Archives par mot-clé : video

Sessions resists GOP pressure on Clinton probe

Video Marketing, , , ,

Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsCurtis wins Chaffetz’s former Utah House seat Overnight Cybersecurity: What we learned from Carter Page’s House Intel testimony | House to mark up foreign intel reform law | FBI can’t access Texas shooter’s phone | Sessions to testify at hearing amid Russia scrutiny FBI can’t unlock Texas shooter’s phone MORE on Tuesday resisted calls from Republicans that he appoint a second special counsel to investigate a slate of conservative allegations related to former Secretary of State Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonGOP rushes to cut ties to Moore Papadopoulos was in regular contact with Stephen Miller, helped edit Trump speech: report Bannon jokes Clinton got her ‘ass kicked’ in 2016 election MORE.

In a marathon appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, the pressure the former Alabama senator faces from his own party and the White House was at the forefront even as he endured tough questions from Democrats.

The most memorable exchange of the day came when Sessions told a testy Rep. Jim JordanJames (Jim) Daniel JordanGOP criticism of tax bill grows, but few ready to vote against it WATCH: Bipartisan support grows to rein in government surveillance law GOP rep: Trump did not make a ‘good deal’ on debt ceiling MORE (R-Ohio), a leading voice among House conservatives, that it would take “a factual basis that meets the standard of a special counsel” for the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor.

“We will use the proper standards and that’s the only thing I can tell you, Mr. Jordan,” Sessions said. “You can have your idea, but sometimes we have to study what the facts are and to evaluate whether it meets the standards it requires.”

Sessions on Tuesday did not entirely close the door to a probe and later clarified that he had made no “prejudgment” on the need for a new special counsel.

He testified that he has directed senior Justice Department prosecutors to “evaluate” the concerns raised by conservatives — including whether any merit the appointment of a special counsel.

But it was apparent throughout the five-and-a-half-hour hearing that his refusal so far to appoint a special prosecutor is frustrating Republicans.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob GoodlatteRobert (Bob) William GoodlatteJuan Williams: The shame of Trump’s enablers GOP bill would ban abortions when heartbeat is detected Overnight Regulation: GOP flexes power over consumer agency | Trump lets states expand drone use | Senate panel advances controversial EPA pick | House passes bill to curb ‘sue-and-settle’ regs MORE (R-Va.) in his opening statement zeroed in on his own stymied demands for a special counsel — and Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s Russia probe, which has soured his relationship with President Trump.

“You have recused yourself from matters stemming from the 2016 election, but there are significant concerns that the partisanship of the FBI and the department has weakened the ability of each to act objectively,” Goodlatte said.

As special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has escalated, Sessions has come under pressure from Trump himself to take action against Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. 

On Nov. 3, shortly before leaving for a nearly two-week trip to Asia, Trump told reporters that the Justice Department should be “looking at” Clinton and the Democrats.

Asked if he would fire Sessions if the Justice Department didn’t have agents investigate the Democratic National Committee, Trump responded, “I don’t know.”

“A lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me,” he said.

House Republicans have urged Justice to investigate putative wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation, as well as the 2010 sale of a Toronto-based uranium company with U.S. holdings to a Russian state-owned firm — a sale Trump has also repeatedly highlighted.

They have also demanded a probe into how the Obama Justice Department handled the investigation into Clinton’s private email server, something the department’s inspector general is currently investigating.

Conservative media has amplified the pressure on Sessions, setting up a drumbeat of demands for a second special prosecutor.

It all made for a grueling day for the beleaguered attorney general. The sudden pressure from Republicans — along with hours of tough questions from Democrats on alleged discrepancies in his previous congressional testimonies — left Sessions on the defensive and highlighted his perilous standing in the administration.

The appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the president’s political opponents would almost certainly raise questions about the Justice Department’s political independence — something Sessions and the DOJ appear to be worried about.

“You must know the Department will never evaluate any matter except on the facts and the law,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a Monday letter alerting Goodlatte of the internal review. “Professionalism, integrity, and public confidence in the Department’s work is critical for us, and no priority is higher.”

Democrats have slammed even the suggestion of a new special counsel as a partisan move that reflected a dangerous acquiescence to political demands from the president.

Sessions rejected a fiery argument from Jordan that “it sure looks like a major political party was working with the federal government … so they could then get a warrant to spy on President Trump’s campaign.”

“I would say ‘looks like’ is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel,” Sessions said sharply.

He later said that the he “did not mean to suggest I was taking a side one way or the other on that subject.”

“I was simply responding that we would have to have full details before we made a decision on whether or not a special counsel is required,” he said.

While the internal review process Sessions revealed in the Monday letter could theoretically lead to the appointment of a new special counsel, it could also result in a recommendation from career attorneys to dismiss the matter — a notion that gained some steam after Tuesday’s testimony.

“I think this letter is best understood not as a hint to Trump that Sessions will do as the President wants, but as a way of shunting the matter to a mechanism that will enable him not to act,” noted Benjamin Wittes, a confidant of former FBI Director James Comey and editor of the national security blog Lawfare.

Should Justice move to open an investigation related to Clinton, it remains an open question whether Sessions would recuse himself, as he has done from the Mueller probe.

The attorney general during his confirmation hearing in the Senate committed to stepping aside from any investigations related to the Democratic presidential candidate.

“I believe the proper thing for me to do would be to recuse myself from any questions involving those kind of investigations that involve Secretary Clinton and that were raised during the campaign or to be otherwise connected to it,” he told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleySenators push mandatory sexual harassment training for members, staff Senate panel to hold hearing on bump stocks, background checks Senate panel to hold hearing on bump stocks MORE (R-Iowa) at the time.

