Technology
Services
Resources
Cannabis marketing regulations are multi-tiered and constantly in flux. While an array of cities and states have legalized and decriminalized various forms of cannabis, the substance is still illegal at the federal level. At the same time, social media platforms like Facebook, audio platforms like Spotify, and search platforms like Google each have different policies for how marketers can promote cannabis products. And on top of all that, cannabis marketers must comply with a growing matrix of consumer privacy regulations. The result? An ever-shifting regulatory landscape that requires a considerable amount of up-front research compared to other consumer packaged goods.
While navigating these various regulations might feel like reefer madness, marketers can minimize overwhelm by approaching them in four tiers: Federal, state, platform-specific, and from a general advertising compliance standpoint. Read on for an overview of each layer:
At the federal level, cannabis marketing is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Advertising Division (NAD). There are two big rules that brands must follow here. First, to comply with the FTC’s Truth in Advertising laws, product descriptions must be backed by legitimate research and must not mislead consumers.
Second, brands may not make any claims that a cannabis product can cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat a serious disease. Brands may, however, make what the FDA calls a structure/function claim. A structure/ function claim:
For example, a brand could not legally state that a CBD product cures insomnia, but it could legally state that a CBD product promotes sleep.
On the state level, State Departments of Health set regulations for cannabis advertising. These regulations vary widely—for example, cannabis marketing is generally prohibited in Delaware, while cannabis marketers in Colorado can advertise across a variety of channels, granted those advertisements adhere to certain restrictions. While there are some general State-level cannabis marketing rules that hold true across the board, it’s critical to research marketing regulations in each state where you plan to advertise. While you’re at it, make sure to look into cannabis advertising restrictions based on city and county jurisdictions as well!
Marketers must also research cannabis marketing guidelines for each platform where they plan to place ads, as they all vary. For example:
With accessible and affordable advertising options like Facebook, Instagram, and Google largely off the table, marketers will need to tap into tools designed to clear this regulation barrier. Basis, for example, is integrated with Cannavu, which operates the largest ad marketplace for curated, compliant cannabis advertising opportunities. Cannavu accesses ad impressions on canna-compliant publishers, automating the publisher selection process for marketers.
Beyond ensuring that campaigns meet the requirements of federal, state, local, and platform-specific regulations, cannabis marketers must also be aware of the broader shift towards privacy-friendly advertising. This includes preparing for the impending deprecation of third-party cookies, updating marketing strategies to meet the growing consumer demand for data privacy, and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and CPRA.
The movement towards privacy-first marketing means that marketing teams must be particularly diligent about compliance when acquiring and activating cannabis customer data, and that they must vet all their partners and vendors to ensure that they display the same level of attention to privacy. At the same time, as more and more privacy-focused regulations pop up across the country, cannabis brands must continually monitor these regulatory developments to in order to avoid costly fines.
There you have it: By approaching cannabis marketing regulations at the federal, state, local, and platform levels, and by meeting the requirements of the overall advertising industry’s regulations, marketers are sure to cover all their regulatory bases.
__
Interested in learning more about the cannabis marketing landscape? Check out Cannabis Marketing in the Roaring 2020’s to learn about who is buying cannabis, how to market to them, and what sets a cannabis campaign up for success.
You’ve just landed your dream job as an SEM professional, and your boss is asking you to deliver your “PPC campaign strategy”—you know, that brilliant, air-tight plan you put together to help your brand or client not only meet, but exceed their business objectives?
There's just one small problem: You don't have a strategy. In fact, while you may know a lot about PPC, you’ve never actually sat down and documented how you make PPC magic happen. Where do you start? There’s so much to cover and so little time, especially given the fact that developing a competitive PPC campaign strategy isn’t as easy as it used to be. Advertisers now have a number of ways to target their audiences, which makes distributing ad spend a challenge.
Don’t worry—we’ve not only organized the process of developing a PPC strategy into an easy framework, but we’ve also created a quick PPC strategy checklist to ensure the strategy you do eventually develop is an effective one.
In short, our five-step framework for an effective PPC strategy involves selecting the right platforms, targeting features, and ad types to deliver your message, and balancing your investment in each. If you’re ready to develop a more advanced PPC campaign strategy for your business, these 5 steps can help you get a head start. Let’s dig in!
Defining what you want to achieve with PPC is the most important part of building an effective campaign strategy. Getting clear on your goals will help you choose the platforms and ad types that are best suited for your marketing needs.
Consider these common PPC goals:
If your main goal is brand awareness, then social media and display ads are ideal for your strategy. If your priority is to generate leads, then you can explore Facebook’s lead capture ads. If your main goal is to drive sales, then most of your PPC investment should be in search or product listing ads (PLA).
Sophisticated PPC strategies use a combination of ad types and platforms to target their audience. First, determine your main goals and prioritize them. Then, use this information to decide which platforms and ad types you should invest in.
Next, let’s review how to target your audience with Google Ads PPC. The kind of audience you target and their point in the sales funnel will also tell you which advertising options you should invest in.
The key to success with Google Ads audience targeting is not targeting the most relevant keywords related to your business, but targeting based on intent. The keywords you bid for, the ads you display, and the landing pages you send people to all need to match the position individuals are at in your sales funnel.
There are three main categories of search intent keywords:
Now, most businesses can’t and shouldn’t target all these categories of keywords for PPC. The ones you focus on should depend on your business type and other marketing strategies. For example:
Of course, search isn’t the only PPC channel you can optimize for. There are several other types of audiences you can target on the Display Network, YouTube, and Gmail, such as:
When targeting large amounts of keywords, creating unique optimized landing pages for your ads can be a challenge. However, directing visitors to generic product pages or landing pages equates to wasted ad spend. Not only are site visitors less likely to convert, but their on-site behavior can also lead to lower Quality Scores, making reaching them through PPC even more challenging.
The most effective PPC managers draw a strong link between audience targeting and landing page optimization. The more relevant a landing page is to the initial search intent or audience demographic interest, the more likely it is that site visitors will click through, sign up, make a purchase, or otherwise take action.
