‘Wackadoodle’ Comedy Meets Cannabis; How Indie Agencies Are Changing Marketing: Tuesday’s First Things First

Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s 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. Cannabis Product Tie-In With Kristen Wiig’s Trippy New Comedy Highlights a Growing Trend A loopy new comedy-thriller mashup called Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar offered viewers a surreal, brightly colored, occasionally musical escape for viewers this weekend. So it’s only natural that the movie’s release on digital platforms would include a cross-promotion with L.A. dispensary chain Sweet Flower. The movie-themed goodie bag includes edibles, cannabis flower, rolling papers and a lighter. Haven’t heard about it? Watch the movie’s Stranger Things-themed trailer and find out how the partnership came together. Independent Agencies Are Reconfiguring How the Future of the Industry Looks Recent research from Forrester shows jarring numbers for marketers: 50,000 agency jobs are projected to disappear by the end of 2021. That’s likely to leave top talent with a wealth of ideas and no defined outlet for it—which means that industry insiders are foreseeing the next great indie agency boom on the horizon. Learn how the “intrapreneur” of yesterday will lead the indie agency of the future. Streamers Set Eyes on Next Big Task: Winning Over the Fast-Growing Hispanic Market Univision announced the upcoming acquisition of Spanish-language ad-supported streaming service Vix, which will include the upcoming PrendeTV. The move signifies an increasing opportunity for Spanish-language media companies and marketers, which aim to tap into the Hispanic market in the U.S., which represents roughly 20% of the population. By the numbers: This demographic is young, huge and growing quickly. Also in TV and Streaming: Upfronts week is coming up soon, and more and more presenters are planning to resume their presentations after taking a hiatus in 2020. Keep up with the news with Adweek’s TV Upfronts and NewFronts 2021 Calendar. Financial Services Companies Join Social Platforms in Moderating Content Donald Trump has now been officially impeached twice, though acquitted both times—but that acquittal doesn’t extend to his rejection and deplatforming by corporate America, which cut ties with him following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. From social media platforms to the likes of Shopify, Stripe and Amazon Web Services, companies effectively acted as content moderators in severing Trump from their outlets. But whether they will behave similarly in the coming years remains to be seen. Thoughtful activism or political convenience: How many marketers will stay publicly political beyond the bombastic age of Trump? Today’s selection of stories comes (in part) from Adweek’s latest issue, which highlights our annual Media Agencies of the Year. Be sure to check out the three honorees, including Global Media Agency of the Year MediaCom, and how they prioritized people to stay successful and support clients during the pandemic. With an Adweek+ subscription, you can unlock next-level insights, data and content that the top leaders in the industry rely on to succeed. More of the Latest: Profiles in Black Creativity: André Smith Expands Diverse Voices to MasterClassBoll and Branch CMO Dares Us to ‘See the World the Way You Want it To Be’Facebook Details Efforts to Protect Myanmar Citizens in Wake of Military Coup