Here's something  for local-direct clients to understand more about email marketing: Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

COMMENTARY

Is Email Enough? Not Unless It's Personalized, Shoppers Say

• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

Email marketers are clueless about how consumers perceive them

Fully 50% marketers believe that most of the emails they have sent in the past six months have been personalized. But only 34% of shoppers agree. 

Indeed, 53% of consumers feel the emails they got were generic, rather than tailored to them, according to the Cordial Cross-Channel Marketing Study, a dual survey of marketers and consumers conducted by Cordial, with the Harris Poll and Momentive.

What’s holding up personalization? Among marketers, 74% admit there are obstacles: 

• Lack of resources: we have too much else to do—25% 
• Data formatting: we can’t use the data we have without time and effort to prepare it—14% 
• Lack of experience: our team lacks the skills we need—12%
• Data access: We’re unable to access the data we need when we need it—12%
• Platform: our current vendor makes it hard to do what we want—10% 

Another issue is that 35% of marketers need three or more platforms to create and send emails and tasks. Only 24% can send them through a single platform. 

On the positive side, 30% of consumers who shop in response to emails have signed up to receive more than they did before the pandemic. And 31% have opted in for more text messages. 

Thus, 61% of email marketers grew their email subscription list in the last six months, and 49% their SMS file. 

And they plan to use them: 82% of marketers plan to increase the number of emails they send over the next year. And 75% plan to do the same with their text messages. 

Overall, 83% of consumers have shopped in response to emails from brands, and 67% have from text messages. But only 15% do so always or often, versus 13% for text. Another 43% sometimes shop in response to emails, while 29% due to texts. 

So an opportunity awaits. Of the consumers polled, 59% of the consumers who shop online purchased more during the pandemic, 23% more.  

And, overall, 47% of consumers always or often shop online, versus 53% who go to stores to do their shopping. 

In line with this, 56% of brands have seen increased sales online, with 16.5% reporting significant upticks. 

In general, 60% of shoppers are likely to purchase a product from a brand they’ve never heard of before. 

Marketers also have a generational opportunity — 41% of Gen Zers have signed up to get more emails from brands, compared to 44% of millennials, 27% of Gen Xers, 24% of those in the 55-64 category and 11% of those age 65+. 

In contrast, 37% of Gen Zers have subscribed to more texts, 48% pf millennials, 25% of Gen Xers, 26% of those age 55-64 and 12% of the 65+ cohort. 

As to the future, 62% of shoppers plan to buy online this holiday season, given concerns about the Delta variant. This tops the 59% who said they shopped more online in 2020 due to the pandemic. 

Of the consumers who say most of the emails they received were personalized, 28% are more likely to shop in response to emails from brands, versus 11% of those who felt the emails were generic. When it comes to text, the numbers are 26% and 11%. 

“The acceleration of ecommerce has been the defining story of the pandemic for retailers,” states Carrie Parker, senior vice president, marketing at Cordial. Parker. “Consumers are shopping earlier, and online, to ensure they can get what they need.” 

Parker adds: “This holiday season represents a real make-or-break moment for many retailers to ensure they are keeping customers informed of relevant real-time changes with product availability and communicating in a meaningful way.”

The real secret to email success? Triggered emails. Basic triggers such as browse, cart abandonment and subscription reminders can drive a 43% lift in average order value.

Moreover, brands generate 42% of their email revenue from triggers and automations, but these account for only 7% of total email volume. 

Cordial worked with the Harris Poll to survey more than 2,000 consumers between August 10-12, 2021, and with Momentive to poll more than 550 marketers from September 9-12. 

 

COMMENTARY

Why Marketers Are Spending More Time Researching 'Experiential Marketing?'

• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, Yesterday

“Experiential marketing” is back in the top spot of content consumption by marketers, as measured by Bombora Company Surge. In a hybrid environment, increasingly driven by purpose-driven consumers, expectations of the value exchange we get from experiences has fundamentally changed — which can have interesting implications for today’s organizations. 

We’ll soon see a resurgence of seeking in-person experiences, so considering how every touchpoint may be paired with the same level of convenience as one would have at home or at work is important to keep in mind.  

In the experience economy where attendee touch points are currency, it’s the emotions customers take away that matter most. Being agile and fast-to-market is critical when it comes to creating experiences that make the most of these few and far-between moments. A hybrid world opens the experience economy up to endless possibilities for company investment. Across the board, customer experience will remain a top priority for the next few years – and most buyers would pay a premium for an above-the-line experience. 

“Enterprise search” is also on the rise among marketers, according to intent data. This could suggest the growing role of CMOs and marketing teams within organizations. Leading marketers are known to have a wider remit in their business, giving them more influence in maintaining a longer-term sustainable competitive advantage. 