Here’s an example of thoughtfully optimizing landing pages based on initial search intent: You searched for “freelance accounting software” and found an ad for Xero:
You click through and their landing page copy focuses on their value proposition for on-the-move freelancers, not business owners as a whole:
That level of message match—from the intent of the search query, to the carefully crafted ad copy, to the optimized landing page verbiage—provides a valuable user experience with high relevance that’s more likely to result in the user taking your desired action.
Once your audience targeting is set up and you’ve created your relevant landing pages, you’re ready to create and optimize your ads.
Your ads serve as the link between search intent/audience interest and the landing pages you’ve already optimized. The goal is to briefly illustrate your unique selling proposition and offer value. You’ll want to experiment using different copy, visual media, extensions, and other elements to optimize your ads.
For search campaigns, Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) make it easy to include a variety of headlines and description lines that Google will mix and match to create an ad that’s targeted toward what it knows about the user. The key is to include variety, so your headlines and description lines should have varied calls to action and value propositions. You can’t just rewrite the same headline and make it slightly different. Try to include as many keywords in your ad as possible and match it to your landing page content. You want the user to have a seamless experience from keyword to ad to landing page. Google will automatically show the top-performing ad creative the most often.
Beyond ad copy, elements like sitelinks, callouts, phone numbers, reviews, and location extensions are great ways to include more information in your ad and take up more room on the top of the page. At the same time, this will push your competitors further down in the results.
When you have enough data to make decisions, swap out the lower-performing ad assets (the headlines, description lines, and extensions) for new variants. Over time, you’ll improve your ad quality and your account performance.
As we discussed above, ad content optimization integrates better into the ad creation process when you use the right tools. The real focus of your analysis is identifying what keywords and targeting features help drive your campaign goals.
Here are some important metrics to consider for search, display, and/or social ads (depending on your campaign goals):
If your goal is lead nurturing, you may also want to take on-site engagement metrics, such as number of page views or new or returning visitors, into consideration.
Keeping track of key metrics can help you evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of your advertising elements (ad copy, targeting, landing pages, etc.). It can also help you understand which keywords and audience targeting strategies are most valuable for your unique business.
There are a lot of ways to optimize your PPC ads for conversions using data science. Once you have a good understanding of the best keywords and audience targeting, you can use those insights to implement advanced targeting strategies to improve your ROAS even more. Using query segmentation to prioritize revenue-driving keywords is one example of an advanced bid optimization strategy you can implement manually.
PPC strategy optimization is an ongoing process. Here’s a quick checklist to recap the steps you need to take to optimize your strategy.
These five steps are foundational to developing a competitive PPC strategy. The key is to identify at what points in the sales funnel you want to target your audience, choose the right platforms and ads to accomplish that, and then optimize your PPC advertising material. Over time, you’ll identify what elements of your strategy deserve the most investment to improve your ROAS.
—
Want to level up your PPC strategy even further? Our team of experts can help. Connect with us to learn more!
Willkommen, beer lovers! It’s time for Oktoberfest, Munich’s extravaganza of carnival rides, parades, German foods… oh, and did we mention beer?
At the official Oktoberfest, only six Munich-based breweries are allowed to serve beers that, by 500-plus-year-old purity laws, must be composed of just six ingredients: water, barley, hops, yeast, wheat malt, and/or cane sugar. For brewers, the process of crafting a beer that both adheres to these standards and stands out from the competition requires careful planning and attention to detail—sound familiar, digital marketers?
Tradition looms large at Oktoberfest, but at the same time, change is a constant (again: Sound familiar, digital marketers?). While millions of people flock to Munich for that traditional six-ingredient Oktoberfest beer, brewers around the world honor the event by crafting brews that experiment with unique but inspired ingredients. Coriander, sage, grapefruit…pickle? Hey, where there’s a taste bud, there’s a beer.
Digital marketers can learn a lot from these Oktoberfest-inspired brewers: Just like crafting an award-winning beer, crafting a standout digital marketing campaign takes quality “ingredients,” tons of creativity, and a test-and-learn approach. So, let’s lift the lid on how marketers can stand out from the pack with a gold-medal digital advertising campaign.
Knowing that all beer essentially starts with water, malt, hops, and yeast, what makes some beers rise above the rest? A well-defined recipe using premium ingredients like roasted malts that affect color and sweetness profiles, aromatic hops that range from piney to citrusy, imported yeasts, and even high quality water can turn a standard beer into a standout for the discerning drinker, which leads, in turn, to big benefits for brewers.
Similarly, marketers with a well-defined audience can crack open premium inventory through private marketplaces (PMPs) and buying tactics like programmatic guaranteed to advertise where their ideal customers reside online. PMPs offer many benefits, including limited competition, high-quality audiences, and premium, privacy-friendly inventory. Programmatic guaranteed raises those stakes with an added layer of predictability—the chance to lock in the cost and number of impressions upfront—and, thus, streamlined efficiency. These sorts of exclusive, customizable inventory opportunities can increase the relevance of, and customers’ response to, an ad campaign.
Premium ingredients result in premium beers, but brewers often raise the bar by tapping into trends to create new flavors, gain more attention and, better yet, increase share of wallet. For example, beer brands follow seasonal flavor trends, from shandies in the summer to pumpkin spice in the fall. They also monitor consumer health and lifestyle issues, with some brewers developing low-calorie and non-alcoholic beer options to appeal to wider audiences; and broader cultural issues like environmental responsibility, resulting in operational initiatives for breweries to lower their carbon footprints.
Advertisers can also leverage trends to better connect with their audiences. For example, how about this spec ad for Heineken that leveraged this summer’s “Barbie” fever? It went viral because it capitalized so well on the cultural moment the movie created. While some trends bubble up from popular culture, others are specific to certain industries, or stem from consumer behaviors, such as digital audio listenership growing, or time spent watching connected TVs increasing. Changing consumer values also count as trends—even the digital advertising industry is acting on the public’s environmental concerns, for instance.
