News and Analysis
6 Contextual Video Advertising Platforms
Advertisers are leaning into contextual targeting as a way to connect with consumers in brand-suitable environments. They’re also investing more heavily in video advertising, upping ad spend on video by 12% in 2021 to a record $81.9 billion for the year. As we move further into 2022, the real magic looks to be in the combination of contextual advertising with video advertising, as more brands discover the power that comes with being able to reach audiences interested in their messages with video content that’s designed to engage.
Real-Time Data Will Enhance the Customer Experience in 2022
Digital intelligence platforms like Scuba Analytics and FullStory are expanding rapidly — with funding rounds led by some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Big data analytics is expected to grow to $100 billion in the next five years, driven in large part by demand from retail brands for real-time insights and accurate customer engagement data.
How to Build a Modern Loyalty Program in 2022
Rising prices and ongoing supply issues put brand retailers on the defensive in 2021. Amid shifting goalposts and a quickly evolving retail environment, more marketers are now working to turn their existing loyalty programs into modern membership-based programs that drive long-term relationships with a focus on members themselves.
Commentary
Alexa, Draw a Line Between Convenience and Control
It’s that factor, consumer data and Amazon’s vast store of it, that stands out most in Jason Del Rey’s reporting on Recode’s new podcast series, Land of the Giants. Specifically striking is the episode on Alexa, in which Amazon employees openly speculate about a future in which smart microwaves will hook up with Amazon’s growing healthcare ambitions to tell you when it’s time to stop making popcorn and smart countertops will join the intelligent kitchen conversation. As Del Rey notes, Amazon execs talk about this future openly, dropping tidbits about customer obsession along the way and appearing truly unperturbed by the thought that such interventions into our domestic lives may go too far or generate unintended consequences. Optimism for the quality of Amazon products and a fervent belief in the company’s benefit to consumers—without due consideration for products’ risk and would-be limits—seem to pervade the corporate culture.
Communities: The Next Generation of Customer Engagement is Here to Stay
Today, it’s clear that the way businesses are communicating with customers is coming to another inflection point. Not only can end users opt out of messages from brands they don’t want to hear from, but they have become numb to the “spam” they receive on a daily basis. Now, new age technologies have opened up a plethora of avenues for organizations to push messages out to end users, and it begs the question, what can be done to find even more information about your audience?
A new mode of engagement is needed to help supplement customer communication in the next generation, but how will this manifest? My money would be on community.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Google and Target Partner on Voice; Amazon’s Future in Search Ads
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google and Target Offer the First Voice-Activated Coupon on Google Assistant… Amazon Could Dominate Product Search Ads by 2020… LA Times: ‘Programmatic Is Going to Be a Big Part’ of Publisher’s Future..
How Dunkin’ Thinks About Google Assistant Integration and the Future of Mobile Ordering
“Increasingly, brands are being judged by the experience they deliver as much as the product,” said Paul Murray, Dunkin’ brands director of digital experience. “This is a really good example for us where we’re delivering on a great product and we’re also delivering on the experience, and we’re leveraging new technology to do it.”
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