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No, no, this isn't about the psychedelic mushrooms that are illegal in the US. Instead the mushroom we are talking about are called, adaptogenic mushrooms. It has been seen that these mushrooms help boost immunity, cognitive ability, and relieve stress. Currently, these mushrooms are being studied to help treat depression and those who struggle with alcohol. Now, the big next thing in the drink community are these mushrooms in a beverage. Similar to how you can buy drinks with CBD in them. Entrepreneurs and investors are attempting tirelessly to create the next big drink involving this legal fungus. To push this movement, and the brand coming out with these drinks are to have social media and influencer campaigns to get it on the marketplace.

This shows the value of social media in today's world. Social media to me is the medium, that is where we see everything now. In addition, these influencers have such large followings that it gives them a ton of influential power. People listen to what they say, and they take it seriously. If they were to market these drinks, I think it would help increase sales exponentially. Now the only reason I think the drink would fail is if it tasted bad, or did not benefit the body like it said it would.

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The beverage category is becoming a veritable forest full of mushroom lattes, coffees, seltzers and energy shots. Adaptogenic mushrooms are in vogue right now. So is beverage innovation and exploration. The younger generations' willingness to seek out and try functional, non-alcoholic beverages (including those laced with CBD) is driving the creation of a flurry of new products, all vying to become the next big thing.

The shroom boom in the beverage category is reaping the benefits of all of these macro trends.

Adaptogenic mushrooms most certainly aren't new. Ancient cultures have long touted the benefits of mushrooms, be it chaga (boosts immunity), lion's mane (improves cognitive ability) or reishi (relieves stress). These species are not to be confused with psychedelic mushrooms, which are banned in the US. That being said, the benefits of magic mushrooms' active ingredient, psilocybin, is currently being studied for the treatment of depression and addiction to alcohol.

The mushroom market could reach an estimated $3.5b n in the US by 2027. The legal fungus is now a featured ingredient in jerky, butter, chocolate, protein bars, powders and capsules, as well as beverage products.

Beverages, in particular, may prove to be an area of rapid growth. The beverage marketplace, known for wild experimentation, is the midst of an innovation renaissance. Many colorful entrepreneurs, and their investors, are looking to be the next Vita Coco, Vitaminwater or Red Bull. They hope their concoctions will catch not only consumers' eyes, but also those of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The goal for most beverage upstarts: score a hit and get bought.

That's why you're now seeing mushroom beverages now available from Califia Farms, Curious Elixirs, Earth and Star, Four Sigmatic, FreshCap, Health-Ade, Rebbl, Rowdy Mermaid and Woke Up energy shot, with many more likely on the horizon.

Meanwhile, other new categories, like nootropics (Breinfuel, Goat Fuel by Jerry Rice) and a flurry of low- and zero-alcoholic brands (such as Seedlip and Kin), have exploded on to the scene as well.

And then there is the coming of cannabis-infused beverages. As the US accelerates the legalization of marijuana, cannabis brands have been experimenting with delivery mechanisms including candy, cookies and drinks. CBD beverages - the sale and use of which have been legal in all US states since 2018 - have proven especially popular for consumers looking to take the edge off, with Recess sparkling water, Kickback lemonade and Mary Joe Coffee all arriving on the scene.

"There's so much going on right now. It's a functional beverage gold rush," says Duane Stanford, editor of Beverage Digest. "What got mushrooms quickly moving up the chain is the fact they get around a lot of the hurdles you see with CBD. They don't have the same regulatory overhang. Mushrooms are generally recognized as safe under FDA guidelines. As long as you aren't saying it's going to cure cancer, you can make claims like, 'It assists with anxiety and reduces inflammation.'"

Two brands taking opposite tacks

Earth and Star co-founders Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss are hoping to repeat history. They've succeeded in beverages before, having sold their cold-pressed juice product, BluePrint, to Hain Celestial. Now they're touting their coffee as 'everyday adaptogens'.

The brand's strategy isn't to create a new category but rather to enhance an existing one. "We're focusing on habits people already have, versus creating new ones. That's why we started with canned lattes and coffee," says Sakoutis. "It tastes great, and people don't have to step outside of their daily routines to reap the benefits."

Earth and Star comes in four flavors - black, cacao, matcha and turmeric - and offers a 'true therapeutic dose' of 2000 milligrams of functional mushrooms including chaga, cordyceps, lion's mane and reishi (see the sidebar for more on mushroom functionalities).

