GALE

At last week’s #ForbesCMO Summit, the world’s top marketers gathered to discuss “What Matters Most.” Amid the debates and discussions, one thing was clear: Traditional models no longer apply, and a new playbook has emerged. From the continued rise of subcultures to balancing brand with performance, and the role of creators in reshaping how brands and agencies must work—read our top takeaways on what’s shaping the future of marketing in the report below. 

"The battle to top consumers' 2024 holiday lists started a year ago. Brands that have built loyalty and cultural relevance have a big head start." GALE CEO Brad Simms shares in Forbes how brands with strong, year-round loyalty programs stay top-of-mind—and on consumers’ gift lists when the holiday rush begins. https://lnkd.in/eC_fFUwA

Opill’s FDA approval as the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. marked a historic moment for women’s reproductive health. In order to make Opill truly accessible nationwide, GALE helped drive awareness of its safety and efficacy, built a user-friendly ecommerce platform, and more. See how it came to life: https://lnkd.in/gjpnGVB7

"The Milk Cup not only broke records–it reset the gaming culture, inspiring a paradigm shift that will move esports from a culture of exclusion and misogyny to one of respect and recognition." Read more in LBBonline - Little Black Book about the first-ever live, in-person Fortnite women’s final—one of the most viewed women’s tournaments in North American esports history—brought to life by MilkPEP and GALE. https://lnkd.in/enH53rmN

“Modern creatives and creators are bringing together the capabilities that for a long time have existed in a variety of roles… It’s creating a tension for not only for agencies but for brands to look at their organizations and silos and ask, ‘If I have to do more with less, how do I have folks work differently to accomplish that?’” GALE CEO Brad Simms reflects on this year’s Forbes CMO Summit, highlighting how marketers can learn from today's creators, who bridge the gap between strategy and content creation, to maximize marketing impact with limited resources. #ForbesCMO

GALE is at the #ForbesCMO Summit this week, alongside some of the country’s best marketers. Day two was packed with engaging conversations, including: ➡️ The Performance Marketing Deathtrap: Forbes' Seth Matlins kicked things off announcing that brand and performance have officially divorced. In GALE's breakout workshops, hosted by Benjamin James and Yin Woon Rani, we dove into the discussion to align on a few key takeaways, one being: the rigid frameworks of how we view brand versus performance are no longer relevant to today's marketer. ➡️ The Imperfect State of Measurement: Brad Simms, Joe Marchese, and Melissa Selcher discussed the “false god” of perfect measurement, highlighting the issues that have come from marketers chasing channel metrics instead of business growth. As one panelist said, “Marketing objectives are business strategies and if they’re not, you’re burning money." ➡️ The Decline of the Mass Market: Subcultures have been a hot trend this week as marketers explore ways to authentically connect within micro-communities. But, can they scale? ➡️ Return of In-Person Events: The Harris Poll called the return of in-person events and the desire to socially connect “hands-on happiness”, with 82% of Gen Z wanting to feel more comfortable expressing themselves and being with others IRL. At GALE, we saw similar consumer desires for in-person connections in our “Beyond Social Media” report: https://bit.ly/4cFiCOi ➡️ The CMO/CFO Relationship: Aligning the CMO and CFO is critical for success of both the marketing function and the broader organization. While it can be a challenging relationship, this week’s discussions showed there are big brands out there advocating for the long game with their C-suite and, as a result, reaping the rewards.

This past weekend, MilkPEP and GALE made history hosting the final round of The Milk Cup at LA Comic Con, where 99 finalists competed for the largest-ever women’s esports prize pool in North America. Building momentum across three record-breaking qualifiers with more than 2M viewers, 7.41M impressions, and 800+ signups, the finals earned 2.7M streams – bringing a grand total of over 5M viewers across the tournament series. The energy was incredible as we wrapped this first-of-its-kind Fortnite tournament, marking a step towards leveling the playing field for girls and women in esports. Huge congratulations to the GALE team, our partners (including Moonrock, Raidiant, eFuse), and #TeamMilk for bringing this incredible event to life. #TheMilkCup

This week, GALE is at the #ForbesCMO Summit with the top marketing minds from across the country. Here are the trends we heard on day one: 💡Marketing is fundamentally about connecting with humans, not consumers. To be successful as marketers, we have to recognize there is distinction. 💡 Brand building today is done through subcommunities and subcultures. As a result, creators and partnerships are needed more than ever to help marketers authentically show up in these spaces. 💡Your brand can only survive so long on the sugar hit of performance marketing. 💡Don’t lose sight of the commercial imperative at hand in the pursuit of new media formats. 💡Consumers move through your brand touchpoints as one frictionless experience. Your organization structure needs to supports this consumer expectation by removing silos that create inconsistency. Today, CEO Brad Simms takes the stage to discuss “The False God of Perfect Measurement,” and Chief Innovation Officer Benjamin James and MilkPEP CEO Yin Woon Rani are hosting a workshop on the age old debate, “Can Brand Outperform Performance?” Join us for an impactful discussion. #ForbesCMO

Let Life Flow 🥃 Our latest work for Old Parr empowers the next generation of whisky drinkers to break free of the world’s joy-sapping order and, instead, embrace the chaos. Inspired by Old Parr’s iconic bottle that stands boldly on its corner, Old Parr invites you to shift your perspective and embrace life’s unpredictability. The work marks a fresh chapter for Old Parr, encouraging people to explore new possibilities and enjoy life to the fullest. Congratulations to the team that brought this to life. #creativity

The #ForbesCMO Summit kicks off tomorrow in Aspen. Don’t miss our team on the ground and on stages throughout the event, covering a range of topics on "What Matters Most" to CMOs today – from measurement and attribution to aligning the C-suite on the value of brand marketing. Hear from GALE CEO Brad Simms on a panel moderated by Forbes' Seth Matlins, and join our breakout session hosted by Chief Innovation Officer Benjamin James alongside MilkPEP CEO/CMO Yin Woon Rani. Let us know if you'll be there.