Marketing
We’ve Entered the Out of Home (OOH) Advertising Renaissance
I’m finally starting to emerge from my COVID cocoon. Half-vaccinated and having completed every season of every television show ever,...
Data insights are everything. As the industry moves quickly to keep up with the shifting brand needs to update media placement, SwellShark is on the front lines. Nick Pappas (CEO) and Mary Perhach (President) spoke with Winmo CEO Dave Currie to discuss preference shifts and how premium brands are adjusting to maintain market share. Then, they discuss the media properties, publishers, and ad sellers standing out, and how those trying to get in front of media buyers and planners should position themselves.
Brands like iHeart and Pandora are doing it right, surfacing hard data about certain categories. Check out the full conversation below:
Dave Currie: What data insights do you see out there right now?
Perhach: It’s definitely different by category. So, our clients in the travel space are obviously pulling back spending significantly, trying to find the right balance between keeping some money in the market for in-market travelers who are planning trips for the future. There are some hopeful travelers out there who plan to go somewhere in November. And we want to make sure that our brands are out there for those folks.
Perhach: We’ve got some brands in the packaged goods space who are doing well right now, especially food brands. I think a challenge that we’re seeing right now is people are becoming a little less particular about the brands. I’m sure you’ve had the same experience as a consumer because I certainly have. I like ordering Applegate hotdogs cause that’s the only kind of hot dog we eat as a family and I immediately get offered a substitute.
Perhach: People are trying lots of new brands now. So, hopefully, that doesn’t change any brand preference. And I think people are also just bringing home less money than they were before. So, a premium brand, like Applegate for example, might get sacrificed for the time being.
Currie: Thinking a little bit through the opportunistic side of data insights, those brands that are perhaps coming into the market, this could be a very opportune time for them to take of voice. And, ultimately, if they’re able to do a good job on the conversion side of things, maintain that share of the market.
Perhach: I was on a podcast last week and one of the guests’ clients was a DTC soap brand that had been trying to gain traction for a while. And suddenly they have a huge supply of resources. These folks were suddenly positioned to take off, manage that growth, and find the right audience. Not just for right now but for the future. So, there are brands out there with enormous opportunities.
Pappas: Our Sun Bum client, which is traditionally sunscreen, also offers a hand sanitizer. It was one of the things that sold out incredibly quickly and was a really interesting way for people to discover the brand. You just hope that sort of carries on beyond this period as well. That they love the product, the smell, the attributes of it that will make them pick the sunscreen when they can go outside again.
Perhach: And, for those of us who are in the suburbs, we have backyards. So, we are actually spending more time outside and shouldn’t forget about sun care. So, for them, it’s also about striking that balance because they don’t want to be seen as opportunistic. Finding the right way to deliver the message about how important it is to protect your skin, yet not forget skincare when there are bigger problems in the world.
Currie: Clearly, you have many clients in the CPG space, in retail, travel, but also in the financial services sector. How have you seen financial service meesaging differ?
Perhach: A lot of messaging has shifted. Until everyone really understands what the interest rates are going to be, a lot of stuff just has to be paused. And then, other messaging shifts to more advice-based. Much more, we’re here for you. How can we help?
Currie: How have the projects driving traffic to an in-store retail environments shifted?
Pappas: A few of our clients have their own DTC marketplace with 90% wholesale sales and are doing well as direct-to-consumer. They can get quick access to their inventory and warehouses, and they’re shipping product. Amazon has been great, but we’ve all seen a slow down in delivery.
Currie: Any advice to media properties and publishers on how to approach mediae planners and buyers?
Perhach: The best information is easily packaged up for our clients. Here’s what’s happening in travel, CPG, or fashion. Pandora and iHeart are doing a great job explaining what content listeners are shifting to and when. They’re going to uplifting music or stories instead of true-crime podcasts. People are in different places than they were last month.
Currie: What would you like to see from media ad sales teams in terms of their data insights approach?
Perhach: We’ve had a lot of helpful outreach from our reps. The larger properties like New York Times, Bloomberg, and Wall Street Journal, host webinars on the impact of COVID on their content, reporting, audience, and data insights.
Pappas: I think most of the larger properties are doing a really good job telling how their consumers’ times are shifting. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, both have great information, great data. Is there a way for them to actually co-present something together? It’s a fast and dynamically changing environment. In week one, everyone wanted news content. And then, in week two there wascmore interest in home decor and softer things that feel personal, uplifting, and sort of calm.
Pappas: But I’d love to see some news properties or big publishers come together and say, here’s what’s happening…
Currie: Some collaboration on the property side would certainly seem to shortcut that process for you.
Perhach: New York Times and Dow Jones Group both have the capability to do emotional targeting. Dow Jones does it through Unruly. New York Times does it on their site. They understand how people react to different content. So, what would be super helpful for the industry is just to have a pulse on how people are reacting to the COVID content now? And how has it changed over time? They have tools in place to know how consumers feel right now. And that’s really helpful information for everybody.
Currie: Any last words of advice or insight?
Perhach: We’re all in this together, so the more we can share information with each other, the better.
Currie: Fantastic. Thank you so much for the time this afternoon. Great data insights.