Today, we as consumers are constantly bombarded with messages from every platform available. But is it truly effective?
Content marketing in the age of data often focuses on understanding what people are doing rather than how they are feeling. Consumer decisions rely heavily on emotions they experience too. According to data from various functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neuro-imagery scans, consumers use emotions rather than information when evaluating a brand or product. This is also why content shared by friends or influencers are often a catalyst for consumer action. Taking into consideration of our highly personal environments, content needs to be perceived as trustworthy, authentic and relevant – all strong human emotions – to inspire consumers to take action.
These moments which matter to consumers should matter to brands too as they present a remarkable opportunity for them to connect with consumers on a deeper level. Unlike demographics or device IDs which are often used to approximate a target audience, moments reveal profound insights about consumers, giving brands the possibility to truly achieve perceptive advertising.
When Moments Matter
Consumers of today are looking for content that would complement and represent moments that are relevant in their lives. By reaching audiences during moments that matter to them, brands can now leverage their content with personalized messages to their user, based on the user’s state of mind.
With today’s Generation Z defining what is mainstream, brands need to be open to change and one way of doing that is embracing the fact that we are addressing a new market; a new generation. The unique ability of micro-moments to flex to consumers’ need, makes it an especially powerful marketing tool, as brands reach their audience when they’re most engaged, with personalized content that matches their moment.
Human-connection, context and creativity seem to be evading the advertising industry more and more, and brands are looking to their agencies and media partners for a sea-change in approach in 2017. As more brands demand a much higher standard of insight into the ways real people are consuming their messages, content and advertising; experience will be back in focus.
Essentially, we are talking about people-based marketing. Micro-moments not only connect brands with audiences that matter the most, but also reaches them at the right time. In the music industry for example, studies show that people use music to regulate their moods and emotions more than for any other purpose. Taking a leaf out this book, brands need to start thinking “mood or situation” instead of “genre or artist”.
“Music is weaved into our everyday lives – there’s a song (or a playlist) to represent each moment – for the shower before work to a night out on the town. Music reflects who we are, what we are doing and how we are feeling in any given moment. And thanks to music streaming services, people are listening to music and amplifying these moments more than ever. Understanding people through music has become a key part of Spotify’s data mission. The theory behind the work: because music listening is so uniquely emotional, universal and, now, addressable thanks to streaming, it can uncover deeper insights than consumption of other kinds of content like movies and TV,” Sea Yen, Ong, Vice President of Sales for Spotify, Asia
The Marketing Value of a Single Moment
Allowing consumers to create and share their individual moments and experiences is another way for brands to fine-tune their perceptions of consumer behavior. By tapping into user-generated content, brands can communicate with campaigns that engage existing consumers and appeal to new consumers.
As an example, last year, Spotify launched a data-driven global campaign bidding farewell to 2016, using the sign-off “Thanks 2016, It’s been weird.” The out-of-home ads and digital banner ads, share fun, quirky, hyper-localized insights to reflect the culture of local communities via their streaming behavior on the platform.
There really are many ways to translate data to content. The most important one being that it should give an insight into the emotion that people are expressing. Regardless of the channel and format used, it is about why people should care instead of what the core message they should focus on. The experiential benefits of content is what motivates people to come back to a brand’s content platform.
As mentioned before , today the marketplace has become cluttered with various messages. To stand out your brand needs to not just connect with the target audience but to truly understand them. It is when you intimately understand them, when you can dynamically evolve effective marketing strategies reaching your audiences in the right context, with the right (relevant and personalised) message.
It is time for brands to incorporate strategies that would tackle the concept of moments whilst truly understanding their audience.