They are more likely to be responsible for product and service innovation and for medium and long-term brand health, but the biggest difference is their involvement in the delivery of digital transformation programs — which could encompass entire buyer portals, employee databases, and even intranets. Enterprise search also enables adaptive organizations to become more efficient. What can be seen as a major endeavor with no clear end in sight, figuring out your enterprise search solution can lead to empowerment through cultural independence to deliver more effective collaboration. Now for a minute imagine an extra three weeks a year. That’s the freedom enterprise search grants companies on the leading edge of innovation. 

Agencies, on the other hands, have “brand ambassadors” on their mind. With the creator economy charging full steam ahead, everyone has a voice. Brand ambassadors, much like creators, are plugged in and set social trends and, as a result, brands are looking for ways to create genuine connection connections. Brand ambassadors offer a level of authenticity and trust that can’t always be found in the creator economy. Also referred to as “brand advocates” or “brand representatives,” they provide a face for your company within a community of people with whom they have established trust. Think of it as word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.

 

Roadblocks Remain In Shifting Legacy TV Ad Dollars To CTV-OTT Options

• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

New data-driven TV and digital TV advertising is expected to see soaring growth of 45% to near 60% in the U.S. over the next 12 months, according to a new study from Xandr, AT&T’s advanced advertising unit. The research also says traditional advertising is expected to increase 28%.

The company’s analysis says there are still “roadblocks” to advertisers moving media dollars to new CTV/OTT, digital, addressable and “data-driven linear TV.

These include “a lack of understanding” among internal and external clients; “breaking through existing organizational silos,” and “stakeholders caught up in category thinking.”

Even then, Xandr’s research -- coming from 200 U.S. media executives from junior to senior positions -- see a strong upsurge in new video advertising platforms.

The research says participants estimate a 58% increase in data-driven linear TV spending over the next 12 months in the U.S.; a 53% hike in OTT/CTV spend; a 50% increase in addressable linear TV; and 45% growth in other digital video.

The research also shows reticence to programmatic buys.

“Though almost every advertiser in this study saw benefits to automating OTT buys, only about half of OTT/CTV budgets across key regions are allocated to programmatic buys,” according to study authors. The global study also surveyed respondents in other countries: Australia, UK, France and Germany

Respondents, who cited challenges “like limited scale or poor ROI,” talked up building and growing direct relationships with publishers.

But the Xandr study authors countered there was “easier targeting and optimization, better pricing, and unified campaign activation across multiple sellers are among the top programmatic OTT benefits touted around the globe, compared to direct sold OTT.”

 

AUTOMOTIVE

Pandemic Continues To Impact Automotive Shoppers

• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped transportation and car-shopping for the foreseeable future, per CarGurus research. 

Demand has rebounded following dips early in the pandemic: Due to decreased spending and an inflow of stimulus money, buying confidence has recovered. Major life changes like moving to a new house (29%), getting a new job (22%), and working from home (12%) have also made people more interested in buying a car this year.

Shoppers have gotten used to the ease of digital retail, with an increasing number (60%) of people hoping to complete at least part of the car-buying process at home, says Madison Gross, director of consumer insights at CarGurus.

Consumers are much more comfortable shopping in-store this year, but they still want a safe experience, with the majority (51%) expecting dealers to continue wearing masks.

Consumers hope dealers will continue the adaptations they made during the pandemic, such as various contactless services. Shoppers are most interested in pre-scheduled dealership appointments (46%), solo test drives (42%), test drive at home (32%), and at-home delivery (30%).

As consumers continue to steer clear of shared mobility and turn to purchasing their own vehicle instead, they’re faced with rising prices due to the current inventory constraints, Gross adds.

CarGurus, Inc., a multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles, released its most recent COVID-19 sentiment study that examines both short- and long-term trends of how auto shoppers have reacted to the pandemic. 

The research is the latest iteration in a series of previous CarGurus studies that were run in April, June and November of 2020.

The inventory shortage is hitting buyers. The majority (58%) of shoppers are aware of high vehicle prices as a result of low inventory, an increase from 26% in November 2020.

Ultimately,  the pandemic prompted a decline in demand for shared transportation, and consumers aren’t eager to return, per the latest study. 

Only half (54%) of consumers who previously used ride-share services expect to return to their pre-pandemic activity in the next year, and few more (59%) plan to in the long term.

 

NFL Viewing Up 8% As 'Sunday,' 'Monday Night Football' Post Gains

• by Wayne Friedman , 8 hours ago

Three weeks into the NFL season, there has been an 8% increase in overall average game viewership versus a year ago to 16.1 million Nielsen-measured viewers.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” series has seen major improvement -- up 5% to 19 million viewers for the first three games versus 18.1 million viewers a year ago.

On Sunday afternoon, for five games on linear TV, CBS has been averaging 17.2 million viewers. Through four games a year ago, CBS was at 14.7 million. That’s a significant increase of 17% year-over-year.

ABC/ESPN's “Monday Night Football” is also a big winner percentage-wise -- scoring a 9% increase to 14.6 million viewers versus 13.4 million a year before.

"Monday Night Football" had a simultaneous airing on ABC and ESPN for the first "MNF" game.

