Mar 13, 2024

Matched Audiences Maximize Digital Audio Ad Performance. Engaging Results From a MAGNA SXM Study

A majority of Americans now are digital audio listeners according to Melissa Paris, Vice President of Sales Research and Analytics at SXM Media. To better understand this important population, MAGNA and SXM Media division of SiriusXM partnered on a research study, “Matched Audiences for Unmatched Audio Performance” that looks at the value of using advanced data to better target and reach digital audio listeners.

This study is the first of its kind for audio but it incorporates knowledge gained from previous studies on digital video, Kara Manatt, Executive Vice President of Intelligence Solutions at MAGNA explained. “We've never done anything like this with digital audio testing how the same ad is going to perform with matched versus demographic targeting.” But, she added, “It's not the first of its kind in the sense that we've done similar types of testing with digital video to understand how using these different methods of reaching people can affect ad effectiveness.”

The study used a combination of first party data from participating brands matched against a panel in a clean room and third party data curated by Axiom. Manett noted that brand customers within the first party data were those who have a high propensity to buy in that category, thus going beyond standard demographics. “To me that underscores the uniqueness of the study. The whole purpose of the study is to go beyond demographics and the fact that we are not just the age range we are in. There's much more nuance to groups and individuals than the age range.” Any skew was strictly brand and customer base related.

Among the key findings, Paris explained, was that, “People of all ages are receptive to digital audio ads in general. That was a baseline finding.” The study also found that digital audio ads have, “higher memorability and higher aided recall among matched audiences holistically when we compared them to demographic audiences,” noted Manett.

“When we break it down by audience types, we saw that both first party and third party data sets we used beat out demographics alone. When we looked at unaided and aided recall in both of those metrics, first party drove the highest lifts in general, followed by third party audiences, followed by demographic audiences. This underscores the finding that memorability is much stronger among match audiences,” Manett added.

In measuring the purchase phase, “We saw some interesting nuances. When we looked at people who were specifically new to the category, we saw that matched audiences showed a 3 times higher impact on purchase intent.” For her and of particular interest to advertisers, “We were able to prove that matched audiences are not only more effective, they're also more cost efficient. With their ability to drive purchase intent, we saw that on a cost per person basis that the match to audiences is actually cheaper or more cost efficient than using demographic audiences,” Manett stated.

“This is one of those studies where we saw a confirmation about things we had anticipated and that we were proven right in in terms of the hypothesis we set out to prove,” explained Paris. “But from an external perspective, I think the biggest surprise is the cost efficiency.”

For Manett, creative also impacted the study findings. When measuring audience reactions to the ads themselves, “and people are asked how they feel about those ads, we found if we can make some tweaks on what we know about these audiences, the ads perform much, much better. Even small tweaks in the creative based on the data used to reach these audiences help make the ads work harder. The big finding is making sure that we do our best to customize the creative based on who we're reaching.”

“There's a lot of evidence here for brands to do more exploration when it comes to digital audio. If they're buying digital audio and they're only using demographics this study will hopefully encourage them to try out first party or third party match audiences, and if they are already using matched audiences, this will encourage them to think more about the creative approach. Maybe it's time to start messaging these audiences uniquely more through customized creative if they aren't already,” Paris concluded.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

Jan 10, 2024

The Highest Reaching Campaigns All Have Similar Attributes. Revealing Findings From Effectv’s TV Viewership Report

Effectv has just released their latest edition of the bi-annual TV Viewership Report. This wave examines data from the first-half of 2023 data in the multiscreen TV landscape, offering advertisers and marketers revealing takeaways about consumer viewing habits in the Comcast footprint.

Essentially, the report noted that found that successful video ad campaigns, that is, those that provided the greatest reach, shared similar attributes and media mixes. “Brands that optimize reach and results are deploying a common approach with traditional TV as the foundation and streaming as a supplement to reach those hard-to-reach viewers,” the report stated. The importance of traditional TV as a pivotal element for a successful campaign is a fairly stunning revelation considering how linear TV is sometimes dismissed in some campaigns.

The study also revealed that high reach campaigns have a combination of consistent advertising over a broad range of dayparts, endpoints, networks, FAST, VOD and live programming from news and sports. The combination of all of these elements provides a roadmap for advertisers to maximize their reach across platforms.

This current wave analyzed 40,000 multiscreen campaigns. “There are qualifications required for campaigns to be included in a TV Viewership Report analysis,” noted Annie Hagerty, Research and Insights Manager, “We verify that campaigns have enough impressions and investment to be reflective of sufficient delivery, we focus on local advertising campaigns, and all campaigns include traditional TV and Streaming.”

