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Tricks, Treats & Tips for Wickedly Effective Halloween Marketing

Emmanuel Rojas
October 29, 2024

Halloween isn’t just about costumes and candy; it’s a goldmine for brand engagement, providing a unique opportunity for marketers to captivate audiences with imaginative campaigns. Seasonal marketing around Halloween taps into a sense of fun, creativity, and nostalgia that appeals to all ages, making it an ideal moment to boost engagement and connect meaningfully with customers. If you’re looking to launch a campaign that’s both memorable and optimized for SEO and SEM, this guide will help you craft a strategy that stands out in search engines while captivating your audience.

Crafting a Spooktacular Campaign Theme

An impactful Halloween theme doesn’t just give your campaign a festive touch; it can also enhance your brand’s visibility in search results. Start by aligning your Halloween theme with your brand’s identity and the terms your audience will likely search for. For instance, a tech company could embrace a “Futuristic Frights” theme, incorporating keywords like “Halloween tech gadgets,” while a food brand might play up “Haunted Halloween flavors.” This approach resonates with your audience and enhances your SEO efforts.

Balancing relevance and festivity is essential. Incorporate creative spins on popular Halloween tropes to avoid clichés. For example, consider using “trick-or-treat discounts” instead of generic pumpkin imagery to connect with seasonal searches while maintaining brand relevance. Additionally, create unique visuals and taglines that can be optimized for search. Elements like a ghost mascot or a catchy phrase like “Spellbinding Savings” can boost brand recall and improve your SEO visibility.

Halloween_speending_2023

Source: sender.net

SEO Tricks to Capture Attention and Drive Engagement

Halloween’s visual appeal and festive vibe make it ideal for high engagement. Here’s how to capture attention while boosting SEO and SEM:

  • Bold Visuals and Eye-Catching Imagery with Alt Text Optimization 
    Use colors like orange, black, green, and spooky fonts for a Halloween vibe. Optimized visuals with descriptive alt text, like “Halloween promo – limited edition pumpkin spice products,” help with accessibility and can improve image search rankings.
  • Craft Clever, Search-Optimized Copy
    Use phrases like “Halloween sale deals” or “scary good offers” to increase relevance. Including top-searched keywords creatively, such as “fang-tastic Halloween savings on electronics,” will enhance the user experience while improving searchability.
  • Interactive Content for SEM
    Seasonal quizzes or games are engaging and can be SEM powerhouses when paired with targeted ads. Imagine a “What’s your Halloween character?” quiz that directs participants to product recommendations or landing pages filled with relevant keywords.

Halloween Treats: Irresistible Offers to Boost Conversions

Halloween’s “treat” mentality works perfectly for marketers looking to convert traffic. Here’s how to capitalize on it with SEO-friendly tactics:

  • Discount Codes & Flash Sales with Targeted Keywords  
    Themed offers like “Spooky 20% Off” or “Halloween Flash Sale” create urgency and appeal to seasonal searches. Consider adding countdown timers and specific Halloween-related keywords to make your offers searchable.
  • Halloween-Exclusive Products  
    Launch exclusive Halloween-themed bundles or limited-edition products, like a “Witch’s Potion Skincare Kit,” and optimize product pages with terms like “limited edition Halloween gift set” to improve search visibility and draw organic traffic.
  • Social Media Contests and Giveaways  
    Host a costume contest or Halloween photo challenge to boost social media engagement and gather user-generated content (UGC) that drives traffic back to your website. Encourage participants to use hashtags such as #HalloweenDeals or #FangTasticContest, which can generate SEO value and increase brand reach.

Creating Eerie-Effective Content Across Channels

Your Halloween campaign should be consistent across all channels, with optimized content that resonates with different platforms. Social media is perfect for Halloween’s visual elements; platforms like Instagram and TikTok thrive on eye-catching imagery and engaging videos. Encourage your audience to share their Halloween content using branded hashtags to expand your reach.

In your email marketing, use festive subject lines that capture attention, such as “Get Ready for Our Spooktacular Sale!” Personalized offers can significantly increase open rates. Additionally, updating your website with Halloween visuals and relevant blog posts, like “How to Create the Perfect Halloween Party,” can attract seasonal searches and keep your content fresh.

