What’s new in the realms of paid search and social media? Basis’ Senior Vice President of Paid Search and Social Amy Rumpler compiles all the latest news, trends, and resources each month for easy access.
As a result of the full-contact spectator sport that was (and continues to be) Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the platform is likely to lose more than 30 million users by 2024. However, several bright spots remain across social media: New product and ad features abound, and better automation tools aim to drive performance. This report from eMarketer also features predictions for each platform in the calendar year.
Anyone else spending more time on LinkedIn than ever before? Here, Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, shares some new and innovative plans on the platform’s 2023 roadmap. These include efforts to make the platform more accessible (cheers to that!), ways for users to explore career opportunities more “casually,” Product Pages to help business professionals make smarter purchasing decisions, and the ability to schedule posts in advance.
With the 2023 advertising environment shaping up to be, let’s say, “tricky” to navigate, Search Engine Land compiled a few quick tips to help guide 2023 search strategies. In summary: take a heightened and deeper look at performance relative to campaigns and tactics, balance the power of automation with other data inputs, and consider alternative platforms outside of Google that can help increase market share.
Snap’s new “Virtual Try-on” partnership with Amazon gives its 363 million daily active users the ability to try on products from eyewear brands including Maui Jim, Person, and Oakley, all from the comfort of their own homes. The partnership pairs Amazon-powered 3D Asset technology and Snap’s Lenses to dynamically update shoppers with real-time product details, availability, and try-on experiences. Both companies plan to expand the partnership into additional categories, in hopes of tapping into the $142 billion AR and VR technology market.
Speaking of AR: A new Meta-commissioned study with GWI recently found that 64% of early e-commerce adopters still prefer the in-store experience, saying that finding the right product online is time-consuming, and reviews aren’t a great substitute for experiencing a product live and in person. (We feel you, half-size shoe wearers.) Fortunately, AR is helping brands meld online convenience with in-store experiences in a way that’s shaping e-commerce for the better. Brands like Walmart, Wendy’s, and Coachella have embraced this technology and seen impressive results.
As the ad industry migrates away from third-party cookies, advertisers like Albertsons are exploring ways to bring their own first-party data and Pinterest platform data together in a secure (i.e. private and anonymized) environment. Neither party’s personally identifiable sales and campaign data are visible to the other, but crucial metrics like Return on Ad Spend can still be monitored and reported on. This is the first partnership in a program that Pinterest says will expand to other Retail Media Networks in the future.
Based on recent survey results from more than 300 marketers and agency executives, Marketing Dive says 49% of advertisers are looking to work with more social platforms in 2023. More than half of respondents also said they increased their social media budgets in Q4 as a result of the macroeconomic environment. Only 15% paused or reduced spending on the channel—an improvement over Q3 when 29% reported pausing or reducing social spending. Also among the top platforms on marketers’ radars in 2023: BeReal.
Speaking of BeReal, the app garnered more than 72.1 million downloads in 2022, according to Sensory Tower. This opinion piece discusses what led BeReal to gain so much attention last year, and how its effort to reinforce more authentic connections (by, you know, being real) may reshape social media in 2023. Side note: In case you missed it, Instagram released a new feature called “Candid Stories” to compete with BeReal.
Here, eMarketer covers key trends on creator marketing from 2023’s CES event. Top themes include the influence of AI in augmenting creator-led content, what tools and technologies will help brands and creators to build stronger connections, and the importance of sharing data with creators to help them craft more impactful stories that connect with consumers. “The world of the creator economy is just the new economy,” said creator Samir Chaundry, reflecting on the stat that 1 in every 4 U.S. consumers aged 16-25 say they plan to be a social media influencer in the future.
Also showing up in a big way at this year’s CES event were Pinterest and Reddit, with both companies sharing their stances on content moderation and the role their users play in keeping these platforms out of controversy. With Meta and TikTok facing challenges surrounding privacy and brand safety, eMarketer believes these other platforms have room to gain market share.
Here’s some tea with GaryVee: 2022 data from VaynerMedia shows that CPMs on TikTok video advertising are almost half that of Instagram Reels, a third less than Twitter, and 62% less than Snapchat. Engagement rates and other KPIs aside, with CPMs on other platforms rising or comparatively higher, it makes sense that advertisers are looking more seriously at TikTok as part of their 2023 plans.
With many analysts still pointing to social commerce as an opportunity in 2023, Instagram’s recent announcement that the Shop tab will be removed from its main navigation bar in February seems surprising. After all, Meta leaned heavily into social commerce in 2022, with several new feature releases and ad units aimed at making it easier for users to discover and purchase products within the app. But, with revenue on the decline in recent quarters, this may mean that Meta will focus on monetizing its more mature offerings.
The latest annual wrap report from App Annie reveals key trends across social apps last year. BeReal was specifically called out (again!) as a “popular social sensation,” although it didn’t crack the list of top downloads overall in most regions. And TikTok was highlighted in 2022 as having generated the most in-app revenue of all major platforms covered. Most of that revenue came from in-app coins, which lets users donate money to buy items in-stream and to support creators.
ChatGPT has been all over the news for a variety of reasons, but when it comes to search, analysts say there’s a very good chance Microsoft will soon get a return on its $1 billion investment in ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI by integrating it into its search queries engine. In essence, ChatGPT would return actual responses to search queries instead of showing users a list of links where answers might be found. Also of note: Google is reportedly exploring development of an AI engine of its own (Instagram’s BeReal-ish Candid Stories, Google’s own AI engine… what’s next, music on the radio?!).
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As folks in the technology industry know all too well, the past few years have been a wild ride. Though factors like economic uncertainty, inflation, and supply chain disruptions have affected many sectors, the tech industry has been especially hard-hit. Couple these challenges with skyrocketing layoffs, and advertisers in tech might be left questioning whether working in an industry that’s supposed to be on the cutting edge of innovation is all it’s cracked up to be.
Today, we’re exploring the most significant challenges that tech advertisers are facing, as well as some key strategies for weathering this storm of uncertainty.
To understand what tech marketers can do to adapt to the unpredictability of today’s landscape, let’s first explore what they’re up against. Though there are many factors contributing to industry upheaval, here are some of the most significant:
Handling one of these factors alone would likely feel overwhelming. But trying to handle all of them at once? It’s easy to see how a tech marketer could end up feeling like they’re stuck in an endless, unbeatable game of Whac-A-Mole.
Luckily, there are some proven strategies that tech advertisers can use to adapt to tumultuous times. Though conditions and solutions will differ depending on the type of “tech” you’re in—EdTech, FinTech, software tech, etc.—the following three strategies can make an impact across the board:
Extensive layoffs, increased workload, economic uncertainty: these are just a few of the factors that contribute to burnout. And, if this list looks familiar, it’s because many of these are the same forces impacting the tech industry today.
To say the threat of burnout is real for tech workers feels like an understatement—just take a look at these findings from Yerbo’s The State of Burnout in Tech report:
Coupled with the level of burnout experienced throughout the digital advertising world? Many tech marketers face an even higher risk of the physical and emotional exhaustion that is characteristic of burnout.
So, what can tech marketing leaders do? First and foremost, don’t ignore the elephant in the room. Pretending that burnout doesn’t exist merely leads to—you guessed it!—more burnout. Once leaders acknowledge the risks and realities of burnout, they can take action to combat it head-on.
