So far the year is off to a great start with huge brand awareness opportunities presenting themselves through the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, and that special moment in February where we fall victim to the conformity of that special day we call: Valentine’s Day.
Big ticket, mass-market events such as these – whether taking place in a sports stadium in the Russian city of Sochi, or in our hearts (awww, single tear) – present brand marketers with huge potential for increasing reach and retargeting consumers with proven purchase histories. With a few simple online strategies in place for capturing the attention of these event-focused audiences, success can be the gift that keeps giving after the candy is gone and the flowers have wilted.
So, as we head into the season where well-executed, targeted campaigns can become the Holy Grail for brands, here’s a crib sheet for today’s marketer looking to supplement their traditional ad spend with digital strategies.
The Super Bowl:
Display: Brands spending mega ad dollars on pricey TV spots should consider marrying those ads with display to capture as much brand awareness as possible in the hours (or even days)leading up to – and following – the game. TV ad spots will immediately generate net new brand interest and awareness. As our easily distracted minds take us within minutes from watching TV commercials to checking our desktops, tablets, and mobile devices, what better way to increase awareness than to immediately repeat the brand message via display, particularly on content likely to be visited in real time by Superbowl viewers (i.e. Sports, Arts/Entertainment, etc) and against audiences aligned with your brand vision.
Remarketing: Brands that put themselves in front of this mass audience will inevitably see a spike in web traffic. So have enough remarketing budget in place to capture repeat and new sites visitors with tailored ads at the time they’re most receptive to an advertiser’s message and its relevance to the big game. In the days following the spike, think about A.) replicating the same message as was delivered on TV, or B.) modifying the message to devote more focus on the actual product/service benefits.
Video: For big event categories like the Super Bowl, consider doubling down on online video advertising so that money spent on creating the perfect TV ad spot can also get a bump in eyeballs by replaying on multiple devices and platforms pre- and post-game.
Social: The game experience plays out in continuous personal commentary in social media environments, so focus on the social platforms that resonates most with your brand. For example, increase display ad spend and social ad strategies on Facebook. As people are talking about the most recent tackle or Richard Sherman soundbyte, why not serve them with an ad they just experienced on TV?
Sentiment: How will you know if people are more likely to purchase your product after all this marketing investment? Measure increased awareness and run a Super Bowl-related brand study at the same time to determine lift in brand sentiment and the user’s likelihood to make a purchase based on your brand presence.
Valentine’s Day:
CRM: Make use of your CRM file and onboard data for previous purchasers into your marketing operating system for retargeting. Even if they haven’t been on your site for months, that data is still actionable and is highly applicable to the Valentine’s Day consumer who might have made a purchase last year and could be persuaded with proper messaging to make a return purchase.
Private Marketplaces: With more than half of consumers planning to purchase their Valentine’s Day gifts online this year as opposed to heading into stores, a majority of them are known to wait until the last minute. Brand marketers need to have budget allocated to capturing this last-minute consumer – typically the male demographic. Consider publisher partnerships that focus on specific audience segments through Private Marketplaces, which lets marketers access private pools of inventory deals for targeted messaging. These deals can be much easier to implement than the marketer realizes, so reach out to your platform of choice for guidance.
Winter Olympics:
Contextual: The Olympics isn’t just a one-off holiday or event, so the span of time that the event encompasses is perfect for marrying contextual brand messaging with Olympics-related themes and content to own the audience. Contextual has proven to be a very effective strategy with sporting events since those audiences are so specific in their web searches and use of keywords.
Channel-Specific: Since the Olympics provide a three-week targeting opportunity for brands, a channel-specific mindset is advantageous for tapping into this captive audience. Brand marketers considering a channel-specific approach need to allocate dollars and flight their budgets, whether it be on mobile, video, social and or display in the best way possible for their message. The three-week time period also lends itself well to telling a complete story, through the use of sequential messaging.
See how MediaMath can help with your retail goals here.