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When Motorola researcher Martin Cooper made the first ever mobile phone call on April 3, 1973, he used it to get a rise out of his R&D rival at Bell Labs. If he were doing it today, more than likely it would be via a text message. Pick your emoji of choice. At least that’s what a new consumer research study suggested. The survey was commissioned by customer communications cloud services provider Sinch to find out how U.S. consumers use their phones today. advertisement advertisement The full findings won’t be released until Monday, but a nice communications exec on the Sinch team offered me an early look at one of the top line findings: “TL:DR - texts rank higher,” she said, explaining, “when asked on which channel they'd prefer to converse with a brand, respondents ranked text messages first, followed by voice calls and email.” It may not seem surprising to anyone today that text-based messaging has supplanted the vocal kind, but the real questions should be why, and what are the implications of this finding? I mean, people have been speaking to each other for about 70,000 years, doing it via wired lines for nearly 150, and now wirelessly for 50. By comparison, they’ve been emailing each other for only 52 years, and SMS texting each other for just 30 years. And if you read my “BlackBerry” column last week, you know they’ve been emailing via their phones for only 21 years. So how has that rapid change in the preferred way people communicate influenced how we communicate? And is it better or worse -- or just different? Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/8LweOPA March 30, 2023 at 07:16AM
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MLB Campaign Features Hot Dogs, High Fives - And More Home Runs? https://ift.tt/A2CKeXR Showing off the unique aspects of the sport, a new Major League Baseball brand campaign titled “Baseball Is Something Else” reveals the elements and the intricacies of the game -- everything from the players' batting practice to field preparations and how fans eat hot dogs. The campaign from Wieden+Kennedy -- the league’s new agency of record -- will run across broadcast and cable TV networks, digital media and virtual pay TV providers, as well in ballparks and out-of-home platforms. The centerpiece of the campaign features a one-minute commercial of video slices that show fans getting their tickets scanned on their mobile phones, baseballs and bats placed; players' exercise preparation and flags unfolded -- all as vocalists offscreen perform an a cappella version of Rossini's "William Tell Overture." The campaign also features fans catching home-run balls in batting practice, fans giving high fives to players, and celebrities and other people throwing out the first pitches. advertisement advertisement Other more player- and celebrity-centric short-form videos will feature MLB star players -- Tim Anderson, Nestor Cortes, Blake Snell, Jose Trevino, Daniel Vogelbach and Joey Votto, as well as entertainers Bryan Cranston and Sebastian Maniscalco. All will debut on social-media platforms. Another spot, called “62,” features New York Yankees star Aaron Judge's record-breaking season a year ago when he scored 62 home runs, besting Yankees Roger Maris, with the 61-home-run mark set in 1961. New rules will be introduced this season to speed up the game, including a pitch timer, defensive shift limits and bigger bases. During spring-training games this season, the league says the new rules shorten the average game by 26 minutes versus spring-training games a year ago. There was more action as well, including more average stolen bases -- 1.8 per game versus 1.1 per game. A year ago, national TV games on ten different networks pulled in an estimated $385.7 million in advertising revenue and 26.4 billion impressions, according to iSpot.tv. Opening day for Major League Baseball begins March 30, with 15 games featuring all 30 MLB teams. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/8LweOPA March 29, 2023 at 11:23PM
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Should Marketers Consider ByteDance's Instagram-Like App Lemon8? https://ift.tt/NycYCML As TikTok faces a potential ban in the U.S., its parent company ByteDance is planning a global marketing push for the launch of Lemon8, its own Instagram/Pinterest-like app that will initially focus on products and topics like fashion, healthy food and wellness. Lemon8 has been available in select Asian countries since 2020 and is available to download now. It quietly rolled out in the U.S. in February of this year and this week reached the Top 10 for overall app downloads on Apple’s App Store. According to notes and materials reviewed by The New York Times, Lemon8 claims TikTok as its “sister company” and uses the same recommendation engine, or algorithm, that has made TikTok so popular among brands and advertisers, not to mention the billion-plus people who use it worldwide. With hundreds of U.S.-based creators already signed up to advertise on Lemon8, ByteDance will instruct them how and what to post over the coming months. April, for example, will include a phase called “content accumulation.” In May, the company says it will focus on adding users and helping creators gain a following. In September, Lemon8 will showcase “commercialization opportunities” via brand and agency deals. advertisement advertisement Lemon8 shared presentations with marketing agencies in January that identified its “ideal creator portrait” as a 22 to 26-year-old woman in the New York or Los Angeles area with a focus on fashion or beauty, The Times reported. In February, three influencer told Insider that ByteDance has been paying them to post on Lemon8, a move that Social Media Today thinks could eventually make the app “a showcase of influencer-recommended products, for which those influencers could get paid a commission on sales generated by their posts.” That is, if U.S. regulators don’t include the app in its current discussion of a national TikTok ban. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/8LweOPA March 29, 2023 at 05:12PM
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Sendinblue Launches Chat, Conversation Tool https://ift.tt/iZBYlmW
Digital marketing platform Sendinblue is offering a new feature that allows customers to turn interactions into sales opportunities while granting access to Live Chat, Chatbot and a multichannel inbox.
