Media

Maximizing Profits For Digital Commerce Advertising

Today’s digital commerce landscape looks a little like three competing used car lots – one lot for Amazon, one for Target, and another for Walmart.

Although short of the gaudy signs and those wily inflatables waving at traffic, there is a constant battle over attention, prices, features and add-ons among these players – all of which is eating away at profitability. Consumer centric trends like one-day shipping and free shipping on all orders are expensive to execute for both big box retailers and vendors selling on their platforms.

For manufacturers and resellers selling online with Amazon, Walmart and Target, storage and shipping costs for online products are taking up more and more of their profits. These priorities are very important to shoppers, so much so that 27% of shoppers abandoned a cart because same-day shipping was not available*. Under this new paradigm, companies selling online—and agencies working with these companies—need to understand which products are most profitable to advertise by gaining a true understanding of profitability via digital commerce sales.

Most brands selling online know their margins down to the product level, but for advertisers, knowing which products should truly be supported is often not understood or given much thought. It’s easy for both brands and advertisers to look at ROI or revenue and be happy with these numbers. For advertisers running campaigns across search, social or display driving to PDP pages, there’s no better feeling than generating huge sales and high ROAS. Unfortunately, without looking at product-level metrics on the vendor-side such as COGS or Net PPM, it’s difficult to truly understand how these sales are contributing to business goals.

For instance, it’s not uncommon to end up running ad campaigns for a product that is actually losing money. Even the best performing campaigns can fall short. A product with low profit margin and sales price can impact the profitability of a campaign driving the lowest Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS).

These priorities are very important to shoppers, so much so that 27% of shoppers abandoned a cart because same-day shipping was not available.

Empower’s Advantage

Our Empower search team has taken a much closer look at product-level profits as the digital commerce landscape has grown. As available tactics and ad types expand, it’s more important than ever to take a hard look at profitability.

When planning which SKUs to promote and advertise, it’s helpful for the brand to understand profit at a SKU level. Each commerce platform has its own fees to consider such as shipping fees, inventory storage fees and other handling fees. But by using the respective inventory management system, it’s easy enough to figure out the net dollar amount of profit associated with each SKU. Amazon uses Seller Central or Vendor Central. Walmart uses a system called Retail Link. Whether the company is using a retail-side platform or a proprietary inventory management system, the net profit data is easy enough to find.
Next, use Profit Margin at the product-level to choose the products with the best chance of success. Some brands have thousands of SKUs, others may only have a handful of products. It’s important to start with a manageable core set of SKUs. Each situation is unique when selecting products to promote, but the main priorities should involve:
- Choose products that are both best sellers with a high profit margin. High margins are not enough to convert consumers, and driving ad clicks to product pages with low conversion rates will greatly hinder performance.
- Pick products with above average reviews and ratings. Reviews are often the most important factor for shoppers when considering making a purchase. Plus, star ratings and reviews are often part of the ads that run on e-comm sites, search and social.
- Ensure that chosen SKUs have enough inventory. This is very important during peak times like the holiday season.
- Select SKUs that are eligible for advertising. On Amazon, a product can be labeled as ineligible to advertise for a couple reasons like a product which has lost the buy box or is operating at a loss to Amazon. These are deemed financially ineligible. On Walmart’s site, in some cases, a product must rank within the top 128 listings in a category.
Finally, use ACoS as a KPI to create a Target Profit Margin and a Break Even ACoS. ACoS is available in most all e-comm and is calculated as ACoS = Ad Spend ÷ Sales. These metrics are based on a percentage of the true profit margin for each product or product line.
If using ROAS instead of ACoS, simply take the ACoS divided by one. For example, if the Break Even ACoS is at 20% the ROAS would be 5 (1 ÷ .2 = 5).

This process may sound like a lot of work, especially if advertising a high number of products, but it’s critically important. It is certainly easier to assign a blanket ACoS goal, but it will not accurately represent success, nor will it provide the clearest picture of profitability. Advertisers need to focus on the right metrics within retail media platforms, ones that extend beyond ROAS and truly affect the bottom line.