Grassley pressed him to clarify: “You intend to recuse yourself from both the Clinton email investigation and any matters involving the Clinton Foundation, if there are any?”

“Yes,” Sessions responded.

He declined to answer questions Tuesday regarding whether he has recused himself from any investigation related to Clinton, arguing that a yes-or-no answer would run afoul of Justice Department regulations requiring absolute silence about ongoing probes.

House Republicans are still moving forward with their own investigations in the wake of Trump’s clarion call that they “do something.”

Absent action from Justice, Goodlatte said Tuesday, his committee “had no choice” but to open their own investigation — announced late last month — into the department’s handling of the Clinton investigation.

But proponents of a special counsel still left Tuesday’s hearing dissatisfied.

“Last night, you sort of lean to the fact that they were genuinely considering a special counsel,” Jordan told The Hill after the hearing.

“After his — he seemed to get a little fired up when I was asking my questions — I tend to think they’re leaning against that,” he said.

At least 4 dead after gunman ‘randomly picking targets’ goes on rampage in Calif.

Video Marketing, , , ,

At least four people were killed Tuesday morning in Northern California when a gunman shooting at random struck at multiple locations, targeting an elementary school and a woman driving her children to school, authorities said.

This latest burst of gunfire to terrorize a community — which followed deadly mass shootings in Nevada and Texas — unfolded without an immediate explanation or motive, as a gunman spewed bullets across what police described as “a very widespread area.”

Ten people were injured and taken to area hospitals, including at least two children, one of whom was at the elementary school, police said. No children were among those killed, which ended when law enforcement officers, responding to the carnage, fatally shot the gunman.

The bloodshed began shortly before 8 a.m., Phil Johnston, an assistant sheriff in Tehama County, told reporters. Police received “multiple 911 calls of multiple different shooting sites, including the elementary school” in Rancho Tehama Reserve, a small area about 135 miles north of Sacramento, he said.

“It was very clear early on that we had a subject that was randomly picking targets,” Johnston said.

[The persistent crime that connects mass shooters: Domestic violence]

Johnston said police did not immediately know what may have motivated the attack, which stretched across at least seven locations. Officials believe they have identified the shooter, though they were working to confirm the man’s name, Johnston said.

The gunman, who was previously known to law enforcement, did not appear to have any “real connection to any of the victims,” Johnston said.

While details about what led up to the gunfire remained unclear, Johnston said authorities were told by neighbors that “there was a domestic violence incident” involving the suspected attacker. He later said police were aware of reports that the domestic violence incident happened a day before the shootings.

Johnston also said there appeared to be an ongoing neighborhood dispute involving the attacker, who had a residence in Rancho Tehama.

After the first gunfire on Tuesday morning, Johnston said, the attacker “took a vehicle and went on a shooting rampage throughout the community.”

At least two children were injured in the attack, Johnston said. One boy was shot and wounded when the gunman, who was outside the school, began firing rounds into the building. Another boy was shot while riding in a truck “that was driving down the road along with a female adult” who was taking her children to school, Johnston said. Both children were among those taken to area hospitals.

Johnston said victims were attacked with no clear explanation. The woman driving her children to school had passed the gunman’s car when “he opened fire on them without provocation or warning,” Johnston said. She suffered “very life-threatening wounds,” while her child in the back seat did not suffer life-threatening wounds, he said.

“It’s a very sad day for us here in Tehama County,” Johnston said.

The ages of those killed and wounded were not immediately released by authorities.

Enloe Medical Center said it had five patients from the shooting, three of whom were treated and released Tuesday. Two remained hospitalized by the afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. While the victims’ ages were not immediately available, the hospital had said earlier in the day it was treating at least three children.

After the shooting, Johnston said police recovered a semiautomatic rifle and two handguns believed to be used by the shooter. The FBI said it was sending teams to help local authorities respond to the shooting, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was dispatching special agents to the scene.

The shooting rampage in California comes as many are still struggling with the psychic and physical wounds left behind by recent mass shootings at other seemingly safe places across the country.

Last week in Texas, a gunman attacked a small church outside San Antonio during Sunday morning services, killing 26 people and injuring 20 others. A month earlier, a gunman in a high-rise Las Vegas hotel suite opened fire at a country-music festival far below, killing 58 and injuring hundreds more in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

[Mass shootings in America]

This latest public attack happened in Rancho Tehama Reserve, a rural subdivision described on its website as “a quiet private country community in the heart of Tehama County, California.”

Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said in a statement that he and his wife were “saddened to hear about today’s violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren. We offer our condolences to the families who lost loved ones and unite with all Californians in grief.” Vice President Pence posted in a message on Twitter that the White House would monitor the situation, provide federal support and “pray for comfort healing for all impacted.”

Coy Ferreira told KRCR-TV that he was dropping his daughter off at her kindergarten class just before 8 a.m. when he heard what sounded like a firecracker. Someone yelled for children to get in classrooms because someone was shooting, he said, and he heard three more shots.

“Within a minute, we were all buckled in our classrooms and all of a sudden there were gunshots going for a good 20 to 25 minutes. My window was hit by a few shots, and a student was injured in my classroom. He got nailed somehow, it happened all so fast,” Ferreira told KRCR. He said a series of shots came through the windows, hitting one student in the foot and the chest, but the child was alert and talking.

After the gunfire, worried parents were trying to get to their children at the school, according to a reporter with Action News Now, a local news operation.

A school official in California confirmed on Tuesday that there were injuries following the shooting but did not immediately provide further information.

“There was an active shooter out there earlier this morning,” said Jeanine Quist, an administrative assistant with the Corning Union Elementary School District. “There were some confirmed injuries.

“We are cooperating with local law enforcement — we don’t have any confirmed information at this point,” but a statement from the superintendent will be forthcoming when more is known, she said.

