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We might just be at the threshold of a new era of travel. With the pandemic showing signs of subsiding and people across the globe hitting the road and taking to the skies with a vengeance, travel brands are finding that the nature of consumer demand and the make-up of the consumer journey are transforming.
The travel industry has been hit particularly hard over the last three years—it was one of the first to suffer back in 2020 and will likely be one of the last to fully recover with eMarketer estimating that digital travel-related bookings won’t return to 2019 levels before 2024. Its 2021 bounce-back was punctured by the Delta and Omicron variants, while its 2022 rejuvenation has been marred by record inflation caused by lingering supply chain issues and a surge in gasoline prices tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yet, despite the economic disruption and the dampener it’s putting on discretionary spending, there is much optimism and hope throughout the travel industry: United Airlines recently launched its biggest branding initiative in a decade, Hotels.com has just kicked off a new global campaign (minus Captain Obvious), and Airbnb is putting serious money behind marketing its new booking by category approach.
So, why do travel brands have such confidence in the market?
Simply put, people are desperate to get out there and make up for lost travel time. Consider these statistics:
Essentially, there remains so much pent-up demand that even with potential problems ahead, the outlook for travel is strong.
To engage with these energized, undeterred vacationers, travel brands should be measured and adaptable to their new pandemic-induced demands and buying patterns. Indeed, the priorities of travelers are changing. The channels where they find inspiration are changing. Their travel inclinations are changing. If advertisers fail to adjust to these shifts, they risk missing out on valuable opportunities to recoup some of the losses they incurred during the height of the pandemic.
Below, we break down six current trends in the travel industry and explore how travel marketers can respond to them accordingly and position their brands as trusted allies to consumers during these uncertain times.
Even as 72% of consumers recognize that vacations have changed since the start of the pandemic, they are still turning to the act of traveling to regain a sense of normalcy. This presents a challenge for travel advertisers, since “normalcy” often conflicts directly with travelers’ concurrent desire for travel providers to maintain COVID-19 mitigation practices. Indeed, just over half (55%) of those planning a vacation this year say that they are still concerned about the spread of the virus, and the same number say they are taking into consideration what measures travel providers are taking to keep them safe. It’s important, then, that brands understand and acknowledge that travelers aren’t necessarily ready for the industry to move on from the public protection policies that enabled it to re-open.
Elevate messaging around your safety and sanitation measures further up on the marketing funnel to give consumers peace of mind and encourage more conversions. Examples of the type of information you may want to note include:
Ultimately, people want to know that they’re in safe hands. Disruption to travel services may linger for years to come, and operators must employ effective, sustainable, and flexible solutions in order to navigate them with as little disturbance as possible.
With stay-at-home orders and the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 variants still fresh in their minds, travelers are eager to gain greater control over their trips and more actively determine the details of their experiences. The biggest expression of this sentiment lies in the strong desire to see cancellation and change fees eliminated—a notion travel providers had no choice but to comply with throughout the pandemic as they chased what precious few consumer dollars there were. Yet, even as the pandemic subsides, travelers expect these policies to remain in place and demand that brands meet them in terms of flexibility.
Address traveler concerns head on by highlighting offerings such as flexible booking in your ad messaging. Provide clear information about your refund policy and use simple, easy-to-understand language so travelers know they can book with you without worrying about any unexpected changes. European airline EasyJet, for example, continues to offer a Protection Promise pledge that gives fliers the opportunity to change their flight to a later date, free of charge, up to two hours before departure.
Despite the pandemic bringing travel to a halt, membership in frequent travel programs (FTPs) increased from 63% in 2020 to 71% in 2022 among internet users age 18+. The largest lift came in membership through credit cards that offer travel rewards, indicating that loyalty program subscribers were content to simply accrue points they could use in the future. Comprehensive loyalty apps are being touted as one of the big future trends in the travel industry, with 55% of loyalty program members saying that belonging to more than one FTP is a hassle, and members under the age of 35 looking to a program’s app not just for information on points, but also inspiration and booking mechanisms. There is also increased appeal in having a community within the loyalty ecosystem, and upstart brands like Travala are leading the way in restructuring loyalty to meet this end.