While there are many new ways for consumers to access content and many more varieties of content available, traditional TV leads all other forms in driving reach in a multiscreen advertising campaign (77%).  Streaming and free ad-supported streaming TV plays important roles in attracting to reach light and no-TV viewing households so a careful combination of all viewing forms is vital to reaching as many viewers as possible.

Interestingly while optimizations can vary by ad category, audience, and geography, the essential foundations of a multiscreen campaign remain true across these different factors. “Regardless of ad category, audience, or region, we see that traditional TV provides a scale of reach that advertisers should maximize on, while streaming provides incremental reach and reaches households that are hard to reach through traditional TV due to little or no viewing,” she stated.

The report noted that that 20-30% of investment be applied to streaming regardless of these different factors. “When we’ve researched how to maximize reach among different audiences, we’ve consistently supported this recommendation. We do see audiences, like retirees, maximizing reach closer to a 20% of investment to streaming, while young adults closer to the higher end of the range. Advertisers should keep the behaviors of their audience in mind when deciding on strategies, but a foundation in traditional TV is important to achieve the scale of reach,” she added.

With this latest version of the report, “there’s a great opportunity to see what the common strategies are among our highest reaching multiscreen campaigns to be sure those are being included in advertising strategies,” Hagarty explained. “These high-reaching campaigns shared several strategies including consistent advertising across endpoints and time of day – emphasizing the importance of advertisers following the audience where and when they are watching to maximize reach.”

For those advertisers trying to best structure their most effective campaigns, “It can be difficult to verify the full impact of campaigns when TV and streaming are not being optimized within one strategy. Creating a holistic multiscreen campaign leads to greater opportunity in campaign optimization for the intended audience,” she offered.

Understanding the full media landscape is crucial to campaign success. “If an advertiser has been waiting to adopt a multiscreen strategy, the time is now as our data shows that it is becoming increasingly important to combine traditional TV and Streaming. If an advertiser has a multiscreen campaign, I recommend verifying that your campaign is using traditional TV as a foundation and is inclusive of strategies that reach audiences consistently across many endpoints,” she concluded.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

Jan 8, 2024

CLIK Conference 2023 Reveals Some Surprising Consumer Behaviors

Every year, the CLIK conference presents some of the best examples of consumer research from a range of subjects and sources. 

In partnership between the University of Louisville and Doe-Anderson, This year’s conference offered attendees insights into a range of subjects with an expanded outlook. John Birnsteel, CEO of Doe-Anderson and Professor Michael Barone, Chair Marketing Department at the University of Louisville, College of Business offered their views on some of the top studies at the conference.

Charlene Weisler: What set this year’s conference apart from previous years?

Birnsteel: This year we saw a lot of multicultural themes coming through in the research. In terms of multicultural, we oftentimes think about that as gender or race but this was political – a kind of diversity of political ideology. It's the second year in a row that a paper has been presented looking at political ideology and that was a highlight - the implications that politics can have on consumer decision making.

Weisler: You have several very interesting studies. Tell me about the surprising conclusion to the Status vs Uncertainty study and explain how marketers can fall into stereotyping and what they can do to prevent that.

Birnsteel: This study looked at political leanings and the propensity to adopt what they call a really new product, an “RNP.” What the research showed is that it was a reliable predictor of uptake. But what was surprising was that I think most of us would think, if asked, “Who's more likely to pick up a new product, a progressive or a conservative?” You'd probably say a progressive, but the research showed that messages and a focus on the status of having something new first was really compelling to the conservative audience. So with really new products, conservative ideologically leaning people were more likely to pick that up, as opposed to progressive people who were more compelled by messages of the high performance of the product, not the fact that it was new.

Barone: If you can, through readily available data, identify consumers (by political) ideology, you can position the same product in two different ways, depending on which segment you're trying to reach based on whether it has to be more about status or performance. It could be the same innovation that's out there. You'll just be more effective marking it one way for people who identify more conservatively and marketing it in a different way for people who are more liberal in their mindsets.

Weisler: Looking at some of the major studies at the conference, what was the one biggest surprising conclusion of each study?

Birnsteel: Looking at cultural differences was important for the Top Rated or Best Seller study. Interdependent cultures were more compelled by the top rated, so much so to even pay more for those products.