So to really quench your target audiences’ thirsts, think outside the cooler: hop on cultural trends, consider alternate or emerging media options, and invest in understanding your consumer well enough to surprise and delight them.
What would a frosty stein of beer at Oktoberfest be without the alcohol and carbonation? Well, you can’t have either without an important step in the brewing process called fermentation, when the glucose in the wort turns into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Fermentation takes place after preparation and brewing, but before bottling or canning, and is the step that takes the longest but is necessary for a brewer to get optimal yield.
Just like the time it takes for a brew to ferment, the first stretch of a digital ad campaign can yield results that lead to subsequent real-time optimizations, such as altering media choices, targeting, and creative. In fact, the earlier a campaign begins—even just a month earlier—the more learnings there are to be gleaned, the further costs can be driven down, and the more efficiently a campaign can run.
Think about a time you went to a new brewery, saw the array of drink options on the menu, and ordered a flight to try a few brews before settling on a pint of your new favorite flavor. You turned lots of information into a data set from which you made an informed (and tasty) decision. Similarly, utilizing automated reporting tools that merge disparate data sources into one unified area can drive better optimization decisions and create more efficiency for your team.
As the festivities of Oktoberfest bring people together in celebration of a centuries-old tradition, and beer often, well, just brings people together, a full-bodied digital marketing campaign can also unite your target audience with your brand. With premium “ingredients,” abundant creativity, and experimentation with intent to improve, advertisers can brew a successful digital advertising campaign that stands out from the pack. Prost!
—
The movement towards privacy in digital advertising is as complex as a Belgian sour (if not more so!). For guidance on managing that complexity, check out our guide to privacy-friendly advertising: It’s your one-stop shop for everything advertisers need to know about the cookieless future.
They say buying a home is one of the most emotional purchases you can make. We’re not sure if SNL nailed the exact emotion in this skit… but it’s safe to say that the entire process, from poking around at open houses to making an offer and beyond, is full of ups and downs.
Many prospective homeowners have likely felt the “downs” more frequently in the past decade-plus, as the economy has made buying a home—if not finding a place to live, period—increasingly difficult. First, during the 2009 housing bubble, homeowners sold off while mortgage rates plummeted. Then, during the 2020 pandemic, the available home supply dropped as construction costs skyrocketed and more people, especially millennials, entered the buying arena. Now, record-high home prices and increasing mortgage rates are causing many US adults to delay their homebuying plans, and the market has continued to cool.
And the economy is impacting more than just buying a home: Renters are struggling too, saying the rising cost of, well, everything is leaving them “cost-burdened.” Investors buying more properties is only adding to the competition, and economic factors make up at least half of the top issues affecting real estate agents today.
That said, there are still buyers, renters, investors, and real estate agents in the market right now, ready to make cash offers, go above asking price or forgo contingencies, and invest in the hopes of earning passive income. And for advertisers looking to reach these various audiences effectively, a fine-tuned, persona-based approach is critical—as long as it abides by the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws.
To that end, let’s get to know how four key real estate consumer personas look, sound, and feel as they research this major money move. At the same time, we’ll explore some strategies, shared by real estate marketing expert and VP of Integrated Client Solutions at Basis Technologies, Savannah Thrasher, for reaching each of these personas.
“I’m ready to settle down, and I’m researching until I know exactly what I want.”
With nearly 21 million potential buyers in the market, home sales are forecasted to reach 6.07 million this year. Most of those buyers are between the ages of 25 and 44, and are college graduates with household incomes of above $50,000—meaning they’re stable enough to borrow money at today’s rates. This group spans people who are single, married, or living with their partner, and have or don’t have kids, so from “starter homes” to “forever homes,” there’s not much on the market that this buyer group won’t consider. Size matters (not too big for a couple, not too small for a growing family), as does image, social status, and feeling influential among their friends and family, so the research process of potential home buyers starts early and stays intense.
Savannah Thrasher’s media recommendations: Getting in front of this segment throughout their process is key. Brands can reach and influence potential home buyers effectively by showing them trends and homes for sale, either contextually when they’re reading about homes and buying-related topics, via search when they’re looking in specific geographies, or on social media. Video ads provide additional time and space for messaging, as well as education and inspiration. Leveraging first-party data obtained from buyer inquiries, like scheduling a tour or downloading a brochure, means reaching a prospect with high intent. Finally, retargeting based on browsing activity could bring potential home buyers back through the virtual front door.
“I can’t keep up with the Joneses, but I like what I like…and one thing I’d like is a place to live.”
Renters—of which there are 72 million in the US—are definitely feeling the effects of the economy, often feeling like they can’t keep up with bills and financial commitments. Consumers in this group skew younger than the potential home buyer audience, falling between the ages of 18 and 44. They’ve likely completed some college, have a household income between $20,000 and $60,000, and may be single or divorced. Despite financial stress, they’re willing to spend in an effort to experience life to the fullest, and typically only save for very important and specific purchases. This group is made up of early adopters who influence their friends, and they love what’s hot, meaning they’ll switch brands if it makes them look cool.
Savannah Thrasher’s media recommendations: With so much competition in this space, to connect with renters who plan to continue renting, rental communities should strive for top search placements using custom keywords within their geographies. In fact, a hyperlocal advertising approach makes sense, since this segment is often looking for apartments or units within a comfortable radius of their colleges, employers, or families. Businesses that balance what’s trendy and what’s inexpensive are more likely to win with this segment. Modern, diverse, and inclusive messaging will catch their attention, and communicating about deals and offers that are financially beneficial is key.
“I worked damn hard for my money, and now it’s time for my money to work for me.”
The nearly 11 million investment property owners in the US skew older and appear more established than many of their counterparts: They’re ages 45 and older, they’re often married, and they’re college graduates with household incomes of $100,000 and above. What they do with that money, especially regarding real estate, can be a bit riskier, but can also come with higher rewards. That’s because they’re financially secure, and enjoy educating themselves on topics like real estate and finance so they can own their expertise. They also enjoy showing off the fruits of their labor: Their homes and their wealth are signifiers of social status.
