In today’s increasingly digital world, brands cannot afford to be passive. Many brands seemed to have had a strong performance this Labor Day, but the post-Labor Day lead up to Black Friday provides an unparalleled opportunity for astute marketers. As an expert in the field, I present an in-depth analysis of the strategies you should adopt.
1. Digital Channels: Precision is Key
- Email: Despite being one of the oldest digital mediums, and even fallen victim to its own "cookie era" called Can-Spam, email is still a solid channel that boasts strong ROI, with ROAS as high as $38 on average. Harness this by segmenting your audience and personalizing content. Brands should allocate around 10% of their digital spend here initially, adjusting based on engagement metrics. Keep in mind that relevancy and frequency are as important with email as with any other targeted digital channel, so do not abuse the customer relationship or you stand to lose it.
- Social Media: A staggering 54% of social browsers use platforms for product research. In fact, Social is turning into the new search and AI will further erode search as we have come to know it, so diversify your approach in social. Include Instagram for visuals, Facebook for community building, and TikTok for short, engaging content. Start with 15% of your digital spend here and then optimize based on the platform’s performance.
- Retargeting: Did you know that website visitors who are retargeted with display ads are 70% more likely to convert? Today, using a compliment of geo-location retargeting will help drive these numbers even higher. This is also a strong conquest tool. Devote at least 15% of your digital ad budget here, ensuring you’re capitalizing on this high-conversion tactic and work with a partner that can help you effectively leverage the benefit of retargeting in display, audio, video and geo-location. You can also use this tactic in SOME and other areas.
2. Traditional Channels With a Digital Spin
TV and radio are not dead. They are however in the midst of the biggest reinvention these channels have ever seen with CTV/OTT continuing to take shares from cable and broadcast globally.
These two channels have long been the best for driving brand awareness, store traffic and performance. Nothing has changed in their effectiveness. In fact, if anything the precision targeting that CTV/OTT and streaming audio, now deliver, demonstrate that the new TV and Radio are only compounded in their benefit. With less waste, now brands of any size can advertise on these channels and benefit from the performance they deliver.
- CTV/OTT: With 73% of U.S. households currently streaming (according to the 2023 Comscore State of Streaming Report) and over 85% predicted to be reachable via CTV/OTT by 2025, this is a territory you can’t ignore. Inject at least 30% of your ad spend here for a mix of above the line and below the line effectiveness. Your, above the line is a straight brand play, think TV, but targeted to key zips, states, DMA’s, congressional districts (without an audience target) and below the line is more performance or business outcome driven targeting specific demographic or interest segments.
- Streaming Audio: With over 41M U.S. homes now listening to audio on digital devices, platforms like Spotify become indispensable. Allocate an initial 5-10% of your ad budget here, then optimize based on listener engagement metrics. Like CTV and OTT, you can have an above the line and below the line approach to impact both performance and brand impact equally.
- Trust: Trust should be the Bedrock of AdTech but as we all are aware, that stone has splintered more and more over the years, but before it completely crumbles, trust should be the core to your approach. Recent studies suggest that 34% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands they trust, why should media buyers on the brand or agency side be any different. Trust and companies delivering on their commitments should be priority number one. Especially as inflation rises! It’s paramount that brands ensure, every penny counts and that they are not losing valuable pennies to fraud, lack of transparency or partners that do not warrant trust. Aim to partner with transparent firms that prove, without a doubt, that most of your spend is focused on media, not hidden fees, mark-ups or middlemen. The word transparency and trust have been abused and used in marketing by our industry for so long that many are numb or immune to them or cannot find partners that deliver on the promise. Trust me they exist!
- Traditional Media: Linear TV and Terrestrial Radio are still as effective in many genres as ever. If you have been a TV or radio advertiser with success, you should continue to spend, but your budgets should be down by 50-70% with that shifting to streaming to follow the viewers and listeners to their new platforms of choice.
To sum it up, this season, make every media dollar count. By understanding the metrics, being savvy about allocation and insisting on transparent partnerships, brands are poised not just to capture attention, but to achieve remarkable conversion rates and returns. Adjust, optimize, and let the data lead the way.
Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.
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