*MetaPack, 2017 State of eCommerce Delivery

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Marketing

The New Normal Field Guide: How To Navigate Marketing Post Covid-19

At Empower, we have been working tirelessly to learn fast and stake a position regarding the best way to get your marketing up and running again post COVID-19.

If you are familiar with our agency, you’ll know this is one of our core values—”Plant the Flag”—in action. We take a position backed by strong conviction. In this case, our Retail Center of Excellence team has created a “Field Guide” on how to navigate your marketing through the first 90 days post COVID-19. While we don’t pretend to have all the answers, we are confident it represents the major strategic steps necessary to get your business up and running again in the “New Normal.” – Jim Price, CEO Empower

When Stay at Home/Shelter in Place orders are initially lifted, we are recommending a Crawl, Walk and Run marketing strategy. In this document, Empower’s Retail Center of Excellence team will focus…

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Influencer

Social Distancing And The Shift To Social Media

It’s no secret that COVID-19 is forcing a work-from-home structure for the foreseeable future. As a result, people are using the time away from the office to check multiple media channels for information, education and entertainment.

There has been an uptick in activity across different platforms as people adjust, including a spike in the usage of social media. According to a recent Global Web Index survey, 45% of respondents stated they spent more time on social media in the wake of coronavirus. This trend is likely to continue as more people seek alternative ways to alleviate the effects of social distancing. To date, these are the reported increases in activity across social platforms:

Traffic across popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat has increased 3% on average since January among 13 to 39-year-olds.
Countries hit hardest by the virus increased Facebook Messenger app usage by 50% in order to stay connected, and both Instagram and Facebook Live views doubled in a one week time frame.
TikTok usage has soared in response to stay at home mandates, with an 18% increase in app downloads between March 16 and March 22.
Snaps sent between users of Snapchat reached a record high, surpassing the platform’s usual holiday-related surges in activity.
Reddit reported that subreddits related to finance, ecommerce, news, education, travel and sports saw a 20%-50% increase in traffic within a week.
Pinterest reported all-time high usage as people looked for ways to remain safe and adjust their lives amid COVID-19 concerns.

This boost in user activity at a time where advertisers are pausing campaigns and reassessing strategy means the costs of reaching people are decreasing. Brands that are looking to connect with consumers would do well to consider social as an effective source.

Tweet Others How You Want to be Tweeted

Understanding user activity is key in determining media strategy during times of instability. Figuring out where a brand fits within the social space and whether or not a product or service is relevant to the current conversation is vital.

Facebook and Twitter tend to be where people turn for real-time information surrounding events. When it comes to brands, they’re often used to facilitate customer service interactions. Ensuring that content fulfills an aspect of the current consumer journey – meaning what options are available to consumers now that movement is limited – is important. That’s not to say that every brand’s message needs to reflect the seriousness of the situation. More irreverent brands can continue with funny content as long as they choose an appropriate channel. Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok offer opportunities to engage with the influx of users turning to online channels for amusement. Twitter is also a good channel for that, as trending topics surrounding working-from-home are typically humorous. Other popular platforms – like Reddit and Pinterest – allow consumers an opportunity to look forward and plan for the future.

This might be an optimal time to switch gears and try something different for your brand. Below are a few options for brands seeking new ad solutions in response to coronavirus:

Facebook’s “Click to Messenger” campaigns give brands the ability to take care of customer service and answer common FAQs surrounding their company protocols directly in the platform.
Snapchat has recently released their Lens Web Builder tool to all advertisers. Brands can now create their own Lenses using pre-made AR effects for people to use as they communicate with friends and family.
TikTok is one of the most widely downloaded apps in the world and has an increasingly high daily active user base. Brands striving to reach a younger audience would be served well by the inclusion of in-feed ads.
Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) feature could be used by companies to answer real questions from consumers and help alleviate concerns surrounding the current situation.
Pinterest’s keyword functionality allows brands to place relevant content among native pins, promoting products and services among content people are actively searching for.

Ad spend doesn’t have to stop or slow down as a result of COVID-19 but ensuring that content is contextual ensures that sentiment remains positive.

