Your ATTN Please || Thursday, 6 March

Hey YAPpers, I need to tell you something.

Sophie, Abdel, and I put 14 hours a day into creating YAP for you (and we freaking love doing it). But the only way we can keep bringing you YAP is if we get paid. This means we need you to support our sponsors! The more you click on our ads, the more we get paid. And the more we get paid, the better content you get. So please click on the ad below and check out Planable, because we think they’re pretty cool :-). Love you all.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

POV: Your campaign launches next week.

You have 47 unread Slack messages. Your CEO just "had an idea". Karen from legal needs "one tiny change". And your eye won't stop twitching.

Sound familiar? Yeah, we thought so.

But your launch doesn’t have to be this way! On March 6th (yes, tomorrow!), Planable and Immaginy are hosting the support group — er, webinar 😬 you didn't know you needed.

They're diving into why launches feel like emotional rollercoasters, sharing real-life case studies, and showing you how to lead campaigns with confidence so you can actually enjoy launch day (yes, it's possible. No, we're not making this up.)

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

CMOs are going extinct (maybe), Drug ads may get the axe & “No buy influencers” are now a thing

Some of the world's largest companies are now CMO-less.

2024 was a year of big changes in the CMO space. Open-AI hired its first ever, while Starbucks, Adobe and McDonald's lost, then replaced theirs. However, some companies have not been so lucky in finding a new CMO. Burger King, Bumble, Colgate and GEICO all currently have the position vacant, according to ADWEEK.

The CMO role has always been one of the most volatile in the C-suite, which is probably why 2024 saw a particularly high level of turnover. The fact that these companies have yet to replace their CMOs points to the changing scope of marketing leadership. Many companies are reevaluating whether they need a CMO at all. Some have opted for a “marketing by committee” approach, spreading responsibilities across multiple executives (e.g., Chief Growth Officer, Chief Digital Officer, or even the CEO).

Others are integrating marketing into broader business functions rather than treating it as a standalone department. Time will tell what the future holds for the CMO role. Will they become extinct? Perhaps.

Pharma's $12 billion TV ad budget could be up for grabs now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The nephew of America's 35th president is a long-time critic of pharmaceutical companies running ads on TV and other media channels. In fact, he has often expressed a desire to pull them in the U.S. Since he now holds the title Secretary of Health and Human Services, it may not be long before he does.

The return on investment for DTC drug ads is quite high (go figure) according to research firm Intron Health. "Estimates range as high as 100%-500%, depending on the drug”— so pharmas will “almost certainly” see their drug sales take a hit from a DTC ban. Oh no! They can’t advertise problematic drugs on the TV anymore?? Whatever will the $639B industry do!?

“Low Buy Influencers” are on the rise.

And they want you to quit it with your online shopping addiction. I know sometimes a parcel in the mail is like a sweet little gift from you to you. But 12 a week??? Get a grip. A new trend has emerged on TikTok for people like YOU (us) that are fed up with the constant barrage of marketing in their social feeds. Many have taken to TikTok to declare they are participating in “Low Buy 2025” or even “No Buy 2025” – sharing the ways they’ve learned to curb their spending.

Some examples are waiting for your makeup to hit pan before even THINKING about purchasing a new one, or “shopping your own closet” which is essentially reinvigorating pieces you already own. On TikTok, ads for phone stands, wigs and hair removal devices are nearly indistinguishable from content creators opining about reality-TV shows and politics. And this is leading to severe impulse purchasing. No Buy might be one of the first trends I can actually get behind (and need to.)

Anyway, that’s all folks!

-Sophie, Writer

DEEP DIVE

Are the Oscars headed for the trash can?

I’m just going to say it: The Oscars kind of suck.

Every year, we sit down, full of hope, only to be reminded that the Academy doesn’t actually care about what we care about. The ceremony has morphed into an annual exercise in confusion, where people turn to each other and say, “No, I haven’t heard of that one either.”

