Google Selects IRI to Join New Measurement Partners Program

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July 27, 2018

Report: Undercover Arms Race between Media and Commerce Platforms

New Magisto Study Examines the Market Forces Upending the Balance of Online Commerce & Social Media

Media, advertising and commerce have historically had a symbiotic relationship. The equation was simple: customer sees an ad via media and buys a product via a retail outlet. There is a growing friction between e-commerce and media platforms, which are both competing for a finite amount of consumer attention, and this friction threatens to upend an age-old balance of power, according to a new report.

“Word-of-mouth has always been the most powerful form of marketing. People trust their friends’ and family’s opinion in all things, including purchase decisions. The phenomenal thing about social platforms is that they have made word-of-mouth a form of media”

Social media platforms are increasingly entering the e-commerce space with native features that support consumer purchases. This subtle shift has begun to unseat the unrivaled dominance of online transactions that has traditionally been held by e-commerce platforms and digital marketplaces. Simultaneously, e-commerce sites are beginning to introduce rich media and customer-centric marketing technology in order to foster some of the engagement and relationships currently owned by social media platforms. These two shifts illustrate a friction in today’s go-to-market strategy and a rising competition in the retail industry.

Also Read: Wibbitz Introduces Storyteller Circles to Connect Global Community of Creators

This disconnect is explored in a new report, released by Magisto, which found that businesses aggressively create and maintain e-commerce profiles, but rely most heavily on social media to market their businesses. The market gap centers around the fact that the traffic they generate in doing this pushes consumers to either their own websites to generate sales or back to their own social media profiles to foster engagement. Magisto surveyed over 750 marketing decision-makers, who illustrate the market dynamics in these five data points:

1. 75 percent of businesses report managing one or more profiles on third-party ecommerce sites

2. 71 percent of businesses report using social media more than any other digital medium to market their business, 177 percent more than e-commerce sites and 122 percent more than paid advertising

3. Respondents are 138 percent more likely to drive traffic to their own websites than to an e-commerce site with their marketing efforts

4. 72 percent of businesses say they’d be more likely to use third-party e-commerce sites if they offered more tools to actively market/promote their business

5. 50 percent say that if social media platforms offered direct sales, they’d be more likely to use social media for all of their business and marketing transactions

Also Read: Alphabet Inc. Integrates Google Duo with Google Assistant Enabling Easy Access to Users for Video Calling

“Contemporary marketing strategy centers around building long-term customer relationships through authentic content creation and social conversations. As more and more businesses crack the code on social marketing, it’s only logical to add commerce as a companion and end point to social narrative,” says Oren Boiman, CEO of Magisto. “Today businesses are using third-party e-commerce profiles as a transactional way to capture passive and highly fragmented demand for their products. Conversely, businesses are using social and owned media to actively foster relationships, generate product demand, and drive sales. This dynamic will increasingly put e-commerce back on their heels, struggling for relevance.”

Social content marketing is a driving force behind the competition between social media and e-commerce. The report highlights an opportunity for social media to win an enormous slice of digital commerce and the need for e-commerce sites to increase their native marketing and content creation abilities. Only 47 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with their ability to target desired audiences and proactively market through third-party e-commerce sites, and 72 percent said they’d be more likely to use e-commerce sites if they offered richer ways to create, edit and upload content natively. Nearly half (49 percent) of marketers specifically called out their desire for native video creation as a feature that would make them more likely to use e-commerce sites. This point is especially important considering 64 percent say the content they upload to e-commerce sites is created specifically for the platform and 48 percent say if social media platforms offered direct sales, they’d be more likely to use social media for all of their business and marketing transactions.

“Word-of-mouth has always been the most powerful form of marketing. People trust their friends’ and family’s opinion in all things, including purchase decisions. The phenomenal thing about social platforms is that they have made word-of-mouth a form of media,” said Reid Genauer, CMO at Magisto. “Content is still king, but the nature of that content today just happens to be bottom-up social storytelling. Fostering the ability for individuals and businesses to create, edit and manage digital narrative is a make-or-break feature set for any business, but specifically for e-commerce sites. Without it, they risk becoming passive observers to the new digital marketplace.”

Innovid Promotes Digital Marketing Leader Stephanie Geno to Senior Vice President of Marketing

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July 27, 2018

Innovid Promotes Digital Marketing Leader Stephanie Geno to Senior Vice President of Marketing

Geno to Lead Global Integrated Marketing and Communications, Helping Brands Succeed in Today’s Data-Driven Video Marketplace

Innovid, the world’s leading video marketing platform, announced the promotion of Stephanie Geno to senior vice president of marketing. Geno, who previously served as vice president of brand solutions at Innovid, also will be the newest member of the Innovid management team. As Innovid continues to grow globally, Geno will play an instrumental role in helping tell the stories of Innovid’s 1,000+ brand customers and take their data-driven video marketing programs to the next level.

.@Innovid, the world’s leading video marketing platform, announced the promotion of Stephanie Geno to senior vice president of marketing.

With a unique background in strategic planning, partnership marketing and technical expertise, Geno brings more than a decade of digital marketing experience working with marquee brands to her new role at Innovid. Prior to joining the company as vice president of brands solutions earlier this year, Geno co-founded and served as Partner, Head of Accounts at Transparent, a marketing automation consultancy, where she led the digital marketing enablement consulting practice. Prior to that, Geno served as senior vice president at Starcom MediaVest Group on the Digital Center of Excellence team.

Also Read: Broadcasting and Ad Tech Veteran Bunker Sessions Joins Extreme Reach to Spearhead Sell-Side Business Expansion

“After an impressive tenure helping our clients on the brand solutions side, Stephanie was a natural fit to lead Innovid’s global marketing efforts,” said Beth-Ann Eason, president, Innovid. “Her expertise leading integrated client communications, global media strategy and high-impact customer experiences for some of the world’s leading brands will serve Innovid’s customers well as they leverage the power of digital for world-class interactive and personalized video campaigns.”

An advocate for promoting women and the next generation of marketers, Geno is the co-lead for the Denver chapter of mBolden, an organization championing women in leadership in the mobile, digital, and tech industries.

“My passion is helping brands navigate and excel in today’s data-driven marketplace,” said Geno. “I feel fortunate to be part of Innovid’s management team as the company continues to lead the industry in delivering digital video solutions that increase interactivity, engagement and personalization with customers.”