Keep Content Clear and Accurate

One thing to keep in mind when thinking about advertising during this pandemic is that almost every social platform has protections in place to decrease the spread of misinformation, which could impact ad delivery if there is specific mention of the virus within brand content. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and LinkedIn – along with digital giants YouTube, Microsoft, and Google – have resolved to work together to help stop the sharing of inaccurate information on their channels. TikTok has partnered directly with the WHO to provide relevant information to users. Any content that mentions coronavirus or COVID-19 triggers the appearance of a banner that encourages viewers to “learn the facts.” Through partnerships with both the WHO and the US Center for Disease Control, Snapchat is ensuring that users have access to information in their Discovery feed via publisher controls.

To ensure that ads are delivered effectively, make sure all messaging is accurate and can be easily proven. While this situation is unprecedented, use it as a chance to connect with both new and established groups across social channels. Not only can this aid in consumer sentiment during an uncertain time, it can also help brands remain top-of-mind when things eventually return to business as usual.

COVID-19

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Analytics

Data Science Predicts a “Return To Normal” For Each State

“When will things get back to normal?” This question is at the forefront of nearly everyone’s mind, whether you’re an expert marketer or a student attending “virtual” school. It’s also a question our brilliant data science team at Empower is tackling.

Through rigorous analysis of data, they’ve put together projections of when different states could be back to normal, or at least a “new normal.” We’re calling these milestone dates the “Projected Business as Usual Date.” This will be a projection we model and update weekly based on the latest data coming in from individual U.S. states and calibrated against what we are seeing in the rest of the world.

These dates should be read as “on or after” dates. Our models project that these are the earliest dates for a return to normalcy in each state. The exact definition of normalcy will vary across the country, but generally it will mean that:

People are back to work and are moving/traveling locally without large-scale restriction.
Non-essential businesses are operating.

Results through 7/5/20 - Map updated on 7/6/20

The output of this model is based largely on calculations of the virus’s state-by-state growth rate. There is a host of new terminology and underlying data fed into these projections. We will heavily caveat that this a theoretical model that will change as more data becomes available. We also anticipate that different courses for government intervention and the behavior of localized populations will impact the projections.

Here is the methodology behind these projections: The primary driver of the projected normalcy dates is the ongoing growth rate in new cases.  As we all know, slowing or eliminating the spread of this virus is the only way we’ll truly be able to return to business as usual.  The growth rate can be defined simply as new cases today divided by total cases.  If the rate of growth in new cases is slowing or, ideally, declining, we can generally assume that a state is on the path to moderating and eventually containing the outbreak.  Our projections utilize established scientific milestones in epidemic mitigation while incorporating all available examples of government/business action and consumer behavior.  As stated above, these estimates are theoretical and could evolve significantly as new data becomes available.

Intelligence

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Marketing

Let’s Get Personal: How Businesses Can Stand Out In Times Of Crisis

As seen on Forbes.com, VP of Marketing and Communications, Meghann Craig talks about how getting personal can lead to better business results – especially in times of crisis.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s not personal; it’s business.” However, I’d argue my place of business is personal. Where I choose to invest my time, energy and ideas is a direct reflection of me. The COVID-19 pandemic is throwing most business plans off course. Organizations are figuring out how to operate, day by day, as breaking news unfolds about social distancing and government policies. While people fear the economic impact the pandemic will have on businesses and employee livelihood, a time of crisis is also an opportunity to bring to life a company’s mission and values in unique ways by “making it personal.”

The three key tenets to the “make it personal” model include: using talents for good, adopting a people-first mentality and building meaningful connectivity.

Visit Forbes.com to read the full article.

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News

Cathy Shaffner Named Adweek Media All Star

Media Contact

Kim McEntee

Adweek Honors the Best, Brightest and Most Strategic Thinking Across the Media Business.

CINCINNATI (April 20, 2020) – Empower’s Chief Investment Officer Cathy Shaffner is recognized in Adweek’s 2020 class of Media All Stars. Comprised of 18 executives across the U.S., this prestigious group demonstrates expertise in their respective fields and the innovative thinking needed to usher clients into a future that remains uncertain. Visit Adweek to access the Media All Star interview with Cathy.

“The only thing stronger than a Marine is the Mother who raised her.”