The rewards landscape is currently in a state of transition due to the slow return of business travel, its (once) main driver. With leisure travel dominating right now, program providers will have to adjust their offerings in order to appear more attractive to vacationers. This can include putting an emphasis on accruing points through spending and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing, rather than travel itself, and expanding rewards to be more relevant to different kinds of leisure travelers such as families. FTP members (and consumers in general) are also becoming more conscious about their affiliation with brands—so, it’s a good idea to continually vet your partners to ensure that their actions align with your own business values.
Social media may be having a moment of crisis amid stock selloffs, stagnant user growth, and tortuous takeovers, but it remains a powerful tool in influencing people’s travel decisions and prompting travel bookings. Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram command the greatest appeal, though both TikTok and Snapchat are increasingly growing in popularity—their trend-centric, video-based nature particularly appealing to the younger generations who prefer authentic, light-hearted content over anything too polished. With US adult TikTokers and Snapchatters spending an average of 45.8 minutes and 30.4 minutes on their respective platforms per day this year (both ahead of Facebook and Instagram, incidentally), travel advertisers should look to build a presence on these channels if they’re not doing so already.
Experiment with #TravelTok in your campaigns to ensure you’re getting in front of your target audiences and, if you can do it in a way that feels genuine and true to your brand, try testing content based on the latest memes or run branded hashtag challenges that actively encourage audience participation. The TikTok environment is fast-paced and creative—whatever your content strategy, ensure you’re conveying information in bite-sized pieces.
Utilize the platform’s new dynamic travel ads designed to maximize relevance by automatically retargeting users who have been to your site or app before with hotel properties, destinations, or flight routes that are most interesting to them.
Sustainable travel was already a burgeoning trend back in 2019, but coming out of the pandemic, consumers around the world are seeking even more ways to have conscientious travel experiences. A recent report by Expedia frames this outlook in numerical terms:
As these habits develop, travel providers will need to take bold action around the subjects of sustainability and environmentally friendly practices—and these actions must be truly genuine. Consumers (especially the younger generations), campaigners, and advertising authorities are quick to call out brands today if they see any false promises or false claims in their campaigns. Case in point? Just recently, Dutch airline KLM wound up in court over accusations its "misleading" advertising amounts to greenwashing in a case believed to be the world's first for the aviation sector. Translation: if you’re going green, you better mean it and have the evidence to prove it.
Seven in 10 consumers feel overwhelmed by starting the process of being a more sustainable traveler so if you do have sustainable credentials and outcomes to share, do so in a way that’s easy to understand. Consumers want to see strong commitments to green themes, so you may also want to consider supporting your messaging with data and other evidence of positive impact. Iberostar Group is one of the pioneers in this area—its Wave of Change initiative that works to understand and combat climate change while preserving ocean ecosystems is a great example of how travel brands can respond to consumers’ expectations.
Mainstream use of the metaverse—and the technologies upon which it is founded—is still some time away for the travel industry (indeed, for all industries!), yet that isn’t stopping brands from experimenting with what is currently available. The rise of consumer tech like the Oculus Quest has empowered travel marketers to get creative with their campaigns and differentiate from their competition. Here are some manifestations of this trend:
These activations highlight how digital innovation can enrich travel marketing and provide advertisers with unique opportunities to engage and inspire people. There are already numerous ways hotel chains, cruise lines, tourist boards, and museums can utilize VR and AR to their advantage, and more are sure to come.
Of course, not everything these nascent technologies have to offer is relevant for every brand, but for those who are looking to explore their possibilities, there are some actions you can take. The first steps should be centered around assessing and strategizing—map out your various customer journeys and key touchpoints and then conceptualize how a virtual ecosystem could enhance those interactions. If you’re looking to make your move into the metaverse sooner rather than later, be sure to deploy small with low-budget initiatives—there are no tried-and-true best practices for metaverse marketing, so err on the side of caution.
Times are changing in the travel industry, but one thing is clear: people want to travel. Even against a backdrop of geopolitical instabilities and economic uncertainties, travel executives remain cautiously optimistic about the months ahead—there is a feeling that pent-up demand will outweigh anything the market can throw at it.
By focusing on the core areas outlined here—maintaining safety-related messaging, offering flexible booking policies, tweaking loyalty programs, staying current on social media, touting sustainability credentials, and investing in digital innovation—travel marketers can provide value as they meet and exceed the needs and demands of their target audiences.
Looking for more travel advertising tips and tricks? Check out Basis Technologies’ dedicated travel resource center.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so that you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/16/22 - 6/23/22 to stay ahead of the curve:
Ad-supported VOD platforms are projected to generate nearly $19 billion in revenue this year—more than doubling since 2020—as audiences increasingly seek out diverse content at minimal (or no) cost. No wonder Netflix is so eager to get in on the digital video advertising party!
Do your special interests say more about your buying behavior than demographics like age, gender, and location? TikTok has made the case that subcultures like #MomTok and #FinTok may offer even better targeting opportunities than traditional demographics. P.S.—before diving in, know your TikTok do’s and don’ts!
Sure, inflation rates are soaring, consumers are feeling frustrated by the economy, and economists are warning of a possible impending recession, but retail marketers are doing just fine, OK?! That said, for those who need a little extra support, here are some actionable tips for retail marketing during economic upheaval.
Meta’s housing advertising system has been under fire for discriminating against Facebook users based on demographics like race and gender. On Tuesday, they reached a settlement with the Justice Department that will compel the social giant to address algorithmic discrimination—a landmark decision for digital advertising regulation.
Roku and Walmart recently announced a new partnership to enable single-click shopping directly from Roku devices. While shoppable CTV isn’t a new concept, the partnership could quicken adoption of a new iteration of T-commerce (television commerce)—if consumers are willing to accept it.
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Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so that you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/9/22 - 6/16/22 to stay ahead of the curve:
The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released the long-awaited updates to its measurement guidelines for in-game advertising. The new standardizations could have huge implications for the growing in-game ad opportunity (not to mention the metaverse...)
Numerous streaming services, multiple viewers, shared accounts—oh my! Welcome to the chaotic landscape of connected TV. Finding the balance between innovative and legacy strategies is a delicate practice in CTV, as agency experts explore here.
While the rest of the world is struggling with increasing inflation and economic upheaval, the job market for tech talent is still red-hot—and prospective employees expect companies to wow them.
It’s easier to achieve a goal when you can visualize your progress towards it. Consumers may be used to integrated reporting dashboards in their everyday lives, but media professionals aren’t typically so lucky. Report automation is a powerful tool that can help advertisers improve client relationships and navigate the complexity of today’s marketing landscape.
B2B marketing has come a long way in recent years, after somewhat lagging behind B2C in the digital landscape. This year, B2B is getting some ‘richly deserved’ recognition with the addition of a B2B category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
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To say the current retail industry is complicated would be to put it lightly. Inflation rates are soaring, consumers are feeling frustrated by the economy, and economists warn of a possible impending recession. What’s going on, and how should retail marketers react? Let’s dive in.
Before digging into best practices for retail marketers, let’s do a quick overview of the retail marketing landscape as it stands today.
As of the beginning of June, the annual inflation rate in the United States was 8.6%. Despite the low unemployment rate and the rapid economic growth of the past two years, most Americans are upset. So upset, in fact, that their feelings towards the economy are approaching the same low levels that characterized the Great Recession in 2008.
Though inflation is at the forefront of consumers’ (and retail marketers’) minds, it’s just one of many contributing factors to the industry churn. Digital advertising regulations are shifting, third-party cookies are on their way out—and did we mention that possibly-impending recession? Together, these factors have created a highly complex and unpredictable landscape for marketers to navigate.
