USA
In 2016, the Donald Trump US Presidential Election campaign machinery effectively utilised massive free media exposure on cable news channels, tweeting, re-tweeting and social media ads to change the dynamic of campaign ad spending; for the first time in history, spending on US elections decreased.
There was a day when brands controlled their marketing messages. Not any more. Your marketing is being done for you, even while you sleep. That makes for a very exciting world, a new world and from a marketing perspective. How will you make it work for you?
Delivery of products is something that is often a bit of an afterthought for marketers, but new research shows that convenient and efficient delivery options are actually a highly influential part of the buying process for consumers.
With research showing that 86 per cent of smartphone owners are accessing mobile apps every day, companies that can identify valuable users and their behaviours will give themselves better opportunities to monetise and grow.
Here’s a company that . . . er . . . splashed out in the midst of a major recession to bring a new way of advertising to a particularly captive male audience. It’s a fresh look at targeting . . .
He was known around the world as ‘The Godfather of Gore’ for the bloody-thirsty ‘splatter’ movies he produced and directed back in the 60s. But we knew him better as the King of Killer Copy, the professor of English who made words his weapon of choice and taught marketers how to poke ’em directly at their audience so they wouldn’t forget ’em.
The uncertainty is being fuelled by a double whammy of scepticism about how robust Privacy Shield is and fears that the alternative method, used by 80% of companies – the so-called standard contractual clauses (SCCs) – could be soon be rendered illegal.
According to a survey of 600 data professionals in the US and EU, only 40 US firms have so far adopted Privacy Shield, with just 34% intending to use the new data privacy framework, compared with 50% which used its Safe Harbour forerunner.
The situation is not being helped by EU data regulators sitting on the Article 29 Working Party (WP29). Although they approved the framework in late July, they have set off alarm bells by pledging to keep a close eye on how Privacy Shield develops.
At the time, they released a statement which said: “The first joint annual review will be a key moment for the robustness and efficiency of the Privacy Shield mechanism to be further assessed.”
US think tank the Brookings Institution has estimated that “digitally delivered services” between the EU and the US – including customer data storage – were worth nearly $250bn (£188bn) in 2015.
IAPP president and chief executive Trevor Hughes commented: “The legal uncertainty of standard contractual clauses and the scepticism about Privacy Shield may be a hangover effect from the Max Schrems case that invalidated Safe Harbour in the European courts. Clearly, organisations face an extremely complex regulatory landscape as they look to build their businesses for the digital future.
“It will be vital for them to employ privacy professionals at the highest levels of management to help navigate that landscape and capitalise on opportunity.”
It seems luxury brands are now stitching together online and offline services to engage customers and give the best Fashion Week experience.
As the the fashion world opened its doors for the annual New York style parade on Thursday (September 8), a livestream of the catwalk was engaging consumers via multiple platforms. Fashion Week has made an online presence on social media with SnapChat having exclusive stories following the different catwalk displays. While Instagram provides polished and refined images, SnapChat offers a raw glimpse behind-the-scenes of shows, allowing users to get exclusive access to top brands.
Burberry is leading the way in this, with investment of more than 60 per cent of their marketing budget on digital. According to Contactlab’s ‘Digital and Physical Integration: Luxury Retail’s Holy Grail’ study, Burberry is also bringing together online and offline operations, with click & collect already representing 15 per cent of Burberry’s online sales. While Burberry paves the way for luxury brands, others are still struggling to grasp the significant impact engaging with customers online and offline will have on their brands.
Senior advisor of Contactlab, Marco Pozzi (pictured), said: “Brands should not consider each channel as separate, but simultaneously valuable to the overall omni-channel experience. Customers want ease and comfort and so, if they find a product on one channel, they should be able to seamlessly navigate through the purchasing process with convenience.
“This is why it is important that brands do not disconnect the different channels, but connect the dots as part of their customer engagement strategy.”
Contactlab found in the Digital Frontier 2016 study that customers with a digital presence who are digitally contactable are high spenders in-store and account for 27 per cent of in-store revenue and 73 per cent of e-commerce revenue. With the rise of e-commerce and digital engagement tools, luxury brands have access to customer data that will allow them to create a dynamic and personalised approach which integrates people preferences within the customer interactions. Through data-driven marketing, brands are able to create a richer understanding of the customers.
Pozzi continued: “We now live in a world where everything is captured digitally through various platforms and the fashion world is no exception.
“Fashion shows unfold live from SnapChat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. This narrows the gap between the consumer and brands, opening up a relationship which is more personalised.
“Shoppers now crave interaction with brands who understand their needs, preference and expectations, feeding in insights from customer data can help brands enhance their relationship with customers and make informed decisions for their marketing strategies.”
Randy Wootton is closely watching the US Presidential campaigns and how parties are leveraging the very latest digital techniques: programmatic politics.
Mobile apps are no longer reserved for big name brands; these days, more and more SMBs are following the mobile trend. Even though creating an app from scratch is certainly not easy, there are some steps you can take in order to simplify the process and bring your app idea to life.