That’s what Cathy’s 22-year old daughter said to her when she commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. She credits her mother for challenging her to always “take the road less traveled and have the fortitude to be the best that you can be.”

A powerful and influential force at home and work, Cathy exudes these same fearless, tough and loyal qualities in her leadership style as CIO at Empower.

“I don’t settle for what’s easy,” she says. “I’m a fan of shaking things up and challenging the status quo. When we push ourselves to think outside the lines, amazing ideas come to life.”

The 26-year media veteran leads an investment team that has expanded to nearly a quarter of the 200+-person, independent agency. In 2019, Cathy helped lead Empower to the best year in the company’s 35-year history, touting record-breaking revenue and growth with a 30% increase in revenue and more than 80 new hires.

“Cathy takes a client-first approach and seeks out a diverse range of innovative solutions,” said Jim Tricarico, President of Sales, at Cadent. “She is always looking for higher forms of integration and embodies the integrity and values of a true partner and brand advocate.”

And the numbers prove it. She recently led one of Empower’s largest retail clients to year-over-year growth.

“Cathy is the investment banker for our media dollars who ensures we get the best ROI,” said Kevin Hook, EVP, at Ashley HomeStore. “With Cathy on our side negotiating for the best rates and demanding nothing short of excellence, our business will continue to perform at its best,” Hook emphasized.

“Cathy encapsulates all that is great about Empower,” said President and COO Rob FitzGerald. “She’s tough with a heart of gold who is fiercely loyal. She has an eye for talent and immediately recognizes a future executive of Empower and nurtures their growth,” he said.

Cathy’s ambitious, fierce and loyal approach to Media is what makes her an Adweek 2020 Media All Star.

About Empower Media

America’s largest woman-owned media agency

Our advantage is simple: Clients first – not shareholders.

From the day we opened our doors in 1985, Empower has always challenged the media status quo.

Empower is a highly awarded and respected media agency. We are a multi-year recipient of “Agency of the Year” from MediaPost and Campaign US with honors from Ad Age and Adweek.

Our senior and experienced integrated team of Communications Strategy, Media Innovation, Media Planning and Buying, Creative, Marketing Scientists, Influencer Marketing and Data-Analytics work in collaboration on our client’s business daily.

Empower’s client tenure rate is unmatched–3X the industry average. Our clients include Tempur Sealy, Wendy’s, Brooks Running, Fifth Third Bank, Gorilla Glue, O'Keeffe's, E.W. Scripps, Jack Link’s, VTech, Bush Brothers, Zaxby’s, GNC, Famous Footwear, Ashley, LIXIL, O-Cedar, Rust-Oleum and RoC Skincare.

Empower Media is woman-run (67% female) and woman-owned – making it the largest woman-owned media agency in America.

Our offices are in Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, New York, Houston and Palm Beach.

Find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and online.

Adweek Empower Press Release

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Marketing

Marketing Shifts in Light of Coronavirus

The day-to-day swirl and possible reactions to the changes surrounding COVID-19 give all of us in marketing more than enough to do. The bigger concern is in doing it right, whatever “it” might be.

Some of our team leaders across the Media, Message, and Measurement spaces share their perspective below on how to navigate the storm.

Media

There are some notable truths from the early reactions to COVID-19:

People are spending more time with most media, particularly screen-based media (e.g. TV, social, digital usage up + double digits).
Yet new programming, particularly for the big-screen, has largely been put on hold (e.g. sporting events cancelled, TV’s “upfront” season postponed with lack of new content, reality shows halting production).
Some categories are pulling out of advertising in the short-term (e.g. travel, tourism, hospitality, airlines).
Yet others are looking to invest (e.g. grocery, delivery services, pharmacies, quick-service restaurants, cleaning products).

Overall, there is an odd equilibrium emerging as some business and media properties understandingly ebb and flow based on their individual situations. One of the most important things to keep in mind in Media right now is what the horizon looks like. Just ahead of this storm, we will see an unprecedented surge in advertising investment. The juggernaut of political ad spending will lead that surge, but it is also very likely that many advertisers pulling back on spending right now will be looking to get their lost business back at around the same time politics are full throttle. That will create a strong ad selling marketplace, making it rough on advertisers to get the media space they need to drive their business.