With all this talk of doom and gloom, it’s easy to feel like it’s time to hunker down, slash your marketing budget, stick your head in the sand, and wait for this all to pass. No way consumers are looking to spend in the middle of this instability, right?
That’s not entirely the case. First, brands who continue to advertise will be well-positioned to meet pent-up consumer demand once the supply chain and the economy stabilize. Plus, despite inflation, US consumer spending has actually risen in recent months!
To meet current and future consumer demand, leaning into intentional brand marketing is a surefire way to maintain brand presence and continue to establish brand loyalty despite economic chaos. Read on to learn why putting the customer first, staying consistent, and maintaining flexibility will be retail marketers’ best friends during times of upheaval.
Inflation makes consumers feel powerless. They have no control over prices, or the various forces that cause them to rise. And unlike other economic issues that disproportionately impact folks of different socioeconomic statuses, races, and education levels, no one is left unscathed.
Couple this with the seemingly endless number of brand choices available to consumers, and it’s clear that the pressure is on for brands to maintain their customer base. And as marketers know, brand loyalty comes down to putting the customer first.
One way that retail marketers can prioritize their customers’ needs is by building trust and long-term relationships with them. One individual sale is important; but the communications that happen before and after that sale are just as critical. More so than ever, consumers—especially millennials and Gen Z—are paying attention to the ways that brands present themselves and follow through with action. Brands need to be inclusive and authentic in both their messaging and their products. Long-term, trusting relationships are built when brands’ products and communications exemplify their values and purpose.
It’s also critical that marketers listen well and respond authentically to customers’ wants and needs. Consumers today—especially millennials and Gen Z—care not just about your product, but also about the content your brand supports. Brands can embrace this information by advertising ethically—in other words, avoiding ad placements on websites that host misinformation and hate speech. When consumers push for authentic sustainability, show them how your brand is taking action. Where inflation can leave consumers feelings powerless, giving opportunities for consumer feedback and then acting on that input can establish trust and give buyers back a sense of agency.
The days of shoppers walking into a store, browsing the aisles, and choosing the product that most appeals to them in that moment are rapidly disappearing. Today’s retail landscape is increasingly hybrid—a marriage of digital and in-person shopping. The message that your brand sends digitally—from social media, to out of home, to search, to email—needs to align with consumers’ in-person shopping experience.
Being consistent goes hand-in-hand with building brand trust and loyalty. You’re not just selling your product—you’re selling your brand. Consumers notice when brand communications are inconsistent across and within platforms. This is why having a solid programmatic advertising strategy and the ability to target across devices is critical.
As consumers demand greater personalization from businesses of all sizes, marketers must move beyond a one-size-fits-all targeting approach and, instead, craft content specific to their audience’s distinct experiences. Trying to accomplish this degree of personalization manually is a monumental task. Staying consistent when manually building out many different creative variations, for example? Whew, it’s tough.
This is where embracing a programmatic strategy, backed by an automated and comprehensive DSP, is critical. Utilizing recent technological developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning will free up the time and efficiency marketers need to target across devices and create consistent, personalized consumer experiences. It also minimizes the risk of inconsistencies due to human error. Advertising automation is a powerful solution for retail marketers to have in their toolkit, as it reduces the duplicative and time-consuming tasks that make this type of consistency in advertising a challenge.
Listening to consumers and staying consistent will, almost certainly, always be best practice in retail marketing. That said, it’s an ever-evolving landscape. It’s difficult to predict what combination of targeting strategies will be dominant in a cookieless world, or whether ecommerce will fully replace in-person shopping in years to come. These and other factors are apt to change—often unpredictably—and retail marketers need to be able to meet consumers’ needs, no matter the changes.
As such, the third and final factor that’s key to retail marketers in this landscape is flexibility and adaptability.