Savannah Thrasher’s media recommendations: Like other segments, investors can be reached via paid search as they hunt for their next property, and contextual targeting can place ads next to the financial content this group craves. Beyond that, more premium inventory through private marketplaces specific to business, finance, and investments creates a high degree of relevance. Plus, this group is loyal and trusting, so brands that advertise luxury, details, and both physical and fiscal comfort may see repeat business and a high ROI on their advertising spend.
“I love helping my clients find their dream home…so why not get one for myself?”
While real estate agents may not be the first consumer persona you think of when you hear “property buyers,” someone has to sell to them! With about 3.5 million real estate agents in the market for a home of their own, and with prospective buyers willing to take risks in hopes of winning big and impressing others, real estate agents are a viable audience to target. They’re between the ages of 25 and 64, married or engaged with kids, with some college but also specialized education in their field, and with household incomes over $100,000. Most importantly, they love what they do: They take pride in their careers and in being trusted resources for buyers. They work hard—days, nights, and weekends—but it’s a sacrifice they’ll make for the financial reward and to be the “host with the most” for their clientele.
Savannah Thrasher’s media recommendations: Between the information they need to sell homes and their sophistication when it comes to buying one (or two, if a vacation home is the right fit), brands should emphasize quality, price, and the know-how it takes to be a productive agent. Reaching agents with job title targeting, as well as geotargeting real estate offices for those moments when they’re on site, and then gearing messaging toward them, can pay dividends.
While the economy has shaken the real estate industry’s foundation, people are still eager to find a home, whether that’s via purchasing, renting, or investing in real estate. And while these consumer personas may vary in demographics and values, their processes are similar: Research, accompanied by emotion, followed by decision—all of which can be influenced by a marketing campaign that finds prospects where they are, speaks to their motivations, and builds trust from consideration to closing.
—
If you’re looking to connect with one or more of these personas, advertising automation can help your team get more granular and efficient about reaching them in all the spaces where they spend their time. Download our guide to learn about all the ways these technologies can make your campaigns work smarter and move you closer to your business goals.
It’s been less than a decade since the cannabis adult-use market opened up in Colorado in 2014. In that time, medical cannabis has been legalized in 37 states and Washington DC, while recreational marijuana has been legalized in 23 states, plus our nation’s capital. And as policy has evolved, so too have the behaviors of cannabis consumers.
Curious as to what these pot proponents have in common and what drives their decision-making? We’ve got you covered: Here are seven things marketers should know about cannabis consumer perceptions, behaviors, and personas in 2023:
The public continues to favor cannabis legalization for medical and recreational purposes. A huge share of US adults—nearly 9 in 10—say that marijuana should be legal in some capacity, either for medical and recreational use by adults (59%) or for medical use only (30%). Just 1 in 10 say marijuana use should not be legal.
This combined governmental and grassroots support is resulting in even more markets opening up as well as cannabis consumer numbers increasing. In fact…
As more states legalize or decriminalize marijuana use, the legal US cannabis market is expected to grow 12% by the end of 2023 to $29.6 billion. By 2027, that number is projected to increase to $45 billion in total legal sales. The biggest drivers of cannabis industry growth will be new adult-use markets like Missouri, New Jersey, and New York, while mature western markets like Colorado and California, despite a post-Covid sales correction, will still account for a large portion of legal sales through 2027.
Dispensaries that advertise in those new markets should focus on building the awareness needed to light up initial business. Pro tip: One channel that more and more cannabis brands are spending on to spread that awareness? Digital out-of-home.
In a survey of more than 5,300 US adults, 42% of respondents said they’ve used cannabis in 2023, up from 39% in 2022. Most consider themselves recreational users (58%), as opposed to medical users (42%), but 53% say they consume for both reasons. Also tracked was their frequency of use: 31% of user respondents reported cannabis use multiple times a day, with another 12% using once a day, 21% a few times a week, 5% once a week, and 11% a couple of times a month.
The forecasted increase in cannabis use will provide a big opportunity for advertisers to gain new customers. Meanwhile, leveraging first-party data to apply tactics like retargeting will help brands to encourage repeat sales.
From Cheech and Chong to Harold and Kumar, the “stoner dude” persona has hung over marijuana users like a dark cloud. But recent data shows that cannabis consumption is truly spread across consumer demographics, behaviors, and life stages.
From those who use cannabis recreationally, to those who rely on it for medical purposes, to users more interested in CBD, there's a variety of personas spanning ages, genders, races, incomes, marital statuses, and education levels. (Want a deeper dive? Check out our piece on cannabis consumer personas.)
Trends in marijuana use vary by demographic, too. According to Gallup trends, 26% of adults ages 18 to 29 indicated they smoked marijuana between 2019 and 2022, up from 17% between 2013 and 2015. Marijuana use has also climbed among adults ages 30 and 64, but has been stable (at a comparatively low level) among senior citizens.
And the “dude” part of “stoner dude” continues to apply less: A Harris Poll survey found that 37% of American women ages 21 and older use cannabis, with more than 1 in 4 women using it at least once a month, primarily for anxiety relief, better sleep, and alleviating pain.
With so many cannabis consumer segments to connect with, leveraging an automated, omnichannel advertising approach can both increase efficiency and effectively find customers where they spend their time. And, targeting prospective consumers who look like these personas is a great way to tap into additional audiences.
With myriad ways to use cannabis both recreationally and medicinally, it’s key to keep track of how consumers are engaging with various product types. In 2022, cannabis tinctures, topicals, capsules, and flower sales declined, while sales spiked for beverages, edibles, vapes, and pre-rolls. This product category shift may reflect the increase in recreational users, who prefer more portable and shareable products.
Given all the ways to consume cannabis and all its stated benefits, what factors are influential in choosing a cannabis product? In a recent study, when asked to rank their two most important considerations, most respondents (60%) said “THC level”—a 9% increase from the year prior—with “price” ranking second at 58%. When it comes to price, 39% of customers are purchasing less expensive alternatives this year to maintain consumption levels while reducing cost. However, when asked, “How much are you spending on cannabis compared to a year ago?” 73% stated that they are actually spending about the same or more.
