Attracting Millennials And Gen Zs To Sales In A Digital Marketing World

The idea that digital marketing can be thought of as "B2C sales" got me to pause and think. As the article notes, very few young people want to think of themselves as being in 'sales' or being 'sold something', and yet digital marketing is thought of as a creative field.

"Marketing is sales, sales is marketing".

Very thoughtful and interesting piece: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/05/29/attracting-millennials-and-gen-zs-to-sales-in-a-digital-marketing-world/2/#703c79502d4f.

Kroger's new personalization experience

In the theme of our book, "The Search", thought this was an interesting article. Kroger is creating a personalized online experience for their customers leveraging analytics and customer preferences. 
http://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/kroger-puts-its-data-science-prowess-work-brands

The Art of Storytelling in Modern Marketing (1)

The Art of Storytelling in Modern Marketing

One of the most important elements of good writing is showing, not telling. True writers achieve depth and meaning by engaging their readers' minds through stories and symbolism, not by telling their audience what to believe or think.

Marketers should follow the same principles of great film directors and writers: appealing to emotion and following a story arc are more important than ever to capitalize on customer engagement. 

The only rule marketers must adhere to when attempting to succeed at customer engagement is to fully understand their customer base and get the tone of the messaging/engagement right to avoid committing faux pas - or worse. Two examples of failed customer engagement are Pepsi's vapid "Live for Now Moments" ad and Heineken's "Lighter is Better" ad. Pepsi undermined the importance of protesting with the wrong product placement. Heineken's once positive association with diversity was shattered with the release of the Lighter is Better ad. 

The content of the message matters more than the product marketers are selling, and can have a great impact on customers' willingness to engage further, in turn boosting their brand loyalty. "Most speakers at marketing conferences tell stories of successful campaigns in data points rather than plot points. When the campaign bottoms out, the website gets no hits or the speaker puts the audience to sleep, McKee says, the storyteller blames the story (AMA)." Like a powerful poem, the message can still be short or even simple but must seem genuine and relatable to leave an impression, thus inspiring viewers/readers to share or engage with the post.

In a world where industry-wide pay gaps impact salaries of all scales, Kardashian's status as an entrepreneurial powerhouse is remarkable--whatever you think of her selfies. (Forbes 2)

There are many ways to go beyond the typical advertisement profile and engage with customers. Kim Kardashian is arguably one of the best at customer engagement, and has made her engaging online presence into a full-time job. She recently departed from her normal channels like Twitter and Instagram to create a wildly successful video game that allows users to "create their own celebrity" from their phones. In a world where industry-wide pay gaps impact salaries of all scales, Kardashian's status as an entrepreneurial powerhouse is remarkable--whatever you think of her selfies (Forbes 2).

So consider [the filmmaker's] approach as well to engaging your customers: plotting out the time customers will spend with your company in cinematic terms and bringing that impression, engagingly, to life. (Forbes)

Read More Here & Here: 

https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/art-narrative-arc-why-marketers-must-learn-storytellers.aspx
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/12/24/customer-engagement-is-everything/#

GDPR - a step back for Perfect Search

GDPR is now in full effect in the E.U. to regulate data sharing on the internet. While GDPR specifies how companies can treat user data in the E.U., global firms like Google, Amazon, and even not tech-centric firms that have a digital presence or store user data are rewriting their policies to ensure compliance. This means the regulation is having a global impact affecting users of digital services everywhere. What business today doesn’t store digital records of the client base?

The biggest change I understand is on how data is shared behind scenes. E.U. residents have right to request data firms have collected on them and to have certain personal data purged. If firms are found to be non-compliant with such requests they may be fined 4% of their global revenue, which for some of the large global tech powerhouses amounts to massive sums. Were Amazon found to be non-compliant, they might be on the hook for a roughly $7 billion fine based on their 2017 sales.

Here’s a quick educational video on the subject:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/25/17393766/facebook-google-gdpr-lawsuit-max-schrems-europe

While I think transparency around the nature of the data companies hold on users and how it is being used is good for consumers, I also think it should be well within companies’ rights, after clear and prominent disclosures, to deny service for users who do not permission the usage of their data. Okay, denying service might be extreme, firms with an implicit data charge business model should at least charge those who don’t permission use of their data.

            The benefits of providing data seem to be twofold – first user data goes to improving the efficacy of products that offer better tailored solutions to who we are and what makes us unique. Second, user data allows firms to commoditize data on the backend to help advertisers increase the yield from their marketing spend as we’ve begun to explore in our review of Google Advertising. This is the way we are able to “pay” for services like Facebook and YouTube, and I’m okay with that. I’d rather pay with my information than hard dollars and wouldn’t want a free rider enjoying the same service without payment in either fiat currency or personal data.

            There is also the societal cost of purging user data in hindering the “perfect search” described in John Battelle’s book “The Search.” Besides relying mainly on back links and keywords, Battelle envisioned results that incorporated users’ historical clickstream in a way that could offer enhanced, personalized results that might better understood what the user was looking for. This derivative data might be lost and be made more incomplete from those who opt out, resulting in a productivity loss incurred by everyone.

Does this new O2O shopping services matters to you?

Facy, an O2O (offline to online) service platform for fashion and apparel stores offering by Tokyo-based startup company Styler launched last September.

This service make it possible for consumer to have a new shopping experience simply by test messaging. Consumers with questions about fashion can ask for advice, and stores respond to those questions on the platform, like on Quora.

With the addition of the e-commerce function to Facy, it will allow physical fashion and apparel stores to easily set up their online storefront. For this function, Styler takes care of everything from the delivery of goods to the settlement of payments for online customers of shops on Facy. From the shops’ point of view, it is similar to Uber Eats’ system. Styler provides a series of services for shops and in return takes 20% of the price of items sold.

Tsubasa Koseki is the CEO and founder of Facy. He said their app was designed for people age between 25 and 35 who have jobs and cash to buy fashion items, but they don’t have much time to shop. Many of the stores on the platform are middle-priced brands, which are strong in the country.

Even though they got a really well result with 500,000 monthly active users who use the mobile app to interact with shops or browse interactions between shops and other users. Could they tell the exact difference with social network service-based interaction apps?

As Tsubasa mentioned, rather than post questions, most users just read conversations and find the right item which could also be possible for other apps customer review page. At the same time, they still need to develop and improve their chatbots and AI system for better operation.


reference:
https://www.techinasia.com/talk/tsubasa-koseki-facy

#2

ViVo Using Sport in India to Build a Brand

Vivo is a  Chinese technology company owned by BBK Electronics that makes smartphones, smartphone accessories, software, and online services. It was founded in 2009 in Dongguan, China.

The current product that they are set to launch in India is the Vivo X21. It is a low end smart phone which is priced at $60. The design and the specifications are market leading. The phone in itself is on a high volume low cost model which means that they need to sell as many pieces as they can to get the ball rolling.

India is a young market with a growing rate of cell phone usage and a huge demand for a low end product. What better way to go about the exercise than to send out a loud clear message. 

The Indian Premier League which is one of the most avidly followed Cricket Leagues in a country that is clearly crazy about the sport could not have been a better platform. It gives Vivo not only a chance to really put out its product out there but also, repeatedly target the consumer through multi channel repetitive bombarding of the brand, the device. This has enabled VIVO to register as a brand even before the launch of the product which will undoubtedly lead to alot of curiosity for the product. This in addition with the airing at Hotstar, going on TV, all the digital coverage that they receive as a byproduct of being a Title Sponsor, will hopefully help them achieve their sales numbers.
  

“How GDPR Will Transform Digital Marketing” KF Blog #2

“How GDPR Will Transform Digital Marketing”  

Article: https://hbr.org/2018/05/how-gdpr-will-transform-digital-marketing

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, made a new set of regulations in order to protect consumers’ privacy and give consumers control over how their data is collected and used. These regulations go into effect on 5/25. Now, marketers need to secure permission for data-use activities. But how this “permission” comes about is still in question. Perhaps the normal consent consumers give to social platforms such as Facebook will not constitute as “active consent” (as stated in the new GDPR rules) which the article goes on to explain.  Another part of the regulation is giving the consumers the choice to review and erase data that corporation currently have.

Digital media targeting has been pivotal in new marketing efforts, and now the use of data for this targeting is going to be harder to get in the EU. We’ll have to track how companies will respond to these new regulations and if they will either find other ways of gaining consumer data or use other methods for targeting.  