Birnsteel: The Just Keep It: Returnless Product Replacements Signal Trust and Increase Brand Support study revealed that return-less replacement policies signal trust and increased brand support. It’s an overlooked benefit in the idea that the more trusting you are of people, the more they'll trust you. From a business perspective, I was thinking about the cost implications, you know, how much the price of how much is it worth to give away products that you're not going to get returned back or might not get returned back.

Birnsteel: With the Periodic Donations are a Diagnostic Cue of Donor Charitable Commitment study I was surprised that what was perceived to be greater by consumers was for a company to perhaps give a million dollars over 10 years and show that sustained commitment rather than if a company gives 10 million dollars to a cause as a one-time donation.

Barone: There's literature out there on competitive altruism that kind of speaks to the status signaling effect of really large donations that would provide sort of a different pull towards the one time big splash donations. Rather, within the range studied here, relatively smaller amounts and  more frequent giving is a better signal of credibility and corporate social responsibility efforts.

Birnsteel: With the No Comments study understanding the interpersonal and professional consequences of disabling social media comments, you can see why a company would turn off comments when things get heated, right? You'd think that heated comments would actually turn people off. But the absence of dialogue turned people away. I think this is actually something that people in public relations have known for a long time. Like, you don't say ‘no comment’ because while it shuts down the conversation – it can leave a negative impression.

Birnsteel: The Entitative Effects of the And-Brand Name was a fun one. This paper looked at having brand names with the word “and” in it and the implications it has on consumer mindsets. I think the presenter actually reproduced Doe-Anderson’s logo into Doe & Anderson. It substantiated the belief that that a group with “and” in their brand name can connote more credibility than an individual because consumers think there's more accountability there and more trust.

This article first appeared in Mediapost.com

Jan 6, 2024

Vevo, The Home of Music Television, Reveals the Top Emerging Artists for 2024

In the world of music television, Vevo stands out as the leading FAST network in the U.S. and the world, dedicated to music and music videos. Cementing its reputation as the Home of Music Television, Vevo publishes an industry ranking of top music talent titled, DSCVR Artists to Watch. This annual list highlights emerging artists who are likely to make a significant impact on the music scene in the near future.

The list has become a good predictor of success. Julie Triolo, SVP Research & Marketing, Vevo, explained that, “Year after year this program showcases a diverse range of musicians from various musical genres, backgrounds and regions. Some of the notable artists who made this list in the past are the likes of Sam Smith (2014), Billie Eilish (2018) and Ice Spice (2023) to name a few.”

While the list always highlights the most talented and promising musicians for each year, there can be differences year to year based on current trends and an ever evolving consumer landscape. What sets the 2024 list apart from previous years is, “an increased focus on international artists. While the 2023 class featured artists from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico, the 2024 class expands to include artists from Australia, Canada, and Germany. This global representation reflects the growing diversity and interconnectedness of the music industry,” she explained.

Another key difference this year is the emphasis on alternative and indie music genres. “The 90s have had a resurgence in our society from fashion trends to our lexicon and the revival of grunge attributes in music,” she noted. There is also a broader range of musical styles within each genre which showcases the richness and depth of talent within each genre.

There are some artists whose careers surged since their inclusion in the 2024 list. “Chappell Roan has been critically acclaimed for her raw, grunge inspired sound that’s part of that indie alternative revival mentioned previously,” Triolo stated. “She’s been highlighted recently in major music publications and blogs as a result of being part of the DSCVR family.”

Another example of the impact of Vevo’s DSCVR Artists to Watch is Fridayy’s rise to fame, “which provided a platform for her unique sound to connect with a wider audience. She’s now been featured on popular Spotify playlists and has put her on the map with accolades among critics and fans alike.”

For the first time ever, Vevo is highlighting a DSCVR Artist of the Year with Renee Rapp selected as the inaugural honoree. Triolo noted that, “The impact of Renee Rapp’s nomination has increased her exposure level, content consumption and engagement metrics. While Renee’s super stardom began with the comedy series on HBO Max in Sex Lives with College Girls, her appointment as the very first DSCVR artist of the year elevates her profile as a musician on the precipice of becoming a global force in the music industry.”

DSCVR Artists to Watch, now in its tenth year, has become the expert voice in the industry and one of the most highly anticipated reveals that shape the future of music. “Fifty eight percent of consumers take pride in finding music before it gets too popular and 78% say they discover new music through online music videos,” Triolo explained and this excitement helps brands stand out and resonate with viewers. “Our audience has shown positive responses towards brands that associate themselves with new artists,” she stated and added, “Forty nine percent of consumers feel that brands who surround musicians and music content get credit for being on top of the latest trends in pop culture. They are also more likely to view brands favorably, associating them with innovation, creativity, and support for emerging talent.”

