How can advertisers overcome the challenges of a festive season like no other?

As we head into what is expected to be a particularly tricky period for brands seeking to grow or maintain revenue, we must be clear: it’s not all doom and gloom. With every challenge comes an opportunity – advertisers who are willing to innovate, pivot and adjust in uncertain times can thrive.

It was against this backdrop that Criteo brought together experts from OMG Unite, VCCP, Craft Media and ITV at The Drum Labs as part of its Brunch Time Briefs to explore the opportunities for advertising over the next quarter, in a panel discussion moderated by Andrew Busby, global retail industry leader, Software AG.

Setting the scene for the conversation, Phil Fernandes, senior marketing manager, Criteo spoke of how we’ve come through interesting and challenging times that no-one had any control over, but that it has also brought lots of opportunity for advertisers.

“The impending demise of cookies has brought a huge amount of collaboration from across the industry. As a marketer, you’ve had to consider what you’re going to be doing with your first party data and it’s opened up a whole new set of jobs and opportunities, things that we can control. Going into lockdown, marketers and agencies had to address a whole new set of circumstances and ways of planning media; retailers suddenly had to take advantage of the wide open web to be able to deliver their goods. Those businesses who pivoted and adjusted to these new realities have been able to thrive in this context.

“Now, as we navigate this next period, times remain interesting and uncertain and we’re looking at a world which might be very different and consumer behavior that might be very different. As marketers, agencies and publishers, there are obstacles to face but there’s a real opportunity to use data effectively to capitalize on the opportunities that Q4 2022 presents.”

Hold your nerve

Brands are desperately trying to find meaning, said Rob Sellers, head of retail, VCCP, but to achieve this higher purpose, the best thing they can do for their customer is “deliver them acute purpose.”

“The danger is to look at spikes and change everything,” he explained. “Most successful brands going through digital, experience and purpose transformation face a new competitor set from businesses that aren’t as tactical. This winter will be about choices and how we can stick to the long-term commitment and strategy around the customer. Those businesses who are good at holding their nerve and understand where they are going will see the best uplift.”

“[This season will be] about shrinking the fight and doing more with less,” added Sally Weaver, founder, Craft Media. “Do one thing super well rather than see budget disappear into the ether because it’s stretched too thinly. Those who are nimble, agile and making strategic decisions rather than kneejerk reactions will be best placed to overcome the challenges.”

Economic pressure is going to affect everyone. Events like Black Friday are already less impactful as an individual event as the novelty starts to wear off. Data from Criteo shows that last autumn, the average time between a first page view and a purchase was 16 days, with one in four consumers taking as many as 45 days. Seasonal shopping is getting earlier and earlier, and consumers are making much more conscious decisions about what they buy and where they buy it. From a retail perspective, this makes it difficult for retailers to place their bets on what will be the most acute moments. But we know that they are looking for proximity, ease and convenience.

Bring value to the table

“The moment of choice is much more conscious than it would have been,” said Sellers. “People are shopping with more emotion. Advertisers need to make sure that the creative on the media is as smart and disruptive as possible. Be there for the customer, be on their side. There can’t be a disconnection between brand and culture. Brands play a role in people’s lives and people need them more than ever.”

The role of advertisers in this context should be to be empathetic and ask customers how they can make their lives easier. Brands need to bring value to the table and be seen as responsible to win the market, added Serhat Ekinci, managing director, OMG Unite.

An omnichannel approach will be key for advertisers who can really understand the role that each channel plays in the mix to be able to execute as seamlessly as possible with the right message in the right place, making sure that message is clear and relevant to the individual customer.

“Brands make mistakes when they look at data through a stereotypical lens like age, gender, sexual orientation,” said Ekinci. “Christmas is celebrated very differently by different communities. There’s an opportunity to merge first party data with third party data to create plans that are more relevant to each community to drive relevance. Retail media has a huge amount of data that can feed into media plans and geolocation, which is a missed opportunity that people don’t think about.”

But to use data effectively, Sellers noted that brands need to “show their customers there’s a reason and make sure to use first party data to be about the customer, not yourself.”

“Think about your first party data strategy and the opportunity it presents further up the funnel with more personalized recommendations and content experiences,” added Jayesh Rajdev, controller of AdLabs and advanced advertising, ITV and DE&I champion at Media For All.

Share in the moment

What also makes this year different is that we’ll see a huge amount of noise in the marketing space with the FIFA World Cup shifting to November/December. With that, comes an opportunity to captivate the nation and be part of an experience that everyone is talking about. This, Rajdev says, is a unique factor for retailers and brands to capitalize and productively utilize that attention alongside the seasonal uplift in purchase.

“For brands, sport is a unique opportunity baked into pop culture to create moments of joy,” he said. “It just so happens that now it’s much closer to Christmas so it’s about how you factor for those and share in the moment. Being available and delivering value in that context is paramount.”

The world is different, consumer behaviors are different. If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that in times of uncertainty, brands and retailers who innovate and adopt a nimble, customer-centric strategy can be there for customers when they need them most and capitalize on the opportunities through smart use of first- and third-party data.

Watch the highlights video from the panel discussion above.