Mediaboss Marketing

Super Bowl LVI is nearly here, and for marketing nerds, that can mean only one thing. Time to check out the latest big-budget campaigns from the major brands, in order to get a sense of the key trends of focus, and maybe figure out how you can adapt the same into smaller social media initiatives for your promotions and plans.

This year could see some big pushes too, with the light at the end of the COVID tunnel coming into sight, and more brands now considering how they can maximize their return to regular business. Were not through the Omicron phase just yet, but projections are that with vaccine take-up rising, and infection rates leveling out, we should be on our way out of the worst of the pandemic in the next few weeks.

I say should, because nobodys confident enough to make any concrete projections after two years of uncertainty. But the outlook is starting to improve, and that optimism looks set to add even more fuel to the latest Super Bowl ad push.

Looking to get ahead of the big game, and take in the nuance of the key campaigns?

Lucky for you, YouTube is bringing back its AdBlitz showcase, where it will host all the Super Bowl tie-in ads for the year.

As explained by YouTube:

Now in its 16th year, AdBlitz is the premier hub for Super Bowl ads with playlists for the most comedic, dramatic, action-packed, and inspirational spots. According to a Kantar survey, when excluding those that don't care about sports or don't plan to watch the Big Game, 72% rewatch at least some football commercials before or after the game.

Which, of course, is part of the reason why Super Bowl ad slots are so expensive, with brands this year paying up to $6.5 million for a 30-second promo during the game.

You can bet that theyll be looking to make the most of it, which means bringing in the top minds in the industry to use their ad knowledge and trend nous to come up with the most innovative, creative brand promotions to grab as much attention as they can, and win the day for their business.

Its like a free lesson in the best marketing creative, and while not every campaign will be a home run, it is worth noting the techniques and ideas on show, with a potential view, as noted, to your own ad experiments.

YouTubes AdBlitz is already active, with teaser clips of the Super Bowl campaigns from Pepsi and Lays among those already up on the site.

Entertainment value alone is likely enough to get you to check it out, while therell also be additional campaigns added to the collection up until the game on Monday the 14th of February.

Its definitely worth taking a look, and taking notes on the clips. Or you could focus on planning out your real-time tweet game to newsjack the Super Bowl discussion (ala Oreo in 2013), or maybe take Reddits approach from last year and come up with an ad that grabs attention by subverting expectation.

Either way, there are always creative lessons to learn from the Super Bowl ad sweepstakes, and YouTubes AdBlitz offers a singular reference point to keep tabs on all the campaigns.

You can check out YouTubes AdBlitz for 2022 here.

Originally posted here:
YouTube Announces 2022 Super Bowl Ads Showcase, Highlighting all the Major Super Bowl Campaigns - Social Media Today

Consumer expectations are rising, as is the importance of shared brand values, according to the latest data from market research provider Qualtrics.

To glean some insight into the shifting state of customer expectations, Qualtrics surveyed 9,000 consumers, across a breadth of age brackets, to measure the variance in importance on a range of measures between Gen Z, Baby Boomers and everything in between.

The findings highlight some key considerations for all brands first off, the data indicates that Gen Z is the most likely to be upset by a negative interaction with a company.

Gen Z is the generation least likely to report being happy with their customer experience (on a scale of upset to delighted). Gen Z was the most upset by their interactions with federal agencies (only 13% gave a positive rating), followed by investment firms and airlines. Gen Z gave the highest ratings to social media and retail stores.

Gen Z consumers have grown up with social media and eCommerce, and they increasingly expect brands to cater to their specific needs, while they also know that they have both the means to publicly criticize a company due to negative interactions, and the capacity to easily switch, with a simple online search providing a range of competitor brands.

Thats increased their expectations around customer service and response, and its important for brands to consider this in their engagement and actions.

Younger consumers also value public health response, with Gen Z respondents twice as likely as Baby Boomers to stop purchasing from a brand because they felt their safety measures were insufficient. Which also works the opposite way too.

