Ahmad Kareh

From Kendall Jenner's highly controversial 2017 Pepsi "protest" ad to Jack in the Box's recent spot featuring genital jokes in the workplace, ad agencies have, over the years, made a lot of tone-deaf blunders. Today's socially conscious consumers expect authentically diverse experiences portrayed in the media, and they're becoming less and less forgiving when brands rely on stereotypes or offensive humor to sell their products.

Marketing was once viewed as a "one size fits all" activity, where businesses broadcast the same message to every single customer. In recent years, marketers have gained access to a wealth of individual consumer data and insights, making it easier to personalize their efforts for maximum effectiveness.

If your business is looking to switch up its marketing efforts, you may have considered building a team in-house. This seems to be the new trend in marketing, as companies such as Unilever and P&G are leaving agency life behind to start their own in-house teams.

Getting legitimate followers on social media -- especially Instagram -- is a tough thing to do. It often requires tools, patience and a lot of monitoring and resources. This helps preserve the account while making sure it doesn't fall victim to an army of follower bots.

There's been a lot of industry talk recently around diversity and inclusion. And rightfully so: Having a diverse team is important for many reasons, including the ability to envision, discuss and brainstorm ideas or campaigns from many different perspectives. But there's more work that needs to be done to balance out the playing field.

Apps were created to make our lives easier and more organized, and in many ways they do. Apps help to make work more efficient, and this is especially true for public relations, where there's a constant juggling of clients, clips and collaboration.

More than one-third of Americans will take a vacation this year, according to a report by AAA. Summer is, literally, the hottest time for employees to request time off and take advantage of a vacation.

Aside from colleagues, clients are some of the people you spend a significant amount of time with. After all, you're in business to serve your customer base. However, depending on the relationship between you and the client, sometimes the time and money aren't worth it. Since these relationships are not one-size-fits-all, you have to be careful about which clients you choose to work with in order to maximize results.

Modern marketers really have their work cut out for them. Consumers are savvier and have higher expectations than ever, and the traditional "hard sell" approach to advertising lost its effectiveness years ago.

America is in the midst of a great cultural shift. At the center of this change is a new brand of social activism -- a technology-enabled wave of consumer consciousness and support for deeply-held values and beliefs, on all points of the political spectrum.