In the face of short-staffed and burnt-out teams, embracing technological innovations that save your people time is a no brainer. Advertising automation tools that offer features like automated billing, automated reporting, and workflow automation can not only free up time for marketers by reducing manual labor, but also make their jobs more enjoyable by automating tedious tasks.
Leaders can also address burnout by acknowledging the difficulties that tech marketers face. This validation legitimizes team members’ experiences and helps to build trust, which is essential for navigating difficult times successfully. Employers can also provide resources like mental health days, wellness events, or free memberships to health apps (whether physical, mental, financial, or emotional) to help tech marketers prioritize their overall wellbeing.
Even during “normal” times, consumer habits and behaviors shift. And during times of uncertainty? They do so in a big way. Take, for example, the growth of connected TV (CTV) viewership, the rise of TikTok, or the increasing popularity of e-commerce over the past few years. These are just a few of many recent—and drastic—changes in consumer behavior.
While the number and scale of these shifts can feel overwhelming, the best way to manage them is to go back to marketing basics. Specifically, re-invest your team’s time and energy into tracking and understanding consumer behavior, and in using insights from that data to make strategic campaign decisions.
By setting up robust systems to regularly collect and dig into consumer data, tech advertisers can ensure that they are meeting customers where they’re at. Revisiting the basics in this way can help tech advertisers reach consumers, even when the marketing landscape—not to mention, the broader social and economic landscapes—shift.
Often, part of tracking consumer behaviors is discovering that they’re using their time in new ways. And here’s a hot(ish) take: when things change drastically, people tend to fall into one of two camps:
We hope that, by now, you can tell that we aren’t in favor of stubbornly resisting change. It’s exhausting and can lead to burnout.
But, at the same time, we aren’t fully in camp two. There’s a reason that certain solutions, such as tracking shifts in consumer behaviors, have stood the test of time.
The solution? Marketers should embrace a healthy mix of the two: stay flexible and try new things, but not at the cost of abandoning proven tools. We’ve already addressed the importance of revisiting the basics, which is why our final strategy for tech advertisers is to embrace opportunities for innovation.
So, what might this look like in practice? For those in EdTech, it might mean experimenting with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology to better connect with students in ways that excite them. For marketers in FinTech, it might mean trying out new(er) channels like CTV to elevate your unique story (and adding in a QR code to quickly connect customers with your products or services). For advertisers in the software as a service (SaaS) field, innovation might include using artificial intelligence (AI) tech like dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to personalize your ads—in real time—based on the prospective customers you’re targeting.
By using consumer insights to make campaign decisions and embracing innovation, tech marketers can meet the moment—no matter how complex that moment is.
To adapt to the challenges of today’s landscape, tech marketers need to be on the cutting edge. As trends shift, news breaks, and intel surfaces, advertisers need to be in the know so they can act flexibly and strategically.
But, as explored earlier, tech marketers’ plates are already quite full. Researching and finding what’s most important in the world of digital advertising can take time and resources that many don’t have.
That’s where we can help. Each month, our team puts together Basis Scout, a digest of top digital content and news, and delivers it straight to advertisers’ inboxes. It’s a great way to stay informed on all the trends impacting the world of digital advertising, especially for those in the tech industry.
California: land of sun, surf, Redwoods, Hollywood and, of course, consumer privacy regulations.
The Golden State was a US pioneer when it passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) back in 2018, giving California residents the right to know what personal information a business collects about them and how it is used and shared, the right to delete personal information collected from them (with some exceptions), the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.
But today, there’s a new regulatory act in town: the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Building upon the CCPA, the CPRA adds some new rules, clarifies some old ones, and introduces dedicated resources for regulatory enforcement to help ensure California consumers’ control over their personal data. The CPRA also ushers in a year that will see five new state-level data privacy acts take effect, with regulations also debuting in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah.
To get a better understanding of the latest laws and see how they could impact the digital advertising industry, we spoke with Derek Zolner, General Counsel at Basis Technologies, about the CPRA—the most expansive of the acts.
Here are some highlights from that conversation, including how the CPRA builds off the CCPA, what companies have to do to comply, and how it will impact the programmatic advertising industry:
California’s initial foray into the world of consumer privacy regulation was 2018’s California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). That was really the first stake in the ground for privacy legislation here in the US. Prior to that, we had some self-regulation for our industry, and good citizens were already doing a lot of the stuff that the CCPA required—for example, in our ads and on our website, we have long allowed people to opt out of targeted ads based on cookie use—but the CCPA requires you to give people a right to opt out.
And now we have the CPRA, aka the California Privacy Rights Act, and that does a couple of things. One, it gives California some broader enforcement rights, creating a California Privacy Protection Agency that's dedicated to (and responsible for) enforcing the act. That, to me, indicates we're probably going to see more enforcement actions coming down the pike.
But it also builds upon the foundation laid by the CCPA in a few ways. The biggest part for our industry? The CCPA had a requirement that if you were selling data, then you had to have an opt-out on your website that said “Do Not Sell My Personal Information.” A lot of people in the digital advertising industry read this definition of “sale” very technically, arguing that if you weren't actually bundling up data, giving it to somebody, and saying “Pay me for this data,” then it wasn't a sale. At Basis, we didn't take that point of view, electing instead to honor the spirit of the law—i.e. giving consumers the right to opt out of things like what we do with cookie data, mobile ID data, and IP address data.
But the CPRA eliminates any ambiguity around how to interpret this aspect of the law by now requiring companies to give consumers the opportunity to not only opt out of the sale of their personal information, but also of giving or sharing that data with someone else, including a third party that might use it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Essentially, the CCPA, CPRA, and the other data privacy acts that are popping up around the US are establishing legal enforcement mechanisms around personal control of one’s personal data and codifying many of the core principals of our industry—namely, transparency, notice, and the right to opt out. Only now, instead of the industry self-regulating these matters, state governments are intervening to take control of that enforcement.
The aforementioned opt-out message (ex. “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information”, “Opt Out”, “Your Privacy Rights”) has to be conspicuous on a company’s website and easy for consumers to access/use. Since any company currently operating in California should already have a “Do Not Sell” option on their site, many are choosing to simply add “or Sell” to the same link and give consumers the option to do both on the same page.
At Basis, we made updates to our website so that visitors from California have enhanced opt-out rights. One of the main thrusts of CCPA and CPRA is that California consumers can come to organizations like Basis and say, “Hey, what personal information do you have about me? What are you doing with it? And, if I want you to, please delete it or correct it or limit your use of it.” So we offer that to visitors from California through a link on our website, and then we then have 45 days to respond and let them know we're doing so. Additionally, for CPRA, there are some enhanced requirements for contracts between parties that clarify what their relationship is, and so we've retooled some of our contracts with customers and vendors to include what we believe to be those necessary requirements. It’s all about being clear, accurate, and truthful about what your relationship is.
The truth is, we were already doing most of what CCPA required—which was, in essence, having a privacy policy that tells people what you're doing with data in clear and understandable language, and then giving people the right to opt out of the use of that personal data. We’ve been doing those things for a really long time, and so I didn't see CCPA as a huge shift or change for us.
But even with any of the minor changes that we might have to make, I don't view them as changing anything core or fundamental to how we operate, nor do I view it as unnecessarily burdensome for to us to allow people to have access to information about what's going on with personal data for them.
When CCPA came into effect, there was some concern that the sky was going to fall. The fear was that everybody was going to click on that “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link and that cross-contextual behavioral advertising was going to go kaput—at least as it related to California consumers—because everybody was going to opt out.
In fact, that's not been the case. The opt-out rates are very, very low, because (and this is not a legal explanation, but just sort of my intuitive opinion) people tend to take the easy way. What people want when they visit a website is the content, and whatever they think is the easiest way to get to that content, they're going to do. I think people are conditioned to just click accept on the website or whatever it is they need to get to the page they want so they can either watch the video that they're looking for or read the article or whatever it is. And so I don't perceive that these requirements are going to have a significant impact on our ability to continue to conduct cross-contextual behavioral advertising with programmatic buying.
If anything, I think the main impact of this is on compliance teams and lawyers, in that everybody that operates a website in California with any amount of volume is going have to do some compliance work to make sure they're adhering to the regulations. But beyond that, I don't think it's going to result in a in a meaningful economic change to how our business operates and works.
Until you have a fundamental change like you have in the EU, where you require “Opt-In” consent (vs. somewhere like California that only requires an “Opt-Out”), I don't think it's going to have a material impact on the amount of data that companies can use for behavioral advertising. What's likely to have a much greater impact is a technical change, like if third-party cookies ever go away from Google Chrome. That, in my opinion, would be a much more significant event than this legal change.
I would say our general guidance always is to be clear about what you're doing and give people the right to opt out of it. That means explaining as much as you can in your privacy policy, detailing what data you’re collecting and what you're doing with data, and then giving people the right to opt out of that usage in some meaningful and conspicuous way.
Generally speaking, at Basis, we we're in favor of anything that gives consumers more control of their personal data. Personally, I would be strongly in favor of having one point of reference for that—namely, a federal act—rather than 50 state acts that set up this sort of regional patchwork of compliance, and I think that aligns with where we sit as a company.
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Looking for guidance on how to effectively connect with consumers while respecting their privacy rights? Check out Beyond Third-Party Cookies: Your Guide to Overcoming the Identity Crisis.
This recent era of uncertainty leaves little room for marketing that inadvertently steers away from maximizing lifetime customer value.
In this month's episode, Vera Shafiq, VP of Digital Strategy at Location 3, explores how and why advertisers must rethink some common but shortsighted marketing tactics that are curbing long-term success. Her conversation with host Noor Naseer touches on strategies for generating long term, scalable, and sustainable results for agencies and brands.
Noor Naseer: Hey everyone, this is Noor Naseer, VP of Media Innovations and Technology at Basis and host of AdTech Unfiltered. I'm coming back with a new collection of episodes after a long hiatus, but we're ready to finish the year strong with incredible new guests. For this particular episode, we'll be speaking to Vera Shafiq. She's the VP of Digital Strategy at Digital Marketing Agency Location 3. Vera spoke to me about the fundamental concept of what digital strategy is, how to engage with clients about it, and a bunch of digital strategy topics that clients are thinking about a lot these days, including the cookie list future, first party data, CDPs and more. Let's get into this episode about digital strategy with Vera right now.
Vera, we're still in early days. How's the year been treating you so far?
Vera Shafiq: The year's been treating me really well. It's been very, very busy, a lot of kind of meeting with clients, and a lot of talk about the things that are coming down the pipe for marketing, which includes privacy issues, the deprecation of third party cookies. So, right now I'm super busy with that and really just laying out a plan for my team to make sure that we future proof our clients in preparation for that.
NN: Yeah, there's an endless supply of things to be preparing clients for and maybe we think that every year, but I feel like that's especially true this year. There's so many things we could talk about Vera, but for today's conversation I think we're going to hit on something in a more evergreen space. We're going to talk about digital strategy. I'll ask you a really simple question to start. What does digital media strategy mean to you?
VS: Digital strategy, first of all to me is, we break it down even further. It's literally a plan of action. And it was original strategy was originally a military term as to how do you win a war or battle? So, in marketing terms, I think it's having that clear plan of action. So, not only for selling a product or a service, but also driving that long-term growth for the business, and I think media strategy pertains to the ways that we are going to implement the strategy. Typically now we talk a lot about digital media, but there's also the traditional media items that we have to consider as well.
NN: What do you think is a misconception that clients have about digital media activation that really needs to be cleared up when it comes to understanding a larger strategic vision?
VS: I think a mistake that business leaders often make is looking at marketing as just a short term solution. Drive as many leads or sales as we can as quickly and as cheaply as we can. That can be dangerous. Problem with it is that it can be really expensive to go this route because you're really only going after the existing demand that's in the market. And that could be limited, that could be hard to find. So, I think by tackling marketing and media activation from a long-term, and I use that term all the time, it's a long-term perspective, using that full funnel strategy, you are simultaneously creating the demand in the market, but then you're also converting that demand into sales. So, you're kind of having this well-oiled machine. And so for me, the full funnel approach really is that long-term efficient way of driving business results and you're going to see much better ROI and ROAS doing it that way. And I think a lot of business leaders and marketing leaders kind of forget that and tend to focus on just like tomorrow.
NN: Absolutely. I think there's nobody who's going to listen to this podcast or frankly nobody who works in media buying, who feels like they aren't really reporting to a client who sometimes has tunnel vision or they're very focused on just immediate results, and somewhat it's understandable, but on the other end it puts maybe too much emphasis on immediate results now without realizing that the full funnel needs to be accounted for. So, with that in mind, how do you impress upon clients the importance of branding when there is so often this obsession with performance marketing and just evaluating ROAS on a weekly or daily basis?
VS: Yeah, so this I think goes hand in hand with that full-on approach. So, that's the age old dilemma for all marketers is, should I be doing branding or should I be doing direct response? And if you are looking for those long-term sustainable and scalable results for your brand, I think it has to be a mix of both. So, from an agency perspective, we see ourselves as our clients' partners and want to have those long-term successful relationships with them. The end of the day educating them and advising them as to how to strike that sweet spot or that perfect balance between branding and performance marketing is key.
NN: Along those lines, something you've mentioned a couple of times is having that longer term vision and a part of that is looking at each one of the audiences that you want to reach or whoever you perceive to be the consumer, the client, the target. And thinking about LTV or the lifetime value, how do you examine that LTV and how does examining weigh into digital strategy for clients that you're serving?
VS: Yeah, so lifetime value is essentially the dollar value that an average customer spends with your brand over the lifetime with your brand, and it's a super important metric. So, we look at metrics such as lifetime value, average order value, frequency of purchase, the average length of that customer relationship. We figure out the lifetime value and then we back into a meaningful metrics. If we know this value, we can actually understand what a good customer acquisition cost should be in order to be profitable. So, customer acquisition cost is the cost to acquire that customer, including your marketing expenses, not just your media budget. And then we can back into what an allowable CPA or CPL should be, and then set that media strategy accordingly. So, it really is important to look at that long-term view because for example, if you were servicing a gym business, one of our clients is a gym and their average monthly subscription fee could be 50 bucks, and then that customer relationship could be an average of two years. Like that client is going to stay with that gym for two years potentially. And during that two year relationship, that average customer could potentially spend maybe 500 bucks on some subsidiary services, personal training products at the gym. So, we take that on to count, we figure out the lifetime value of that customers, for example, 1,700 bucks. And obviously we want that customer acquisition cost to be below 1,700 bucks. We're allow for profit margins and all of that good stuff. So, that gives you an idea of how the business metrics are really important to developing media strategy. And we look at business metrics first and foremost before putting media plans in place.
