• by Aaron Baar , January 3, 2017

From stories about product and packaging recycling, improved wireless networks to choosing paint, the most-read stories on the consumer electronics, telecommunications, entertainment and consumer packaged goods beat were as disparate as the industries themselves. 

Big brands such as Verizon, AT&T and Unilever helped prove once again that having a well-known name helps garner attention. Verizon notched two top ten stories, one for its ongoing campaign (No. 3) rewriting former hit songs into network-touting jingles and another for its Fios television service (No. 10). AT&T, meanwhile, had readers interested in its AT&T Thanks loyalty program (No. 8) which offers promos such as free movie tickets and discounts to its customers. 

Unilever racked up the second most-read story for its “Rethink Recycling” campaign (No. 2), asking consumers to look beyond the kitchen and its soda cans, paper towels and plastic bottles to other rooms in the house for recyclable containers. “This year, we’re inspiring consumers to end bottle bias and treat their bathroom bottles just like their kitchen bottles when it comes to recycling,” Lauren Harper, director of sustainable living and Unilever brand, said at the time.

Elsewhere, readers were interested in how to attract consumer attention. From PetSmart teaming with Universal film “The Secret Life of Pets,” (No 4) to FitBit making its first appearance on the Super Bowl (No. 6) to Valspar creating a Web site designed to make paint shopping easier (No. 7) to an interview with the CMO from Xerox spin-off Conduent (No. 5) about the choices made in designing a logo, getting noticed in an increasingly fragmented world requires a mix of the traditional and the new. 

This desire for strategic thinking was perhaps the reason that a study from The ANA about shopper marketing (No. 9) resonated so strongly. The study, which polled 185 B2C and B2B marketers, found that the idea of shopper marketing has shifted from a short-term sales drive into a tool to motivate shopper behavior. “[Shopper marketing] was originally that ‘last moment of truth’” before making a purchase, said Sarah Gleason, senior vice president of shopper and retail strategy at GfK, which worked with the ANA on the study. “Marketers are now starting to realize there’s a wide range of behaviors where a shopper can be influenced by their brand or a competitor.”

The outlier among this bunch, however, is the most-read story of 2016, which does not fall under either consumer electronics, telecommunications or packaged-good or marketing business categories. The most-read story — by far — authored by me in 2016, was about All Nippon Airways launching a new campaign to appeal to North American travelers. With more than 14,000 views (10,000 more than the number two story) and a publish date in mid-November, the most plausible explanation for this popularity seems simple. 

After a tough 2016, people are looking for a break and a vacation.