Finally, an actual use case for Augmented Reality
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You probably weren’t expecting to read about luggage this summer. Neither was I.
Until I read about how an online retailer of bags, eBags, got 112% increase in mobile conversions AND a drop in customer returns all because of using AR (Augmented Reality).
Pokemon Go started the AR craze but the reality of it, so far, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype.
Many brands have been playing around with the tech but everyday use is still lacklustre.
In the meantime, it’s nice to see what we can expect from AR in e-commerce.
Google's 3D ad-format is coming out of beta.
And it’ll be available to everyone.
Not to mention that the greater influence of Amazon in e-commerce isn’t leaving brands much choice other than to set up shop in the marketplace.
More Amazon, though, means smaller margins. Plus putting all your eggs in one basket isn’t strategic.
Creative solutions are how you can make your own ecommerce site attractive to customers.
And AR makes it easier for customers to experience the product in a more complete way – as they would in a physical store – which is never a bad idea.
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Not selling on Amazon? Advertise there anyway
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This Merkle marketing exec has a point.
Besides becoming the world's go-to place for buying things conveniently at low prices, Amazon is wooing brands who aren't selling on Amazon to advertise with them.
Particularly, they're trying to get you on Amazon DSP.
Which is built with the philosophy baked into anything they do: one ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the Amazon network bind them.
Amazon DSP allows you to programmatically buy display, video, and audio ads. On and off Amazon.
What's the carrot?
That sweet, sweet Amazon first-party data.
Even if you're not selling on Amazon, you can use their data from millions of purchases to develop more targeted campaigns.
They know it all: from travel pillows to car wax, from sports merch to movies, gadgets, diapers and books.
Ad-spend on Amazon DSP is on the rise.
And according to this report awareness and consideration campaigns received more budget last year than tactical campaigns.
And while you're at it, Amazon Posts is currently available for free, too. At least while it's still in beta.
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Media planning and autumn 2020
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Research from the US suggests that the effects of the pandemic may outlast the lifting of restrictions if people who got fired can't find new jobs.
Even as Europe is slowly trying to return to normal, economists estimate that the economy won't fully recover until Q3 2021.
A GWI survey showed that people, especially in countries like Italy and Spain, want brands to return to normality.
But 'normal' doesn't mean what it used to and there aren't any comparisons available. Not even with 2008.
Media planning is based on audience behaviour.
While we know that several habits learnt during the pandemic are likely to stick around, there's no forecasting tool to tell us how people will behave in the months to come.
The fear of a second wave of COVID is a real threat. Especially since the virus is still ravaging the US and Brazil.
You probably don't have money to waste, so here's my advice.
Doesn't matter if you're an agency or in-house marketing team. Survey says (GWI & Twitter), that people are inclined towards promotions and discounts right now.
The smart thing to do is to answer these:
- How has the pandemic influenced your audience?
- In what ways to their lives look different today?
- How have their purchase drivers and priorities changed?
Instead of planning months-long campaigns, go agile.
Plan short campaigns, focus on your audience, keep testing and improving.
Now's the time to bring your empathy and put it at the forefront of every communication you send out.
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Markets are fickle but marketers don't need to be
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Snap Chat adds 9 million new users and 17% increase in revenue – but falls behind analyst expectations.
During the lockdown, Snap Chat introduced a slew of new features around AR and reported a 37% increase in user engagement with community-generated AR content.
Snap also sees Facebook's recent troubles an opportunity to pitch their own platform as the brand-safe, community-friendly choice.
Not long ago, they rejected Facebook's $3b takeover bid.
Remember 2013 when Snap brushed Facebook's $3bn offer off the table?
In response, Facebook vowed to kill the platform with Instagram Stories – and almost succeeded when Snap Chat's growth came to a standstill in 2018.
But Snap has recently done a lot of growing up by:
- introducing a dedicated app for Android (resulting in an uptick in growth from India)
- adding Brand Profiles (making the platform more mature for advertisers)
- introducing Creator Profiles to highlight content creators (and going against their own policy of not treating influencers differently)
They're sticking to their guns and building a more private social network – a strategy that seems to be paying off in the current climate.
More users mean more ad revenue.
But their growth in the US and EU is stagnating. The majority of their user growth is coming from developing markets.
And it's hard for marketers to find promising platforms when new ones pop up every day.
You'll want to follow this advice to win.
Look for platforms that aren't just introducing new and exciting features, but are also learning from their competitors.
TikTok is a great example.
Despite everyone's best effort, there seems to be no end in sight for their growth.
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That's all from me this week!
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With earning reports coming out all this week, next week's going to be super exciting!
I'll catch you again on Monday!
Have a great weekend,
Aliyar
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