As of now, cannabis advertisers are cautioned against mentioning potency or price in their ads. Instead, advertisers should focus on their brand values as well as what sets their brand and products apart.
All that shopping around to compare prices comes at a cost to brands’ customer loyalty. In the past, branding and strain type were significantly more important to cannabis consumers. Today, those consumers are showing less brand loyalty, increasingly shopping around to save money.
Since it costs less to keep a customer than to earn one, cannabis companies that collect and activate first-party data from satisfied customers may find success reaching back out via advertising to stay top of mind as those shoppers are price-hunting.
The cannabis industry continues grow like a weed, and ongoing support for its legalization is anything but smoke and mirrors. Cannabis marketers who can capitalize on that growth—finding cannabis users and speaking to their behaviors, preferences, and motivations for using their favored products, in a highly compliant way, of course—could see an increasing amount of another green inside their cash registers.
—
To learn more about cannabis consumers, how marketers can navigate state-by-state cannabis advertising regulations, and how to set your campaigns up for success, it’s high time you checked out our cannabis advertising guide, Cannabis Marketing in the Roaring 2020’s.
It feels strange to say this so early in the calendar year, but the holidays really are fast approaching—and, with them, the need to start planning your holiday campaigns.
What does that planning entail? And what trends, data, and forecasts are driving your holiday planning needs? Well, this isn’t one of those “Do Not Open Until…” presents, or even a vehicle with an obnoxiously enormous bow. Read on for details and insights to help inform your media planning today!
US retail sales slowed last year (thanks, inflation and high interest rates!) on the heels of marked retail and e-commerce growth over 2020 and 2021. This year, retail holiday season sales are projected to grow by 4.5%, a sign that growth rates are falling back to earth after outsized pandemic and post-pandemic leaps.
However, now that we’re no longer “pandemic nesting,” consumer spending is increasing in nearly every retail category except home goods and computer/consumer electronics. And, a Deloitte survey shows that 1 in 4 consumers are willing to spend more on travel (Hey, if we’re done nesting, we might as well fly the coop for a while!). So, despite slower projected growth, most categories can still look at the holiday season as the gift that keeps on giving.
To help marketers unpack this season’s opportunities, we’ve pulled together the latest research on consumer behavior, and combined it with expert insights from Jared Rosenbloom, Basis’ Group VP of Integrated Client Solutions. Read on for our top tips on how to deck the halls with winning campaigns this year:
With the supply chain issues and economic instability that has marked the past few years still fresh in their minds, 2023 holiday shoppers are concerned about low inventory, raised prices, and delayed shipping during the holidays. As a result, they’ll shop earlier, with the holiday season effectively lasting all of Q4. In fact, holiday shoppers last year had, on average, 21% of their holiday shopping completed a couple of weeks before Halloween. Spooky, right?
“Holiday shopping starts earlier every year,” says Rosenbloom. “The earlier you start advertising—even just a month earlier—the more campaign learnings you’ll earn, the more you’ll drive down costs, and the more efficient your campaigns will be over time.” Plus, your ads will have less noise to cut through, making it easier to make an impact on early shoppers. The big takeaway? When it comes to holiday campaign planning, the time to act is now.
Rosenbloom says business’ key performance indicators may look different this time of year: A conversion in the form of an email sign-up in April might switch to a product purchase in December, for example. Those conversions will also cost more this time of year—the CPA for a sale or acquisition on December 22 will likely cost more than it did on June 8.
As all media tends to be more expensive during the holidays, it’s important to consider what you’re willing to spend per KPI. Review last year’s budget and see where (if at all) things went haywire to apply learnings to this year’s spend. Heavy-up during limited-time offers, promotions, and flash sales, and adjust the rest of your budget accordingly. And note that popular media—like fast-growing streaming audio and digital video—have finite space. The element of supply-and-demand is as real as Santa is to your 3-year-old, so buy earlier to lock in space.
During the 2022 shopping season, 80% of holiday shoppers researched or browsed before making a purchase, whereas 20% made a purchase on impulse. This signal of intentional shopping, combined with the growth in social search and a rise in shopping via emerging media (including augmented reality, shoppable videos, and TikTok) showcase the importance of taking an omnichannel approach to holiday marketing for optimal awareness, discovery, consideration, and conversion. To that end, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Get more in-depth, channel-specific holiday advertising tips right here!
For some, “Christmas in July” means Google Analytics 4 is in, and Universal Analytics is all but out. Brands that have started getting comfortable on GA4 will reap the benefits of understanding consumer behavior across websites and apps, while those who haven’t updated from UA will see new data stop pouring in. Plus, if you activate now, you’ll have year-over-year data for the next holiday season.
When it comes to data, Rosenbloom recommends “cleaning house now so you aren’t fixing issues later.” This might include optimizing your website for user experience and data intake, and then leveraging your data and customer lists to make a big impact during the holidays.
Have an e-newsletter? Willing to offer new customers a discount in exchange for some of their information? Encourage and incentivize those opt-ins, and then use that consented first-party data for audience targeting. Have an app? Advertise it! 44% of US adults discover apps by searching or browsing in the app store, and nearly 1 in 4 do so thanks to brand advertising.
Then, find privacy-friendly and regulation-compliant ways to leverage app and first-party data to make your targeting work smarter, not harder. For example, create targetable audiences with a CRM to sharpen your focus and to make your creative more relevant and effective. Almost 90% of consumers enjoy personalized offers, so use your first-party data to give them just what they’re wishing for.
Are those visions of sugarplums or of planning documents dancing in your head? It may seem too soon to think about, but the reality is, consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier, and the gifts of consumer behavior data, retail trends, and advertising opportunities are ready to be unwrapped. Much like curdled eggnog, you shouldn’t let your holiday campaigns spoil: Plan early, agree on your KPIs, earmark your budget, and activate your data, and you’ll be smiling like Buddy the Elf this holiday season.
