Letters: A field day for social

With 100 days to go to the World Cup kick-off, you’d hope that most brands have their marketing strategy nailed on by now. No doubt, though, that the next few months will be buzzing with opportunity. For the players, social media may well be in lock-down but for brands it is surely set to be the most colourful canvas. Opportunists such as Paddy Power are going to have a field day while the prospect of multi-brand Twitter conversations will be getting community managers across the Twitter-sphere twitching with excitement. As ever, being true, honest and distinctive will be the key to standing out.

Matthew Bennett, creative partner, Wolfpack, part of ZAK Media Group

 

Ecommerce vs branding

I agree that retailers need to strike the right balance between fun and functional with their ecommerce sites. Content for content’s sake is not the answer and can be a knee-jerk response.

It’s more about understanding what your customers are coming to you for and responding in appropriately. Look at Selfridges, Oddbins or Wilkinson Sword – these sites might not be for everybody but they don’t need to be – and that’s where brands which are doing it well differentiate themselves. They think audience first and then create a destination that gives that audience what it wants. 

And when they think ‘audience’, they don’t just think about the traditional markers of age and demographic, but lifestyle, motivation and social media behaviour. It’s about achieving the right balance between the ecommerce need and the branding need and knowing that balance is unique for every business.

Carla Faria, UK solutions director, Say Media

 

Marks & Spencer has shown a considered understanding of consumer behaviour in creating engaging content to boost online sales across clothing and homeware.

Nearly a quarter of customers are more encouraged to buy if supplied with high-quality, inspirational editorial. The retailer is making the most of this, using multiple platforms to influence behaviour and maximise purchases.

Understanding shopper’s decision journeys is crucial if retailers are to make the most of fragmented shopping habits. In another interesting move, M&S is connecting both on and offline worlds by positioning online content in bricks and mortar stores, creating a joined-up experience for customers.

If this strategy drives online sales, it will create a unified shop front across all platforms – something few other retailers have achieved – which could set the standard for leveraging online and offline and potentially revolutionise the high street.

Sarah Todd, UK chief executive, Geometry Global

 

All eyes on video

Mindi Chahal is right: viewability is a key metric which the video advertising industry must embrace. By creating eye-catching video ad formats and ensuring they are either viewable all of the time or only start to play once they are in view, we will strengthen video as a medium. In raising the standard and moving towards innovative brand experiences, the industry will be able to create arresting, viewable ad formats that improve engagement and ultimately produce far better results for advertisers.

Jeremy Arditi, general manager, Ebuzzing

 

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