Welcome to May’s edition of Impression Picks. This digital marketing roundup serves as some food for thought, brought to you by Impression’s experts and the wider marketing community. Each month, we will highlight an interesting article, share a helpful insight and explore a campaign that’s caught our attention.
Article: Success in ecommerce requires more than a smooth experience. It requires a brand.
Customer experience is important, but the problem for high street retailers rushing to ecommerce may be higher up the funnel.
There’s a lot written about the ‘customer experience’ in ecommerce, and it’s totally valid and a key factor of a successful ecommerce business. However, this stuff is still comparatively new for many brands, not to mention shoppers, and it can be very complicated.
With so many options available, a seamless online shopping experience is no longer enough to guarantee success. Many retail brands aren’t strong enough to thrive online.
Of course, experience is important. Retailers selling online need to get product discovery right, especially when they have a large product range. Conversion is important, too, meaning ease of purchase. And fulfilment and customer service are potentially the most frustrating parts of the whole journey; they need to be predictable and, preferably, swift.
If retailers don’t nail these practical elements of ecommerce they will either lose orders on their website, or lose customers’ trust and their future orders.
But, the experience part may be commoditised over time. For example, recommendation engines and dynamic merchandising are getting easier to ‘plug in’ to ecommerce platforms. So the best way to compete and ensure longevity is through building a brand and making sure the brand is stamped all over the ecommerce experience.
In summary, ecommerce brands need to focus on three core factors to succeed:
1. Look beyond just a smooth experience: While a seamless experience is important, it’s becoming standard. Build a strong brand to differentiate yourself.
2. Prioritise core functions: Ensure product discovery, conversion optimisation, fulfilment, and customer service are excellent. These are crucial for trust and avoiding lost sales.
3. Invest in brand building: Brand is your long-term advantage. Create a strong brand identity and weave it throughout the ecommerce experience for lasting customer connection.
Read the full article in Marketing Week here.
Article reviewed by Yussuf Aamer, Digital Experience Specialist at Impression.
Insight: Retail Media: The fastest growing channel for 2024?
GroupM has predicted that retail media is going to be one of the fastest growing channels, growing by 16% this year, but what challenges lie ahead and how can you prepare to unlock its full potential?
This isn’t the first time I’ve drawn attention to an article about retail media, and I highly doubt it will be the last.
In a world where we’re facing the demise of cookies and increasing restrictions around data usage, retailer data can offer an opportunity to reach valuable audiences in a way that is lawful and efficient.
As consumers, we all give data away to different types of retailers and as we continue to shop with them, they collect more and more data about our buying behaviours and is fast becoming a gold mine for brands – even those whose products aren’t sold in-store can benefit from reaching a desired audience set.
As a snapshot, retail media is exciting because:
- The data is good quality data: retailer data is consented, opted-in and first party.
- Detailed insights & targeting: Data segments can be used both for insights and targeting – beyond the retailers own channels
- “Closed loop” measurement capabilities: actual sales are recorded either in-store or online following exposure to an ad.
However, while this all sounds like a complete dream for marketeers, there are always a few catches or rather challenges to overcome.
- Not everyone is ready: Although many retailers want and are ready to monetise their data, this is not true for all.
- Consistent is key: The dependencies sit on how their data is structured and what types of data can be available, which widely differ across the market.
- Data access: The environments their data sits in can also be many and varied, which can represent a challenge for brands and agencies to be able to access in a simple and unified way.
- Walls are being built: Some larger retailers are also offering managed-service processes, walled-garden-style access to insights and “data plus media” packages to clients.
The idea of retailer data is an exciting and evolving one, and because of that I’m not surprised to see predictions about it becoming one of the fastest growing channels just ahead of OOH and CTV – predicted to grow by 16% and 13% respectively.
As a brand, it’s certainly an intriguing space to watch, and as media agencies, it will be interesting to see how a partnership with retailers can form in order to shape the future of this promising channel and to overcome the current challenges.
If you’re curious to know more about the potential opportunities in the retail media space, I’d recommend giving this article and the original report a quick read.
Insight provided by Rebecca Edwards, Senior Digital Strategist, Impression
Campaign: The Capital One UK Transparent Billboard – Clever Brand Awareness or Effective Education on Repricing?
Brand Awareness vs. Raising Awareness of Repricing
Capital One UK’s Credit Made Clearer campaign is undeniably clever. The striking see-through billboard, which popped up in London’s Victoria Station just last month, effectively conveys the key message of transparency, capturing attention and engaging viewers through visual storytelling. The credit card provider has leveraged this unique OOH experience in a bid to highlight the concept of APR repricing, raising awareness about a relatively unknown issue among consumers, and making it a memorable and impactful initiative.
However, while the campaign succeeds in creating brand awareness, there is a valid question as to whether it accomplishes its self-proclaimed goal of specifically raising awareness about repricing. The campaign emphasises the lack of transparency around APR repricing through its innovative advertising, but it is important to evaluate its effectiveness in educating consumers about the potential increased borrowing costs.
Capital One UK’s research reveals that only 51% of applicants are required to be offered the representative APR, leaving the remaining 49% susceptible to potentially higher rates. This lack of transparency can result in consumers receiving higher interest rates than anticipated when applying for credit. Furthermore, Capital One UK’s findings show that over 1 in 10 adults have experienced receiving a higher interest rate than the representative APR they initially applied for, shedding light on the issue of repricing and its financial impact on consumers.
Despite these insights, the campaign itself does not provide extensive information on repricing or delve into the intricacies of APR calculations. It is important to consider whether this billboard is then sufficient to create a comprehensive understanding of repricing within the broader context of credit products, especially where no call-to-action is featured within the advertising efforts.
To truly achieve its goal of raising awareness about repricing, Capital One UK could complement the Credit Made Clearer campaign with additional educational efforts. This could include providing more detailed information on repricing, APR calculations, and transparent pricing policies through, for example, a scannable QR code. By equipping consumers with a deeper understanding of the factors influencing borrowing costs, Capital One UK can empower them to make more informed financial decisions.
In conclusion, the Capital One UK Transparent Billboard campaign is undoubtedly a clever and impactful marketing initiative that successfully raises brand awareness. However, when evaluating its effectiveness in achieving the self-proclaimed goal of raising awareness specifically about repricing, there is room for improvement through a more comprehensive educational approach.
Campaign reviewed by Alex Kadukova, Senior Paid Social Strategist, Impression.
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