Want updated new business opportunities for 2019? Get them here.
The start of a new month can be tough on salespeople — particularly those that flushed out their sales pipelines in an effort to close deals before the end of the year. Luckily, your month just got a little brighter thanks to Winmo’s predictive sales intelligence platform, WinmoEdge.
Starting this week, we’ll be rounding up four of the hottest new business opportunities every Monday. We’re making it our mission to #EDGEucate (get it?!) you on four actionable predictive insights each week, giving you a taste of WinmoEdge’s special sauce and a leg up on your competitors.
The predictive sales intelligence provided in WinmoEdge is reported on and tracked by living, breathing researchers who provide daily updates on new business opportunities that could change the game for you and your company. In addition, our in-house confirmation team takes the guesswork out of contact information by populating decision-maker profiles with up-to-date data, making it even easier to follow up on WinmoEdge’s new business opportunities.
If you don’t see something that strikes your eye this week, request a Winmo trial and discover the innumerable new business opportunities highlighted within the platform! And, of course, come back next week to #EDGEucate yourself on the latest and greatest new business opportunities and news.
Sponsorship Sales Opportunity: American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a national voluntary healthcare system based out of Atlanta, GA. Their overall mission is to free the world from cancer through funding and conducting research, supporting patients, and spreading the word about prevention.
Amid spending decreases, reported digital spend $986,300 YTD, ACS has launched a new holiday fundraising campaign called “Plan of Attack” that tells the story of a patient who transitioned from focusing on the worst-case scenario for her family to a plan for managing and overcoming her illness through ACS support. The goal of the campaign is to encourage major donations as the year comes to a close and also target their demographic of women age 35 and older. However, ACS is also attempting to attract millennials, so sellers appealing to those two groups will benefit.
Their overall spending has decreased in the last few years due to a shift to a digital focus through a variety of television shows and streaming. With these spend decreases, a top priority is optimizing the money they are spending. ACS recently partnered with the NHL, and if you are reaching out to partner, especially through events, there could be some last-minute dollars available through this campaign. Especially good news: Q4 is typically their top spending period.
Adtech Sales Opportunity: PlayStation
Sony’s PlayStation has announced a creative business review after almost six years of work with BBH, whose most recent project promoted the relaunch of PlayStation Classic. Based on their creative review process, PlayStation wants to establish a team of 3-4 agencies that will each work on different projects, but collectively be responsible for global marketing. The reasoning behind this structure is the amount of advertising is too heavy for a singular AOR, and the teams will pitch against each other for the six major campaigns throughout the year with the hope that healthy competition will keep performance high.
Marketing spending is expected to rise with the holiday season approaching with people attempting to satisfy all the gamer gift requests. Males under the age of 35 are the target audience, which is crucial to take into account when making pitches in the future.
So far this year, iSpot reports that PlayStation has spent more than $183.9 million on national TV commercials targeting various male-oriented programs. The brand’s total 2017 spend increased to $198.5 million from that of $81.5 million the previous year. According to our sources, PlayStation’s digital spend YTD is $4,100,000.
We recommend keeping PlayStation top of mind for distant future opportunities in digital and media work, but when currently reaching out make creative work the priority.
Media Sales Opportunity: Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods is a manufacturer and marketer of food and meat products. The company operates on a global scale through retail, foodservice and wholesale channels striving to create products that improve the lives of their consumers.
Hormel Foods recently reported higher advertising investments and accomplished their goal of establishing brands that embody high-quality products that are flavorful and nutritious to keep their brand name strong. For fiscal 2018, total advertising spend increased 11.76% to $152 million from $136 million in fiscal 2017.
The company’s spend period is traditionally Q2-Q3, so we suggest pitching soon to lock down ad revenue. The target audience is mothers and the kids they provide for, so keep this demographic in mind when hunting for opportunities.
Although the digital spend decreased to $1,068,800 so far in 2018, keep in mind TV commercial spend was significantly higher than year’s past, signaling that Hormel is moving towards more conventional tactics. Spending is always heavy in Q1, so make sure you are pitching in a timely manner to best support the brand.
Agency New Business Opportunity: Rimmel
Many fashion and beauty brands have shifted their focus to influencer marketing strategies but Rimmel, Coty’s British cosmetics company that took the US by storm this year, is doing the exact opposite and turning away from influencer marketing. Instead, Rimmel has decided to focus more on referrals from paid micro-influencers in order to stay loyal to their mission of selling mascara so everyone can afford it, not just those living in luxury.
The mission of Rimmel is to encourage customers to stay true to themselves and be who they want to be. This emphasis on authenticity is more effectively communicated through peer-to-peer recommendations rather than celebrities and paid influencers. With new CEO Pierre Laubies named in November, Coty’s is currently number 77 on the Vulnerable Account Index, meaning an agency shift is predicted within the next six to nine months.
According to reports, Rimmel reported a $1,634,000 YTD digital spend, and 85% of that spend was direct. Rimmel plans to continue their new strategy into the rest of 2019 and 2020, so don’t hesitate to make moves to help their attempt at authenticity and real, word of mouth recommendations.
