• by Chris Emme , January 13, 2016

One of the themes  emerging this year is moments marketing, which is the triggering of timely and relevant messages based on offline events. While this is not a new phenomenon — brands have been using events since the beginning of advertising through onsite activation or TV commercials — digital media and real-time data make this easier.

Today, media consumption is dominated by digital and mobile and with location-based hypertargeting and an “always connected” population, it is easier for brands to leverage real world, offline events to reach their audiences in a digital format in real time. This is valuable because it adds a layer of relevance to the message that will likely result in improved engagement.

Now, just because we can trigger ads and messages digitally, based on offline events, does that mean we always should? How can we create relevant messages that don’t just add to the marketing noise that very often accompanies a “new” capability?

The value of moment marketing is rooted in the emotion derived from that “moment.” A moment can be the big game, an awards show, a breaking news event or a movie premiere. It can also be weather- or stock-market related or even related to crime data. 

In the first set of scenarios, there can be a lot of emotion based on what happens during an event,and this can be leveraged to send a relevant message to a large audience. For example, a blackout at the Super Bowl, a last-second goal line stand, a microphone hijacking (Kanye & Taylor), a wardrobe malfunction or an incorrect announcement of a pageant winner. The value here is reaching a wide audience sharing a common emotion: often surprise, though it can be disappointment or excitement in the case of a sporting event or awards show.

In the second set of scenarios, which often affect a smaller number of people, a more vivid set of emotions that arise can be a valuable opportunity for a smart, relevant message. For example, there's no amount of advertising that can make someone think about their financial security like the stock market falling 450 points, as it did at one point last week — or wanting a beer more than numerous flight delays due to poor weather, as when I waited for a flight to CES at SFO early last week.

The value for a marketer is to target a captivated, emotional audience at a time when they would benefit from what you offer. In the case of the market drop, they want security and confidence; in the case of inclement weather, a moment to relax and unwind.  
My advice for marketers is to take advantage of both of these scenarios, but to do it with relevance in mind, taking into consideration the emotion triggered by the event, and not just the event.