In the other two “MNF” games, ESPN also benefited from simultaneous airings on sister service ESPN2, featuring entertaining “MNF” analysis from Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as some as guest athletes.

The biggest game of the year to date was the NFL Kickoff game on NBC. The Super Bowl champions -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- beat the Dallas Cowboys in a close contest. That earned 24.8 million viewers, up 19% from the game a year ago.

This year on Fox, also for five games, the network is at 16.2 million linear Nielsen-measured TV viewers. A year ago, Fox came in at 18.1 million viewers through three weeks.

In 2020, Fox had the best Nielsen number of any NFL game through this period: 25.8 million viewers for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints game in Week One, featuring longtime New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on his new Tampa Bay team.

The NFL says with the addition of digital platform viewing to linear TV -- through the first two weeks -- overall viewership grew 14% to 17.7 million versus a year ago.

Television News Daily's analysis of Nielsen data for just linear TV for those first two weeks recorded an 11% bump to 16.6 million viewers versus a year earlier.

 

COMMENTARY

Consumers Say Social Is Preferred Customer Service Channel

• by Steve McClellan , Staff Writer @mp_mcclellan, 11 hours ago

The following was previously published in an earlier edition of Social Media Insider.

A report from social media research firm Sprout Social finds that social media usage has increased substantially  over the past year.

Over 70% of consumers say their social media usage is up over the past year, with three-quarters of Generation X, Generation Z and millennials all reporting greater usage. More than half of baby boomers also report greater social media activity.

The research, from Spout’s latest “Index Report,” also found a disconnect between consumer expectations of brands on social and how brands prioritize their channels.

Consumers increasingly expect great customer service on social, according to the report, which surveyed over 1,000 consumers and 1,000 marketers for the study. Social media is the most-preferred channel for consumers to share feedback about a product or service (31%) and raise customer service issues or questions (33%), with nearly half (47%) saying strong customer service is the top trait that makes a brand best-in-class on social.

However, marketers rank customer service much lower on their list of priorities, falling behind five other attributes when asked to define what makes an exceptional brand on social, including engagement, content and transparency.

The report also found that social media is playing a more significant role in driving bottom-line growth as social commerce grows, Nine out of 10 consumers will buy from brands they follow on social, and 86% will choose that brand over a competitor, while 85% will buy from that brand more often.

Facebook remains the most-used social platform according to the Sprout report, while TikTok has become one of the top-5 platforms that consumers use to follow brands. But surprisingly few brands are exploiting that potential opportunity, as only about a third of the marketers surveyed are currently on the platform. 

While 88% of marketers agree their social strategy positively influences their bottom line, only 15% of marketers use social data to measure ROI.

“Marketers have an opportunity to educate the rest of their organizations on the power of social and where the future of business intelligence lies,” the report concludes. “When the entire organization learns to embrace social data, they’ll discover the path forward to rapid growth—and marketers will be the ones to show them the way.”

 

COMMENTARY

Is Your Marketing Leveraging The Changing Hispanic Demographic?

• by Karla Fernandez Parker , Columnist, 8 hours ago

Since we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, there are a few standouts about this changing demographic marketers need to note.

The first key takeaway from the 2020 Census shows Hispanics are having a baby boom. There were 9.3 million Hispanic babies born in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. On top of that, there was a significant decline in immigration, contrary to popular belief. Net immigration from Hispanics was only about one-third of the number of births at 3.5 million people during the same period.

So, if you’re in the business of children’s shoes and clothes, children’s household items, toys, sporting goods, and food, you should be fully invested in this growing segment. Colleges and cars will be next!

The mention of college brings up another key statistic from the census results. The share of Hispanics with at least some college education has increased from 36% in 2010 to about 42% in 2019, up more than 16%. Hispanic women had a slightly higher rate of some college versus Hispanic men.

Another positive was that the number of Hispanics with bachelor’s  or post-graduate degrees rose as well, from 13% to 18%. The number of Hispanics enrolled in college has also increased, from 2.9 million to 3.6 million over the past decade.

College education, not to mention college degrees, typically leads to an increase in income. This sets up opportunities for marketers of banks, loan products, auto purchases and entertainment/leisure consumption.

The census also revealed a dramatic increase in English proficiency among Hispanics. This is being driven by the first statistic — significantly lower immigration and an increase in U.S.-born Hispanics. English proficiency among Hispanics over five years old has increased from 59% in 2000 to 72% in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center.  While there is a significant number of Hispanics who still speak Spanish at home, the trend continues a trajectory to greater English proficiency, especially among U.S.-born Hispanics.

Marketers should be mindful of language preferences in parts of the U.S. and the role Spanish still plays as many Hispanics move seamlessly between English and Spanish. This is also important when marketing to older Hispanics who are more likely to be immigrants. 

These findings point to a boon for marketers who can connect culturally with the right media mix and spend to capture this changing demographic that is becoming increasingly more powerful to the U.S. economy and its growth.