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ESG Empowerment: Brands Should Listen to Employees, Not Reactionary Politicians

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By CLIFF ETTRIDGE

Despite world temperatures rising and extreme weather instances growing, many governments and politicians are taking the unfortunate step of rowing back on their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) commitments.

This past autumn, Rishi Sunak announced a watering down of the UK’s net-zero pledges, while the recent COP28 saw huge debate about how far countries must go in their commitments to phasing out fossil fuels. At the same time, states such as Florida in the US are pulling back on social equality promises, particularly around LGBTQ+ and women’s rights.

While governments are seen easing off on their promises, brands seeking to protect their reputation in the marketplace should resist following suit. The interconnected world of business, economics, and politics can seem a complicated landscape, but it’s crucial that brands keep their heads above the mess.

Think about this: Only 38% of respondents surveyed globally for the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer believe in their government’s vision for the future. Meanwhile, there was an overwhelming consensus that CEOs need to take a stand on important issues.

The contradiction–and opportunity–is clear. Brands are built by people, so even in our technology-driven world, there will still be people curating ideas, products, and services, along with making crucial decisions about how a brand goes to market. To call those best decision makers co-workers, brands need to demonstrate that they aren’t just serious about supporting ESG targets, they’re serious about putting them into action.

The first step? Setting out intent and commitment. For many organizations, this can be done under the pillars of people (employees/clients), partners (i.e., companies in the supply chain), and planet (environmental aspects). The next step involves undertaking a qual and quant assessment of the current situation under each pillar. This–combined with a time-bound target such as achieving net zero by 2050–creates a roadmap with relevant goals.

It’s vital to remember that this is not an activity that has a start or end point. It’s continuous and evolving. So, without moving the ultimate target, goals must adapt as the organization progresses.

Brand reputation amidst the anti-ESG movement

An anti-ESG movement is at play around the world, led in no small part by politicians grandstanding for short-term votes and a reaction against perceived liberal thinking: the “anti-woke” movement. However, let’s be honest, democratic leaders have a few years to do meaningful work before they’re out on the campaign trail. They’ve become performers first, thinkers second.

Compare that to CEOs, where the average tenure was 7.2 years in 2022 (albeit a dropping metric if you look at the past ten years). CEOs can and should outlast the shifting sands of politics. It’s why they need to think of the big picture and act accordingly. There are long-term existential threats to business–a functioning planet is needed to survive–and they are deemed responsible.

Commitment to long-term visions contribute not only to immediate reputation management but also to sustained brand value and customer loyalty, as well as attracting top talent. In February of 2023, Paul Polman (the ex-CEO of Unilever) warned of employees quitting–either quietly or with their feet–if brands did not live up to their ESG commitments. Our own research shows that a significant 88% of employees claim to know what a brand’s stated purpose is.

The takeaway? Employees are watching carefully, so start by living up to your promises.

Commitment can come through exploring new ways of engaging employees on these matters–initiatives such as forums, surveys, mentorship programs, or volunteer opportunities that align with the company’s ESG goals. The strategy doesn’t need to be perfect straight away, but clear and consistent communication will foster trust and empower employees to make meaningful contributions. Not to mention it reassures them that their company is committed to a better future.

Brands mustn’t be afraid to publish their targets and, vitally, their progress because it shows accountability. Most brands will have an ESG segment within their annual reports, but they shouldn’t be too concerned about missing targets–so long as they can show they are working to rectify the situation. Honesty combined with action reflects well on an organization. Every mature person understands this is hard to get right, so sharing learnings, as well as intent, is part of the journey.

What do employee-led ESG strategies look like?

There are, of course, some very real issues driving a lack of transparency in this area. Some companies are resisting setting and sharing ESG plans–both externally and internally–for fear of failure. Not only in terms of missing their targets, but also in terms of falling prey to onerous legislation or accusations of greenwashing.

But it’s a trap because, ultimately, businesses are driven by their people.

If CEOs want to recruit and retain the best employees, then they have no choice but to lead with their ESG efforts. Why? The numbers are overwhelmingly clear. One IBM study concluded that almost three out of four employees find employers with sustainability programs more attractive. Meanwhile, a whopping four out of five look forward to contributing to their employer’s climate or ESG targets.

And workers are willing to vote with their feet. A 2023 KPMG study found that one in five workers say they’ve turned down a job because of a brand’s ESG credentials, while two in five say they’ll quit if an employer fails them in integrity, ethics, or environmental performance. This is where governance plays an essential role: It’s a strong benchmark for employees to know how well their organization is run. Things like amount of tax paid and other metrics are nods toward their company’s social responsibility commitments.

Many people mistakenly believe that this “sensitivity” is all due to changing demographics and the values of younger members of the workforce. However, according to the recruitment firm Resource Solutions, two in five over 55’s say they’ve snubbed an employer who wasn’t taking their ESG commitments seriously–which shows, once again, why governance is so important.