Standing Out When Marketing Noise is Louder than Ever

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Jessica Hawthorne-Castro

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July 26, 2018

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Standing Out When Marketing Noise is Louder than Ever

Six Ways To Fight Back And Rise Above The Crowd When The Noise Around You Gets Too Loud For You And Your Customers To Ignore

In a time where the consumer wants, needs, and behaviors are evolving as rapidly as technology and data, it’s becoming harder for marketers to stand out and rise above the noise. Consumers are literally being pummeled from all sides, and across all devices, as they make their way through the day. In fact, the cacophony has become so loud and distracting that all companies need to start taking some extreme measures to rise above the clutter.

Here are six ways your firm can start standing out right now:

1) Think Beyond Your Own Organization

Strive to connect to something that’s bigger than yourself. Have a greater goal for the world. Walk the walk on this commitment by giving a percentage of your profits to charity, donating time to your favorite causes, being an advocate for important issues, or other “giving” activities. Whether you bring awareness to world problems, support environmental causes, or participate in a TED Talk, your ultimate goal should be to have an impact on the world that goes beyond advertising and direct response. At a TED Conference in Vancouver, B.C., for example, I attended a luncheon where Al Gore spoke about climate change and discussed new environmental initiatives. Climate change is a passion of mine, so anytime I can get on board with positive changes, I’m in.

In the end, whatever good works you can do will contribute to the greater good of the world and translate to your own marketplace. It’s no longer OK to operate with tunnel vision or in a silo. We all need to do our part, and in the end, that’s what makes an entire organization—and its valued clients—so successful.

Also Read: What Are the Key Challenges for Marketing Automation Experts?

2) Give Back To Your Employees

Make people want to come to work in the morning. Working smart and working hard are big parts of success. I’m a big believer in hard work, but I also think we should have fun at the same time. After all, we spend roughly 30 percent of our lives at work!

Give employees the tools they need to succeed and allow them to do their best creative work in a collaborative, engaging workspace. Strive to foster an atmosphere that infuses employees with pride in working for your company. Celebrate accolades and the fact that valued team members are enthused about coming to work in the morning. This will set your company apart from those where working 9-to-5 is a chore.

3) Improve Transparency With Clients

Put your clients first every time. One of the greatest joys in the advertising business is seeing companies grow, thrive, and reach their potential; they may even merge with other firms or be acquired based on such success. Be passionate about helping your partners achieve success, and you’ll be able to develop a track record that proves it.

Don’t be afraid to be truthful when you offer advice. When we give our clients advice on campaigns, for example, we point to the ROI for every dollar of media invested. We do so for the greater good of that client’s company. Their success is our success—and that’s what we truly enjoy. Any business supporting a DR marketing campaign should follow this model.

Also Read: Sales and Marketing Alignment Means So Much More Today

4) Merge Analytics With Creative

Few would argue the profound impact that big data has had on the business world, and on marketing in particular. Defined by Gartner research analysts as “high- volume, high-velocity, and high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision-making,” big data has pushed marketers to spend more time thinking about exactly how their advertising investments and campaigns translate into bottom-line benefits and corporate growth.

As this trend has advanced, the marketers that identify and use the data that matters most are the ones that achieve better efficiencies, higher return on investment (ROI), and better decision-making for the future. Smart marketers are identifying opportunities that advance their brands’ positions and capabilities, targeting new customers more efficiently, and serving their existing customers more effectively.

At Hawthorne, we see the intersection of data and marketing as a particularly creative junction in and of itself, based on the fact that it allows DR marketers to do what they do best: create and develop effective campaigns that are engaging, accountable, and on-point.

Also Read: Businesses Believe Marketing Communications Are Effective; Consumers Disagree

5) Make The Magic Happen

Every company should be able to multiply its media investments with a carefully crafted creative and media campaign. The three simple words at the heart of a strategy should be: launch, grow, and brand. Adopt a strategic approach to creative, media buying, and analytics, and merge them to create a successful campaign. Launch, grow, and brand with an underlying analytical foundation—and consider yourselves to be partners in your clients’ growing businesses.

We have helped clients turn relatively unknown brands and products into sales powerhouses by following these operating philosophies. One of our clients—an online pet food supplier—was acquired for $3.35 billion, and that came less than a year after we launched its first ad campaign. Another client introduced a household product to consumers that became a major brand for a global manufacturer.

You can follow the same path as you partner on projects. Help your client companies grow and take pride in the fact that you’ve contributed to their success and future growth. Then you can enjoy every minute of the journey alongside them.

Also Read: 3 Pivots Marketers Need to Make to Improve Marketing Performance

6) Let Your Customers Tell Your Stories

When making a purchasing decision, the overwhelming majority of consumers, nearly 70% according to a Nielsen survey, trust customer reviews. Aside from the product benefits and features themselves, customer reviews can be the decisive factor for potential buyers who are mulling over their options. The rise of digital media over the past several years makes customer testimonials even more accessible and ubiquitous in the buying process.

So how do you find happy customers to star in your review video? Going to the largest group of consumers with a variety of tactics is key — email blasts and social media contests can be effective ways to identify the right people. Many people are drawn to the idea of appearing on camera, but narrowing down the list to the right group is important.

Once you’ve identified a pool of customers who are willing to participate, take the time to ask them about their use of the product or service to make sure they connect with the brand. A consumer who really connects to a product will naturally bring up points that align with the brand message.

By employing some or (preferably) all of these tactics, you’ll be able to effectively position your company for success in any advertising environment—even one where you have to rise above the noise to be heard.

Also Read: Are Small and Local Businesses Ready for Voice Search?

Digital Marketing Veteran Michael Perlman Joins Jumpshot as Chief Revenue Officer

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July 26, 2018

Digital Marketing Veteran Michael Perlman Joins Jumpshot as Chief Revenue Officer

Jumpshot, the only company that unlocks walled garden data, announced the appointment of Michael Perlman as Chief Revenue Officer as the company and its customers seek to broaden the understanding of customer behavior across online marketplaces. Perlman will lead the company’s sales, sales operations, account management and customer success teams globally, with a focus on bringing previously locked marketplace and campaign data products to market and accelerating revenue growth.

Perlman is a veteran of the marketing analytics industry, most recently serving as SVP of comScore’s Advertiser and Media business units.

Also Read: BrandTotal to Bring Agile Marketing to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customers

“At a time when our customers seek valuable consumer insights within marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart.com, Target and Macy’s, it’s important that Jumpshot align our leadership team with our go-to-market vision as a leader in walled-garden insights,” said Deren Baker, CEO of Jumpshot. “Mike has a strong background in the media and marketing industry, having driven successful revenue channels for global companies. His experience will lend itself well to Jumpshot as we continue to grow and I’m thrilled to have him on board.”

“It was clear to me as I joined Jumpshot that there is a big market opportunity helping customers derive value from Jumpshot data,” said Perlman. “This next step in my career will allow me to bring innovative data products to market, transforming how brand marketers understand brand, category and product performance across the entire online ecosystem.”

