This year’s Meta event in the IAB Upfronts series covered a range of insightful subjects, from marketing in an age of uncertainty to the future of the Metaverse. The theme of uncertainty only grew in importance as Liz Truss resigned on the same afternoon as the event. While the months ahead certainly look challenging, Douglas McCabe and Pete Buckley painted a guide of how marketers can succeed in a cost-of-living crisis.
The impending situation for consumers is scary, 85-90% of people are deeply worried and changing the way they live – and this means changing their purchase behaviour and forcing businesses to shift how they market themselves. Not only are businesses facing the challenge of reduced consumer spend, which at its core is integral to a successful economy, but there is also a real distrust in advertising as a sector with banking, energy and even telecoms seen as more trustworthy. So how can businesses win the trust of consumers and convince CFOs that healthy marketing budgets are essential to success in a time of financial turmoil?
Your brand is going to be your key to success. Pete Buckley argued that a focus on brand isn’t just going to drive your long-term, awareness-building strategy. Meta’s research shows that to drive short-term results, you will need a combination of both brand and performance:
Source: Pete Buckley, The Next Era of Growth, Meta IAB Upfronts 2022
The businesses who invest in building their brand are driving more profits overall and this was shown by the success of eCommerce companies using offline stories on TV during the pandemic as it became the best channel for brand building. This can be transferred to the online marketing sphere, which hasn’t yet fully capitalised on this opportunity, and as internet advertising is heading towards 80% market of spend – brands shouldn’t let inflation levels and ever-changing Prime Ministers stop them from building their brand to bring in that crucial short-term income.
The market will be challenging, and no one is doubting that. To succeed in driving brand awareness in a highly competitive period, investing in creative and planning has never been more important. To win back that consumer trust in advertising, your audience need to know that you’re offering genuine value for money, authenticity and haven’t lost that all-important creative quality.
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