Good morning, Marketers, the agenda for our MarTech conference, held September 14-15, is taking shape. (More details below.)
Until then, we’ll stay on top of the big shifts in marketing technology, like the transition to CTV. For instance, we’re finding out more about this space from the global video network Vevo. Pre-pandemic, their revenue from CTV was 4%. Now it’s 50%. That’s a show stopper.
For consumers, however, isn’t the app-based TV landscape just turning back into a cable experience with bundled programming packages? Not really, except in one important way: price. All those a la carte subscriptions add up.
And as the media landscape continues to shift, marketers have to listen closely to how consumers are responding. A new report warns us that if consumers don’t feel like they’re being listened to by your brand, you might receive negative feedback in the form of an unsubscribe.
The bar has probably never been higher to be precise with customer data and use it efficiently for relevant communications. Otherwise, customers will feel overwhelmed and go back to watching music videos from a decade that was less stressful for them.
Chris Wood,
Editor
How Vevo bridged the pandemic music video shortfall
“Video killed the radio star” sang The Buggles prophetically in the first music video broadcast on MTV. That was 40 years ago this year, and although radio stuck around it’s just become routine for us to expect video along with the audio.
Often enough the music videos we consume are delivered by Vevo, the leading global video network. “We have a presence on YouTube and a large CTV presence on more than 15 channels,” said JP Evangelista, SVP Content, Programming and Marketing at Vevo.
CTV is a growing channel for Vevo. “We sell more and more CTV inventory. It’s the biggest shift of the last few years.” And it’s yet another trend driven in part by the pandemic. Vevo derived about 4% of its revenue from CTV pre-pandemic; by the end of this quarter that will have risen to 50%.
The pandemic presented some other challenges. Just as movie and TV sets emptied almost overnight for safety reasons, there was a sudden shortfall in traditionally produced new music videos. Vevo’s inhouse creative team worked actively with artists to develop their skills in self-shooting videos. When it became possible to re-open Vevo’s own studios they began to develop original content assets. Ariana Grande, who has performed six times in the series, broke the record for any Vevo original content piece with her “pov” video which drew almost four million views on its first day of release.
Why we care. Vevo was able to draw on two kind of assets to fill — and more than fill — the gap when new music video production slowed. It had inhouse creative capabilities and studio space to create original content safely. And it had a vast trove of older videos which it smartly packaged into content sets aimed at particular demographics. It’s surely safe to predict that these will remain important elements of its business when the pandemic is finally in the rear view mirror.
Read more here.
How well do you know your customers?
Nearly two-thirds of consumers (65%) are overwhelmed by the communications they receive from brands, according to the new “Audience of One” report released by visual experience platform Movable Ink.
The stakes are higher for brands to personalize their messaging (without being too creepy), and also to make sure the information they use accurate. For instance, one in four consumers unsubscribed from emails when the brand addressed the message to the wrong person.
Other findings from the study include:
- Two-thirds of respondents (68%) will remain loyal to a brand if they’re actively engaging and building personal relationships with them;
- Three in five consumers (61%) say they are likely to buy goods or services when a company has created a personalized experience in their branded content to them; and
- One in three report having received inaccurate product recommendations.
Why we care: Marketers are always pushing themselves to deliver more relevant messaging to gain a competitive edge, to spread awareness and to drive sales. The bar continues to be raised. But it’s not just the personalization tools and data management that drive the standards. Ultimately, it’s the consumer’s response to the improved strategy that matters most.
The findings about inaccurate product recommendations should also raise a flag with marketers, because that’s a little bit more of a gray area. If customer data isn’t unified, consumers can receive inaccurate recommendations for things they’ve already bought, or bought enough of to last them for a long time. Or the recommendation is simply irrelevant. In all of these cases, a sizeable number of consumers will feel that the brand doesn’t know them well enough. Too many messages that don’t cross the threshold for acceptability risk leaving a customer feeling betrayed. Of course, avoiding burning through a list isn’t a new concept for marketers. The risk just appears to be greater when messages are in high volume, when a wrong name or ill-informed recommendation can nudge a customer further from a sale and closer to unsubscribing.
The MarTech fall agenda is live
If you’re eager to leverage marketing technology to create data-driven customer experiences, build high-performing teams, and streamline marketing operations, join us online, September 14-15, at MarTech… for FREE.
Your All Access pass unlocks two days of world-class programming, including:
- Dozens of tactic-rich sessions featuring real-world experts and cutting-edge solution providers
- Forward-thinking keynotes from chiefmartec’s Scott Brinker, MarTech’s Kim Davis, and Amazon Web Service’s Darrell Alfonso
- The 2021 Stackie Awards — a celebration of the creativity of your MarTech community
- Optional live, deep-dive workshops on CDPs, agile marketing, and more ($149 each)
The entire program will be available both live and on-demand so you can train when it fits your schedule. And it’s all yours… for free.
View the agenda and register here.
Quote of the day
“Conversion is a critical piece to every digital marketer out there. Breaks in the experience can cause a huge challenge of conversion and sometimes it takes days, weeks or months to find these breaks.” Michael Trapani, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Acoustic, from “How to Tell if You’ve Outgrown Your Martech” at our spring MarTech conference.
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