technology | John Partilla: Blog about the Digital Space

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July 29, 2017

Spending Power & Millennial-Focused Marketing

Young people have incredible spending power.

With approximately 77 million Millennials worldwide, we know that this subgroup is responsible for $1.3 trillion in annual buying power in the U.S., despite only representing 1.4 percent of the population, said Forbes.

For this reason, the ‘social network generation’ is thoughtful, powerful influencers. This demographic swims and breathes in digital spaces, and now how to market to this group could be a valid career move, According to Neilsen.

With that understood, there are some things you should know about this group, including the fact that opinionated informants and eager players are eager to purchase high-end brands.

No point in attempting to trick millennials. They recognize when they’re being targeted. Rather than composing a campaign that’s generic and swollen with cliches or old marketing tricks, review trends and meet them where they are. Understand that they’re interested in the way a brand associated with politics and activism.

They aren’t rich. Millennials may spend a lot of money, but they aren’t the least bit wealthy. They’ve graduated from college with massive amounts of debt, they can’t afford to purchase homes, and they’re frequently in search of the right getaway. Rather than store away thousands for a home, instead they choose to spend their funds on vacations and concerts.

There’s an apparent thirst for knowledge when it comes to Millennials. This group researches EVERYTHING. They don’t pick up a plate or a product without knowing details about others who bought it and how much they enjoyed it. Personal references are incredibly important to this group.

Frequently they steer clear of big brands and opt for the smaller guy. They search the opinions of micro-influencers, and they examine those recommendations for the next big thing.

Customer services, in the form of chat conversations, are all-important. They reach out over Twitter, SnapChat, and other apps, expecting prompt responses –and they take note when a brand isn’t available 24/7 to meet their concerns.

Because of their varied interests, Millennials love when their favorite influencers, brands, or artists collaborate on projects. They search the web on their numerous devices to find updates about the emergence of new entertainment and move on to the next thing if they find unsatisfying results.

With that said, millennials are continually known for their brand loyalty and their interest in social justice. Is there something we forgot about this demographic? What else should marketers know?

Nielsen, Forbes, and Bloomberg were the primary sources for this blog post.

John Partilla is the CEO of Screenvision, and he’s a veteran of the marketing industry with nearly three decades of experience in a variety of roles. Please read “John Partilla Named Screenvision CEO,” “John Partilla: Screenvision Names Exec CEO – Variety,” “Screenvision Taps John Partilla To Be CEO As It Seeks To Rebuild” and his Screenvision profile to learn more. Also, check out his Crunchbase, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

March 25, 2016

Retail Brands: Selling on Social Media

Among over one hundred billion in eCommerce sales between January and March of this year, around one and a half percent of retail shoppers purchase products via social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Data shows that within that one and a half percent, retail shoppers predominantly used Facebook as the way to shop, encompassing eighty-one percent of sales. On the other hand, Pinterest yielded close to eleven percent, while Twitter, Youtube and Instagram consisted of around five percent.

According to the study, shoppers were more inclined to complete transactions via search or email marketing which actually consisted of around seventy percent of purchases in the study.

Although, some brands are concerned with the lack of completed transactions that their brands are yielding on strong social media platforms, the VP of Abercrombie & Fitch, views this digital relationship between the brand and the consumer in a very different light.

Even though Michael Scheiner strongly believes statistically data is an important factor when conjuring up a strong social media marketing plan, he does emphasize the valuable experience that consumers have when they do engage with brands on these platforms.

Essentially, Scheiner’s main takeaway is focused on creating an innovative brand image in order to potential customers to have a unique relationship with the retailer based on authentic interest in the product. In other words, branding proves to be one of the most, if not the most salient motives for retailers to stay active on social media.

As different social media platforms attract different audiences at various times of the day, the need for organic content is in no way long gone or dead. Insight from Mark Aikman, the general manager of marketing at Mercedes-Benz approaches Instagram as a platform geared towards branding.

With Aikman and his team generating organic content on a daily basis for branding purposes, Mercedes’ marketing manager firmly believes that these separate marketing mentalities not only gear towards both short and long-term success, but also produce a digital environment where Facebook is perceived as more of a direct-response platform.

Interestingly enough, although number crunching, quantitative data and statistics generally drive any retailer’s social media marketing strategy, these global brands are holding true to the notion that consumer engagement is an extensive process.

“People who are pinning are building for the future, whether the future is a baby shower four weeks from now [or] a wedding they’re planning four months from now,” said Kate Spade & Co. evp and CMO Mary Beech. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

January 27, 2016

Adblocking On The Rise

As programmatic advertising has been on the rise for both ad agencies and brands alike, this in no way eliminates different forms of rebuttal that this portion of the industry faces as a response to these ads based on cookie based data. Back in fall 2015, a mobile app for the iPhone was released in order to block ads from big social networks such as Facebook, and even the tech giant Apple itself. If you want to read more about adblocking as a trend that is here to stay, have a look at the Guardian.

It is evident that users are not keen on engaging with ads by the increased trend of more global companies creating ways to avoid them or block them altogether. With browsers such as Firefox blocking ad pop ups back in October, other companies have also taken a stance against what some would say “bothersome” ads that target users based on location, search history, etc.

The U.S. as a whole maintains around a 25% ad blocking rate on mobile devices, while the Asian market has around a 50% rate due to the implementation of this practice well before the Western countries have. This no doubt will negatively affect the digital advertising industry’s way to influence consumers to engage with brands of all types.

Other than the fact that these ads often times slow down the speed of the browser or take up unnecessary data, many users agree that it’s more of an annoyance than anything else.

With the increased mobile engagement of around 90% among millennial users between the ages of 18 through 29, ad blocking on these devices has increasingly become as common on mobile phones as desktop computers, due to an overall increase in user engagement on mobile. But it doesn’t stop here, GlobalWebIndex Research and insight director Jason Mander affirms that ad blocking as a trend actually is more prevalent than we think it is.

Mander highlights this fact by stating that “Arguably the most striking aspect of this data is the huge potential for ad blocking to continue growing. Across every single age and gender break, it’s at least 70% who say they’re either blocking ads already or are interested in doing so in the future.”

The digital advertising industry has no doubt been negatively affected on the Publisher’s side of spectrum, as seen by the stark decrease of user demand of these add becoming more apparent in the last six months or so. In terms of the notion of “value” in the eyes of both publishers and brands, one of the best practices for programmatic advertisers is to target higher-earning income households, as it is the most promising way for this range of consumers to purchase the product.

Although this can be seen a bit hopeless for the demand or Publisher’s side of the advertising relationship, useful data from GlobalWebIndex highlights the fact that high-earning income households in the top 25% of the U.S. demographic actually demonstrates a much lower rate of blocking ads rather than middle or lower income homes.

This in turn, gives some peace of mind for big time Publishers such as the New York Times, Facebook or the ever-growing online site Mashable, from not being able to digitally appeal to their most valued customers.

January 6, 2016

Boosting Social Engagement On Twitter

When promoting a new film or a line of products, running a contest on one of the most used, well-known social media platforms can no doubt be a daunting task. It’s important to follow some rules to not only successfully promote said product, but also maintain clarity as to what the objective actually entails.

1. Identify a goal: Whether it is increasing followers or having your product featured in shared photos, maintaining a focused goal will help keep you on track and not loose sight of the issue at hand.

2. Prize giving: It is essential to choose a prize that is pertinent to what you’re advertising and what the consumers of your company can actually use. A good tip is to use this step to also try to entice potential consumers while keeping your current consumer base.

3. Select a contest type: Pick a contest that will drive traffic to your landing page in order to increase the overall reach of the target audience.

4. Retweet and Follow: This helps form symbiotic social relationships on twitter than will no doubt attract new followers. Retweets of the contest can act as a source of free marketing that can exponentially grow your user base. Also, sending out tweets prior to the contest actually launching will generate overall hype and buzz to keep people on their toes.

5. Results: Keeping an eye on your statistics and different trends will shed light on how or where you can improve the contest. This way, you can more effectively tackle your next twitter contest.

Click here for more information in order to improve your next contest on Twitter.