If you’re looking to take the guesswork out of holiday campaign planning, here’s our gift to you: a comprehensive holiday advertising checklist, complete with everything you need to do now to knock the planning stage out of the park come Q4. Happy holiday campaigning!
It can entice a swipe up, a sign-up, or even a bona fide conversion. Of the many elements that your ad needs to contain, the call to action (or CTA) is one of the most important.
Why? Because your CTA is what gets your audience to do what you want them to do. It will often be the first thing they see in your ad, so it has to be compelling. It needs to cut through the noise of the thousands of other ads that vie for a consumer’s attention, so it has to be memorable. And, it must communicate what action you want someone to take, so it has to be crystal clear.
In the spirit of making your CTA as strong as it can be, below are 15 best practices that will lead to higher returns and a greater number of conversions.
We know, this one might seem obvious! But it’s not uncommon for landing pages to fail because the CTA is either buried in other content or missing altogether. In some cases, marketers fail to set the CTA apart from their other text. In others, they provide too many options—or they have a button but fail to ask for any compelling action.
Your CTA should be easy to see and understand. Set it apart from the other text by adding space and making it large and distinct enough to convert. Do not trust that someone will click through to a services page, home page, or any other page without explicitly saying that’s what you want. The action you want them to take should be spelled out clearly right on the landing page.
Remember, your CTA is a call to action. Think about the various actions your visitors could complete, and use the most action-oriented copy possible. "Receive our newsletter" doesn't have quite the same punch as "Check out our newsletter" or "Sign up to read more." The first example is passive—it describes what will happen to your prospect after they do what you want. Instead, focus on what you want them to do.
By using action verbs and concise language, audiences will feel more compelled to participate. Tried-and-true options like "Buy now," "Sign up," and "Register" all fall within this category.
However, you can also write a CTA that focuses on the results that users will get. "Jumpstart your tech career," for instance, can drive someone to sign up for an online course. "Learn the secret to high conversions" can get someone intrigued enough to sign up for your free report on landing pages.
The color of your CTA button and text could be the most decisive factor between a successful landing page and one that compels fewer conversions. Testing a range of color options can help you figure out which are most likely to work well with your audience.
Studies show that red is a hot (pun slightly intended) color for CTA button success. However, marketers should also take into account other design elements on a page to ensure the CTA button stands out and remains an appealing part of the design. An orange button on a red background, for example, may not be visible enough to make an impact (or aesthetically pleasing enough for someone to stay on the page long enough to read it!)
Experiment with several combinations to determine which works best. One quick trick is to step back and squint at the page. Can you still see your CTA button even when you can't make out the details? Does it fit nicely into the rest of the page while still being noticeable? These are signs of good CTA button design.
Do you find yourself using the same rectangle every time you create a CTA button? Try changing shapes to see if it improves your results. While the most popular shapes for CTA buttons are rounded or squared-off rectangles, other shapes like scalloped edges or ovals can also be effective. To see what works with your audience, A/B test different options and record the results.
You can also play with effects and even subtle animations to see if these draw results. Try an animated version, for instance, that changes color every so often, or one that gives a small shake after a few seconds. Too much of a good thing can be annoying, but minor effects can stand out just enough to elicit attention. If you find a combination that seems to have a positive effect, make note of your results so you can repeat them for your next campaign.
A large and easy-to-read CTA is imperative: Someone glancing at the CTA for half a second should easily be able to read and parse your text.
That being said, make sure you also don't go too far in the other direction. CTA text that is far larger than the text around it can come off as obnoxious or demanding. Readers may find themselves subconsciously put off by text that is too big.
To make sure your CTA text and button are the right size, try looking at your page in a number of browsers and on a number of devices. While responsive design should be able to make every element work well, this extra step ensures that everything is working correctly, and allows you to put yourself in your prospect's position to truly see what they'll see when they arrive at your page.
CTA writers are faced with a double-edged sword: The CTAs they create must be specific, but they also only have a moment to get the point across. Too many words can mess with your design, leaving you with text that is too small or a button that is too large. It can also dull the impact you want your CTA to have.
To stay on the safe side, write CTAs that are between two and five words long. Try rearranging and eliminating words until you have distilled your message down to its essence.
If you are worried about losing important details, consider making additional landing pages that focus on different aspects of a campaign. For instance, one could focus on the fact that what you have is a limited-time offer, and another could focus on the free-trial aspect.
Up to 1 in 4 adults in the US has some sort of disability, some of which cause difficulties in reading or understanding CTAs. As such, it’s key to prioritize accessibility in marketing to ensure that your content can reach as many people as possible. Here are a few accessibility best practices for CTAs:
One of the strongest impulses marketers must work with is their prospect's fear of missing out. By adding a time-oriented message or scarcity to your CTA, you can create a sense of urgency that will keep them from delaying their action and create conversions.
Time-oriented words like "now" and "today" are obvious choices. However, you can also create urgency by intimating future events. For instance, "register before your competition" plants the idea that this is a chance for them to get an advantage that their competitors haven't found...yet.
You want as little friction between your prospect and the desired action as possible. Just removing the need to scroll can significantly increase your conversions. A CTA that is high on the page can grab a prospect's attention right away. Additional information that is not vital to their action but is an important part of your argument can go down below.
Putting your CTA above the fold also makes you think more critically about the other information that is posted. You have no time for throat-clearing and introductions when it comes to converting a new web visitor. Focusing on the text above the fold makes you think extra hard about what information your prospect needs to see to make up their mind. A headline, a good CTA, a graphic, and a few short sentences may be more effective than 1000 words on what makes your product better than the competition.
Your value proposition is just that: the value you propose to offer your prospect. Ideally, it is something they can get from you that is not being offered by your competitors.
What value does your current offer have for your prospect? Is it a free book? A no-credit-card-needed trial? A one-month, non-renewing subscription?
Whether you are offering an exclusive collection or something that is priced far better than your prospects will find anywhere else, let them know this in your CTA. "Save 50% today," for example, lets them know what value is being offered and communicates that the offer is urgent.
