BY Rachel Cagle
You and your clients may be thinking that COVID-19 solidified e‑commerce’s dominance over in-person shopping. However, according to a recent study by Nielsen, that isn’t true. More than anything, “COVID-19 fueled a 50% increase in U.S. omnichannel shopping last year, but less than half of the activity led to online purchases.” Instead of using digital media for shopping, consumers are turning to these channels for information to fuel their in-person shopping. And these information touch points don’t end in the digital space either. So, brands need to take a closer look at their omnichannel marketing strategies.
2021 Omnichannel Marketing Strategies
Nielsen recommends that brands create omnichannel marketing strategies that “Create seamless experiences from touchpoint to touchpoint instead of between on- and offline purchasing experiences.” So, digital and traditional marketing tactics need to be strategically balanced.
Digital Marketing
According to Nielsen, many marketers plan to increase their spending on these aspects of their digital marketing:
- Social Media: Nearly 80% of marketers plan to increase their social media ad budget
- Search: Approximately 70%
- Online and Mobile Video: About 65%
- Email: Nearly 60%
- Online and Mobile Display: About 55%
Very few (less than 10%) of marketers plan to decrease their budgets for the digital aspects of their marketing strategies. This is obviously important to any omnichannel marketing strategy since Americans are spending more time than ever before on digital devices. Social media, especially, is keeping Americans connected to their friends and loved ones, as well as the goings on of their favorite stores and brands. However, too many marketers seem to be overlooking the importance of traditional marketing tactics.
Traditional Marketing
“In today’s digitally amplified media landscape, it makes perfect sense to boost spending in channels like social media and search,” says Nielsen. “But brands can’t afford to ignore the step in the consumer journey that follows those specific touchpoints.” This means adding traditional ads to their omnichannel marketing strategies in order to stay top-of-mind with potential customers, even when they aren’t online.
For example, out-of-home and radio ads can remind consumers of a store or product they wanted to check out while they’re currently out and about. However, fewer than 10% of marketers plan to increase their out-of-home and radio ad budgets this year. Far more marketers actually plan to decrease these budgets, which can negatively affect the results of their marketing efforts.
The most popular forms of traditional advertising that marketers intend to incorporate into their omnichannel marketing strategies are:
- Direct Mail: More than 30% of marketers plan to increase their direct mail ad budget this year
- Print: A little over 10% of marketers intend to increase the budget for this media format
Every other form of traditional media will most likely have its ad budget cut or remain the same in the coming year.
If your clients want to know for sure which types of ads they should be using in their omnichannel marketing strategies, take a look at their target audience’s profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel.