Curated Guide to Research
MediaPost's comprehensive guide to current research in the marketplace.
Search results for "brand marketing"
- Eighty-two percent of U.S. consumers said the brands they buy stand for a greater mission or purpose.
- Changes in data strategies have led many brands to increase their media spending on streaming platforms, as well as consider privacy policies.
- The growth of CTV media deals may be having a major effect on business in terms of pricing and when to place messaging. Brand TV marketers have also shifted 20% to 25% of their budgets to streamers.
- The pandemic and protests against racism after the murder of George Floyd led many brands to change the tone of their advertising to express greater empathy. Phrases like “in these troubled times” were more prevalent in commercials as companies highlighted their good works and efforts to give back to society. While many consumers appreciate the messaging, they tend to be doubtful about corporate expressions of empathy — or the ability to understand and feel what others are feeling. Some 92% of U.S. consumers said they want to see brands practice empathy, but 66% expressed skepticism or disbelief when brands do so, according to a report titled “Is Empathy Dead in America?” by Method Communications. The PR-marketing firm commissioned a survey of a representative group of people ages 16 to 76. Authenticity is important, with more than half of consumers (55%) saying they are more likely to buy from a brand that shows empathy and is “human.” However, 47% said they don’t trust these expressions of empathy — they view them as a money-making strategy. Americans are conflicted about the role of technology companies in promoting empathy. While 51% said tech brands have a greater responsibility to society than other industries, given their money and influence, only 30% said the companies should spearhead efforts to promote empathy because of their role as thought leaders. Almost half (43%) of consumers said they blamed social-media platforms for declining empathy in society, according to the report.
- Such viewers are more likely to buy from brands that advertise in such programming.
- Harley-Davidson, BMW, and Honda all showed improvement this year, while Chevrolet, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz all declined.
- What do you do if your company is being described as "stodgy" by Millennials? How do you attract a younger audience without alienating your Gen X and successful Boomer clients? That's what Windermere Real Estate was facing. With a nearly 50 year legacy and flashy brands like Zillow and Redfin invading their space, Windermere needed to step up their game. Easier said than done when your budget is limited, and you're up against VC-backed and publicly traded companies with plenty of money to spend. So they needed to get creative and find a space where they could stand out. That space was Spotify. The music platform, a favorite among Millennials, gave Windermere the space to create their own branded station with home-themed playlists that could appeal to all generations. Spotify also provided branded QR codes to directly engage consumers with Windermere's station in an off-line environment, i.e. OOH, business cards and TV ads. Since launching their branded station, Windermere has earned more than 100K monthly active users and seen an 18% increase in direct traffic to their website. Spotify now plays an integral role in Windermere's media strategy.
- In what appears to be an industry first, WPP is teaming with Snap to create an "AR Lab" to research and develop augmented-reality applications that create a more immersive experience for consumers, and better results for advertisers.
- GoodRx launched GoodRx Health on Thursday to provide research-based answers to vital health questions.
- What do you do when a client asks you to produce a video campaign when production is completely shut down? You get creative! When Grammarly approached Stink Studios during the height of the pandemic to create a new brand awareness campaign, that's exactly what they did. How do you produce a video ad campaign without actors, without locations and without crews? The answer: stock footage. But not just any stock video. It needed to be quality, high-resolution footage. By working backwards- beginning with the footage, then character development, then script- Grammarly was able to achieve an entirely production-free campaign. The process proved more cost-effective, flexible, and turned around faster than traditional live action shoots.
- "As consumers strive for normalcy, they will continue to depend on some brands at the cost of others," says MBLM's Mario Natarelli.
- From the beginning, Visible has always worked to fundamentally change the way consumers get and pay for their wireless service via their all-digital model. How is this challenger brand creating a new normal in telecommunications? Through high-touch experiential activations, an unparalleled influencer network, and real-time social listening, that simultaneously addresses real-life issues while building community.
- As the importance of influencer marketing grows, especially in the fashion industry, how can a brand approach the space in a way that's driven more by technology and community than celebrity and the number of followers? The womenswear brand Adore Me's solution? Build their own community. VP of marketing, Ranjan Roy, tells us how their "Creators" community allowed micro influencers to seamlessly connect and create authentic brand content that outperformed prior traditional influencer campaigns.
- Multiple societal crises -- especially the COVID-19 pandemic -- have raised the bar for brand marketers, with a majority of American consumers now expecting them to allocate funds and resources back to the communities they serve. That's one of the top-line findings from a new report from Horizon Media identifying a half dozen fundamental shifts in consumer mindsets related to brands. The report, "Rebuilding The Future," combines an array of proprietary Horizon consumer tracking studies, with data from third-party authorities, to make the case that the relationships of American consumers and brands have been fundamentally changed.