This new era of transparency for consumers and corporations is in theory very liberating, but advertisers in the EU will have a hard time adjusting to this new environment, especially since this data collection was seemingly unregulated until now. I can’t help but wonder if other countries will adopt such regulation. Just more twists and turns in the digital marketing world…

GDPR: How will Europe's new data privacy rules affect US firms? (2)

Facebook is having quite the year. Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect today, jeopardizing the existence of Big Tech, social media giants like Facebook, and many other social media and marketing sites including data brokers. Many social media firms who rely on data collection are directly affected by this new legislation and exposed to great risk due to the new requirements. And they are not alone: biotech and healthcare companies who had to interrogate all of their contracts, systems, and processes for Safe Harbor have had to be nimble to adapt to the new way of working.

Companies will have to disclose data breaches to authorities within three days, or face crippling fines.

Any company that collects European data should both be on high alert and performing audits to avoid penalties. At the request of individuals, companies will also need to develop systems to be able to pull back all data relating to that person and erase it.

There are many unknowns:

• If certain individuals are more worried about data privacy than others, does that skew marketing datasets that suddenly lack that individual profile? For instance, if men in their 40s-50s reach out to have their information stricken, does that hurt the efficacy of sports, food, etc. marketing and affect precision marketing?
• Will the government be able to crack down on all companies and sites that collect data on individuals?
• What kinds of approvals will be granted for direct marketing going forward? Will it be like the non-smoking campaign and transparently say right on the ad, "We used your profile information to generate this ad, and think it's relevant based on your interests.

Read more here: https://www.politico.eu/article/the-gdpr-hit-list-who-stands-to-lose-from-europes-new-privacy-rules-facebook-google-data-protection/

Side note^ Politico optimized their link to include Facebook and Google for SEO purposes

How to get your marketing message across in a digital world

We learnt from the class how Digital marketing has been fundamentally changing the marketing funnel. One of the significant impacts of Digital marketing is the way it reshaped the marketing segmentation process. The one size fits all advertisement methods using newspapers, televisions, and radios is a strategy in its downward spiral. This London Business School article and podcast explores how Marks & Spencers used digital marketing to make their marketing funnel efficient.

https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/lbsr/iie-podcast-how-to-get-your-marketing-message-across-in-a-digital-world

5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Digital Marketing Consultant

In this "listicle" (lists that pose as articles), Entrepreneur magazine details why it is important for small companies to revamp their digital presence.

The list is relevant to a current situation at work. My firm owns a fine-dining, which was once the hottest seat in town 20 years ago. However, as tastes and demographics have shifted, the restaurant has struggled to maintain market share. In fact, upon closer evaluation, marketing expense has no correlation with the restaurant's revenues. PR and advertising for the restaurant have largely remained unchanged, so there is a heavy emphasis on traditional media. The internal push is now to revamp the PR efforts and marketing mix to include more digital media, particularly on Instagram.

Challenges with Digital Marketing and Analytics

An interesting read on digital marketing and analytics.  The article speaks to common challenges around collaboration between IT and marketing, skill gap, and speed of data analysis and insights. 

https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/data-management/3-challenges-with-big-data-for-marketers/#

Retargeting, Programmatic and Sequential Ads

Retargeting, Programmatic and Sequential Ads

Retargeting, programmatic and sequential ads are different ways to use creative (ad campaign) and display to reach a target audience. This article will detail the differences between each one.

Retargeting: These refer to banner ads served to people who already visited a specific site. For example; you are looking for a new dress and go to the J. Crew website to look for one. Once you’ve finished your search on J. Crew and leave the site (without buying) you’ll start to see banners ads driving you back to the J. Crew website. These types of ads can help customers move for the consideration phase to the conversion – in this example you might be more inclined to click on the J. Crew ad and finish your purchase of the dress. Here’sa good article about Retargeting.

Programmatic: These are not specific to only digital ads however they are used in the digital space as a way to buy inventory (ad space by bids) automatically. The key about programmatic is that it guarantees impressions (ad views) and it’s a great vehicle to test, run and buy ads in real-time to reach a specific consumer. This enables the marketer to buy inventory/impressions across multiple publishers and even use lookalike customers to target. For examples and more in-depth information please see this article.

Sequential: as its name may infer this requires the use of different messages served to a user based in previous action. Sequential messages may be used for retargeting. Using the example above; if you added the dress to your shopping cart but didn’t complete the purchase. The retargeting ad that might follow you to the next website may have the message “left something in your cart” or “if you complete the purchase we’ll give you 5% off” This is an article that details how sequential messaging is used on Facebook.