• (5/20) Home Depot Misses Earnings- The home-improvement retailer missed earnings expectations for the first time in five years. The company beat revenue estimates. Same-store sales were worse than expected, declining 0.3% compared to the same period last year. An indication that consumers are slowing down on home improvement projects and might be waiting to see how tariffs play out.

• (5/21) Lowes Set To Report Earnings: Another major home improvement retailer is set to report earnings tomorrow. They also rolled back DEI efforts but recently launched a “Togetherness” campaign that will test whether consumers call BS or actually gain trust back. Target has experienced boycotts related to DEI rollbacks and the ongoing challenges with their positioning on the sad situation in the middle east. Will be curious how this company performance.

• (5/23) Coca-Cola Earnings: Aside from being Warren Buffet’s favorite stock, it remains an American Icon. Yet this similar to the Big Mac, might face international backlash given it represents a country that is facing heightened scrutiny in the world as tariffs rise. They also launched a creative AI tool called Fizzion- This new system allows creative teams to generate content up to ten times faster while maintaining quality, originality, and brand integrity.

Re-brands with Google, PWC, Kind Snacks, and more have been light. However HBO’s falls into a category of its own based on how frequently they have updated it over the last five years. Streaming platforms like Netflix revolutionized how streaming works in the minds of consumers. Taking away “HBO” was a HUGE mistake giving away years of brand awareness, so bringing that back into the equation was a success.

Knowing Your Consumers: HBO prepared for this- The team knew there would be millions poking fun at the fact they yet again had to redo their logo. They were ready to join the conversation. Streamonmax and HBO social media handles posted humorous memes and jokes to join the conversation (See below examples). Now instead of a negative sentiment, consumers have a humorous relationship with the brand they can relate to. A success story for any marketer- It’s better to be honest with consumers than trying to tip toe around them.

Savings on lunch and commuting costs is great. Being able to go to the gym or do laundry during the day, or taking care of running kids to practice is better than work. Despite these benefits it seems at times things like career progression or talking to a computer all day makes you feel more alone. Not saying returning to the office 3 days a week is great, but could see the benefits of once a week having a company day. On Sunday walking past the giant Publicis (Pictured above) made me miss the onsite meetings with clients and feeling the pulse of your team behind you.

Amazon upfront and one thing is clear- streaming platforms are coming for your clients linear tv ad dollars. Amazon touted reaching an addressable audience of over 300 million people. While the costs are prohibitive for some at scale, the trend of streaming platforms becoming the future of advertising continues. The biggest highlights for Amazon from the event were:

• Live Sports- In addition to NFL games on Thursday Amazon has partnered with the NBA, further blurring the line between them and cable providers or networks. The Kelce Brothers podcast was also a highlight of this investment.

• Content Quality- The number of new shows and projects was eye opening. Jamie Lee Curtis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael B Jordan, Octavia Spencer, the list goes on and on on who was there to show the quality will be there.

• Dynamic Ad Capabilities: Allows consumers to scroll through products while watching a TV show or create moments in TV shows where brands can show up with personalized messaging. This will be very powerful if they can execute it.

No doubt advertising and marketing like other industries is intense. Long hours, short deadlines and high standards. As news stories continue to post about AI and layoffs it can feel like there is no hope sometimes. One thing you should always prioritize is you. There will always be another job, another opportunity. Jim Valvano famously said “If you laugh, you cry, and spend time in thought you will have a wonderful life” and truly believe that. Like many of you this year has been beautiful and also tough, but remember you will get through it, and “This too shall pass”. Wait isn’t this a marketing newsletter? Yes sorry, just sometimes you never know what someone is going through, and if you are right now and needed to hear this, I hope it helped a bit.