In light of the above, Empower teams recommend:

Invest now (in the right channels). Eyeballs are there. Pricing is fair, and there might even be an opportunity to find deals. Advertising builds share of mind over time, which also decays slowly over time. There is a high likelihood that you will need a large stock of share-of-mind going into the back half of 2020, where it will be very difficult and much more expensive to find the eyeballs you need to build that share.
Focus investment in channels that make the most sense in our current reality: TV, social, search, digital, and streaming audio and video.
Shift to a more deal-only investment strategy in radio and out-of-home media, while looking to cancel or get much more favorable pricing for contracts in the short-term.
Feed the algorithms. It is important to know that stopping an algorithmic spend (think social, search, programmatic media) will likely harm your overall advertising effort. AI is brilliant, but isn’t often given a “memory,” which means that shutting things down is starting over. Starting over is bad for performance metrics. If you must, then reduce spend, but avoid turning it off.

While Empower recommends investing now, there are still considerations to be made to the message that runs in advertising and broader marketing efforts in the short term.

Message

This is far from business as usual, so messaging should not be business as usual. There are some key territories to consider leaning into as well as some general Dos and Don’ts to consider for your message.

Message Territories to Explore:

Brand. This is a time to focus more on a brand message than a heavily promotional or product-focused message. Brand messaging also has longer-term impact on share-of-mind, which will help in the advertising surge ahead of the storm.
Transition. Many people are facing new transitions right now. Children moving home or staying home all day. Working from home. Going out much less often. Redefining “staycations.” Explore the role and reality your brand plays in peoples’ transitioning lives.
Local. People’s worldview gets much smaller in times of crisis. There is also comfort in knowing what is happening in one’s community or with one’s neighbors. Explore localized messaging that highlights communities and neighborhoods, or even pulls in employees that live or work nearby.
Giving Back. Where it is natural for a brand, now is a great time to think about ways to give back to the communities you serve. This has to be natural or part of an ongoing effort in order to be authentic, but getting this message right can lift up both your brand and the people you serve.

With Media & Message running together appropriately, there are also important implications to Measurement.

Measurement

In the current and rapidly changing environment it’s more difficult to know how to market in a way that will protect your brand’s current and long-term health. Marketers are faced with both supply chain limitations and changing consumer dynamics that lend to unprecedented disruption in a highly dynamic but generally predictable and certainly ‘measured’ space. For each brand the impact of this event will be different. Some brands will see enormous short-term spikes in sales. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer and canned goods are experiencing never seen before short term sales growth. Other brands will struggle under travel restrictions and temporary closures. What remains constant is a desire to understand how to redirect today in order to protect tomorrow. We are all in search of the data that will help us make the right decisions, which rely on Measurement.

These are the most salient points to keep in mind around Measurement right now:

Keep measuring: There is a lot of research and measurement that remains important and will continue to be relevant for your brand. As an example, if you have a primary research study in place to measure the impact of sales or foot traffic, you may not get the best metrics in the 1st half of 2020 but there are many other valuable metrics such as awareness and brand sentiment that will be important and can help guide near term and longer term planning.
- For A/B testing or ‘lift’ type measurement, keep in mind that both the control and exposed are matched on demographics and/or category behavior. As such, both groups will have similar representation of consumers who have changed buying patterns or brand sentiment as a result of our current environment. This will limit any bias in the measurement. These types of measurements become much more important now as they are real time indicators of consumer actions and sentiment and can offer insight to guide decisions around marketing execution.
- Where marketers will need to pull back is against measurement requiring in-person participation. Focus groups and on-site analysis will be limited and should be minimized in lieu of virtual communities, bulletin boards and mobile/virtual ethnographies.
Keep a long-term vision: Short term volatility is high and unlikely to help provide sustainable direction. As such, be conservative in extreme measures but adjust as necessary to protect annual spend and brand equity. Measurement tools such as marketing mix should be used for forecasting and scenario planning. Existing mix outputs can be used as long as the planning framework is accounting for disruption variables.
- For planned marketing mix work that will include 2020 sales data, ensure the model platform incorporates data to measure the impact of coronavirus. Metrics such as % positive tests, which can be obtained from the CDC and includes regional and weekly variation will improve model stability and better read the changes to marketing that are driven by the marketing execution. This also holds true for store closures or gaps in distribution. Be sure ongoing measurement includes a holistic view of the environmental challenges we are facing now.
- Measurement tools should continue to anchor short- and long-term marketing decisions. As marketers, we have learned to be flexible and nimble in a dynamic media environment.

