The Marketing Dive Awards for 2020

From Chipotle to Procter & Gamble, these are the companies and executives that epitomized leadership in crisis this year.

By Marketing Dive Team • Dec. 9, 2020

Campaign of the Year: Procter & Gamble's 'The Choice'

A sparse ad directly addressing systemic racism punctuated the CPG marketer's history of purpose-driven initiatives.

By Natalie Black (Koltun) • Dec. 9, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Retail Marketing

Top stories that underscore the leading influences on retail marketing, including Gen Z, pop culture and generative AI.

By Marketing Dive staff

TikTok regular E.l.f. turns to Triller to debut branded holiday album

The marketer has gone viral with original TikTok songs but continues to diversify its bets in launching what it says is the first campaign from a beauty brand on Triller.

By Peter Adams • Dec. 8, 2020

Wendy's teams with Uber Eats on customized menus for Twitch gamers

The burger chain's "Never Stop Gaming Menu" includes combinations of items selected by five of the platform's most popular streamers.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 8, 2020

Planters mascot reaches middle age amid e-commerce push

The Kraft Heinz brand has almost come full circle with the evolution of its mascot, which was relaunched as Baby Nut in the lead-up to the Super Bowl.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 8, 2020

Bubly uplifts LBGTQ+ elders with drag performances, original song

Extending LGBTQ-focused efforts beyond Pride Month may help the PepsiCo sparkling water brand avoid claims of pinkwashing.

By Chris Kelly • Dec. 8, 2020

KFC gets steamy with Lifetime movie starring Mario Lopez as Col. Sanders

"A Recipe For Seduction" ties to a promotion with Uber Eats, as the marketer looks to link an ambitious original content play with commerce.

By Peter Adams • Dec. 7, 2020

Marketing Dive integrates Mobile Marketer into its expanding industry coverage

A new reality in which connected experiences are woven into all aspects of our lives — and are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels — requires a new editorial approach.

By Chantal Tode • Dec. 7, 2020

Huggies, Scary Mommy cater to night-owl new mothers with Hulu comedy series

"Up Early Tonight" emulates late-night shows and signals how marketers like Kimberly-Clark are adjusting content strategy for the streaming boom.

By Peter Adams • Dec. 4, 2020

Hyundai's Genesis, Tastemade and Amazon rev up shoppable cooking show

In the latest example of content and commerce merging, "Origins" viewers can easily order featured ingredients from grocery delivery service Amazon Fresh.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 4, 2020

Bagel Bites seeks 'bopper' to remix its jingle

Other brands have created unique gigs and sought new songs and slogans from consumers stuck at home and looking for ways to entertain themselves.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Dec. 4, 2020

CBS nearly sold out of Super Bowl ad inventory, per media report

The relatively well-selling spots suggest marketers aren't especially concerned about the pandemic forcing an outright cancellation of the big game.

By Chris Kelly • Dec. 3, 2020

Gucci perfume opens Snapchat portal to virtual 'garden of dreams'

After exploring the augmented reality garden, users are steered toward the luxury brand's website to purchase Bloom fragrances directly.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 2, 2020

Campbell, Target team on Madden NFL tournament fighting food insecurity

Timed around Giving Tuesday donation drives, the event shows how marketers continue to shift toward virtual activations.

By Peter Adams • Dec. 1, 2020

Diageo promotes moderation, sustainability with Instagram AR lens

Mobile users can match a series of on-screen poses and balance a virtual water container on various parts of their bodies to participate in the challenge.

By Robert Williams • Dec. 1, 2020

Ad spend retraction due to COVID-19 worse than expected: WARC

The "most hostile" year in four decades for advertising has hit traditional media particularly hard while online video advertising's growth is stronger than previously forecast.

By Aaron Baar • Dec. 1, 2020

TikTok owner granted extended deadline to complete sale of app to Oracle, Walmart

The Trump administration gave ByteDance another week to iron out a proposed takeover that would remove advertiser uncertainty about the app's future.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 30, 2020

Kinder Joy's holiday campaign highlights family moments

The Ferrero brand joins other marketers in reinforcing the idea that the holidays this year can still be a special time despite some traditions being put on hold.

By Aaron Baar • Nov. 30, 2020

Corona kicks off major in-house content push with digital travel series

"Free Range Humans" consists of eight brief episodes shot for social media platforms and comes as the brand doubles down on entertainment.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 25, 2020

Snapchat distributes $1M a day to video creators of new TikTok clone

The photo-messaging app now has a feature called Spotlight that shows a customized feed of user-made content.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 24, 2020

E.l.f. Cosmetics taps into overlooked gamer market with Twitch star Loserfruit

Aiming to replicate a strategy that has paid off on TikTok, the cosmetics brand is targeting Gen Z gamers who are also interested in beauty products.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 24, 2020

Brands serve up sides of helpfulness for a topsy-turvy Thanksgiving

Meal insurance, baking fails and cooking tips command the marketing spotlight this year as homebound consumers are forced to improvise and experiment.

Nov. 24, 2020

3 mistakes CMOs are making with COVID-era budgets

Becoming good at strategic cost optimization isn't just about making hard decisions and cutting costs. It ensures marketing is sustainable in the face of upheaval, writes Ewan McIntyre of Gartner for Marketers.

By Ewan McIntyre • Nov. 24, 2020

HBO teams with Verizon on AR ads for 'His Dark Materials'

Both companies have been putting a big focus on AR of late as research underscores the tech's potential in the entertainment category.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 24, 2020

ESPN touts mobile sports content with app-focused campaign

A 60-second spot debuted during last night's American Music Awards to show the breadth of ESPN content that mobile users can experience in the app.

By Robert Williams • Nov. 23, 2020