There are big changes and innovations on the horizon in the marketing & advertising industry. Catch up on the latest news and updates in our Weekly Must Reads.

Harry & Meghan’s Interview Draws High Ad Prices

The highly anticipated interview between Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drew sky-high ad prices. The two-hour interview, which aired on CBS, had advertisers paying up to $325,000 for one 30-second commercial spot. According to ad buyers, that rate is roughly double the usual cost of a primetime Sunday night ad. CBS itself had to pay more than $7 million for the licensing rights to air the special.

We expect to see and hear more from the Sussexes in the years to come. After leaving the British Royal Family last year, the couple signed on to long-term multi-million-dollar partnerships with Netflix and Spotify, among others. Find out more about the advertising details behind the controversial interview here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-interview-with-oprah-fetches-at-least-7-million-from-cbs-11614987461

Google Rejects New Tracking Alternatives

Last year, Google announced it had plans to phase out third-party cookies within two years. Advertising technology firms quickly set out to identify acceptable alternatives. Some of those potential alternatives included tracking of personally identifiable information (PII), such as email addresses. However, last week, Google decided any solutions that involve PII will also not be allowed on their platform. The brand said this kind of tracking will still not stand up against “rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions” that have been passed recently in some states.

Although PII-based solutions have been rejected, Google is still working with others in the industry on Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) technology, which anonymously clusters large groups of people together based on similar characteristics. However, with just a year left until the platform removes third party cookies, marketers may have to start relying more heavily on first-party data collection. Dive in to all the details about Google’s decision here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/what-googles-rejection-of-post-cookie-identifiers-means-for-advertisers/596096/

Brands Honor Women’s History Month

The beginning of March marked the start of Women’s History Month, and today (March 8) is International Women’s Day. To celebrate the occasion, a number of brands are addressing the unique challenges women still face, especially in the time of COVID-19. Secret Deodorant recently released a campaign highlighting the ways women have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic recession with a docuseries called “Secret Superhero Moms.” Meanwhile, Hershey’s Chocolate temporarily created a small batch of Hershey bars that are stylized as HerSHEy’s, which will be distributed on March 8 at all four Hershey’s Chocolate World locations across the US.

Additionally, Barbie has expanded their new line of Inspiring Women dolls to include more famous female figures, including Maya Angelou, Sally Ride, and most recently, Eleanor Roosevelt. The Mattel-owned brand also partnered with the organization Girls Leadership to fund “girl-led” research around representation and bias in the media. Check out all the Women’s History-focused campaigns here: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/heres-what-brands-are-doing-for-womens-history-month-2021/?itm_source=parsely-api

Spring Brings Marketers Hope for Economic Growth

Spring isn’t typically a heavy-spending time for advertisers, but with the COVID-19 vaccines rolling out and some states lifting restrictions, marketers are pushing to connect with excited consumers. Marketers are seeing potential customers become increasingly hopeful, and this change in sentiment is expected to trigger a huge surge in spending. According to the National Retail Federation, retail spending may grow by up to 8 percent this year, which would be the largest increase in 17 years.

Much of this growth may come from high-income households, according to a recent survey from Ad Age, and could be especially focused on brick-and-mortar stores. The poll found 30 percent of families making more than $100,000 will spend more this year than last, and 62 percent of all consumers plan to shop in store at least once a week this spring. Read up on the rest of the optimistic outlook here: https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/spring-new-christmas-brands-prep-return-roaring-20s-consumerism/2317661