Quist said about 10:30 a.m. local time that parents were able to get to the school to see their children.

Jennifer Jenkins and Julie Tate contributed to this report, which has been updated with new information. 

How Mountain Dew is experimenting with 360-degree video

Video Marketing, , , ,

PepsiCo’s marketers for its Mountain Dew brand aren’t getting carried away after seeing a 360-degree video campaign from earlier this year generate more click-throughs than some mobile video campaigns.

Working with streetball star Grayson “The Professor” Boucher, Mountain Dew ran the #GotHandles campaign, a game that let fans try to complete a series of Boucher’s moves in virtual reality. To promote the game, which launched on Oculus, Samsung and HTC VR devices, the drinks company ran a 360-degree trailer across ad platform Immersv’s network of publishers that either sold 360-degree inventory or had a VR app, including Condé Nast and Meredith.

Mountain Dew’s video was viewed more than 100,000 times between July 31 and Aug. 31, according to Kate Brady, director of media strategy and consumer engagement at PepsiCo. More than six in 10 people (63 percent) who saw the ad completed it, and it had a 22 percent click-through rate, per Immersv. For comparison, the average click-through rate for mobile video ad campaigns is a mere 1 percent, according to research that video marketing platform Innovid conducted last year.

Despite this success, Brady and the rest of her team still have reservations about 360-degree ads, particularly regarding how they stack up against traditional videos. It’s hard to measure 360-degree campaigns against Mountain Dew’s efforts with standard mobile video formats, Brady said. The brand plans to run more tests over the next 12 months to find out whether it can ensure higher engagement metrics for 360-degree videos than for standard mobile videos. Questions also exist about when 360-degree ads should be used, given the costs of creating them versus that of standard mobile video campaigns.

It’s difficult to compare traditional video with 360-degree video, as the ad format is completely dependent on the audience, how the audience consumes content, the brand, the category and the idea or content itself, said James Britton, global managing director at Stink Studios. “If you were targeting [retirees 65 or older], then traditional video might be more effective, whereas if you were targeting teenage mobile gamers, then a 360 experience might be more effective,” Britton said. “But most importantly, it depends on what works best for the idea.”

Mountain Dew’s ongoing work with the video games industry, including with Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation, is the clearest way for it to figure out whether there’s more to 360-degree ads than the hype. This is particularly true of whether that format could be used as a stepping stone to the more complex but potentially more rewarding VR ads.

The advertiser has nurtured partnerships with both Sony’s and Microsoft’s gaming consoles over the past several years and more recently has used those deals to explore VR. Mountain Dew started testing VR in early 2014 and has produced several campaigns that play with the format, ranging from full-blown experiences for products such as the Oculus Rift to earlier tests with 360-degree video on YouTube.

Brady said the soda brand would “lean in” further to VR ad campaigns moving forward, adding that VR will be an $80 billion market by 2025, so the advertiser is trying to get a foothold in the format now.

9 tips to dominate video marketing – Inman News

Video Marketing, , , ,

Do you hate the feeling of playing catch up? I know I do.

It’s an awful feeling — you already have a million tasks to perform every day, but then in the back of your head you also know that big picture changes are needed in your business because you’re slipping further and further behind the competition.

Ugh.

So here’s an opportunity, or a warning. It all depends on how you act on it. You can adopt video into your business now, improve your ability to connect with your audience and put yourself ahead of the curve, or you can wait and play catch up later.

The emphasis on online video content is undeniable, and it’s already begun.

Ever notice how the first things you see in your Facebook feed lately are almost all videos? That’s because Facebook altered its algorithm in 2016 specifically to encourage video. All other posts — your picture posts, your text posts, your photo albums — have been relegated to second-class-citizenship status.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to change back, either. Video is the future. The international IT giant Cisco estimates that video traffic will account 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2021. The question then becomes: Are you willing to embrace it?

“But Tom, I’m not comfortable on camera,” you want to say. I know video can be scary for some. Most new things usually are.

But your aversion to it doesn’t change the fact that the video train is charging down the tracks. That’s why I want to share some tips to help you get started with video now.

6 videos you should be doing regularly

If you watched this #TomFerryShow, you might remember one of your weekly “Million Dollar Checklist” items was to post one to two videos every week. That might sound like a lot of content, but don’t worry, I’m going to give you topics for many of those videos right here.

How’s the market in [your city/region]?

This is a three-to-four-minute monthly informative video about what’s going on in your market. Share sales stats, tell people something interesting and point out any trends you notice. Doing this on a monthly basis will position you as the knowledge broker in your market.

[X number] mistakes to avoid when buying in [season]

Once every new season — winter, spring, summer and fall — put out a new video titled “3 Mistakes Buyers Make in Spring Markets” or “7 Mistakes to Avoid when Buying in Winter,” etc. This approach keeps your content timely and fresh and, again, positions you as the knowledge broker in your marketplace.

Home improvement tips

The single most important leading indicator of someone preparing to sell their house is making home improvements. Wouldn’t you like access to those people before they begin searching for their listing agent?

Once a month, get together with a local handyman, contractor, or other home improvement specialist and create a short home improvement video that teaches people how to fix up their homes. The topics can be big picture or very specific.

Homeowners who watch these videos will suddenly know who you are, where you work and that you’re the knowledge broker in your market. Provide that value and see how much easier it can make your business.

Team introduction videos

On a monthly basis, post a video introducing a member of your team, a partner you work with or a vendor with whom you have a strong relationship. Let your audience know who you are, show them the people you work with and demonstrate that, together, you provide world-class service to your clients.

