Digital Is Changing Coca-Cola's Reach; The Makeup And Beauty Industry Gets A Makeover

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

CPGeez

Coca-Cola has been disrupted in ways that might not seem obvious at first, Bloomberg writes in a profile of the company’s new CEO, James Quincey. For instance, declines in mall shopping mean lower concession sales, and online ordering hurts its restaurant business because delivery customers don’t buy drinks. “Digital is changing the way you behave,” Quincey said. “It affects other categories that are not the primary reason you thought about making the shopping trip.” More at Bloomberg.

Virtual Beauty

Another marketing category, makeup and beauty, hasn’t eroded at all (US sales rose 6% last year), but it has certainly changed. As stores like Sephora replace clerks with virtual assistants, brand loyalty becomes less relevant than whatever combination of products an Instagram influencer features in her latest tutorial. Sephora’s use of tech, like AR apps that let consumers try on lipstick shades without getting chapped lips, disintermediate consumer and brand. To keep up, department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are moving away from specific brands and toward try-and-buy strategies. “The new in-store experience will have more technology and an ability to ‘play,’” said Francine Klein, who heads up cosmetics at Bloomingdale’s. “The challenge is to keep pace.” More at NYT.

A Weather Eye Open

The Weather Co. is testing a mobile web strategy where it will selectively offer deep links to service and ecommerce apps like Uber, Groupon or Delivery.com. “So if someone is checking a weekend forecast and it’s sunny, we might want to offer a Groupon deal for an outdoor activity, or if it’s about to rain offer transportation,” Dominic Venuto, the general manager of TWC’s consumer division, told AdExchanger. Read the release. TWC is integrating with Button’s mobile marketplace for the product, which is the IBM asset’s first deal with an affiliate program and could eventually be added to its mobile app. “What’s most compelling is we don’t view it as an ad, we view it as a service or a chance to extend the experience,” Venuto said.

Budget Buys

Some agencies are tightening their purse strings as structural changes drive them from the M&A pool, according to a report from marketing consultancy R3. In Q1 2017, agency M&A spending dropped 24% year over year. Dentsu outspent other agency holding companies with $124 million in outlays, followed by China’s Shenzhen Media Group at $97 million. WPP came in fourth at $73 million. While deal price has declined, the number of deals hasn’t. “You have the same number of deals, but it’s proving harder and harder to find big agencies,” R3 principal and co-founder Greg Paull told Adweek. The report also cites consultancies and brands like Domino’s and Yelp that are acquiring agency services. More.

But Wait, There’s More!