8 Best Advertising Moments of 2018
in Marketingby Anna CrochetAs a sales technology company, we don’t always spend time focusing on the creative work that advertising professionals are actually delivering once deals were made. Today, that changes! We’ve put together a round-up of the best advertising moments of 2018, celebrating the spots that stood out and will inspire more great work in 2019.
Our top picks for 2018 ads are entertaining, heartwarming, and downright effective, but we’d like to know: did we miss anything? Share your top choices for the best TV spots or campaign launches in the comments below.
The best advertising moments of 2018:
1. Bud Light: Redemption
Dilly dilly lives on! This time, in the brand’s summer seasonal ad, along with recurring character Sir Doug, who made an appearance in the first commercials in the series. Bud Light is the official sponsor of the World Cup, so the commercial released in May to get fans excited and put “dilly dilly” back in their minds as the summer season approached.
2. Amazon: Alexa Loses Her Voice
Amazon’s first-ever Super Bowl ad set the bar high, incorporating celebrities like Rebel Wilson, Cardi B, Gordon Ramsay, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. The indispensable voice of Alexa is filled in by the celebrities, using humor to imagine a world where Alexa has gone rogue. This ad mocks technology and our addiction to it while emphasizing the growing reliance on the Virtual Assistant, resulting in a collective 🙈.
3. Squarespace: Make It
Keanu Reeves starred in an epic 2018 Super Bowl commercial in which he pulled off a major motorcycle stunt cruising down a desert highway. As luck should have it, Reeves co-founded a motorcycle company — and just so happens to be a Squarespace customer. Combining celebrity endorsement, entrepreneurship, and action stunts (!!!), the spot was a juggernaut for the plug-and-play website hosting company. The commercial really sends home Squarespace’s mission to empower individuals, particularly those with an entrepreneurial spirit.
4. Tourism Australia: The Son of a Legend Returns Home
With the second installment of its hugely popular Dundee campaign, Tourism Australia made an appearance in the line up of 2018 Super Bowl ads. This $8 million dollar ad takes the audience through a tour of the film set with the third-most-famous-of-three Hemsworth brother, Luke, as their guide. The Hemsworth brothers were a natural fit for this campaign: as some of Australia’s most resonate global exports, all three brothers embody the friendly and welcoming spirit Australia wants to portray. Better still, according to sources, this campaign has worked! Since the campaign launched there has been a 22% increase in American tourists traveling to Hamilton Island, which is largely attributed to the attention brought to it by the ad (and, possibly, the idea that Australia is populated with more Hemsworths).
5. Tide: It’s a Tide Ad
“This is a Tide ad” was one of the most-uttered phrases of Super Bowl LII. The detergent company chose to make spots that look like they’re promoing other products into Tide ads by pointing out that, for the most past, ads that feature clean clothes are basically Tide ads. It was ingenious and well-received! According to sources, this was ranked one of the most effective of any Super Bowl LII ads by nearly 4,000 marketing pros surveyed. Tide’s success continued and by Q3 they had been mentioned on Twitter more than any Super Bowl advertiser excluding new film trailers. Once the NFL season began, the campaign was not as wildly successful but accomplished its purpose in the Super Bowl beyond belief. Stranger Things star David Harbour starred throughout the commercial as he was inserted into other well-known advertisements.
6. Apple: Welcome Home
At times, an advertisement can lack a connection between the actual product and the art and creativity involved in the making of the ad. Apple absolutely nailed the promotion for the Apple HomePod, depicting a moment of magic within an apartment when the star actress discovers the value the HomePod adds to her daily life. The purpose of the commercial is to emphasize how crucial sound quality can be to your attitude and enjoyment. According to sources, the film earned Apple the Cannes Lions Branded Entertainment Grand Prix in music along with multiple Gold honors.
7. Jeep: Jurassic World
The new 2018 Jeep Wrangler is introduced through a tribute to the original Jurassic Park film and was shockingly similar to the film’s look and footage. National hero and forever ageless jazz pianist Jeff Goldblum reprised his Jurrasic Park role, complete with the iconic T-Rex chase scene. Sure, it’s all in his head, but this spot still knocked it out of (Jurrasic) Park.
8. Universal Studios: Vacation Quarterback
Two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning was featured as the vacation quarterback in a Super Bowl Ad for Universal Parks and Resorts. Manning coaches families and their children to take their vacation to the next level and joins the families to make sure they are following his directions and having fun. The tone of the commercial is extremely light-hearted but was successful due to featuring a football fan favorite.
Now that we’ve shared our thoughts on the 2018 advertisements, we would love to hear yours as well! Who’s going to step it up in 2019? What advertisers will make the biggest splash during Super Bowl LIII?
Tune in next month to find our picks for favorite Super Bowl ads!
Prospect Now: 4 New Business Opportunities
in Ad Sales, Agency New Business, Marketing Techby Anna CrochetWant updated new business opportunities for 2019? Get them here.
New year, new opportunities. Start off 2019 strong with this week’s #Edgeucation report, highlighting four actionable insights from our expert writers and researchers at WinmoEdge.
