Remembering Gert Boyle; Latest Insights From Brandweek: Wednesday’s First Things First
Plus, how influencers interact with Gen Z and millennials


Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s new daily resource for marketers. We’ll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here.
Remembering Gert Boyle, the ‘Tough Mother’ of Columbia Sportswear
Over the weekend, Columbia Sportswear lost its pioneering maverick of a mother, the tough and sharp-witted chairwoman Gert Boyle. She was 95. Boyle helped Columbia Sportswear in two major ways: She helped bring it back from the brink of bankruptcy, and she starred in many brand campaigns as the “tough mother.” One famous line from Boyle goes, “I’ve got hot flashes to keep me warm. You’ll need something that zips.”
Read more: Boyle was a branding legend. The only thing that could match her humor was her business acumen.
Brandweek: The Latest Key Takeaways From the Conference
Over half of Adweek’s newsroom has relocated to Palm Springs, Calif. for Brandweek this week, and they’ve been cranking away at highlighting the key insights from talks with top marketers, including Target CMO Rick Gomez, Burger King CMO Fernando Machado and Gap CMO Alegra O’Hare.
Here’s a rundown of some of the most interesting takeaways so far:
- Machado, Angela Brown, social strategist at GSD&M, and God-is Rivera, the global director of culture and community at Twitter explained how a Twitter community was the true driving force behind the viral Popeyes chicken sandwich.
- As Gap celebrates its 50th anniversary, O’Hare focused on what the brand needs to do to excel for another 50 years (including relaunching khakis next year).
- Target’s first loyalty program didn’t work, but its second iteration is better, according to Gomez. He explains why it will be effective the second time around.
- Anthony Anderson broke some news on stage that the Facebook Portal will be integrated into Black-ish for two episodes and gave some insight into how the writers work those integrations into the show.
- Gina Garrubbo, president and CEO of National Public Media explains how NPR is finding new listeners through Amazon and Spotify.
- Chrissy Teigen is recording a song with her husband, John Legend. Plus, she revealed six other interesting pieces of info.
5 Ways Influencers Keep Millennials and Gen Z Engaged
According to a recent study from Morning Consult, influencers have a firm grip on Gen Z, and to a lesser extent, millennials. 88% of those two groups learn about new products through social media and more than half of Gen Zers (52%) and exactly half of millennials believe reviews by influencers on social media—yes, even if their product or brand promotion is a paid advertisement.
Best of the Rest: Today’s Top News and Insights
- Project Veritas Releases Undercover Video of Amy Robach Saying ABC Killed Her Jeffrey Epstein Story
- Shopify Rolls Outs Email Marketing for Merchants
- Audi Taps 72andSunny Amsterdam to Launch Major Global Brand Campaign in 2020
Advice for Your 22-Year-Old Self
Alan Dunton, managing director SF, Shift Communications
1. Talk less, listen more; but don’t hold back from sharing your opinion when it matters most.
2. Pick the brains of as many senior leaders who will let you.
3. Don’t assume everyone comes from a similar background that you do.
4. That third tequila shot is unnecessary.
5. Strap in, it’s going to be a wild ride—but you’re going to love it.