The new product, Conversations, provides a mobile app for iOS and Android through which users can respond to customer inquiries on the go. In addition, the Chat Widget helps teams program different scenarios to automate answers to frequently asked questions, and conduct live chat with web visitor. And, marketers can use the multichannel to receive and reply to all email, Live Chat, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp conversations in one spot. “According to Forrester Research, 53% of customers abandon their shopping carts if they can't find the quick answers while browsing a brand’s website,” says Steffen Schebesta, CEO of North America and vice president of corporate development at Sendinblue. advertisement advertisement Schebesta adds that conversational marketing enables brands to deepen relationships with customers and “immediately respond to new prospects so that intent turns to conversion.”
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/8LweOPA March 29, 2023 at 05:12PM
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How Brands Can Use Humor To Connect https://ift.tt/p5Gwzgd I love to surround myself with friends who have a great sense of humor. The only downside to hanging out with people that make me laugh is when they make me laugh too hard. So now I just carry extra underwear when I'm going to see them. The upside is that I’m constantly inspired by these friends -- and honestly, who wants to spend time with people who are boring or lack personality? The same goes for advertising. There’s a ton of information on how to use humor in advertising and why and how it works, but brands rarely get it right. For one thing, it takes a deep understanding of audiences and some real insight to use humor well. When humor works the way it should, it’s typically magnifying a truth about the product, or magnifying a pain point. And it’s funny as hell. advertisement advertisement My advice: If funny isn't your thing, hire someone with a comedic track record as opposed to doing it yourself. The Super Bowl this year was a perfect example of how cringeworthy ads can be when they’re not funny. I kept waiting for an ad to make me laugh, but most missed the mark and were a waste of money, time, and talent. Take T-Mobile’s ad with Bradley Cooper, for example. T-Mobile thought watching Bradley and his mother laugh was enough to make us laugh, but it fell almost as flat as Bradley’s hairdo. And as much as I hate to admit it, I’m a little less of a fan of him now. If you can use common sense and not offend your audience, there are plenty of reasons to use humor in your messaging. Humor is linked to higher memory recall, making your message easier for your target audience to remember. Humor elicits emotional appeal, which in turn helps to build trust and have your brand be seen as more relatable. It’s estimated that Americans are exposed to thousands of ads each day. At some point, we start screening what to engage with, and ignore what doesn’t personally interest us. But we’re still likely to pay attention to brands we feel “get” us. As an advertiser, your focus should be on cutting through the clutter. Using humor to build a strategically provocative, yet tasteful, voice is one of the best ways to do just that. Otherwise, you’re just spending your money to put out another ad that’s most likely going to be ignored. Advertising that is ignored doesn’t sell your product or service, and can leave audiences being less of a fan -- and that’s not funny at all. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/pKAm1fR March 29, 2023 at 02:11PM
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Marketing Growth: Plummets For Budgets, Slows For Digital Marketing Spend https://ift.tt/k285UY7 Email staffs must be feeling the pressure. The average digital marketing spend has increased by only 8.8% YoY -- a 45% drop from the 15% jump seen last year, according to this year’s CMO survey, a collaboration between Deloitte LLP, the Duke University/Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association. But overall marketing budgets are in the worst shape — with spending growth falling by 72% during the same period, to show an increase of only 2.9%. As to why, 52.2% of marketers say inflation is decreasing marketing spending levels, while 16.% claim it is driving an increase and 34.1% say it has had no impact. Pure-play internet brands are the least affected — 47.1% those that draw 100% of their revenue online say inflation has had no effect, while 29.4% report decreased spending and 23.