The Greatest TV Ad of All Time?

In today’s email:

• Macy’s “Gift”: Is this the greatest ad of all time?

• New Concept Store: H&M launches

• TL;DR: Top Reads for your weekly enjoymentSubscribe now

Macy’s “Gift to the City”

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. I have fond memories growing up and turning on the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with family. These days, I’m lucky enough to walk down to Central Park and watch the parade live as the floats and balloons make their way down to Herald Square.

I’m not alone in this tradition. An estimated 50 million Americans will also be watching the parade, in addition to more than 3 million live viewers!

It’s not cheap to put on a show like this, with estimates reaching $10.4M-$12.3M dollars:

Here are some of the costs:

• Helium for balloons - $500k

• Float Construction - $30k - $100k per float

• Costumes - $2M

• Taxes - $138k

• Staff Salaries - $1.3M

Macy’s hasn’t confirmed these numbers, and they’ve stated that the parade is a “gift to the city”. While that’s a nice sentiment, there are no giveaways in business.

This may seem like a hefty price to pay for an event, but it is also important to note that Macy’s makes additional sponsorship revenue that we aren’t calculating. Let’s break this down from their cost perspective.

With few events to compare at this scale, let’s put it up against the most watched event on TV in the US- the Super Bowl.

Last year, the average 30 second spot went for $5.5M. It’s estimated that 96.4M people watched this game.

That means that companies are paying $57 for every 1,000 impressions (CPM) for 30 seconds.

For Macy’s, if their total parade cost is $12M to reach 53M people, that’s $226 per 1,000 impressions (CPM) for 3 hours of coverage. That’s an expensive ad!

But, if you were to break this down into 30 second slots, that comes out to only $0.62 per thousand impressions!

It’s important to note that traditional ad spend is notoriously difficult to measure and something like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is nearly impossible to value. It’s also not a great apples-to-apples comparison. A better equivalent may be to compare the brand equity of the NFL and the Super Bowl, as opposed to a commercial that is run during the event.

What I do know is that when I think of holiday shopping, I think of Macy’s. That’s great advertising.

H&M Serves Up Style

H&M just launched a new concept store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This is not your average H&M. In fact, it isn’t even called H&M.

The smaller format 7,000 SF store (H&M average is 20k-25k SF) will rotate themes every 4-12 weeks, running through the end of 2023. “Brasserie Hennes” is the first concept, created to look and feel like a French brasserie. H&M winter fashions are currently on display, along with a curated mix of local Brooklyn goods.

The space will serve as an event space and retail lab. In addition to the rotating H&M styles, the store will feature local Brooklyn brands with dedicated space in the store.

The new concept space will also utilize the latest in retail technology, such as smart mirrors offering personalized recommendations. Customers will be able to make mobile payments anywhere in the store.

In an era where customers are increasingly looking for a shopping experience, this concept offers an exciting way to interact with the brand.

If this all sounds very “Brooklyn”, that’s because it is! The concept was cooked up by a local Brooklyn agency, The Gathery.

TL;DR

Dick’s Sporting Goods launches new $50M venture fund

Retail availability falls to 5%, a new low!

Yankee Candle brings the holiday smells to 6 pop up stores 

Nike launches new ‘Rise’ concept store 

Casper and Netflix throw a slumber party!

That’s it for today!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy those Black Friday deals!

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