Prior to Jumpshot and comScore, Perlman held a variety of leadership roles at Millward Brown Digital (formerly Compete) including SVP of Sales and GM of the company’s Media business. He earned his MBA from Cornell’s Johnson School of Business a BA in Economics from Hamilton College.

Zero Opt-Outs Is the New Holy Grail for Marketing Automation, This Year’s Nucleus Value Matrix Shows

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July 26, 2018

Nucleus Research’s 2021 Embedded Analytics Technology Value Matrix Identifies Domo, Infor, Looker, Oracle, Sisense, and Tableau as Leaders

Integration Across Silos Joined with AI and Hyper-Personalization Help Top Vendors Extend Lead

This year’s Technology Value Matrix for Marketing Automation highlights increased efforts to minimize marketing campaign opt-outs by using AI-driven targeting, data integration and automation that further personalizes content based on more granular audience preferences. Increased pressure from European general data protection regulation (GDPR) has also further accelerated investment in the development of tools that better encourage subscribers not to drop out of marketing campaigns.

The leaders in this year’s Value Matrix include: Adobe Marketing Cloud, Marketo, Oracle Marketing Cloud, and Salesforce.

“Every marketing automation vendor talks about personalization, but few have achieved hyper-personalization. Going beyond even micro-segmentation, true personalization means no prospect or customer ever receives communications they don’t want – from a channel or at a time they don’t prefer. In this pursuit, GDPR’s further restrictions on maintaining banks of customer data makes things even more difficult when attempting to get customers that have opted-out back. Getting effective personalization right the first time is crucial,” said Rebecca Wettemann, VP of Research at Nucleus Research.

Also Read: Poor Call Handling Results in Lost Sales Opportunities and Negative Customer Experiences

One of the biggest hurdles to effective omnichannel marketing is real-time visibility into information spread out between departments, databases and applications. Vendors are driving improvements towards a “single view” into customer data with e-commerce and marketing integration strategies at the forefront of this push. And as a means to grow their own market share, vendors are increasing engagement for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer models, increasingly overlapping capabilities between these categories of offerings.

Vendors are evaluated within the Technology Value Matrix on both usability and functionality – key drivers of value – and placed into four categories: Leaders, Experts, Facilitators, and Core Providers. Customers can use the Matrices to evaluate vendor short lists as well as to make the case for maintaining existing applications.

Opt-In Video Advertising is Preferred Ad Choice for Consumers According to New Nationwide Survey; Adoption May Deter Ad Blocking

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July 26, 2018

Research from OpenX, the Mobile Marketing Association and MediaMath Highlights Opportunity to Provide Consumers a More Rewarding Advertising Experience

OpenX, the world’s leading independent advertising technology provider, revealed new consumer and brand marketer research conducted in coordination with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and MediaMath, highlighting the growing desire of consumers for more relevant, engaging and “rewarding” advertising experiences.

“When the ad experience works for the consumer, everyone in the ecosystem benefits, and every brand marketer, publisher or app developer should be thinking about how they can capitalize on this opportunity, and utilize these ad units that are very clearly in demand.”

The nationwide survey of consumers showcases the dilemma that many marketers face with digital advertising; over 80 percent of online users report feeling overwhelmed by the number of ads they see, with over two thirds also saying ads they see are not relevant to them. This negative consumer experience has led 8 out of 10 to consider downloading an ad blocker.

The data, however, also showcases a clear path forward for brands. While consumers are often frustrated with advertising, nearly 70 percent said they would be open to seeing even more ads than they see today if they were more relevant to them.

Also Read: Faye Business Systems Group Named Bob Scott Top 100 VAR for 2018

The consumer survey showcases that the best way for brands to provide more relevant ad experiences is with opt-in advertising – advertising that rewards a user for their time. 79 percent of consumers said that they prefer opt-in advertising over every other ad format and with video advertising in particular, opt-in advertising ranked significantly higher than pre-roll, mid-roll, social/native or pop-up/interstitial advertising.

The data also includes responses from more than 100 global marketers that outlines their evolving approach to opt-in video. More than 80 percent of marketers acknowledged that opt-in video can provide a superior user experience and better ROI than other ad formats, and 65 percent of respondents planned to increase spend in opt-in video next year.

Other highlights from the research include:

The opportunity to expand opt-in video beyond gaming: While games were the environment where respondents were by far most likely to have experienced opt-in video to date, there is opportunity for all different app categories to utilize the ad format, and OpenX has seen consistent performance across apps that include photography, social networking, music, dating and home design. For advertisers, consumers are also open to engaging with opt-in video for a variety of different value exchanges, and more than two thirds of consumers would watch a 15 second ad in exchange for retailer discounts, free streaming music, or an hour of premium streaming video content.
The opportunity for deeper engagement: Consumers were not only willing to watch 15 second ads for certain kinds of value exchanges, but also ads up to 60 seconds in length. Over 70 percent of consumers would watch a 60 second video ad for a retail discount.
The power of mobile overall:When done well, mobile advertising can drive recall, clicks and eventually purchases. Two thirds of consumers can recall a specific brand they have seen advertised on mobile in the last week, 60 percent click on mobile ads at least weekly, and 20 percent make weekly purchases based off digital ads.

Also Read: Zilliant Enables Consumer-Like E-Commerce Experience for B2B

“As long as it is on their terms, consumers are open to engaging with ads, and this is big news for both marketers and publishers,” said Maggie Mesa, VP of Mobile at OpenX. “When the ad experience works for the consumer, everyone in the ecosystem benefits, and every brand marketer, publisher or app developer should be thinking about how they can capitalize on this opportunity, and utilize these ad units that are very clearly in demand.”

“Marketers are looking for new ways to capture consumer attention, and since mobile phones are the most personal devices we own, taking a close look at consumer preference is critical,” said Sheryl Daija, CSO of the MMA. “Opt-in video has the potential to drive the next wave of consumer engagement, and it’s an example of how the mobile advertising industry is evolving and pushing the larger digital media industry forward.”

In addition to the survey data, OpenX and the MMA teamed with MediaMath to look at data from opt-in video campaigns. The data showed opt-in video ads had an 87 percent completion rate, a 13 percent delta over traditional video, highlighting the consumer friendly nature of the ad format.

“While marketers in the gaming space have been capitalizing on opt-in video for years, the ad format is ready to break into the mainstream, and brand marketers in different verticals can leverage opt-in video to drive real consumer engagement,” said Lewis Rothkopf, General Manager, Media and Growth Channels, MediaMath. “Reaching consumers who are proactively choosing to watch video ads is consistent with our Consumer First vision of recognizing and understanding the consumer, respecting her choices relative to marketing, and rewarding her with high-quality, engaging experiences.”

