Mediaboss Marketing

The NFLs first television sponsor in 12 years is thinking social first with its activation plans, and is also considering bolt-on deals with EA Sports and league media rights holders Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.

TCL, the Chinese television maker that has increased global market share in recent years, wants to supercharge its brand recognition and sales in the United States specifically focusing on its gargantuan 98-inch models and their potential role in the life of a football fan.

Weve got aspirations to be the best-selling 90-inch-plus television brand in America, and thats what were focused on, said Chris Hamdorf, an electronics sales veteran hired by TCL in April 2022 to guide its growth ambitions. Thats going to create a halo effect for the rest of our line.

The terms of TCLs sponsorship deal are unknown, but Hamdorf called it one of the companys most significant marketing expenditures globally.

TCL went big in the NFL to promote its giant 98-inch televisions.

TCLs giant TVs had a prominent spot during the NFL Draft telecast, when they served as the backdrop for red-carpet interviews done by ESPN analyst Mina Kimes. However, the brand is now focused on the regular season part of the calendar that accounts for 55%-65% of all television sales, a period that coincides with holiday shopping. Theyre considering activating around the Aug. 3 Hall of Fame Game as kickoff to TV-buying season.

Social media, a marketing channel still in its infancy when market leader Samsung left the NFL fold in 2011, will play a key role in, as Hamdorf puts it, giving the consumer permission to consider the 98-inch option.

TCLs vision for social marketing is to create short-form content showing their products in the lives of NFL players and teams. Imagine, for instance, an Instagram reel showing players entering training camp in August and being wowed by new, giant TCL televisions showing highlights, or playing video games on a TCL screen.

Thats one of the things where we have an intersection with a lot of the players, younger players especially they love to game, Hamsdorf said, floating the possibility of working with the Madden video game series produced by EA Sports under contracts with the NFL and NFL Players Inc.

So far, TCL has done team deals with the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf and Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. will appear on packaging. TCL will shoot a commercial with Herbert in June, Hamsdorf said.

To the brand awareness end, the NFL rights allow TCL to show NFL broadcast footage on its display models in retail (Best Buy, Costco and Walmart are key distributors). The company is also in talks with Amazon and Google to specifically promote and display Amazon Thursday Night Football or YouTubes Sunday Ticket in stores.

In 2022, TCL narrowly edged out rival LG to become the second-largest TV brand in the world by units shipped, according to a February report by research firm Omdia. However, its estimated 11.7% share remains far behind Samsung, at nearly 20%.

A television this big and wide is a premium product. But with economic uncertainty roiling U.S. consumers, TCL will make a value pitch to football fans, Hamsdorf said: its 98-inch screen TV has a typical price of around $6,000, similar to other brands 85-inch models.

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TCL leaning on NFL sponsorship to turbocharge growth ambitions - Sports Business Journal

This story is part ofCNBC Make It'sSix-Figure Side Hustle series, where people with lucrative side hustles break down the routines and habits they've used to make money on top of their full-time jobs. Got a story to tell? Let us know! Email us atAskMakeIt@cnbc.com.

The idea behind Morgan Eckroth's social media business is simple: Create the "warmness and comfort of a coffee shop" online.

She's pulling it off, if her six million TikTok followers are any indication.

Eckroth launched her account, MorganDrinksCoffee, as an experiment to hone her social media marketing skills in June 2019. She never intended to make a living from it but now, her videos recreating orders and reenacting coffee shops earn her up to $9,000 per month, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

The 24-year-old's side hustle involves posting on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Her revenue comes from ads, branding deals and merchandise sales. It only takes her about eight hours per week, and it's far more lucrative than her other time-consuming jobs, she says.

Eckroth is also a competitive barista and marketing strategist for coffee brand Onyx Labs, where she makes $45,000 per year. Last year, her total income was $141,000. But turning what you love into work can be dangerous.

"I've had to put boundaries in place so I don't burn out," she says.