Gen Z consumers also put more emphasis on brand values - potentially a side effect of the social media era - with younger shoppers almost three times as likely as Baby Boomers to say that they were very familiar with the brand values of the products they choose.

With brands now able to communicate more about their business online, thats opened up more capacity for consumers to also get an understanding of their stances and approach, and that expanded capability to connect with a brand on a deeper level can be a very powerful draw to generate stronger bonds and business.

Indeed, for Gen Z consumers, maintaining a social mediapresence was the second-highest ranked way for brands to maintain relevance. No other generation ranked social media presence in the top three.

If that insight doesnt underline the importance of building and maintaining a social media presence, Im not sure what will younger consumers want to feel more connected with every business that they buy from, and social media is the key linkage that facilitates such for this group.

Theres a range of additional insights in the full report from Qualtrics, which you can check out here. Some key considerations for marketers, especially those looking to connect with younger audiences.

Read more:
New Report Underlines the Importance of Social Media in Connecting with Gen Z Consumers - Social Media Today

UTRECHT, Netherlands

NEW YORK February 1, 2022 Channable, a leading global, e-commerce feed management, and PPC automation solution provider for digital marketers, brands, and online retailers announces that it has received over $62M in Series B funding led by Partech with existing investor Peak. This latest round of capital fuels global expansion especially its newly opened North American headquarters in New York, accelerates the companys R&D efforts, all while building on the companys global sales and marketing momentum.

Founded in 2014 by Rob van Nuenen, Stefan Hospes, and Robert Kreuzer, Channable enables e-commerce companies across the globe to effectively sell, advertise, market, and manage their online sales. Since its inception, the company has amassed over 6,000 customers globally, processing more than 55 billion items per day (representing a 91 percent increase year over year) via 2,500 local and global channels across comparison websites, marketplaces, search engines, and social networks.

We are excited to partner with Rob, Robert, Stefan, and the team at Channable, says Bruno Crmel, General Partner at Partech. The shift to multichannel commerce and the convergence of marketing channels and commerce channels creates complexity for merchants. Channables powerful, yet easy-to-use solutions allow brands and retailers to efficiently increase their audience and grow revenues. We are proud to be partnering with this team as they grow and expand into new markets especially in Europe and North America!

Supporting its expansion efforts, Channable tapped industry veteran Michael ONeal who oversees the U.S. office in New York. As VP of Business Development, Michael will lead U.S. sales efforts to bolster Channables revenues in 2022.

"E-commerce companies are dealing with increasing product and data volumes. Channable continues to develop the necessary solutions enabling these companies to scale and easily handle and grow their business, says Stefan Bary, Managing Partner at Peak. "With its best-in-class technology, we're excited to further fuel the companys growth, as its vision has demonstrated a positive impact on todays digital marketers, brands, and online retailers."

As e-commerce continues to grow exponentially, digital marketers, brands, and online retailers are increasingly challenged with the immense amount of products to list, advertise and market on a daily basis. Channables unique solutions include product feed management, PPC ad campaign automation, order, and stock synchronization, and re-pricing products in real-time making the impossible possible.

"We want to establish Channable as essential for any e-commerce company," saysRob van Nuenen, Co-Founder and CEO of Channable. "Considering the increased demand in e-commerce it can get complicated without the right toolset. This latest round of funding will help us make e-commerce easier by serving more clients globally, while building on our innovative, ready-to-use technology, and best-in-class support. We are proud to have partners like Partech and Peak as they bring their extensive knowledge to the table taking companies like Channable to the next level.

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ChannableChannable provides an intelligent, scalable, and simple-to-use solution for data feed management and PPC automation enabling online retailers, brands, and agencies to sell, market and advertise their products globally. Spanning hundreds of directories, search engines, e-commerce sites, and social networks, Channable powers sales and optimizes e-commerce performance with actionable insights to ensure peak performance. With over 6,000 clients worldwide using its product data feeds connections, price comparisons, order synchronization, and affiliate platforms, Channable connects online retailers and marketers with global marketplaces, including Amazon, Google Shopping, Facebook, and Microsoft Advertising.

