Earlier this summer, Media Post released a column penned by Ken Robbins that got us thinking. The piece, titled, “Selling Lifestyles Instead of Products,” focused on the notion that brands need to sell the end result of their product instead of spending the majority of their time explaining how the product actually works.
Some brands are phenomenal at this. Pain relief commercials rarely feature a dramatization of inhibitor molecules latching onto enzymes in an effort to prevent a chemical reaction. Instead of a biology textbook animation, you’ll see smiling adults walking their dogs, playing with their kids and grandkids, or hanging out at a bar with their friends. Robbins’ observation here may seem simple, but it encapsulates one of the fundamental challenges of marketing: communicating the major benefits of your brand's product in a crisp, effective, and truthful narrative.
Where does Targeted TV come into play here? In order to figure out, “what to say, who to say it to, and where to say it,” you need data. Good, comprehensive, and multilayered data.
Robbins breaks down his approach to determining the appropriate message, audience, and platform into four key steps:
1) Identify your target customer
This is key. Who is your product or service geared towards? Your answer should not just be a gender and an age range. In the digitalized era of big data, using just that hackneyed demographic couplet does not cut it. As Robbins writes, “Attitudes, preferences, and values are key differentiators in uncovering which messages stick and which become noise.”
Centriply recently signed deals with Experian and Cambridge Analytica, two data companies which are pioneers in the forumulation of hyper-specific advertising personas. Experian creates its own unique personas and then scores its entire database of individuals on how well each individual aligns with each persona. This data can then be thrust into our independent, demand-side planning tool, combined with the relevant geographic data, in order to choose the most effective TV inventory.
2) Draw a lifestyle picture of each persona
The data from places like Experian and CA can help a marketer here greatly. These organizations gather data on you based off of purchases, online activity, social media, and even the route you take to work. With Centriply's data partnerships, marketers can make a more informed lifestyle picture of each persona.
3) Map your brand identity to lifestyle pictures
If marketers follow a data-fueled, content creation strategy, they can amplify the true value of their brand to their consumers. Knowledge is power and audience data can create opportunities to uncover the hidden truths about your audience that can then be leveraged to extend reach and engagement.
4) Provide a platform to engage customers
Here Robbins emphasizes the importance of social media in creating a dialogue between brand and consumer. The “sharing with a friend” or “challenge a friend” marketing strategies were effective for Coke and the ALS Foundation with their respective ad campaigns.
The next step would then be to track who exactly is doing the sharing and who is responding to the shares. This new engagement measure could inform future ad campaigns and thus the virtuous cycle of data-charged content marketing continues!
Overall, great article by Ken Robbins and Media Post. If you haven’t read it, definitely give it a look.
