Digital Day Out 2022
New Zealand's best marketers and innovators came together for a jam-packed day of collaboration and creativity at Marketing Association's annual Digital Day Out conference. Here's a glimpse into what went down.
The digital marketing ecosystem is a hot topic at the moment, with the growth of new media channels, marketing in an age of privacy, and pursuing digital innovation high on every business’ list of priorities. So, what did the 25 experts speaking at Digital Day Out (DDO) have to say on some of these issues?
Timo Raab, Global Head of e-commerce at L’oréal, kicked off the conference with an international keynote. He discussed L’oréal’s latest e-commerce and social commerce initiatives, such as partnering with Amazon and Alibaba, entering the metaverse, and using voice.
Timo touched on transforming an international retail brand digitally, and how brands can embrace new tech and channels to engage new generations of consumers.
LEVERAGING TIKTOK IN YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY
When it comes to new media channels, all marketers have an opinion on where Tiktok fits. Incorporating this channel into marketing strategies can be key to a strong campaign, but as Hayden Skelton, Head of Digital at ZURU Group, said marketers need to know how to leverage the platform and successfully retain viewers to make it work.
Sam Stuchbury, Creative Director & Founder at Motion Sickness, cited Tiktok as a channel that allows brands to move away from a stuffy corporate role into something more relatable. Sam also explained that it's essential for businesses to understand the algorithm in order to be a “Tiktok Titan” and to retain viewership in the app.
Leveraging social media creators on Tiktok can also help brands promote a product with a great reach organically.
SOLVING THE POST-COOKIE PUZZLE
Navigating the challenges that will arise post-cookies was a top priority for digital marketers at the DDO.
Apple's IOS14 update has also given consumers the choice to opt out of data sharing, with Timo saying that this has caused consumers to become more conscious about the data they share, as well as company activity and how brands are using their data. Allowing consumers to opt out of sharing their cookies has made it more difficult to engage consumers and check their data. Timo explained that consumers are becoming more conscious of their data and want a benefit in exchange for giving it away. “Research shows 61 percent of consumers would only share data if it's really necessary for the functionality of what they want to do.”
A panel debating privacy in the age of performance agreed that cookies and data collection need to provide a holistic experience to consumers and instil trust in a business. Meghan White, Tribe Lead Consumer Digital, Westpac said: “Communicating with consumers and constantly having that one-on-one understanding is crucial to make sure that we're giving them the information they need to have trust in us.”
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CONSUMERS’ NEEDS
An Adobe Trust Report 2022: APAC states 87 percent of APAC digital leaders say that they're facing even more challenges in earning customer trust than before the pandemic. Meghan says marketers need to understand their customers to be able to take them on a journey.
“You need to have the data, you need to understand your customer, and you need the tools to allow you to have continual conversations and put that information contextually in front of consumers, so you make the right decisions.”
Another panel of tech entrepreneurs agreed consumers can be incredibly vocal about what they do and don't like, and this means more fear for businesses to manage a constant temperament. As Timo said: “You need to have a very, very strong brand that consumers are actively searching for and that meets their social needs.”