Consisting of over 170 professionals and more than 30 different nationalities, Channable started in the Benelux evolving into a global company with offices in Berlin, London, New York City, Utrecht, and Logroo. For more information, go to https://www.channable.com/.

PartechBorn in San Francisco and Paris, Partech is one of the most active tech investors in the world, bringing together capital, operational experience, and strategic support for entrepreneurs at seed, venture, and growth stages. Its current portfolio includes 200+ companies in more than 30 countries, of which 14 are valued at more than $1B: Alan, Bolt, Cazoo, Jellysmack, Made.com, ManoMano, Merama, People.ai, Rohlik, Sorare, Toss, Wave, WorldRemit, Xendit. For more information, go to https://partechpartners.com.

PeakPeak is an early-stage venture capital fund based in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm. Backed and run by experienced entrepreneurs, the fund specializes in marketplace, platform, and SaaS companies. Peak has invested in over 40 companies, including Studocu, Creative Fabrica, Catawiki, Trengo, Ocean, Floryn, Heja, Workwize, United Wardrobe, Mibo and GraphCMS. To learn more about Peak, go to https://peak.capital/.

See more here:
Channable Secures over $62M in Series B Funding Led by Partech Scaling E-commerce Marketing for Digital Marketers, Brands, and Online Retailers -...

Published on February 2, 2022

The #OneNationBillionCelebrations campaign that strives to unite airports and passengers recently bagged 3 Platinum Awards at the AVA Digital Awards

1st February 2022, : India with its diversity of multiple regions and states has a rich legacy to celebrate, different festivals on the same day. That is probably the reason why each joyous celebration is shared when the symbolism of Ravana on Dussehra, praying to Maa Durga on Durgo Pujo and wishes for Pongal on Makar Sankranti are on the same day. A post dedicated to the various festivals like Thissur Pooram, Attukal Pongala and the Theyyam festival cater to different people on the same day. It is with this diversity and cultural unity that inspired the #OneNationBillionCelebrations campaign to further celebrate the bond of creating cherished travel memories between travellers and airports along with its social audiences together.

Each airport reflects the pride of the city and thereby becomes the Gateway to the exquisite & rare regional and cultural nuances that each region is iconic for. If youve recently been to the airports at Mumbai, Mangaluru, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur, or Thiruvananthapuram, you would have noticed celebratory dcor and designs reflecting the hashtag #OneNationBillionCelebrations. This was part of a unifying 360-degree integrated campaign conceptualized and executed by Adani Digital Labs (ADL) that recently won 3 Platinum Awards at the AVA Digital Awards.

The AVA Digital Awards is an international competition recognizing creative professionals who plan, conceptualize, direct, design, and produce digital campaigns. Established in 1994, these awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) and are the most coveted digital awards globally. ADLs integrated campaign titled #OneNationBillionCelebrations outperformed the likes of Harvard, Deloitte, Dell, AT&T & Edelman to receive the topmost honor amongst 2500+ entries in 200 categories. The campaign was enlisted under 3 categories namely Digital Marketing, Integrated Marketing & SEO, and won a Platinum in each category.

The Idea

The #OneNationBillionCelebrations campaign was conceptualized to bring various celebrations of India under one umbrella and engage people via digital platforms and on-ground at various airports. The opportunity was to think of one umbrella thought that links everything together, appeals to people of all ethnicities and convey a uniform message of celebration. The team at Adani Digital Labs, after extensive brainstorming, conceptualized the campaign in September 2021 and rolled it out in October with Navratri. The campaign idea being that in India, we may have different names and traditions for different festivals, but the fervor and joy of celebrating them is equal & extraordinary. Thats what unites our great nation. India is thus one nation that has a billion celebrations going on.