Music also helps to spur purchase intent, “Forty seven percent are more favorable towards brands that feel connected to musicians and the music industry and are more likely to consider purchasing from brands that support musicians and the music industry,” she shared.

Audience loyalty leads to brand loyalty according to Triolo. “Overall the Vevo audience expresses a strong preference for brands that support new artists as 44% of consumers are more likely to consider purchasing brands that advertise around their favorite music videos, while 42% are more likely to buy from brands that advertise around music video content that is diverse and representative of the world around them,” proving that consumers appreciate brands that support the discovery of new music, connect with authentic music, and contribute to the success of emerging artists.

“At Vevo, we amplify artists’ voices and are the common thread that connects them with audiences at scale. Diverse audiences seek content that represents their culture and experiences. Buying Vevo is a direct support of diverse media and the artists and audiences we serve,” she concluded.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

Jan 3, 2024

Revealing Video Martketplace Trends in the Freewheel 1Q23 Report

For the past thirteen years, FreeWheel’s Video Marketplace Report has provided the advertising industry with core assessments of an ever evolving national and global digital video marketplace. Released twice a year, the report includes an analysis of the advertising marketplace, current audience usage habits and an assessment of the programmatic marketplace.

According to Bridget Greaney, Consultant at Comcast FreeWheel, the basis of the analysis was derived from the rich anonymized first party data set culled from the FreeWheel platform on premium video for 1Q23, compared to 1Q22. This yielded key takeaways for the industry. According to Greaney, “We're seeing a shift toward more ad supported tiers with the convergence of publishers and consumers. The publishers are looking for a more financially sustainable approach to streaming often with subscription streaming sites.”

From the consumer side of the business, she indicated that, “Consumers are looking for a more a way to manage their costs as it was with original traditional television. We now see more ad supported premium video content which has resulted in overall ad view growth at 9% across the U.S and EU compared to the same time last year.”

Unsurprisingly, viewer experience is becoming an important factor in ad optimization. “There is the increasing importance of the viewer experience because there is so much more premium video relying on supported content that optimizing the viewer experience becomes vital,” she asserted. “It's always been important,” she averred, “but it's becoming even more so. We think of three different buckets of quantity, quality and relevancy of the ads for the audience and have found that audiences do not mind watching advertisements as long as it doesn't disrupt their overall content viewing experience.” In addition to ad relevancy, viewer experience is impacted by other factors such as device type and screen size. “How does that factor into what publishers may consider when it comes to the viewer experience?” she queried.

Comparing global to U.S. data, she explained that, “one very interesting point is how the distribution platform breaks down. TV everywhere is most prominent in both the U.S. and the EU. But that's where the similarities for distribution platform end. There's a significantly larger use of operator authentication platforms in the EU than in the U.S. and a lot more OTT in the U.S. and that's in part because Europe has a much stronger use of set top boxes whereas in the U.S., FAST channels that are direct to consumer through OTT platforms are more prominent. It is interesting to see that while the majority platform still is the same in both worlds once you start digging in, different regions function a bit differently.” She saw from the data that, “Content curation opportunities vary by platform. Longer form content may be accessed on a larger screen, for example and you can do longer and more mid-roles which enable greater ad loads.” But according to Greaney , oftentimes the threshold for those number of commercials can become disruptive for a viewer. “They have a low threshold. So you have to be more particular.”

In terms of trends, Programmatic is one area which has experienced dramatic growth over the years. “We saw 21% growth in the U.S. in programmatic distribution. It is current 35% of the ad views in the U.S. and 19% in the EU in the first half of this year. It is a growing area of the industry,” she noted.

Finally, when you compare audience targeting to behavioral targeting, the U.S. is more committed to audience targeting while the EU relies more heavily towards behavioral targeting.

Looking ahead, Greaney believes that, “The video marketplace will have more content being ad supported and premium video,” within a hybrid model of video on demand subscription services and FAST channel growth. “This is becoming more of a trend,” she explained, “Evolution has always been the nature of the industry. Think about traditional television and commercial breaks. We're just seeing more and more of that happen across the board. The other piece of this is the importance of viewer experience, especially as the market becomes more saturated for consumers.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com


Nov 22, 2023

Bringing Synergy to the Media Marketplace An Interview with KINESSO’s Jarrod Martin

The media industry’s increasing complexity demands solutions that more fully drive results. In some cases it is strictly tactical solution but in the case of IPG’s KINESSO, it’s a strategic combination of advanced technology and agency acumen. KINESSO’s Global CEO, Jarrod Martin, explained that his is a, “tech driven performance agency that gives clients the clarity and confidence to make decisions to drive results.” 