Keep a pulse on your brand by ensuring you have appropriate messaging, in the right media and the measurement savvy to support brand changes. As our POV and guidance change on Media, Message, and Measurement, our Empower teams will commit to sharing those with you to help inform your own POV and actions in this uncertain time.

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News

3CDC, P&G and Empower Gift Card Drive Hits Goal in Less Than 24 Hours

Organizations Actively Working to Secure Additional Matching Funds.

CINCINNATI (April 3, 2020) – Yesterday at noon, Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), P&G and Empower launched the Cincy Card Connection program in an effort to alleviate some of the strain downtown Cincinnati businesses are facing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three organizations pooled together $37,500 in funds to serve as a matching fund for gift cards purchased at local businesses, with the goal of doubling the money into $75,000 of direct cash infusion to Downtown businesses.

While the organizations were hopeful the program would prove successful, it fully exceeded their expectations. Less than 24 hours after the program’s initial launch, the funds have been depleted.

“Cincinnatians always come together in times of need, and the generosity they have shown to Downtown businesses through this program has been one more example of this community stepping up to support its own,” Steve Leeper, President and CEO of 3CDC said.

As all the current matching funds have been exhausted, matches on gift card purchases will be paused until the organizations are able to determine next steps for the program.

The organizations are actively working to raise additional funds to continue the program, and will share an update as soon as possible.

Individuals or companies interested in donating to the matching fund can visit www.donorbox.org/cincy-card-connection or contact Joe Rudemiller at 513-253-9088.

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Influencer

Small Steps Can Make a Big Difference for Your Social Media Audience

COVID-19’s omnipresence on the news, Internet and social media is impossible to ignore. As a result, in the past 10 days, Social Media usage has noted a steep increase.

Some visit social for an escape, for the latest news or to simply to see what others are doing, cooking and entertaining themselves during this time. In other words, Social Media is helping consumers connect with news, content and each other from home. As marketers, it’s essential to take the responsible path when managing brands’ social media campaigns. It is expected that social media activity will be increasing these next few months. Organic posts – as well as paid social media advertising campaigns – will be exposed to a new, larger set of relevant and engaged viewers. This opens up the opportunity to earn new customers previously unreached by alternative channels while continuing to connect with long-time followers.

5 Simple Ways to Meaningfully Connect With Your Consumers Today:

1. Share Positivity with Purpose-Driven Messaging. By taking a positive spin on your brand and helpful tone for your community, customers and employees, your brand can stand out from any contextual negativity and provide an uplifting break in the clouds.

Cadillac is a great example of a company taking this approach with their “We have your back” campaign across digital media, highlighting their commitment by giving customers complimentary OnStar Crisis Assist services and in-vehicle Wi-Fi for all customers with the available features.

2. Build Community Engagements. In this time of isolation, consumers may be seeking opportunities to connect, whether with brands or each other. Inviting conversations with audiences, and importantly, replying with a positive message, offer a simple way for those looking for connection. One step further? Create virtual connection opportunities, whether through a playlist, a walking group or even a live chat or lesson.

3. Display a Calm Tone. Brands should leverage a calm, collective tone of voice. Instead of highlighting sales or limited-time offers with exclamation points and all-caps, stand out in the marketplace by ensuring that your brand is available and willing to help in any way possible to your consumers. Be forward, direct and confident. In times like these, a brand’s tone of voice can truly speak volumes.

