Industry Insights

Supply-chain shortages can really frustrate the flow of business. In the past year, we’ve seen more shortages than ever. According to CNBC, the supply-chain blockages in the production system, “have affected a variety of sectors . . . ranging from shortages of electronics and autos to difficulties in the supplies of meat, medicines and household products.” But shortages in the supply chain don’t mean you have to sit and twiddle your thumbs.

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.

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.

Genius Monkey recently made a blog post about Google’s modifications regarding its cookie guidelines for the digital marketing industry. But hold the presses! Google just announced that it was pushing back its timeline from 2021 to 2023 before they kill third-party tracking cookies, giving the brands a chance to plan for more privacy-conscious targeted ads. So, it appears that marketers may have at least two more years before the cookie cremation happens.

The marketing funnel is a way to visualize and understand the full process of your clients’ journeys from before they even have a spark of a thought that they have a need up until they decide you are the right company to fulfill that need. A full-funnel marketing approach begins at the top of the funnel by driving mass impressions to achieve branding and name recognition. As you move down the funnel, it becomes narrower and the efforts of your marketing become more focused, targeting the most qualified audience with the highest propensity to convert.

Consumers have grown increasingly accustomed to using their mobile devices to research products and make purchases, spending a large portion of their day using their phones. On average, smartphone users in 2019 spent three and a half hours per day on their mobile devices, with nearly a third of users reporting near continual time spent online. At the same time, the number of U.S. adults owning a smartphone has rapidly grown, from 35% in 2011 to 85% in 2021.

Over the last few years, there have been several changes to how browsers handle first and third-party cookies. And now it looks like it might be time to say goodbye to third-party cookies for good. Yet the largest internet browser, Google Chrome, just announced that it is delaying its rollout of removing cookie tracking from mid 2022 until mid 2023 in an attempt to make sure they get things right.

Marketers from all industries agree that a cohesive customer journey across all touch points and channels is essential. The classic customer journey map, however, is no longer applicable in our ever-evolving digital environment. Why? Because the consumer journey is no longer a straight line. Today’s customer journey is much more complex than ever before. Non-linear journeys are the new normal Today’s modern buyers are in control. Due to the plethora of information available on the internet and the ability to connect with nearly everyone in the world, customers are no longer following a linear customer journey path with a clear start, center and end.