NN: Obviously you are giving me this background on what it is that you're conveying to clients to make sure that they are on board locked up with you so that they're bought into knowing that you're putting together a media strategy and activation plan that is going to correlate with a reasonable acquisition cost. But there are a lot of clients that need to be reminded of that when they are doing those more regular looks at reporting, basically when they're looking at them with regularity. What kinds of reminders do you share with clients to just keep them on track as far as when they're looking for instantaneous results, when they're evaluating their campaign reports?
VS: Well, first of all, media campaigns such as paid search, paid social, programmatic, those types of things, when they're brand new, when we first activate them, they all need that warmup period before we can actually start seeing optimal results. So, that's often known as the learning phase and that's the time it takes for that ad platform to kind of really warm up, get that machine learning algorithm to understand what are the prospects that it should be looking for, who should it be serving ads to drive the desired results? So, that would be my first reminder is you got to give the algorithms time to work. Don't expect the day after we launch a campaign to start seeing optimal results. We typically like to see a campaign run for at least 90 days before we can see the optimal performance, and then of course that optimization phase, that's a never-ending part of marketing. Continuing to tweak the campaign settings, the creative, the messaging, the bidding strategy and continue to drive better results. So, the reminder is always that once we hit kind of an allowable or a CPL that we are happy with, we're constantly tweaking that, and when running that full funnel strategy, there's going to be a lag period before that demand gen, or the brand awareness tactics start to permeate. We want the top of funnel to have an effect on the lower funnel. So, it's really important to set the expectation before any media activation that it takes time for this machine to start to actually work. It's almost like a flywheel. The momentum starts to go but it takes a while before we actually start to get in the groove of things. And then with organic strategy such as SEO or content marketing, I like to use the metaphor of it's a marathon and not a sprint, and I always remind clients that you're not going to get instantaneous results with these types of tactics. Like SEO is an investment for long-term success and it can be months before we actually start to see tangible results. Search engines need to index your pages, they need to analyze signals, link equity, user engagement, all those things. So, at the end of the day, patience pays off. So, patience is a virtue in marketing, and all the legwork that you do, especially on the organic side is going to results further into the future. And then that all allows you to be a lot more efficient with your budgets.
NN: You mentioned optimization a little bit earlier in our conversation, Vera, so I wanted to ask you, how do you communicate an intentional shift in digital strategy in a way that's going to sit well with clients, especially if they are accustomed to some of the old ways in which they've previously seen programmatic activations take place?
VS: Yeah, that's a really great question especially now in the post pandemic era. And we know that media consumption trends and the way that people are shopping now has changed and that pandemic really drove those seismic shifts in the area. So, we've had to make intentional changes in the way that we do marketing and continue to do that based on seasonality, based on market trends that, and then on top of that, digital marketing tactics and technology itself are changing at such a fast pace that we'll often want to recommend that pivot, or that intentional shift in strategy, and so for some clients it can be difficult for them to accept these changes like we're only human, humans don't like change and that's just normal. So, it's a natural reaction to be resistant to change and nervous about the unknown, but it's really all about that communication, communicating and educating our client partners on the why behind the pivot, and not just the why, but what do we expect projected results to be as a result of that pivot, showing them case studies of how we've been successful with similar pivots or shifts with other clients, that's also a really powerful way to get that buy-in. So, before we even make the shift, they're already invested in the decision and they really trust that it's going to benefit them and their business as a whole.
NN: Can you share an example of how you've been able to activate a pivot or shift for one of your clients successfully?
VS: Yeah, so we have seen, as I mentioned, with the pandemic shifts in the way people consume media and over the pandemic, it turned out that not just young people but even the older generation were shifting to things like YouTube. Watching YouTube's become a huge trend that we would never have imagined it to be. But everything was kind of propelled into kind of movement because of the pandemic people were stuck at home, people started watching streaming video more. So, YouTube has been a shift that we have for several of our client partners actually, but specifically one who has an older target audience and typically have been used to targeting linear TV, cable TV as the medium of choice. We shifted their budgets into not a hundred percent digital, but we took quite a large amount of budget and shifted it into things like YouTube and CTV, connected TV, and it was a change for that client. They weren't used to having such a heavy budget in those mediums, but we were able to show them the data that justified that decision. And we have been able to reap the rewards because we're seeing the older generations really latching onto watching YouTube even on their large screen TVs, which is a huge trend right now. People aren't just getting on their phones and watching YouTube, they're watching it on smart TV as if it were a TV show. And these people are really receptive to advertising messages and are actually acting upon them on YouTube.
NN: I want to pivot into another question and such an important one, especially as we move into this cookie less future, which is about first party data activation. So, it's brought up often, but the reality is that when it comes down to executing an effective digital strategy or digital media strategy, there's work that goes into actually getting the right volume of first party data. So, I'm curious to ask you, as an agency leader, what does it look like as far as working between yourself and your clients that you serve to properly collect and leverage data in a way that's going to garner the best results from the digital media plans that you put together?
VS: Yeah, so one of the pieces of advice I always give my clients is that collection of data should be done selectively and it should be all about quality, not quantity. Because a lot of times we're collecting these hoards and hordes of data, really don't know what to do with it once we have it. A lot of it's just garbage, honestly, garbage in and garbage out. So, to be really selective about what we collect and by being selective, we are going to force ourselves to only collect data that's going to move the needle for our business. And it's also going to allow us to be more ethical in the use of our data. We are going to be respecting the consent and choices of our customers by only selecting and storing data that they're allowing us to store or giving us permission to store. And I think at the end of the day, going into 2022 and 23 kind of notion of clean data is going to be really important. Cleaner our data, meaning the more accurate our data that we are collecting, the better it's going to be for our marketing campaigns and strategy because we are now using real true accurate data rather than stale data, which is something that you know a lot of businesses do have on hand right now. So, I think the name of the game is going to be first party data absolutely has to be collected and it has to be a priority, it's a strategic imperative for any marketing leader and let's just make sure that we're doing it for the right reasons and storing the correct data.
NN: Vera, you just mentioned how it is imperative for clients and brands to be collecting clean data and that surely is a part of clients' digital strategy, but from a strategic leadership standpoint, how do you guide clients on the right path forward to collect data in a way that really is privacy centric or just respectful of privacy, especially as we are increasingly in a world where it's important for brands to be reflecting on that?
VS: It's a mutual value exchange. So, bear in mind that when we're collecting data about our customers or our prospects, we want to give them a reason to share PII with us, their email address, their phone number, whatever that happens to be. If we want that, we have to provide some kind of value and give them an incentive to provide that. For those prospects that don't want us to track them or don't want to collect their data, obviously we need to have measures in place to respect those wishes and so that's where CDPs and platforms like that come in, but I think the key then is going to be to start collecting that first party data but then continually refining and enriching that data by putting surveys out to your customers or prospects. Asking them questions, having them raise their hand and giving you freely and voluntarily information about themselves, not just PII, but about their preferences, about the ways they like to shop, about the ways they like brands to communicate with them. Getting that information from the prospect or customer by voluntary action is going to enrich our data and allow us then to do much better quality marketing going forward and we're going to be able to deliver those remarkable experiences, which at the end of the day is what the job of the marketer is to do. I would also say focusing on retention strategy is something that's going to be more and more important as we go into the cookie less world. We want to start focusing on spending our marketing budgets on keeping loyal customers. That's actually a more efficient way of marketing than trying to get new customers. So, I think it's going to be a fine balance between the two.
NN: Yeah, I think I don't hear that viewpoint often enough in terms of how important it is not just to collect the data but then to keep it clean and keep updating it. I love that touchpoint about making sure that you're having that continuous interaction after you've gotten the data. It's not good enough, more interaction is necessary. And I think of so many of these world class brands that have a lot of first party data, especially the ones that I just have a consumer facing relationship with and what are they doing? They're constantly interacting with me and getting me into a position where I feel comfortable sharing more information with them. So, I'm completely in alignment, seemingly a simple point but not so easy to actually achieve. I want to ask you a follow up question on the back of that, as far as the fact that we are moving into this cookie less future, it's inevitable it's coming up, even if it isn't coming up today. Sometimes I think there is this false sense of confidence that we still have cookies now, so we are not really looking forward to that future in which suddenly cookies will no longer be accessible. So, I'm curious for you as an agency leader, how do you bridge that gap between what we can still do now, which I imagine you still activate with third party cookies as most folks do at this moment in time and then getting clients to acknowledge that we're shifting into a future in which this current data source is no longer going to be accessible.
VS: Yeah, I think the first thing to bear in mind is it's already started the cookie less future has started Firefox and Safari already deprecated the third party cookies a few years ago. So, we've already started experiencing data loss and then Apple's iOS 14.5 update as we all know as marketers in in April of 2021, that's created a huge amount of data loss, especially on Facebook, but other platforms as well. And so if we haven't started thinking about this and taking some kind of action and at least testing some new strategies, we are going to be behind the curve. So, I think it's really important to say, okay, yes, we still have third party data now continue to use it, continue to leverage it, but you should now be dipping your toes into things that don't rely on third party cookies. Things like contextual targeting, things like machine learning and blended data. So, just recently Google announced that they are deprecating Google Universal Analytics for GA four, which is Google Analytics four. That's going to happen in 2023 July to be precise. So, while it seems an early long way off, the marketers need to be preparing for that too because GA four is going to be very privacy conscious, it's going to not rely on cookies and it's going to be a whole new way of really doing data analytics. And I think marketers need to jump into that now and really get used to those metrics and ways of measuring. So, we've already started looking at how do we replace things like behavioral targeting, affinity targeting in market targeting, things like that, even retargeting that are going to really be a lot harder to do if not impossible once 2023 and the death of the cookie happens, and so as I mentioned, looking at that old school method of contextual, which we've had available to us as marketers forever, but looking at how that can now be revived and really help us to drive better results. We are also looking at things like in-app lead gen. So, this would be collecting lead information within the app itself, Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever that happens to be, rather than driving people to the website because once you send people to your website, there is a chance you're going to lose them because tracking's going to go away, cookies will go away. So, finding innovative out of the box ideas of how we can retain that data and still be successful marketers.
NN: July 2023 does not feel far away to me, I'll tell you that much Vera. It feels like it's sneaking up real quick. And of course Google has moved the target in the past, so with a combination of what's happening with cookies and what's happening with GA, I feel like everything that's in the Adtech ecosystem is being impacted from targeting to attribution to measurement. And we don't need to necessarily backpedal into that earlier question as far as preparing clients for the change, but I think these are all going to be a significant test for agencies and for leaders to really convey and communicate clearly to their clients. I'll take it from there and ask you a little more about something you brought up or briefly mention earlier, which is CDP or CDPs. Can you tell me a little bit more about them as far as them being a part of a path forward where clients are looking to collect or segment more first party data?
VS: Yeah, absolutely. It's one of those three letter acronyms again that we love as marketers and it's something that I'm really excited about because I really do think it's going to allow us to use our first party data really effectively. So, what a CDP is essentially is a platform that ingests data from disparate data sources across your business, your website, your CRM, your point of sales system, your mobile app, your offline channels, and it puts that data in one platform and stitches the customer data together so that you have that golden record of the customer, you know that that holy grail that us marketers have been really looking for, and then allows the business to create these really powerful segments and then market to those segments in a really smart way and in real time. So, for example, at any given time, any prospect in your system may have changed an attribute about themselves, they may have already purchased your product, they may have signed up for an email. And the CDP is going to immediately know that okay, this customer, this is what they're doing, this is what their preferences are and this is how you should speak to them or market to them, this is what they're looking for. Are they looking for an offer, a discount? Are they looking for a message, talking to the quality of the product? And then you're able to really customize your messaging that way. So, I'm really excited about CDP and it is a conversation that we're having with several of our clients who really want to learn more and want to start onboarding this type of technology for their business.
NN: In some ways with the answer you just shared, it seems like you already answered the question that I am about to ask you, but I will still go ahead and ask it. Just to be crystal clear with a client, how do you let them know why a CDP is an important part of their future digital strategy?
VS: Yeah, so I guess the first thing would be is first party data important to you as a business? And really the answer should be yes at this point. If not, we would have a conversation as to why it should be, we're losing third party, first party is where it's at, and then really just getting into the nitty gritty with the client on what are your goals, right going into the future. Do you have disparate data sources, storing information about your customers? If you do, CDP is for you, do you have multiple marketing engagement channels? Typically the answer is yes. If that's the case, then CDP again is for you because we are going to be able to send those segments off to Google ads, to Facebook, to LinkedIn, to programmatic and really kind of harmonize your marketing or orchestrate it. And then a question that we often also ask our clients is, do you feel that your marketing could be more segmented? Could it be hyper segmented? Do you think that the messaging could be more personalized? Typically the answer is yes. So again, CDP will help with that, and then finally, privacy and compliance. How important is that to you and your business? And I think the answer again should be very important because as we know, privacy regulations are getting tighter and tighter and it's going to be an imperative to be able to understand the preferences of our customers and respect them, and CDP helps with that as well. It can really kind of tie all of that together. So, these are the reasons why we are recommending our clients invest in the customer data platform.
NN: Sometimes I think for anybody who's done digital media buying before, you're a person who reports to a client, sometimes there's a little bit of fear around sharing a new concept with a client because they might get really excited about it or you don't know if they're the best suited for it. And when I think about something like CDP, it's a pretty significant relationship and partnership to be for an organization or a brand to get invested in. So, I just want to ask you Vera, as a person who clearly is advocating for CDPs with the right types of clients, how do you identify which clients will be well-suited?
VS: Yeah, that's a really good question and pretty challenging, and I think the first thing we want to consider is that client sophisticated in their use of technology, like what does their metrics look like? Now some clients may not be ready for CDP, they may still be working on other things like getting their website experience up to scratch or optimized or maybe this CRM isn't really doing enough for them and they need to focus on that. So, I think jumping into a CDP isn't necessarily right for every client, but I think any client that has a relatively sophisticated tech stack, any client that has those disparate data sources, especially if they have things like a mobile app, they're brick and mortar and they have stores as well where customer data is being collected. Those kinds of clients who feel that they're not really understanding their customer from a 360 degree profile, those are the clients that we'll recommend would be a good fit for CDP.
