With a history spanning a century, as well as having been a top-10 global leader in the advertising industry, our agency has no shortage of fascinating stories. So, to celebrate our 100-year anniversary, we invited co-owner Kim Mickelsen to share some intriguing, never-before-heard memories. Over her nearly four-decade tenure with the agency, Kim has heard and seen it all. From making WrestleMania the success it is today to bringing the College World Series to Omaha to creating the iconic “Pork. The Other White Meat.” campaign to the comical tales of shooting Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom … and oh so much more … you don’t want to miss this month’s captivating episode of Marketing Then & Now.

Omaha Agency Built By Advertising Legends Among the Longest-Living in the Country 

Bozell is commemorating 100 years in the marketing and communications business, making it one of the longest-living ad agencies in America. The Omaha agency that began with two newspapermen grew to become the eighth largest ad agency in the world, was bought back by a local group in 2001 and is now independent and women-owned.

Being a copywriter back in the Mad Men era was a lot different than it is today. Responsibilities now include anything from social content creation to guerrilla marketing to SEO. Join us in this episode of Marketing Then & Now as our senior copywriter, Kerrey Lubbe, explains the modern-day copywriter. She’ll talk us through brainstorming, how she stayed creative during the pandemic and, of course, the complex process of creating and implementing keywords and phrases that can help your website outperform your competitors.

By now, you’re aware that Apple will require all apps in the App Store to offer a prompt allowing users to opt in or out of tracking. This is called App Tracking Transparency (ATT), and it is being rolled out this week to iOS 14.5 users.

Initially, many experts were predicting that 20% of users would opt in to allow tracking. However, studies conducted by various mobile measurement partners have seen percentages as high as 42%. This is a welcomed upside to many app owners, but marketers as well. It will have the largest impact on apps and app-install campaigns; however, advertisers should be aware that it will impact some of your current and future advertising initiatives. Specifically, when it comes to campaign measurement and reporting. This is especially true if you are tracking events like sign-ups or purchases on your website.

Putting yourself out there can be really difficult, especially for those of us who are a bit more reserved and have quieter personalities. Pushing through the wall of self-doubt can be tricky. But you’re not alone. As a designer at an advertising agency, I go through the process of being vulnerable and putting my work up for approval and criticism regularly.

One of the biggest annoyances as a CPG marketer is to visit one of your ecommerce product listings and see the wrong product image, usually an outdated label or old packaging, or poorly written product descriptions. Then you have to take on the impossible feat of trying to figure out who you contact to get the content corrected. This frustration is further amplified when you have a portfolio of 50+ SKUs to manage.

Google and several of its fellow Internet conglomerates announced recently that third-party cookies are going away. Privacy advocates cheered. Ad sales reps fretted. But most people were left confused.

What the heck is a cookie? And why should I care if they’re going away?

Cookies are little pieces of data left behind when you visit a website. For those of you with kids, think of your fourth grader hanging out in the living room all day with a box of Oreos. You’d be able to tell exactly where he was by the crumbs left behind.

When people think of “market research,” most associate it with the quantitative type, which deals with numbers, graphs, surveys and statistics. While those methods are great for identifying or validating “the what,” qualitative research is better for explaining “the why.” And according to Keith Navratil, founder of needledrop, “Everyone needs the why.” From self-described “failed copywriter” to highly acclaimed market research consultant, Keith is the quintessential qual research guru, and we’ve partnered with him on many client projects. Join us for this episode of Marketing Then & Now as he discusses the difference between findings and insights, small data versus big data, and why data collection is meaningless without the proper context and wisdom to explain it. You definitely don’t want to miss out on this episode. Why? … Exactly. 

The Virtual Reality

VR, or Virtual Reality, has come a long way in our notably brief relationship with it over the last few decades. In its infancy, this technology may have rested on your brow as the humble, plastic artifact known as the ‘Viewmaster’, and even that is leagues beyond where it started. Printed film has made way for high-resolution LED screens resting but an inch from our eyes. Only recently has this sophisticated technology entered the hands of consumers, with some product lines entering their second iterations at increasingly more affordable prices.

OMAHA, Neb. – Following a competitive bid process, Omaha Public Power District has named Bozell its agency of record. The three-year partnership between the public utility and Omaha’s longest existing marketing agency will involve work with OPPD’s product marketing team.

Bozell will be responsible for managing all areas of product marketing efforts, including strategy, creative, digital, media planning and buying, and earned media. The projects will include marketing to residential and business audiences.