Morning Consult Brands: Week in Review & What’s Ahead

By Alyssa Meyers

Week in Review

Retail

Walmart Inc., Kroger Co. and Kohl’s Corp., three of the biggest retail chains in the United States, will require all customers to wear face coverings effective this week, a mandate that is already in place at other major retailers such as Best Buy Co., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Starbucks Corp.

Retail sales increased by 7.5 percent in June, according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department, a signal that the economy was starting to recover before some states pulled back on their reopening plans amid new outbreaks of the coronavirus. The growth, which put June retail sales at about 1.1 percent higher than they were last year, was fueled by more than $524 billion in clothing, auto and furniture purchases, while restaurant and gasoline sales both increased 20 percent from the month prior and online shopping slowed but still rose 23 percent year over year.

Social media

Snapchat is offering profiles to brands for the first time, beta testing the feature with 30 companies including Ben & Jerry’s, Gucci and Target Corp. with plans to expand the offer to all businesses by the end of the year, as the platform looks to up its e-commerce game.

Instagram will launch Reels, its answer to TikTok, in the United States in early August after a successful launch in India this month, according to a Facebook Inc. spokesperson, as the platform looks to recreate the short-form video content that thrives on TikTok.

New ad options

Hulu has announced a new self-serve ad platform, called Hulu Ad Manager, that allows marketers to set up campaigns for as little as $500, following in the footsteps of Roku Inc., which launched its own self-serve product in May, as streaming TV companies look to attract smaller advertisers who might otherwise not be able to afford streaming campaigns.

NBCUniversal announced 11 new ad formats for marketers ahead of its upfront event — which broadcast on NBC as a “30 Rock” reunion episode — grouped into three different categories with numerous different formats within each: The talent format connects brands with NBCU talent; the content format focuses on narrative and where ads are placed, and includes a forthcoming Next Gen News format, which allows Gen Z creators to produce sponsored news stories; and the sensory experiences format aims to engage consumers in the absence of in-person experiential events.

What’s Ahead

Companies reporting earnings this week include JetBlue Airways Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Snap Inc. on Tuesday; Spirit Airlines Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. on Wednesday; American Airlines Group Inc., Amazon.com Inc., AT&T Inc., Boston Beer Company Inc., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Hershey Co. on Thursday; and Verizon Communications Inc. on Friday.
Digiday’s Amazon Strategies Virtual Forum about e-commerce and advertising on Amazon will take place July 20-22.
The American Marketing Association is hosting a virtual conference called “Marketing in the New Normal” July 21-22.
SportsPro’s virtual Insider Series features an event on social media in sports July 22-23.

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

07/20/2020
Digiday’s Amazon Advertising Strategies Virtual Forum

07/21/2020
Virtual Conference: Marketing in the New Normal
Digiday’s Amazon Advertising Strategies Virtual Forum

07/22/2020
Virtual Conference: Marketing in the New Normal
Digiday’s Amazon Advertising Strategies Virtual Forum
SportsPro Insider Series: Social Media in Sports

View full calendar

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