At board level, ESG has to be a key topic; it has to be part of every board meeting, so that the organization remains accountable at the highest level. ESG should be integrated across any and every aspect of a business, from policies to daily practices, and this will only happen if everyone is clear on what they need to do, why they need to do it, and how.

Luckily, many brands have begun training themselves to think differently and are much more open to diverse views and talents. They recognize that it makes them far more competitive when pulling in talent from all walks of life, and that corporate reputation is better protected when horizons are expanded and employees are not only heard but listened to.

Feature Image Credit: everettovrk

By CLIFF ETTRIDGE

Cliff Ettridge is Partner at creative branding and communications agency The Team. Since joining the agency in 2002, Cliff has led their employee experience strand, delivering projects for brands such as IBM, RBS, Three and the BBC. With over 25 years’ experience in developing employee engagement strategies, Cliff’s expertise lies in developing ideas that bring basic business concepts to life and attract and retain talent. Today he leads a team delivering work for BP, the Open University and Centrica. He designs employer brands, creates internal communication plans and develops campaigns to bring business strategy and messages to life.

Sourced from Brandingmag

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Why Brands Still Belong on Social Media Despite the Changing Landscape (and How They Can Leverage It for Greater Success)

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By Bryanne DeGoede

The digital landscape has shifted significantly, but your brand can still thrive on social media in today’s world. Here’s how.

In the dynamic digital landscape, the role of social media is continually evolving. Today, an estimated 4.9 million people globally are on social media platforms, but the way we consume content, plus the content itself, has shifted significantly since the boom of these platforms in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Today, some argue that with the surge of influencers, brands may no longer hold their once-celebrated place on platforms like Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. Going a step further, with the substantial increase in advertising and sponsored content, many users have learned to tune out brands selling their products or services through social media.

I’ve been helping my clients leverage social media for the past 15 years and have seen first-hand the shift in what kind of content performs well and what strategies and metrics actually translate to a higher ROI.

Ultimately, in this multifaceted digital playground, there’s no denying that it’s becoming harder and harder to capture an audience’s attention. However, when brands can understand the platforms and how each user base reacts — and create authentic, relatable content — they can maximize their reach, improve brand awareness and perception, and build a consumer base that not only trusts your content but is excited to see it.

Metrics that matter: Going beyond follower count

To optimize your content, you first need to understand your objectives and what metrics are important for evaluating the success of your strategy. In the early days of social media, follower count was the main — if not, only — metric that brands cared about and agencies tracked consistently. Even just a few years ago, despite the rise of bot followers and purchased likes, a brand’s clout could still be relatively gauged by its follower count.

Today, however, this metric is becoming increasingly obsolete. Since TikTok came onto the scene with its personalized approach to user “For You” feeds, other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have followed suit, integrating similar features into its platforms and mimicking TikTok’s algorithm. With this shift, users no longer needed to be following an account to see its content — instead, the platform itself sorted through millions of posts to present a perfectly curated page of content for each user. These discovery pages often now have the highest user traffic and have ultimately reduced the user’s need to “follow” individual pages.

With the rise of these personalized recommended feeds, other metrics like views, engagement and reach have become better measures for audience resonance and brand perception overall. While followers will always be a relatively important measure of a brand’s clout, understanding how your users are finding your content will help you tailor your posts for both new and existing followers.

Creating your home base

Consider this: If someone hears about a brand, where’s the first place they’re likely to look? More often than not, they go to social media. A strong, consistent presence can legitimize a brand, enhancing its credibility. It’s where customers come to “window-shop” — to learn more about the brand, its ethos and its offerings.

In a 2021 survey by Sprout Social, they found that 68% of consumers have actually purchased at least one product directly from social media. With the shift to “for you” pages as previously mentioned, social media is also becoming increasingly effective at introducing new products and brands to shoppers who otherwise wouldn’t know about it. Plus, with the rise of affiliate marketing and social media shop features, a brand’s social media profile has become an actual digital storefront, as your audience can purchase products directly through the app.

In essence, social media profiles have become a brand’s digital home base. As such, a poorly managed profile or one with just a few low-quality posts can raise red flags for potential customers and actually de-incentivize a purchase. Ensuring your social media pages are well-branded, consistently managed and polished will improve your chances of attracting and retaining customers long-term.

The way forward: Authenticity and collaboration

Ultimately, a brand’s social media strategy should revolve around developing engaging content that provides a direct value to your target audience. These days, with hundreds of thousands of brands and creators all fighting for views, it can be difficult to know what to post. So, how should brands navigate this transformed landscape?

  • Storytell, don’t oversell: Traditional advertising monologues won’t cut it. While you can, of course, have posts about the benefits and details of your products, brands need to foster conversation and go beyond ad posts to build an actual persona that consumers want to connect with. Engage with followers, respond to comments, and be part of conversations that your audience is having.
  • Collaborate authentically: Partner with influencers who genuinely align with the brand. It’s not about getting the creator with the most followers, but about finding those whose audience will genuinely resonate with the brand’s message and who will create high-quality content that your audience will love.
  • Diversify content: Go beyond the up-close, photoshoot-quality product shots. Share genuine behind-the-scenes glimpses, customer testimonials or even relevant industry news with your brand’s perspective. The goal is to offer value and keep the audience engaged with a variety of on-brand content that won’t seem repetitive.
  • Harness user-generated content (UGC): In the same way as word-of-mouth marketing, UGC is a valuable tool to provide credibility for the brand. In fact, a report by Stackla found that consumers were 2.4 times more likely to view UGC as authentic compared to content created by brands. Reposting and encouraging UGC not only provides authentic testimonials but also fosters community and shows customers that they’re valued.

While the landscape has shifted, counting brands out of the social media equation would be premature. Instead, the onus is on brands to evolve, re-strategize and leverage the platforms in ways that align with today’s digital dynamics. By focusing on authenticity, building genuine collaborations and establishing a consistent digital presence, brands can not only remain relevant on social media but thrive.

By Bryanne DeGoede

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor. Founder & Managing Partner of BLND PR. Bryanne DeGoede is the Managing Partner of BLND PR. With 15+ years of experience in marketing & PR, Bryanne has managed media for hundreds of companies, including Fortune 500 brands. With a proven track record of delivering results, BLND PR is one of the most successful boutique firms in the US.

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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4 times big brands roasted each other

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By Joseph Foley

We love an ad with a good brand battle.

Big brands usually try not to dis each other, at least not in public. Marketing that criticises a rival instead of extolling a brand’s own virtues is generally frowned upon, and serious beef is saved for the courtroom.

But we do see some exceptions. They can be very funny when they hit the mark, and totally cringeworthy when they don’t. Below we recap examples of both in four of the best brand vs brand battles we’ve seen recently. For more on branding see our pick of 20 iconic brands and the best branding books.

01. Peacock vs HBO

HBO Max’s recent rebrand to Max left many people dumbfounded as to why it would drop the best-known part of its name. Some genius at NBC’s rival streaming platform Peacock saw the perfect opportunity for a little dig.

It joined in with the general public incredulity by clarifying that it had no intention of dropping the first half of its own name, a move that would, of course, have rather NSFW results. The cheeky jibe caused much hilarity on Twitter and suddenly made NBC seem a lot cooler (I’m not sure when brands started referring to themselves in the first person singular though).

02. McDonald’s vs Burger King

ChatGPT has become the latest weapon of brand warfare (Image credit: David São Paulo)

The burger wars have seen McDonald’s and Burger King trade blows in advertising multiple times over the years (remember Burger King’s Mouldy Whopper ad and its app that invited users to burn rival’s ads?) For the most recent bout, the two fast-food giants had a new weapon at their disposal: AI.

When McDonald’s asked ChatGPT ‘What is the most iconic burger in the world?’ The bot spat out a typically ChatGPT answer that dutifully granted the title to the Big Mac (“First introduced in 1967, the Big Mac has become synonymous with fast food…). McDonald’s proudly turned this into a type-heavy poster in São Paulo.

But the very next day, Burger King responded with its own poster right alongside it, in which it asked the question ‘And which is the biggest?’ to which ChatGPT replied the Whopper. It was impressive how quickly the agency David São Paulo reacted to get its retaliation up so fast.

03. Pepsi vs Coca-cola

Pepsi vs Coca-cola is a rivalry on the same scale of McDonald’s Vs Burger King but for colas. In one recent episode, Pepsi took packaging from restaurants that serve Coke (including both Burger King and McDonald’s, as it happens), and managed to find its own logo lurking therein.

Using some clever photography (and perhaps a little Photoshop), the ads read: ’Even when we’re not on the menu, we’re always in the picture’. Part of the brand’s #BetterWithPepsi campaign, the ads work so well because of how they make light of Pepsi’s underdog position, but the brand also claimed to have some evidence to back it up, alleging that in blind taste tests, 60% of participants preferred their Big Mac or Whopper with a Pepsi.

04. Samsung vs Apple

Samsung vs Apple is a scrap in which the blows all seem to go one way. No matter how much the Korean tech company continues to bait it, Apple just carries on acting all cool and aloof like it doesn’t care (we know the ads probably hurt its feelings really).

Samsung’s thrown increasingly blunt jabs at Apple over the years, but most recently its attacks have taken the form of mocking the Cupertino company for its lack of a folding device. It even made a video showing an army of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4s performing a Mexican wave to drive home the point, the suggestion being that Apple would make a folding iPhone if it could and hasn’t yet managed it.

However, Samsung’s attempts to troll Apple, are starting to feel a bit cringeworthy. And this is one brand battle that shows the dangers of criticising rivals so publicly. Samsung ended up deleting old posts in which it had criticised Apple for no longer providing power adapters with its phones after it ended up doing the same thing.

For more successful advertising, see our picks of the best print ads and the best billboard advertising. We also have a piece of the histories of the best 21st century logos.

Feature Image Credit: Image credit: Coca-Cola / PepsiCo / Burger King / McDonald’s / Samsung / Apple)

By Joseph Foley

Sourced from CREATIVE BLOQ

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PepsiCo marketing exec on Gatorade’s women’s sports sponsorship strategy

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By Alyssa Meyers

“There were days 50 years ago that I’m sure most brands were only focusing on male sports,” Mark Kirkham, the company’s CMO of international beverages, said. “If you want to be relevant for today, you can’t do that.”

Gatorade’s roster of sponsored athletes runs deep, and it started with the GOAT himself: Michael Jordan. The brand’s second athlete was Mia Hamm, who appeared alongside Jordan in a 1997 ad set to “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” where the two squared off in soccer, basketball, and other sports.

“We were putting, I believe for the first time, a female athlete at the same stature as, ultimately, the GOAT in basketball,” Mark Kirkham, CMO of international beverages at PepsiCo, told Marketing Brew.

Gatorade and PepsiCo were among the most active non-alcoholic beverage brands in women’s sports by number of sponsorships last year, according to SponsorUnited, with deals in the LPGA, WNBA, NWSL, and Australian women’s rugby league. The parent company did a total of 44 deals, per SponsorUnited, including 30 for Gatorade alone.

Within women’s soccer, Gatorade has continued to work with stars from Abby Wambach to Mallory Swanson. It partners with teams including Angel City FC and OL Reign, and also activates around the sport at a more grassroots level.

PepsiCo’s beverage division isn’t a sponsor of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on July 20; Coca-Cola has been an official sponsor of the event since 1978 and has a standing partnership with FIFA through 2030.

Kirkham said PepsiCo and Gatorade are still deeply invested in soccer, including the women’s game. Ahead of this month’s World Cup, we talked to Kirkham about the company’s approach to women’s sports.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How do you hold a brand accountable for maintaining a somewhat equal gender split in sponsorships? (Editor’s note: Figures regarding the breakdown between PepsiCo’s investments in men’s and women’s sports were not available.)

Taking an equal approach is about ensuring that you’re looking at the opportunity from a consumer standpoint…If your brand’s job and role is to elevate sports, fueling athletes in their sport, and the athletes are now much more diverse and much more equal, then you need to take that same investment. There were days 50 years ago that I’m sure most brands were only focusing on male sports. If you want to be relevant in sports today, you can’t do that. It’s not an equation.

Why is soccer such a focal point for Gatorade?

It’s the largest participation and the largest watched sport in the world. In the US, obviously, we have huge assets in the NFL, we have assets in hockey, baseball, it’s across almost all sports…Internationally, soccer is the focus, but you’re seeing more focus on soccer in the US. The last World Cup, the upcoming World Cup in the US, is obviously driving a lot more association there. The viewership of the Premier League, the performance of US players, both men and women—it’s just changing the role that [soccer] plays.

Gatorade is the most heavily invested in the sports world, but which other PepsiCo brands are engaging with women’s sports?

Pepsi was always known to create these amazing ads not officially associated with any major tournaments, with [David] Beckham and [Lionel] Messi, even 10, 15 years ago. We’ve always been able to tap into culture through storytelling through sport in a Pepsi way…Back in 2014, we started bringing women players into our storyline. We’ve had Lucy Bronze; we had Carli Lloyd in a Pepsi ad shot for international…So Pepsi would be the second…I think there’s a role that each brand can play.

Is there anything you can share about plans for the Women’s World Cup?

The US is a partner with them on the snack side, so there’s a relationship we have there…On the beverage side, we’re less involved…I do think what’s important is, if you’re getting involved in the women’s game, it needs to be more than just sponsoring one tournament or doing one campaign. I think that is probably the most crucial thing to anyone who wants to get into women’s sports commercially, because it becomes a blip. It becomes a one-off. It becomes not part of your long-term vision in sports…We’ve been investing in players and athletes, but it’s that combination of storytelling, investment in education, and particularly with Gatorade, tying it up with key partnerships, and using those partnerships to elevate the narrative. These partnerships have to be more than just about brand awareness. These partnerships have to be about building authentic narratives that can help amplify the women’s game.

Feature Image Credit: Screenshot via Gatorade/YouTube

By Alyssa Meyers

Sourced from Marketing Brew

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More Brands Are Losing Touch With Their Customers. Do These 4 Things to Make Sure Yours Isn’t One of Them.

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By Pierre Raymond

Despite the growth of online marketing and digital sales tactics, more brands are struggling to connect with their customers and target audiences. To reunite with them, they need to do these things.

With the world becoming more hyperconnected following the mainstream adoption of the online ecosystem, more brands are struggling than ever before to connect with their customers. Changing economic conditions, a shifting consumer perspective and evolving technology have driven a wedge between brands and their target audience.

The multi-facet and blossoming digital landscape has allowed businesses and brands to have a plethora of information and consumer data at their disposal, allowing them to create more personalized online experiences and cater to a digitally-centric marketplace.