"Functional mushrooms have been around for a millennium, but they had been very fringe. Now we're putting them in a format that's very convenient. There's nothing more convenient than cracking open a can," says Sakoutis. Its optimistic tagline: "The future is fungi."

Earth and Star is sold direct-to-consumer and will be available on Amazon within the month. It can also be found at select natural retailers in parts of California and New York as well as Chicago, Dallas and Washington, DC. Additionally, the brand will be hosting pop-up experiential retail opportunities in key cities throughout the summer.

Rowdy Mermaid, which launched its mushroom-based line on March 31, is taking a different approach. It has created a line of four 'adaptonics': strawberry holy basil, chamomile lime, ashwagandha blackberry and matcha vizu. Each contains high concentrations of beta-glucans derived from reishi mushrooms, without actually tasting like mushrooms - so you don't need to be a mycophile to enjoy.

Rowdy Mermaid debuted in Whole Foods in the Rocky Mountain region last week. It is hoping the product will achieve national Whole Foods distribution like its kombucha drinks. The beverages will also be available at Sprouts Farmers Market stores beginning May 17 and can be purchased online.

"It's a sparkling immunity tonic made with reishi mushrooms, but you'd never know," says Rowdy Mermaid's director of marketing Sheila Rosen. "Mushrooms can be polarizing to some people - they either love them or hate them. This product is pleasing to everyone's palate. We are leveraging ancient wisdom with modern delights."

The brand will be relying on paid and organic social media and an influencer marketing campaign to get its "big on immunity, delicious by design" message out to the marketplace.

Millennial and Gen Z habits brings hope

There are plenty of trends working in favor of mushroom beverages and other elixirs, especially when it comes to millennials and gen Zers. The first is the fact that many aren't looking to alcohol for answers. Instead they are exploring other avenues for refreshment and efficacy.

"Many millennials don't like to drink, but they are social. So you're seeing a sprawling agglomeration of sometimes conflicting subsegments," says Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights. "Some are an alcohol alternative suitable for sipping at a bar, while others claim to offer an array of benefits - which may be bullshit or not - and then there's CBD and THC in the background, which are tried-and-true ways of getting stimulated."
What do adaptogenic mushrooms do?
Younger consumers are also big on discovery - especially when it comes to finding new brands on social. "You can call consumers fickle or exploratory, but they are just all over the place. They want to find the next cool thing, share it on social and tell their friends about it," says Stanford. "Although there's only a handful of these products that will go on to be something meaningful."

As the world (and wallets) open up, one would think that more opportunities will abound for these eager upstarts. However, Ken "beverage whisperer" Sadowsky, US beverages adviser to Verlinvest, says there will be a reckoning.

"There are so many different things going on right now. The pendulum that swings back and forth between fear of investing and greed is on the greed side right now. Tiny brands with a smart idea and DTC plan can get a bit of funding and then you see them on Instagram or TikTok. This short-attention-span theater will be downfall of brands that are 'fake it 'til you make it'. There will be no more faking it when the real world comes back."

At the same time, the brands that end up leading the pack could receive lucrative payouts. "Coke and Pepsi absolutely have people paying attention to functional mushrooms and the potential there," says Stanford. "They'll want to have a relationship with someone who has built meaningful enough distribution and can show they have staying power."

No matter what, this space will be a fun one to sit back, have a relaxation beverage of your choice, and watch.
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Magic mushrooms: the next big thing in beverages?

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The shroom boom is in full effect. Many US consumers have readily embraced adaptogenic mushrooms - known for boosting immunity, relieving stress and other health benefits. Now these functional fungi are sprouting up across the beverage category, which is in the midst of an innovation explosion.

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Snapchat first pioneers augmented reality (AR) back in 2015 when everyone was sending around pictures and or videos of having dog ears and a tongue hanging out when opening their mouth, or puking up rainbows.

Augmented reality is an interactive experience, usually through a camera lens where the real world environment is enhanced by computer generated visual that looks as though it is there in real time but when you look away from your phone it is obviously not there.

This started on Snapchat as just a form of entertainment but is now finding itself evolving into a tool for "utility and commerce". With the pandemic still going on, a virtual experience for most companies is extremely important to have. An example of this AR approach was through Estee Lauder with the closure of make-up counters during this time. On Snapchat, users can virtually try 60 different shades of their foundation. All for free. This is an example of an interactive ad because consumers are actually trying on the foundation but virtually. However, if one likes how they look with a certain foundation, they now know exactly what they want and can buy it.

75% of daily Snapchat users interact with their AR technology within the app. Augmented Reality is revolutionizing industries across the board. However, this is just the beginning, so technology is still developing.

With vaccinations coming out and more and more people to the store physically, a concern is whether this will last. It will. The hope is that it will draw more people to go to the store, after interacting with their product digitally.

Other social media outlets are striving to make these changes as well. I think the use of AR as a form of advertising is brilliant. You see it everyday on snapchat. I think it helps bring an identity to a brand. It provides a hard sell in a soft sell manner. That may be confusing to think about but a lot of these companies that have sponsored AR ads on Snapchat are selling a physical product usually, but it is often created behind a huge theme that the company puts out.

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Augmented reality (AR) tech matured during the pandemic. For some clients, the shiny new gimmick became a brand-building, product-selling reality. Estée Lauder is the latest to show confidence in the product by recently launching a 'try-on' augmented reality foundation on Snapchat. The Drum explores why marketers should pay attention to AR commerce and its role in the great retail reopening.
First, a brief history. Snap launched its AR lens in 2015, which inspired the rainbow vomit and animated hot dog lenses that have come to define the app. Months later, 20th Century Fox debuted the first sponsored lens to promote the Peanuts movie.

Toccara Baker, the EMEA product marketing at Snap, says: "AR on Snapchat started as a form of entertainment and expression but evolved to become an incredible tool for utility and commerce, empowering brands to not only reach their customers but connect with them in entirely new ways."

Snapchat is just one of the tech giants pushing into e-commerce, but its reliance on AR here is unique when compared with its rivals' approaches. During the pandemic, with retailers shut, immersive experiences, virtual showrooms and try-on products have had a chance to shine.

This has been years in the making. Snap first mastered face-mapping in the selfie camera and cosmetics were naturally the closest client fit. For Estée Lauder, hurt by the closure of make-up counters, it provided a welcome move into the digital space.

Snapchat users can try on 60 shades of Double Wear Stay-In-Place and Futurist Hydra Rescue SPF45 foundation via their cameras. And with the lockdown seemingly coming to an end, foundation purchases will likely be front of mind for many.

Estée Lauder has been testing AR try-on tech since September 2020. Its original campaign attracted "more than double the number of planned impressions," according to Snapchat. Meanwhile, Gucci Beauty has used the tech to show off its Rouge De Beauté Brillant Hybrid lipstick.

Baker says 75% of Snap's daily audience interacts with AR. It boasts 265 million active users globally, so that's a lot. But it is always working to attract more and a big part of that is making the camera smarter.

It can now identify dogs, trees, food nutrition and even wines. It reacts to voice commands too. When it introduced 3D body tracking, clothing brands followed, while foot-tracking enticed shoe brands. Room mapping is also exclusive to the latest iPhones, and home décor brands may like the look of that.

Baker says AR is "revolutionising" beauty, retail, and entertainment, but there's also interest from auto and travel. "Now, brands can own the digital layer around their physical goods."

Getting to this point has involved enhancing the development tools, optimising delivery and piloting new features that bring more brands in. While this foundation grows, attempts are underway to make the AR formats more useful and shoppable. Part of this is training machine learning algorithms to smooth out the tech, be that matching skin tones, mapping body parts or tracking movement.

Now the latest innovation is in hand-tracking - "detecting 24 points... and specific gestures". This creates new opportunities for clothing and jewellery try-on.

"We've built a behavior of daily AR use in the Snapchat camera and consumers are ready to fully embrace this technology as a part of how they shop and compare products."

This year AR finally became a "performance channel" as e-ccomerce strategies were forced to mature.

Phaedra Poulimenou, performance group director at the media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD, believes the "possibilities are endless when brands think creatively."

"We have certainly evolved from the early days of AR, when it was seen more as a gimmick, to it becoming a medium that offers consumers something useful, informational, meaningful or entertaining."

The question is whether Snap affords enough scale to warrant the effort of building these experiences. If 75% of snapchat users use branded lenses, how far can they reach beyond that audience? How influential is it compared to other channels? And will fewer people be using social (and these tools) after a successful vaccine output?

Poulimenou doesn't believe AR sales conflict with the return to retail. "In fact, it can drive consumers to counters. The pandemic offered fertile ground for the use of AR to accelerate, however this is only the beginning. With shops opening again, we see AR playing a big role in the future of experiential retail."