Write down your value proposition and figure out how it can be distilled down to a couple of words for a winning CTA. Try to convey it at the beginning or the end of the CTA for maximum impact.
We put a lot of pressure on the two to five little words that make up a CTA, but they don't have to do all the heavy lifting. Adding some supporting bonus text nearby can help increase your CTA’s impact and help you convince your prospect to take the plunge.
Bonus details like "30 days free" or "no credit card needed" can give people the push they need. You can also use space right above or below your CTA button to add elements like testimonials, data points on others' experiences, and other information that can help convince your prospect.
Some examples of bonus text that can help drive audiences to a decision include:
Not every CTA button needs the extra help; many can stand on their own. However, the additional push can often help improve your conversions. As with many of these best practices, it’s important to test different wording and supporting text to see what works best.
We're often told that an abundance of choice is a good thing. However, according to the paradox of choice, the more choices someone has, the less likely they are to make a decision. Additionally, when they do make a decision, they are less likely to be happy with the one that they've made.
If, for example, you have a service where people can sign up using a third-party option, too many choices can make them hesitate. Do they want to sign up with email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or another service? You can simplify things for your prospect by limiting or eliminating options among their choices.
You may also be tempted to offer three or more sign-up levels to people who land on your service page. While this can sometimes be a positive—offering different levels gives you built-in upsell opportunities—it can also negatively impact conversions. Those who can’t decide which level they want may decide to buy nothing at all. This is another instance when A/B testing is crucial: Test multi-option pages where there's a bronze, silver, and gold option against a page in which you offer just one package to see which gets better conversions.
On a landing page, less is definitely more. Instead of thinking of white space (the space that's not occupied by any other element) as "negative space," think of it as an active element for an effective page.
White space around a CTA button can help draw users' attention to it and make them more likely to click. Play with different amounts of padding above and below the button. See if it's more effective when there are sidebars or other elements compared to when your CTA button is the only element in that area of text. By finding which ways are most effective, you can create cleaner, more cohesive pages with better results.
Your landing pages should be easy for your users to navigate. People naturally move from left to right and top to bottom when they are reading a page. Design your page and its CTA in such a way that the page follows people's natural progressions.
Your landing page should always allow readers to follow a natural flow. This is important even when you are experimenting with CTA placement. For instance, consider a layout in which you test putting your CTA above the fold. If you still have additional sales text below, put a second CTA button at the end. That way, people don't need to scroll back up to get to your offer.
No matter what you feel you've learned about effective CTAs, it is still important to continue to test and try new things. New technologies mean new behaviors from prospects. As different generations age into their buying years, they'll adopt habits that are different from prior generations. And sometimes, you'll stumble across a CTA idea that goes against established rules, yet is still highly effective.
It can be easy to fall into bad habits or stick with the status quo when it comes to your CTAs. But by embracing the best practices discussed in this post, you can optimize your CTAs to generate the best results possible. Over time, you'll find that you are able to create CTAs that get you higher conversions and a better return on your marketing investments.
—
Check out this descriptive text link and CTA button: Looking to take action on best practices and recent news across digital media? Sign up for the Basis Scout newsletter! Each month, our experts gather the latest tips, tricks, trends, and other valuable information from around the digital marketing world and send it all straight to your inbox.
Strap on your horn-rimmed glasses: We’re looking back at two important firsts that occurred in 1994. In digital marketing, the first banner ad appeared online, featuring little more than a tease to click—which an astonishing 44% of viewers did. And in popular music, Weezer’s self-titled first album (commonly known as the Blue Album), was released to critical and audience acclaim, launching a nearly 30-year career with more than 35 million albums sold worldwide.
Maybe you’re thinking the Weezer tidbit has nothing to do with digital advertising. I mean, the “Buddy Holly” guys? Say it ain’t so! They’re just a nerdy rock band whose hits are now on oldies radio.
But if you listen carefully to their lyrics, it’s like Weezer has been trying to tell us something. No, not that we should destroy our sweaters, and not that we should eat candy with our pork and beans. Embedded in their lyrics are hints to developing an effective media strategy—specifically, the importance of knowing our audiences, getting clear on our objectives, and providing a journey that meets consumers across the many screens, channels, and platforms where they spend time. If you listen carefully, these considerations might just put you in a perfect situation for success.
Where I come from isn't all that great / My automobile is a piece of crap
My fashion sense is a little wack / And my friends are just as screwy as me
I didn't go to boarding schools / Preppy girls never looked at me
Why should they? I ain't nobody / Got nothing in my pocket
Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be
Advertisers must understand the characteristics of their target audience as well as Weezer understands the characteristics of Beverly Hills residents. Market and consumer research is mission-critical: The more you know about your ideal prospects, the better you can segment your audiences and the better you can target them, resulting in greater efficiency of reach and ad spend. Plus, you can create a more tailored and personalized ad experience for that audience.
Knowing what kind of car they drive, what clothes they wear, their education level, and their goals and motivations—these details can help with behavioral targeting, contextual relevance, or even geotargeting (perhaps on an island in the sun where they’ll be playing and having fun).
Girl, if you’re wondering if I want you to, I want you to
So make a move, ‘cause I ain’t got all night
What do you want from your audience? Do you simply want them to see your ads (and, perhaps, recall your brand at a later stage of their journey)? Do you want them to click your ad to navigate to an e-commerce page or website? Do you want them to buy your product, download your app, opt in for your newsletter, or transact in some other way? Whether it’s awareness, consideration, or conversion, measured by CPM, CPC, or CPA, knowing your campaign objective and its associated KPI will guide your tactical choices.
As for creative, make sure your call to action entices the desired activity. Don’t leave them wondering if you want them to (as in, to watch, listen, click, download, submit, etc.) …because you ain’t got all night.
Young girl, lying flat in her bed / Streaming images to her head
Homework or memes? Slime or BlackPink? Eight hours gone, now her mind’s blown
Everyone stares at their screens
Is your target audience staring at memes on Instagram? Watching challenges on TikTok? Catching up with family on Facebook? Streaming “Workin’ Moms” on Netflix through their connected TV? Or, more likely, doing all of those things throughout a given day?
