News and Analysis
Will Measurement Currency Be the Biggest Topic at This Season’s Ad Upfronts?
With 2023’s TV upfronts just weeks away, major media companies and advertisers are gearing up for a new type of debate. While networks promote their streaming services and fan-favorite shows in live stage presentations and one-on-one meetings, brands are asking more questions about measurement currency and the complexities that come with having multiple networks using their […]
Bombora Report: OOH Spending Surged in Q1
During flush times, brand marketers spend generously on advertising, and their agency partners have the luxury of asking themselves how to do more (ads) with more (money). With all the layoffs in the tech and entertainment industries these past few months, how to do more with less becomes the main question. Bombora seeks to provide answers, […]
Vivvix Chief: Predictable Linear Ad Mechanisms in Decline
In the crowded advertising intelligence space, there’s a few ways for a startup to gain attention. One way is by introducing new technology, or utilizing AI in a way that impresses jaded brand marketers and agency leads. Other popular approaches are to build relationships with key decision-makers or bring on experienced leadership who can lend […]
Commentary
How DTC Brands Are Adapting to Covid-19
When Covid shut down the world, it wasn’t just traditional retailers that were hit. DTC brands were, too. Shifts in consumer shopping habits during the pandemic forced DTC brands to alter the ways they think and they still came up on top. As the world continues to navigate our new normal, we hope that others can learn from the strategies DTCs are implementing.
Re-engaging Consumers Amid and After Covid-19
Shortly after the pandemic caused retail stores around the country to rapidly adapt their business models to address shutdowns and changes in consumer habits, CodeBroker conducted research to explore how shopping behaviors were changing.
The resulting report, Consumer Shopping Habits During the Covid Pandemic, offers insights into what has changed, which changes are likely to persist even after the pandemic subsides, and what retailers can do to protect their bottom line.
3 Enterprise Tech Trends for 2021
Next year’s period of relative peace will give leaders the opportunity to make thoughtful investments in technology that put 2020’s positive developments — like increased cloud adoption and remote work flexibility — on more solid ground. Companies will also have bandwidth to prepare for the next crisis, eschewing reactive, flash-in-the-pan solutions in favor of longer-term strategies.
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In Times of Crisis, There’s Still Value in the Gig Economy
The pandemic-driven economic shutdown is also affecting the estimated 57 million Americans who make their living, or supplement their income, as members of the gig economy. While some freelancers and side hustlers may feel secure, full-time gig economy drivers certainly do not. Covid-19 has numerous implications for the gig economy, including some that will last even after all the dust settles. Let’s sort through them.
Curbside Pickup Moves Into Primetime, But Retailers Struggle With Implementation
Petsmart and Kohl’s have it. So do Best Buy, GameStop, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and dozens of other national retailers. With social distancing orders in place across most of the country, curbside pickup is becoming an increasingly popular checkout option for retailers. Integrating curbside technology into existing ecommerce fulfillment programs hasn’t been without its challenges, though, especially given how hastily many of these programs have been rolled out.
Navigating Social Media Marketing in a Global Crisis
What is the role of brands in facilitating this connection? A recent report shows that 91% of people believe in social media’s power to connect people, and 78% of consumers want brands to use social media to help people connect with each other. Those numbers send a clear message to companies as they navigate a crisis that is so much bigger than their brands: create connection through relevance.
But the question is how brands can achieve relevance right now. How can you create meaningful connections on social media during a global crisis? Here are a few tips.
Location Weekly: Google and Apple’s Covid-19 Mobile Tracking
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association hosts Rob Woodbridge and Hidetoshi Uchiyama, CEO of Unerry. Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez also discuss Google and Apple building a Covid-19 tracking system into their OS platforms and PlaceIQ acquiring Freckle IoT. They also touch on the ethics of price gouging by home delivery services during the coronavirus crisis.
Ad Tech Execs Weigh in on Coronavirus Ads, Google and Twitter, and Misinformation
I turned to a number of ad tech execs for their expert perspectives on the risks and rewards of digital advertising on this extraordinarily high-stakes issue. While expectedly optimistic about the benefits of coronavirus-related messaging for savvy brands, the business leaders diverged on the responsibility and capability of Google and Twitter to monitor the veracity of the content they host. They also made distinct cases for advertising at a time when brand messaging requires extra sensitivity, arguing that both brands and their customers have something to gain if businesses provide accurate information, focus on customers’ needs, and showcase the ways they are adapting in a time of crisis.
Covid-19 Tracking: Privacy Risks and Lessons for Digital Advertising
The surveillance systems now being rolled out for the pandemic are unlikely to have a direct impact on local marketers. However, the debates that they have precipitated should remind us all of the importance of customer trust when it comes to data collection.
In short, advertisers who rely on consumer data should ensure that they are only collecting what they need, that they store and process this securely, and that they are open and transparent with their customers about collection. Many of those same best practices apply to governments collecting data to fight Covid-19.
Why and How to Take Steps Toward Brand Assurance
Companies are adapting at breakneck speed. For example, Dick’s Sporting Goods is offering curbside pickup to protect its customers and staff. DoorDash is discounting delivery services to help working parents. Walgreens is making it easier to get critical prescriptions. Measures such as these have been essential in instilling a sense of community, care, and trust.
We must not attempt to carry on business as usual. We can no longer think about marketing and advertising in the same ‘brand vs. demand’ framework. Now is the time for brand assurance — to actively fulfill brand promises, to help customers, and to maintain brand reputation.
Can Emerging Tech Support Local’s New Normal?
I’ve been looking for discoveries that could be blessings in disguise. Just like remote work, these aren’t new concepts but ones that are now given the chance to shine. For example, I spend lots of time analyzing virtual reality, which could be a valuable virtual event tool.
But more to Street Fight’s main focus, what discoveries or business approaches could benefit local commerce? One of them could in fact be VR’s cousin, augmented reality. Its ability to help people visualize things or facilitate “see what I see” co-presence could help local service pros socially distance.
Publishers Create a Lag In the In-App Ad Market By Ignoring New Standards
For more than a year now, we have seen trend data that indicates massive mobile in-app programmatic spend growth, with in-app video leading the way. Our own numbers confirm these trends.
This is a seeming slam dunk for app publishers, but many of them are dragging their feet to take advantage of the new revenue opportunity. Notably, they are not implementing quality measures like app-ads.txt or the IAB’s Open Measurement SDK that brands are looking for. Both of these standards benefit publishers as much as they benefit brands and indicate a commitment to quality in-app inventory. It’s important to get out in front and show proactive initiatives as buyers decide with whom to trade and how.
Covid-19 Is Changing Ad Auctions, Creating New Opportunities for Brands
Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, savvy marketers are finding new opportunities to reach consumers at discounted rates. According to data compiled by Goodway Group, competition within ad auctions has gone down 13% since early March, and win rates are up 54% during the same time period.
The drop in competition within ad auctions is largely the result of brands pulling back on digital advertising during the outbreak. Most experts agree that dropping out entirely is a mistake, since it gives competitors an opportunity to convert new brand loyalists, but continuing to run existing campaigns without acknowledging the current economic and global health realities can be costly as well.
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