Interview with influential community member

Once a month, post a video of you with someone who plays a significant role in the community: school principals, local business owners, city government members, prominent community leaders. This connects you to your community in many important ways and, once again, makes you the knowledge broker people will turn to when it’s time to sell their home.

Real estate behind-the-scenes

Homeowners might know you and have a vague idea of what real estate professionals do, but creating a “behind-the-scenes” video gives you a real opportunity to demonstrate the value you deliver to your clients.

Show the special things you do for sellers, how you prepare for an open house, how you overcome a difficult escrow process and the countless other things that go into being a great agent. Capitalize on people’s fascination with real estate reality shows by giving them a peek inside your operation and show how resourceful you are.

9 Bonus Tips to Make the Most of Video

Now I want to share a few quick tips I’ve learned creating videos over the years.

  • First of all, recognize it doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re human. People know that. Don’t prevent yourself from using video just because you can’t make it “perfect.” Make it as good as you can and run with it.
  • Always take lighting into account. The brighter the better.
  • Don’t wing it. Practice! Before you hit record or “Go Live,” practice what you’re going to say. You don’t want to sound scripted, but be prepared. The more confident you are in what you’re saying, the more effective your video will be.
  • For the best sound quality, invest in a lavalier microphone (wired or wireless). Believe me, it’ll make a big difference, and it’s definitely worth the expense.
  • Use Fiverr to create intros and outtros that give your videos an extra bump in quality and credibility — all for an incredibly inexpensive price.
  • Boost your videos to targeted communities.
  • Splice up your videos and repurpose them on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.
  • Always encourage comments and engage those who leave them. Whenever you reply to a Facebook video, it bumps that post right back up to the top of people’s news feeds — and it builds stronger relationships with people.
  • Leverage technology such as Livestream.com or Restream.io to “Go Live” across multiple social media platforms simultaneously.

Will you embrace it or fight it?

Remember that stat from above: 82 percent of all online traffic by 2021 will be video. That means in four years, most (if not all) of your competitors are going to have adopted video and be using it to their advantage.

If you start now, you can be way ahead of the curve and look like an industry leader. Or you can fight the video wave, resist it, and then look like a follower playing catch up. (You already told me you hate that feeling.)

Here’s the good news: None of those six video ideas I gave you should be difficult. You know this stuff already! Sure, it will take some effort to shoot them and feel comfortable in front of the camera, but growth is never comfortable. Get outside your comfort zone and go become a video leader in your market!

For more tips, videos and articles delivered direct from Tom Ferry, sign up for our VIP List.

The Pitch: Advertising and marketing news for 11.14.17

Video Marketing,

Native Collaboration created marketing materials for the Native American Storytellers Film Festival.

Native Collaboration created a website, banners and film posters for the inaugural Pocahontas Reframed: Native American Storytellers Film Festival at the Byrd Theatre this weekend.

Circle S studio completed two TV spots for TowneBank Richmond. The spots, highlighting individual TowneBank members and their bankers, feature women’s clothing company Frances Kahn and banker Curt Straub and the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation and banker Ty Crone.

The Martin Agency released a video for Purina called “This Old Horse.” The 90-second video promotes the pet food maker’s Equine Senior feed and aims to highlight horse rescue awareness.

Martin launched its latest campaign for Geico called “Count On.” The first 30-second spot, called “Game Night,” features a sloth drawing pictures at an extremely slow pace, followed by a spokesman saying, “As long as sloths are slow, you can count on Geico saving folks money.” Martin also released its latest spot for Geico’s “It’s Not Surprising” campaign. Titled “Dawg,” the spot stars American Idol’s Randy Jackson judging a kennel club dog competition.

The King Agency completed four web videos and a landing page for Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Cancer Center in Charlottesville. The videos highlight four hospital patients and their cancer survival stories. The spots were shot and edited with local studio Spang.

The Richmond office of Solutions Advisors picked up 11 National Mature Media Awards. The office won golds in website design for two retirement communities: Applewood in New Jersey and Fox Hill in Maryland. It was also recognized for direct mail and collateral creative campaigns for five other retirement communities across the country.

Randall Branding launched websites for local engineering firm Timmons Group and Sabot at Stony Point school. The agency designed logos for event planning business Wonder Event Strategy and St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Richmond. Randall also picked up local logistics service Orange Grove Fleet Solutions as a website client.

Addison Clark was hired by OnCampus Brands for college marketing services.

Addison Clark was hired by OnCampus Brands, a local business development service focused on college campus retail. Work will include design of online sales materials for brands such as Firehouse Subs and Smoothie King, as well as email marketing support.

A student team from the Brandcenter has been selected by Greater Richmond Partnership and ChamberRVA to help with their talent attraction efforts at the South by Southwest Interactive tradeshow in March. The team was selected over 13 other teams in a branding competition and will travel to the tradeshow in Austin, Texas, to help the groups promote Richmond to tech executives. Team members include first-year students Andrew Allen, Megan Reilly and Ariana Safari, who will help staff a booth at the show.

Brandcenter alum Charles Hodges launched Arts Letters Creative Co. with Google as its first client. The agency’s leadership team includes Rich Weinstein and Letitia Jacobs, most recently with The Martin Agency. Its staff includes 10 Brandcenter grads.

Ndp won a gold in the eHealthcare Leadership Awards for its digital “Stroke” campaign for University Health System in San Antonio, Texas. The competition drew about 1,000 entries and recognizes healthcare-specific websites and digital communications.

The Idea Center launched a new website for Virginia Eye Institute and an e-commerce site for Ashland-based Agee Woodworks. It was hired by Henrico-based All-Star Orthodontics to redesign its website and implement a digital marketing campaign with YouTube, Google, Facebook and Instagram advertising.