However, at the same time these technologies have brought more attention to the importance of customer preference, the same systems have simultaneously created a disconnect among brands and consumers.

The path to disconnection

The strategies that once helped marketers reach their audience are no longer working as effectively as they once did. Nearly 30% of marketers experience average-to-no returns on their online and digital marketing investments.

Even with seemingly limitless access to consumer information, different research shows that 68.6% of businesses have little understanding of how their customers think and how to cater to these evolving needs.

Although technology is at the crux of the disconnection crisis, other leading factors, including hybrid and remote working models, have also led to greater feelings of less engagement among teams and customers.

In a 2022 State of Remote Work Report, nearly 52% of employees that started working remotely due to the pandemic are feeling less connected with their coworkers. Efforts to get employees back into the office during recent years have been met with hostility, as the majority of workers now favor increased autonomy and flexibility in their day-to-day work lives.

The disconnection between brands and customers, as well as brands and technology, have fueled stagnant growth for online representation — shrinking the bottom line performance of businesses.

While multiple other challenges can present themselves to business owners and entrepreneurs, reconnecting with customers in a digitally-centered world has posed far greater problems than many would have imagined.

Reuniting the brand and the consumer

Managing several customer retention strategies over different platforms requires not only the know-how on how to manage all of these systems but also requires a large team of clued-up professionals that know how to efficiently execute these strategies without fail.

While this doesn’t seem impossible, seemingly out of reach for smaller business ventures and startups, leveraging key strategies that ensure ongoing brand development and message delivery can become an effective tool through which marketers can narrow the divide between brands and customers.

Meet customers where they are

An effective growth strategy starts by building awareness of where customers are and refocusing on the overall customer connection through these channels.

Often brands look at customers through the viewpoint of management, hoping to deliver a marketing message from every angle possible. Unfortunately, these strategies create a further breach between the two, making it harder for brands to see growing message engagement.

Overwhelming consumers with targeted ads, emails, blog posts and online content has led to an increase in digital fatigue. Start by focusing on a growth strategy that looks to enrich the customer’s online journey, and use these channels to foster more purposeful connections.

Have a data-driven approach

Paradoxically, data can be a key ingredient in the marketing growth strategy that can help bring the brand back into the peripheral view of the client.

Using data ensures that businesses have a clear understanding of where to find their target audience, and how to effectively deliver their branding message. Consider where customers often start their online journey, track their online activity, and what their preferences are in terms of social media platforms and other digital channels.

A report by BrightEdge Research found that 68% of online interaction starts through search engines. Using these metrics in combination with customer activity already starts creating a clear picture of how data can create a more proactive marketing approach, without having to overwhelm audiences.

Evolve beyond CRM technologies

Instead of managing customers through outdated CRM technologies, try to instead focus on how to structure a platform that can offer marketers better flexibility and scalability. Building a central, yet consistent customer experience requires businesses to migrate their data away from siloed databases.

Evolving beyond the familiar does however require substantial financial input, especially in the case of utilizing shared cloud-based data platforms.

Building more fluid connections between marketing techniques, sales and customer feedback ensures that brands can deliver high-quality messaging, but at the same time improve their overall customer engagement.

More consumers than ever before value things such as speed, convenience, knowledgeable help and on-demand customer service following a report that found 80% of American consumers now consider these important elements as part of a positive customer experience journey.

Adopting ways to break down different silos within the business, and integrating these efforts onto one advanced platform gives businesses the technological edge above their competitors.

Improve purchasing channels

Now more than ever, it’s important for brands to step up to the plate and create purchasing channels that cater to their target audience and help improve the overall online experience by improving backend sales systems such as fast, safe and reliable checkout features on ecommerce platforms.

Not only do online stores need to be more customer-oriented in terms of finalizing purchases and minimizing the possibility of cart abandonment, but there should be substantial efforts directed toward creating mobile-friendly experiences.

A growing number of internet users have reported using shopping applications on smartphones and/or tablets, with research showing that 69.4% of online consumers now prefer these methods as opposed to ordinary websites.

Taking the time to properly integrate these features into the digital marketing strategy might seem a bit far off during the early stages of business development. Yet, these are the consumer trends that are reshaping the way brands can connect with their audiences and further grow their digital impression.

Now is the time to stay connected

Building a marketing growth strategy that ensures the effective delivery of brand messages requires businesses to be more agile and adaptable in a fast-changing digital ecosystem.

With consumers constantly evolving and trends rapidly changing, being united with loyal customers means that brands need to have a better understanding of where to find their customers online, but also how to construct an online experience without overwhelming them at the same time.

Finding a balance means that businesses and marketing teams need to be more open to trying new methods, but at the same time, develop strategies that are unique to their clientele, brand and online presence.

By Pierre Raymond

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor, Founder of OTOS. Pierre Raymond is a bilingual project consultant/business analyst with over 20 years of experience in financial services and data management IT solutions.

