CMOs Vs CTOs; Ads Get A Boost In Google Maps

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Mark It Down

A 2019 report in the Harvard Business Review declared that marketing has lost prominence within the overall business hierarchy, based on US ad expenditures decreasing. Two of its authors revisited the topic in a new article, noting, “Many scholars and practitioners wrote to us arguing that marketing is much more than advertising spend.” Unfortunately, marketing expenses, unlike ad spend, are usually not disclosed. They also point out another bleak trend for aspiring marketers. In the past two decades, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of CMOs among the top five highest-paid execs at major US companies. “Whatever the definitive explanation, our findings indicate that the importance of CMOs in the organizational hierarchy has declined while that of CTOs has risen dramatically,” according to HBR. More.

Branded Navigation

Google is beefing up its ad products in Maps – and brands such as McDonald’s, Walgreens and Dunkin’ are interested. Google expanded on Local Campaign ads, launched in 2018, which drive foot traffic to local businesses with branded pins that pop up along a user’s route when navigating. Maps also offers branded waypoints and listings that come up when people search within Maps, Business Insider reports. Walgreens started testing Google Maps ads last summer and saw a substantial lift in conversions vs. its standard benchmarks. And Dunkin’ saw store visits increase 11% after running a promotion for a new espresso drink on Maps. The company plans to increase its investment in Maps by double digits this year. “Google Maps has huge potential,” said Gareth Cleevely, VP and head of paid search at iProspect. “It’s still early days and the platform is in its infancy, but it’s going to blow up.” But measurement remains a challenge, as Google remains its typical black box self when reporting results. More.

Local Streaming

NBCUniversal launched a local streaming-TV ad sales unit, amid continued declines in linear reach. Called NBC Spot On, the group covers every major region in the United States and plans to offer targeting capabilities not widely available on local TV, The Wall Street Journal reports. Advertisers have shifted up to 10% of their budgets out of local linear TV and into streaming, and NBCU, which owns 42 local stations in 33 markets, wants to capture those migrating budgets. NBC Spot On will sell streaming TV ads on all of NBCU’s owned apps as well as from other streaming apps and publishers. The group will not, however, sell Peacock ads this year as commitments to the streaming platform are already sold out. Local TV streaming ad spend is expected to hit roughly $2 billion by 2024, according to BIA Advisory Services. “We don’t want to just compete for our share of a declining pie,” said Frank Comerford, CRO and president of commercial operations for NBCU’s local group. “We want to make sure we are able to cover the total local marketplace.” Related in AdExchanger: How Local TV Is Fighting To Evolve.

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