Think was hired by Midlothian-based Village Bank to roll out a campaign promoting its new branch location in New Town Williamsburg. Work includes print and digital ads and a news sponsorship. Think was also hired by local food producer The Green Kitchen to build a business identity package and update its social media presence.

Barber Martin Agency moved its office to 1408 Roseneath Road in Scott’s Addition and launched Quick Brown Fox, a video post-production division.

CarMax created a 90-second video to respond to a parody used-car ad that went viral on YouTube with more than 5 million views. The parody ad, by California writer-director Max Lanman, offered to sell his girlfriend’s 1996 Honda Accord starting at $499. The used car retailer responded with its own video offering to buy the car and other items in the ad for $20,000. As of Monday, the response video, produced by North Carolina-based agency McKinney, had received more than 293,000 views.

18 Marketing Trends And Predictions From C-Level Leaders In China

Video Marketing,

Shutterstock

I recently spent time in China meeting with and interviewing C-level executives across different industries and roles. What I learned was nothing short of mind-bending. Over the next few months, I will publish a series of articles that shed light on what marketers in the West can learn from their counterparts in the East.

To kick off the series, I invited C-level leaders working at companies located in China–from Tencent to Google to Korn/Ferry to WPP to Visa and McDonald’s–to weigh in on relevant trends facing marketers. The below insight is fascinating as it provides a window into the challenges and priorities of Chinese business leaders. To see how marketing in the new year is shaping up on either side of the Pacific, compare and contrast the Chinese business leaders’ perspective below with that of U.S.-based leaders. To ensure authenticity, the following are presented from the authors’ perspective with little editing.

CMOS and their teams will embrace AI in 2018 – Knowingly or Unwittingly. Scott Beaumont, President Google Greater China, Google

AI will advance more sophisticated attribution modeling, better audience targeting, better messaging, better creativity and experiences, customizing them according to time, location and event. AI will assist human expertise and talent with a scientific touch. IDC predicts that global spending on cognitive systems will reach $31.3 billion by 2019: China’s marketing community will lead the way.

The Future of Marketing is About Connection and Content. Steven Chang, Corporate Vice President, Tencent

China’s internet economy has undergone a rapid expansion over the past decade. From humble beginnings as an imitator, China has taken a dramatic leap to become a trailblazer in digital marketing. In 2018, Chinese innovation and imagination in marketing will increasingly benefit from Chinas’ sophisticated digital ecosystem that combines data, technology, and content to enable better customer insight and new opportunties.

Information Asymmetry Between Brands and Consumers Will Disappear. Jin Yudong, CMO, Great China Area, Visa

Marketing used to rely largely on the asymmetry of information between brands and consumers. However, with technological development and easier access to information, consumers now have a more significant role in information selection and screening.  Brands and marketers will find that the structure, content, and communication methods of marketing systems must change. How to develop marketing content to keep abreast with the pace of technological advancement is the most pressing question for every marketer.

In 2018, There Will Be a Line of Division Between Those Who Can Adapt to Digital Tech and Those Who Can’t. Chen Gang, Dean of the Department of Advertising, Beijing University

The current disruption occurring in marketing requires CMOs to not only rethink how they manage and execute marketing, but to realize that new marketing philosophies will gradually take form. One of these realities is a shift toward a digitally-centric world. While this move has been occurring for several years, we are reaching the point where the world will be divided by those who have adapted and those who haven’t.

2018 Will Be the First Year of Real AI Marketing. Tsuyoshi Suganami, President Amplifi China, Dentsu Aegis Network

In 2018, more than ever, leading companies in China and elsewhere will pioneer AI and this will be done at speed. In China, the fastest and biggest change will be in the scale of consumers’ lifestyles. In order to keep up, marketing will focus on the utilization of advanced technology and data globally. AI will be the key change of not only Ad-tech (programmatic and propensity model) but also in changing content consuming and shopping behavior of consumers.

Content will Bring New Challenges and Opportunities for Industry. Christine Xu, CMO, McDonald’s China

The aim of grabbing consumer attention through Content marketing will remain a key priority for marketers in China. In this highly digitized world, high quality content is in short supply so people will have to be creative in their approach and with whom they are working. To develop super-relevant content requires speed, agility, and risk taking. And this will favor local companies (over multi-nationals) as they move faster, take bigger bets, and are therefore more able to be timely and relevant with their content.

AI, CSR, and BAT are the 3 Critical Priorities for All Chinese Companies in 2018. Sheena Jeng, Chair Chief Creative Officer, Publicis China

There are three key trends that will impact all Chinese companies. First, we want to use AI to let consumers touch and feel the warmth of brands more easily, not just to show them artificial and cold intelligence. It will be critical to combine AI with humanity. Second, the desire to give back to society through CSR is powerful. Companies will step up CSR efforts in order to win companies consumers’ respect, which, in turn, increases trust in brands. Finally, companies will need to team with BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). Only by learning from and working with the BAT platforms can agencies be empowered to create win-wins.

Cross-Sector Marketing will Gain Popularity in the New Year. Helen Luan, Vice President of Online Media Group (OMG), Tencent

Cross-sector marketing is where a single brand needs the collective influence of other brands, even ones in other industries and sectors, to achieve better marketing results. While many companies engage in strategic partnerships, cross-sector marketing will require more extensive networks to enable a focal brand to achieve better results. Companies must now forego previous conventional wisdom that used to spell success for them and let the people who are good at cross-sector marketing try out their ideas with greater freedom.