One timely example of an opportunity for flexibility and adaptability is the current marriage of digital and in-person shopping. Though more folks still shop in-person than online, that balance is fluctuating, and an omnichannel advertising experience—both in-person and digital—can help retail marketers reach consumers at the right time, in the right way. Tapping into retail media networks is a great (and rapidly growing) way to be flexible and adaptable in this current context.
Take, for example, the “shop online, pick up in-store” consumer. The ads they view leading up to, during, and after their shopping experiences shape the purchasing choices they make. Though this consumer misses out on the in-person checkout line “impulse buys,” savvy retail marketers can view their online checkout as a place for a “virtual checkout line” experience. By running retail ads for similar impulse purchases (like the items a shopper would see in the checkout aisle in a physical store) during their online checkout process, marketers can adapt to and embrace this hybrid retail marketing landscape.
In the wild, wild world that is retail marketing in 2022, staying focused on these three factors—putting the consumer first, seeking consistency, and embracing flexibility—can make all the difference. Many things might (and likely will) change, but a retail marketing strategy with these as the foundation will be well-equipped to weather whatever is to come.
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Want to learn more about how advertising automation can help brands and agencies reach the right customers, in the right places, and at scale to boot? Check out our guide and see why automation is critical to meeting the wants and needs of retail consumers who are no longer satisfied with the status quo.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so that you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 6/3/22 - 6/9/22 to stay ahead of the curve:
Pride feels different this year, given the many pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that have been passed or proposed since last June—and the tidal wave of memes skewering inauthentic corporate sponsorships. This running list from AdAge features “Pride campaigns with purpose.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently expressed concern around how the loss of consumer privacy will impact individual behavior and "change society in a major way.” Check out this clip from the TIME100 Summit to hear his full comments.
Here’s some light at the end of the Excel file: while reporting has long been a pain point for marketers, automated reporting and visual dashboards can be game changers—particularly when it comes to client communications.
As the podcast ad business booms, experts are toying with how to best weave ads into episodes. Here, 14 pros share their thoughts on the subject, breaking down how they approach ad loads and identifying what they think works best to keep podcasters, advertisers, and listeners happy.
While cannabis is no longer a "green" industry, its marketing efforts are falling behind: a new survey shows that 80% of marketing companies have problems getting their messages to the right people. It’s almost as if canna-marketers could use a long-form guide with all the info they’ll need to knock a cannabis campaign out of the park...
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Whatever your goal may be—training for a marathon, saving for a house, or developing a character in Red Dead Redemption (hey, goals come in all shapes and sizes!)—there’s probably a tool out there to help you visualize your progress.
If you’ve ever used a Fitbit, for example, you’re well-acquainted with their dashboard. Colorful, easy-to-understand metrics visualizations track how many steps, hours of sleep, and glasses of water you’ve accrued—not just on a day-to-day basis, but week-over-week, month-over-month, and so on. The Fitbit dashboard makes it easy for users to identify where they have seen success and what they may want to work on going forward. Plus, seeing those line graphs steadily increase over time is pretty darn motivating.
While consumers are used to integrated reporting dashboards like Fitbit’s in their daily lives, media professionals are typically not so lucky. But automated reporting and visual dashboards have many benefits for marketers—particularly when it comes to client communications.
Marketers have access to an ever-growing list of channels and formats with which to spread their clients’ core messages. However, with those increased options has come increased complexity: according to a recent report from Advertiser Perceptions, advertisers use an average of nine platforms per campaign—and six in an average day. This ever-growing media fragmentation saddles digital advertisers with the unenviable task of unifying many disparate data sets.
Those without access to automated reporting must download multiple files, sort out the data points they’re interested in, create graphs and charts, and put together presentations from scratch—for all the different clients they serve. Stitching together those data sets is time-consuming and unfulfilling for marketers, and it means more manual errors, inconsistencies, and redundancies for clients. With low confidence in their analytics, agencies can’t glean the insights they need to come up with winning strategies.
