Why direct-to-consumer depends on digital transformation: Key brand examples

Stay-at-home rules, imposed during the global Covid-19 pandemic, have put digitalisation into turbo drive. According to McKinsey and Company, the growth in the USA’s e-commerce in the first six months of 2020 equalled that of the previous decade.

The accelerated adoption of eCommerce has introduced existential threats for many traditional retailers, while creating fresh opportunities for brands that are comfortable with using digital channels to develop a personalised...

8 April 2021 | Branding

Gartner: How is digital commerce changing the face of customer experience?

There was a time when digital commerce meant static storefronts. Back then, if you were to purchase from a business, you’d almost definitely have spoken to someone along the way – either face-to-face or over the phone. Perhaps it was the cashier at your local grocery or the account manager at your local bank. You might have even known their name. Even if you didn’t, you’d expect that staff would be trained in a variation of the phrase, ‘the customer is always right’ as a...

16 March 2021 | Best Practice

How Covid-19 is changing retail KPIs: From traffic to engagement

Traffic. It’s what almost all retailers swore by — that, and time spent in stores. The logic was simple: Get people through the doors and entice them to linger longer, and they’d buy your wares. All that came into question when Covid-19 hit. Even after the shutdowns were lifted, retailers found themselves facing a new reality: Traffic looked (and still looks) nothing like it did the year prior.

Almost overnight, consumers were utilising convenient services such as buy...

4 March 2021 | Branding

Brand sentiment analysis: Why positivity alone is no longer enough

Have you been using tailored, brand-specific optimisation that detects the true context and sentiment of a page to precisely and accurately classify content? You’re not alone.

Last year saw an industry evolution from brand safety to brand suitability. Born from the need of more nuanced brand stewardship, this move was accelerated by a massive uptick in digital engagement from consumers and a shifting news agenda that made it even more important for each brand to direct spend...

2 March 2021 | Advertising

How much has consumer behaviour changed in the past year – and how can marketers adapt?

There is no doubt that, in the past year, changes to consumer behaviour have occurred faster and more extreme than ever before. Digital adoption has skyrocketed as consumers and brands alike responded to the new demands of lockdowns and social distancing. That’s bought with it new expectations for shopping, customer service and marketing that will stick around long after the pandemic ends.

It’s critical now that brands are adapting their messaging, strategy and priorities for...

1 March 2021 | Branding

10 practical ways to grow your local business with digital marketing in 2021

Digital marketing for local business is quite different from how to do marketing for a national or global business.

Yes, we mostly use the same channels - but, in a different fashion.

Local businesses target local people, who are geographically around. They may seem easier to reach without digital marketing; however, it's been long since consumers started searching online before they buy basically anything.

More than 90% of users searched for local businesses...

4 February 2021 | Advertising

Direct-to-consumer (DTC): Why consumer brands need to make the economics feasible

Consumer brands seek to establish direct relations with end customers for a range of reasons: to generate deeper insights about consumer needs, to maintain control over their brand experience, and to differentiate their proposition to consumers. Increasingly, they also do it to drive sales.

While some brands have considered establishing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel in the past, they’ve often decided against it. However, now is the time to reconsider as Covid-19 has...

25 January 2021 | Advertising

Sustainable Marketing: How to Drive Profits with Purpose book extract: On CEO and brand activism

Whether you think it is a good thing, or a bad thing, CEO activism is a real thing!

There are an increasing number of CEOs taking a stand on political and social issues. Their view is that a company should have a higher purpose beyond maximizing shareholder value, and that they can use their position of power as a force for raising awareness and doing good. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, has written extensively on the topic.

In his latest book, Trailblazer – The...

21 January 2021 | Best Practice

Don’t just ‘pivot to digital’ – build it into your events and brand experience

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, experiential marketers are looking for ways to create immersive brand experiences for consumers. Most are opting for a total “pivot” to digital and virtual events — but that isn’t quite the right approach.

Knowing when it’s time to pivot

During the pandemic, most events haven’t been possible. CDC guidelines - in the US at least - along with local restrictions on large gatherings and in-person events, have made it difficult for...

18 December 2020 | Branding

How to tackle the five trickiest elements of a website overhaul

Depending on what your company does, its website falls somewhere between extremely important and everything to your business. For a global brand, maintaining a website that feels modern and that appropriately reflects the company’s purpose and voice is an ongoing task. And sometimes, it requires a major rethink. Is that a disaster waiting to happen? Only if you don’t plan for it properly.

A great website relaunch requires you to be equal parts creative and project manager....

15 December 2020 | Best Practice