Marketers Will Continue to Prioritize “New Consumption”. Zhao Xingji, GM, Marketing, Ambient Milk, Mengniu Dairy (a leading Chinese manufacturing and distribution company of dairy products and ice cream)

Almost all brands are focusing on “new consumption”—a group of more individually-centered young people. Not only do these young consumers have different emotional needs and values, they also want completely different products. Whatever emotional and value communication we send out for traditional products, they simply cannot satisfy this new generation of consumers’ needs for upgraded products. Therefore I believe that we are to  an era where “best product wins.” The success acquired by “winning with an exceptional product” can bring both monetary and reputational benefits.

“Growth Hacking” Will Become the Priority for CMOs and CEOs. Yang Fei, CMO, UCAR (a Fleet Services rental vehicle program available for hourly rentals)

The disappearance of a traffic dividend, the waste of traditional advertising and cheating in digital ad releases are actual problems vexing most companies in their growth. The idea of “growth hacking,” which means seeking growth from a company’s existing traffic, driving marketing through technology, and gaining results through greater efficiency is a new mentality and skill that today’s company managers and marketers will need to master.

With the Advent of “New Retail,” the Gap between Traditional and E-Commerce Retailers Will No Longer Exist. Guo Guangyu, CMO, Three Squirrels (specialize in the RD, distribution, and online brand marketing of nuts, dried fruit, tea, and more)

The role of the CMO will transition from a centralized role to a localized one. The individual value of each consumer will increase even more, at the same time that brand differentiation will be driven by the customer’s experience in retail. Thus, every shop manager will become the CMO for their region, for only he/she understands their consumers the most. The CMO’s responsibility will, therefore, evolve from strategy development and implementation to defining rules that enable the brand the breathe at the experience level.

CMOs Will Spend More Time Figuring Out How to Make Internet Companies More than Their Products. Ed Zheng, Senior Client Partner, Lead of Digital Practice, China, Korn/Ferry International

One of the best-observed doctrines for internet companies is “product is king”, which is to say, no matter how good a company’s strategy and execution (including marketing) is, it will not succeed unless it has a killer product. While this doctrine will still hold, more and more internet companies in China are expecting their CMOs to go beyond promoting products, to create a holistic image of innovation, technology leadership, and social responsibility.

Marketing Mental Models Will Need To Change in the New Year. Sun Bo, Senior Vice President, Ctrip (China’s leading travel service enterprise)

Existing marketing mental models need urgent change to meet the needs for companies’ future growth. In an environment defined by a new generation of users who have sensitive and fickle consumption habits, many models that used to be reliable are obsolete. To cope with the change, we need more pioneers with a strong desire to innovate and a deep understanding of Growth Hacking, who endeavor to make breakthroughs in innovation, media, channels, product RD, big data, and AI.

The Top Three Priorities in 2018 Will Shift. Patrick Xu, CEO, GroupM China WPP China

There are three key aspects that will earn a disproportionate amount of marketers’ attention: 1) The youth culture—shifting from niche to mass culture; 2) More efficient integration and use of big data; and 3) Brand security – building a more honest and safe marketing environment.

Content Priorities for Marketers Will Focus on Short Videos. Shen Yiren, Head of Marketing Planning, OPPO (A global leader in phones, enjoyed by young people around the world.)

In the era of mobile, the period of short video marketing has come and will be a focal point for marketers next year. While consumption habits are shifting from text and pictures to short videos, marketers’ biggest challenge next year is to sustainably and effectively produce high-quality short video content that interest users.

Content Production Will Become Even More Important. Lv Haiyan, Chief Brand Officer, CreditEase (A leading FinTech company in China)

Content production will be a larger priority for fintech marketers. The brand that occupies most of users’ reading time will eventually occupy their wallets. Easy-to-understand and fun content, text, short videos and touching stories designed to capture users’ fragmented time is a priority that financial brand will undertake.

Marketers Will Build More Comprehensive Brands. Mei Xiaoqun, Vice President Marketing, BMW China

Brands are becoming increasingly sophisticated as marketers work to ensure they exhibit more human-like attributes including values, behaviors, and tastes. Communication [in marketing] is metaphorically like the effort an individual undergoes to become a member of a group through interaction. As such, data driven content distribution will become the core of marketing communications, which will require content to be broader and more diverse

CMOs Will Continue to Focus on Improving the Integration of Data and Content. Su Tong, CEO, Hylink Digital Solutions (China’s largest, independent digital full-service agency)

With machine learning gradually becoming a driving force, data optimization will take center stage as marketers realize that this underpins the future of AI. A key challenge for CMOs lies in figuring out how to efficiently integrate data and content. As marketers increase their sophistication, the ability to realize the potential of machine learning and AI will emerge.

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler

 

 

Senate Republicans repudiate Roy Moore’s candidacy and urge him to leave the race

Video Marketing, , , ,

Senate Republican leaders on Monday waged an urgent campaign to pressure GOP nominee Roy Moore to withdraw from the Alabama Senate race amid allegations of sexual misconduct, declaring him “unfit to serve” and threatening to expel him from Congress if he were elected.

But Moore showed no signs that he was preparing to step aside, even as another woman came forward, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in the late 1970s when she was 16 years old.

The fusillade from Senate Republicans started Monday morning in Louisville, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) called on Moore to end his run.

“I believe the women, yes,” he said of the allegations leveled against Moore.

Later, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) issued a written statement going further. “If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him,” Gardner said. He told reporters afterward that Moore “doesn’t belong in the United States Senate.”

The public comments from top Republican senators marked a dramatic escalation from their initial reactions to Thursday’s Washington Post report detailing allegations that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32.

The intensifying effort against Moore reflected a growing sense that his candidacy is becoming a national emergency for the Republican Party, which is already deeply concerned about its standing with voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. In campaigns far from Alabama, Democrats on Monday sought to tie GOP candidates to Moore to take advantage of the controversy surrounding the former judge.