NN: Why should clients be taking the possibility of building a CDP partnership seriously? And I know it seems like a silly question because of everything that we've mentioned earlier as far as the cookie less future, but I think still thinking about the fact that clients are vetting a lot of different types of solutions simultaneously, they might feel overwhelmed. How do you impart the importance of its consideration in the event that they meet that criteria that you just described a little earlier?
VS: Yeah, well I think the main reason is competition. If you got to keep up with the Joneses, if you don't think about this, don't invest in it, your competition will. And I think that's going to give them a real big edge on the success of their marketing and we don't want any of our clients to kind of fall behind the times. So, that would be one top reason for really taking it seriously. Right now there are hundreds of vendors out there that are offering CDP as a platform, that landscape is getting more and more consolidated and companies are buying each other out, and I think we're going to start seeing some kind of top dog CDPs kind of rise to the top of the cream of the crop. We're going to start figuring out, okay, well these are the players in the CDP space that we should be looking at, and at that point I think it's going to start becoming very commonplace for businesses to start purchasing this technology and leveraging it. So, I think that is the name of the game right now, but really at the end of the day it all boils down to first party data again. If you are making an effort, taking time, investing money in collecting first party data, then the CDP is the next level to leveraging that data. So, you don't want to waste your efforts and then try and manually figure out what you're going to do with it. I think that CDP is going to take you to the next level. So, I think it's an investment well worth making and those will be my two main reasons.
NN: We still have a lot of the year ahead of us. What are you most excited about Vera, from a digital strategy standpoint as we continue to make headway into this new year?
VS: Yeah, I think you probably already know the answer to that based on a lot of the things I said. I think CDP is one of the things I'm really excited about, just diving into what is a relatively new channel for everyone or a new platform, understanding what the capabilities are and what the outcomes will be once we start to fully leverage these platforms. But I think to boil it down, what I'm most excited about is being able to do better marketing, smarter marketing, more ethical marketing that the consumers are excited to receive and be on the receiving end of. Marketers for a long time have had this reputation of being creepy or being insensitive and a lot of people have blocked ads and really kind of do not appreciate some of the ads that they're being served because they're irrelevant, et cetera. And I'm really excited about getting back to basics and doing marketing in a really organic, healthy way, respecting what our consumers want from us and personalizing it honestly. Because that's really the goal, is to be able to hit our prospects with messaging that really does kind of excite them. And kind of give them a delightful, remarkable experience, and these are things that we can now I think do even with the cookie disappearing because I think the third party cookie actually hindered us in a lot of ways. And I'm just excited to get rid of third party cookies, move on and start doing marketing in a more exciting and organic way.
NN: In some ways, the third party cookie made us lean back too much and put too much reliance on this tool. And then we also were suggesting that all of the benefits of this medium, the digital media opportunity is contingent upon what the cookie can deliver to you. And it was oftentimes sold into clients that way. So, I just love the passion with which you're approaching a world in which cookies don't exist and being an advocate for the utilization of new platforms and the evolution of the tech stacks. So, I'm excited to touch base with you again in the future, Vera, as Location 3 does new and interesting things in the digital media world.
VS: Absolutely. Yeah, me too. Definitely looking forward to keeping in touch with you Noor.
NN: Thanks again to Vera Shafiq, VP of digital strategy at Location 3. Something I took away from this conversation with Vera beyond her knowledge of the topics discussed was her capacity to paint a big picture. I think some of the art of selling in a strategy has been lost in an industry that is now dominated with slinging promises about optimizations taking effect in a day or so and other types of instantaneous yield. Some of the concepts we discussed today aren't turnkey and won't be easy for every brand or marketer to immediately accept, especially when they may need to be doing investment upfront and see results holistically after a waiting period. It seems like going back to the fundamentals of advertising is something we're going to be seeing a lot more of in the future. That's it for this episode. I'm Noor Naseer, more episodes of AdTech Unfiltered coming up real soon.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don’t have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 1/20/23 – 1/26/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
How are agencies and digital studios innovating with artificial intelligence developments related to content and creative? This piece provides a variety of examples—from automating manual processes, to monitoring for brand safety, to one agency that’s even launched an AI “internship program” with two virtual interns (Aiko and Aiden...get it?)
Google is having one heck of a bad week: Just days after laying off 12,000 people, the search giant was hit with a brand new antitrust case. The US Justice Department officially filed its second federal suit against the search giant, alleging that the company abused its dominance to shut out competitors in digital advertising—and, if successful, could force Google to sell off much of its advertising technology business.
The House of Mouse has fired the latest shot in the great streaming wars, revealing plans to amp up their targeting capabilities on Disney+ later this year. Between rising usage, fresh inventory, and this type of improved targeting, connected TV sure is looking like an appealing channel these days...
Speaking of CTV: A recent study showed huge percentage leaps in preference and brand recall for less-traditional connected TV ads. “Marketers should lean into new ad formats that create a more valuable and enjoyable experience for maximum impact,” the report notes.
With marketing budgets getting tighter and consumers increasingly stressed, advertisers could use a little extra reassurance. Luckily, there’s a programmatic buying method that offers just that: programmatic guaranteed. Learn all about this streamlined way to tap into premium inventory with this thorough and helpful overview.
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It’s a tale as old as time (in the digital age): You wake up with a scratchy throat and a slight headache. At first, you ignore it—maybe it was those extra few minutes (okay, hours) of TikTok scrolling or the fact that your dog woke you up at 3:00am to go outside. Best to ignore those symptoms and get on with your day…right?
But they persist as the day progresses. You start to overthink. Likely a cold, maybe allergies—or did your friend say they thought they might have the flu? You initially resist the urge to turn to the internet for guidance, but eventually give in.
You type your symptoms into a search engine and are met with varying results. From websites claiming your symptoms indicate a problem far more extreme than what you’d imagined, to home remedies, to ads for at-home COVID tests, you’re bombarded with information. Amidst this overload, you find yourself wondering: What is true? And what can I trust?
Today, we’re exploring the issue of digital misinformation, why healthcare marketers should care, and what they can do to protect themselves from its implications.
In an increasingly digital world, more and more people are turning to the internet to meet their healthcare needs. Whether they’re looking for information about specific symptoms, researching available treatments for a new diagnosis, exploring options for healthcare providers, or reading up on how to live a healthier lifestyle, the internet has become a crucial part of how people take care of themselves.
Here are some key stats marketers should know about the current state of digital healthcare:
The takeaway? Digital healthcare is a growing sector, and one that will only become more significant in the years ahead.
The catch to this explosion of digital healthcare? The simultaneous explosion of digital misinformation—an issue that’s doubly impactful to healthcare brands, given the personal (and sometimes highly politicized) nature of healthcare decision-making.
As misinformation has proliferated in recent years, the public’s understanding of the issue has grown, as well as their sentiments in favor of tamping down on the threat. According to one 2021 Gallup poll, 59% of US adults say tech companies should take measures to restrict online misinformation, while 48% say the US government should take those same measures.
All in all, misinformation is a threat that digital marketers can’t ignore. But healthcare marketers in particular need to be proactive and intentional to protect their brands, avoid controversy, and advertise ethically.
