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1 Minute Advice: Direct Mail Endures

Both B2C and B2B marketers report they are "quite pleased with direct mail’s performance, with 70% saying that it has improved in the last 12 months and an additional 27% saying that it has remained steady." This is according to a recent survey. According to Marketing Charts, "the report shows that direct mail is most commonly associated with customer acquisition, with 43% of respondents saying that this is a goal of direct mail. Direct mail is also fairly frequently used for lead remarketing (40%) and lead generation (38%), but less so for brand awareness (34%) and customer retention (27%)."

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: B2B Marketers Depend on LinkedIn

eMarketer reports that LinkedIn is rapidly gaining favor with B2B marketers because of the decline in usage of such text-based apps as X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (aka Facebook) Threads. Gen Z usage and B2B ad spend with LinkedIn is increasing: eMarketer projects LinkedIn usage growth will accelerate 6.3 percent this year, and LinkedIn U.S. ad revenue will increase 8.8 percent this year and 15.1 percent next year.

Read more from eMarketer here: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/text-based-app-struggles-could-linkedin-s-gain-b2b-audience-gets-younger?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Highly Valued Brands Show Mixed Results in 2023

According to Kantar BrandZ as reported by Marketing Charts, the top 100 most valuable brands lost 20 percent of their collective value over the past year, shedding $1.8 trillion for a total of $6.9 trillion.

 

Reports Kantar BrandZ: "Top brands have still come out ahead of where they were at the dawn of the decade. This advancement reflects several permanent, structural advances around digital transformation, all of which were accelerated during the pandemic: as consumers were stuck at home, brands rolled out new efficiencies, new services, and new forms of experience based on true omnichannel thinking. And top brands’ overall progress this decade also reflects a new consumer calculus around trust and value, as people responded to upheaval by flocking to the tried and true reliability of the world’s best-known companies.”

 

Declines in brand value at the top of the list include:

• #1 Apple had a 7 percent decrease in brand value to $880.5 billion but widened its lead over its nearest rivals because of a lower decrease than others
• #2 Google declined 30 percent in brand value to $577.7 billion
• #3 Microsoft saw a decline in brand value of 18 percent to $501.9 billion
• #4 Amazon had a 34 percent decline in brand value to $468.7 billion

Of the top ten most valuable brands, only Coca-Cola registered an increase in brand value of 8 percent to $106.1 billion. Facebook suffered the largest decrease in brand value of any brand in the top 50, losing 50 percent of its value.

Read more about this study here: https://www.marketingcharts.com/brand-related/top-brands-230004?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: The 30 Most Innovative Brands in the World

Interbrand, the world's leading brand consultancy, has launched its 2023 Breakthrough Brands Report—with the metaverse, AI and sustainable tech brands leading the way in disrupting the global market, shifting our understanding of the world and shaping consumer behavior.

 

In partnership with Vox Media, Interbrand's influential Breakthrough Brands Report reveals the 30 most innovative brands that are breaking through a crowded landscape and building bold identities rooted in a clear vision. The top 12 names, in particular, are making iconic moves to become the next generation of legacy brands. These brands are:

1. OpenAI
2. Zepeto
3. Eight Sleep
4. Obsess
5. Hip Hi
6. KidSuper Studios
7. Fishwife
8. Sila
9. BILT
10. Cake
11. Betterhalf
12. Neko

Learn more about the above brands here: https://interbrand.com/new-york/thinking/breakthrough-brands-2023-top-12/

Interbrand has identified an additional 18 brands which represent the emerging trends across evolving beauty & wellness, merging sustainability & style, shaping new tastes around food, and brands that are bringing a next-gen approach.

 

Download the entire 2023 Breakthrough Brands Report here: https://interbrand.com/new-york/thinking/breakthrough-brands-2023-report-download/

 

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: Brands and AI Search

AI is changing the nature of search and brand marketers need to understand the implications. Google has now added Bard as part of its "Search Generative Experience (SGE). Microsoft's Bing search engine now incorporates technology from OpenAI.

According to eMarketer's Insider Intelligence, "Brands can expect more targeted ads closer to the point of sale." Three key points about Google's SGE, writes eMarketer, are:

• These ads within chat answers are prominent, and fewer high-impact placements could cause ad prices to rise, said eMarketer analyst Evelyn Mitchell.
• Despite being labeled as sponsored, these ads may also get confused for chatbot responses by users. That could be good for brand marketers, whose advertisements will now look more organic. But it also clutters the search experience, and may lead to users hesitating to click any links.
• Advertisers can’t opt out of showing ads within SGE, meaning they must participate in the new experimental format.

Read more about AI search and its impact on brands, retailers and publishers here:

https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/what-ai-search-changes-mean-retailers-brands-publishers?

 

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: U.S. Consumers Say These Companies Have the Best Reputations

A recent survey of U.S. consumers indicated which companies ranked as having the best reputations. The survey, conducted by Axios and The Harris Poll and reported by Marketing Charts, asked consumers to rate 100 companies on various dimensions of reputation. The results revealed that the following ten companies have the best reputations, ranked in order:

1. Patagonia
2. Costco
3. John Deere
4. Trader Joe's
5. Chick-fil-A
6. Toyota Motors Corporation
7. Samsung
8. Amazon.com
9. USAA
10. Apple

Read about the survey here:
https://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2023/49339/american-companies-with-best-and-worst-reputations?

 

(Free registration required)

 

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: 5 Key Marketing Metrics to Track

Here are five key metrics every marketing executive should track, according to MarketingProfs:

1. Return on Investment
2. Customer Acquisition Cost
3. Conversion Rates
4. Customer Lifetime Value
5. Social Media Reach and Engagement

Read about each of these in more detail here: 
https://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2023/49296/metrics-every-cmo-should-be-tracking-infographic?

(Free registration required)

 

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: How to Create Effective Website Content

A recent article in MarketingProfs covers five important tips designed to help you "write and organize your website content so that it fulfills best-practices for on-page search engine optimization, pleasing not only search engines but also users."

 

Here are two excerpts from the article:

 

"Format your content for success. Large blocks of text with few-to-no breaks in paragraphs are often difficult to read, and they can turn people off from continuing to read. A well-structured page both supports SEO value and makes content easier for people to enjoy by clearly defining sections and messaging."

 

"Link internally to build your authority. A smart internal linking strategy helps search engines find your pages, understand the relevance of your content's topic, follow your intended page hierarchy, and calculate page authority. Internal linking can also give you more control over the path users take on your site."

 

To read more about the above two tips and get access to the entire article, visit: https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2023/49220/tips-for-writing-web-content?

(Free registration required)

 

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: How Marketing & Sales Should Collaborate

Only 29% of marketers are very confident in their current sales and marketing model/alignment, according to a study by the CMO Council in partnership with KPMG, as reported by Marketing Charts. Only a minority say that marketing and sales jointly own and implement customer strategy (39%).

 

While there appears to be room for improvement in marketing and sales alignment, respondents do indicate that each team is getting involved in the other’s strategic considerations. For example, when it comes to customer segmentation and targeting by marketing, 63% of respondents said that sales takes an active involvement. Marketing is most actively involved in the sales activities of sales enablement (61%) and upselling and cross-selling (61%). Half (50%) report that marketing teams are involved in sales strategy and planning, while close to half say marketing takes a role in account planning (47%) and opportunity management (47%).

 

Read more about this study at Marketing Charts: https://www.marketingcharts.com/business-of-marketing/internal-collaboration-229363?

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.

1 Minute Advice: What the Latest CMO Survey Reveals

After rising to the highest levels in the last 15 years, marketing budgets dropped back to pre-Covid numbers, according to new data from The CMO Survey.

 

The biannual poll, a collaboration between the American Marketing Association, Deloitte, and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, was conducted in March 2023 and collected responses from 314 marketing leaders at for-profit U.S. companies.

 

The findings show a return to pre-pandemic levels for marketing expenditures as a percentage of companies’ budgets. But the yearly growth in marketing spending slowed down 72% (10.4% to 2.9%), compared with the last survey.

 

A majority of firms indicated inflationary pressures impacted marketing spend. Results showed digital marketing spending also slowed, but its decrease was less dramatic than in overall marketing spending (15.0% increase in digital marketing spending in the past survey vs an 8.2% increase in this survey). On average, companies spent 53.8% of marketing budgets on digital marketing.

 

Among marketing areas predicted to decrease, firms say they will slow investments in customer relationship management systems, brand building, and customer experience, with the largest drop recorded in brand building (5.5% budget increase predicted vs 11.7% the previous year.) 

 

Marketers reported a higher use of tactical, short-term metrics like sales revenues, digital performance, content engagement, and lead generation, rather than strategic metrics such as brand equity value, customer insight usage, and brand differentiation. Compared with two years ago, though, firms are increasing the use of these key metrics, with brand differentiation jumping 111% from 2021.

 

For more on current and past results visit: https://cmosurvey.org/

This post is brought to you by 123 eGuides, publisher of authoritative, affordable guides to help small businesses get the most from your marketing. Now available: The updated, revised Third Edition of the popular eGuide, Branding 123, that details a 3-part system for how small marketers can build a breakthrough brand. Included in the Third Edition are profiles of 5 small brands that grew up using techniques similar to those outlined in Branding 123. Read more about this eGuide here.