technological trends. What’s different today is the pace of evolution, especially on the technology side. If you feel like innovation is accelerating in every direction, you’re correct and AI is a major force behind it. That’s why AI is number one in our top five trends. AI-Driven Personalization at Scale AI continues to revolutionize how brands engage with consumers. Now, AI is enabling us to build more hyper-personalized marketing strategies and unique customer experiences at scale. Tools like AI-powered chatbots, predictive analytics, and dynamic content generation helps us anticipate customer needs and create tailored offers in real-time.   We’ve already become accustomed to seeing incredibly on-target ads and product recommendations on various platforms, all thanks to AI analyzing our browsing behavior and past purchases.   Source: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-marketing-market-report   The Rise of Zero-Party Data The term “zero-party data” was coined by Forrester in...

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Five last-minute tips for maximizing year-end charitable campaigns

If you’re a non-profit marketer, hopefully your year-end campaign strategy is close to launching. The point of this post is to ensure your best made plans DO NOT go awry. Better yet, let’s hope they add fuel to an already glowing campaign.     1)   Avoid launching on Giving Tuesday: While integrating Giving Tuesday into your social and email campaign is important, it’s too crowded with competing messages to serve as a launch date. Ideally, you should launch before Thanksgiving.     2)  Consider testing your direct mail approach: Many organizations have a proven format that they recycle for year-end campaigns. Now’s a good time to test something new. Ideally an A/B split test if you have a volume of at least 5,000 or whatever it takes for you to get 100 responses from your audience. Some ideas to consider:   Make it more personal. Be sure to personally thank existing donors and focus on...

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Advertiser’s Survival Guide for the Final Weeks of Political Ads

By now, you’ve already heard that 2024 election spending is on track to be a record-breaker. The question is how much more can competing advertisers expect? And more importantly, what they can do to stand out.   Three key facts about the remaining political ad spend.  $569 million worth of ad time booked is already booked from October 1 through the election.*   86% of that remaining ad spend will focus on the 7 battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.*   Pennsylvania has a chance at seeing the largest ad spend, including Senate GOP candidates.   *Source: CNN   What advertisers can do to survive the final rush of political clutter. While making a drastic decision to wait out the rest of the election season is an option, there are plenty of better ways to make intelligent use of your marketing resources. Consider these top 5 options:   Look beyond overcrowded channels: While traditional...

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GEN Y: OUR BIGGEST & BADDEST GENERATION

In our continuing series on generational marketing, we’re moving down the timeline from Gen Z to Gen Y. Among the media and marketing worlds, the two generations are often lumped together for their similarities. Both are associated with a prominent tendency to shop online and through social channels. That’s also where they get their news and entertainment.   Gen Y and Gen Z are also lumped together for their world view and politics. According to a report from the Centre for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge, they are more disillusioned with democratic politics than Generation X or baby boomers were at the same stage of life. That comes as no surprise in the U.S. where the presidential and congressional seats are filled with Boomers. Time will tell if this election cycle changes any of that.   How Gen Y differs from generations before and after  They’re the biggest: Generation Y/Millennials, born...

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GEN Z’s Rapid Economic Recovery: What You Need to Know

As the college class of ’24 launches their mortar boards into the air, they should be celebrating more than academic achievement. They navigated the social and educational perils of COVID 19 and came out of it with unrivaled economic success.   According to CNN, the unemployment rate for recent college grads ages of 21 to 24 has recovered more than 2.5 times faster than after the Great Recession of the late 2000s. Better still, fewer of them are underemployed compared to Gen Y, which bodes well for their economic success and the marketers who have goods and services to sell to them.   SOURCE: Economic Policy Institute   Gen Z from A to …uh… Z Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z, along with the tail end of Gen Y, share some defining traits that should shape how we marketers approach them. Here are our top 5:   Behold THE mobile tech generation: Gen Zers knew how to...

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2024 Solar Eclipse Spotlights the Value of Event Marketing

On April 8th, this writer will be taking part in a momentous astronomical event that’s proving to be an equally massive marketing event. According to Forbes, the Total Solar Eclipse could generate $1 billion boost in consumer spending on hotels, flights and rental cars to food, gas, special events and souvenirs.   Along a 115-mile-wide path stretching from Maine to Texas, cities and travel companies are luring millions of potential visitors with special packages and watch parties. Major brands are cashing in on the rare event, too. Sun chips, for example, is promoting a chance to win a limited-edition eclipse-themed flavor ­(pineapple habanero and black bean spicy gouda) and solar eclipse swag bag only during the eclipse. What’s so hot about event-driven marketing? First and foremost, the majority of consumers love a good party. Business insider recently reported that American consumers have mostly moved on from the pandemic and are spending more on experiences than...

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Keeping Pace with Social Media in 2024

New Networks. New AI Tools. Facebook turned 20 last month. Twitter/X turns 18 this month. Teens who quickly adapted to TikTok are now graduating college. Yeah, time flies. And as Einstein taught us, time is relative. A year in social media marketing must be the equivalent to at least 50 years in non-digital media. We could easily miss the dawn of the next big thing while figuring out Meta’s latest targeting options (updated this month). On that note, we’ve compiled some novel social media trends that deserve our attention.   New Networks: At the very least, keep these on your radar.   Threads: Built by the Instagram team, Threads is sold as a safer alternative to the free-for-all that is Twitter/X. The big difference is that Threads gives users more control. You can control who replies to or mentions you and limit replies to select groups. You can also post longer messages (550 characters along...

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UNCOVERING THE MARKETING POWER OF SWEEPSTAKES

Door Dash “All the Ads” Super Bowl Giveaway   If you caught the post-Super Bowl Late Show, you heard Stephen Colbert joke that, “For the second time in Super Bowl history, we went to extra innings, so I think we all know the real winners were CBS ad sales.” This is in no doubt true with advertisers paying up to $7 million to air a spot. But as curious marketers, we would argue that the real winners were Door Dash’s in-house studio and their agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland who pulled off the biggest Super Bowl giveaway ever.   Announced on January 30th, Door Dash promoted an “All the Ads” sweepstakes that would DoorDash all of the items advertised during the Super Bowl to one lucky winner. You can find the full list of items here. Ahead of the game, the outrageous giveaway gained huge momentum online. This boost in awareness coupled with message of Door...

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Does direct mail have a powerful role in your 2024 marketing mix?

Here are 5 reasons it should. In a world of ad blockers and spam folders, direct mail feels like a safe haven for marketers and consumers alike. Even new brands are turning to direct mail to make a larger impact on key audiences. In a USPS survey, 72% of Gen Z respondents said they're "excited to discover what the mail brings every day."   Let’s hit the pause button on the AI and social media hype and rediscover the power of direct mail. You may want to reshuffle the marketing mix for your 2024 campaigns.   Reason #1: High Open Rates. According to Earthweb, the average person receives 100 to 120 emails per day with an open rate of between 20 and 40%. On the other hand, people in the U.S. receive an average of just 2 pieces of marketing mail per day. The Association of National Advertisers reports that up to 90% of direct mail gets...

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Direct Choice wishes everyone the happiest of holidays!
In the spirit of the season, we are supporting The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, who are continuing to give aid to those affected by Hurricane Helene.
https://foodbankcenc.org/

#happyholidays #HurricaneHelene #FoodBanks
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The DCI Team enjoyed a festive holiday luncheon and white elephant gift exchange last week at Trattoria San Nicola. So nice to see everyone IN PERSON! Happy Holidays 🎄! ...

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🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Direct Choice, Inc., in partnership with @centercityfilmvideo , won two Telly Awards! 🎥✨
🥈 Silver Telly in the Insurance category for Jefferson Health Plans` "Reshape Your Medicare" campaign
🥉 Bronze Telly in the Insurance category for Blue Cross NC`s "Yes Plan 2" campaign
A huge thank you to our incredible team and partners for their dedication and creativity. We couldn`t have done it without you! Here`s to many more successful campaigns ahead. 🥂
#TellyAwards #DirectChoice #CenterCityFilmAndVideo #BlueCrossNC #JeffersonHealthPlans #AwardWinningCampaign
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Had a little sprinkle last week for our Production Director, Tom Mellon! He and his wife Marghi are expecting an addition to the family in May. Delicious lunch @whitedogwayne ! Best Wishes Tom and Marghi!! ...

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Direct Choice was honored to present this check to Alex Archawski from the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network (GPVN). GPVN’s mission is making Greater Philadelphia the Best Place For Veterans. #phillyvets #gpvn #communitymatters #givingback ...

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To celebrate the sentiments of peace, love and understanding, this year we are contributing to the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network, who work to make our city the best place for Veterans. Happy Holidays from Direct Choice Inc!
#Phillyvets #GPVN #HappyHolidays
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A fun time and great food at our annual holiday luncheon and gift exchange held @autographwayne! Many alcohol-related gifts beginning with the letter “I”! Thanks Nick! (We missed you Beth!) #happyholidays #whiteelephant #funholidaytimes ...

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Had a fun and informative time at the @BCAPhilly Hospitality Breakfast last Friday. Speaker @TarynSouthern gave a thought-provoking presentation focused on how AI is changing our world. #ai #aimarketing #bcaphilly ...

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Proud to report that Direct Choice picked up 2 Benny Awards last night in the digital/social media marketing categories - Congrats to All!! #pdma #bennyawards #socialmediamarketing #digitalmarketing ...

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This holiday season, we’re continuing to support @philabundance to help them end hunger in our local communities. Happy Holidays from Direct Choice Inc! #philabundance #happyholidays ...

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