It’s that time of the year in ad land when we take a look at the commercials produced at exorbitant cost and placed at, well, exorbitant cost to give brands (and ad agencies) their thirty seconds of Super Bowl fame. But something seemed a little different this year, and it’s not just the absence of twenty different cryptocurrencies running ads. When we previewed 86 or so Super Bowl and “Big Game” related commercials and teasers, we began to notice that almost every single one was funny (or tried to be, bless their hearts). In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll examine the sudden explosion of humor in advertising. We’ll also discuss why it’s happening now and what it means for the future of the business.

Since its beginning in 1997, the goal of SEO has been to prioritize keyword rank position, but should that continue to be the standard as Google continues to weigh personal factors and individualized results? In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss if Google keyword ranking is still the best way to measure your SEO and if not, what SEO tools you should use for search engine optimization.

Public relations touches all facets of marketing. Gone are the days of traditional earned media practices, so how are professionals supposed to succeed in an ever-changing landscape of increased expectations and noise? The only solution is to stay on top of technologies and trends and constantly innovate and evolve. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll first recognize the brands that killed it in 2022. Then, we’ll identify three hot PR trends for 2023 that we anticipate the winners will integrate into their PR mix.

Now that it’s 2023, it’s time to discuss this year’s new social media trends! Social media environments have drastically changed in the last year, focusing on short-form videos, viral video views and the utilization of influencers of all sizes; however, 2023 will continue to shake up social media and how we interact with brands and creators. In this edition of Plain Talk, we will discuss five key 2023 social media trends for successfully building trust and a better social media strategy for your brand.

Whether helping homeless individuals, providing a safe place for stray animals, or feeding the hungry (the list goes on and on), nonprofits do great work for our communities in countless ways. While they may have different missions, many nonprofits fall short in the same area: their presence on social media. There are many reasons nonprofit organizations aren’t consistently active on social media, including short-staffing, fear of over-asking and annoying their followers, or not knowing what to post—to name a few. As someone who works with nonprofits daily to help spread awareness of their missions and dedication to bettering the community, I’ve seen firsthand how impactful a social media presence can be. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss eight nonprofit social media tactics you can use to increase your online presence and help further the awareness of your mission to make a change.

Depending on your level of knowledge about the specifics of website development, the process can seem like a black box. Having a good working knowledge of the parts involved can save your company from ending up in a situation, months or years down the road, where you find out you don’t have access to or even ownership of certain parts of your website or data. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss the most important facets of website ownership. We’ll outline the items you absolutely must control to ensure your company’s website is completely under your control.

You already know the importance of trust but are you thinking about this important form of capital the right way? In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll explore brands looking at trust as something to be built rather than just simply something to protect. You’ll also learn how to build a trusted brand using five key insights.

Brands spend a ton of money getting the word out, driving engagement and generating sales, but fraudulent practices are costing advertisers billions every year. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll talk about ad fraud practices separating you from your hard-earned ad dollars and costing you sales.

So, you have the insights to drive your media plan and your messaging but are you really using media “right?” In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll talk about how to ensure your creative content is made to work ideally with each medium in the plan to maximize the power of your campaign with effective marketing messages.

Online sales are booming! E-commerce is the way! Brick-and-mortar stores are over!

To these paraphrased headlines, I have two words: Amazon Go. Here are another two: Amazon Style. And two more: Amazon Fresh. Yes, the world’s largest e-commerce retailer is actively pursuing a physical retail footprint, and they aren’t only ones. In today’s Plain Talk, we’ll discuss e-commerce vs. retail and why consumers still overwhelmingly prefer the retail experience.