Essentially that means that advanced tech, using AI, works seamlessly with three agency divisions, crossing human expertise with data. “That's what we're trying to achieve; a simpler organization that is a combination of media and data and technology that helps to drive results for our clients. Think of us as an intel ship,” he affirmed.

According to Martin, “There's always a compromise between specialism and integration. We've created an agency that is more sustainable and future focused to have complexity where it's needed and simplicity where it's not.” KINESSO is an integration of three separate units that were operating in a coordinated but not in an integrated fashion. “We were building technology that wasn't necessarily being adopted at the scale needed to be to have the maximum impact. By bringing these groups together, there's less distance between the users of the technology and the people who develop the technology, between the people who have hands on keyboards and are running programmatic search and social campaigns and the client,” he added.

KINESSO, he explained, “offers a specific capability that exists within the agency arsenal like a collection of specialists.” This approach can serves clients of all types from a scaled in-house model to an embedded contractor to a traditional approach, depending on how the client’s business is structured. In this way the agency can either build the infrastructure for a client that has their own systems and protocols in-house, or embed as a contractor with certification access to function in a variety of services, or perform as a traditional agency working as a team on behalf of the client. It is in the flexibility and the expansive range of service offerings that gives KINESSO its competitive edge.

When implementing data solutions, privacy is paramount. “Just to be clear on this, we leverage first party data but Axiom handles all of that first party data on our behalf. Axiom has the credentials, the processes to ensure that we don't make mistakes and do things incorrectly,” Martin asserted. From there, “Axiom might merge that with other data to turn that into audiences where we can then access.” At this point it is anonymized and can be used in a variety of ways whether merging with other data sets or directly applying to processes like segmentations to better identify audiences. “And then,” he explained, “we activate those audiences in media. Axiom and Live Ramp get involved to convert that data into something that connects to partners. So we're really playing in a sand box that's privacy compliant to build those audiences to activate for our clients. We use our technologies to create better data that surrounds the client's first party data and give them a full view of what that consumer looks like using multiple onboarding providers.”

KINESSO has organized itself against four key product pillars – audiences, planning and optimization activation and finally, measurement. “The group or product family is used to build the audiences. Then the audience data flows into the planning and optimization module and then into the planning tool. That planning tool is able to calculate cross channel reach and frequency based on the optimized channel mix to deliver an outcome. At that point we go to the partner level where we figure out which partner will deliver on that channel mix and then we activate,” he stated and then admitted, “At the point of activation, things get a bit messy, because you've got all these walled gardens that won't allow you to combine data. But we have a sense during the planning phase of what our expected outcome will be, whether reach, consideration or some other performance outcome. Once it gets to the platforms, we optimize it within those platforms to get the best possible result.” KINESSO also experiments along the way to, “figure out how the results that occur within a platform reflect reality to find out what's the true impact of each platform in generating a sale.”

When it comes to the use of AI and how it will impact jobs in the future, Martin is introspective. “AI can take a lot of the drudgery out of what we do so that we can focus on value, add tasks and build better relationships with clients. What has happened in the last few years with the rise of digital is that we get obsessed with the plumbing, getting the plumbing right and making sure that we don't make mistakes. That's taken the focus away from bigger and better ideas and bigger and better client relationships. That's where the future is for humans inside this ecosystem with AI.”

It is clear that KINESSO has created a synergistic and open approach to today’s media world. “We've created a new positioning, mission, values, manifesto, visual identity, etc., etc., etc. Some people in our organization don't distinguish between the name and the brand. I would say the name is the same but the brand is very different. Where we're looking to move is in a different direction with more simplicity, better integration and being more agile in how we work,” he concluded.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler

 

Nov 21, 2023

Coaches vs Cancer; A Media Initiative to Help Fight Cancer

The media industry is known for its expansive participation in a range of good causes. One is Coaches vs. Cancer which is, according to Chloe Lipman, Vice President of Community Development, American Cancer Society, “A nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers coaches, teams, and the sports marketing and media industry to increase cancer awareness efforts, organize fundraising activities, and support advocacy programs.” This collaboration, active since 1993, has raised more than $140 million to support the American Cancer Society’s mission to save lives from cancer.

