In Clear Focus

In Clear Focus this week: Media planning and buying agency Bigeye's podcast features Craig Swygert of Clear Channel Outdoor. Craig discusses the impact of COVID-19 and why outdoor ads represent a unique opportunity as the country reopens. Reflecting on his 27 years of advertising experience, Craig shares top tips for developing impactful out-of-home creative, and highlights tools available to advertisers and agencies that support media planning and maximize campaign effectiveness.

In Clear Focus this week: Brand marketing agency Bigeye's podcast features Luis González. As Senior Brand Designer at InVision, Luis faces the challenge of branding a suite of products designed for designers. Luis shares his perspectives on remote teams, using InVision in his own workflow, and the products that support his own creative process. We talk about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Luis's personal project inspired by and dedicated to his young son.

In Clear Focus this week: Media planning and buying agency Bigeye's podcast features Tim McCormack, VP of Media and Analytics. In spite of high levels of user engagement online, Tim explains why advertising rates across major news and social platforms actually fell throughout March and April. We also discuss how this paradoxical situation has presented opportunities for brands to gain extra share of voice, and why connected TV has emerged as an especially cost-efficient media selection. 

In Clear Focus this week: Marketing strategy agency Bigeye's podcast features Darius Lana. Concurrently, a student, teacher, and advertising practitioner, Darius discusses how the pandemic has impacted education, and ways in which online courses can be designed to maximize student engagement. Darius explains his personal career journey, the challenges minority groups face when considering advertising as a career, and the contribution of the 4A's Multicultural Advertising Internship Program.  

In Clear Focus this week: What the future of travel could look like after COVID-19. Travel management expert Ben Scott joins us to examine how the pandemic has created unique challenges for the industry and suggests some practical ways in which marketers can reassure travelers and hotel guests nervous about exposure to the coronavirus. Ben also predicts some dramatic and long-lasting changes to air travel that could become airline passengers' new reality. 

In Clear Focus this week: With the hospitality and senior living industries among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis, we examine how the pandemic is creating a unique set of challenges with regards to ensuring financial stability and meeting organizational needs. For a special edition of the podcast, we are joined by three experienced leaders from the business intelligence and data management software platform ProfitSword.

In Clear Focus this week: How COVID-19 is impacting consumer behavior. Dr. Yael Zemack-Rugar, Assistant Professor of Marketing at UCF's College of Business, talks about generating and testing new theories about consumer psychology. How do subconscious emotions play into our purchase behaviors and decision-making? Dr. Zemack-Rugar explains how helping consumers attain their goals can create a win-win situation, rewarding brands with improved long term customer loyalty and engagement.

In Clear Focus this week: The impact of COVID-19 on restaurants. The restaurant industry has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus outbreak. This week, Holly Kapherr of The Culinati Podcast talks about some of the ways enterprising restaurateurs have found creative solutions to serve customers by experimenting with new formats. Holly also discusses what the post-COVID period will look like for the industry and innovative ways in which restaurants are supporting other local businesses.

In Clear Focus this week: Monitoring consumer behaviors during COVID-19. To navigate the pandemic and avoid marketing missteps, understanding consumers' evolving purchasing behaviors and sentiments towards brands and advertising is more important than ever. Our guest this week is Michael Klotz, Director of Client Development at Cint. An expert in consumer insight generation, Mike explains how we can understand new behaviors and markets better through research, data, and analytics.

In Clear Focus this week: Advertising in podcasts. Stephen Pickens is Director of Sales for AdvertiseCast, a network that allows podcasters to monetize their content by partnering with major brands. With US podcast listenership seeing a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent, Stephen explains how podcast advertising works. We learn about new opportunities to target listeners dynamically and hear what COVID-19 and social distancing might mean for podcast listenership in the long-term.