This might be obvious, but we’re going to say it anyway: All advertisers have a responsibility to advertise ethically. Misinformation has negative impacts on internet users, and advertising dollars spent on sites that peddle misinformation support that. In addition, consumers are concerned by the spread of misinformation: A recent study showed that 80% of consumers agree misinformation is a serious problem in digital media, and 73% of consumers feel unfavorably toward brands that have been associated with misinformation.
In a 2022 McKinsey Health Institute survey, approximately 85% of total respondents rated mental and physical health as “very important” or “extremely important” to them. Health is a huge factor in determining happiness and overall quality of life, and people need reliable information to inform how they take care of themselves. So for healthcare marketers, misinformation is especially problematic.
Now, more than ever, consumers need to be able to trust the information they’re getting online when it comes to healthcare. And healthcare brands that are trying to build relationships with consumers need to be especially mindful of where their ads are displayed, what comments are generated on their social media posts, and other brand safety measures. How can you expect a consumer to trust you with their health and wellbeing when they just saw an ad for your brand on a website peddling misinformation? Or if a Facebook ad for your product is riddled with misleading comments?
When misinformation spreads about health-related topics, it’s both unethical and dangerous. Besides the moral implications of advertising alongside it, healthcare brands risk their reputations and consumer loyalty when their ads are shown in the context of mis- and dis-information.
For healthcare marketers, then, combatting misinformation should be a priority. But what should that look like? Let’s dive in.
Let’s start at the very beginning (we heard somewhere that it’s a “very good place to start”). Healthcare marketers can avoid the controversy of advertising alongside misinformation by crafting a strong brand safety plan. These plans might include:
Advertisers know their jobs aren’t finished when a campaign goes live. In healthcare marketing, this is especially true. The most effective campaigns are those that are closely monitored and optimized based on data and trends.
This monitoring for misinformation might look different based on the channel(s) you’re advertising on. For programmatic media buys, given the vastness of inventory available and the speed at which these buys occur, it’s important to have a plan to pay attention to where your ads are being placed and the content they’re running alongside. For social media, monitoring likely includes looking through posts, comments, and other activity to ensure your page or post isn’t a host for unclear, untrue, or misleading information.
Though it might feel overwhelming to plan for this degree of monitoring, the alternative is far worse. Healthcare marketers cannot afford to lose audience trust, damage their brand’s reputation, miss out on revenue, or contribute to the toxic and potentially dangerous spread of misinformation related to peoples’ health.
Finally, marketers can’t make strategic adjustments if they aren’t agile.
What this agility might look like, however, will vary depending on the situation. If you realize your ads are running alongside misinformation via programmatic buys, it might involve updating blocklists or allowlists, adjusting creative, and removing assets from sites. For social media, it could include deleting comments, actively addressing misinformation, or even removing posts.
Whatever the case, it’s critical that healthcare marketers have the flexibility to respond when these instances occur. Ignoring them or turning a blind eye could prove harmful for your brand, and for your potential consumers.
That said, it can be a challenge to stay quick on your feet in today’s fragmented and complex media landscape. One solution that can enable agility is advertising automation technology. In particular, tools like workflow automation software can streamline the media buying process, freeing up the time healthcare marketers need to make adjustments on the fly.
All advertisers want to build connection with consumers. For healthcare marketers, trusting and meaningful relationships are especially critical. One way healthcare marketers can ensure they’re building this trust is by proactively addressing misinformation when it arises (and, even better, having consistent systems in place to do so!). In doing so, they can prioritize relationships with their consumers, build brand trust and loyalty, and help to foster a safer digital environment.
The developing issue of misinformation is just one example of why advertisers need to be up to date on what’s happening in digital advertising. But researching and finding the best content can take time and resources that not everyone has.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Each month, we put together Basis Scout, a digest of top digital content and news. It’s a great way to stay up to date on misinformation and other evolving topics in the world of digital advertising.
As a media planner, several targeting tactics are available to you for every digital initiative you’re working on. Each programmatic campaign type brings its own unique set of challenges. Certain targeting strategies are more helpful against specific end goals and KPIs, but there’s one tactic that will always add to the overall performance of your digital program: retargeting.
Let’s kick off with the basics: What is retargeting, and why is it so crucial?
In broad strokes, retargeting is a form of online advertising that uses data to re-engage consumers who leave a website without converting and/or whose information you already have in your database. It empowers advertisers to create a series of customized touchpoints around the digital universe—be it via display, search, social, connected TV, or wherever—that are tailored to that one specific user, reminding them of products or services they once expressed an interest in.
When done right, retargeting campaigns can potentially serve a range of benefits, including:
So, how does it all work? It’s pretty simple, really. When someone ends up on a company’s website, an unobtrusive piece of code (often referred to as a tracking pixel) sends a string of text (otherwise known as a cookie) from a web server to the user’s browser. Then, when said user leaves the site to continue surfing the web, that cookie will sync with the company’s retargeting systems to serve up ads on other platforms based on the pages they visited on the website.
The classic example of this in action—and one we’ve all no doubt experienced—is when an ad for the exact product we just looked at, added to our virtual cart, and then abandoned suddenly, magically appears all over our social feeds. It’s a tried-and-true tactic, but a dramatically different operating landscape is on the horizon...
Yes, the elephant in the retargeting room: the impending deprecation of third-party cookies.
For years, third-party cookies have been the bedrock of retargeting, but they are slowly and surely fading from view. Last year, Google announced (yet again) that’s it’s delaying third-party cookie deprecation in its Chrome browser, this time until the second half of 2024. The event has been widely seen as the de facto deadline for the industry to shift to alternative targeting solutions. But, in reality, the volume of identifiers accessible to advertisers has already dropped significantly—by some 50 to 60% according to some estimates. In other words, this “cookieless future” everyone is talking about is already here.
Why, you ask? Here are just three of the reasons:
Add it all together, and marketers are now compelled to reimagine and overhaul their data, targeting, and retargeting strategies. Moving forward, it will be critical for advertisers to adopt new, privacy-friendly addressability and measurement solutions. The key here though is not to procrastinate. After all, the process of building, managing, and activating a stockpile of first-party data is long and complex, so there’s no time to waste!
Of course, there will be times when marketers may not be able to place a tracking pixel and capture specific visitor data. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t workarounds. With the right technology in the toolkit, there are still a number of ways to execute retargeting campaigns. Here are five:
A note here as well on FLEDGE (or First Locally-Executed Decision over Groups Experiment) API, a post-cookie advertising alternative in Google’s Privacy Sandbox dedicated specifically to the retargeting aspect of performance advertising. It works by storing information on users’ devices, as opposed to making it broadly accessible—the theory being that it protects user privacy by limiting the amount of data flowing around ad systems and bid streams. Early results have been, shall we say, mixed, and early adopters are in short supply. But those invested in cookieless retargeting strategies may want to keep an ear to the ground for updates on how the experiments progress.
Retargeting has the capacity to increase the effectiveness of other marketing efforts and raise brand awareness. It allows users who recognize your brand to see your ads all across the digital ecosystem—creating the impression of a large-scale advertising campaign, but for a fraction of the budget. And it’s a targeting tactic that increases brand recall and drives consumers down the sales funnel, allowing multiple opportunities for conversion.
By molding the online experience around consumers’ recent behavior, brands can stay top of mind with uses and re-engage someone who might otherwise have turned into “the one who got away.”