At the same time, robust and easy-to-understand campaign insights are increasingly “must haves” for brands. Economic upheavals including war, supply chain disruption, and inflation have put brand loyalty very much at stake; while the proliferation of mis- and dis-information online threatens brand safety. Those brands who can stay data-driven and nimble with their marketing as the digital advertising industry churns will be best-positioned to maintain consumer trust and loyalty.
Still, in one study, about 60% of US agency and brand professionals cited a lack of transparency as a strong threat to digital ad budgets. This lack of transparency impairs brands’ ability to build their strategies from solid data—and hinders client relationships before the first campaign kickoff meeting is even scheduled.
Is it high time for the media buying industry to leave manual reporting behind? Signs point to yes. But what can agencies replace it with? Simple: business intelligence and reporting automation, technologies that unify data sets across channels like search, social, and programmatic.
Consolidating campaign information into—and generating reports from—one central place not only boosts data confidence and empowers marketers to tell their most creative, well-informed brand stories, but also reduces the time they have to spend on manual and repetitive tasks. And in the context of the Great Resignation, reducing manual labor wherever possible is critical to avoiding high rates of costly employee turnover.
Automated report dashboards can be particularly impactful. As marketers know well, visuals are key to quickly and clearly telling a story. Turns out, this is as true for behind-the-scenes marketing operations as it is for a simple display ad.
Visualization helps even the most experienced professionals make better sense of data. In one experiment performed by a cognitive psychologist and a behavioral scientist, two groups of economists were asked to determine the odds of different outcomes based on a regression analysis. The economists who were provided data in text form got most of their answers wrong. The economists who were given a scatterplot, on the other hand, performed markedly better. In the same way, visual dashboards empower marketers and clients alike to find patterns in data they trust.
Even more, automated report dashboards are often “always-on;” in that users who are given access can see the dashboards any time. So if a certain client representative wants to check in on how their campaign is performing at 2AM on a Saturday, they can. Do we recommend it? Well, no...but that’s beside the point! This "always-on" quality provides much-needed transparency and reassurance for the client, and can strengthen agency-client trust as a result.
The expectation for transparency, precision, and trust has only grown under the many economic pressures brands face today. And as marketing complexity increases, consumer behavior evolves, and the media landscape changes, we can count on the importance of meeting—or better yet, exceeding—those expectations to remain steadfast. Agencies with access to the right tools and partnerships will be well-equipped in that department.
The Data Canvas dashboards available in Basis drive holistic, seamless, and easy-to-understand campaign insights, giving clients a real competitive advantage in the marketplace. Curious? Connect with us to learn more!
Each month, Basis Technologies’ Programmatic 101 series tackles a different facet of programmatic advertising—from best practices for buyers, to competitors in the space, to trends you should know. Check out last month’s post to learn about the art and science of cross-device targeting!
The emergence of demand side platforms (DSPs) in 2007 triggered a renewed focus on buying audiences, rather than websites. Suddenly, brands could follow consumers across websites. Now, we're even able to track users across all their connected devices.
Having access to audience data is a targeting goldmine. However, when that data isn’t used strategically, it can lead to waste, high CPMs, and poor campaign performance. Below, we’ve put together a little cheat sheet for how to approach KPIs and targeting based on campaign objectives.
If the objective is to increase awareness and engagement, you want to expose a brand or product to as many people as possible. This is the first step to driving consumers through an action or purchase cycle. The focus should be on reaching as many people as possible while starting to build up first-party audiences—a method of understanding your customers that’s increasingly important as the industry moves away from third-party cookies.
When planning for how to measure the success of an awareness or engagement campaign, viable KPIs include the following (hint: these KPIs also illustrate the type of creative mediums brands should be developing):
With an emphasis on reach and scale, programmatic buyers should focus on targeting tactics that are as broad as possible. Common targeting tactics include prospecting, demographic targeting, and native.