Tracking Results: Measuring Your Halloween Campaign’s SEO and SEM Impact

Post-campaign, evaluating what worked best and refining for future seasonal efforts is essential.

After your campaign concludes, evaluating its performance to refine future strategies is crucial. Track metrics like social media engagement, website traffic, and conversion rates to gauge your campaign’s effectiveness. Monitoring the performance of Halloween-themed emails will also provide insights into what resonated with your audience, allowing you to optimize future efforts.

With these tips, your Halloween marketing campaign can increase engagement, boost conversions, and enhance SEO rankings. Halloween is the perfect time to take creative risks, connect with your audience, and ensure your brand stays top-of-mind throughout the season. Combining spooky flair with an optimized strategy will create a Halloween campaign that thrills and delivers.

Blog

The Art of Selling Bold Ideas to Risk-Averse Clients

Emmanuel Rojas
October 14, 2024

Risk aversion in business decisions stems from several factors. For many clients, the fear of financial loss or a failed initiative is often at the forefront. The pressures of managing large budgets, the livelihoods of employees, and maintaining market competitiveness create a solid aversion to risky ventures. Past failures, even minor ones, can reinforce a mindset prioritizing tried-and-tested strategies over bold, innovative moves. External factors like market volatility or economic instability can also drive clients to stick with familiar, low-risk options.

These clients are not opposed to success—they just want to ensure that success comes without unnecessary risk.

The Hidden Fears Behind Creative Hesitancy

Beneath their cautious approach lie deeper fears that fuel their reluctance to embrace bold ideas:

These hidden fears can inhibit their willingness to embrace change, even when there’s potential for reward.

Identifying the Signs of a Risk-Averse Client

Recognizing a risk-averse client allows you to adjust your approach accordingly. Common signs include:

– Hesitation with Novelty: They are slow to engage with ideas that differ from their norm.
– Over-Analyzing Risk: Clients may ask for exhaustive details on potential downsides early in discussions.
– Lengthy Decision-Making: Their decision-making process often involves multiple layers of approval.
– Reliance on Past Success: A preference for replicating previous methods rather than trying something new.

Spotting these behaviors helps you anticipate objections and tailor your pitch to their concerns.

Building Trust Before Presenting Bold Ideas

For risk-averse clients, trust is a vital foundation. Without it, even the most well-thought-out, creative ideas will likely be dismissed. Building trust involves establishing credibility and demonstrating reliability from the outset. By positioning yourself as a trusted partner who understands their business needs, you can foster an environment where bold ideas are considered with an open mind.

Clients are more likely to embrace bold ideas if they believe you know your field inside out. Here’s how to build that confidence:

– Showcase Expertise: Provide examples of past projects and share your industry knowledge.
– Transparency: Be open about your process, including potential risks and how to manage them.
– Case Studies: Offer real-world success stories where bold ideas have worked for others in their industry.

Clients who trust you understand their needs will be more willing to step out of their comfort zone.

Why Trust is the Key to Selling Bold Concepts

Trust goes beyond being likable; it’s about showing clients that you have their best interests at heart. Risk-averse clients must believe that your bold ideas are not just creative for creativity’s sake but carefully crafted to drive business success. Trust reassures clients that you are not taking unnecessary risks with their business. It builds the confidence they need to explore bold ideas with the belief that they are backed by solid reasoning and strategic thinking.

Relationship-Building Techniques That Ease Client Worries

Strong relationships with clients can ease their hesitations about bold ideas. Regular communication is key—keep clients informed throughout the project to reduce uncertainty. Address their concerns head-on and offer clear solutions to alleviate fears. Additionally, providing small, incremental wins can help build a track record of success, making more significant creative leaps feel less intimidating. Involving clients in the creative process can also give them a sense of control, which can mitigate anxiety around new ideas.

The ultimate goal is to transform risk-averse clients into bold advocates for creativity, which takes time and the right approach. By introducing bold ideas incrementally, clients can experience small successes that reduce perceived risk and demonstrate the value of creative solutions. As they witness the benefits, their confidence in innovation will grow. Nurturing this confidence involves involving them in the process, celebrating victories, and reinforcing the strategic thinking behind these ideas. Over time, even the most cautious clients can learn to embrace innovation and take more daring risks within their organization.