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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Finding your niche: should every brand be targeting narrower audiences?

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By Sam Anderson

Some brands have had recent success by narrowing their audience pool: one-day-a-week dating app Thursday, or no-January-sign-ups gym Equinox. Should more brands follow suit? We asked six marketers.

Nitin Sinha, vice president, head of paid media, Laundry Service

‘Brands that want to connect with generation Z need to be authentic.’ We’ve heard this repeated often enough to know that it’s exercised in a wide variety of ways: good, bad, and ugly.

One of these ways is something we might call ‘anti-targeting’: turning away potential customers in favour of unequivocally establishing your brand positioning. My favourite example is REI shutting down on Black Friday, asking customers instead to #OptOutside.

REI likely projected that the long-term revenue impact from #OptOutside would outweigh the short-term loss. But I like to think that the idea originated from a simpler place: REI encouraging its customers and employees to avoid Black Friday chaos.

Authenticity through marketing can be a paradox. How do you show that yours is the real thing? It’s not easy. Smart brands put their money where their proverbial mouths are.

Lavinea Morris, head of planning, EMEA, M&C Saatchi Performance

Targeting niche audiences can make sense but only if its data-driven and not assumptive. If used correctly, it can be an effective part of your marketing mix, driving performance by up-weighting activity toward your most valuable customers. For brands who are willing to consider lifetime value and return on ad spend over customer acquisition cost, it can make your spend stretch much further and build long-term success.

The problem emerges when you become so obsessed with these audience groups that you miss out on opportunities with new customers. When you don’t balance niche with broader targeting testing, you will oversaturate your existing audience base and eventually stagnate your growth and bottom line. Niche targeting may be tempting but you have to think about the impact on your marketing priorities.

Becky Simms, co-founder and chief executive officer, Reflect Digital

Humans are complex systems, and ultimately every ad or marketing campaign is a human. Niche audience groups and targeting rely on truly understanding your market, their motivations, needs and drivers.

Behavioural nudges are a fantastic toolkit for marketers looking to target niche audiences. One such nudge is the ‘self-reference effect’, which demonstrates that people are more likely to remember information that is more relevant to them. Therefore, if an ad is hyper-specific to a user’s interests or behaviour, it can lead to ‘unexpectancy’ (pairing interest with an unexpected third party) and can cause cognitive strain. This cognitive strain helps with memorability and brand recall.

Nudges with niche audiences are a great way to increase the potential for engagement, immediately and later down the line.

Helen Androlia, director of strategy, Canada, Momentum Worldwide

While advertising is usually thought of as ‘mass’, I believe that we have always been niche to a degree. Some of the biggest brands in the world aren’t speaking to ‘everyone’ but to a specific target audience that is clearly realized. Whole Foods and the affluent, health-conscious consumer, for instance, or Square and its focus on small business.

As mainstream social media struggles to keep users, younger consumers especially are spending more time in closed, interest-based communities. Many Canadians – in Toronto especially – are also using platforms outside of North America to connect with friends and families overseas. Leveraging these channels means you can have more focused conversations and interactions.

Ultimately, most brand experiences are about space and place, from social to shopper to out-of-home. While you may not speak to everyone when you go niche, you can be sure that who you are speaking to really hears what you have to say.

Carli Pring, marketing manager, Tug

Should marketers be targeting ever-nicher audiences? Yes and no. There’s no right or wrong answer, but there is a need for a strong marketing strategy. Niche audience marketing can be an effective way for brands to target specific groups who are more likely to be interested in their products or services. It can also be a more efficient use of marketing efforts and have a higher return on investment. However, while it’s important to find a core demographic, reaching out to a new or a sizable target market can also pay off.

In 1998, Netflix was a direct-to-consumer DVD service designed and limited to ‘hardcore’ movie fans. Now, it’s a subscription service that allows consumers to access movies and TV shows, streaming from all devices, with cartoons to original TV shows (including the likes of Wednesday) targeting a diverse audience demographic.

That’s not to say that niche marketing isn’t effective. Axe (or Lynx in some markets), the Unilever body fragrance has been advertising products to pique the interest of young males since 1983, with core messaging around the brand’s property of seduction. Recently promoting the new limited-edition Lynx AI with British rapper Aitch, the brand has remained consistent throughout the years with its niche target audience, remaining the go-to smell of male adolescence.

Feature Image Credit: Brady Bellini via Unsplash

By Sam Anderson

Sourced from The Drum

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How can brands defy recession? By increasing marketing budgets

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In 2023, the looming recession hangs heavy in the air while departments analyse row after row of resources, projects, talent, business development initiatives, and future campaigns.

The knee-jerk reaction for any chief financial officer prepping for economic disruption is to find the line item under ‘marketing’ and start cutting from there. But as chief operating officer at my agency, I decided to not let fear of uncertainty guide our organization. I gave the directive to increase our marketing budget for 2023. I believe that by harnessing the power of marketing and allocating that increased spending wisely, brands will defy the recession.