WinmoEdge provides daily updates on new business opportunities that could change the game for you and your team, helping you win more business by keeping you up-to-date on all the latest leadership changes, strategy shifts, and spending reports on innumerable companies.
This week, we’re highlighting four different opportunities — including a “Told Ya” follow-up story demonstrating the accuracy and timeliness of our WinmoEdge predictions. If this week’s wrap-up interests you, be sure to request a Winmo trial in order to discover even more insights and stories that will put you ahead of your competitors and enable your company to stay top-of-mind for arising opportunities.
Adtech Sales Opportunity:
Walgreens Boots Alliance is a global drugstore chain that operates as the second-largest pharmacy store in the United States operating in three business segments: retail pharmacy USA, retail pharmacy international, and pharmaceutical wholesale.
The company named Vineet Mehra as global CMO, which will go into effect at the end of January. Mehra is an expert in the marketing field with prior experience at Avon, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble. He was also named on Forbes Top 50 CMOs list and plans to add positively to an already growing team and company.
According to sources, Walgreens reported double-digit earnings percentage growth in a recent Q1 earnings call, on par with their main rival CVS. Walgreens partners with Kroger as well as Verily in order to better help customers manage their health.
With the change in leadership, adtech readers should plan to capitalize on likely reviews within 6-9 months potentially. According to iSpot reports, National TV advertisements targeting their millennial demographic reached a spend of $201.5 million, much higher than the 2017 spend of $96.4 million, while digital display spend went from $18.7 million in 2017 to $8.5 million in 2018. Don’t let decreases discourage you, as we predict the addition of Mehra will bring shifts in strategy and spend.
Media Sales Opportunity:
Farmers Insurance Group operates as a provider of insurance management services and a holding company, serving as one of the nation’s largest writers of homeowners and private passenger auto insurance policies.
Recent activity includes their “We know from experience” campaign airing sequentially across TV channels in an attempt to establish brand awareness with their younger audience. According to sources, Farmers Insurance typically invests in TV, digital, outdoor, print, radio and social media outlets.
TV ads specifically required $130.2 million in 2018, which was more than the 2017 full spend of $129.7 million according to sources. Hulu is also a popular outlet for the Farmers Insurance in an attempt to reach their millennial demographic. Digital display ad spend has risen significantly from $151,000 in 2017 to $924,500 in 2018 according to Adbeat.
The media opportunity is evident considering Zennith Media has handled buying and planning for the company since 2018, much longer than the predicted tenure of 3-4 years. With a rise in spend in multiple areas, Farmers Insurance is on the rise and one to look out for in the new year.
Agency New Business Opportunity: Told Ya!
According to our WinmoEdge team’s reports in November of 2018, Blue Apron continued to struggle with a 4% staff layoff in order to cut costs by $16 million. In the midst of the turmoil, CMO Jared Cluff decided to pursue other opportunities and predictions were made that the creative partner Droga5 would also be affected, due to the fact that the company’s lack of success resulted from failed marketing efforts.
The WinmoEdge predictions came true, and Swift was named as the new creative AOR official last month. Their first campaign “Our Compliments to Every Chef” launched in late December. More agency shifts are likely as Blue Apron desperately attempts to attract customers that will be loyal, targeting anyone with an interest in cooking. As Blue Apron scrambles for a way to find success, those with food and beverage experience are encouraged to reach out.
Agency New Business Opportunity #2:
Burberry is an internationally recognized luxury brand with worldwide distribution, known for its innovation in fabric and outerwear. Scoring a 78 on WinmoEdge’s Vulnerable Account Index, signs of an agency shift are present and predicted to be 6-9 months out.
Shifts in leadership have been the story of Burberry recently with Rod Manley named as the new CMO effective January 7. Chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci and CEO Marco Gobetti also joined the team recently, signaling a new strategy including a new logo and monogram. It should be noted that these shifts took place in the UK but will without a doubt make a difference in the United States, creating opportunities for agencies to reach out for work with all of the company changes.
Burberry fans have voiced complaints about the new logo and continue to struggle with the #burnberry situation in which the company wasted $37.8 million in overstocked clothing. Anyone in search of work should keep these factors in mind when reaching out, and also be aware that spend in print and out-of-home spending decreased according to sources. However, the company does still have a significant ad budget and is on the search for someone who can help turn things around, and it’s highly likely digital will become a priority with the strategy shifts.
New Report: CMO Tenure Hits 43 Months, Varies by Gender
in Breaking Newsby Betsy HicksIn its definitive CMO tenure report, Winmo finds that female CMOs, which make up about 42 percent of tenures across industries, rotate up and out of roles five months sooner than their male counterparts (37.5 months vs. 43 months).
This was the first year that gender parity was included in the report, which considered over 2,400 CMO data points across national advertisers with media spend above $2 million, investigating CMO tenure by duration, industry, and more. The report is the broadest and most conclusive examination of marketing leadership tenure to date.
On average, Winmo finds that overall CMO tenure is 43 months (3.5 years), while CMOs are more likely to rotate up and out of roles between 30 and 45 months.
