Also: Create emotional connections with your customers; stop hiding behind your algorithm; and who’s verifying the ad verifiers?
Targeting the very young and impressionable: AdWeek reports that “desperate” marketers representing brands from Disney to Versace are aggressively targeting a new demographic: children age 0 to 3. And the kids are proving susceptible; studies show that American children can recognize an average of 100 brand logos by age 3, and that some babies “request brands as soon as they can speak.” Online campaigns are jumping in too, because 80% of kids under age 5 cruise the Web weekly.
I’m a little verklempt over my favorite brand: Customer satisfaction isn’t enough. Marketers should build emotional connections with customers, a la Nike or Apple, because those customers are far more likely to buy more, pay more, stay loyal and become brand advocates. Here’s how to start.
Stop hiding behind your algorithm, you sissy: Alan Pearlstein of Ad Age is tired of cocky startups who claim they have a “kick-ass algorithm” that will revolutionize online advertising. Buyers are seeing through the tech-speak, he says, and realizing that the real focus should be on improving the data driving the algos. Read the entire rant.
Who’s verifying the ad verifiers? Ad verification companies use automation to make sure that online ad campaigns are running per their contracts. Sounds good, but Digiday reports that it’s a fierce business filled with cutthroat competition and publishers unhappy with the tactics and technologies being used to verify their campaigns.
