Welcome to May’s edition of Impression Picks! This digital marketing roundup serves as some food for thought for you from Impression’s experts and the wider marketing community. Each month, we will highlight an interesting article, insight and campaign of the month.
This month features thoughts from our strategy team, including; Senior Digital Strategists, Rebecca Edwards & Laura Arens, and Digital Strategy Consultant, Isabella Smith. As always, we hope you enjoy the content and insights we provide as a part of our monthly roundups.
Unlocking the potential of Retail Media
As the online boom continues, retailers are growing a goldmine of first-party data that brands are dying to tap into. But how can you make the most of this opportunity and will it last?
Following the rise of online transactions during the pandemic, retailers became armed with a new breath of customer insight and quickly realised the power of their ecommerce platforms for brands looking to reach engaged, relevant audiences.
Since then, retail media has become one of the hottest topics in advertising, with huge forecast growth. Despite the economic downturn, this year the channel is forecast to increase revenue by 25% according to media investment firm, Group M. Within four years, it is predicted to represent 16% of total digital ad revenues – which is huge!
Although retail media might seem like a new concept or buzzword, it’s actually been around for years, but now we are seeing new retailers and industries respond to the growing demand for high-quality, first-party data.
Today, many of the biggest brands in the UK grocery market are taking significant strides towards leveraging the potential in retail media. Considering the breadth and volume of data that UK grocers will be collecting, this is a very attractive and intriguing opportunity for many brands, particularly those in the FMCG industry.
According to Grocer Vision, 85% of FMCG brands are planning to increase their retail media spend in the next 12 months, compared to 76% of apparel brands and 82% in the home and garden sector.
In recent years, major brands such as Rowntree and Walkers have leveraged the channel to launch new products or reprioritise their brand amongst consumers; with both seeing strong results. However, smaller brands shouldn’t dismiss the channel as one that is for large brands only.
With the prospect of a ‘cookie-less’ future looming in the near future, retail media will allow brands of all sizes to target precise customer segments as part of a full-funnel strategy.
But there are still many factors to consider before diving feet-first into this new channel, including your strategy, measurement and long-term goals.
Grocer Vision and Snowflake have created an interesting new report that we recommend reading. The report shares insight into how retail media looks to evolve, the challenges for growth and the future potential.
Read the full article on TheGrocer.co.uk
Article reviewed by: Rebecca Edwards
50% of UK consumers have left a website instead of accepting cookies
A recent study by the customer engagement provider Twilio found that 50% of UK consumers have previously left a website rather than accept the cookies, highlighting a desire for more control over their data.
The same study found that 68% of UK consumers want more protection for their identity data than any other data type. So what will this mean for businesses?
As they face challenges such as the loss of attribution accuracy, less targeted ads and the loss of view-through conversions, many marketers have been planning for the removal of the third-party cookie. Consumers, however, have shown excitement about the removal of these cookies and a subsequent increase in their privacy protection.
While the removal of third-party cookies comes with many challenges for marketers, these insights highlight that businesses will be able to earn consumers’ trust by removing third-party cookies. Focussing on a transparent and honest approach concerning data collection, storage and utilisation will thereby further strengthen the customer relationship and subsequently the overall business. Today, in increasingly competitive landscapes, having strong customer relationships could be what makes or breaks a business, so it is vital that ongoing steps are taken to improve them.
Amongst all the challenges marketers are facing with these developments, it is amazing to see that there will be opportunities as well. But what can be done in order to prepare for the removal of third-party cookies from a marketing side?
→ Honesty, first-party data and a value exchange
As we have seen, customers today are a lot more reluctant to give away their data, which is why it is key to consider what you can offer in return. Focus on the value you can provide in exchange for their data, such as discounts or rewards. Additionally, being transparent about the data you are collecting and what you are aiming to do with this data will prove significant.
→ Integration of CRM systems
Integrate your CRM system with the platforms that you use in order to identify and create target audiences, determine best-selling products or to feed Google’s Machine Learning in order to inform your bidding strategies.
→ Enhanced conversions
Set up Enhanced Conversions in order to improve your conversion measurement. Enhanced Conversions help Google better understand audiences tailored to your specific offering by utilising hashed first-party data that the user has sent to Google. This hashed data is then matched up with Google’s own first-party data, resulting in usable, privacy-safe attribution data for reporting, optimisation and targeting.
→ Consent mode
This tracking feature allows you to adhere to a user’s Cookie consent options, whilst still collecting anonymised signals to power your data-driven marketing. With consent mode, when a user declines cookies, anonymous pings are sent instead of no data at all. These anonymous pings are used by machine learning algorithms to fill in the gaps and track conversions that would have otherwise been lost.
Insight by: Laura Arens
KitKat demonstrates brand salience with its “Have a” campaign
Kitkat has launched a clever ad, leaning on their well-known catchphrase, to demonstrate their established position as a recognised brand.
“Have a Break, Have a KitKat” has been promoted for the last 66 years, embedding it in the hearts and minds of consumers. This consistent strategy has been so effective that people now recognise it without needing the context of the brand or even the full tagline.
In a survey run by Wunderman Thompson UK, over half of people not only identified the brand, but also understood the brand message, demonstrating the power of the ‘Have a Break, Have a KitKat’ tagline. By identifying the tagline, the consumer is able to work out that perhaps the writer has taken on the advice and had a break, with the flashing cursor suggesting they’ll be back shortly.
Their campaign this spring is focused on Digital Out Of Home. It is a great example of how consistent brand messaging, with evolutions to avoid ad fatigue, can provide strong brand saliency amongst a wide target audience.
Read more about the campaign on CampaignLive
Campaign reviewed by: Isabella Smith
Look out for our next Impression Picks in June for more digital marketing articles, insights and campaigns to inspire your digital strategy. Have any further questions? Get in touch!