In the immediate future, AR solves a lot of problems thrown up by 'no-touch'. In the long term, however, it could unlock how-tos, reviews, user-generated content, gamification much more in the retail environment.

Manning Gottlieb OMD has delivered UK Gov Covid-19 mask awareness campaign through Snap, as well as a Spider-Man: Far From Home Landmarker Lens, showing just how versatile Poulimenou believes it can be.

But while she says Snapchat is "the leader in the AR space", she also thinks that TikTok and Instagram have made "real strides" in creating compelling, useful cameras the next generation of social spend their time in. "We expect social partners to expand their offering in this space even further in the future."
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Has Snap laid the foundations for AR to be taken seriously?

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Augmented reality (AR) tech matured during the pandemic. For some clients, the shiny new gimmick became a brand-building, product-selling reality. Estée Lauder is the latest to show confidence in the product by recently launching a 'try-on' augmented reality foundation on Snapchat.

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In today's world marketing can be a very daunting task because marketing is everything. It ultimately is what sells the product. Often marketing is consumer led and what that means is that these businesses market their products based off of consumers, their needs, what they want, how they get what they want, why they do, etc.

In the past, marketing was composed of a ton of hard selling on what the product is and its functionality. Now, marketing has transformed into everything but what the product is. Now marketing is about the brand, the company behind the product(s), what they stand for, their social responsibility, and ultimately seeking a great experience through that brand. The old approach to marketing involves too much selling. Now, consumers want to build a relationship , evoke emotion, and really be tied into the brand. The article also discusses tech led marketing like Uber or Tinder that offer personalized decision making within the app, yet they do not hold consumer loyalty. I disagree with the author on the consumer loyalty aspect because these services are meant to be used and then finished. You use Uber for a ride, once that is completed, there is no need for the service unless you need it again. Tinder, you are on there to find a partner, once that is done you are usually no longer on the app until you are searching for a partner again. Therefore there is customer loyalty but not for the long run.

The author suggested a new marketing approach, one that builds relationships, is in service to consumers, and is authentic to that company and not easily copied through technology. This approach is called brand-led experiences. This approach is to deepen customer engagement and make these consumers spend more money. The brand-led experience is designed to ultimately have the consumer create their very own experience. What I gained from this is that consumers ultimately want access to a product and be able to use/try it before purchasing so they know exactly which is the right one. Brands must do all the work for their consumers. The less the consumer has to do is better for them, it ultimately makes their experience better.

She used the example of Disney and if a child were to drop their ice cream and start crying, an employee dressed up as a Disney character will come deliver that child a brand new ice cream cone. The author was suggesting brand-led experiences through that but I think that is a standard all businesses should follow for their consumers.

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We've all heard the marketing industry is evolving at a breakneck speed. I actually think its consumers that are doing the evolving. As marketers, we are just trying to keep up.

Today's consumers value meaningful engagement, which can't be copied or faked. They crave authenticity and social awareness. They are attracted to ethical, responsible, and sustainable businesses. In other words, they're seeking more of a relationship from the brands they choose to support. Enter the "brand-led experience."
What it isn't?
The predominant approaches to meeting the needs of this new empowered and connected consumer have basic flaws. The traditional brand-led approach is too transactional, too much selling to.

On the other end of the spectrum is the tech-led approach, like that of Uber or Tinder, which leverages their vast amounts of data to personalize offerings to consumers but it isn't distinct enough to build lasting consumer loyalty.
What it is?
A new marketing approach is needed. One that:

- builds relationships.

- is in service to consumers.

- is distinctive and not easily replicated with technology.

We call this new approach brand-led experiences. Done right, customized experiences can deepen engagement with a new type of consumer: one who is willing to spend a little more time interacting with a brand if the pay-off is unique, relevant experiences that add value to their lives.

Being a brand experience-led company is about using both brand-led and technology-led approaches to forge deep connections with consumers through meaningful customized experiences. In fact, successful experience-led brand companies design experiences that help consumers create their own experience. It's the only way to truly scale personalized experiences. Or rather, hyper-personalization.

Personalization has already become the expectation. Hyper-personalization pairs predictive technology with data to provide a much deeper understanding of your audience. The end result is your consumers barely have to do any work, because you've designed a frictionless experience.
Building relationships in the Magic Kingdom
Disney is a perfect example of a brand being rooted in building a relationship with their customers rather than selling to them.