Unlike the early days of marketing, where consumers acted in a linear fashion, the path to purchase today can be quite circular—with customers moving from awareness, to lead, back to consideration, and then back to awareness. What we know for sure is that prospects who visit a brand’s website are more likely to convert than those who don’t, so marketers must be hyper-focused on driving quality site traffic as efficiently as possible.
When determining if a traffic or consideration campaign is effective, buyers use a cost-based KPI such as:
With the introduction of cost-based KPIs, it’s important to ensure a campaign has the right balance between refined targeting (such as contextual targeting (a great cookieless option that’s having a moment), hyperlocal, behavioral targeting, private marketplace deals (PMPs) or custom site lists (CSL)), and email targeting and cost. Keep in mind that options like PMPs, CSLs, and email tend to have higher CPMs.
If a brand has utilized the above objectives effectively, a conversion campaign’s focus is to drive an online or offline action from an audience that’s not only aware of the brand, but has already engaged.
As you can imagine, the KPIs for a conversion or action objective are focused on efficiency. But unlike traffic and consideration, the conversion objective is focused on driving a specific outcome. Recommended KPIs include:
By the time a brand gets to the conversion and action phase, all audience testing/building is complete— allowing brands to really focus in on their targets. These tactics include retargeting (whether it be display/video/location/search or click) and first- party audiences (CRM lists, lookalike modeling, etc.).
Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s important to acknowledge that there will always be targeting tactics that can be used across objectives. For example, one could argue that retargeting benefits all KPIs—or that prospecting can be used as an audience-builder for awareness objectives but can also be used to drive down overall eCPMs for a conversion-based campaign.
The questions marketers must ask are: why am I using this tactic? What is its purpose in supporting my objective? Will the scale or cost of this tactic impact performance? When KPIs or targeting mixes are held to this level of scrutiny, marketers are well on their way to driving success for clients.
Looking for more programmatic training? You’ve come to the right place: Check out Basis Technologies’ free Programmatic Advertising Course!
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so that you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 5/26/22 - 6/2/22 to stay ahead of the curve:
Brands can’t afford inauthenticity in 2022, period. But what exactly does authenticity mean for social media influencers and the brands they work with? In the wake of Ogilvy announcing it will no longer work with influencers who edit their appearances in ads, social experts to weigh in.
Meanwhile, the world of social media is in a bit of a crisis. Inflation, war, rising interest rates, supply chain crises, new regulations, and the theater of Elon Musk have sent stocks plummeting and caused giants like Snap to miss revenue expectations. But what does it all mean for advertisers?
The industry continues to churn as it searches for new solutions to third-party cookies. Meanwhile, a meta-analysis from Analytic Partners suggests individual targeting doesn’t actually work all that well for big brand marketers. (Bonus: Here's how Amazon is quietly exploring the ad ID space.)
We get it—streaming TV is all the rage right now. But while streamers like Disney+, Netflix, and Hulu spent their upfronts showing off programming aimed at Gen Z and millennials, Warner Bros. Discovery chose a different tack: leaning in to its 50+ audience base—who aren’t just older, but also more affluent.
Amidst inflation angst and supply chain woes, it’s an unpredictable time for retail marketers. A recent study by Salesforce is helping to shed light on the top reasons consumers are switching brands. Of note: about two-thirds switched in search of better deals, and more than half sought better product quality.
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Social media—a medium that’s shaped politics, reunited friends from across the globe, and transformed the digital advertising landscape—is in a moment of crisis.
No, not because of the misinformation and hate speech thriving on its pages. And not because of the new regulations popping up in Europe that will limit some of the hyper-granular targeting that has made social media such an appealing medium for advertisers. (Well, maybe not only because of that…)
In fact, it’s a deadly cocktail of factors that’s sent stocks plummeting and is causing social companies to miss revenue expectations. Among them: inflation, war, rising interest rates, supply chain crises, fluctuating consumer confidence, increasing privacy concerns, stunted growth on established platforms, a billionaire who can’t stop criticizing the company he’s trying to buy, and a pandemic that just won’t seem to end. It’s a list so long that it can’t all fit into a single Tweet (though maybe Elon has some ideas there as well...)