Still, national Republican leaders and their allies were left without a clear path forward, with no way to remove Moore’s name from the ballot for the Dec. 12 special election. One last-ditch possibility that some GOP officials were pushing was a write-in campaign by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who vacated the seat to join the Trump administration.

While top Republicans favor Sessions because they think he would be a widely known and well-liked GOP alternative, unlike other potential contenders, there was considerable skepticism in Sessions’s orbit that he would agree to that idea and leave his current post for his old job.

Others floated the prospect of a write-in effort for Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), whom Moore defeated in the primary in September.

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) was among the Republicans voicing confidence that Sessions was the party’s best hope as a write-in candidate. He told reporters that the attorney general would be a “strong one.”

President Trump has been relatively quiet on the controversy while traveling in Asia, adding a degree of uncertainty to how the party should proceed with Moore. Last week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump believed that if the allegations against Moore are true, he “will do the right thing and step aside.”

In recent days, senior Trump administration officials have been in touch with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) and her inner circle, according to several people briefed on the talks. One person described those conversations as “information gathering” so the White House would know where Ivey stands and to keep the channels of communication open.

But since Trump won’t return from Asia until late Tuesday and is still considering his own options regarding how to further address Moore’s candidacy, White House officials have been reluctant to lean on Ivey in any way, the people said.

“It’s tough having him out of town because no one wants to get too far ahead of him,” said one Republican involved in the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations.

McConnell has spoken to Trump about Moore since the allegations were first reported last week, Republicans familiar with their conversations said. Some top Republicans believe that Trump’s positioning — wherever he decides to come down — will be crucial in the attempt to force Moore out.

Gardner’s call to expel Moore if he is elected was Senate Republican leaders’ most aggressive move yet to get the former judge to drop out of the race. But expelling a senator is extremely rare and would require the approval of two-thirds of the chamber to be successful. An actual vote hasn’t happened since 1862.

Moore was defiant amid the increasing pressure from party leaders. He wrote on social media that McConnell is the one “who should step aside” and that he has “failed conservatives.”

The war of words unfolded on the same day that Beverly Young Nelson, who turns 56 Tuesday, accused Moore, now 70, of sexually assaulting her and bruising her neck in the late 1970s when she was 16 years old.

Nelson said at a news conference at a New York hotel that Moore, then the district attorney of Etowah County, was a regular at a restaurant, Old Hickory House in the northeastern Alabama town of Gadsden, where she was a waitress, and that he would sometimes compliment her looks or touch her long, red hair. She showed a copy of her high school yearbook that she said Moore signed on Dec. 22, 1977, with the inscription: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say ‘Merry Christmas.’ ”

On a cold night about a week or two after that, Nelson alleges, Moore offered to give her a ride home from work after her shift ended at 10 p.m. Instead of taking her home, Nelson said, Moore pulled the two-door car into a dark and deserted area between a Dumpster and the back of the restaurant.

When she asked what he was doing, Nelson alleges, Moore put his hands on her breasts and began groping her. When she tried to open the car door and leave, Nelson said, he reached over and locked the door. When she yelled at him to stop and tried to fight him off, she alleges, he tightly squeezed the back of her neck and tried to force her head toward his lap. He also tried to pull her shirt off, she said.

Moore denied this latest accusation during a brief campaign appearance Monday evening in Etowah County, where he still lives.

“I can tell you without hesitation this is absolutely false,” Moore said, according to the Anniston Star newspaper. “I never did what she said I did. I don’t even know the woman. I don’t know anything about her. I don’t even know where the restaurant is or was.”

The new allegation followed an extensive report published Thursday by The Post in which Leigh Corfman alleged that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 and he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. Moore has denied the accusation.

In addition to Corfman, three other women interviewed by The Post in recent weeks said Moore pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s, episodes they said they found flattering at the time, but troubling as they got older. None of the three women said Moore forced them into any sort of relationship or sexual contact.

Neither Corfman nor any of the other women sought out The Post. While reporting a story in Alabama about supporters of Moore’s Senate campaign, a Post reporter heard that Moore allegedly had sought relationships with teenage girls. Over the following three weeks, two Post reporters contacted and interviewed the four women.

Moore has declined to rule out that he may have dated girls in their late teens when he was in his 30s, but he has said he did not remember any encounters.

Last week, McConnell and many other senators said that “if” those allegations were true, Moore would need to step aside, stopping short of the position he took Monday.

Scott Jennings, a former McConnell aide, wrote a column published Monday endorsing the idea of trying to recruit Sessions to run.

“President Trump should intervene,” Jennings wrote in the Louisville Courier-Journal, by demanding that the Alabama Republican Party “withdraw Moore’s name as a candidate, which it almost certainly would do if ordered by the White House; dispatch a still-popular Sessions to run a write-in candidacy; and campaign for and hope Sessions wins.”

A Sessions spokeswoman at the Justice Department did not immediately comment on the proposal. A Republican close to Sessions, speaking candidly on the condition of anonymity, said that Sessions “has told folks in Alabama that he is not considering it.”

Sessions is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

Inside the White House, Sessions has been floated as a potential replacement, according to two White House officials and several Senate Republican aides.

Sessions — whose once-close relationship with Trump has frayed over the past year following Sessions’s recusal from the federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election — has dismissed the notion in private but would “of course” listen to the president, should he reach out, according to one White House official.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who expressed solidarity with McConnell’s rejection of Moore, wrote on Twitter that Strange would be “an excellent alternative.”

At one point Monday, Strange declined to comment when asked if he would mount a write-in campaign or if he had spoken to Moore.

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the prospect of a write-in campaign. In an interview Sunday with the website Alabama Political Reporter, state GOP Chairman Terry Lathan said “it would be a serious error” for party officials to publicly endorse a write-in candidate.