Tired little feet, missed naptime, and a dropped ice cream cone will inevitably result in a temper tantrum, or what I'd call a Disney breakdown. These breakdowns are all too common at Disney World and can easily ruin a magical day at the Magic Kingdom. With deep consumer insights and research, Disney realized that a visit from Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck with a new ice cream cone almost always comforts a screaming child. Disney then tracked those families who were paid a visit by a Disney character, and, not surprisingly, they often spent more at the park.
Makeup (makes) a customer for life
Unlike what others say, the Internet really hasn't changed the customer journey that much. It's still about making deep meaningful connections with your consumer as shown in the Disney example.

However, with technology and data, we are close to having the capability to interact with people on a much more personal level. A good example of using technology with a personal touch is L'Oreal's MakeUp Genius app. It uses augmented reality to address a very functional consumer problem: the messiness of trying on different makeup looks. The app, which now has more than 20 million users worldwide, let's people virtually sample L'Oreal Paris products by mapping them on your face.

But a brand-led experience doesn't stop there. The MakeUp Genius app is still about helping with the selection of existing product offerings. This year at SXSW, L'Oreal took it one step further and ventured into truly personalized products with Custom D.O.S.E. This is hyper-personalization for a segment of one.
Customized travel
Technology not only does a great job expanding our capability to tell stories, it also allows us to create entirely new experiences. But at the end of the day, business is still about connecting with people.

Let's contrast two technology-enabled companies that have been around for a relatively short time: Uber founded in 2009 and Airbnb launched in 2008. Both rely on internet transactions, both offer a form of customized travel: go where you want to go, stay where you want to stay.

But Uber it seems has come up short when it comes to creating a sense of community and thus does not have a particularly loyal following as Lyft and many others have come along. Airbnb, by comparison, stresses (in its tagline) " Belong anywhere." From the moment you hit the website, you are invited to be part of a global travel community. It is much more than a transaction for accommodations over the internet, there is the brand promise of creating your own magical end-to-end trip and being made to feel at home wherever you are.

As it builds this community, Airbnb hits the main goals of a brand experience-led company: building relationships, being in service to consumers, and offering a differentiated proposition that isn't easily replicated.

This fundamental shift away from traditional communications modes to experiences that are in the service of people will enable business to drive new levels of personalization, trust and, create more value - economic, social and ultimately human. Those of us who don't embrace becoming an "experience" led brand may find themselves irrelevant in the new digital economy.
Asit Mehra is executive vice president at Omnicom

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From digital marketing to marketing in the digital world

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We've all heard the marketing industry is evolving at a breakneck speed. I actually think its consumers that are doing the evolving. As marketers, we are just trying to keep up. Today's consumers value meaningful engagement, which can't be copied or faked. They crave authenticity and social awareness.

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Yet again, TikTok has found itself into the sports scene again. Although I do not actually own the app, its popularity, and ability to stay mainstream fascinates me.

UFC has signed a multiyear contract with the app, to carry out all sorts of footage weekly. This collaboration has suggested how paramount the sports industry is in TikTok's future.
What both TikTok and the UFC have in common is that their demographics are towards the younger audiences. By partnering with TikTok the UFC will be able to provide behind the scenes footage with fighters, footage of the fighter right before their fight, you name it. Fans strive for that connection with their favorite fighter, the up close and personal footage of them. TikTok will provide that. Both with millions of fans and or users, this partnership can only grow both businesses popularity.

Similar to my first post with the NFL, the UFC is just trying to bring back popularity into their sport. This is another way to do so.

This collaboration allows for these brands to do a lot especially for the realm of advertising. Both companies can advertise their brands on each others platforms. This collaboration changes their brand identities. For the UFC, a violent sport, can be seen as a bit friendlier on TikTok showing behind the scenes footage and what not, and that they are not just a bunch of barbaric men fighting each other. For TikTok, it changes the brand from just an app where young children to young adults just dance in front of a camera, instead it is more of a social media app, that broadcasts all sorts of events, you name it.

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TikTok has jumped into the ring with the UFC in a multi-year partnership to carry live, weekly short-form programming.

This is the first time that TikTok has collaborated with a sports body 'to create a position/resource dedicated to creating TikTok content,' suggesting that sport could play a major role in TikTok's future.

What will the deal look like?

