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By

TEAM LEWIS

Published on

October 10, 2024

Tags

news, social media, trends

Table of Contents

    Welcome to TEAM LEWIS Soundbites – a new content series designed to help make sense of moments that matter around the world. We know it's a challenge to keep up with every platform update, celebrity scandal and brand mishap that hits the news – so we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for bite-sized insights from this week’s top headlines.


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    Boston Beer summons Sam Adams with séance kit

    Move over pumpkin spice—this year, Boston Beer is offering mischievous drinkers a chance to tap into the paranormal and summon the spirit of Samuel Adams himself with a one-of-a-kind séance kit. Complete with a portrait of the founding father, a candle, hometown soil, instructions, and a bottle of Samuel Adams Oktoberfest, the kit goes beyond typical seasonal marketing. It creates a memorable experience that blends Boston’s rich history with the beer’s bold flavor, offering fans a fun and interactive way to celebrate both Halloween and the brand’s heritage.

    Takeaways

    This campaign seamlessly blends experiential marketing with playful storytelling, offering consumers more than just a product—it creates a memorable, shareable experience that stands out in a sea of same. By merging tradition with a fun, interactive element, Boston Beer fosters stronger brand connections, encouraging people to try the product while engaging in a unique activity they’re likely to share with others to increase the campaign’s reach and impact.

    Written by: Cassie Gonzalez

    What the rise of paywalls means for consumers and PR professionals

    A new paywall seems to be popping up on a news site every day. Most recently, CNN launched a paywall just last week. While paywalls help sustain news outlets, they limit readership and access to information. Only 16% of Americans currently subscribe to a news outlet, with the majority relying on social media for free information. Younger audiences, particularly Gen Z consumers, tend to avoid seeking out news at all or prefer getting snippets on social platforms.

    Takeaways

    Although social media is the leading news source for consumers, the information shared on social platforms can often lack proper attribution or even be rife with inaccurate information. This is problematic as users may not get correct or reliable news. Without fact-checking or full access to vetted sources, relying heavily on social media can contribute to the spread of erroneous or incomplete stories, leaving consumers poorly informed.

    Paywalls leave PR professionals with the challenge of balancing media strategies between reaching decision makers via paid news outlets and capturing a more passive consumer audience through social content. To expand brand awareness, PR and marketing pros should integrate social media into their strategy, as it engages passive consumers who don’t subscribe to paid news outlets. Creating shareable content for social platforms can help broaden audience research, build brand awareness, and bridge the gap between traditional news outlets and casual readers.

    Written by: Kristen Burton

    How the presidential election tactics highlight a changing media landscape

    Over the last week, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on multiple talk shows in a push to reach target demographics ahead of a fast-approaching election in November. One of those talk shows Vice President Harris appeared on was met with excitement, shock and critique – the podcast “Call Her Daddy.” What was once a niche podcast on a broader sports platform, the show itself and founder/host Alex Cooper have established a massive platform for reaching Gen-z and millennial audiences as the number two podcast in the world. The show also recently signed a multi-year deal with SiriusXM in August of this year worth up to $125M.

    Although it was a pivotal moment to host the Vice President of the United States for the “Call Her Daddy” show – who has traditionally covered pop culture, mental health and relationship advice – it also serves as a prime example of how the media landscape is quickly evolving away from traditional news sources to platforms that are more familiar to younger audiences.

    Takeaways

    This transition for sources to meet their audience on trending platforms and social media accounts has taken a huge leap forward over the last few years, with almost every single brand and news platform participating in TikTok trends or aiming to achieve a more approachable demeanor for their marketing strategies. However, this moment for a presidential nominee to go on a podcast such as “Call Her Daddy” the month before the election catapults that approach to meet audiences where they are to an attempt to discuss the issues that are most important to them. Host Alex Cooper specifically called out that her goal for the focus of the interview was one thing – women. Although the podcast itself is now widely broadcasted across a variety of audiences from more mainstream media, with a predominantly female audience and long-time listeners looking to discuss topics traditionally for women going through high school, college and beyond, what better platform to try and meet that audience where they are?

    We can expect that this approach will continue to evolve as quickly as the platforms where they’re projected do, and we’ll continue to see adapted marketing strategies to try and better understand target audiences while tapping into their emotions.

    Written by: Pixie Bitner

     

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    A post shared by Alex Cooper (@alexandracooper)


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