Let’s take a quick look at the latest from the wild world of social media and consider what it all means for digital advertisers:
The current panic began with Snap (the company behind Snapchat) announcing they would fall short of earnings and profit goals for Q2, leading to a huge stock selloff that drove the company’s value down by 30%.
The cause of both the revenue miss and the fears around the future—both for Snap and the social media market in general—is ongoing economic uncertainty. While tech behemoths like Microsoft, Apple and Google have the luxury of cash stockpiles that allow them to continue to spend on everything from talent to tech, many social platforms that rely heavily on digital advertising may not be so fortunate. That includes Snap as well as the world’s largest social media company: Meta.
Privacy-related measures—specifically, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency—have hit Meta especially hard, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the feature will likely cost the social media giant $10 billion in earnings this year. However, that may only be a part of the story when it comes to the company’s struggles. In truth, Meta’s losses seem to be other platforms’ gains, with one platform in particular appearing to benefit: TikTok (more on that later...)
The outlook for Meta is far from rosy, with eMarketer reporting that the Facebook and Instagram owner’s YoY growth could potentially be in the low single digits or, worse yet, negative. Add in stagnant user growth, increased regulation, and scrutiny over the company’s metaverse ambitions—which cost Meta over $10 billion in 2021 while generating little-to-no revenue, and which Zuckerberg says will lose “significant” amounts of money over the next five years—and it’s clear that 2022 could be a tipping point for Meta.
Then, of course, there’s Twitter. Much of site’s future depends on the result of Elon Musk’s bid to buy the company. At present, Twitter relies principally on advertising revenue, but Musk’s plans reportedly include an increase in focus on revenue from subscriptions and data. However, he’s also stated a desire to make the platform a home for maximalist free speech with less content moderation—something that could make Twitter a far less hospitable destination for digital advertisers who are interested in prioritizing brand safety. For that reason—not to mention the risks that could arise if the deal falls through (due to, say, too many bots on the platform, or Musk’s fortune shrinking after a fall in Tesla’s stock price)—Twitter may too be in for a bumpy ride in the months ahead.
Looking for a silver lining? Look no further than TikTok, the micro-video sensation that’s seeing explosive growth. The app is already the third-largest social network in the world, and it’s expected to see $11.64 billion in global ad revenue in 2022—more than Twitter and Snapchat combined. With US adults spending an average of 46 minutes per day on the platform, TikTok appears to have ascended to YouTube levels of engagement and, coupled with some new branded content opportunities for marketers and creators and soaring popularity with Gen Z, may make it a safe landing space for digital advertisers.
While advertising spend typically goes down in the face of economic tumult, social media is a critical part of any digital ad campaign. With advertisers looking to optimize their spend, now might be a perfect time to focus on (and invest in) video. US digital video ad spend is projected to rise by over 25% this year to more than $76 billion and will surpass $100 billion by 2024. Creating effective digital video ads can help your brand stand out in social feeds and make the most of your ad budget.
Whatever your strategy, it’s going to be critical that brands stay agile in the months ahead. The world is changing quickly, with economic, political, and social shifts fostering a continuously evolving advertising landscape—particularly in the ephemeral world of social media. Marketers that can pivot with the needs of the environment (and the needs of their customers) will be the ones that are best set up for success.
Embracing solutions like workflow automation, which can save media buyers valuable time that they can subsequently re-allocate to strategy, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can help generate better campaign outcomes by using predictive modeling to find and optimize audiences and placements for KPIs, will help advertisers keep up with the changing times and trends.
Curious? Our guide, Meeting the Moment with Advertising Automation, details how intelligent automation systems can empower marketers to move quickly and feel more confident in their digital advertising strategy.