While Moore’s name must remain on the ballot, the state Republican Party has the power to disqualify him — meaning votes cast for him would not be certified.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Moore on Monday. He also distanced himself from the campaign of Democratic nominee Doug Jones, who is trying to demonstrate independence from national party figures in hopes of winning some crossover votes in Alabama, which leans heavily conservative.

“I thought Moore never belonged in the Senate, even before these allegations,” Schumer said. As for the Jones effort, Schumer said: “When they ask us for help, we’ll do it. But it’s been an Alabama race.”

As Republican senators returned to Washington on Monday, several made clear to the leadership in phone calls and through colleagues that they would support a tougher line on Moore in the coming days and would encourage Trump to join them once he returns from Asia, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Asked if there was any easy solution to the Moore situation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) replied: “No.” Then he reconsidered.

“There’s one solution,” McCain said. “He should never be a United States senator.”

Paul Kane, Ed O’Keefe and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report.

Sessions considering second special counsel to investigate Republican concerns, letter shows

Video Marketing, , , ,

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is entertaining the idea of appointing a second special counsel to investigate a host of Republican concerns — including alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation and the controversial sale of a uranium company to Russia — and has directed senior federal prosecutors to explore at least some of the matters and report back to him and his top deputy, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post.

The revelation came in a response by the Justice Department to an inquiry from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who in July and again in September called for Sessions to appoint a second special counsel to investigate concerns he had related to the 2016 election and its aftermath.

The list of matters he wanted probed was wide ranging but included the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, various dealings of the Clinton Foundation and several matters connected to the purchase of the Canadian mining company Uranium One by Russia’s nuclear energy agency. Goodlatte took particular aim at former FBI director James B. Comey, asking for the second special counsel to evaluate the leaks he directed about his conversations with President Trump, among other things.

In response, Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote that Sessions had “directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues raised in your letters,” and that those prosecutors would “report directly to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of a Special Counsel.”

Trump has repeatedly criticized his Justice Department for not aggressively probing a variety of conservative concerns. He said recently that officials there “should be looking at the Democrats” and that it was “very discouraging” they were not “going after Hillary Clinton.” On the campaign trail, Trump’s supporters frequently chanted “Lock her up!” at the mention of Clinton’s name.

“Hopefully they are doing something, and at some point, maybe we are going to all have it out,” Trump said recently.

Sessions’s relationship with the president has been significantly strained since he recused himself from the investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. The president has publicly lambasted his attorney general and noted that had he known in advance of Sessions’s recusal, he would not have appointed him to the post. It was after Sessions’s recusal that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appointed Robert S. Mueller III to lead the investigation into the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

While the Justice Department is part of the executive branch — and the attorney general is appointed by and answers to the president — the White House generally provides input on broad policy goals and does not weigh in on criminal probes.

In that context, the letter is likely to be seen by some, especially on the left, as Sessions inappropriately bending to political pressure, perhaps to save his job. The possible reigniting of a probe of Clinton is likely to draw especially fierce criticism, even as it is welcomed by Trump’s supporters.

When Trump said during the campaign that he would “instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor” to look into Clinton, former attorney general Michael Mukasey — a Trump supporter and vocal Clinton critic — said Trump having her investigated and jailed “would be like a banana republic.”

“Putting political opponents in jail for offenses committed in a political setting, even if they are criminal offenses — and they very well may be — is something that we don’t do here,” he said.

Trump would later back down from his threats, before breathing life into them again with his more recent comments.

Sessions, who was a Republican senator from Alabama before being appointed attorney general, is set to testify before Goodlatte’s committee Tuesday and is likely to face questions on the topics raised in the letter.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment for this article, as did a lawyer for Comey.

Brian Fallon, who served as the press secretary for the Clinton campaign, noted that the Justice Department letter became public not long after revelations that Donald Trump Jr. had communicated with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.

“Like clockwork, just as we learn of damning details of Donald Trump Jr.’s contacts with WikiLeaks, the Trump administration is firing up the fog machine to distract from the Mueller probe,” Fallon said.

In asking for a second special counsel in July, Goodlatte wrote that he wanted to “request assistance in restoring public confidence in our nation’s justice system and its investigators.” His letter, signed by 19 other Republicans, said Judiciary Committee members were concerned that Mueller might not have a broad enough mandate to investigate other election-related matters, which he said included actions taken by Comey, Clinton and then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.

Many of the items Goodlatte wanted investigated had long been conservative talking points, some having to do with matters many considered resolved: various decisions made in the Clinton email case, the Uranium One purchase, the “unmasking” of people by the intelligence community and allegations by Trump that he was wiretapped by his predecessors. Unmasking is a routine part of intelligence officials’ jobs; officials have said there is no evidence to support Trump’s claims that he was wiretapped; and while conservatives have sought to cast the Uranium One deal as an example of Clinton taking Russian money to influence U.S. policy, there is no evidence that Clinton participated in any discussions regarding the sale, which was approved during the Obama administration while she was secretary of state.

In the Justice Department’s response, Boyd did not indicate whether any of the topics might draw greater interest than others, though he said the review by senior federal prosecutors would “better enable the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General to more effectively evaluate and manage the caseload.” He noted that the Justice Department inspector general already was investigating several aspects of the Clinton email case and said that once that probe was complete, the department would assess “what, if any, additional steps are necessary to address any issues identified by that review.”

“We will conduct this evaluation according to the highest standards of justice,” he wrote.

A special counsel can be appointed when the Justice Department or a U.S. attorney’s office has a conflict of interest, when there are other “extraordinary circumstances,” or when it would otherwise be “in the public interest” to do so, according to the federal regulation governing such appointments.