% have seen an increase. Marketing now claims only 12.3% of company budgets, but its percentage compared to revenues rose to 10.9%. advertisement advertisement Meanwhile, digital is now drawing 53.8% of the average marketing budget. The biggest digital spenders are in the education (75.5%), technology (65.7%) and healthcare 64.6%). The B2B product sector devotes 56.6% of its marketing budget to digital, B2B services allots 50%, B2C product 55.1% and B2C services 52.8%. Other reports show that email is down in fourth place in budget allotments even while its performance remains high. Where are the marketing dollars going? For one thing, into mobile. Mobile now draws an average of 19% of the average budget, compared to the 18.7% projected last year. Moreover, firms that do 50%+ of their sales via the Internet are now spending 30% on mobile, and expect that to rise to 50% in the next five years. This is occurring despite the fact that on a scale of 1 to 7, mobile draws only a 3.2 score in contributing to company performance in the past year. The study states that “mobile marketing contributions to company performance remain weak over time, despite higher investments.” Social media is also getting more money. It has risen by 17%, and is projected to rise by 26.4% in five years. Even firms with no internet sales forecast they will devote 10% to 20% of their budgets to social in the next half decade.
The researchers surveyed 314 marketers from January 10-February 1, 2023. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/pKAm1fR March 29, 2023 at 12:45PM
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Shopify Deal With Google Cloud Lets Customers Embed Google Search, Browsing https://ift.tt/mgbclBW When U.S. consumers believe they have experienced a successful search on a retail website, 92% will purchase the item. Some 78% also purchase at least one additional item. In addition,on average, the consumer will purchase three additional items after a successful search, according to a Google Cloud-commissioned Harris Poll survey of nearly 13,500 adults. The results of the survey, fielded last last year, support Google Cloud’s integration with Shopify announced this week. The partnership lets Shopify customers embed Google-quality search and browsing capabilities into their ecommerce websites and mobile apps using Shopify Commerce Components and Google Cloud’s Discovery AI for Retail. The integration is available to the more than 2 million Shopify merchants globally. Rainbow Shops, a Shopify merchant and retail apparel chain with more than 1,000 stores, adopted the feature early on after experiencing limitations with other search and product discovery solutions. advertisement advertisement The early tests found that Google Cloud's solution could deliver helpful results to an assortment of test queries each time. The company also experienced an immediate reduction in the amount of time and effort its teams spent on manually refining search results, creating redirects, and pulling up to 50 other levers to get useful results. This integration aims to give Shopify customers the tools to combat search abandonment -- when a shopper searches for a product on a retailer’s website or mobile app, but doesn’t find the items. Google estimates search abandonment costs retailers more than $2 trillion annually globally, and more than $234 billion in the U.S. alone. The Google Cloud-commissioned survey was conducted with nearly 13,500 adults ages 18 and older in 14 countries who have visited a retail website and used the search function in the past six months. The survey also found that U.S. shoppers depend on the search function or search box when shopping online. Some 69% said it is the most common way they search for products on retail websites, and 63% said they use general website browsing. About 88% of consumers say a good search function is very important or absolutely essential when visiting a retail website. The study also found that some 78% of U.S. consumers and 72% globally said they are less loyal to a brand when it’s difficult to find what they want on a website. Some 81% in the U.S. and 80% global say that after an unsuccessful search experience on a retail website they are more likely to leave the site and purchase the item elsewhere. About 82% in the U.S. and 77% global say they avoid websites where they have experienced search difficulties in the past. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/pKAm1fR March 29, 2023 at 10:13AM
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The Difference Between Zero-Party, First-Party & Third-Party Data https://ift.tt/9iSjkM0 We know — and even expect — brands to understand us and offer up personalized experiences. (And at this point, isn’t it annoying when a brand obviously doesn’t “get” us?) While we’ve seen a major shift from third-party to first-party data over the past few years, the latest trend now relies on zero-party data. And, if used correctly, it will become the most powerful source of buyer information. Quick definitionsBefore we dive much further, let’s quickly recap the different data sources:
Third-party data is more limited than everThird-party data used to reign supreme. It was easy to rely on the data of tech giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook — with access to hundreds of millions of users — for targeted advertising. But that changed with increased scrutiny over privacy. GDPR was implemented in 2018, fundamentally changing how individuals can control access to their data in the EU. Apple introduced user privacy options in iOS 14.5 and higher, where users could choose how their data is tracked. And Google has announced its intention to phase out third-party cookies by the end of 2024. Marketers have realized that they cannot rely on third-party data in the future, and that it's better to collect the data — in some form — themselves.First-party data makes assumptionsFirst-party data can range from simple web analytics to in-depth product analytics that track every step of the user journey. It can be used for retargeting, personalized experiences, finding that “sticky” factor, and more. First-power data powers the experiences we expect — like Netflix’s “More Items to Explore” recommendations. First-party data goes far deeper than third-party data because it looks at user behavior. Rather than placing users into buckets based on characteristics, first-party data relies on what users do on your website and within your product. Do they spend two minutes looking at a product page? They’re probably thinking about a purchase. Do they click around to a lot of different screens during a free trial? They’re probably trying to see if it’s a good fit and maybe worth a paid subscription. The key here is “probably.” Marketers still need to look at those behaviors and interpret what they mean. Sometimes, the intent is obvious. Other times, it’s speculation. The data can get really complicated, really fast — particularly on the B2B buying journey. [bctt tweet="“First-party data can range from simple web analytics to in-depth product analytics that track every step of the user journey.” — Katelyn Drake @KB_Drake" username="toprank"]Zero-party data truly shows buyer intentWe’ve been talking about the future of SEO and an intent-based marketing strategy a lot lately. Gathering and utilizing zero-party data layers in even more insights to inform that intent approach, giving brands a deeper understanding of a potential buyer’s goals and intentions before they make an engagement or purchase decision. Brands can use that data to tailor messages and offerings for each individual customer on a much higher level than ever before. What’s the best way to determine a buyer’s interest in your product? Ask directly. Forrester Research coined the phrase “zero-party” data with the definition: "Zero-party data is that which a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand. It can include preference center data, purchase intentions, personal context, and how the individual wants the brand to recognize [them]." Zero-party data is the information a consumer willingly shares with a brand, helping brands boost customer trust, personalization, and loyalty. You might collect zero-party data from a survey, chatbot, or profile information or other form fill. You’re collecting very specific information that you can use to target the buyer, such as “What brought you to our site today?” — with a few different selections. It’s even more credible and trustworthy than even first-party data because it removes the guesswork about the buyer journey. And it can reduce marketing waste because you know exactly what the buyer wants. But zero-party data should be collected sparingly and used strategically. You can’t ask an individual customer to complete a 20-question survey or answer a pop-up on every website page of your website. And your follow-through has to be spot-on: if customers share their preferences and then don’t receive a personalized experience, they’ll wonder why they shared anything. Know what to ask, when to ask, and what questions will drive the most value. [bctt tweet="“First-party data goes far deeper than third-party data because it looks at user behavior. Rather than placing users into buckets based on characteristics, (it) relies on what users do on your website and within your product.” — @Forrester" username="toprank"]Think beyond the initial purchaseZero-party data should be an ongoing strategy and part of your full-funnel lead gen approach . Whether you’re looking for repeat purchases, upsells, or customer retention, you can always consider ways to get into the minds of your customers. That might mean an email campaign asking about customer satisfaction that you can use to personalize future offers. Or you can craft a survey and offer an entry into a giveaway in exchange for answering a few questions. These asks should always have the same goal: to create elevated and personalized content experiences for everyone in your market, no matter where they are in the decision-making funnel. The use of zero-party data should never feel forced. Instead, you’re showing customers that you understand — and respect — their buying decisions. Learn more about crafting great B2B content experiences with our new free guide, Marketing with Intent: The Future of SEO & B2B Search Traffic.The post The Difference Between Zero-Party, First-Party & Third-Party Data appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing,SEO via Hubspot https://ift.tt/tRnTvYA March 29, 2023 at 06:33AM
