This month, Disney fans were finally able to sing along to one of the most anticipated movies of the decade, while one Martiner traveled to New York City to learn how technology is centered around current media.
MC Takes on NYC
Our media manager, Colleen Jones, had the opportunity to travel to the Big Apple for Adweek’s NexTech 2019 Conference held from July 24 to 25. Though her time there was short, she met over 500 brand, agency, technology, and publishing professionals to explore the future of digital advertising. She also attended sessions of guest speakers such as Peter Naylor, Senior Vice President & Head of Advertising Sales at Hulu; Walker Jacobs, Chief Revenue Officer at Twitch; Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Officer at GE; Fiona Carter, Chief Brand Officer at AT&T; Felicia Gardner, North American Agency Lead at Microsoft; and Jared Smith, President of Ticketmaster. As Colleen returned to the office, she shared key insights and what the near future holds.
- Digital media is new, but it’s the same. Digital does not equal a divorce from creative to strategy, it’s an opportunity to work better together with A/B testing and optimization providing key data that further informs good creative.
- Quality data and its effective use are more valuable than a large quantity of unusable information about users, but it’s a moving target and cannot be “set-it and forget-it”.
- The need to focus on consumers is more important now than ever. Inclusion and user experience are driving engagement and results.
- Privacy regulation (GDPR, CCPA, state regulations) and consumer/brand desire for transparency will turn the industry on its head in the next year or two, changing how we market to audiences and what risks we are willing to take with data.
- In-housing isn’t right for everyone and that’s okay. Brands are not built to be tech companies; even Amazon was built as a platform for other brands. In turn, a better approach is to understand what is important to control and what is the best outsourced. Don’t be afraid of building partnerships with those who challenge you to think differently, who are transparent, and whose ethos and customer-focus matches your brand.
Lion King Premiere Breaks Records
Disney has been rebooting some of their most popular animated movies into live-action remakes such as Dumbo and Mulan, but one reboot has been the most anticipated; the Lion King. After four years in the making, the highly anticipated Lion King rebooted movie officially hit theaters on Friday, July 19. Movie-goers of all ages pre-ordered tickets and squeezed into theaters to watch the magic unfold. What Disney did not anticipate was the record-breaking global box office sales their new film generated.
The Lion King premiere surpassed 185 million dollars in the first weekend alone, with over one billion dollars to date since the initial release. Additionally, it “earned the biggest domestic launch ever for a PG-rated film and the highest July opening of all time” according to sources at Entertainment Weekly. With a cast consisting of Beyoncé, Seth Rogan, Donald Glover, and more, the Lion King has risen its way to the top as the highest grossing movie opening of the year.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Adweek