- Timing is everything...especially in personalized messaging. Ochsner Health leverages real-time email responses to patients' online and offline behavioral triggers to build genuinely conversational experiences and keep their members healthier. What can brand marketers learn about customer journeys from the way a major hospital network treats patients? It's all about letting the user drive the conversation, not technology or marketing.
- Just as important, a significant percentage of consumers are coming back to experience live marketing experiences.
- Every click is a hurdle, not an invitation for users. And every form to fill is a mountain for them to climb. EIS veteran Chester Bullock explains how reducing that friction has increased email's effectiveness in driving qualified leads and at the same time leveraging customer brand loyalty.
- As Grocery Outlet showed during the pandemic of 2020, a firm social strategy for retailers can be used quickly to empower the in-store crews on the ground and across diverse locations. CMO Layla Kasha explores how she built GO's platform strategy to be adroit and powered by local creativity. How do you train, empower and coordinate such a network of brand ambassadors that are in closest contact with your customers?
- When Policygenius streamlined its manual insurance matchmaking process and redesigned its email program, the brand needed to maintain its roots in human connection while providing expertise to guide customers through the insurance shopping process. Sometimes it's the little things, it turns out, that keep messaging personal, not just personalized.
- Burger King is prioritizing the moments that matter for the company - whether on TV, OTT, social - to drive incremental traffic and build brand. Learn how BK's media team is leveraging attribution modeling as a guide and asserting performance criteria to judge every old and new channel against how each adds to the mission.
- Who would have known the launch of a chicken sandwich would be the QSR story of the year? Apparently, not even Popeye's own marketing team. Brand Lead Lisa O'Brien shares what happens when consumers take over your launch, blow up the media plan, and create success and PR challenges that were truly unprecedented.
- How are digital dollars moving your customers to action? Franchisees need to know exactly where their ad money goes and show results - quickly! Liz Bazner, the director of digital at A&W Restaurants, tells us how in the past few years A&W has been doing just that since moving to a cost-per-visit measurement model for their campaigns.
- More than a "campaign," Pancheros' recent brand push put digital and data at the center. But how do you reorganize diverse franchisees around social-first local tactics, and relaunch an app so that it nearly doubles participation? The QSR brand's marketing team leveraged data to unlock the power of fanatical customers in a digital-first brand makeover.
- SimpliSafe, the category-defining brand of DIY home security, has already succeeded in reaching beyond the digitally savvy base and into general awareness. Company CCO, Don LeBlanc, shares lessons learned as he brings his data-driven marketing culture into awareness campaigns that build brand even as they drive sales.
- With a Net Promoter score of 92, the Tecovas brand clearly captured the hearts and minds of boot fans. CMO Rich Lesperance explores how the company thinks beyond the bottom line and invested in the delight metric, both online and in store.
- When Wakefern Food Corp. set out to redefine their Own Brands, they went to their consumer - and let insights drive every step of the process. From brand positioning to packaging design to brand activation, Wakefern treated the launch of Paperbird with the same respect as a best in class CPG brand. Laura Kind, VP of Brand Strategy, shares how her team translated the consumer emotion around messes into highly relatable Paperbird brand work.
- Cadillac skews more heavy to multicultural buyers than other brands, so a lot of its overall marketing plan has that emphasis. The brand's partnership with Regina King, Diddy and Spike Lee give a clear indication of how important it is for the brand to connect authentically with multicultural customers. Not everyone can hire a-list stars and give Diddy a car but there are key takeaways that Alexis Kerr, head of multicultural marketing at Cadillac, shares to help other brands activate on a smaller scale.
- After reaching an all-time high of 77% when it released its last global study in 2019, the percentage of brands consumers say they can live without has declined to 75%, according to the 2021 edition of Havas' every-other-year "Meaningful Brands" study.
- The sheltering-at-home lifestyle saw consumers watching more video than ever before, including expanding their viewing habits to new platforms like TikTok. Direct-to-consumer contact lens brand, Hubble Contacts, decided they didn't want to be beholding to just FaceBook and took advantage of the new trend. Hubble's Senior Marketing & Creative Director, Dan Rosen, shares how he tested the short-form mobile video platform and discovered a new audience, success and scale.
- The importance of cultural connection points in advertising still holds true to build upon the equity in any established consumer relationship. Lexus 0to60 was created to illustrate how "performance" could create greater affinity within the Black consumer mindset for the Lexus brand.