Epiphany Selects Amobee for Ad Tech Collaboration

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July 26, 2018

Epiphany Selects Amobee for Ad Tech Collaboration

Partnership Leads the Way for Transparency in Display Advertising

Epiphany, Jaywing’s search agency, has appointed Amobee, a global digital marketing technology company, as an ad tech partner, following a review of solutions in the programmatic and paid social marketplace. The collaboration will enhance Epiphany’s media offering to clients through a transparent audience buying model across programmatic display and social.

Epiphany appoints Amobee EMEA as an ad tech partner, empowering Epiphany’s media planning and buying at scale. Access to Amobee’s DSP, DMP & Brand Intelligence provides clients a transparent audience buying model across programmatic display and social.

The partnership enables Epiphany clients to access the Amobee Marketing Platform–including the Amobee DSP, DMP and Brand Intelligence insights tool–to provide independent end-to-end audience insights and advanced analytics for media planning and buying at scale. The Brand Intelligence tool will further enhance Epiphany’s audience-first approach by providing an added layer of data-driven and actionable insights, fueled by audience digital consumption and engagements in real-time.

Also Read: Clique Recognized as Best Enterprise Company at Red Herring Top 100 North America Awards

Epiphany will also provide clients with access to a transparent buying model through Amobee, which has a comprehensive brand safety offering, ensuring marketers have access to a safe, transparent buying ecosystem with pricing visibility and the highest quality inventory to more effectively reach targeted consumers.

“We are excited to partner with Amobee and look forward to providing best-in-class media planning and buying through Amobee’s advanced technology. We have always been passionate about working with clients and partners in pursuit of shared goals, and it is exciting to take this focus to a new level through the adoption of the transparency buying model,” says Emma Ashby, Head of Programmatic Display & Paid Social at Epiphany. “We’re proud to provide our clients with complete visibility and control over their media budget, enhancing the ability to maximise efficiency and effectiveness across programmatic display and social.”

“Amobee is committed to promoting transparency and believe it provides a foundation for programmatic and social to flourish,” says Kate Barry, Vice President of Client Services for Amobee EMEA. “We’re very excited to partner with Epiphany; their values on transparency will give them a clear advantage in the rapidly changing marketing space.”

TrendKite Acquires Social Technology Leaders Insightpool and Union Metrics to Create the First Digital PR Solution

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July 26, 2018

TrendKite Acquires Social Technology Leaders Insightpool and Union Metrics to Create the First Digital PR Solution

Combined Offering Designed to Meet the Needs of Today’s Digitally Minded CMO and Communications Professionals

TrendKite, the leading provider of digital-first PR solutions for tech-savvy CMOs, announced it will combine with best-in-class social technology companies Insightpool and Union Metrics. The two deals are a part of the company’s innovative approach to creating an end-to-end digital PR platform for marketing and PR professionals to leverage trust across the media mix, using AI-powered media analytics and journalist outreach, social analytics and influencer management.

TrendKite is proud to announce the acquisition of two best-in-class social companies – Insightpool and Union Metrics. https://www.trendkite.com/lp/introducing-the-first-end-to-end-digital-pr-solution

Insightpool, the world’s most robust compliant social influencer database, helps global marketers identify audiences, engage, and measure results with more than 700 million social influencers across more than 100 social networks. Union Metrics, a Twitter Official Partner, delivers enterprise-quality social intelligence without enterprise level complexity to businesses of all sizes. Together, the combined organization will now help marketing and communications professionals connect the dots between owned, earned and paid media.

Also Read: Adwerx Adds Instagram To Popular Automated Listing Advertising Program

“Today’s world is digital first, but most communication clouds were formed from the acquisition of the traditional communications tools from the analog era to make vendor management easier in our profession,” said Erik Huddleston, CEO of TrendKite. “With this merger, TrendKite customers will have the first intelligent, digital-first solution for Marketing and Communications professionals.”

“People get their news from many different sources in today’s digital and fragmented media world. As a result, marketing and communications professionals must add social influencers to their target list of traditional journalists,” said Devon Wijesinghe, CEO of Insightpool. “TrendKite is the ideal organization for Insightpool to combine with to execute our shared vision for the future of earned media and PR. Together we create unparalleled distribution, targeting and measurement to truly create the new era of earned media.”

“Union Metrics has always empowered communicators with the social intelligence they need to reach their audiences and build their businesses,” said Union Metrics CEO Hayes Davis. “In a fragmented and fractious digital world, narratives don’t stop at a press hit; they’re instantly shaped and re-shaped by social conversation. By combining the unique capabilities of all three companies, we’re building a platform that enables communicators to meet these challenges. We can’t wait to build the future of Digital PR together.”

TrendKite will immediately begin integration work to combine key elements of Insightpool and Union Metrics into TrendKite’s Intelligent Communications Platform. Union Metrics and Insightpool will both continue their current operations and services, with Union Metrics in Austin and Insightpool in Atlanta.

Broadcasting and Ad Tech Veteran Bunker Sessions Joins Extreme Reach to Spearhead Sell-Side Business Expansion

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July 26, 2018

Broadcasting and Ad Tech Veteran Bunker Sessions Joins Extreme Reach to Spearhead Sell-Side Business Expansion

Recognized Innovator in Broadcast, Cable and Telecom Brings New Vision to Strengthen Company’s Comprehensive Video Ad Workflow Solutions

Extreme Reach, the cloud technology platform for TV and video ad workflow and Talent and Rights management, announced that broadcasting and advertising industry veteran Bunker Sessions has joined the company as VP of Sell-Side Solutions. With over 25 years of experience driving innovation for broadcasters, cable companies and the advertising industry, Sessions is spearheading the development and deployment of Extreme Reach’s new sell-side solutions, addressing the creative sourcing needs of programmers and publishers in the increasingly-complex omnichannel media ecosystem.

Sessions, who has been consulting with Extreme Reach since January, brings to the company a significant track record of success across business management, technology development and market strategy implementation. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Business Development at Comcast, where he played a critical role in the creation of the company’s ad asset management solutions.

Also Read: Tim Conley Elevated to CEO of Extreme Reach

In his new position at Extreme Reach, Sessions is responsible for developing sell-side creative sourcing solutions, working closely with programmers and publishers to maximize their ability to swiftly launch multi-platform campaigns in order to monetize content while ensuring their audiences have seamless viewing experiences across every platform.