How to Turn Skeptical Clients into Champions for Innovation

Once a risk-averse client sees the benefits of bold ideas, they can become your most prominent advocate. To encourage this:

– Invite Them to Share: Encourage them to speak about their success within their industry.
– Position Them as Innovators: Highlight their forward-thinking approach to others.
– Celebrate Their Story: Use their journey as a case study to attract other cautious clients.

Involving clients in the creative process through regular check-ins, workshops, or brainstorming sessions, builds their confidence and showcases the value of innovation. Celebrating successes together reinforces the importance of taking risks and demonstrates your commitment to meaningful outcomes. Additionally, continuously explaining the strategic thinking behind bold ideas helps skeptical clients appreciate the necessity of risks for growth and success.

Brands

Building a Strong Brand: Lessons from Leading Marketing Executives

Emmanuel Rojas
July 18, 2024
Learn how leading marketing executives excel at building a solid brand.

In today’s competitive market, a brand’s strength can be a critical differentiator that drives customer loyalty and business growth. But what does it take to construct a robust, enduring brand? In this blog, we delve into insights and strategies from some of the top marketing executives who have mastered the art of branding. Through their experiences, you’ll uncover the core principles and innovative techniques to transform your brand into a formidable market presence.

The Importance of a Strong Brand

Brand strength is the culmination of a brand’s core values, trustworthiness, and emotional connection with its audience. It’s not just about visual elements like logos or color schemes but also the intangible aspects such as mission and values. This strength stems from a coherent identity that resonates with the target market, creating a bond difficult for competitors to break. A strong brand consistently delivers on promises, fostering trust and loyalty and building a lasting and positive consumer perception.

Strong brands excel in competitive markets due to their robust emotional connections with consumers and established trust and credibility. Brands like Apple and Nike go beyond transactions, representing innovation and aspiration, making consumers more likely to choose them repeatedly. This loyalty, combined with positive word-of-mouth marketing, enhances their market position. Furthermore, strong brands can command premium pricing, allowing them to invest in quality and innovation, ensuring they remain resilient and relevant amidst market fluctuations.

Core Principles of Brand Building

  • Establishing a brand identity is critical to standing out. It involves defining the brand’s unique characteristics, including its name, logo, mission, and values. Understanding the target audience ensures the brand resonates deeply, fostering loyalty and advocacy.
  • A unique value proposition (UVP) explains why a brand’s product or service is superior to competitors. It highlights specific benefits that meet the target audience’s needs. The UVP should be concise and compelling, making it memorable and impactful.
  • Consistency in brand messaging builds trust and recognition. A unified brand voice and visual elements ensure all communications reflect core values. Regularly updated brand guidelines maintain this consistency, strengthening brand identity and fostering loyalty.

Brand Strategy Development

Market research is crucial for developing a successful branding strategy. By collecting and analyzing data on the target audience, competitors, and industry trends, brands gain insights that guide decision-making. It can be primary (direct data collection) or secondary (using existing data) and helps understand consumer behaviors, preferences, and market gaps.

Identifying target audiences is vital for effective marketing. It involves analyzing demographics and psychographics to grasp consumer lifestyles, values, and behaviors. Creating detailed buyer personas personalizes marketing and helps choose the right communication channels, ensuring brand messages resonate and drive engagement.

Clear brand goals that are aligned with the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) guide strategy and measure success. They help increase brand awareness, improve customer loyalty, and expand market share, ensuring that every action contributes to long-term growth and success.

Building Brand Awareness

Customer Experience and Brand Loyalty

Enhancing customer touchpoints ensures a seamless brand experience by mapping interactions from website visits to support calls. A user-friendly website, active social media engagement, personalized communications, and well-trained staff delivering consistent, high-quality service are key to creating positive and memorable customer experiences.

Exceptional service means exceeding expectations by understanding customer needs with empathy and responding quickly and efficiently. Quality products and services build trust, and acting on feedback helps maintain high satisfaction levels.

Engage the community with updates and interactive content, encourage user-generated content, offer exclusive benefits, and maintain open communication to strengthen bonds and build loyalty.

Case Studies of Iconic Brands

  • Apple: Innovation and Simplicity

Apple’s design philosophy is renowned for its sleek, user-friendly aesthetics. Known for setting industry standards, Apple seamlessly integrates form and function to enhance user experience. This dedication is clear in popular products like the iPhone and MacBook. As a result, Apple symbolizes sophistication, innovation, and cutting-edge technology.

  • Nike: Just Do It – A Slogan that Resonates

Nike enhances its brand recognition through community engagement and initiatives like the Community Impact Fund and Active Schools program, promoting physical activity, inclusion, and equality. This commitment to social responsibility strengthens its connection with consumers. Nike’s brand transcends athletic wear, symbolizing innovation, excellence, and social responsibility, solidifying its position as an industry leader and global motivator.

In conclusion, building a strong brand involves enhancing customer touchpoints, delivering exceptional service, and fostering a community around the brand. Creating memorable experiences that drive long-term loyalty and advocacy is an ongoing process requiring a clear vision, strategic planning, and continuous refinement. Embracing market dynamics and consumer preferences with agility and resilience turns challenges into opportunities for innovation. A strong, resilient brand ultimately enjoys lasting customer loyalty, trust, and advocacy, driving business growth and creating a legacy that endures market fluctuations.

Blog

Effective Marketing Strategies During a Recession

admin
August 30, 2023

In the unpredictable business world, recessions are storms that can strike and change dynamics in the blink of an eye. Defined as a significant decline in economic activity, recessions cast a shadow of uncertainty over industries and businesses. 

This blog delves into the art of steering through such economic turbulence: crafting effective marketing strategies during a recession. As we explore various avenues to adapt, innovate, and thrive, it becomes evident that strategic marketing can serve as a beacon of hope even in the darkest economic times.

Consumer behavior becomes a shifting landscape in the tempestuous waters of a recession. Tightened budgets and cautious spending are common, prompting businesses to recalibrate their marketing efforts. But amidst these challenges lie opportunities for those willing to understand and cater to the evolving needs of consumers. Acknowledging these changes is the first step toward formulating effective marketing strategies. The following are some recession-proof marketing strategies:

Value Proposition and Messaging:

As wallets tighten, consumers become more discerning. A value-driven marketing approach becomes paramount. Crafting messages that underscore a product’s or service’s value and benefits can resonate deeply during a recession. 

As this Harvard Business School article mentioned, your brand’s value proposition should position you as the solution to your consumer’s pain. Pushing this in your communication can increase brand loyalty despite economic trials.  

Target Audience Adjustment:

The recession may necessitate a shift in target audiences. Identifying consumers’ pockets less affected by the economic downturn can provide a lifeline. By reevaluating demographics, businesses can tap into previously overlooked markets or niches, diversifying their customer base.

Digital Marketing Dominance:

The digital realm emerges as a fortress during economic storms. With more people spending time online, leveraging digital marketing channels such as social media, email campaigns, and online advertising becomes indispensable. Brands can successfully utilize digital platforms to remain visible and engaged, irrespective of economic conditions.

Emphasizing your digital commerce is also a great way to lower your costs. As this Forbes article mentions, customers tend to be more cautious during these times, so tailoring product listings and descriptions on your e-commerce can benefit your business and keep your customers happy.

Leveraging Data and Analytics:

Data isn’t just numbers; it’s a compass guiding businesses through treacherous waters. Data-driven decision-making empowers businesses to fine-tune their marketing strategies. Companies can remain agile and responsive despite economic uncertainty by closely monitoring consumer behavior, adjusting real-time campaigns, and optimizing efforts.

Innovation and Adaptation:

Innovation isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity during a recession. Adapting products, services, and marketing approaches to suit the evolving landscape is a testament to a company’s resilience. Brands that repositioned themselves creatively during tough times, like Netflix shifting from DVD rentals to streaming services, emerged stronger and more relevant.

Adapting your business to reduce the impact on your consumers will ultimately benefit you the most. Shifting to cost-effective packaging and implementing discounts to increase sales are some ways that can help you remain competitive even in the face of economic struggles.

Building Customer Loyalty and Trust:

In times of uncertainty, trust becomes a valuable currency. Fostering strong customer relationships through transparent communication and customer-centric initiatives builds a foundation of loyalty. 

In a report by Statista, the results showed that customers are more likely to choose cost-effective brands or consume their favorite brands more sporadically during a recession. The sense of being understood and cared for can transform consumers into brand advocates, ensuring the long-term success of a business.

Recessions are transient, but the brand value is enduring. While short-term survival is essential, maintaining a long-term perspective is equally vital. Efforts invested in building a resilient brand during tough times can yield substantial dividends once the storm passes.

Cost-Efficient Marketing Tactics:

A tight budget need not be a hindrance to effective marketing. Innovative yet cost-efficient strategies like content marketing, influencer collaborations, and community engagement can yield substantial results. By creatively using available resources, businesses can amplify their impact without breaking the bank.

Partnering with a cost-effective, knowledgeable agency that provides high-quality content can help you leverage your team’s efforts and utilize your budget wisely. As you navigate the marketing landscape with prudence, the right agency can act as a rudder, steering your brand towards the shores of success even in the most budget-conscious waters.

In the tempestuous sea of economic uncertainty, businesses that wield adaptable marketing strategies survive and thrive amidst the storm. Through understanding the shifting tides of consumer behavior, weaving value-driven narratives, harnessing the power of the digital realm, and embracing innovation as their compass, these companies have steered their course through turbulent waters. 

As we journey through this challenging time together, it’s important to remember that even in the darkest moments, the seeds of the most remarkable success stories can take root. We are sowing the seeds of tomorrow’s triumphant tales by weathering this recession with strategic determination and unwavering resilience.

Marketing

Marketing and Sales: The Perfect Partnership

admin
February 8, 2023

No matter the size or industry, companies need marketing and sales departments to succeed. While they may seem separate entities, marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin, and both must work together to achieve success. With a strong marketing and sales partnership, companies can maximize their potential and get the most out of their efforts.

What is the role of marketing?

Marketing is an essential component of any business. It helps to add value to your brand, create awareness about a product or service, attract potential customers, and convert them into loyal customers. Marketing aims to ensure that people know about your products or services and that they are encouraged to purchase.

Marketing encompasses advertising, public relations, content creation, SEO, email campaigns, and more. Each activity should strategically target the right people and keep them interested in your offer. For example, if you’re selling a product, you should use content creation to inform people about the features and benefits of your product. You can also use email campaigns to build customer relationships and incentivize them to make repeat purchases. 

Overall, marketing is essential for creating brand awareness, generating leads, and converting prospects into customers. When done correctly, marketing can have a significant impact on the success of your business.

How do marketing and sales complement each other?

Marketing and sales teams have distinct roles but must work together to drive business growth. While marketing generates leads and awareness of a company’s product or service, the sales team is responsible for closing the deal and bringing in revenue. Therefore, the two departments rely on each other and must work together to succeed.

Marketing supports sales by providing leads, generating interest in products and services, and improving brand recognition. Marketing teams create content and campaigns that help build relationships with potential customers, while sales teams take those leads and convert them into paying customers.

On the flip side, sales provide invaluable feedback to the marketing team. Sales representatives can give insights into what potential customers are looking for and how to market a product or service best. Marketers can use this feedback to refine marketing campaigns and tailor them to meet customer needs.

Marketing and sales need each other to reach their goals. The sales team relies on quality leads from the marketing team and customer feedback to close deals, while the marketing team needs the insights the sales team provides to help create effective campaigns. When both groups work together, they create a powerful partnership that can drive meaningful results.

Why is it important for marketing and sales to work together?

Marketing and sales departments must work together to succeed in today’s business environment. A strong marketing strategy can help create leads and attract customers, but without salespeople to close the deal, the potential prospect will never turn into customers. Therefore, sales teams need to know what marketing is doing to create a steady stream of leads so they can focus their efforts on the right prospects. 

Meanwhile, marketing must understand the sales team’s needs and develop campaigns that target the right prospects with the right message. When marketing and sales teams work together, they create a synergistic effect that can propel any business forward. 

By combining their efforts, they can identify customer needs and develop strategies to serve those customers better. For example, marketing provides insights about which messages and channels are effective for engaging customers. In contrast, sales teams can give feedback on what customers need and what works best in converting prospects into paying customers.

According to an article by Forbes, Marketing and Sales should have the same priority: listen to the customer’s needs. A unified approach also helps ensure everyone is working towards the same goals. With the two departments in sync, companies are better equipped to optimize resources and measure success. Teams can set goals for revenue growth, develop strategies for achieving them, and track progress. This allows everyone involved in the process to collaborate more effectively.

Marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin. They both have distinct roles in helping businesses grow and succeed, but neither is effective without the other. By working together, marketing and sales teams can drive more value for their organizations by creating a comprehensive approach to connecting with customers and meeting their needs.

Brands

Advantages of Consumer Relationships

admin
September 12, 2022

The relationship with your customers is a topic that’s been getting more attention in recent years, and for good reason. Developing strong customer relationships can lead to increased customer loyalty, better customer engagement rates, and higher sales numbers. This article will explore some of the most important benefits of consumer relationships and how they can help your business grow by improving your relationship with customers.

Having a relationship with your consumers is the best way to grow a community for your brand. This is something that the NOW Generation values. Having a community where consumers can interact with each other and brand ambassadors or representatives. The benefits for customers of developing relationships with brands include customer loyalty, better customer service, and positive word-of-mouth promotion. Plus getting to know your segment on a deeper level.  

As a business owner, you know that customer service is crucial to your success. It’s important for you and your team members to be able to provide the best possible service in order for consumers to want to do business with you again. With customer relationship management (CRM), however, it’s easier than ever before for customers and businesses alike to interact with each other in ways that were never possible before.

According to Forbes, CRM’s core function is to collect data that helps businesses understand and communicate with customers. This basic management tool can open pathways to having great relationships with your consumers, and learning about them and how they connect with your brand. Besides increasing business profits. 

It’s important to consider the benefits of CRM in terms of a company’s bottom line. The most obvious benefit is increased brand loyalty, which in turn leads to more positive word-of-mouth promotion and brand awareness. Some companies estimate that customer retention rates can increase by 25% when they implement a CRM strategy.

In addition, having an extended relationship with customers can help you better understand their needs and wants as well as their preferences for products and services, allowing you to better cater to them in the future. When you have a consumer relationship, they’re more likely to stay with your brand and recommend it to others. This is because they feel like they’re part of a community that shares the same values as them. 

According to a recent study on customer expectations, 79% of consumers consider personalized service more important than marketing. Consumers want to be known and treated like so. Especially if we look at minority groups we can find that a feeling of belonging allows consumers to become loyal to a brand. 

When consumers are loyal to a brand, they can make it easier for you by buying from you again in the future. They’ll also be more willing to refer your product or service to others who may need what you have.

Engagement is a two-way street. Customers need to feel like they are being heard, and businesses need to make sure that their customers feel valued. When customers know they’re being listened to, they are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend the brand. 

In addition to this effect on sales and loyalty-building efforts, engaging with your customer base also has other benefits such as increased employee engagement (for example by sharing positive feedback).

The bottom line is that customer relationships are beneficial to both customers and businesses. Businesses can improve their marketing and sales efforts by engaging with their customers, while customers will receive better service and personalized offers in return.

Blog

Globalization, New Challenges for Brands

admin
July 28, 2022

Globalization is not a new trend, but it remains relevant because of its impact on the way businesses and consumers interact with each other. Globalization has been present around the globe for a long time, and many brands strive to use it to their advantage. 

Making your brand global is not an easy task. While many successful brands have been able to become globally recognized, the process is not easy, and it doesn’t come without challenges. 

Besides these challenges, the new globalization is here. The fourth industrial revolution, geopolitics, and the escalating effects of climate change are the three primary forces propelling a new chapter in the history of globalization. 

According to an expert panel held by The Drum, these three things have all happened in the past, just not at the same time. As a result, companies are now figuring out strategies, markets, and how they position themselves. 

With the new globalization comes the need for speed. This makes sense because the NOW generation is all for instant gratification, and when it comes to growing a brand in a global market, how fast can it approach new consumers on a local scale.

Digitalization is also taking a big part in this new era of globalization. With the numerous products available to your market, brand culture, lifestyle, and behavior habits are the most helpful in reaching your consumers.

From a consumer point of view, depending on where they live,  people worldwide consume the same products. However, through social and mass media, people find similarities between their consumption habits and those of people on the other side of the globe. This is called glocalization. 

Glocalization is the ability to penetrate various global markets while meeting the needs of each local geography. Even though it is not a new concept, not all businesses with global aspirations have mastered the art of glocalization. Therefore, companies must excel at integrating local resources, modifying procedures, and implementing global technologies to create effective glocalization strategies.

Entrepreneur India shared in an article the importance of acclimating brands to global growth. According to their article, success at glocalization comes from being sensitive to local culture, social norms, and consumer habits. Basically adapting to the area where your brand is arriving.

Even major brands have struggled to bring their business to a new location. “One size fits all” doesn’t apply in globalization. Brands need to consider that the need for their product in different places may not be the same. 

This may be accomplished; many companies have successfully arrived in new markets and tropicalized their brand to the local market. For example, big food chain brands have noticed that just bringing products they already sell and not incorporating anything local to their menus is not as successful as adding an item with a local taste for the consumer. This is how you can glocalize your business.

Another way businesses can adapt to a new culture is by hiring local professionals. Local associations within your company will help your brand access specific insight on a microeconomic scale while remaining globally relevant. This is a big step because once you know the culture, you can find better ways to approach the consumer and provide them with what they need.

Globalization is not about completely changing your brand but about being flexible and willing to adapt to your consumer’s culture. The need to grow is a constant in the current global business environment. However, growth in a globalized world would not be possible without learning from the NOW generation.

Business

The Digital Gig Economy is on the Rise

admin
July 13, 2022

As the world continues to change, so does the way we work. Noncontractual, short-term, and task-based work is not new, but it has increased in the past few years. For example, many workplaces transformed their operations into a virtual collaboration space during the pandemic. This was a completely new practice and not an easy transition for many. But, at the same time, others with experience in digital gigs found it easy and a great way to keep the economy moving.

The digital gig economy is a clear example of globalization, and its main perk is how it connects companies with qualified talent worldwide. It is growing bigger by the day, and many Americans are turning to it as an alternative to full-time work. In addition, after the COVID-19 pandemic, many job seekers will likely turn to it to get by.

In no way is the gig economy a new practice; its first growth spurt was after the Great Recession. So while many believe it will soon fade away, it has proved to be here to stay and has even evolved into a more digital pathway.

The emergence of the digital gig or platform economy is one of the essential new transformations in the world of work. According to the International Labor Organization, there are two main types of platforms for the digital gig economy: web-based platforms and location-based applications. “An important component of the platform economy is digital labor platforms which include both web-based platforms … and location-based applications (apps).”

The main difference between these two is the kinds of jobs they require. For outsourcing or web-based platforms, the desired results are most likely to be digital products, for example, briefs, creative goods, audiovisual resources, etc., making it easy for people from all over the world to be connected and work together on these digital platforms. 

On the other hand, for location-based gigs, digital platforms are the channel of communication between consumer and provider, for example, deliveries, running errands, etc. In this case, the digital platform allows uncontracted service providers to earn a living while making their own schedule and only working as much as they need. 

A more digital gig economy is an asset that benefits employees and employers equally. For example, job satisfaction, flexibility, remote work, and professional work are a few positive results of this form of work. However, if we look at these benefits, we can find many reasons for the digital gig not going anywhere. 

According to a case study by Brodmin, most gig economy workers are satisfied with their work. “Based on numerous research and publications, there is a general consensus that people who decide to freelance full-time are quite satisfied with the change as well as with their new careers and lifestyle.”

In the last few years, we have seen growth in the freelance worker population, and the flexibility of working remotely is one of the leading causes of this increase. In addition, being able to provide work to someone in a different part of the world, and on the other side, being able to work for a company in a separate geographical area is enticing.

Flexibility has been mentioned multiple times already in this article, and it seems to be with great reason. For example, in their book “Work in the Age of Data,” BBVA’s OpenMind, mentions that flexibility is one of the primary desires of workers because they can obtain professional work from talented collaborators from all over the world while offering a flexible work schedules, pay, or even a flexible workflow. For the Now generation, this is an opportunity to connect with companies and collaborators from around the globe, which encompasses globalization. 

The digital gig economy is on the rise. We believe it will continue to grow and benefit many different markets because of the needs of The NOW Generation. Digital gigs are the perfect way to allow younger generations to work using their talent and skills from anywhere they might be, plus giving them the freedom to grow and explore different ways of experiencing life while working.

Brands

How CPGs are Stretching their Models for 2022

admin
October 20, 2021

The year 2021 is coming to an end, and marketers, as well as industry leaders, are still facing a disruptive landscape and continually transforming customer behavior. It is no longer simply good enough to tell customers what they should do or show them how good a product or service is, but rather, it is crucial to build a valuable relationship with customers. Creating relevant content that connects, building trust through availability, providing exceptional customer service, and carrying a purpose greater than the number of sales, are among the many actions a brand can make to win their customers’ hearts. 

Sounds like a lot to do, doesn’t it? 

Yes, but before giving up on connecting with customers, we have some cost-efficient tips from a few of our successful CPGs clients to help you save resources and valuable time. 

  • Create a Center of Excellence – Consider hiring new providers for innovative, upcoming projects. When hiring new providers, make sure they have the same objectives as your business and a strong drive to make your brand shine.
  • Apply In-House or Outsourcing – Doing so offers expertise in many areas and provides additional speed for your daily marketing needs. 
  • Try Gigs – Look for innovative ideas from people and startups by creating talent contests and leveraging crowdsourcing. 
  • Automate Your Processes – Using the latest technology will help you avoid repetitive tasks and optimize the best data for your strategies. 

A new year, loaded with new challenges, new customers, and innovations is ahead. While it may sound a bit overwhelming, once you take a step back and a long look, you can find inspiration from the big players in the industry to accomplish your marketing challenges on time and within your budget. 

We invite you to discover more strategies and trends the thriving CPGs are applying in our latest white paper “How will Giant CPGs handle marketing challenges in 2022?”. Read it FREE here.

https://121corp.com/white-paper

Brands

How to gather first-party data in a cookieless world

admin
October 11, 2021

Twenty-five years ago, a magic tool called cookies that changed digital advertising was born.

Thanks to them, marketers could identify, build a profile based on interactions, and activate engagement through a series of messages. Cookies were also helpful for insight and brand impact. Relying on them seemed like a perfect strategy for gaining customers’ data, but these good old days are over now. The end of cookies is coming in 2022, and brands need to build trust and create unique experiences for their users to gather relevant data organically and under their consent.

As challenging and uncertain as this sounds for the industry, we are on the verge of a new year, and it’s the perfect time for brands to reassess their strategies, let go of depending on one third-party resource for data and strengthen their client relationships. 

Try inbound.

The numbers are here, 94% of customers leave and unfollow brands when they see irrelevant promotions and messages; nevertheless, 93% will buy again at companies if they find a remarkable service, 77% will recommend their experience on socials and reviews. So, to get positive numbers rolling in your marketing strategy and gather first-party data, inbound can be the answer. 

Inbound is a philosophy based on helping people and building relationships with them by guiding them throughout their journey. An inbound practice is built under three pillars (attract, engage, delight). It can be adapted into your funnel into many techniques, such as offering educational and resourceful content that consumers can use or creating platforms or bots to provide excellent customer service for people. Positive inbound can lead to a share of data under the user’s consent, so it’s essential to keep in mind to be as human as possible in your strategy, be empathetic with users through mindful research, have a constant conversation with customers and standardize your communication for consistency.

Trust influencer marketing

Today, shoppers live on social media an average of 144 minutes a day. They enjoy browsing, discovering, and purchasing from an ad or influencers. 

50% of Gen Z shops after seeing an influencer recommendation because they bring a deep sense of connection, and credibility to their audience. Investing in influencer marketing creates a bridge to purchase, so try having them not only for awareness but also across your customer journey and providing them with call-to-actions to direct their users to your shopping basket and gather first-party data. 

If you have a problem picking which influencers are the right ones, try including AI in your practices. Machine learning can help identify content in a way humans can’t, monitor each influencer activity, and help you optimize your budget. 

Give them control. 

Don’t think that you will no longer cooperate with Google or Facebook; they accommodate your objectives, so it’s essential to learn to work with them efficiently. Find strategies that can help gather email addresses and even phone numbers. These data can be shared within these platforms and help create a custom audience within these first-party data ecosystems. Design a Customer Data Platform or Data Management, or acquire them from a vendor and offer ethical, reliable customer-centric experiences that empower users and give them control over their data. 

The road for marketers is still under construction, with many challenges ahead. It’s essential that during these changes, such as the elimination of cookies, you can count on a partner that can make your strategies become a reality in a cost-efficient manner. AT 121, thanks to our Speed Philosophy, we can work with our clients and deliver projects in record time without compromising their budgets. So give us a call, and together we will find the right strategy and tools to make you shine across your 2022 marketing journey. 

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