Marketing winners and losers of the week

Marketing winners, losers and newsmakers Winners Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams: First it was Dolly Parton, now it’s Olivia Rodrigo. Ahead of today’s release of the singer’s second album “Guts,” the fancy ice cream purveyor is turning its waffle cones purple as part of a new collaboration. Consumers can order the album through Jeni’s site and also order ice cream “like Olivia,” who provided her own recommendation for a scoop of Brambleberry Crisp and Wildberry Lavender on a Buttercrisp Waffle cone. Let’s hope Jeni’s is better prepared for this mashup than it was for 2021’s Dolly Parton partnership, which crashed its website. OLIVIA RODRIGO CONE TAKEOVER 🟣🍦This weekend only! We’re turning all Buttercrisp Waffle Cones & Bowls purple to celebrate @oliviarodrigo’s new album GUTS (drops Friday, 9/8). Catch the purple cones 9/8-9/10 in all shops nationwide.Details at https://t.co/TFrfHPTDOo pic.twitter.com/xKQXqVGQlF— Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (@jenisicecreams) September 7, 2023 Mattel: After the Barbiemania that swept the globe following the Greta Gerwig-directed film’s release in July, Mattel is still reaping the rewards. Worldwide, “Barbie” has raked in $1.381 billion this year, surpassing other hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which translates to quite the profit engine for Barbie parent Mattel. According to the New York Times, “Mattel earned 5% of the box office revenue, as well as a percentage of eventual profits as a producer of the movie and additional payments as owner of the Barbie intellectual property rights.” Pink really does go with everything. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Outdoor advertising: “In a world where television looks significantly less attractive, outdoor advertising probably looks even better by comparison.” That is the assessment of marketing and media analyst Brian Wieser in his latest ad forecast, which notes that the channel has “essentially rebounded back to pre-pandemic levels, and is likely the best positioned of all ‘traditional’ media to experience growth going forward.” The category is getting a boost from direct-to-consumer brands, which are relying more on billboards as they seek distribution in stores. Read more: US ad industry predicted to grow 5% in 2023 Also read: DTC brands are increasing OOH marketing Losers Spectrum and Disney: The cable TV provider and entertainment giant continue to be at loggerheads, as their carriage dispute drags on. Disney pulled its ESPN, ABC and other channels from Charter-owned Spectrum on Sept. 1, affecting some 15 million subscribers, leaving them without programs such as ESPN’s US Open coverage. The war of words includes Disney releasing a statement today accusing Charter of abandoning their consumers “by denying them access to our great programming.” Chris Winfrey, Charter's president and CEO, apologized to consumers during a Goldman Sachs conference on Thursday. “We’ve always thought about the video business as being an asset to our broadband connectivity business and I think it’s on the verge of flipping to where it’s becoming a liability,” Winfrey said. Read more on the dispute here, including what ad buyers are saying. Meantime, veteran sports business reporter Daniel Kaplan this week assessed what the dispute signals for the future of sports media rights. I wrote about the ESPN/Charter face off and what it means for media rights fees and the cable bundle for ⁦@awfulannouncing⁩ https://t.co/ZwTlkDPDZu— Daniel Kaplan (@KaplanSportsBiz) September 7, 2023 United Airlines: The carrier had to delay hundreds of flights this week following an “equipment outage” that created a ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration. Some 300 flights were delayed, and overall 12% of operations were affected on Tuesday, according to CNN. United joins rival Southwest in flight snafus—Southwest’s delays and cancelations last year became so notorious they were parodied in an SNL skit. United even jabbed at its competitor in a regional Super Bowl ad this year that touted its own impeccable holiday flight performance in Denver, where Southwest had the bulk of its issues. Nielsen: The measurement company said it is letting go of 9% of its worldwide staffers as it tries to decrease costs. The cuts, which follow layoffs earlier this year, are expected to affect more than 1,000 employees. Roku also announced layoffs this week, citing plans to eliminate 10% of its staff, or 300 people. Media measurement blog Tracking TV, social and digital updates Click here Number of the week 1.7 million: How many shares Bill Gates’s foundation has bought in Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch InBev, according to CNN, which notes that the investment is worth about $95 million. Social post of the week . @elonmusk wanted @dogecoin at $McD but ended up with making a spoon instead. Hopefully he’ll tackle the ice cream machine next. h/t @ressler https://t.co/O7KMxN0Ss9— McFranchisee (@McFranchisee) September 6, 2023 Quote of the week “Whether or not you like it, that is what is happening, so why not [commute] in a car that makes that ride just a little bit more enjoyable.”— Angela Zepeda, chief marketing officer of Hyundai Motor America, on the automaker’s new campaign that leans into return to work mandates. Watch that campaign here. On the move KE Restaurants Holdings Inc., which owns Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, hired Jennifer Tate as chief marketing officer. She had been senior VP and CMO at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. KE also hired Mike Lenihan as chief financial officer. He was most recently VP of planning and analysis and treasury at Yum! Brands. REI Co-op hired Jackie Major as VP of merchandise planning and inventory management. She was most recently leading global planning and inventory management at Levi Strauss & Co. Tommy Hilfiger named Virginia Ritchie global chief marketing officer. She was VP of global consumer engagement. Rue21 hired Scott Saeger as chief information officer. He had been chief information officer at GNC.

Marketing winners and losers of the week

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