“Bunker is a natural fit at Extreme Reach with his strong relationships and deep understanding of the specific challenges programmers and publishers face in this multi-platform, multi-screen world with regard to getting the myriad creative assets they need to launch campaigns,”said Tim Conley, CEO of Extreme Reach. “For over a decade we’ve worked closely with the thousands of TV outlets throughout North America, ensuring they receive ads in pristine, broadcast-ready quality. Now we have an opportunity to solve a host of messy workflow problems on IP-based platforms for these same networks, cable operators and local stations with Bunker leading the charge.”

“Technology has made advertising so much more exciting, offering new opportunities to reach consumers at the right moment and on the right device. What it hasn’t done is make doing so easier. That’s what I intend on achieving for our partners on the sell-side of the advertising equation,” said Sessions. “Programmers need a streamlined workflow to source and serve ads across VOD, OTT and all platforms on which they must monetize their content and no company is better suited to do that than Extreme Reach.”

Malicious Bots And Bad Apps: Why The Twitter Purge Matters?

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Shalaka Nalawade

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July 26, 2018

Malicious Bots And Bad Apps: Why Twitter Purge Matters?

Here’s How Twitter’s Removal of 143000 Malicious Apps, After Deleting Several Million Fake Accounts, Will Affect Advertisers, Influencers and Content Marketers

Earlier this week, Twitter posted a blog announcing new requirements for developers who develop apps using Twitter’s API. The social media platform announced the new norms stating that they are “recognizing the challenges facing Twitter and the public — from spam and malicious automation to surveillance and invasions of privacy — we’re taking additional steps to ensure that our developer platform works in service of the overall health of conversation on Twitter.”

This meant killing off 143000 malicious apps, as a part of the ongoing purge of fake accounts, which resulted in popular users like Barack Obama losing as many as three percent of his total followers.

According to Twitter, in May 2018, its systems identified and challenged more than 9.9 million potentially spammy or automated accounts per week.

Also Read: How to Spot a Social Media Account That’s Impersonating Your Brand

We’ll let the experts and pundits haggle over the reasons behind Twitter’s latest move and its connection to Russian interference in US Presidential Elections. For lesser mortals like us, what matters is whether this Twitter Purge will affect us and how?

Three reasons why Twitter Purge will be beneficial to sales and marketing world

Genuine influencers will thrive

Influencer marketing has been on the receiving end of a lot of flak in the past few months. With Unilever and other well-known brands speaking up against fake flowers at the recently concluded Cannes Lions 2018.
In fact, The New York Times published an investigative report last year that found out explicit details about buying fake followers through a US-based company called Devumi, which boasted of well-known clientele. “While Twitter and other platforms prohibit buying followers, Devumi and dozens of other sites openly sell them. And social media companies, whose market value is closely tied to the number of people using their services, make their own rules about detecting and eliminating fake accounts,” wrote NYT.

The article went on to explain how NYT itself acquired 250000 followers for $250. “Unlike some social media companies, Twitter does not require accounts to be associated with a real person. It also permits more automated access to its platform than other companies, making it easier to set up and control large numbers of accounts,” added the article explaining how this falls under the legal gray zone.

If Twitter continues its purge on regular basis, it means that more and more influencers will be deterred from using fake followers, at least on Twitter.

Also Read: The Third-Party Data Crisis: How the Facebook Data Breach Affects the Ad Tech

Advertising campaigns will reach real consumers

Imagine a major chunk of your advertising budget being wasted because it never reaches your buyers. With GDPR in place, Twitter has been locking out users that registered on the platform while underage. Twitter also mentioned that it will stop showing ads to accounts that are suspicious. This means that advertisers no longer need to worry about their ads being shown to suspicious accounts thereby losing out on genuine buyers.

The Motley Fool pointed out that although Twitter’s MAUs are far lesser than those of Facebook, the recently Cambridge Analytica scandal might dissuade advertisers from using Facebook’s advertising platform. “As investors focus more on Twitter’s ad revenues instead of its peaking MAU growth, it makes sense to finally clear out spam accounts and refine the company’s public image. The timing would also be ideal since Facebook has been in the penalty box ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal compromised the personal data of up to 87 million users. Twitter reaches a much smaller audience than Facebook’s 2.2 billion MAUs, but it also requires much less personal data than the social media giant. Therefore advertisers looking for a viable alternative in social media could flock to Twitter and bolster its ad revenues.”

Also Read: 5 Pinterest Hacks That Can Be Used For B2B Marketing

Content Marketers can count on good SEO

As a content marketer, you can rejoice at the fact that both advertisers and influencers are being held accountable for their actions on Twitter. Because this means that your content will now reach your target audience, turning them into loyal consumers. It’s a long shot, but let’s take it. After all, if your social media campaigns on Twitter using real influencers turns out to be a hit, this will definitely improve your SEO as well as your brand’s image, and you’ll end up gaining more consumers.

Of course, we are yet to see a big impact of Twitter Purge. But if it turns out to be anything like the Instagram Purge of 2014, social media marketing is going to be the place to be in the upcoming months. We’ll keep you updated on that.

Recommended Read: OK Google: Why Your Brand Needs to Talk?

Pressboard Launches Pressboard University to Educate Brands and Marketers on How to Create Great Content and Storytelling

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July 26, 2018

Pressboard Launches Pressboard University To Educate Marketers

Pressboard Will Use This Knowledge to Develop a Concrete Curriculum on Branded Content

Pressboard, the world’s number one platform for buying branded content, announces the launch of Pressboard University. Through this new educational platform, Pressboard aims to improve the quality of branded content across the industry by providing brands and marketers with the expertise and tools they need to tell better stories.

Pressboard also announces that Fara Warner, the former Global Content Director at WSJ. Custom Studios, will be joining as the Strategic Advisor of Pressboard University.

Pressboard works with hundreds of advertisers — including Ford, GE and Spotify — to develop sponsored content for dozens of influential media publications, such as Entrepreneur, Inc. and The Wall Street Journal. Its new self-serve platform allows advertisers to place their content on the premium publications of their choosing to drive brand awareness among a targeted audience.

Now, Pressboard University provides these brands and marketers with the knowledge needed to improve the success of their branded content. The educational platform includes courses covering topics such as content strategy, publisher placement (where to reach your target audience and how to connect with them), and amplification and distribution (how to improve ROI). Pressboard’s core course will consist of six modules and will be free for all users.

Also Read: SimpleReach Launches First All-in-One Digital Video Measurement Platform

One-off courses and masterclasses in brand journalism, multimedia and more will also be on offer as Pressboard University further expands. All participants of the courses will become PBU (Pressboard University) Certified upon completion.

Warner will act as ambassador and Strategic Advisor for Pressboard University, and will assist in curating courses for the university curriculum. As a former Global Content Director at WSJ. Custom Studios and former VP of Custom Content for Dow Jones, Fara’s extensive expertise in content marketing will help create engaging and relevant lessons for brands and marketers at Pressboard University.

“Working with Pressboard as an advisor gives me the opportunity to work with a company that is at the leading edge of branded content with both technology and creativity,” said Warner. “Our collaboration gives us the opportunity to help marketers create branded content that will resonate with audiences and help them work with publishers and creatives in new ways to create stories instead of ads.”

“We’re thrilled to have Fara join the Pressboard team as an advisor to help build out Pressboard University. Her work building the Wall Street Journal Custom Studios into one of the world’s most respected branded content studios demonstrates a unique understanding of the role branded content plays in both the publishing and advertising ecosystems,” said Jerrid Grimm, co-founder and CEO of Pressboard.

Amazon Versus Google Search: Who Is Winning the Battle and How?

By

Nivedya Varma

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July 26, 2018

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Amazon versus Google Search: Who is Winning the Battle and How?

Amazon Has Become the No.1 Source of Product Searches Online, Outdoing Google and Several Others for Years Now

Amazon’s advertisement business still has a lot of scope for growth. Last year, the retail giant accounted for nearly half of all product searches, according to the details based on a survey. Alphabet, on the other hand, accounted for 36% of the market.

According to a report by Merkle for Q2, 2018- Google’s product listed ads accounted for 59% of the company’s ad clicks in Q2. Despite the figures, Amazon’s search ads could possibly be worth a lot more than Google’s.

Click-to-Convert

Google has diligently planned out its monetization strategy, despite the odds. Google typically prefers highlighting its text ads below the product-listing ads, especially when users search for a product. These advertisements produce a lot of clicks and they lead to a product’s listing on a company’s website – thus they can be of significant worth to the retailers.

In contrary, the ads format on Amazon gets even more listings than the product lists on Google. Merchants generally have to share the product listing banner on Google, but with Amazon– the merchants can buy out the entire headline search ads. 42% of these users click on those Amazon advertisements more often, according to Merkle.

Also Read: OK Google: Why Your Brand Needs to Talk?

The Amazon headline search ads get more clicks, and they also tend to convert better than Google advertisements. Moreover, both sponsored product ads and Amazon search ads convert at nearly 3.5X in comparison to that of Google’s listed ads.

The above figures do not state that Google’s product listings ads aren’t important. Merkle reports state, expenditure on product listing ads increased 31% year after year which is five times faster than expenses on text ads.

That being said, Amazon’s mobile app is one of the most fast-growing applications for millennials who look up for product information – so Amazon may become a larger threat over time in case of revenue growth.

Amazon’s Advertizing Business

Amazon’s ad business is expanding quickly. Their other sources of revenue include advertising among other smaller businesses. This revenue figure grew 132% year after another in Q1. This figure was also impacted positively by accounting changes- yet the revenue line still grew another 60% for the fourth quarter.

Expenditure on sponsored products and headline ads grew 162% and 165%
Spending on product display ads is on the decline, and it still accounts for only 1% of the total ad spend of Amazon

Moreover, advertisers are getting better value from sponsored products than headline search ads though the former has a lower-click rate.

This means that Amazon has a chance to increase its pricing on its most popular ad format. Amazon still has a lot of scope for growth to modify its core search ad products so as to maximize value for the brand and its advertisers.

Amazon’s business is only going to get bigger from hereon. Amazon’s dominance in product searches can give company investors hope that there’s still a lot more of ad revenue left to reap.

Recommended Read: Ten Content Marketing Ideas to Grow Your E-Commerce Brand

Aragon Research Names Contentstack ‘Hot Vendor’ in Dynamic Experience Management

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July 26, 2018

Aragon Research Names Contentstack 'Hot Vendor' in Dynamic Experience Management

Vendors Selected for the “Hot Vendor” Report Are Noteworthy, Visionary and Innovative

Contentstack announced that its award-winning content management system (CMS) has been recognized as a Hot Vendor in Dynamic Experience Management by Aragon Research.

“We developed Contentstack with both the developer and business user in mind, and have built a strong catalog of partner integrations that support a wide array of content types and delivery channels,” said Neha Sampat, CEO of Contentstack. “Consumers are no longer content with a web-only experience and enterprises come to us looking for ways to engage their customers on all channels, including mobile, IoT and emerging technologies such as voice, AR and AI. We believe this is a tremendous recognition of our efforts to provide more than just a headless CMS – but a digital content hub powering a new generation of digital experiences.”

Also Read: Allant Group Expands Partnership with Sprinklr to Deliver Optimized Marketing Execution Across Owned, Earned and Paid Media

Aragon’s Hot Vendor report highlights vendors in dynamic experience management, a category that includes headless CMS, with interesting, cutting-edge products, services or technologies enabling enterprises to go beyond static web content management to provide a digital experience for their customers across all connected devices.

“One of the reasons Contentstack is hot is its rapidly growing partner network,” said Jim Lundy, founder and CEO of Aragon Research. “Additionally, Contentstack’s support for workflows, automated publishing schedules, and project spaces makes it ideal for global publishing teams with complex content structures where content needs to change at the speed of the business.”

Contentstack is the leading digital content hub at the intersection of CMS (content management systems) and DXP (digital experience platforms) powering omnichannel content delivery, personalized customer journeys, and modernized digital experiences. Enterprises across all industries are adopting Contentstack, with marquee customers including Axiom, Cisco, JD Power, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan and the Miami Heat, among others.

Taking Control of Performance Marketing Data

By

Ken Leren

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July 26, 2018

Traditional performance marketing involves sharing the responsibility for lead generation with companies outside your organization (e.g. distributors, resellers, agents, and alliances). This creates an element of risk because you’re putting your brand reputation in the hands of others, and sharing consumer data with companies and people you have no direct control over.

Also Read: Data 101 to Set Your Data -Driven Marketing Ablaze

Technology and Data

Over the last decade, advances in data management technology have driven a worldwide race to access, and act on, data to bolster sales growth. Today, faced with more pressure than ever before to continually improve marketing campaign performance, performance marketing leaders are taking greater control of data – essentially bringing data analysis in-house, whilst continuing to outsource strategy and tactical execution.

Taking control of the relationship data and technology providers ensures that you are in charge of the numbers and you have full visibility on what works and what doesn’t. It removes the black box element and allows you to develop more granular insights by combining the data with your first-party data. It’s important to be open with your suppliers and affiliate partners when you decide to do this. Make sure they understand that the goal of doing this is to enable them to do more, it’s not a criticism of their work.

It’s also important to assess whether the current technology is best suited to your business needs. Agencies often have preferred technology agreements based on the volume of activity they put through those platforms – the more they put through a single platform, the lower the cost. If this is the case, you should put out an RFP to the market and dig into exactly how each technology works in order to identify which one is best suited to your activity and business goals.

Also Read: Where Are We on the Scale of Digital Transformation?

More Insight

Once you have control of performance marketing data there are lots of different types of analysis you can do, for example, customer journey mapping; shopping basket analysis; new vs. existing customer analysis; and real-time performance analysis. By doing so you will be able to provide your affiliate partners and suppliers with insight into behavior across different audience segments which will allow them to do more advanced targeting and optimizations e.g. customized offers, day parting, and traffic source optimization.

Real-time data analysis is one of the most powerful tools for performance marketers as you can see immediately if something isn’t working and respond quickly thus ensuring that minimal spend is directed to these areas. Once you identify the root cause of the performance issues you can then make the decision whether performance can be saved through a change in approach or whether you need to stop working with that company.

Also Read: How Bloggers Can Expand Revenue Quickly and Efficiently

Performance Marketing Partner Selection and Commission Analysis

Another benefit of in-housing data analysis is that you will have a better view of how each performance marketing partner is performing. Low-performing partners can then be removed from your programme and you can increase the amount you spend with your best-performing partners. This tactic will provide an immediate uplift in performance.

You will also be able to see if the commission model with each partner is right. For example, a CPA model is best suited to suppliers that provide a high volume of sales (such as Quidco), whereas a CPL model is much better suited to a lower volume site such as Marketing Punch. Optimising commission models will save you money and improve ROI.

Ultimately, the role of performance marketing data is to turn potential buyers into sales. In order to do this in the most effective way possible, you need as much high-quality data as possible and a lot of that will sit in in-house systems. Taking control of data allows you to combine first-party and third-party data sources to generate better insights that can be shared with your performance marketing partners to facilitate better optimization and improve ROI which benefits both parties.

Also Read: Why Buy Data When You Can Generate Your Own?

Brand Safety Institute Launches to Educate and Accredit Brand Safety Execs in Digital Ad Industry

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July 26, 2018

Joint BSI/TAG White Paper Highlights Industry Confusion Over Scope of Challenge, Illustrates Need for New Position of “Brand Safety Officer”

To help the digital advertising industry tackle one of its most visible and persistent challenges, a new industry initiative – the Brand Safety Institute – launched to advance brand protection through research, education, and professional certification. The centerpiece of BSI’s efforts will be a rigorous Brand Safety Officer certification program offering information, training, and accreditation for industry executives who manage brand safety and related issues within their companies.

“In today’s economy, a company’s single most valuable asset is its brand, yet too many companies are addressing their brand safety issues in a decentralized, piecemeal, and reactive manner,” said Neal Thurman, Co-Founder of BSI. “The Brand Safety Institute is designed to raise the bar on brand safety education and training, so every executive who works on these complicated challenges has the information, tools, resources, relationships, and certification needed to effectively protect and improve their company’s brand in the digital advertising space.”

Also Read: Choozle 2018 Digital Advertising Trend Survey Reveals Consumer Sentiment Opposes Predicted Trends for Ad Blockers, Channels, and Privacy

As part of the announcement, the Brand Safety Institute and the industry’s corporate-focused Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) jointly released a new white paper highlighting the confusion around the brand safety issue and offering several recommendations for industry action to address it. Based on detailed interviews with more than 20 senior executives with leading companies across the digital advertising ecosystem, the BSI/TAG white paper found significant disagreement over the scope of the brand safety problem, as buyers felt it included brand ROI issues like ad fraud, while sellers tended to limit it to association with inappropriate content.

Mike Zaneis

“When you ask industry leaders to describe their biggest brand safety challenges, it’s like the blind men and the elephant, as each sector of our industry describes a slightly different, yet interrelated, set of problems,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG and Co-Founder of BSI. “The brand safety issue is complicated, multi-faceted, and quickly-evolving, and company leaders need the tools and training to address not only their own company’s brand safety needs but those of their partners as well.”

Based in part on feedback from those interviews, the TAG/BSI white paper offered several recommendations to improve industry-wide standards around brand safety, including:

Adoption of industry best practices around supply chain issues, including those offered by the MRC, IAB, and TAG;
Creating a new position of “Brand Safety Officer” dedicated to addressing these challenges; and
Ensuring that the internal brand safety lead at every company has the education, training, and resources necessary to fulfill their responsibilities.

The Brand Safety Institute plans to conduct its initial Brand Safety Officer training programs for its certification program in October 2018.

comScore Launches Enhanced Custom Reporting to Advance Mobile Capabilities

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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July 26, 2018

comScore Launches Enhanced Custom Reporting to Advance Mobile Capabilities — comScore Launches Advanced Custom Reporting to Advance Mobile Capabilities

New comScore Enhancements for Mobile Capabilities Provide Deeper Mobile Insights and Broader Competitive Intelligence for Marketers

comScore, a trusted partner for planning, transacting, and evaluating media across platforms, announced substantial enhancements to its custom reporting for mobile. The new mobile capabilities would offer clients deeper insight into an increasingly competitive mobile landscape. These are based on a massive measurement sample and will afford customers greater visibility into consumer engagement with content, products, and services through mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Currently, comScore is recognized globally as a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, comScore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence.

New Mobile Capabilities Are a Key Part of Our Mission to Help Clients Drive Smarter Business Decisions

At the time of this announcement, Dan Hess, Chief Product Officer at comScore, said, “Advancing our mobile roadmap continues to be a major strategic initiative— one that our customers increasingly rely on as consumer behavior has shifted to this channel.”

Dan added, “Our new mobile capabilities are a key part of our mission to help clients drive smarter business decisions.”

comScore’s newly expanded mobile capabilities provide even greater ability for marketers to:

Benchmark traffic quality, cross-shopping and other key mobile app and site metrics against competitors to identify strengths, threats, and opportunities
Identify key consumer segments through demographic and behavioral patterns in web and app usage
Analyze consumer journeys over time and across information sources
Fine tune acquisition efforts through analysis of competitive search and other marketing efforts
Understand competitive loyalty patterns to attract, retain and engage users

comScore Would Further Expand the Custom Mobile Capabilities for Marketers

For close to two decades, comScore has provided advanced custom analytics and reporting to leading marketers across industries, including automotive, financial services, retail, travel, and consumer packaged goods. The new scale and granularity of data will significantly expand the custom mobile insights comScore delivers to marketers.

comScore is a proven leader in measuring digital and set-top box audiences and advertising at scale. comScore is the industry’s emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.

Ada and Zendesk Unite to Improve Chatbot Experience for Customer Service

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July 26, 2018

Immersive CX is the New Way to Win and Keep Customers

Ada and Zendesk Will Bring New Functionality to Chatbot and Live Chat Services to Improve Customer and Agent Experiences

Ada, the leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) customer service chatbots, along with Zendesk, a customer service and engagement platform, announced a deep integration that will greatly improve customer and agent experiences by enabling a symbiotic relationship between AI and human agents.

Ada brings value as a chatbot provider with:

Simple user experience – Ada’s intuitive authoring environment makes it easy to create content without the need for a deep understanding of AI.
Rapid deployment – The ability to quickly go live in 30 days or less, versus multiple months.
Simple and complex use cases – While other chatbots can handle only simplistic requests, Ada also supports use cases that authenticate users and provide them with personalized information such as account balance, order information and more.
Multi-lingual support – Ada’s chatbot can be trained in one language and propagates the machine learning across multiple languages.

Also Read: SBDS Global Launches World’s First DataTech Services Company to ‘Cut Through the Data Clutter and Confusion’

The integration between Ada and Zendesk Chat involves the use of Ada’s AI technology to train chatbots to fulfill simple tasks while also identifying when a user needs to be transferred to a live agent. The bot-to-live-agent handoff occurs when more complex or sensitive issues arise, and the chatbot will direct the user to a customer support representative, providing the agent with the full bot conversation history to ensure a seamless transition. For example, if a customer is seeking to cancel their account, the chatbot will direct them to a live agent to increase the probability of retaining the customer.

“As customers become more familiar with bot experiences across platforms, the need to enable a more fulfilling self-service experience is paramount for us. Frustrating interactions for a customer lead to a less beneficial engagement with a live agent, and often results in duplicate conversations,” said Mike Murchison, CEO of Ada. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Zendesk to better serve customers at any stage in their lifecycle by providing seamless, pleasant conversations. This is the new wave of customer service and we are proud to power it.”

Also Read: Cogito Raises $37 Million in Growth Equity Funding

Zendesk Chat, the largest live chat and messaging provider in the world, provides an open and customizable chatbot platform via the Conversations API. Designed to seamlessly integrate with bot partners like Ada, this solution lets businesses leverage the power of artificial intelligence to augment their customer interactions and quickly resolve simple tasks. Their chatbot solution provides businesses flexibility to build and extend their customer experiences based on their unique needs.

“We’re very excited to have Ada as one of our first chatbot partners. Our joint chatbot solution helps bring significant value to customer-centric businesses by letting them accelerate responses to simple inquiries for better first response times, and helps human agents become more efficient by allowing them to prioritize the more complex issues,” said Astha Malik, VP of Platform at Zendesk.

Clients already using the integrated platform through the Early Adopter Program have reported dramatic improvements in terms of reduced customer wait times, volume of inquiries and increased time available to live agents. One early adopter, Statfor, has already experienced reduced ticket volume and boosted productivity. “Our department is short-handed and the customer handoff to live agent gives me peace of mind knowing that our customers are able to reach us if they need to,” shared Ginger Ward, Manager of Subscriber and Member Services. “I enjoy the flexibility of having the Virtual Assistant to help provide help/support to our customers. This has improved our overall department productivity.”

CrowdTwist Consumer Loyalty Study Finds Growing Distrust of Brands, Yet Strong Loyalty Program Engagement

By

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July 26, 2018

Research Indicates That Brands Are Skeptical of How Brands Use Their Data, but Omnichannel Loyalty Programs Offer Brands a Competitive Advantage and the Opportunity to Rebuild Trust Through Relevancy

CrowdTwist, an industry-leading provider of omnichannel loyalty and engagement solutions, released a research report titled “Engaging Consumers in an Age of Increasing Brand Distrust.”

CrowdTwist conducted research into consumer attitudes towards loyalty programs, brand engagement, emerging technologies, and shopping experiences. This report, the first in a two-part series, provides an overview of the general findings from the research, including an assessment by location and income, and an overview of the most popular loyalty programs in market today.

The research indicates that consumers are skeptical of sharing data with brands and are reluctant to try new technologies designed to enhance brand experiences. Engaging, omnichannel loyalty programs are valuable to consumers and provide brands the opportunity to capture rich, opt-in customer data.

Also Read: ZPPR Raises $1.2 Million, Debuts Content Operating Platform at Outdoor Retailer

Key findings include:

Only 46% of consumers (and 50% of Millennial and Gen Z consumers) are willing to share their data in exchange for personalized experiences. Consumers have become increasingly wary of how brands use their data. This learning is a significant change from last year when 98% of the Millennial and Gen Z consumers CrowdTwist surveyed responded that they are willing to share their personal information.
Only 34% of the consumers surveyed have purchased something that was recommended to them by a brand in the past six months. This indicates that brands are not effectively collecting or using data to personalize experiences for customers.
Most consumers prefer to shop online, but 41% also shop in-store and 76% of consumers want to be awarded points for walking into a brand location, restaurant, gym or store. This indicates that brands need to invest in having an omnichannel presence and provide a seamless brand experience across all channels.
63% of consumers are more likely to shop with a brand that offers a loyalty program. Loyalty programs provide a competitive advantage for brands.

Also Read: Fireside Chat with Victor Ricci

78% of people are active in at least one loyalty program. The majority of consumers actively participate in at least one loyalty program. 57% have at least one loyalty app installed on their phone.
86% of affluent consumers are active in at least one loyalty program. This indicates that loyalty programs could be beneficial for high end and luxury brands. It’s worth noting this group also redeems rewards at a higher rate than other income brackets.
89% of people want discount rewards from a loyalty program. Furthermore, 79% of consumers expressed that discounts and cash back are the most important components of a loyalty program.
84% of consumers are willing to complete a survey as part of a loyalty program. This engagement activity helps drive better personalization. In addition, 55% of consumers wanted to be rewarded for visiting a company’s website and 51% for playing a game.

Scott Matthews, CEO of CrowdTwist remarks, “The survey provides a comprehensive overview of consumer trends as they pertain to brand loyalty, and uncovers interesting insight. It is evident the effects of data mismanagement and poorly executed personalization has left consumers skeptical. Omnichannel loyalty programs however, offer an opportunity for brands to rebuild trust and create meaningful relationships with consumers through permission-based data capture and personalization. This is affirmed by the fact that consumers are willing to complete a range of engagement activities like surveys in exchange for program perks and rewards. Loyalty programs also provide a competitive advantage, especially for brands with an affluent target customer base. The research also strengthens the growing need for brands to operate across digital, social and in-store, maintaining the same identity and experience across all channels.”

TechBytes with Jean Chen, VP Marketing, SaleScout

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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July 26, 2018