Beyond the high-level takeaways about CMO tenure and gender parity, Winmo’s report also delves into more specific findings within industry and gender. Key takeaways include:
The CMO Lifecycle: 5 CMOs to Watch in 2019
in Agency New Business, Business Developmentby Betsy HicksYou’ve probably already heard, but for those just joining us, Winmo recently released the 2018 CMO tenure analysis, The CMO Lifecycle. Analyzing the most CMO tenures ever (over 2,400!), our report gives new business professionals and media sellers an unparalleled view of agency and ad sales opportunities, with key findings designed to optimize prospecting and give you a guide to the CMOs to watch in 2019.
In short, it’s a gold mine for the new business professionals who know how to use it.
To better understand how this report can be applied in a practical prospecting way, we’ve put together a list of five CMOs to watch in 2019 based on the CMO report findings. Each of these CMOs comes from one of our top-five categories and currently holds the top marketing position at their respective companies.
Based on our data analysis, each of these CMOs falls within our “sweet spot,” or the time frame when we see more CMOs rotating up and out of roles. That means these CMOs are ones to watch — but it does not mean that they’re necessarily making moves right now.
When putting together prospect lists around the CMO report data, we recommend breaking it down by industry (it’s different for each one!) and putting together a “watch list” of CMOs that could make moves in the coming year, similar to this list.
With that in mind, check out our picks for five CMOs to watch in 2019.
Erik Lautier, Francesca’s Holdings
Jillian Balis, The Grommet
Rather than a focus on digital spend, as predicted in 2017, the platform increased its traditional marketing spend, releasing its first-ever national TV spot in September. Since then, The Grommet has spent $138,901 on TV spots that target the company’s typical demographic: women with a millennial skew. Spend increases are expected to continue to rise, while digital looks to be coming into play in the next year (the company has staffed up with digital experts, foreshadowing a shift in spending focus).
Marisa Thalberg, Taco Bell
Susan Johnson, Suntrust Bank
Gregory Butz, Serta Simmons Bedding
Winmo Users Score Deeper Digital Insights from Adbeat
in Breaking Newsby Marilyn Mead BrutocoWinmo has partnered with ad measurement leader Adbeat to give users of its sales intelligence tool the digital buying insights they need to close more deals with top advertisers.
A newly launched integration brings select data from Adbeat, which crawls millions of sites to analyze over 8 million ads every day – directly into Winmo’s award-winning sales platform, breaking down digital ad budgets alongside the brand and agency decision-makers who spend them.
“The digital landscape has become increasingly complex, and prospecting in this arena requires more and more advanced knowledge of a prospect’s activity to craft a compelling pitch and to help identify the best opportunities,” said Dave Thomson, Chief Revenue Officer of Winmo’s parent company, List Partners. “Adbeat’s unparalleled view of the landscape will provide a quick study on digital ad behavior, and we’re thrilled to provide this intelligence in the same place our clients find contacts, spend, and brand-agency relationships.”
The new integration gives Winmo customers access to a selection of expertly sourced data from Adbeat, including:
Benefits and Use Cases:
Media Sellers: Sell More Ads at Higher Premiums
Publishers and ad networks can consult Winmo’s Adbeat integration to determine where a potential partner is currently running ads, what percentage of their ads are placed as native, direct, or programmatic and in return translate this insight into a pitch that demonstrates their role in future growth.
Adtech: Identify Brands with a Need for Specific Offerings
Marketing technology providers can leverage Adbeat intelligence in Winmo to evaluate a potential partner’s need for their solution. With advanced knowledge of the ad formats a brand is serving, the percentage of ads placed programmatically versus direct, and breakdowns across standard, video, display and more, sellers can focus on the opportunities most likely to convert.
Agencies: Generate More Leads & Stronger Pitches
New business development professionals can rely on Winmo’s Adbeat integration to identify brands with a need for digital services and craft more targeted, relevant proposals. With a look at ad creative, landing pages and digital strategy, agencies can clearly demonstrate how they can help a partner drive future growth.
“Adbeat’s core mission is to empower both buyers and sellers of digital advertising with actionable competitive insights to help discover new business and close more sales,” said Mike Colella, Founder & CEO of Adbeat. “With the integration of Adbeat’s industry-leading ad intelligence data into Winmo’s already robust sales intelligence platform, Winmo users will gain a real-time picture of the digital advertising landscape helping them to identify and capitalize on even more opportunities.”
Join Winmo expert John Zaldonis for a deep dive into Winmo’s partnership with Adbeat. Bringing unparalleled digital insights right to your fingertips with a seamless integration into the Winmo platform.
Prospect Now: 4 New Business Opportunities to Pursue ASAP
in Ad Sales, Agency New Business, Marketing Tech, Sponsorshipby Anna CrochetWant updated new business opportunities for 2019? Get them here.
The start of a new month can be tough on salespeople — particularly those that flushed out their sales pipelines in an effort to close deals before the end of the year. Luckily, your month just got a little brighter thanks to Winmo’s predictive sales intelligence platform, WinmoEdge.