The UFC fanbase, which skews towards a younger demographic, has the third-largest following of any sports league on TikTok with 6.3m fans.

TikTok claims 100m monthly active users in the US, a ten-fold increase from the state of play in 2018.

The partnership kicks off this week ahead of a scheduled fight on Saturday. Preview programming will build hype ahead of the event with behind the scenes footage and interviews shared via the UFC's official TikTok channels.

The UFC will deploy dedicated resources at its Las Vegas headquarters in tandem with TikTok to make a success of the venture.

The first big test of the tie-up will be the UFC Fight Night: Blaydes v Lewis tomorrow broadcast live from Las Vegas.

TikTok director, global strategic partnerships, Americas and Oceania Harish Sarma said: "We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with UFC and launch a robust slate of exclusive live content for the TikTok community.

"Now more than ever, sports fans are craving the up-close-and-personal moments they are missing by not attending live events. Through this partnership, we are excited to bring to TikTok the action and excitement of UFC, both inside and outside the Octagon."

Why it matters

The tag team illustrates the potential for TikTok to harness sports and live events partnerships to steal a march on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

For its part, the UFC is hungry for growth after being acquired by a group of investors led by Endeavor for $4bn back in 2016.

In a sign of the sports growing clout, the UFC entered into a multi-year broadcast deal with ESPN valued at $1.5bn to help expose the sort to new audiences.

TikTok first signalled its sporting ambitions with a deal to become the global sponsor of the postponed UEFA Euro 2020 football tournament.

The mutual benefits of such associations are clear with TikTok's football hashtag currently hovering around 70bn views. The platform now intends to leverage the partnership with UEFA to further establish its reputation as a locus for official and fan-made football content.

// Featured in this article

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TikTok deepens sport offering with multiyear UFC content deal

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TikTok has jumped into the ring with the UFC in a multi-year partnership to carry live, weekly short-form programming. This is the first time that TikTok has collaborated with a sports body 'to create a position/resource dedicated to creating TikTok content,' suggesting that sport could play a major role in TikTok's future.

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Have you ever thought about advertising for the blind and how that works? Or what the usual experience is for a blind person watching a TV ad? Often it is followed by the question, "What was that ad for?"

Essentially, this article dives into the fact that, advertisers often don't know who their products are for. There are "355 million people" who are blind or visually impaired in the world. That is roughly the population of the US and the UK combined. In todays world with everything going on, every brand has put an emphasis on inclusion however they are leaving out a whole population of human beings. Accessibility for the hearing impaired is much more then compared to the blind. However, making ads for the blind and visually impaired is less straightforward using descriptive video then closed captioning. This situation is really tough.

Many of the big companies are trying their best to make their ads more accessible but it is being described as "a drop in the ocean." There are several obstacles they face to make the audio more descriptive, like adding an additional audio layer in the beginning explaining the product, but there are the issues of ruining the whole ad as it is. As mentioned earlier, the situation is tough.

The blind community has spoken and they have been heard because companies are making their ads around blind people and the visually impaired. When starting from the original idea  of a commercial like ad, these companies need to make the original track for the visually impaired because this will diminish having to go back to your advertisement later to edit it what needs to be done so the blind can understand their product.

I think this article is awesome because it shows what advertising and branding has transformed to. We talked about how advertising is more about selling the product. Saying what it is, what it does, etc. Branding is trying to sell you more, the companies identity, a lifestyle, it is more then just the simple product. We also mentioned how companies are trying to expand they audience and how they want to appeal for any audience. If we want our companies to be inclusive when it comes to their ads, they need to make their brand identity known to be one with the blind or visually impaired. How companies could do this is go back to the simple concept of hard selling. Telling you exactly what the product is and what it does. Personally for me, I like advertisements that way.

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The next time you sit and watch the TV, close your eyes at the ad break. Open them, then put your sound on mute. Ask yourself: do I know which brand pitching to me? Do I know what they're selling?

While sighted viewers ingest media and advertising creative amid a sensory overload, visually and hearing-impaired viewers face a constant strain.

"My husband lost his sight 15 years ago to an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa," says Sheri Laurence, president of Tylie ad solutions. "We watch TV while we eat dinner, and when the commercials air, too many times he would say, 'what was that ad for'?"

It suddenly dawned on them both just how ridiculous the situation was. How could advertisers expect to sell products when they don't say who the products are for? There are 385 million blind or visually impaired people globally - that's pretty much the population of the US and the UK combined - and there are 466 million people with disabling hearing loss.

