President Trump’s attack on his intelligence chiefs following their worldwide threat briefing to Congress last month wasn’t supposed to be a comedy skit.  Intended or not, the performance ranks among the best Laurel and Hardy impersonations in years.  As National Intelligence Director, Dan Coats, playing the guileless Laurel, briefed Capitol Hill, Trump, the mercurial Hardy, lambasted the spies as naïve, passive and seriously under-trained.  The only thing missing was Hardy’s classic line: “Well, Coats, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me in.”

In 2018, fitness chain Life Time made headlines when it announced it was banning cable news channels from its communal television screens.  The Minnesota company's logic?  That removing cable news from its screens was consistent with its "desire to uphold a positive, healthy-way-of-life environment."  But the thirst for important, fact-based and opinion-free reporting has never been greater than today.  In fact, 75% of news consumers globally say they want unbiased news coverage.  In cable news, unfortunately, that's not what they're getting

If you're in the local broadcast or media buying space, you know there's no shortage of opinions around over-the-top (OTT) and the local broadcasters' role in it.  In my role at Syncbak, however, I have direct experience seeing their massive amounts of success with live OTT channels every day; they're reaching viewers wherever they are, whenever they are ready to watch.  Attracting and retaining local viewers has always been top of mind for broadcasters, but it's now key -- and that's the OTT differentiator.

With audio getting renewed attention from marketers, this might be the time that Hispanic audio finally gets its due.  In two decades of covering media, I’ve attended countless events touting U.S. Hispanics’ abundant appetite for media and strong buying power.  Agency and brand executives nod their heads enthusiastically and say they’re committed to spending more.  Yet, Hispanic media executives say that infusion has been slow to materialize -- or certainly not to the extent they’ve hoped.  Another ongoing complaint is that some brands still try to shoehorn English-language creative into ads for Spanish-speaking consumers, creating a cultural disconnect. For brands that are upping investment in radio and podcasting, now is the time to put that money in Hispanic audio.   

A recent survey found that 52% of Millennials said that they trust social media influencers less these days. However, at the same time, 58% of Millennials also noted that they prefer ads from their favorite social media influencers.  So, opinions on influencers are split.  In general, after highly-publicized data breaches from leading social media companies, digital advertising has also taken a beating.  With that in mind, how can brands cut through the noise and find an advertising medium to connect with their audience?  When working with influencers, how can a brand make sure that their message resonates?

Back in 2004, at the annual national conference of the American Society on Aging, I gave a somewhat edgy speech entitled, "If I Ran AARP for One Day: Here's What I'd Do to Redefine Aging, Fix Health Care, Balance Generational Equity, Eliminate Ageism in the Popular Culture, and Create a New Social Role and Purpose for Elders."   The session was moderated by Joanne Handy, the past Chairman of ASA.  (Click on the image above to hear a full audio recording.)