This Week In Marketing: February 7, 2021
A big thank you for those who are enjoying this weekly news roundup! I was asked if I could send this out in an actual newsletter format, which is something I am exploring. However, in the interim you can subscribe to my posts on both Medium and my blog.
Now that we’ve covered some household business, let’s jump into this week’s newsletter. From Zuck joining Clubhouse to Ryanair’s unfortunate jab at COVID-19 marketing, T-Mobile’s epic Super Bowl spot that’s been banned from airing on Sunday, and more, here’s what I’m reading this week!
T-Mobile Claims This Ad Was Banned From the Super Bowl
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/t-mobile-tom-brady-ad-banned-super-bowl/
As someone who lived in Boston for 15 years and has had the pleasure of working with these two when they were with the Patriots, I LOVED this ad from T-Mobile. The best stories come from real life and this spot showcases that in such a clever way. It was unfortunate to hear that the ad was banned from airing on Super Bowl Sunday because of a “protected rights deal” with the game’s official telecom sponsor, Verizon.
While I understand that being an official sponsor in a category allows your company certain rights, I would be curious to hear from someone with expertise as a marketing lawyer on this. In watching the spot, T-Mobile goes out of its way to avoid the obvious non-sponsor no-gos, but the ad does feature two star players. It could also come down to not allowing any other telecom provider to advertise during the game? However, if that were true, why would T-Mobile report that it’s running two other spots during the game?
For those not familiar, unless you are a Super Bowl sponsor, there is an extensive list of guidelines that companies cannot violate, from using the phrase Super Bowl, to Super Bowl hashtags, citing “The Big Game,” using specific team names, etc.
I’ve also been enjoying how T-Mobile is maximizing the spot on social media, only further taunting Verizon!
Mark Zuckerberg Appears on Clubhouse App Days after Elon Musk, Causing Platform Crashes
https://www.newsweek.com/clubhouse-mark-zuckerberg-good-time-show-app-glitches-elon-musk-1567039
With Clubhouse currently the belle of the social media ball, it’s not surprising that influential tech heavyweights like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are making special appearances on the platform. So, why did Zuck go on Clubhouse? To talk about Facebook’s Reality Labs division, which focuses on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) products and experiences.
Putting my public relations hat on, Zuck and Elon’s appearances are showcasing the power Clubhouse has to generate news. How many people were talking about the Reality Labs division at Facebook before Zuck’s Clubhouse appearance? Not many. But they are now.
It’s also worth noting that unsurprisingly so, many are really buzzing about is whether Facebook could build their own version of Clubhouse or be a contender to acquire the audio-only social network. Only time will tell!
Ryanair ‘jab and go’ TV ad banned for encouraging Covid risk-taking
Please indulge me on this one. It’s so ridiculous, yet so funny. In the UK, Ryanair debuted a TV ad over the Christmas period encouraging travelers to “jab and go”, by booking their summer holidays to places like Spain and Greece after they have been vaccinated for COVID-19. The ads feature travelers in their 20s and 30s engaged in summer holiday activities, none of which are adhering to social distancing or are wearing masks.
The ad has now been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Association after recieving 2,370 complaints, making it the third most complained ad of all time in the country.
I hope companies learn a valuable lesson from this. As much as we all wish we could ‘jab and go’ and return back to life as we know it – sensitives are still running high. Just like it is in poor taste to market against COVID-19, it’s even worse to market against vaccinations. It’s also a great reminder that people – at least in the UK – still want to see ad campaigns featuring social distancing and use of masks. As companies are looking at global ad campaigns, personalization matters more than ever before. From your message, visuals and COVID safety standards, all must be evaluated in relation to the COVID status in each country.
The story behind ‘Blue Check Homes’: How an SF artist created a fake company that fooled thousands
Would you pay $3,000 to have a blue check mark placed on the outside of your home to designate you as an authentic public figure? Nearly 500 people in the San Francisco bay area fell for this comical prank from a local artist. However, what’s really interesting is that the inspiration stems from social media and San Francisco history. File this one under: there’s a sad but true monetizable market for people to promote how ‘influential’ they are.
HubSpot has signed an agreement to acquire The Hustle
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-hubspot-is-acquiring-the-hustle and https://thehustle.co/%F0%9F%94%A5-boom-the-hustle-is-getting-acquired/
I’ve been a subscriber to The Hustle and listener of the My First Million podcast for some time now and really enjoy both, which is why it was amazing but also surprising to see HubSpot acquire it. As a result of my time in Boston, I am very familiar with HubSpot and I’ve even spoken at INBOUND on several occasions. I’m also a fan of HubSpot’s strategy of selling by adding value. The company is part software company, part media company, with the media side growing brand awareness and trust to funnel people into the software side.
While HubSpot has been very successful with SMBs (small to medium businesses) for some time, I’ve always wondered what their footprint was with startups. With The Hustle’s 1.5 million subscribers and an incredibly popular podcast, HubSpot is positioning its acquisition of The Hustle as a way to diversify their content offerings and gain more authority with startup founders.
Furthermore, what’s exciting for those of us who are fans of The Hustle’s content, HubSpot’s acquisiton means we will see even more content. In The Hustle’s announcement, the company reports new podcasts, products, content, and original features are coming.
Jessica Gioglio is the co-author of The Laws of Brand Storytelling and The Power of Visual Storytelling. Professionally, Jessica has led innovative marketing and public relations programs for Dunkin’ Donuts, TripAdvisor, Sprinklr, and more. Today, Jessica is the founder of With Savvy Media & Marketing, a strategic branding, storytelling, and content strategy consultancy.