Bill Maher nailed it when he called the Oscars a national rite of television watching where we collectively pretend to know the nominees. And honestly, he’s right. Maybe that’s why viewership this year was down for the first time in 4 years, from dropping to 18.1 million, a 7% decline from 2024.

It wouldn’t be the Oscars without at least one jaw-dropping snub.

This year? Demi Moore and Timothée Chalamet were robbed, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Every year, fan-favourite performances and films get left out, making it feel like the Academy is playing some cryptic game where real cultural impact doesn’t matter. It’s like they go out of their way to ignore what people actually watched and loved.

And let’s not forget the categories that consistently disrespect entire genres. Horror? Comedy? Blockbusters? Unless you’re Get Out or Everything Everywhere All at Once, don’t even bother hoping for recognition. The Academy still seems to think that “serious” cinema has to be slow, brooding, and preferably 5 hours long.

You’d think the biggest night in film would be about, you know, films.

But every year, it’s the drama that takes centre stage. Whether it’s envelope mix-ups (La La Land vs. Moonlight), shock slaps (Will Smith vs. Chris Rock), or cringe-worthy speeches that feel like a mix of self-congratulation and a hostage situation, the Oscars can’t help but create mess.

And let’s not even start on the politics. Every year, there’s scandal about lack of diversity, outdated voting practices, or baffling choices that make it clear just how out of touch the Academy still is.

Are we watching the Oscars die in real time?

The ratings tell the story. Year after year, fewer people tune in. At this point, the Oscars feel less like a must-watch event and more like a niche industry party being forced onto the public. The prestige is fading. And streaming platforms, TikTok, and Twitter discourse are proving that awards aren’t the ultimate marker of quality anymore.

So, is there a way to save the Oscars from total irrelevance? Maybe. But it would take a major overhaul—recognising actual popular films, embracing the way modern audiences consume media, and, for the love of cinema, cutting the runtime down to something digestible.

Until then, the real entertainment will always be the memes that come out of the chaos, not the awards themselves.

-Sophie, Writer

WE’VE GOTTA KNOW…

TREND PLUG

"I wouldn’t tell you what color socks I got on"

Today's iconic soundbite is from Bhad Bhabie, who dropped "Ms. Whitman,"a diss track aimed at Alabama Barker. 

And while the song itself had people talking, this one line? Well, TikTok made it a whole personality trait. It’s got peak gatekeeping energy, perfect for when someone asks you a little too much and refuse to share as if it’s classified government intel.

Creators are using it to highlight that we ALL have an Alabama in our lives. Some are getting defensive when people are being just a little too nosy, while others are pointing out that their real life is not all that is portrayed on social media.

How you can jump on this trend:

Just pick something you’d never reveal, no matter how small, and hit them with this sound like you’re keeping the nuclear codes. Use the sound, attempt lipsyncing the line. Bonus points if you act extra serious about something painfully trivial.

A few ideas to get you started: 

• When people ask me how I got my first brand deal

• When a client asks how long their project will actually take

• When they ask for a whole content strategy on our discovery call

-Abdel, Social Media Coordinator

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: not the chompers falling out
❤How wholesome: i’m not crying you’re crying
🎧Soooo tingly: wait how
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Chilli beef garlic butter folded wrap

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

yourattnp.lease

View more on Instagram

Want even more “YAP”ing? Check out the full podcast here.

ASK THE EDITOR

Q- I think my IG has a lot of engagement. At what point can I consider myself a "nano influencer" and begin approaching brands? -Chrissy

Hey Chrissy!

After checking out your account, I can see you've had a few videos that have done well. If I were you, I'd focus on growing your followership to at least a few thousand followers before reaching out to brands. Continue optimising your content for views and engagement (aim for 7-10k+ views on at least every second or third post).

Remember, brands are looking to get themselves in front of as many people as possible, so they will want to see that you can get those views consistently before working with you. For now, you can begin creating UGC and building relationships with small brands in your niche. But your main focus should be continuing to grow your audience and getting them to engage with your content as much as possible!

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

WHAT DO YA THINK?

PSST…PASS IT ON