Marketing

“Fast is fine, but accuracy is important.” That quote is attributed to Wyatt Earp, but I think it applies to marketing as well.  In a world of marketing that is quickly being pushed towards data-driven methodologies, I would think accuracy is one of the most important criteria, wouldn’t you?

Quick! When you hear the word “Millennial,” what words come to mind? How about “entitled”? “Unemployed”? Or maybe “living at home”?

The last year has been filled with talk about the virtues and the issues with the concept of total market advertising. In a recent article I posited that there are essentially three different models for multicultural marketing. Although the terms are being used interchangeably, the result is a great deal of confusion in the multicultural marketing world. This evolving lexicon has made its way into the agency side of the business. More and more Hispanic, African-American and Asian advertising agencies are adopting monikers like “cross-cultural agency” to describe themselves and have gone out of their way to label new ethnic assignments as “total market” AOR assignments.  by Jose Villa / Sensis

While you may have crafted the perfect communication platform and a brilliant portfolio of content marketing assets, telling your brand story can’t be done all at once. Effective brand storytelling means using various types of content to craft multi-stage engagement with your consumers. Here are some successful strategies for leveraging episodic content marketing to drive business results.

Millennials, the generation born beginning in 1980 (and defined for the purposes of this analysis as adults ages 18-34), are an extremely unique demographic segment with digital media consumption habits that vary greatly from older generations. While those age 35 and older still comprise the majority of media audiences in the U.S., Millennials account for a disproportionate share of total screen time and provide a useful glimpse at what the future of media consumption will look like. Because their media consumption habits serve as a leading indicator for the broader media landscape, understanding how to market to this valuable demographic is vital to brands, agencies and media companies seeking to stay ahead of the curve.

Every once in a while, new terms and jargon come in and out of favor within the business community.  Among the terms used by business executives targeting cultural segments include “multicultural,” “diversity,” and of course Hispanic, Latino, Black, African American, Asian, acculturation, etc.  Lately, the terms “Total Market” and “New Mainstream” seem to have gained some level of acceptance.  Terms such as these are intended to help communicate a concept that would require many more words to understand.  Although non-controversial, the term “New Mainstream” may lack clarity among industry insiders and is perhaps foreign to those not in the multicultural space.  On the other hand, “Total Market” seems to both lack clarity and revel in a fair amount of disagreement.  By César M Melgoza, Founder & CEO – Geoscape

There’s been quite a bit of talk about the new total market strategy approach. The approach is not new; as ethnic marketers we have always told our clients that there is ONE brand, not different brands for each consumer segment. We just deliver different benefits based on insights about that brand and our segment consumer. But the essence of the brand remains as one – a total market delivery, executed differently based on target needs.  By Enrique Turégano – alPunto Advertising

Online advertisers have struggled with the efficacy of standard banner ad units for years. Consumers tend to skim right past them, meaning the advertisers has little incentive to devote creative energy to the unit, which means the unit has no hope of delivering performance. Marketers have turned their attention elsewhere, and in in 2013 content marketing was one of the biggest stories in online media.

We all try to show mom we love her, but businesses have always paid careful attention to engage their mom clientele. Since moms differ from one another based on their lifestyles, we analyzed Working Moms—the 40 percent of women who have children under age 18 and hold full-time employment. How do you reach this affluent consumer group in their limited free time? By making their lives easier, anticipating their needs and interests.  

A recently released industry report reveals that the evolving field of experiential, personalized and hyper-local marketing is now rated “very” or “somewhat” important by three out of four consumer brand marketers, and that engagement marketing causes almost nine out of 10 shoppers to add a product to their shopping list.

Since the dawn of modern advertising, marketers have been trying to figure out what works. After years of spreadsheet addiction, educated guesses and gut-based optimization, the advent of advanced analytics tools has provided marketing organizations with far better — and far more automated — decision-making and forecasting capabilities.

Branding has been around for hundreds of years. The word “brand” is derived from the branding or burning of a mark into the hide of cattle to differentiate one from another. Bass & Company claims to have the world’s first trademark with its red triangle logo. Wine jars found at Pompeii have indications of product branding on them. Branding creates differentiation. When done effectively it creates positive awareness and, ultimately, value.

Much talk has surfaced lately about the whether it makes sense to have a total market strategy. Some contend that the intent of a “total market” strategy—to recognize all potential consumers’ needs, culture and behavioral characteristics within a company’s marketing strategy—is too often misunderstood or not understood at all. This assertion has resulted in approaches that homogenize how organizations communicate with consumers, and it underemphasizes and even ignores cultural nuances that work to powerfully connect consumers and brands.  Terry J. Soto, Author and President & CEO, About Marketing Solutions, Inc.

In an online social community flooded with content, attempts to effectively communicate your message can feel like sending a letter out to sea in a bottle.

Content marketers are looking to shift efforts to include more curation, research suggests, but every step along the journey is a struggle.

5 Rules for Storytelling to the Next Generation

Effective storytelling, as it always has, boils down to one thing: knowing your audience. No matter what the technology or the user experience, understanding your consumer’s mindset is paramount to communicating with them.  By Roberto Ruiz – Univision Communications

Everywhere consumers go, they are being bombarded by messages that tell them that brand A is ever so slightly healthier than brand B.  Consumers are noticing, and more purchasing decisions are being made on the basis of health and wellness. The 2013 Food & Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health, commissioned by the International Food Information Council Foundation, found that for 64% of consumers, “healthfulness” is considered to be the most important factor driving foods and beverages purchase decisions, up 6 points since 2006 when 58% considered healthfulness the most important purchase driver and trumped only by taste and price.

The need to differentiate from the competition is as great as it has ever been. While global consumer confidence was flat in third-quarter 2013 from the previous quarter, confidence was on the rise in over half of the countries Nielsen surveys, including the U.S. Still, many shoppers remain focused on value for their money. At the same time, e-commerce has attracted a growing number of users. Innovation, however, can give retailers the all-important edge.

Shopping for healthcare has become a frightening experience for 2 million exchange eligible consumers. Although enhancements were made to federal and state exchanges call centers and online platforms, the experience they offered was far from “best-in-class”.  This was especially so for Hispanic and Millennial (ages 18-34) eligibles, who are facing a range of enrollment obstacles that go beyond the now infamous Obamacare site glitches. The lack of truly culturally competent channels for segments with limited healthcare literacy, and the lack of clear explanation of benefits for eligible, have drastically impacted the proportion of Millennials and Hispanics enrolled in ACA exchanges by the deadline for 1/1/14 coverage.

It’s a postholiday tradition up there with returning unwanted gifts and vowing to exercise more: spending a few hours cleaning out your e-mail inbox. If you’re wondering why marketers seem intent on e-mailing you more and more, there’s a simple explanation: it works. E-mail remains a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media—nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined.