General Marketing

Did you know the story of The Tortoise and the Hare is actually an amazing marketing analogy? Most businesses want to be the Hare—speedy and instantaneous. But in the marketing world, where the race is a conversion cycle, the Tortoise wins every time. Why? Because the tortoise is patient, steady, and smart. We’re sharing our best tips for understanding the conversion cycle, what a typical conversion looks like, and how you can feel more confident in your marketing efforts, from first impressions to final clicks.

Last year, the pandemic turned the world upside down, and it’s not over yet. Marketing shifted, with brands trying new tactics to reach those staying home. Even now, digital changes happen unexpectedly, as new apps pop up, new trends appear, and new marketing strategies take hold. There’s never been a greater need for marketing professionals to be flexible or ready to pivot at any moment. The key to success is planning for what’s ahead.

In marketing and advertising, we know that the more you know, the more you can optimize and succeed. When it comes to attribution and reporting, knowing the full picture about a potential customer can be the difference between landing a solid conversion and losing a crucial lead. While other OTT & Connected TV marketers claim to provide thorough attribution, what you may not know is that they may not be giving you the whole picture.

From Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (which has 50 million viewers), there is no shortage of big events to watch for this holiday season. A 2020 study from Unruly (interviewing Americans) revealed that during the winter season: 51% planned to watch more TV 58% planned to spend more time on the Internet 34% planned to spend more time playing video games Unruly researcher Nick Woodford added, “With more eyeballs on screens, it’s never been more important for brands to get their holiday campaigns right.

Much to the dismay of advertising and marketing agencies, when they hear that their client has a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or high-level marketing manager, they know that there is about to be a serious change. This news will ultimately mean that the new CMO, trying to make swift changes in the eyes of the rest of the C-suite in a radical departure from their predecessor, will clean house and look for a new direction.

The unforeseen upheaval of 2020 has been hard on all industries, but colleges and higher education institutions have taken a particularly rough hit since social distancing and stay-at-home mandates went into place. Without the opportunity to make personal connections, foot traffic has greatly decreased on campus, while many prospective students are now hesitant to enroll in any higher learning programs due to economic uncertainties. With so many unknowns still up in the air, educational institutions have been forced to shift their marketing strategies and re-evaluate their advertising message.

How long do advertisers have to make an impression when they engage an audience online? Not as long as you might think. Marketers typically assume people will watch all of their 15 or 30 second spots or all of their rotating banner ads. But when looking at the data, it seems that’s not always the case. In fact, it rarely ever is. The IAB Digital Video Glossary says a video ad is considered “viewable” if at least 50% of the ad is viewed for two consecutive seconds.

The year of 2020 has been a wild ride and it’s still going strong. This year has thrown marketers from every industry for a loop when it comes to customer patterns and advertising predictability, and while much of what we’ve learned this year has come at a high cost, we’ve learned a plethora of lessons involving consumer behavior, trends and overall ad effectiveness–and savvy marketers are continuing to adapt their campaign strategies accordingly.