White Paper – The route to greater Brand Engagement

Brand engagement amongst many brands is poor as they are struggling to grab the attention of their customers despite the overwhelming number of digital channels available to them.

Marketers continue to invest heavily in digital channels that are outdated and increasingly ineffective, driven by industry pressures to deliver greater volumes of interactions without fully understanding the impact it has on brand value.

Only by focusing on delivering greater Brand Engagement rather than simply greater volume of interactions, marketers can begin to influence business outcomes and transform the value of their brands.

In our White Paper, we explore the research that underpins the need for marketers to shift to achieving greater Brand Engagement. The White Paper includes clarity on how to understand and measure Brand Engagement and provides details on the one channel that is set to define Brand Engagement in the future.

Marketers waste money on digital

Recent research by Lumen has highlighted that only 9% of digital advertising is viewed for more than a second and, with figures showing that an eye-watering £8.61 billion was spent on UK digital advertising in 2015, it’s clear that marketers are wasting a high percentage of advertiser’s money.

Clicks do not equal cash

If we dig a little deeper into the research from Lumen, we can see that only 4% of digital advertising actually receives more than 2 seconds of attention. This, by anyone’s standard, is a poor return on investment for advertisers looking to connect with an increasingly active and Digital First audience.

Let’s move beyond tradigital

Consumers of all ages and backgrounds are becoming increasingly Digital First (tablet ownership is actually higher amongst the over 55s than the under 55s) and this presents new opportunities (and challenges) for marketers managing growing digital budgets.

When we consider that defining a Digital First audience has now moved beyond just Millennials who have grown up in a connected world, the situation for marketers is crystal clear – it’s time to move beyond ‘tradigital’ (traditional digital) channels to remain relevant.

It’s time for marketers to pivot

Whilst digital advertising is by no means the de facto measurement of Brand Engagement for digital-first audiences, it does clearly demonstrate the need for marketers to rethink and pivot their brand strategy to channels and content types which deliver greater Brand Engagement.

Brands that increase engagement get all the rewards

So, why is brand engagement so important?

Put simply, according to research by Gallup, customer and Brand Engagement is the definitive forecaster of business growth:

“Customers who are fully engaged represent a 23% premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average customer.”

The Gallup research goes further, identifying industries where greater customer engagement has resulted in conclusive evidence of the key role that Brand Engagement has in delivering true value to business:

• Retail banking customers who are fully engaged bring 37% more annual revenue to their primary bank than actively disengaged customers.
• Consumer electronics shoppers who are fully engaged spend 29% more per shopping trip than actively disengaged customers.
• Hotel guests who are fully engaged spend 46% more per year than actively disengaged guests.
• Companies that successfully engage their B2B customers realise 63% lower customer attrition, 55% higher share of wallet, and 50% higher productivity.

Are tradigital channels a thing of the past?

If we then reflect back on the lack of engagement currently being achieved across tradigital channels, then the need for change becomes even more important.

Brands that manage to go beyond simply a transactional interaction with their audiences (i.e. clicking on a banner ad) will always out-perform less engaging brands.

The most successful brands go above and beyond tradigital channels to make meaningful connections with their customers and
rightly so.

Levels of engagement are plummeting

Digital advertising is over 20 years old and is still, essentially, the same.

The ability to target more effectively (i.e. programmatic) and the explosion of formats and channels have certainly evolved and yet the level of engagement has plummeted as highlighted by the Lumen research.

The business of Brand Engagement

Brand Engagement needs to go at the top of marketers objectives if they are to achieve demanding growth targets and it is no coincidence that a growing breed of CGOs (Chief Growth Officer) have marketing backgrounds.

Marketer’s route to the top

According to the research by Russell Reynolds Associates’, senior marketers that can link brand engagement to business growth are the CEOs of the future, making the ability to improve Brand Engagement a prerequisite for professional advancement.

For the full story download the White Paper – The route to greater Brand Engagement

In the complete version of the White Paper you will discover more industry insights and practical steps to help you increase Brand Engagement including:

• Understanding Brand Engagement and how to measure and refine this knowledge to create an emotional link between your brand and consumers.
• The Brand Engagement toolkit providing you with the skills and techniques to increase engagement through Relevancy, Loyalty and Advocacy and tips on how to measure Brand Engagement.
• Achieving greater Brand Engagement through engaging Mobile users and understanding the opportunities available through a channel which has unmatched coverage and with users who are increasingly dependent on Mobile as a social crutch.
• Understanding Brand Engagement and the New Reality and how the right technology (i.e. Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality) combined with true brand insights can drive Brand Engagement to a new level.