"Brands talk about inclusivity, but they are completely ignoring an entire population within this world," Laurence explains. Which is why she made fixing it her priority. This year, she ensured Tide's Super Bowl spot would be inclusive for blind and visually impaired viewers.

Presently, accessibility measures for the hearing-impaired are far more advanced than those for the visually impaired. From a technical standpoint, making ads accessible for the blind and visually impaired through descriptive video (DVS) is less straightforward than applying closed captions.

"Captioning is generally a lot further on its development than audio description," points out the ASA's media and public affairs manager Matt Wilson. "There are several technical obstacles around the delivery of audio description in advertising. Such as layering an extra audio track or fitting all the words into 15-seconds, so that you can tell the story of the ad without interrupting or making the existing voiceover incoherent."

While brands from P&G to Microsoft and eBay to Amazon have been working to make their ads more accessible, their efforts are just a drop in the ocean. "There is progress, but much more is needed," asserts Sonali Rai, broadcaster relationship and AD technology manager at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), on the progress that has already been made to make advertising more inclusive for blind and visually impaired consumers.

"What we are seeing at the moment are brands reacting to campaigns being led by people with sight loss and user organisations asking for content to be made accessible."

While it has been four years since Laurence convinced her boss at Tylie ad production to branch out into the DVS space, the team is still the only ones in the US making ads accessible for the visually impaired.

While she says there has been obvious client interest, it has been tough to convince creatives to forego their creative ideas to make their work easily transferable for audio description. "Some clients will say 'we love it, we absolutely have to do this.' But then they take it to their creative teams, who have put together this whole idea and story, and they don't want to mess with it.

"They say, what do you mean you're going to add another audio track? We just spent a million dollars creating this beautiful commercial, and you're going to do what to it?"

Which is why it's important to start with DVS in mind. Wilson says advertisers should take care to avoid providing unnecessary detail at the expense of material information. But, he notes "that's not easy."

While Tylie Ad Solutions is working to get as many brands on board, Laurence admits that to make any real progress, it needs to be mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"Just like closed captioning, if it's not mandated, there will always be reasons why people won't do it," she says. "To ultimately have, let's say 100% or even 80% or 90% of [with audio description], it has to be a mandate. However, we're going to keep pushing and talking and making it a big splash and awareness."

Which is why P&G's decision to amplify DVS at the Super Bowl is such an accessibility milestone and draw people's attention to an issue they would otherwise be ignorant on.

"While most of our day-to-day TV commercials are being audio described, we haven't yet had the opportunity to DVS a spot for a large-scale event," explains Paul Chick, director of advertising production in P&G's Brand Building Integrated Communications (BBIC) group, on P&G's Super Bowl decision.

"This year we started our work early to plan to have any P&G ads that could be audio described and completed for this Super Bowl."

"This is an exciting and proud moment for us and another step toward our aspiration to create a company and a world where equality and inclusion are achievable for all," explains P&G's global accessibility leader, Sam Latif.

"We have still ways to go, but it is an incredible time for accessibility and inclusion as businesses are beginning to realize that inclusion results in business growth."

"It's been a great start but we have a long way to go to comfortably state that TV advertising is inclusive and accessible for people with sight and or hearing loss," insists RNIB's Rai.

Currently, there are less than 20 brands using DVS for their TV ads in the UK. However, while we're still a long way off advertising being accessible for all, with the likes of P&G and Tylie using the Super Bowl for exposure, there is hope that more brands will add to the momentum.

"We want to reach a point in time where such campaigns are not needed because accessibility is one of the qualifying criteria," explains Rai.

"And no ad is approved unless it is accessible for people with sight and hearing loss. Where it is made accessible retrospectively through the addition of audio description and captions or through integrating accessibility into the creative narrative."

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DVS at the Super Bowl: what's next for visually and hearing-impaired viewers?

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For the first time in the history of the Big Game, this year saw Tide Detergent feature descriptive video, ensuring its Super Bowl spot was inclusive for the blind and visually impaired community. On the back of this accessibility milestone, The Drum explores its significance, questioning what more advertisers can do to reach blind audiences.

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This article is about how the NFL used social media platform TikTok to have their players build personal and more authentic relationships with their fans as well as increasing their viewership. I decided on this article because TikTok has taken the world by storm in 2020 and has shown no signs of going away. It appears that everyone somehow someway is trying to get involved with TikTok from big businesses, CEO's, celebrities, and normal people like you and I. Like the NFL and other businesses, they have benefitted a lot from the app.