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Looking for advice about how to get your retargeting campaigns off the ground, but don’t know where to begin? Our Media Strategy & Activation team can point you in the right direction.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 1/13/23 - 1/19/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
TikTok has managed to float above the ad spend slowdown, growing its ad revenues by 139.9% during a year that was a more than a bit chaotic for social media. But flying so close to the sun has its consequences, and under pressure from regulators, TikTok has promised the US government “some degree of oversight” into its algorithm.
With five new US state-level privacy laws taking effect this year, privacy compliance officers have their work cut out for them. To aid companies in complying with the varying requirements, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has created a framework called the Multi-State Privacy Agreement. This video from Digiday demystifies the situation.
A new programmatic transparency study from PwC and UK-based trade org ISBA shows that transparency in programmatic advertising has increased since 2020, with unattributable spend dropping from 15% to 3%. The study also found that advertisers have gotten more sophisticated in terms of managing supply and adtech, so go on! Give yourself a pat on the back.
Sky-high costs. Misinformation online. The rise of digital care. In the wake of COVID-19, healthcare marketers have a variety of challenges (and opportunities!) to grapple with. What they shouldn’t lose sight of: building trusting relationships with their consumers.
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Healthcare is personal—incredibly personal. It’s an industry that shapes people’s daily experiences and determines consumers’ quality of life. As something so critical to our overall wellbeing, you’d think (or at least hope!) healthcare would be straightforward and simple to understand. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
The United States healthcare system is particularly complex, challenging to navigate, and often a source of hidden or unforeseen costs. Couple this with the stresses brought about by COVID, rising healthcare costs, skyrocketing inflation rates, and increasing economic uncertainty, and it’s clear the current healthcare landscape is complicated—if not downright overwhelming.
What’s a healthcare marketer to do? Here, we’ll explore how building strong relationships with consumers is critical for healthcare advertisers and examine how those relationships can foster empathy and trust in the face of an ever-evolving, complex healthcare system.
As we noted earlier (and as anyone who’s been to an urgent care clinic can attest), the healthcare scene in the US can range from “complicated” to “messy”…but why? Let’s dive in:
To begin with, healthcare costs in the US are significantly higher than in most other countries—and they’re only continuing to increase:
These high costs affect everyone, but they have an outsized impact on those who are uninsured or underinsured. As the US healthcare industry grows and becomes more expensive (to say nothing of the additional pressures brought on by inflation), it’s no surprise that more than 30 percent of Americans report skipping care because of its cost and another 30 percent report that, if they needed quality healthcare, they would not be able to afford it.
The COVID pandemic not only affected healthcare costs, but also consumer sentiment towards health and healthcare. In its wake, consumer awareness about health has significantly increased, coupled with a greater push for trust, reliability, and accessibility in healthcare. According to a survey of more than 15,000 adults, trust is more critical in healthcare than in any other category.
Throughout COVID, experience with healthcare (particularly in the US) varied by individuals of different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Hispanic individuals, for instance, accounted for a disproportionately high share of COVID-19 cases during some periods. And, though vaccine confidence has improved for Black Americans, mistrust has played a role in the community’s lower and slower rates of vaccination, stemming from historical and ongoing discrimination and racism faced by Black communities. According to one study, “Vaccine-related mistrust is a multifaceted construct that includes distrust of health care and health care providers (to be equitable), the government (to provide truthful information), and the vaccine itself (to be safe and effective).”
Healthcare systems and brands must be cognizant of the level of trust, or lack thereof, in the system—whether related to COVID, or otherwise. By building relationships founded on empathetic messaging and discussions of inclusivity, healthcare marketers can begin the process of rebuilding that trust.
Beyond these complex and varied consumer sentiments, the past several years have seen an acceleration in digital healthcare: While the percentage of healthcare visits done virtually has declined since the peak of the pandemic, it remains higher than it was pre-pandemic. And, according to a recent survey, nearly two-thirds of patients said they prefer telehealth to in-office visits because of convenience, and 44% of Gen Z and millennials said they may switch providers if telehealth visits are not offered.
This indicates that consumers (especially millennials and Gen Z) are continuing to look for more reliable, convenient ways to manage their health, and that the demand for digital tools and resources has increased.
For healthcare brands with digital offerings, this is a major opportunity—and one that digital advertising can help fuel (and track for better attribution). By using strategies like contextual placements on pages related to certain conditions or health-conscious content, or placing ads alongside complimentary search terms, healthcare marketers can direct people to a website or app that serves as the hub for their brand or organization’s virtual operations.
That said, with great opportunity comes great responsibility (cliché, we know). As noted earlier, many Americans still feel a good deal of distrust toward the medical system due to past experiences, while others have trust issues with technology (especially when it comes to fraud and safety). Additionally, digital appointments curb the ability to develop strong in-person connections. Healthcare marketers will need to keep these distinct challenges in mind as they work to foster trust-based relationships with consumers.
With this knowledge of how complex and personal healthcare is, advertisers might be left wondering, “How can I effectively advertise for something so intimate and personal?” The solution: approaching consumers with empathy, seeking to understand them, and building relationships.
In 2021, the majority of US adults said that what they wanted most from a healthcare provider was for them to be a good listener. This same principle can be extended to marketing in the healthcare landscape: approach consumers with empathy and understanding and make them feel heard.
To dive into the critical work of building relationships with consumers, marketers in healthcare first need to understand who those consumers are. Here are some key stats to know:
Once healthcare marketers understand their audience, they can ensure their messaging and strategies are grounded in empathy and meeting consumer expectations.
One way to build relationships with potential patients is through long-form media, like digital audio and video. These formats allow marketers to showcase testimonials that highlight when patients experienced great empathy from their providers—in their own words and with their own voice.
Another way to establish trust and form relationships with consumers is through transparency. Hidden and unexpected costs are a significant driver of consumer behavior in healthcare, with many patients opting to skip care, avoid filling prescriptions, or explore over-the-counter products to avoid these costs. By being upfront about rates, which insurance providers are accepted, and payment plans, healthcare brands can ease some consumer anxiety.
Further, healthcare marketers can build trust by applying a critical eye to their brand messaging and strategy. Here are some questions advertisers can ask themselves to ensure they are prioritizing consumers’ needs and experiences:
By keeping diversity front of mind and developing creative from a place of empathy and understanding, healthcare brands can build stronger relationships with consumers.
Building relationships on a foundation of trust and empathy takes consistency and intentionality. Marketers cannot afford to lose time to duplicative, tedious tasks—these take their creative energy away from what’s most important, especially in today’s complex healthcare landscape.
Fortunately, there are some time-friendly solutions. Embracing an automated advertising strategy, backed by an automated and comprehensive DSP, can give healthcare marketers the ability to focus on strategic priorities, like forming stronger connections with consumers and proactively adjusting campaign messaging to better meet the moment. Leaning into technological developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning—especially those focused on brand safety—can free up the time and efficiency healthcare marketers need to get to know their customers and create consistent, empathy-driven, personalized experiences for them.
Interested in learning more about how advertising automation can help healthcare brands and agencies reach the right customers, with the right message, in a brand-safe environment? Check out our guide and see how automation is one possible solution to help marketers to create strong relationships with consumers in today’s complex healthcare landscape.
