Creative

At a recent activation, we had a diverse audience in the room — brand decision-makers, senior retail buyers, marketing leads, category managers, etc. But they weren't the only ones there. Their spouses showed up. Their kids. Close friends. Mentors from previous jobs. Nobody asked them to bring those people. They just did. Most brands would…

Over the last few years, most retail organizations have gone all-in on "digital transformation." They’ve bought the software, hired the data experts, and built impressive tech stacks. But here’s the reality: even with all those tools, many marketing teams still feel like they’re driving a Ferrari on a dirt road. If the data says on…

Year after year, data from retailers shows that their investments in holiday displays and in-store visuals pay off in the form of increased foot traffic and higher spending. This leaves little debate that shopping environments influence consumers’ impressions of retailers and the products they sell. What's up for debate? While retailers can see the overall…

For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands, digital saturation is a constant. Every scroll, swipe and stream competes with dozens of other campaigns, many offering similar products, comparable pricing, and indistinguishable messaging. In this climate, the ad creative itself is increasingly what sets a winning brand apart, accounting for roughly 49 percent of sales lift. But…

The retail industry has handed every brand team a masterclass in transformation. From Support Function to Strategic Powerhouse Remember when brand teams were the “logo police” — i.e., the folks who made sure the company colors didn’t get butchered in the latest sales deck? Those days are gone. What started as cost-cutting conversations has evolved…

Retail brands are always chasing the golden snitch of personalization. However, too often their efforts rely on passive data collection and algorithmic guesswork, offering surface-level relevance without any real emotional connection. Consumers don’t want to be treated like walking data sets. They want to feel seen, involved and valued. Instead, they’re bombarded with ads for…

A new survey found three out of four Gen Z and millennial consumers feel a lack of recent updates on a business's social media or blog impacts their trustworthiness. As a small business owner, you should be posting to your social accounts and updating your website at least monthly or risk losing customers' trust. Ideally,…

Starbucks announced last week it is making its entrance into the entertainment industry by starting Starbucks Studios, a new initiative the company said will produce original entertainment and "tell stories that deepen connections and spark conversations." The coffee giant didn't say what kinds of entertainment we can expect, but revealed it is teaming up with…

Small business owners increasingly use advanced generative artificial intelligence tools to enhance digital marketing strategies and maintain a competitive edge. iStock’s VisualGPS research reveals that 42 percent of SMBs and SMEs already leverage AI-generated content to strengthen their online presence, highlighting a growing recognition of AI's potential for e-commerce success. Learning about the data that…

In November and December, U.S. retail industry sales rose 3.8 percent compared to the year before. Economists seemed surprised by retail results defying expectations throughout much of 2023. Unfortunately, 2024 didn’t start quite as well. Since then, retail sales have shrunk by 0.8 percent (worse than market forecasts of a 0.1 percent decline). U.S. retail…