It's almost Q2 — that was fast. With first half flying by, there's a lot to keep up with. This week we're discussing the potential TikTok ban, sharing the ultimate Q2 Trend Report and highlighting a few marketing wins (i.e. Marie Kondo's Barilla collab?!)
So let's get you up to speed — here's everything you need to know *now* within the marketing + creative space.
Consider this newsletter a resource for marketers and creatives, by marketers and creatives. Enjoy!
Is TikTok Going Away? What you need to know
The news cycle is never-ending. Marketing is ever-evolving. Here we’ll keep you in the know on timely topics and key learnings that can *elevate* your marketing game.
If you're a consumer of any media, it's more than likely that you've seen the headlines begging the question — is TikTok going to be banned in the US? Though the initial reaction of many was one of impending doom, the reality is a bit more complicated. Let's break it down.
What Happened?
Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring that TikTok's parent company ByteDance sell the app to a US-approved buyer in order to remain available in the US. The reason? Security concerns over user data.
What's Next?
While passed by the House, the bill must be cleared by the Senate in order to come into effect. When can we expect a vote? Time will tell, but many expect the timeline to be months. While we don't know if the Senate will pass the bill, if they do, TikTok will not automatically disappear from your devices — ByteDance will have 180 days to sell post-decision.
How Should You Prep?
First? Don't panic. There's a long road ahead to an outcome, and many experts have weighed in that a total TikTok ban is unlikely with a sale on the table. However, this discussion is an important reminder that diversifying your channel mix is incredibly important. Here are steps you can take to protect your content and retain your audience:
✅ Back up your content + consider cross-posting
✅ Cross-promote alternate marketing channels to your TikTok audience — ensuring it's easy for them to find you across channels
✅ Explore alternative channels — identify content gaps and opportunitiesAs always, we'll keep you in the loop as this bill progresses.
Your Guide to Q2 – Dates, Trends + Top Projects
Social is an endless scroll. Where to stop? Here we analyze relevant moments, cultural trends and the marketing geniuses behind it all.
Well, we blinked and Q2 is right around the corner — which means it's time to spring clean your marketing, analyze Q1 performance and look ahead to summer campaigns. With that in mind, we've gathered everything needed to guide your Q2 — let's get into it.
Key Dates
How many dates are there to consider when Q2 planning? More than you think. Save these to your marketing cal to make sure that you don't miss a beat when it comes to holiday moments, eComm promotions and more.
🗓 April 1: April Fools' Day
🗓 April 9: Last day of Ramadan
🗓 April 22: Earth Day
🗓 April 22 - 30: Passover
🗓 May 5: Cinco de Mayo
🗓 May 12: Mother's Day
🗓 May 27: Memorial Day
🗓 June 16: Father's Day
🗓 June 19: Juneteenth
🗓 June 20: First day of summerMarketing
Trends
Some are new, some are making their way back around the trend cycle — here are marketing trends we're seeing brands lean into this spring.
💛 Hyper-personalization: Creating content that makes users feel like you just 'get' them is more important than ever — enter hyper-personalization, the trend marketers are using to build trust, loyalty and connection.
🔀 Genre-Bending: Genre-bending — i.e. any piece of media that exists across genres or combines elements of multiple genres — is the newest secret to driving broader audience appeal and building impactful stories.
🤝 Unexpected Audience Outreach: More and more brands are thinking outside the box when it comes to audience — joining forces with partners who bring new customer segments, or creating content that targets audiences beyond their core demo. The result? Major growth.
📱 Interactive Content: Interactive content can elevate across channels — whether videos on an eComm site, or an OOH campaign — driving engagement, community and user experience.
🍋 Surreal Marketing: A massive marketing trend of summer 2023, surreal marketing (i.e. use of CGI to elevate a campaign) is having another moment — creating thumb-stopping, sticky content that engages users.
Top Projects + Agencies to Help
You've got projects, we've got agencies. Here are the top projects we're seeing brands tap into for the spring + summer seasons.
🤠 OOH: Out of home has burst back onto the marketing scene as a powerful tool to increase brand recall, build trust in multi-channel campaigns and activate community.
Interested in OOH? Consider getting started with a digital / media agency for placements.
🌼 Community Activations: Suns out, activations out. This season brands are tapping into community activations more than ever. Why? Again and again, it's shown that consumers who attend a brand activation are more likely to engage with a brand after the fact.
Interested in community activations? Consider getting started with a PR or events / experiential agency.
👩💻 Affiliate + Referral: Affiliate and referral help drive conversion through trusted sources like creators or community members. As distrust among consumers continues to grow, this performance-based channel is more important than ever.
Interested in affiliate or referral? Consider getting started with a performance marketing agency.
How Breef Can Help
With trends (and time) moving at lightning speed, there's a lot to keep track of — we've got you! Here's how Breef can help.
✅ Project Planning Support: Need someone to talk to? We've been there. Easily connect with a Breef Strategist on Q2 projects, scopes, budgets and more.
✅ Vetted Agencies: You're not on your own. We're proud to have 20K+ agencies covering 50+ project types — to exceed all your Q2 goals.
✅ Marketing Resources: While you're looking at one, there's more where this came from. For daily tips, trends, news and all things Breef, follow us on social @breefwork.
Marketing Wins we <3
Who doesn’t love a marketing win? Below are recent marketing moments we couldn’t help but share — and their main takeaways.
Sparkling Ice Gives Greta Gerwig the Glory in Oscars Spot
After Barbie director Greta Gerwig was (noticeably) snubbed by the Oscars, Sparkling Ice took her recognition into their own hands, with a cheeky spot raising a bottle to all the Greta — I mean great — directors. Best part? The ad ran during the awards ceremony.
💡 Takeaway: Lean into the power of copy. This ad impressed by tapping into a relevant pop culture moment solely with copy. With a simple visual, the copy carried the ad, and was executed flawlessly.
Sharpie Studio Aims to Attract Creatives at SXSW
Last week, Sharpie took to SXSW for an experiential activation in celebration of their new 'Creative Markers'. The activation aimed to share that with this new product, any surface can be a canvas, resulting in community creations popping up all over social.
💡 Takeaway: Show don't tell. Sure, you can say that a marker can be used on any surface, but creating an activation for your community to try it for themselves? Enough said.
Barilla Partners with Marie Kondo to Show the Value of Pasta BoxesTalk about thinking outside of the box! On Global Recycling Day, Barilla partnered with Marie Kondo to share how to reuse Barilla boxes to send pre-loved products in the mail — an unexpected campaign that subsequently just makes sense.
💡 Takeaway: Consider the unexpected value of your product. When you think 'Barilla' you don't think 'shipping packages', but in the context of this campaign, why wouldn't you reuse Barilla boxes to ship smarter?
Marketing Jargon
In marketing, it feels like there's a new term being thrown around every day. We've got you! Here are a few you should have on your radar (and mention in your next meeting).
Persona: A fictional character that represents the characteristics of your larger target demographic — incredibly helpful in identifying your audience's wants and needs.
Emotional Engagement: Connecting with a user's emotions through brand touchpoints — crucial for building meaningful community, recall and trust.
Daypart: The act of separating a day into segments for the purpose of scheduling commercials or ads at appropriate times throughout the day. Most often used in TV advertising.
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That wraps issue no. 18 of The Breef POV! Keep an eye on your inbox for the next edition. In the meantime, browse more on The Breefing Room.