Starting this week, we’ll be rounding up four of the hottest new business opportunities every Monday. We’re making it our mission to #EDGEucate (get it?!) you on four actionable predictive insights each week, giving you a taste of WinmoEdge’s special sauce and a leg up on your competitors.
The predictive sales intelligence provided in WinmoEdge is reported on and tracked by living, breathing researchers who provide daily updates on new business opportunities that could change the game for you and your company. In addition, our in-house confirmation team takes the guesswork out of contact information by populating decision-maker profiles with up-to-date data, making it even easier to follow up on WinmoEdge’s new business opportunities.
If you don’t see something that strikes your eye this week, request a Winmo trial and discover the innumerable new business opportunities highlighted within the platform! And, of course, come back next week to #EDGEucate yourself on the latest and greatest new business opportunities and news.
Sponsorship Sales Opportunity: American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a national voluntary healthcare system based out of Atlanta, GA. Their overall mission is to free the world from cancer through funding and conducting research, supporting patients, and spreading the word about prevention.
Amid spending decreases, reported digital spend $986,300 YTD, ACS has launched a new holiday fundraising campaign called “Plan of Attack” that tells the story of a patient who transitioned from focusing on the worst-case scenario for her family to a plan for managing and overcoming her illness through ACS support. The goal of the campaign is to encourage major donations as the year comes to a close and also target their demographic of women age 35 and older. However, ACS is also attempting to attract millennials, so sellers appealing to those two groups will benefit.
Their overall spending has decreased in the last few years due to a shift to a digital focus through a variety of television shows and streaming. With these spend decreases, a top priority is optimizing the money they are spending. ACS recently partnered with the NHL, and if you are reaching out to partner, especially through events, there could be some last-minute dollars available through this campaign. Especially good news: Q4 is typically their top spending period.
Adtech Sales Opportunity: PlayStation
Sony’s PlayStation has announced a creative business review after almost six years of work with BBH, whose most recent project promoted the relaunch of PlayStation Classic. Based on their creative review process, PlayStation wants to establish a team of 3-4 agencies that will each work on different projects, but collectively be responsible for global marketing. The reasoning behind this structure is the amount of advertising is too heavy for a singular AOR, and the teams will pitch against each other for the six major campaigns throughout the year with the hope that healthy competition will keep performance high.
Marketing spending is expected to rise with the holiday season approaching with people attempting to satisfy all the gamer gift requests. Males under the age of 35 are the target audience, which is crucial to take into account when making pitches in the future.
So far this year, iSpot reports that PlayStation has spent more than $183.9 million on national TV commercials targeting various male-oriented programs. The brand’s total 2017 spend increased to $198.5 million from that of $81.5 million the previous year. According to our sources, PlayStation’s digital spend YTD is $4,100,000.
We recommend keeping PlayStation top of mind for distant future opportunities in digital and media work, but when currently reaching out make creative work the priority.
Media Sales Opportunity: Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods is a manufacturer and marketer of food and meat products. The company operates on a global scale through retail, foodservice and wholesale channels striving to create products that improve the lives of their consumers.
Hormel Foods recently reported higher advertising investments and accomplished their goal of establishing brands that embody high-quality products that are flavorful and nutritious to keep their brand name strong. For fiscal 2018, total advertising spend increased 11.76% to $152 million from $136 million in fiscal 2017.
The company’s spend period is traditionally Q2-Q3, so we suggest pitching soon to lock down ad revenue. The target audience is mothers and the kids they provide for, so keep this demographic in mind when hunting for opportunities.
Although the digital spend decreased to $1,068,800 so far in 2018, keep in mind TV commercial spend was significantly higher than year’s past, signaling that Hormel is moving towards more conventional tactics. Spending is always heavy in Q1, so make sure you are pitching in a timely manner to best support the brand.
Agency New Business Opportunity: Rimmel
Many fashion and beauty brands have shifted their focus to influencer marketing strategies but Rimmel, Coty’s British cosmetics company that took the US by storm this year, is doing the exact opposite and turning away from influencer marketing. Instead, Rimmel has decided to focus more on referrals from paid micro-influencers in order to stay loyal to their mission of selling mascara so everyone can afford it, not just those living in luxury.
The mission of Rimmel is to encourage customers to stay true to themselves and be who they want to be. This emphasis on authenticity is more effectively communicated through peer-to-peer recommendations rather than celebrities and paid influencers. With new CEO Pierre Laubies named in November, Coty’s is currently number 77 on the Vulnerable Account Index, meaning an agency shift is predicted within the next six to nine months.
According to reports, Rimmel reported a $1,634,000 YTD digital spend, and 85% of that spend was direct. Rimmel plans to continue their new strategy into the rest of 2019 and 2020, so don’t hesitate to make moves to help their attempt at authenticity and real, word of mouth recommendations.
Let’s Live Chat: Five Tips for Launching Live Chat on Your Website
in Marketing, Marketing Techby Ayanna GantSome businesses have the idea that live chat is solely for customer support. Guess what? It’s not!
In fact, live chat provides just as much value to marketing and sales teams as it does for customer support. Did you know that 30% of customers expect businesses to have a live chat technology available on their website? Chat supports your visitors — really, customers — by providing a new connection point with you and your team.