Making marketing a priority during a recession

One needn’t search far to find data showing how much better brands that increased their marketing spend during a recession fare compared with those brands that cut back or eliminate it. An Analytic Partners report found that 60% of brands that increased media spend in the last recession saw a greater return on investment; those that spent more on paid advertising saw a 17% increase in incremental sales.

With competitors making cuts, the marketing environment shifts, offering more real estate for advertising. Brands can leverage the availability and lower ad costs to increase awareness. Maintaining your share of voice in the marketplace is much easier (and cheaper) than trying to earn it back. Take it from the marketers at Reckitt Benckiser, which launched a campaign amid the 2008 recession. “Reckitt Benckiser actually grew revenues by 8% and profits by 14%, when most of its rivals were reporting profit declines of 10% or more. They viewed advertising as an investment rather than an expense.”

But it’s not enough to simply increase (or maintain) a marketing budget during a recession. Brands must look to use that marketing spend wisely and allocate it to programs that will drive results. Here are four areas that will prove ROI.

1. Brand building

This is especially important in the B2B world. There has never been a better time to create and celebrate a brand purpose. Usually, a field that was dominated by B2C brands like Apple, last year’s FutureBrand Index (an annual perception study of PwC’s Top 100 companies based on brand perception) ranked four B2B brands in its top five. Maintaining a focus on brand building supports long-term sales through ongoing awareness and perception.

2. Customer retention and loyalty programs

Generating new business leads is always important for the growth of any brand. But customer experience can play a major role in strengthening customer retention – another source of demand through cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. As an added bonus, loyalty programs help increase brand trust and develop reliable customer data.

3. Digital transformation

Recession or none, digital transformation will keep on with its steady (and speedy) growth. To keep pace with B2B buyers’ demands, businesses will need to invest in e-commerce solutions, personalization and strong martech stacks to meet buyers at every step of their journey.

4. Talent acquisition and retention

Finding and keeping talent on board is key to surviving any recession. Marketing can play a major role by using existing marketing channels and strategies to recruit and re-recruit. Businesses need to think about how to best engage with the talent through channels, platforms and messages. Marketing can help create campaigns that attract qualified talent. Once that talent is found, retaining that talent is supported by living the brand values and purpose at every stage of the employee’s journey. Invest in training programs that provide up-skilling and professional development.

Recessions do end. Times can be uncertain, but we’ve weathered recessions before and even navigated a global pandemic. Investing in a brand’s growth for the long term requires an investment in brand awareness and strategic allocation of funds. If done thoughtfully, business leaders can experience a recession as a tailwind, instead of a headwind.

Feature Image Credit: Ibrahim Rifath via Unsplash

Sourced from The Drum

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Forrester: Brands Shouldn’t Bail on Twitter Altogether

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By David Cohen

The research firm suggests treating the beleaguered platform like an emerging channel

A new report from Forrester, “Twitter Isn’t Canceled; It’s Downgraded,” stresses that Twitter is far more relevant to users than advertisers and provides suggestions on how marketers should treat the platform moving forward.

Forrester data reveals that 22% of online adults in the U.S. used Twitter weekly in 2022, well behind Facebook (63%) and Instagram (40%).

The company said in the introduction to its report, “Twitter ranks highly on the cultural relevancy scale but low on the advertiser priority list. It’s where news breaks, politicians debate, activists organize and niche communities meet. And despite Twitter users threatening to leave the platform, application downloads are up since Elon Musk took over. No other social media platform—not even Reddit, Mastodon or Hive—can replace Twitter for consumers.”

Principal analyst Kelsey Chickering delved further into the advertising side in a blog post, writing, “The advertising community has given Twitter more oxygen than it deserves since Elon Musk took over. The reality is that Twitter has never been a critical media channel in the overall media mix, comprising just 1.3% of 2022 digital ad spend based on Forrester’s 2022 Advertising Forecast, U.S. Why? The ad experience on Twitter has never quite caught up with other ‘legacy’ social media platforms such as Meta’s family of apps. According to media buyers and social media strategists who spoke with Forrester, Twitter doesn’t quite deliver on lower-funnel performance.”

Forrester said in the report that advertising executives it spoke with believe Twitter’s direct-response ad products pale in comparison to those from Meta when it comes to meeting lower-funnel media goals, and they only rely on Twitter for mid- to upper-funnel media goals like awareness and consideration.

Advertisers also told Forrester Twitter’s targeting and personalization capabilities are less mature than those of other social media platforms.

Forrester suggested that marketers treat Twitter as an emerging channel within the advertising maturity spectrum, breaking out that spectrum as follows:

Always on:

  • Meta: Ad formats for every part of the customer lifecycle and proven performance

Campaign-dependent:

  • Pinterest: Original Pin formats still useful but finding its way in video and commerce
  • Snap: Leader in augmented reality and advanced in providing creative resources to brands
  • LinkedIn: Top channel to capture consumers when they’re in a business mindset

Test and learn:

  • Reddit: Rising star in advertising capabilities and advanced in brand safety
  • TikTok: Social media’s darling but hard to succeed without creator partnerships
  • Twitter: Unevolved ad experience and growing brand safety concerns, but still offers a unique experience for live updates and news

The research firm added that marketers should consider the following questions when planning for the remainder of 2023:

  • Will my brand consistently appear in a space that complies with our safety guidelines? Forrester noted that Twitter’s policy on brand safety and moderation is a moving target at best, suggesting that as these policies change, brands should evaluate them against their own overall digital media brand safety guidelines.
  • To what degree is my target audience spending significant time on Twitter? Forrester said even if an advertiser’s target audience loved Twitter before, they may be shopping around, so brands should determine if their time on Twitter is growing or waning and whether they’ve transferred that time to other platforms.
  • What share of social media spend has Twitter historically held on my media plan? If Twitter hasn’t taken up a large portion of a company’s media spend to date, the dollars are probably easily absorbed elsewhere.
  • What material impact has Twitter had on our business results? Forrester believes advertisers should look at whether they have seen a dip in brand health metrics or sales after shifting their Twitter budget to other channels.
  • Does Twitter deliver an ad or user experience that’s not available on other platforms? Forrester suggests keeping a pulse on Twitter’s changing ad experience and whether other channels can deliver on a brand’s goals and audience.

Chickering wrote in the blog post, “Advertisers such as Chevrolet and Chipotle paused their Twitter spend for fear of appearing beside extremist, racist and inflammatory content. The Washington Post found ads for over 40 advertisers on white nationalist Twitter pages recently reinstated by Musk. At the same time, not every major advertiser has decided that Twitter is unsafe. Amazon continues to run paid media on the platform. Musk also introduced a ‘flash sale’ in an attempt to lure lost advertisers back.”

She suggested that brands that are not comfortable with Twitter in its current state under Musk:

  • Refrain from posting any brand content to Twitter. Direct social media teams’ efforts to other channels that meet brand safety requirements.
  • Monitor and respond to customer-service-related questions. If customers are reaching out for help or have questions about products, continue responding in order to ensure a positive customer experience.
  • Listen for relevant cultural trends or product feedback. As usage continues on the platform, use social listening tools to find out what trends are popping and how consumers are talking about your company’s category to inform your marketing strategy.
  • Test other social media channels. Twitter has downshifted into a social media startup rather than an established platform. Roll your previously dedicated Twitter dollars into a pool of test dollars for channels including TikTok, Reddit and Snapchat.

Finally, Forrester shared the reasons cited in a survey last November of 101 adults in the U.S. who stopped using Twitter or planned to do so in the next month:

  • 31% found content on the platform to be too hateful
  • 29% said there were too many bots or fake accounts
  • 28% found content on the platform to be too political
  • 21% didn’t like the amount of misinformation being spread
  • 21% thought the platform’s moderation process was too strict
  • 18% felt they needed to stop for their mental health
  • 17% don’t support Musk as Twitter’s new owner and CEO

Feature Image Credit: tanyamcclure/iStock

By David Cohen

David Cohen is editor of Adweek’s Social Pro Daily.

Sourced from ADWEEK

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The Brand That Had Customer Loyalty Destroyed

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By Douglas A. McIntyre

Brand value and loyalty studies have become a major part of the American marketing industry. Several of these studies involve brand value. Interbrand is the best known of these. It considers 100 brands, based on its own mix of criteria. Not surprisingly, tech brands such as Apple and Microsoft are in the lead with brands worth well into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Another take on brands is based on reputation. Among the most well known of these is the Axios/Harris study, which ranks 100 companies on reputation. Grocery, retail and food brands tend to be near the top, with Trader Joe’s in first place. The Trump Organization is at the bottom.

Still another cut at brand research is the Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders, another list of 100. Its yardsticks are the companies that have the “best-practice guidelines for creating and nurturing customer loyalty.” The study covered 1,624 brands in 142 categories.

One of the points of the study is that brand reputation results have moved back to “normal” after some distortion over the COVID-19 pandemic’s first two years. Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president, commented: “The significant re-distribution of loyalty identified in the 2022 loyalty rankings are leading indicators of what a return-to-normalcy marketplace will look like.”

The study looks at brand loyalty rank and how much this has changed year over year by brand. The top brands on the loyalty rank list are Apple and Amazon, which typically rank high in all the brand studies. They were followed by Domino’s and Disney+. Although still considered a brand to which people are loyal, Tesla was at the bottom of the list.

In terms of brands that gained and lost the most in the study, State Farm rose 25 places on the list. MSNBC was second, rising 19 places.

The brand that lost the most ground was Purell, which dropped by 52 places. Clorox fell by 41. The only reasonable explanation is that when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst, these were products people used to protect themselves from the spread of the virus.

By Douglas A. McIntyre

Sourced from 24/7 Wall St

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