• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, May 27, 2021

“Price sensitivity” was a trending topic among marketers last week, according to intent data. Price sensitivity is the degree to which the price of a product affects consumers' purchasing behaviors. In economics, price sensitivity is commonly measured using the price elasticity of demand. With the increase of online shopping and digital self-service portals, price sensitivity and, more recently, price optimization have become relevant topics among companies tweaking (or in some cases overhauling) their pricing strategy as ecommerce, B2B, B2C, and brick-and-mortar brands alike navigate the impact of the coronavirus on their business. 

What is the value of engagement in an online world? The swift and radical adoption of digital has meant that companies of all industries and sizes must seek precise measurement tools to track their successes and failures. With a heavy focus on digital experiences (DX), marketers are eager to learn just how engaged users are when they visit their websites. 

As a result, “attention and engagement analytics” has surged among brands, as measured by Bombora Company Surge. Rather than measuring audience volume based on traffic, page views, unique visitors or click-through rate, attention metrics reflect the time users spend actively engaged with online content. This can be especially useful for publishers or brands that want to understand user preferences, such as the types of content that keep people engaged. Dwindling attention spans compounded by the recent explosion of online content have only underscored time as a valuable unit for advertisers.   

“Radio” has taken the interest of brand-side marketers once again. After trending positively earlier this year, one of the earliest forms of advertising dipped mid-March, only to experience a resurgence in recent weeks. Companies have been testing the waters of audio innovation for years — experimenting with new forms of storytelling and service functionality through the likes of Spotify and Amazon’s Alexa, and thereby breathing new life into a long-stagnant channel. When it comes to audio entertainment, first movers should consider dialing up their audio innovation by serving up compelling and contextually relevant ad units designed to captivate a listener’s attention and reinforce brand positioning.