Better yet, chatbots have an immediacy that most websites don’t offer, allowing customers to contact you at the perfect moment: the exact time that they’re considering your product or service. With an open channel for dialogue, you can make create a genuinely customer-centric marketing strategy that speaks to the questions or concerns your users have when navigating your website.
Here are five things to consider when rolling out live chat to your site:
Depending on your particular audience, all pages may not be best suited for a live chat option. Your homepage probably gets the most traffic, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right place to add live chat. Consider key action pages like a pricing page, contact page, or a request trial landing page. Understanding your website visitors and their expectations when visiting your site is vital to rolling out a successful live chat feature.
Live cat can serve as a form of market research that you initially may have overlooked. For instance, if you start using chat and you begin to notice trends in the requests and questions asked on your website, you can update your site to present the answers to these common questions up front. In the same breath, if you experience that people who are visiting your site from organic or PPC ads are reaching your website but in fact looking for a different product with a similar name, you can use that actionable information to update and optimize your keyword strategy.
When was the last time a bot solely sold you on something you didn’t originally intend to buy or weren’t expecting to buy at that very moment? Like most forms of communication, there’s a fine line between bots that enhance the user experience and those that hinder it. Allowing bots to enter early in the conversation assists reps with the qualifying information they need to know about a prospect before they join the conversation.
If your company has an existing BDR team, allow them to monitor the chat. Typically, BDRs are new to their career, making them excellent candidates for a little practice; by monitoring chat, BDRs can hone their communication skills and learn about customer pain points straight from the source. That said, it doesn’t hurt to involve the entire company on live chat so that everyone can become better at their jobs and have a greater understanding of customer needs.
One word: bots. Yes, those bots we mentioned above. One of the most advantageous applications of bots comes when humans are offline; rather than miss an opportunity, bots can offer assistance or customized responses based on common questions. Using bots allows you to direct customers to content, help articles, video demonstrations and more to assist them until you return online to follow up with their questions and requests.
A lot of the power of chat comes with integrations that fuel the follow-up and tracking. Most live chat technologies integrate with major marketing and sales software providers, like Hubspot and Salesforce. These integrations allow you to store your customer touch points, including chat activities, in one place. They also create a seamless process when assigning prospects to the proper team members; because CRM platforms save user history, your sales reps can see a prospect’s previous activity — including chat history.
You’ve done a great job getting people to your site—you’re killing it on the awareness front, but the hard work doesn’t end there. Now that you have your visitors on your site, the next hurdle is getting them to interact and purchase your product. If you consider all the items above before building out your new live chat technology on your website, you’re sure to have a new technology that will take your company’s inbound marketing, sales, and customer support to the next level!
FestForums Wrap-up: The Lifecycle of a Sponsorship
in Sponsorshipby Brian McCueA couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to head out to Santa Barbara, CA, for the FestForums conference. For the uninitiated, FestForums is a conference for festival industry leaders, event producers, and artists that brings together events of all sizes. It’s a great chance to learn more about industry trends from leaders in these fields.
FestForums is also an exciting opportunity for the Winmo team to share our expertise in the world of sponsorship sales. While the conference overall was great, I wanted to share some specific takeaways from the panel I spoke on, Lifecycle of a Sponsorship.
The big question we attempted to answer is: How do festival sponsorship directors engage brands, ink deals, and activate and provide ROI in this landscape?
To answer this question, I shared three main tips to help companies go after new partnerships and sponsorships more efficiently.
Three FestForums Takeaways to Increase Sponsorship Sales
1. Take Prospecting to the Next Level
When selecting a prospecting resource, be sure to choose one that allows you to fully understand your target brand’s initiatives and focus. These insights will allow you to be more targeted in your approach and will ensure that you reach out to the right brands at the right time — with something relevant to say.
Follow these guidelines to show a brand why there’s synergy between their organization and your event:
Tools like Winmo give you the insight and contact information to pinpoint the right brands at the right time. Winmo specifically offers verified direct contacts for thousands of national brands and their agencies, insight into spending, recent initiatives and potential opportunities to make sure a chance to capitalize is never missed.
2. Make Activation Memorable
To ensure your brand’s on-site activation makes a statement, build programs that excite and engage your audience. Do something more than just basic banners; think of a creative way to bring together what the audience and your client are trying to achieve.
For example, the Bud Light Activation with the Browns proves that a simple idea can make a huge impression. When the Browns beat the Jets, ending a 635-day streak without a win, free beer was offered to the people of Cleveland to emphasize that when the Browns win, their fans do too.
Sometimes it’s necessary to coach your brand and push them in the right direction. It’s imperative to learn about their goals and understand how sponsorship will ultimately help them achieve these.
For the brand understand how to use your partnership to its full potential, make sure to add clarity to what you can offer and what the ROI is. Often times, these brands are looking for you to be the creative one and sell them on your idea of how the partnership is going to work.
3. Focus on the Future
While festival and event culture continues to evolve into a digital-first world through streaming or VR/AR technology, the live human experience is still deeply relevant. Luckily, technology is making an unforgettable human experience that much easier to achieve.