Here, Eckroth details how she built her six-figure side hustle, what those boundaries look like and what you should know before trying to make money on social media.

CNBC Make It: How did you learn how to create content that would attract an audience of more than six million followers?

Eckroth: My high school experience was very shaped by being on Tumblr, so I've always been pretty aware of the social landscape and things that trend online.

While I was getting my degree [at Oregon State University], I always knew I wanted to go into media marketing and digital advertising. I started making TikToks as practice, and it was a very natural progression.

My content on TikTok and Instagram is short-form, vertically oriented sketches focusing on barista life like how baristas really react when they say, "Enjoy your drink," and you respond, "You, too!"

I started my YouTube channel for my capstone project in February 2020, and it gradually gained traction. My YouTube has always been geared toward [videos about] skill building and the actual technique of making coffee.

How does having a successful social media business affect the way you consume social media?

I try my best not to consume my own content or other coffee content online. Otherwise, social media starts to feel like work all the time. That was a small shift that made a really big difference.

There are times, like days when I'm filming, when I need to scroll through platforms to be analytical, research and find inspiration. Those timeframes are strict now. I don't drag filming into the evening when I'm not brewing coffee.

Eckroth, a decorated competitive barista, won the 2022 U.S. Barista Championships and was the runner-up in 2023.

CNBC Make It

I do track numbers and pay attention, but I think I do it a lot less than other [content creators]. I only create content that feels authentic to me and what I think will connect to other people in the service and hospitality industry in hopes that people will follow along with it.

I've also had to carve out hobbies for myself that are not monetizable. When I'm not doing my multitude of jobs, I'm usually in vintage bookstores, looking for science fiction and fantasy books.

I enjoy creative writing, too. And I have tons of ongoing writing projects that aren't anywhere on the internet. Those are just for me.

What should people know if they want to start their own social media side hustles?

Social media [as a side hustle] is cool because there's a pretty low barrier to entry. But I do hesitate to say anyone can do it or rather, that anyone should do it.

It's very easy to lose yourself, your voice, if you're just online and posting what everyone else is. I think you need to have a thesis for why you're making content. It's great if that's "I want to sell more of my product." For me, I want to translate the coffee experience online.

Having that written out for yourself is really helpful, because then you can align every video against that thesis. I always ask myself, "Am I accomplishing what I set out to on here?"

That's kind of like a boundary, too. Put those boundaries in place as soon as you can, so you don't create something that will drag you down into burnout.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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24-year-old barista's side hustle earns $9,000 a month, more than her full-time jobit only takes 8 hours a week - CNBC

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has appointed social media contentagencyType A to handle creative services for its social media platforms, according to GeBiz documents seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

Type A will be tasked with amplifying MOM's key message to developing aproductive workforce and progressive workplaces in order for Singaporeans to have better jobs and a secure retirement, it said in contract documents.

Don't miss:MOM Study: COVID-19 saw advertising and marketing firms benefit due to digitalisation

Some of its responsibilities will include enhancing MOM' brand visibility in the online sphere, reinforcing MOM's position as thego-to authority for all manpower related matters and refining MOM's brand persona to build the public's trust in itthrough an effective content and engagement strategy.

It will also provide an analysis on MOM's current onlineaudience demographic and content and engagement performance and providestrategic counsel and recommendations on ways to optimise MOM's social content and engagement strategies tocater to its respective platform audiences.

In phase two of the partnership, Type A will be involved in formulating, planning and executing an always-on social media strategy, managing a weekly editorial calendar and will conceptulise, develop and produce a range of creativecontent including topical campaigns.

It will do so through various communication channels includingsocial media and digital platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Telegram and Instagram.

The contract will be valid for a period of one year with the option to extend for up to two additional years.

MOM has been very active on social media as of late, doling out campaigns to protect Singaporeans against scams and ensuing workplace safety. Most recently, MOM launched the Progressive Wage (PW) Mark to reward employers who provide annual wage increases, clear career pathways, opportunities for upskilling and who improve productivity.

The campaign saw multiple influencer-driven marketing videos as well as a PW Mark show that was held at Suntec City in April. The show saw local celebrities such asAnnette Lee, Taufik Batisah, and The Daily Ketchup (MOSG) in attendance.

Related articles:MOM: Internal comms failure major source of complaints during cost-saving implementationsMOM confirms 77 former honestbee employees filed claims for unpaid salariesSG ministry uses boomer-friendly 'Good morning' posts to dish out sustainability tips

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Ministry of Manpower appoints social media content agency - Marketing Interactive

Whether it's Facebook's News Feed or TikTok's For You page, social media algorithms are constantly making behind-the-scenes decisions to boost certain content giving rise to the "curated" feeds we've all become accustomed to.

But does anyone actually know how these algorithms work? And, more importantly, is there a way to "game" them to see more of the content you want?

In broader computing terms, an algorithm is simply a set of rules that specifies a particular computational procedure.

In a social media context, algorithms (specifically "recommender algorithms") determine everything from what you're likely to read, to whom you're likely to follow, to whether a specific post appears in front of you.

Their main goal is tosustain your attentionfor as long as possible, in a process called "optimising for engagement". The more you engage with content on a platform, the more effectively that platform can commodify your attention and target you with ads: its main revenue source.

One of the earliest social mediafeed algorithmscame from Facebook in the mid-2000s. It can be summarised in one sentence:

Sort all of the user's friend updates including photos, statuses and more in reverse chronological order (newer posts first).

Since then, algorithms have become much more powerful and nuanced. They now take myriad factors into consideration to determine how content is promoted. For instance, Twitter's "For You" recommendation algorithm is based on a neural network that usesabout 48 million parameters!

Imagine a hypothetical user named Basil who follows users and pages that primarily discussspace,dog memesandcooking. Social media algorithms might give Basil recommendations for T-shirts featuring puppies dressed as astronauts.

Although this might seem simple, algorithms are typically "black boxes" that have their inner workings hidden. It's in the interests of tech companies to keep the recipe for their "secret sauce", well, a secret.

Trying to "game" an algorithm is like trying to solve a 3D box puzzle without any instructions and without being able to peer inside. You can only use trial-and-error manipulating the pieces you see on the outside, and gauging the effects on the overall state of the box.

Even when an algorithm's code is revealed to the public such aswhen Twitter releasedthe source code for its recommender algorithm in March it's not enough to bend them to one's will.

Between the sheer complexity of the code, constant tweaks by developers, and the presence of arbitrary design choices (such asexplicitly trackingElon Musk's tweets), any claims of being able to perfectly "game" an algorithm should be taken with a pinch of salt.

TikTok's algorithm, in particular, is notoriously powerful yet opaque. A Wall Street Journal investigation found it uses "subtle cues, such as how long you linger on a video" to predict what you'relikely to engage with.

That said, there are some ways you can try to curate your social media to serve you better.

Since algorithms are powered by your data and social media habits, a good first step is to change these habits and data or at least understand how they may be shaping your online experience.

Regardless of the kind of feed you want to create, it's important to follow reliable sources. Basil, who is fascinated by space, knows they would do well to follow NASA and steer clear of users who believe the Moon is made of cheese.

Think critically about the accounts and pages you follow, askingquestions such asWho is the author of this content? Do they have authority in this topic? Might they have a bias, or an agenda?

The higher the quality of the content you engage with, the more likely it is that you'll be recommended similarly valuable content (rather than fake news or nonsense).

Also, you can play to the ethos of "optimising for engagement" by engaging more (and for longer) with the kind of content you want to be recommended. That means liking and sharing it, and actively seeking out similar posts.

Secondly, you can be parsimonious in providing your data to platforms. Social media companies know more about you than you think from your location, to your perceived interests, to your activities outside the app, and even the activities and interests of your social circle!

If you limit the information you provide about yourself, you limit the extent to which the algorithm can target you. It helps to keep your different social media accounts unlinked, and to avoid using the "Login with Facebook" or "Login with Google" options when signing up for a new account.

Adjusting yourprivacy and personalisation settingswill further help you avoid being microtargeted through your feed.

The "Off-Facebook Activity"settingallows you to break the link between your Facebook account and your activities outside of Facebook. Similar options exist forTikTokandTwitter.

Ad blockers and privacy-enhancing browser add-ons can also help. These tools, such as the open-sourceuBlock OriginandPrivacy Badger, help prevent cookies and marketing pixels from "following" your browsing habits as you move between social media and other websites.

A final piece of advice is to simply disengage with content you don't want in your feed. This means:

So, hypothetically, could Basil unfollow all users and pages unrelated tospace,dog memesandcookingto ultimately starve the recommender algorithm of potential ways to distract them?

Well, not exactly. Even if they do this, the algorithm won't necessarily "forget" all their data: it might still exist in caches or backups. Because of how complex and pervasive algorithms are, you can't guarantee control over them.

Nonetheless, you shouldn't let tech giants' bottom line dictate how you engage with social media. By being aware of how algorithms work, what they're capable of and what their purpose is, you can make the shift from being a sitting duck for advertisers to an active curator of your own feeds.

Marc Cheong is a Senior Lecturer of Information Systems in theSchool of Computing and Information Systems; and (Honorary) Senior Fellow at Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.

Read more:
Four ways to take control of social media algorithms and get the content you actually want - ABC News

NBCUniversal global advertising chief Linda Yaccarino has resigned to join Twitter as its next chief executive.

Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed the hire in a tweet Friday.

"I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!" Musk tweeted. He said she "will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology."

He added, "Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app."

The announcement comes a day after Musk said via Twitter that he would step down from the role and that there would be a new CEO of the social media website, although he didn't name the new person. Musk said in his tweet the person would start in about six weeks.

Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal in 2011 and had risen to the top of the company's global advertising business. On Monday, the ad chief was slated to take part in NBCUniversal's Upfront event at Radio City in New York the sales presentation the company, along with its media peers, makes to the advertising industry every year in May.

The longtime ad executive brings a wealth of relationships with top chief marketing officers and other advertising executives to Twitter at a time when the platform has seen advertisers flee therefore losing billions of dollars after Musk's takeover last year.

Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October of last year. Soon after, he fired the company's top brass and laid off thousands of employees.

Many companies halted their ad spending on the platform since Twitter has seen an increase in offensive speech and rhetoric, as several advocacy groups have documented. In an attempt to make up for the loss of ad revenue, Musk created a new subscription service, Twitter Blue, which offers features such as the ability to compose longer tweets.

Yaccarino and Musk sat together in a keynote interview at a marketing conference in Florida in mid-April. During the conversation, the two discussed the role marketers play in the future of Twitter, as well as its position in the cultural conversation.

During the conference, Musk reportedly tried to reassure advertisers that Twitter was a respectable place for their brands.

Yaccarino's exit from NBCUniversal comes weeks after Jeff Shell was ousted as the company's CEO after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with an employee. Rather than replacing Shell, NBCUniversal's top executives will report to Mike Cavanagh, president of parent company Comcast.

On Friday, NBCUniversal said Yaccarino would leave the company, effective immediately, and Mark Marshall, the current president of advertising sales and client partnerships would become interim chairman of the company's advertising and partnerships group.

Marshall will report to Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Lazarus and Marshall are likely to take part in NBCUniversal's Upfront presentation on Monday, CNBC's David Faber and Julia Boorstin reported Friday.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

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Elon Musk hires ex-NBCUniversal ad chief Linda Yaccarino to be Twitter's CEO - CNBC