Marketing Minute — September 2024
It’s officially fall in New England. Crisp mornings. Delicious cider donuts. Beautiful foliage. And, of course, obsession with a pygmy hippo (well, at least this fall).
Here’s the September Marketing Minute and a look at what was trending in the first month of fall.
Here Comes the Department of Justice
Google is in hot water. The Justice Department and the search giant are going head to head in court about whether or not Google allegedly participated in monopolistic behavior over how ads are bought and sold on the internet. This isn’t the first time the two entities have faced off. Just last month, a federal judge ruled in favor of the DOJ, stating that Google has maintained a monopoly in the search and ad markets. While the lawsuits are concerning, marketers and advertisers don’t have to be worried about how the digital landscape could be impacted — yet. We’re interested to see who wins this round.
Separately, ByteDance and the DOJ are resuming their battle over the looming TikTok ban. The fight comes down to national security vs. the First Amendment and right to free speech. The reality of losing a key communications channel is more pressing than Google’s search implications, as the law signed by President Biden back in April, states that ByteDance has until Jan. 19 next year to sell or divest TikTok’s U.S. assets before the ban goes into effect.
A New National Taco Day
“Taco Tuesday” used to be trademarked by Taco John’s, but Taco Bell developed a brilliant marketing campaign to own it, following the removal of legal restrictions around the phrase. Taco Bell partnered with the National Day Calendar to move National Taco Day from Oct. 4 to the first Tuesday in October, dubbing the new holiday as the “ultimate Taco Tuesday.” We love a good taco, but we also love the creativity of this initiative – specifically that it evolved from a legal suit, to a consumer petition, to a fully flushed out marketing campaign. It’s a reminder that unlikely events can be used as an opportunity to elevate your brand and it pays off to think outside of the box.
Private Accounts for Teens
Meta has announced the rollout of its “teen accounts” feature on Instagram, which defaults new users under 18 as a private account. Parents will have additional supervision controls and the accounts will be placed in the most restrictive content setting that limits potentially sensitive content from those they don’t follow. New policies like this serve as a reminder that social media, while a major cornerstone of our daily lives, is still a social experiment trying to find its footing and we’re still trying to figure out how to manage the outcomes — positive or negative.
End of a Era
Grilled cheese and Campbell’s Soup was a staple of growing up. That will be a little different moving forward. Campbell’s announced that after 155 years it was changing its name from Campbell Soup Company to The Campbell’s Company. This rebrand is a blow to nostalgia, but makes sense. Similar to when Dunkin’ dropped ‘donuts,’ Campbell’s is shifting its brand to align more accurately with the current state of its business and consumer behaviors. According to CNN, while soup is an important part of Campbell’s business, it’s now a smaller portion of its sales, only growing 3% in 2023 compared to the company’s snack sales, which grew 13%. As we wrote last month, one of the situations that calls for a brand refresh is an evolution of products and services, which Campbell’s is certainly doing.
Penguins and Pygmy Hippos
To say that we (and the internet) are obsessed with the two newest animal phenomena – Pesto the penguin and Moo Deng the pygmy hippo — is an understatement. Their star power is undeniable.
According to Google Trends, the search term “Moo Deng” peaked in interest on Sept. 20 and is still going strong. She even inspired an entire TikTok trend of “Moo Deng makeup” inspiring some of the platform’s top creators, and even Sephora, to give the trend a try. In fact, the top search topics related to “Moo Deng” include “Sephora” and “rouge blush,” both which experienced a 5,000%+ increase in search volume since Moo Deng’s viral beauty moment. Put plainly — cute animals almost always create moments of collective joy.
See you next month!