4. Make it Personal with Customer Service. With widespread uncertainty comes a heightened need for expanded customer service. Whether this means shipping delays, altered store hours or letting consumers know where to find your products, being proactive with social-first customer service will allow your current and future customers to see your brand’s dedication to its consumers. Consider taking advantage of tools like Facebook Messenger to automatically answer individual consumer questions in a way that feels personal. Social Media Examiner, a reliable outlet for all things social media, has a great article on how to use Messenger for customer service.

5. Keep it Going. A brand’s presence in the algorithm depends on its presence. Shutting down social now will make it harder to get back in later. Maintaining your cadence, updating with positive, purpose-driven messages, inviting engagement and sharing updates on your own supply end are all viable content strategies that can help ensure you have a meaningful presence in the coming weeks.

As social distancing and isolation become more commonplace for the foreseeable future, budgets, plans, and strategies will shift. Having plans – and appropriate action – in place now can reassure consumers that your brand is here to help. The situation we find ourselves in will eventually pass. When that time comes, things will need to change again. The next round of adjustments will be crucial to give your business the best shot at success. It’ll help that you were always around with the best intentions.

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Media

What Does Measurement Mean to Marketers During Covid-19?

In this rapidly changing environment, it’s increasingly difficult to know how to market in a way that will protect your brand’s current and long-term health.

Marketers are simultaneously facing supply chain limitations and changing consumer dynamics, both lending to unprecedented disruption in a highly dynamic – but generally predictable – and certainly ‘measured’ space.

For each brand, the impact will be different. Some will see enormous short-term spikes in sales. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer and canned goods are experiencing never-before-seen short term sales growth. Other brands will struggle under travel restrictions and temporary closures. What remains constant is a desire to understand how to redirect today in order to protect tomorrow. We’re all searching for the data that will help us make the right decisions.

There are three key areas marketers must consider: Messaging, Media and Measurement. While this article focuses primarily on Measurement, there are a couple of consistent themes being touted around Messaging and Media that are important to reiterate.

Messaging

In times of uncertainty, remind consumers about brand purpose. Communicate strength and solidarity. Avoid humor or a focus on promotions and innovations. Guinness leveraged a strong heritage in St. Patrick’s Day to assure consumers, “we know this year things feel different…don’t worry, we’ll march again.”

Media

Most media channels are up noting viewership growth with each passing week. If adjusting marketing dollars, think about both the national and local conditions where advertising is being placed and default to appropriate messaging for locked buys.

Measurement

Keep Measuring – There is a lot of research and measurement that remains important and will continue to be relevant for your brand. For example, if you have a primary research study in place to measure the impact of sales or foot traffic, you may not get the best metrics for this in the first half of 2020, but there are many other valuable metrics like awareness and brand sentiment that will be important to guiding near and long term planning.

For A/B testing or ‘lift’ type measurement, keep in mind both control and exposed are matched on demographics and/or category behavior. As such, both groups will have similar representation of consumers who have changed buying patterns or brand sentiment as a result of our current environment. This will limit any bias in the measurement. These types of measurements become much more important now as they are real-time indicators of consumer actions and sentiment and can offer insight to guide decisions around marketing execution.

Where marketers will need to pull back is measurement requiring in-person participation. Focus groups and on-site analysis will be limited and should be minimized in lieu of virtual communities, bulletin boards and mobile/virtual ethnographies.

Keep a Long-Term Vision – Short term volatility is high and unlikely to help provide sustainable direction. As such, be conservative in extreme measures but adjust as necessary to protect annual spend and brand equity. Measurement tools such as marketing mix should be used for forecasting and scenario planning. Existing mix outputs can be used as long as the planning framework is accounting for disruption variables.

For planned marketing mix work that will include 2020 sales data, ensure the model platform incorporates data to measure the impact of coronavirus. Metrics such as percent of positive tests, which can be obtained from the CDC and includes regional and weekly variation, will improve model stability and better read the changes to marketing that are driven by the marketing execution. This also holds true for store closures or gaps in distribution. Be sure ongoing measurement includes a holistic view of the environmental challenges we are facing now.

Measurement tools should continue to anchor short and long-term marketing decisions. As marketers, we have learned to be flexible and nimble in a dynamic media environment. Keep a pulse on your brand by ensuring you have appropriate messaging in the right media with the measurement savvy to support brand changes.

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