Inflation’s Not Going Anywhere, But Neither is Connected TV.

3 Min Read

When Benjamin Franklin said nothing is certain in life except death and taxes, he forgot to add inflation in the mix, too. Everyone has felt the pinch—and it’s not just the prices of household goods. Even media buyers and advertisers are seeing higher TV ad prices than usual, and demanding some adjustments to their marketing strategy. Consequently, brands are pulling back their ad spend on TV, but should they? “TV and online media represent the lion’s share of most media budgets, so as prices increase it is more important than ever that advertiser media investments are effective, optimized and transparent,” said  Fredrik Kinge, Global Chief Executive Officer of ECI Media Management.

If anything, pulling back on spending is a risky move. During such times, advertisers should do the opposite—ramp up their ad spend and invest in media channels like Connected TV, which engage new audiences and retain current customers. The key to doing this right is through reliable solutions that put transparency, measurement and performance at the forefront. Making smart investments like this doesn’t always have to be a slow burn either—quite the opposite.

Price Puts Pressure on Value

While the price pressure cooker is switched on, marketers more than ever need to pay attention to their creative and messaging. Instead of shying away from the elephant in the room, use it as a jumping off point to connect with your customers. One way of doing this is communicating the value of their product through honing in on improved features and benefits that justify higher prices, pricing tiers to appeal to different consumer groups, or promoting “Subscribe and Save” offers, and even leveraging (or creating) loyalty programs to retain current customers.

Since customers will be hawk-eyed on absolute prices, this might mean marketers promoting downsized package sizes (which usually come at a lower cost) to motivate shoppers. A ‘test and learn’ approach works best here, with creative assets and messaging that speak to each of these value-driven offers. One way to do this is to turn your creative production, turnkey. Leaning on the expertise of creative partnerships can help to whip up ready made assets at a moment’s notice.

Keep Your New Customers Close, Keep Your Current Customers Closer

We didn’t need Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty” lyrics to remind us of how important it is to build on the relationships that you have with your current customers, but here we are. While building brand equity isn’t a one-and-done affair, it pays off in dividends in the long run—in fact, stronger branding can reduce the negative impacts of inflation as consumers are willing to pay more for branded goods. 

Yes, targeting has a big part to play here—and it’s a bonus if you have first-party data to serve against your campaigns. But that’s only half of it, as data plays a big part in tracking the behavior of your most loyal customers. Heed caution that consumers might not be so loyal in these inflationary times, and shift to other brands. Depending on the techstack, you might be able to get granular with your reporting and view campaign performance by audience segments, which will give you an idea of which of your current customers (and prospective ones) are resonating with your ads.  By staying vigilant, you can preempt any changes and shift your strategy accordingly.

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