Attendees want their voice to be heard, so don’t be afraid to get them excited about the event by giving them options to share their experience through digital and social media platforms. If the brand experience at your event is ‘share-worthy’, people will not hesitate to post. Back to the Browns example: following the team’s win, fans seemed more interested in documenting the free beer than drinking it (or so it seemed, based on Browns’ fans social media posts).
That said, the sense of community and engagement created through social media is useless without solid metrics and performance tracking. To estimate the success of the event, the panel suggested tracking social media post activity and an uptick in brand followers. Or, connect social media impact to conversions by monitoring local sales.
Attendee behavior may be the most crucial of all, so get feedback on what they love about your event or program. These data points can then be used to show your current and future sponsors how the ROI behind sponsoring your event is a no-brainer. Brands love the data that surrounds a memorable experience.
Finally, when in doubt in sponsorship sales, be creative, be strategic and collect data to have the most positive influence possible.
7 Major Brands Who’ve Brought Their Programmatic Advertising In-House
in Marketing Techby Anna CrochetThe information provided is brought to you by WinmoEdge, which will give you the ability to contact key decision makers, monitor company spending, and stay up to date on changes in leadership. Request a trial today.
Marketers are on a mission to make advertising and promotional campaigns more accountable, productive, and relevant to their brand objectives. With that mission in mind, it’s no surprise that more and more national brands are bringing marketing management in-house.
We already know that more companies are bringing agency work in-house — according to a study done by the In-House Agency Forum (IHAF) and Forrester Research, 64% of corporate America have in-house agencies today versus 42% just 10 years ago. Now, companies are making a similar transition with digital marketing — specifically, programmatic marketing.
A 2017 survey by the ANA found 35% of brands have expanded their in-house programmatic media buying capabilities and limited the role of outside agencies, up from 14% in 2016. Two out of three marketers are planning to bring their programmatic efforts in-house by 2022, and the other third will do so partially. Studies show 38% of businesses mentioned cost efficiency as an incentive to switch in-house. A calculation shows that a company spending $2 million annually on digital advertising can save a quarter of that by cutting out the middleman.
At the end of the day, programmatic marketing accounts for more than 80% of digital ad spending nationally, which means that paying attention to these trends now is just good business.
Keep reading for which brands have already made the jump, plus insights and information on each brand’s major decision makers.
7 Major Brands Who’ve Shifted to In-House Programmatic Marketing
Moving programmatic capabilities in-house requires resources. What companies have resources? Major national advertisers.
Below, you’ll find seven national advertisers (and the decision makers — plus links to their direct contact information! — at each brand) who have brought at least some of their programmatic in-house. We recommend using this information to prospect other companies that have the potential and capacity to bring this important aspect of digital marketing, too.
1. Netflix
Last year, our WinmoEdge team reported that Netflix would be pushing their advertising budget north by $80M — a big jump to support a huge investment in original content. Combined with our understanding of the Netflix audience (24 and under), it’s assumed that a good majority of that went to digital spend. In 2018, the streaming giant is once again pushing the gas on marketing spend, jumping up from $1.3B to $2B. With more major releases set for 2019 (Stranger Things 3, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina S2, and a live-action Carmen San Diego film, to name a few), it’s safe to say that the spending is unlikely to slow anytime soon. Here’s what programmatic Adtech companies need to know about Netflix and its decision makers:
2. StubHub
As we reported in 2017, CMO Jennifer Betka left StubHub and was replaced by Olivier Ropars. We know that a new CMO is a sign that a creative, media and potentially digital review is imminent, so while StubHub has established new relationships with media buying and planning, it’s worth noting that Ropars could decide to stack the deck with his own picks.
3. Kellogg
WinmoEdge reported in recent months that Kellogg has released two new campaigns in the midst of their increased digital spend, with a particular focus on new channels. Deanie Elsner, President of the snacks business unit, said: “We went from spending very little on digital platforms to now spending 60% to 70% of our overall marketing budget.” According to our data, Kellogg spent $11.5 million by May of this year on digital advertising, with 95% of ads placed direct and through Amazon. They don’t have a specific top spending period, so there’s no bad time to get in the game.
4. Sprint
Moving programmatic in-house has allowed Sprint to be on the cutting edge as they work to serve and attract more customers. On the topic of cost efficiency specifically, the mobile carrier has saved $150 million, chiefly in marketing efficiencies. With outsourcing work, Chief Digital Officer Rob Roy said: “Transparency must be on the list- we want to have full insight into every dollar we spend.”
According to WinmoEdge, Roy reported they have removed media agencies from the programmatic buying process in order to control consumer data, minimize ad fraud and improve media transparency. In October of 2017, Roy also said that they soon plan to consolidate their 4 DSPs down to one. If Martech readers haven’t been engaging decision makers already, now is the time. Here’s how to reach out:
5. Unilever
As the world’s second largest advertiser, Unilever has major influence. This past year, the organization’s goal has been to spend less money creating new ads after reports proved more than 95% of Unilever’s advertising films were being replaced before they had reached maximum effectiveness. Rather than produce new pieces for advertising, the organization plans to show their current product in more effective ways. According to Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pikethly, “All we can do is continue investing heavily in building capabilities in the new marketing space. As such, around a third of our investment, which may be the wrong distinction here, is on digital.”