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Google Faces Sanctions For Failing To Preserve Chats https://ift.tt/ozt3NrQ Google will face sanctions for failing to preserve internal “Chat” messages that could be relevant to an antitrust lawsuit pending in the Northern District of California, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. “The court concludes that Google did not take reasonable steps to preserve electronically stored information that should have been preserved in the anticipation or conduct of litigation,” U.S. District Court Judge James Donato said in a 19-page decision. The ruling came in a lawsuit by a coalition of state attorneys general, Epic Games and others that claim Google uses anticompetitive tactics to ensure that developers distribute apps through the Google Play Store. Last year, Epic Games said in court papers that Google violated its obligation to preserve evidence relating to the lawsuit by automatically deleting messages employees sent through the Chat function. Google responded hat it automatically preserves "chat threads within threaded rooms/spaces" in which employees who are obligated to preserve evidence participate, and also told those employees not to use Google Chat to discuss topics relevant to the litigation. advertisement advertisement But Donato found Google's approach to preserving evidence problematic, writing that the testimony showed that Google “left employees largely on their own to determine what Chat communications might be relevant to the many critical legal and factual issues in this complex antitrust litigation.” “The overall propriety of Chat is not in issue here,” Donato wrote. “What matters is how Google responded after the lawsuits were filed, and whether it honored the evidence preservation duties it was abundantly familiar with from countless prior cases. The record establishes that Google fell strikingly short on that score.” Donato plans to issue monetary penalties, and said it would be reasonable for Google to pay fees associated with the motion for sanctions. He also suggested he could issue non-monetary penalties that could affect Google's defense, but said more evidence was needed to determine those penalties. Donato specifically said won't issue “terminating sanctions” -- meaning he won't decide Google should lose the lawsuit due solely to its failure to preserve messages. “This antitrust case will not be decided on the basis of lost Chat communications,” he wrote. “The determination of an appropriate non-monetary sanction requires further proceedings.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/pKAm1fR March 28, 2023 at 04:56PM
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App Happy: Consumers Are Using Them More To Shop, Follow Loyalty Programs https://ift.tt/PcdxSoN Email teams may have noticed an increasing push to get people signed up for retail mobile apps. That’s probably because consumers are using them more, judging by a global study from Airship, conducted with Sapio Research. Of the shoppers surveyed, 33% are using apps more often and 45% have about the same usage as they did last year. Only 13% have decreased their use, while 10% have not utilized apps. At 81%, millennials are using them more or the same as last year, along with 79% of Gen Xers. But Gen Zers and boomers are below the average, both at 72%. High-income households lead with 82% usage, followed by 79% of medium-income and 75% of low-income levels. Globally, the activities seeing the highest growth are:
In the U.S., the uses are as follows:
advertisement advertisement Airship released the initial findings on Tuesday at Shoptalk. Why are consumers opting in to apps? They cite the following benefits in 2023, compared with 2022:
None of this means that email messages and reminders play no part in this. Indeed, Airship supports email, SMS, mobile wallets and other channel activities. And the statistics show that Airship and Sapio Research surveyed 11,000 consumers across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil in February 2023. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/pKAm1fR March 28, 2023 at 04:56PM |
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