By: Talya Gaborieau, Chizcomm
Crafting your campaign? Prioritizing your key messages? Ready to go?
Before you press GO, pause for just a sec. How can you ensure that your campaign will breakthrough and generate the success that you are envisioning for your brand? The most essential criteria is to ensure that the strategy supporting your campaign is grounded in a solid understanding of today’s consumer. Not just who you are targeting and what’s important to them, but how they spend their time and most importantly, how you can reach them.
This is no easy feat as today’s consumer behavior is more dynamic than ever before. With the rise of social media and the penetration of streaming platforms, more family time and new traditions, changes in daily routines and learning environments, and the instant explosion of random trends, the pace of change is one that we have never before experienced. In addition, in the family and kids space, recent spikes in co-viewing (ie. both together time and viewing on parents’ accounts and devices) further muddy the waters.
What to do? As marketers, the responsibility lies with us to be resourceful and smart when it comes to drawing new insights and identifying the best paths to connect with the consumer. For example, 2019 data points are no longer relevant unless we view them through the lens of 2020, and our 2020 data points are anomalies and often don’t tell the whole story. Heading into 2021, the most comprehensive understanding of the consumer will be captured when we collect data and use our own marketing intelligence to filter through and overlay new research, insights and real-time events. Recognizing that consumer behavior will continue to evolve as the world shifts, marketers will have to remain present and engaged to take the lead.
When it comes to reaching consumers, their fragmented and evolving media consumption behavior begs for a 360 approach from brands; we must connect with them at multiple touchpoints aligned to their behavior in order for our story to resonate. A layered approach incorporating PR, social media, influencers, paid media buys, and more, executed with a consistent voice will intensify the brand message to generate the greatest impact. Activating these multiple touchpoints however requires a cohesive and integrated campaign strategy to seamlessly extend cross-platform. Focusing on a sole channel or missing the opportunity to truly integrate messaging and activations across platforms will limit the noise and narrow the amplification of the campaign.
2021 will ensure that marketers are on our toes, nimble and able to quickly pivot to reflect the world around us. Ensuring that consumer insight is captured and reflected in our strategies and campaigns is fundamental. There are no shortcuts. Keeping up with the consumer is the only way.
