How CMOs Can Get More Creative, Influencer Marketing 2018 Predictions, YETI Stories are Fantastic, and Spotlight on Eventbrite’s Brian Rothenberg

Marketing Trends 12/6

“Doing what your competition is doing, just better or harder, rarely leads to winning a market. You have to find ways to do things differently.” — Brian Rothenberg, VP & GM, Eventbrite

Marketing News

Pivot to nowhere: The once-vibrant market for digital video series has deteriorated [DigiDay]

This is really interesting because the appetite for long-form video content (aka streaming TV) is thriving. But the market for shorter digital videos (aka web series) are only being acquired by Facebook, YouTube Red, and Go90. It appears that longer-form content is king for the time being. Read the article here.

How CMOs Can Author A New Creative Paradigm [Forbes]

“So how do companies go about ensuring that they remain ahead of the curve? The first step is to admit and accept the scary truth that the long-established operating model of internal teams and agency partners is antiquated and far too reliant on personal observations from insulated teams in big-city offices.” -Matt Walsh. Read the full article here

Quick Hits

• Tito’s Handmade Vodka CMO is Marketer of the Year [AdAge]
• Facebook, you know, for kids [New York Times]
• Why Evian now spends 80 percent of its marketing budget on digital media [DigiDay]
• Group Nine names Christa Carone as new President [Business Insider]

The Mission On Location

We are at Growth Marketing Conference today! Stop by and say hi. We will have a drone and be filming a bunch of videos.

Lessons Learned

Influencer Marketing is a hot topic that many marketers are exploring, testing and iterating. This article in Forbes highlights a number of guesstimates from various internet influencers and industry experts for the 2018 trends.

Our takeaway: Brands are still hesitant, creators are still hungry. Pricing is still all over the place. Reach is hard to quantify. A YouTube view does not equal a Facebook view which does not equal an impression. Brands that integrate influencers into their original content have had success in 2017. As those case studies surface, we will hopefully see more companies experiment with new things.

Storytelling

The Art, Science And Pitfalls Of Storytelling In OTT: “While traditional TV is a huge industry, the future of TV is becoming increasingly digital, with over-the-top (OTT) media platforms leading the way. With many people choosing to watch premium, long-form video content on a TV screen, a new range of possibilities is available for advertisers. They can combine the precision of digital advertising with the immersive canvas of large television sets to tell compelling stories and gain viewers’ attention. Any video advertising campaign that lacks OTT storytelling risks missing out on a critical opportunity and may even be perceived as irrelevant.” — Tal Chalozin

Read the rest on AdExchanger.

Original Content, Series and Shows

If you haven’t checked out the YETI Stories, I highly recommend it. They are fantastic storytelling, beautifully shot and authentic original content.

I recommend 120 Days: Tarpon Season. If you don’t know what a tarpon is, they are an enormous fish. Check it out:

Spotlight

Brian Rothenberg is the VP and General Manager of Eventbrite. Formerly at SkillSlate, TaskRabbit, Shyp, and LifeLock, Brian is a growth expert and speaking at Growth Marketing Conference this week. Check out a great interview with him on First Round’s blog:

Answers To Your Tough Questions About Growth — Learned While Scaling Eventbrite’s $5B+ Growth Engine

Also, watch this video of him talking about building marketplaces. Skip past the first minute, the audio is a little messed up:

Marketing Q&A

Q: How do you select and sponsor an email newsletter?

A: Check out this article that we wrote in The Mission back in August!

Opportunities

Eventbrite is looking for a Global Head of Product Marketing. We are huge fans of Eventbrite at The Mission and use the product every week. Check out the marketing role description here.

Marketing Trends is written and curated by Ian Faison, Chief Content Officer of The Mission. The Mission creates original content, shows, and series for brands and distributes them to our audience of millions. To learn more, connect with us here. Or you can connect with me @ianfaison or email ian [at] themission [dot] co.