The beginning of the article mentions of how the sport is much more then a game, it is bigger than that. As an athlete, there is no better feeling then making a fan happy. Sports are about the relationships you build on and off the field. Amidst a pandemic, viewership for the NFL was at it lowest point since 2017. However, the partnership with TikTok allowed the NFL to be more playful with fans.

"The Football Bros" made a TikTok of the one friend throwing a football to the other friend who ends up catching it one handed. The video ended up going viral having many NFL teams and players commenting on the post. The NFL TikTok account even reposted it with two commentators in the background. This is a kind of engagement between a players and fans that is unusual, but it is awesome. Now the NFL is working with multiple influencers on TikTok to keep this brand engagement with the fans.

I found this article interesting because it goes against what commodity fetishism is. For the NFL and their fans all it is is buying their tickets and filling the stadium. The ticket would be their "final product." However, having the NFL partner with TikTok it brings back the human engagement. It allows the NFL and its people to build relationships with their fans.

The NFL is soft selling this lifestyle of it being more then just a sport.

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Football lovers will tell you that the sport is more than just a game. There's a sense of camaraderie between fans of the same team - and plenty of competition between rivals.

But how can teams maintain a sense of community in a pandemic, when fans aren't allowed in the stands?

The NFL turned to TikTok for an out-of-the-box engagement strategy: having its players and teams reach out to fans directly through comments on people's posts and videos.

"Think about moments when a player waves or tosses the ball to a kid in the stands," said Ian Trombetta, SVP of social and influencer marketing at the NFL. "That moment is so special. We found that commenting is almost like throwing the football in the stands. "

The pivot to TikTok comes after NFL viewership tanked by 7% in 2020 to 15.4 million viewers amid the pandemic, according to Nielsen. It was the league's first viewership decline since 2017.

Diving into TikTok comments was uncharted territory for the NFL. The league had to craft a more "fun" and "playful" voice on the platform to seem authentic to fans.

To do that, the NFL only joined conversations where the league's voice could add a "special element," Trombetta said.

Take the Football Bros, a pair of middle school aged best friends and influencers with 2.3 million TikTok followers. Zach Darras and Carter Ramsey filmed videos of themselves throwing a football in their backyard to the tune of "Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers. The videos went viral, surpassing millions of views and catching the NFL's attention.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers, the Cleveland Browns and the NFL's official TikTok account all left comments on the videos. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers even dubbed himself in a duet video with the pair.

The NFL also "stitched" the clip - editing a video with footage from another clip - using audio from two NFL commentators saying, "That is the greatest catch I've ever seen in my life. There's so much to talk about with this kid."

@footballbros
First vid please no hate ??
? Just the Two of Us - Grover Washington, Jr.

Darras and Ramsey later partnered with the league to be featured in NFL commercials, in an example of how influencers and user generated content are becoming integral to brand creative.

"It gave everybody a feeling of nostalgia," AJ Curry, senior manager of social content at the NFL, said. "It was something we were able to latch on to with our clubs. It helps [kids] feel confident, and like this is something they want to keep doing, or look to it as a future job."

Kids aren't the only TikTok users who might get an unexpected NFL comment. School teacher Ms. Sutherd was challenged by her students to get an NFL team and actor Jack Black to comment on one of her TikTok videos. More than a dozen NFL teams responded to her plea - and Black even joined in.

"Whether you have one follower or a million followers, you have the same opportunity to go viral," Robbie Levin, manager of media partnerships at TikTok, said. "It encourages people to keep creating, to collaborate and to always be thinking about what the next trend is."

The NFL's partnership with TikTok stretches beyond the comments section.

The league launched its official TikTok account in 2019 as part of a multi-year partnership with the platform. On Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL and TikTok will host a virtual tailgate on the platform as well as an on-site event with a performance by Miley Cyrus for the 7,500 vaccinated health care workers invited by the NFL to attend the game.

"Historically users haven't expected to see brands have a presence in comment sections," Levin said. "On TikTok, brands have really rewritten the rules."

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How The NFL used TikTok to build authentic fan connections

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Football lovers will tell you that the sport is more than just a game. There's a sense of camaraderie between fans of the same team - and plenty of competition between rivals. But how can teams maintain a sense of community in a pandemic, when fans aren't allowed in the stands?