With consumers participating in so many different platforms, screens, and channels, it’s important for advertisers to curate cross-channel experiences. Omnichannel advertising platforms are designed to manage media complexity and enable cross-channel messaging, so marketers can easily reach consumers in all the places where they spend time (and with highly targeted placements, to boot!).
Even better, platforms that leverage the latest AI technologies allow teams to optimize campaigns in real time, ensuring that ads are running on the right channels and screens at the right moments.
Holy cow! Who would have thought a quirky rock ‘n’ roll band like Weezer would (unknowingly) hide so many digital advertising best practices in their lyrics? Turns out that buyers and planners who know their objectives and their target audiences, and who can automate their omnichannel approach, could be living the good life—maybe on that aforementioned island in the sun.
—
Don’t want to keep fishin’ for digital advertising insights? Sign up for Basis Scout—we’ll deliver them straight to your inbox!
Professional wrestling is, at its core, a morality play. Good versus evil. Championship stakes with over-the-top theatrics. Predetermined performance art, yes, but it still involves two or more athletes running, jumping, and falling; being shoved, slammed, and shouted at; 20 minutes a night, 200 to 300 nights per year, all around the world, for as long as their bodies can stand it.
The wrestling profession isn’t meant for just anyone—your local schoolteacher, plumber, or dentist, say.
...Or is it?
There was a stretch in the mid-1990s when the World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE) introduced a number of wrestlers whose characters were defined by their day jobs: a garbage man, a circus clown, and even a federal tax agent (who wrestled in a dress shirt, dress pants, suspenders, and a red tie…as one does).
Today, marketers in these real-life industries use digital advertising, not dropkicks, to improve their bottom lines and meet their business objectives. Kind of makes you wonder: If these wrestlers were around today, would this era of digital advertising help them to attract and earn enough business to stay out of the ring? Would online sales, critical app downloads, or lucrative appointments have deterred them from moonlighting as masked marauders?
We think there’s a case to be made here! Read on to learn about four former professional wrestlers whose “day jobs” would have benefited from today’s digital advertising ecosystem:
Accompanied to the ring by the din of dental drills over ominous orchestra music, and billed as living in “Decay-tur, Illinois,” Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. (get it? “I. Yankem”?) joined the ranks of WWE in July 1995 and was gone by September 1996, without leaving much of a cavity in the company’s roster. Never a champion, he debuted as the personal dentist of veteran heel Jerry “The King” Lawler. Well, a crown for a king and a crown for a tooth, we suppose.
The premise for the evil extractor was that “no one likes to go to the dentist,” but we know that’s not always true. Dentists are not only critical to our oral health, but they and their hygienists are often quite lovely people! Let’s get to the root of the problem: In this hyperlocal industry, dentists want to create awareness among nearby residents, promote their services, and generate phone calls or form fills leading to new appointments. In today’s world, Dr. Yankem could:
With his trusty plunger “Betsy” and his “muddy” work boots, pro wrestling’s plumber, T.L. Hopper, debuted in July 1996 (let us take a load off your mind: The T.L. stands for “Toilet Lid”). He was wiped from the roster by June 1997, with long stretches finding him without a single televised match. And because nothing’s funnier to a young professional wrestling fan than potty humor, Hopper’s “theme song” was the sounds of toilets flushing. For two minutes. Wow, this idea stunk.
This corny character was portrayed as though plumbers have a crappy job, but many plumbing, electrical, and heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) businesses are wildly successful. After all, nearly every home or apartment needs regular maintenance on any of those components. This industry thrives by booking a steady stream of appointments, plus creating awareness for seasonal promotions and parts or labor discounts. Instead of letting his career tank, Mr. Hopper could have used the tools of today’s trade to:
In hockey, the “goon” is the player who beats up or takes out the opposing team’s best member. He’s rough, he’s tough, he’s… going to wrestle professionally in boots that look like ice skates? Yes, The Goon debuted in July 1996, led to the ring by organ music over the arena’s public address system—and very little reaction from the public itself. He lost far more matches than he won during this period, and besides a couple one-off returns, The Goon was gone by March 1997.
Sports franchises large and small require lots of ticket sales—season tickets, single-game tickets, promotional night tickets—to boast success, and many have also branched off digitally to generate social media engagement, loyalty, and advocacy. One has to wonder: If The Goon had access to today’s digital advertising capabilities, might he have avoided the matchups in pro wrestling to stick with the face-offs of his beloved hockey? Thoughts for The Goon’s marketing team:
“Fingernails on a chalkboard” is more than just an idiom to describe a particularly annoying noise—it was the spine-tingling sound at the start of the theme song for Dean Douglas, an arrogant schoolteacher who stepped into the wrestling ring wearing a graduation gown, who would grade his opponents (often failing them), and who carried a paddle he called “The Board of Education.” To reinforce his snobbery, Douglas was billed as hailing from “the University of Higher Learning.” (Raise your hand if you applied there. Anyone? Anyone?)
Why would a schoolteacher feel compelled to wrestle professionally? Did Dean Douglas just need the stress relief? Perhaps the Institute of Higher Learning needed a little strategic nudge. Here are a few ideas for how the school’s marketing department could effectively connect with prospective students today:
With modern digital marketing tools, these pro wrestlers may never have had to enter the ring (you can decide for yourself whether that’s a good or bad thing). One tool that would have been a game-changer for all these performers? Digital advertising automation, a solution that streamlines key tasks within the campaign process to help marketers save time, plan campaigns efficiently, optimize for better performance, and measure their way to victory.
Want to learn more? We wrote the rulebook on advertising automation, and you can download it right here (not to ring our own bell, but it’s probably more reliable than the rulebook for wrestling!) Read all about how the complexity and fragmentation of the ad industry have created an urgent need for automation, and how a comprehensive automation system can give you the confidence to earn championship wins for your organization. We’ll be in the front row cheering you on!