Adani Digital Labs

Adani Digital Labs is a division of the Adani Group that is involved in strategy & planning, experience design, marketing & communications, tech & implementation, and marketing science. With a team of innovators, leaders and passionate collaborators, the expert team at ADL believes in creating an impact. Their team comprises experienced professionals in research, creative, content, digital & social marketing, social listening, SEO, UX, UI development, analytics, architects, product management and development domains.

The Execution Our Passengers were at the heart of each experience created

A one-of-its-kind 360-degree marketing campaign for 7 airports in India Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Guwahati, Jaipur and Thiruvananthapuram, #OneNationBillionCelebrations engaged digital audiences via emailers, social media handles, website & paid promotions, contests; and airport passengers via events, activations, thematic dcor, installations, engagement activities, on-ground sales offers, selfie kiosks, special regional cuisines, and gifting. Activities like Khavda pottery, Mata ni Pachedi, Warli Art, Kaavi Art, Mandala Painting, Floral Painting, and more were undertaken to engage passengers at airports, giving them a taste of different cultures, traditions, values, and art. The employees of airports were given special #OneNationBillionCelebrations masks & badges. The offices were decorated with thematic selfie booths, danglers, coasters, and festive dcor.

The Result

The campaign led to more than 5000 website visits, garnered over 12 million impressions across social media handles, reached more than 10 million people, and over 5.3 million viewed the videos. From an SEO point of view, the challenge was to migrate various sub-domains of different airports onto a single domain. This was successfully undertaken and resulted in an increase in organic web traffic from 22,974 to 2,77,608 between July and December.

The #OneNationBillionCelebrations campaign will continue to win the hearts of a million people till April 14, 2022.

More here:
ADL'S Integrated Campaign Is Winning Hearts And Awards Globally - APN News

This is interesting, in a couple of ways. Today, Twitter has announced a new Twitter Toolbox hub, where it will highlight helpful, reliable Twitter analytics and creation tools to help maximize your Twitter marketing and growth process.

The new Toolbox is split into three segments: Expression tools, Safety Tools and Measurement Tools. For marketers, the measurement element is likely of most interest, with a range of Twitter analytics apps to offer more insight into your tweet performance.

Those are some great tools, while the expression element also highlights some handy tweet composition and scheduling options.

Ive used most of these tools at one time or another, and all of them have their purpose, and are worth spending some time with to see what you can get out of them.

But at the same time, I still find it a bit strange that Twitters promoting third-party apps for functions that it could actually build into its own native features.

Just last week, I noted that if Twitter really wanted to make money out of subscriptions - ala Twitter Blue - then it might be better off targeting business users, by creating a package of improved, native Twitter analytics tools and scheduling features, essentially building on TweetDeck, which it could make available for a monthly fee.

Twitter scaled back its analytics tools in 2020, with the removal of its Audience Insights element, and it hasnt added any alternative data options since, while it's also working on a new version of TweetDeck. Providing more in-depth analytics options for tweets would be of value, especially as the data would be coming direct from Twitter itself, as opposed to being filtered through a third-party tool which, to me, makes this new Toolbox announcement, in my view, a little confusing.

Why re-direct users to third-party apps when you could just build these tools yourself, then charge for access? Most of these apps operate on a freemium model, so theyre charging for access to your data. Why not set up your own, native dashboard of the same features as another potential revenue stream?

Of course, Twitter also wants to maintain connection with the developer community, and there is value in essentially partnering with these platforms to build better analytics options, and help more businesses users get more out of their Twitter process.

But it just seems like an obvious opportunity - if Twitters looking at subscription models anyway, why not give marketers even more insight into tweet performance and audience data as a paid tool?

I guess an updated Twitter Analytics/TweetDeck may still be on the cards at some stage, but until then, you have this new hub to highlight Twitter apps that Twitter itself effectively endorses as valuable and reliable, with each farming direct off of its own API.

And they are valuable tools, which could change the game for your tweet strategy.

You can check out the full overviews of each app in the new Toolbox here.

Read this article:
Twitter Launches New 'Toolbox' Hub to Highlight Helpful Creation, Moderation and Analytics Tools - Social Media Today