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“We have the technology!” Now: what will your brand do with it?  With CES 2023 in the rearview mirror, we’re looking to see how technology can provide outsized business results for CMOs while helping their brands transform society for good. The devices on the CES floor this year proved we’ll only see more convergence between marketing and tech transformation in the years to come.

Here’s what CES suggests about the year ahead for brand leaders: 

‘COME TOGETHER’ ISN’T JUST A BEATLES SONG – IT’S THE MISSION FOR BRAND ECOSYSTEM IN 2023 

More technology exists than ever before to ensure every digital touchpoint your consumer encounters conveys a consistent and authentic brand experience. Now it’s on CMOs and CTOs to collaborate closer than ever before, unleashing true connected brand experiences at scale. Wearable technology and ever-more-immersive entertainment experiences are opportunities to get this right – but challenges for brands who haven’t yet asked themselves: have you set a plan for unifying online and offline brand, marketing, product, and customer experiences? 

2023 IS THE YEAR FOR AI, BUT DON’T OVERDO IT

AI is the tech darling of 2023, and for good reason. We’ve quickly seen it evolve from basic communication and assistance on tasks to understanding your routine, predicting your behavior, and getting you a C+ on your English paper. OpenAI and other lay-consumer-friendly tools will power an AI-knowledge revolution in 2023. But while AI is great for providing creative activation energy and can get you 85% of the way there, the last 15% requires the near-impossible-to-duplicate human element.

Brands and agencies will need to responsibly blend talent + technology together in 2023 to make AI an effective addition to the marketing tech stack. 

‘COMMUNITY’ IS WHAT CONTENT WAS FOR BRANDS A DECADE AGO

From Stagwell’s own experiments in shared augmented reality, to new social platforms that let friends share content and buy and sell NFT art, brand experiences are starting to hinge on the ability to connect consumers to one another. Community is the new driver of commerce; look out for more brands using technology as a platform to create engaging, 3D and 360 marketing experience for more than one consumer. 

Live from the Stagwell Content Studio @ CES 2023

Stagwell’s Content Studio returned at CES, delivering behind-the-scenes interviews with C-Suite execs at the world’s most ambitious brands on the trends and transformations they’re tracking at CES.  

In this episode, Wells Enterprises Chief Commercial Officer Santhi Ramesh talks data anonymity, immersive experiences, and using robotics to drive automation with Stagwell President, Global Solutions, Julia Hammond.

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By

Yariv Drori,
Chief Strategy Officer, Multiview

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I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that when we look up at the night sky, we don’t see the stars as they are but as they were. Even the star closest to us, other than the sun, takes 4.3 years to reach our eyes. It makes you think about that journey, and all the moments that lead up to that single speck of light emerging in the distance.

As human beings, the shaping of our identity is often just as complex. Like the starlight taking years to hit our eyes, we can’t always pinpoint the exact correlation between events of the past and who we are today. We are moments that add up, collected and built upon like a scrapbook. Not just life’s big occasions, but the everyday ones too—a lazy day reading, a camping trip, a bike ride in the rain, the sound of the trees outside our childhood windows. It’s these fleeting moments in time that shape who we are and how people perceive us. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” wrote Annie Dillard, which rings true.

At Instrument, when we talk about branding, we think about experience in a similar way. To us, a brand is defined by numerous interactions between them and a customer. Each of these moments represent an opportunity for a brand to create a deeper, more meaningful connection—whether it’s a social post, a billboard, a mobile checkout experience, or a simple push notification. How a brand shows up in those places shapes people’s feelings and perception towards it.

This is especially pertinent in our current times, where brands are more fragmented than ever. The very pace of life has changed, and every pocket now holds a news feed, a television, a billboard, and a storefront. Because of this multitude of touchpoints, it’s no longer just about showing up once a year with a lofty statement or a million-dollar tv spot; it’s about all the little moments that add up. It’s about connecting the dots between brand, marketing, and product and having each of those experiences ladder up to the company’s core. When a brand consistently demonstrates its reason for existing it will naturally build trust through positive experiences. Over time, many good experiences lead to a deeper connection, while a handful of bad ones inevitably end in apathy.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. There is such a cacophony of information out in the world that to cut through it all and be heard, or seen, a level of consistency and repeat excellence is needed. Brands need systems and platforms that increase their efficiency, and remove variability. But these systems should go beyond codifying a brand into rigorous style guides. Brands don’t just live inside pitch decks and brand books. They live out there in the real world, in people’s minds and hearts. Or at least on their periphery. Many brands make the mistake of defaulting to consistency above all else. But inevitably, this leads to sameness and complacency. In order to reach people and stay relevant, brands need to be fluid. The goal is to provide tools that empower internal teams to engage with customers in new creative ways that express that brand’s unique personality—all while staying grounded in their values.

Brands succeed when they show customers that their purpose is more than a marketing initiative—prioritizing real action over hollow virtue signaling. For us at Instrument, that applies to everything we do.

Building from the core

During our recent work with Dropbox, the goal was to evolve the perception of the brand from transactional, to something that is inherently more human and emotional. We realized that a single campaign wasn’t going to be enough. Marketing wasn’t enough. We had to reconsider what Dropbox stood for before we could begin to spark that connection to their audience. Through research, we realized that Dropbox was having the wrong conversation. Previous campaigns centered around aspirational narratives of collaboration and the future of work. But when we talked with customers, we realized that their experience wasn’t so much about the product itself, but what they were doing with it—that was what gave it value.

The “For All Things Worth” platform connects those dots between what the brand offers and what the customer experience is. For example, this first campaign focuses on file storage, but seeks out the humanity in it—emphasising the emotional value of our digital files and artifacts.

To re-engage with customers, this idea isn’t just expressed in a single spot. It’s reiterated across everything Dropbox is doing, from video content, to podcasts, to OOH marketing, right down to onboarding language. This idea of worth will be embedded across every brand experience, supporting Dropbox on their journey to becoming a multi-product company. It’s a shift that represents a recalibration between brand and consumer, and a foundation to grow and evolve that relationship.

Find out more about this project in our Dropbox Case Study

Unifying a brand

When we started working with Sonos, they were known for their exceptional hardware. But the quality of the experience customers were having with their speakers wasn’t translating to the broader brand experience. It was a company led by engineers, so that was naturally their primary focus.

To expand that level of quality and excellence beyond their speakers, we worked with their product design teams to establish a robust design system that elevated the user experience of the app.

Beyond design, we also helped reimagine how Sonos engages with new and existing customers through a content-driven approach featuring curated playlists, podcasts, movies, and television recommendations. This allowed Sonos to build an ongoing relationship with their customers at every interaction, to create a cohesive brand story and find new ways to add value for users.

Find out more about this project in our Sonos Case Study

At Instrument, we take into account the entire brand experience and this process shapes how we partner with clients. Sometimes the product is strong, but the branding feels like an afterthought, and sometimes the vision and purpose of a business are clear, but the product fails to deliver on its promise. Viewing brands holistically, as a series of experiences, allows us to navigate challenges, connect the dots, and understand where we can have the most impact.

As a recap, here are 5 principles that shape our POV on brand experiences:

  • Brand experiences are centered around the foundation of a strong mission, vision, and (most importantly) values. Understanding and acting in line with the vision is essential in building trust with customers.
  • The vision and values of a brand should inform the entire customer experience and unify how they show up in people’s lives—from marketing and push notifications to digital products and customer service. Consistency leads to trust.
  • It’s not just about what you say, but also about what you do. The experiences in product and the impact in society are equally as important as the ones expressed on a billboard.
  • Brand systems and platforms aren’t just about enforcing consistency, they’re also about enabling the personality of a brand to shine. A brand’s personality creates intrigue and sparks a human connection.
  • While a brand’s core is fixed, the way that brand is expressed should remain fluid. This allows them to show up in the world at the right time, with the right message, and engage in relevant conversations

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that we are humans communicating with humans. A former mentor used to say, “use your mouth words,” and that always stuck with me. We often get so lost in terms like “Business-to-Business” or “Business-to-Consumer” when we really should be focused on building a human-to-human connection.

If brand equals experience, then think about the types of experiences you want customers to have with the brand. Think about what you’d like to see more of in the world. The things that make us smile, or gasp, evoke a sense of wonder or make us feel invincible. Think about what it takes to build trust with someone—our family, our friends, our communities—and the ongoing investments needed to live up to that trust.

Think about all the time it takes for that single speck of light to emerge in our night sky. Much like that star, a connection with a brand isn’t instant. It’s something that’s built slowly but surely and thoughtfully over time. Reminding us, that every little moment along the way counts.

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Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
Stagwell
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

 Specialty Media Business Unit from the Stagwell Marketing Cloud is Incubating New Connected Marketing Mediums and Inventory for Brands

NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS – Jan. 4, 2023 – Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, today announced a Specialty Media business unit to create net new brand and performance inventory. The unitpart of the Stagwell Marketing Couldwill build media formats that offer brands novel ways to reach, engage, and monetize key consumer segments across sports, travel, retail, news and dining.  

“Stagwell is bringing new experiences to consumers whether they are at the stadium, in a restaurant or getting on an airplane. Along with these experiences come a wealth of creative marketing opportunities,” said Mark Penn, chairman and CEO, Stagwell. “Stagwell is at the forefront of these transformative technical innovations and new forms of richly targeted marketing.”  

Shared Augmented Reality (AR) Platform for Stadiums: ARound, a first-of-its-kind fan engagement platform, is a new stadium-level augmented reality platform, already in use by the Minnesota Twins MLB team at Target Field and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ARound uses 3D spatial computing to map large-scale venues and localize content to individual users, enabling attendees to see the same real-time 3D effects and participate in the same shared experiences. This is a new, connected marketing medium, enabling brands to reach fans at scale with stadium-wide AR games, contests, effects, and a remote experience amplifying the energy and excitement of gamedays. 

QR Code-Powered Advertising Platform for Restaurants and Bars: Stagwell Marketing Cloud is developing an advanced digital out-of-home platform that directly integrates into digital menu and point-of-sale systems to serve contextual ads native to the customer’s experience. The platform provides brands with rich customer profiles and a new channel to place relevant, dynamic messages that complement the user’s current experience; for example, a promotional offer for a specialty cocktail designed to warm consumers during winter, a recommended wine to pair with the dinner meal, or an aperitif to complement dessert, generating rich first-party data in the process. 

Media Marketplace for Travel: Stagwell’s Ink, the world’s leading travel media company, has launched “The Travel Marketplace,” a one-stop shop for brands to get unparalleled access to 5 million passengers a day. The new platform offers access to an unmatched portfolio of channels including airport TV screens, WiFi sponsorship, multi-channel digital and physical platforms, inflight entertainment, branded travel documents, targeted social media, and more. With exposure to international and domestic brands including United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue and others, 2,500+ screens across 90 North American airports via Stagwell’s ReachTV, and exclusive first-party passenger data to drive smart targeting, brands can now easily engage across diversified performance mediums that reach travelers at every stage of their journey. 

Today’s commitment is part of a larger focus at Stagwell on transforming media solutions through impactful technology to be announced throughout CES. Further announcements will come from business agency GALE and global omnichannel media shop Assembly. 

About Stagwell  

Stagwell is the challenger holding company built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.  

Media Contact 
Sarah Arvizo 
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

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By

Rafael Canton
Adweek

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Looking to highlight what separates itself from competitors, Vivid Seats is going all in on its rewards program.

The ticket marketplace is debuting the first brand campaign for its Vivid Seats Rewards Program, which offers fans a free reward credit for every 10 tickets purchased. To promote the loyalty plan, Vivid Seats, with the help of agencies 72andSunny LA and Assembly, engineered an innovative media plan that gives one of SportsCenter’s most iconic features a new look.

“We’re not just coasting off of our laurels and performance marketing,” Vivid Seats chief marketing officer Tyra Neal told Adweek. “It is something we’ve always been great at, but building the brand side and getting people to come back and want to use Vivid Seats again has been some of the focus of my time here.”

Developed with creative agency 72andSunny LA, the ad features a librarian imagining the endless possibilities of what her free 11th ticket will be. She then transports from the relaxed stylings of a library to the raucous experience of live events such as a music concert or a sporting event.

 

Why it’s pushing loyalty

Customer loyalty has been front and center in Vivid Seats’ marketing plan since it underwent a rebrand last summer and changed its logo. Vivid Seats’ brand messaging has focused on its rewards program, which is one of its differentiators from its competitors. SeatGeek does not have a rewards program while Vivid’s other competitor, StubHub, has an auto-enrollment program that offers perks such as early VIP access or discounts to customers who have spent $10,000 or more on ticket purchases within a 12-month period. TicketMaster’s loyalty program—Audience Rewards—focuses on just Broadway and the performing arts.

The focus on building connections with consumers has seen some returns. Neal shared that Vivid Seats saw upward of a 10% increase in repeat rates for NBA and NHL ticket sales and is seeing similarly fast repeat rates in MLB.

Vivid Seats’ loyalty program allows fans enrolled in the rewards program to earn a stamp for every ticket they purchase. Once a fan has 10 stamps, they gain a reward credit amounting to the average value of the 10 stamps they’ve collected. Vivid Seats also has a tiered system with three levels titled Rising Star, Super Fan and Icon. Through these levels fans can receive ticket upgrades, exclusive access to industry events and other VIP perks.

The power of 11

The spot will air starting tonight, with its debut taking place during ESPN’s Monday Night Football game. It will run throughout the season according to Neal.

As a tie-in to the number 11, Vivid Seats will also sponsor a bonus 11th play on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top Ten, making it the first brand to add an 11th play to the segment.

The media campaign was done in collaboration with omnichannel agency Assembly.

Vivid Seats is also taking over the homepages of publications and official ticketing partners Rolling Stone, Bleacher Report and ESPN on Nov. 11 or 11/11. Additionally, it is partnering with global influencer marketing and technology agency Viral Nation to feature 11 different influencers for its “Real Rewards for Real Fans” social campaign.

Picks and tix

Toward the end of last year, Vivid Seats purchased sports betting app Betcha Sports for $25 million. It rebranded the app as “Vivid Picks” and integrated it into Vivid Seats as one app this summer. The brand is also debuting a separate ad for Vivid Picks in the fall.

“We’re offering fans something that other secondary ticket providers cannot which is not just a ticket, but an experience, especially on the sports side,” Neal said, explaining customers can double down on their favorite teams by seeing them in person and making picks inside of Vivid Picks.

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This episode of Is This Thing On? features our Managing Director Andrew Noel and EVP & CMO of Seminole Hard Rock Jeff Hook discussing the iconic brand’s growth, challenges, and maintaining a consistent global brand story. Throughout the podcast they cover:

  • How Hard Rock properties became iconic destinations
  • The company’s multilayered business model
  • Building Unity – a loyalty platform that ties together 140 million guest experiences
  • And much more! 

We’ve included the full transcript of the conversation below for easy reading, and please make sure to have a listen on Amazon, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeart, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever else you get your podcasts!

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