Digitas's 'The Boycott NewFront' Kicks Off in New York City
*By Christian Smith*
Companies need to take a stand on social issues if they're to remain relevant with their customers and have a place in the media landscape. That's the takeaway from this year's Digitas NewFront, where more than 200 marketing and branding executives met to discuss the issues facing their industries.
"It's no longer enough to just say 'Hey two pizzas $9.99.,'" said Scott Donaton, the chief content officer of Digitas, in an interview Thursday with Cheddar. "The brands that try to sit on the sidelines right now are are actually being dragged into these debates whether they want to or not."
Those debates include gun control, gender equality, and police brutality, topics that were on the agenda at the NewFront this week in New York.
You don't typically hear such discussions at most conferences like this, where content providers usually present new ideas for advertisers to decide where best to position their brands. But the Digitas NewFront is different. Each year organizers choose a theme affecting the marketing industry.
Michael Kahn, the global brand president at Digitas, said the company picked "The Boycott" as this year's theme because the internet "is no longer neutral."
"We are now in such a different world with digital communications and channels, and always being on," said Kahn. "People can't afford to sit on the sidelines anymore."
Digitas put on the first NewFront in 2008, when broadcast TV still reigned supreme and digital content was beginning to grow. Since then, Digitas has pulled in partners such as Hulu, Google, and OATH, which now hold their own NewFronts.
Seth Schachner breaks down Zootopia 2’s record-smashing debut, holiday box office trends, early 2026 Oscar contenders, and what’s next for Netflix and WBD.
Truist's Mike Skordeles unpacks earnings trends, market correction, labor force dynamics, and what a possible December rate cut could mean for all of us.
Holiday shopping heats up as big-box earnings reveal how Walmart, Target & Home Depot are navigating consumer pressure, strategy shifts and trends shaping 2025.
The Campbell’s Co. said Tuesday it has placed one of its executives on leave while it investigates claims that he made racist comments and mocked the company’s products and customers in an audio recording.
Elon Musk’s X unveiled a feature that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts, often posting in support of the U.S. MAGA movement with thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the U.S. This raises concerns about foreign influence in U.S. politics.
