Page 25 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020

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enabler. It’s just a matter of trying it for the first time.
That rapid embrace of digital behaviour by people of all ages has been a constant theme from the experts across the series. And while the sourdough craze of the early months of lockdown might have had its moment - as Episode 2 panelist and IAB CEO Gai Le Roy memorably put it - the digital boom is showing all the signs of being permanent.
From tech to travel, finance and retail, the way people are interacting with businesses online is evolving at great speed. Another common thread is how businesses are translating their offline expe- riences to online channels to con- tinue to serve customers using methods like messaging apps.
During periods of social isola- tion like we’ve experienced, sat- isfying people’s needs and wants is usually a case of balancing the trigger, the friction and the reward. A good example I can give is around fitness, or in my case, going to the gym.
For me the trigger is the desire to exercise, whereas the friction is the physical visit to the gym - which may not be possible during a pandemic. The reward is the buzz of being around people in that high intensity environment.
But, and here’s the rub, it can be hard to recreate that experience exercising on your own in your living room.
I’ve been fascinated to watch how marketers adapt to provide satisfying experiences when face to face opportunities are limited.
For my exercise conundrum,
I’ve marvelled at how online fit-
ness brands like SWEAT have been
building their communities and
getting people to come together in
online forums, so that it replicates
THE NAB ONLINE RETAIL
the energy of the gym. That’s elim-
The NAB online retail sales index inating the friction and providing SALES INDEX
the reward all in one go. 2020 SHOWED
2020 showed YOY growth for the
The best marketers across a YOY GROWTH
slew of unlikely industries FOR THE
segment jumped 58.5% in April and
promptly recognised changing SEGMENT consumer needs and acted nimbly JUMPED
58.5%
reached a YOY high of 62.6% in July
to provide solutions.
It’s part of a growing trend of
marketers shifting emphasis to some of the other Ps of marketing beyond promotion - exercising influence across product, price and of course place, so often now online in some form or other.
New Zealand’s The Warehouse Group, for example, did this admirably by turning its hard copy catalogue into a digital ver- sion literally overnight when restrictions kicked in.
In Episode 3 of Future Now, my colleague Henry Kelly,
IN APRIL AND REACHED A NEW YOY HIGH OF 62.6% IN JULY.**
“I think we’ve trained consumers to be able to purchase online, so there might be more partnership options, while the click and collect side of things with big retailers has really taken off,”
Gai Le Roy, CEO, IAB
EPISODE 3:
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE DISRUPTORS?
The episode features a fireside chat with Facebook’s US-based Marketing Lead - Disruptors & Venture Capital, Chris Sarandos, who discusses the changes he’s witnessed in the disruptor market, with a special focus on traditional brands that have had to become more digital since March.
Joining Chris is a crack squad of panelists featuring IAB Australia CEO Gai Le Roy, Quad Lock founder Rob Ward and Facebook ANZ’s Industry Head of Digital Disruptors Henry Kelly.
They discuss what’s changed for challenger brands owing to 2020’s historic events; how disruptors need to keep evolving to keep an edge over the competition; and why a focus on brand purpose is key if you don’t have a genuine point of product difference.
EPISODE 2: HEART OR HEAD?
In Episode two Professor Byron Sharp, Director of the Ehrenberg- Bass Institute for Marketing Science, Damon Stapleton, regional chief creative officer for DDB ANZ, and Fatima Saliu, Head of International Marketing at Facebook, debate how recent societal shifts have impacted marketing laws.
The panel looks at what, if anything, has changed in terms of the fundamental marketing principles and the opportunity to disrupt established brands caused by shortages in some consumer packaged goods sectors.
“It’s like when we visit a restaurant and say that it’s great and we must come back. And then we never do. This is the really important thing about advertising: to remind us to be brand loyal,”
Professor Byron Sharp, Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science