For John Muszynski, Chairman of PMX, the invitation to chair the recent American Cancer Society”s annual Coaches vs. Cancer Dinner Benefit in New York was a great opportunity to honor his wife Gail, a cancer survivor.

“Frankly,” he began, “I really wasn't aware of Coaches vs. Cancer but I knew it had been around for 30 years. The benefit raises money for cancer research through the sale of sponsorships and tables for people attending the event.” The event itself brings together sports figures for an evening that includes panel discussions and personal narratives on their fight against cancer.  This year, Gail was selected to be the honoree by John Bogusz, Executive Vice President Sports Sales for Paramount CBS. Despite a fear of public speaking, especially on such a personal and sensitive subject, she is a media professional with over 20 years at agencies such as Starcom and Leo Burnett. “She was absolutely spectacular,” as honoree, Muszynski remarked.

Previous Coaches vs. Cancer benefits have concentrated on College Basketball. “They talk about how it relates to the media world and entertainment but this year was a little different,” Muszynski explained, “When I was chatting with the Executive Committee they kept asking, ‘What's Gail's favorite school for basketball?’ And I said, guys, I have to be honest with you, she's not a big basketball fan. She's a huge hockey and NFL fan.”

As the discussion continued about which coaches could be included in the benefit for the panel, “the fact that Eddie Olcyzk, a former NHL player, former Olympian just went through a battle with cancer,” led the committee to expand beyond College Basketball for the event. “The folks from American Cancer Society had a contact who knew Eddie and they reached out. The net result was that the evening was less about basketball.” Olcyzk’s keynote talked about, “his experience with cancer, and how difficult it was and talking about the caregiver, and the need to continue to battle this into research and raise funds.

It was very, very well received,” Muszynski noted, “And then my wife came up and she shared her entire story. She's been battling cancer for almost 13 years and she talked about how yoga became a very important part of her treatment plan. It was very inspiring. I can't tell you the number of people that came up to me afterwards, talking about how moved they were by her story and how they can relate because they've got somebody in their family with cancer or they went through cancer and talked about the caregiver situation.”

Gail’s yoga regime began after her first treatments for her cancer in the hospital. It proved to be so therapeutic for her that it led to years of practice including opening her own yoga studio. More recently, she continues her yoga assisting at a studio close to her home.

Asking people for money is usually challenging, but not for this event, according to Muszynski. “I found this to be easier than you would expect. So many have a personal connection to a loved one or themselves being hit by cancer. That was a motivating factor. Also because of my wife and her personality - she knows a lot of these folks from going to events with me - everybody wanted to hear her story and support her. Everybody was very quick to sign up. I don't think I sent a single follow up after I set my first email. It made me feel really good about how our media industry surrounded this event and really got involved.”

For Lipman, the real challenge is Cancer itself. “Cancer is a complex problem,” she admitted, “so it takes a comprehensive approach to make progress. We believe all people should have a fair and just opportunity to live a longer, healthier life free from cancer regardless of how much money they make, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or where they live.” Health equity for her organization means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer. “It requires us to eliminate barriers and address needs. People have different circumstances, and because of this, the tools and resources will be different from one person to the next in order to achieve health equity,” she added.

In addition to in-person attendance, Muszynski included a video from friends and family in the Midwest. “We live in the Midwest a lot of our family and a number of our friends couldn't attend. So I had a surprise video put together for Gail with well wishes,” he explained. As it turned out, that was the biggest challenged he faced in preparing for the event. “It's amazing how so many of our friends and family do not want to get in front of a camera and don't know what to say. But we ended up having an 9 min video that was wonderful.”

This year’s benefit set records for attendance and fundraising. “This year we had 32 different companies represented, 340 plus people and raised over $375,000,” he noted. Last year there were 21 tables. This year there were 33. “One of the things that the American Cancer Society organizers shared with me was that, with 80 different events for the charity, this was the first time ever that they’ve experienced a situation where they had to extend the venue for an additional hour because nobody was leaving. And you know, in most of these functions, they serve the rubber chicken and you turn around and everybody's gone. Nobody sticks around. But we got out of there close to 11pm. So all in all, very successful,” he added.

For Lipman, her organization is on the front lines. “For 110 years, the American Cancer Society has been a leader in the fight against cancer. More people are surviving cancer than ever before, but there is still work to be done to fulfill our vision of ending cancer as we know it, for everyone,” she concluded.

 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler