By Lance Brothers, Chief Revenue Officer, NCSolutions

Here at NCS, the New Year isn’t truly underway until we arrive at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It’s always a whirlwind of excitement, and this year was no exception.

For us, CES 2020 isn’t only about the chance to see the latest in innovative technologies or the quirky home robots (looking at you, Bot Chef). The show is always an important opportunity to meet with clients and learn more about their 2020 plans. We also use this time to cast a gimlet eye on the tech and trends destined to impact CPG advertising over the coming years. Continue reading “What We Heard at CES 2020: The Industry Raises the Bar on Ad Effectiveness” →

By NCS Marketing

What is the most effective advertising strategy for our brand? How can I drive more incremental sales? 

Advertisers ask us a lot of questions, but these two are always conversation starters.

Continue reading “Looking to Drive Sales? Start With Who’s Buying Your Brand [Podcast]” →

By Tom Eaton, SVP, Programmatic & TV Solutions, NCS

Linear TV has been the bedrock of most national campaigns for decades. But addressable TV campaigns promise to do even more by reaching only known buyers and enticing them to buy more. That’s what a leading pet food manufacturer discovered when it asked: Does addressable TV work? Will it drive incremental sales – and if so, by how much?
Continue reading “How a Pet Food Purveyor Used Addressable TV to Jump-Start Sales” →

NCS Chief Research Officer Leslie Wood was recently recognized for her decades of seminal market research work. But this is only the beginning for her and NCS.

By Carl Spaulding, EVP of Strategy, NCS

The strange thing about a lifetime achievement award is it implies the recipient’s career is over.

So when Leslie Wood, NCS’s chief research officer, received the Advertising Research Foundation’s Erwin Ephron Demystification Award in April, in recognition of her decades of illuminating research work, she had one message for the attendees: Continue reading “We’re Not Done Yet” →

By Leslie Wood, Chief Research Officer, NCS

Recently, I was invited by Jake Beniflah, Executive Director of the Center for Multicultural Science,  to sit on a panel discussion about multicultural marketing. This topic has always been of high interest and importance to me. It was a great opportunity to gather new insights and share some of what we’ve learned over the years.

One of the most important parts of the discussion was: multicultural is finally mainstream. Today, culture and ethnicity aren’t afterthoughts – they are some of the most important factors in advertising success.

That notion rings true when considering the current landscape, even beyond advertising. In 2019, ethnicity is a top-of-mind concern. Pretty much everyone now is sensitive to stereotypes and misrepresentations. And that is likely to grow given population trends. The U.S. Census forecasts that by 2044, the U.S. will have a multicultural majority with 50 percent or more representing either Hispanic or African-American backgrounds. During the discussion, largely centered around this new report, a few key conversations rose to the top.

Continue reading “8 Keys to Multicultural Marketing in 2019” →

By Leslie Wood, Chief Research Officer, NCS

Consumer engagement is the most universal challenge for brands today. Expectations are high (getting higher) and attention is short. There are more ways than ever to engage with content without seeing advertising. And consumers likely don’t even notice irrelevant ads – who can blame them?

The best part about this challenging environment we all find ourselves in today is that brands also have an unprecedented opportunity to engage in an authentic conversation with their tribe.

For the past 10 years, we’ve engaged in significant R&D efforts – hand-in-hand with brands and publishers – aimed at figuring out how advertising works. Everything we’ve learned has shown us how to create and deliver more effective advertising. It’s also given us a glimpse into what’s next for the advertising industry. Continue reading “Advertising Effectiveness: What’s Next for CPG Brands?” →

By: Lisa Kerins, Vice President, Publisher Client Consulting, NCS

Through discussions with our publisher clients over the past several months, my team has observed some clear issues and pain points that have popped up time and time again. Many of these are related to doing business in the fast-changing and ever more crowded ad tech space. Continue reading “We Heart Publishers: Best Practices for Growth in 2019” →