Up until July of this year, Unilever had spent $33 million on over 2.4 billion impressions, with most (94%) digital display ads placed site direct. The advertiser’s total 2017 spend, which spiked in July, rose to $81.8 million from $76.9 million the previous year. We expect this rise will continue, here’s how to get involved:
6. Procter & Gamble Co.
The world’s biggest ad spender grew in organic sales more than 2 percent while increasing media spending simply because of the decision to slash agency production fees and bring work in-house. According to our WinmoEdge team, P&G is solely cutting its agency costs in favor of better ROI and its marketing spend and operating expenses will continue to rise. An insider tip: historically, P&G’s spend has been higher during the second half of the year (H2). YTD digital display spend is north of $90.3 million.
7. Intel
Intel has had a year of new hires, which means change and opportunity. With an initial goal to reach 30% revenue in marketing by 2020, Intel is now expecting to meet this goal by 2019 — which means that they’ve pushed the gas. For those looking to reach out, keep in mind that the company has been shifting more to digital mediums as of late, suggesting they’re going for a younger skew (millennials and Gen-Z). Their top spending periods are usually Q4-Q2, but you should also keep an eye on new products.
Now that you’ve got brands, names, and insights about where programmatic is headed, it’s time to hit the ground running. And, pro tip: WinmoEdge is tracking and reporting this kind of invaluable intel DAILY. If you’re not following, you should be! Request your trial today.
Top 4 Agency New Business Opportunities
in Agency New Businessby Anna CrochetRather than ask what you’re looking forward to with Thanksgiving on the horizon, our question is what are you looking forward to the week you return to work?
Lucky for you, our WinmoEdge team has created some stellar agency opportunities for after the holiday that will make the end of your November as successful as it can be. As always, we’ll make sure you know who to pursue — and how — to get the best results.
The Vulnerable Account Index is a list of the top 100 companies and brands, updated each Friday with the latest top scores and new entries. Forecasting for agency new business opportunities is scaled by the following criteria:
This week’s recap will focus on major leadership changes and what they mean for you and your business, plus direct links to the contact information you need.
1. Harley-Davidson Shifts Toward Millenials and Social
In 2015, CEO Matthew Levatich stated, “Our long-term, 10-year strategy has the headlining goal to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders worldwide.”
The millennial shift is in full force as Harley-Davidson recently promoted Heather Malenshek to CMO and SVP of marketing and brand, effective September according to our WinmoEdge team. Her experience lies in targeting young adults through digital marketing, which is a perfect fit due to the fact that Harley has been positioning itself as more modern to draw in the “next generation of riders.” Efforts in an attempt to reach their target audience include heightened social media and earned media efforts, and also new partnerships and products.
Scoring an 87 on the Vulnerable Account Index (VAI), an agency shift looks imminent within the next 3-6 months, and we suggest approaching now. Make sure your pitches encourage current riders to engage with the sport, and of course pitch with the millennial audience in mind.
2. OhMyGreen Taps First CMO and Funding
In June of this year, WinmoEdge reported that OhMyGreen (OMG), a company that brings nutritious drinks and snacks into the office workspace, was on the hunt for a CMO to fuel its goal of nationwide growth. As of last week, the CMO search is over and Dorothee Fisher was named the company’s first CMO. She brings CMO and other marketing leadership experience from other companies and is known for excelling in emerging new business growth. Along with this new hire, OMG received a $20 million funding round to further advance their wellness platform and support its supplier and customer network growth.
Fisher will most likely review strategy and agency relationship options, and with a score of 87 on the Vulnerable Account Index (VAI), we expect an agency shift to occur within the next 3-6 months. Reach out with the target demographic of business decision makers in mind, particularly ones looking to improve the overall wellness of their employees.
3. Dick’s Sporting Goods Says Goodbye
As Dick’s plans its biggest Black Friday discounts ever, the company is also planning to make big leadership and roster changes. According to a recent WinmoEdge update, Dick’s SVP and CMO has parted ways with the company after about a year and a half, with no replacement yet named. This shift puts Dick’s back on the Vulnerable Account Index (VAI) with a score of 62. Continue to reach out because a review could begin in 9-12 months, potentially even sooner.
Dick’s tends to invest in broadcast, digital, radio and social media channels with YTD and National TV and digital display ads increasing as well. As an agency, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to reach out to ensure you are in the mix once a replacement for Hudler is found, we all know a new CMO is the number one indicator of increased budgets and agency reviews. Here’s how to do it:
4. Wayfair’s Perigold Names CMO
Handling niche online retail store operations, Wayfair was named the most valuable internet company in Massachusets according to WinmoEdge reports. Perigold also recently partnered with Cosmopolitan in preparation of a CosmoLiving collection line and is growing in overall spend across both channels of national TV and digital display ads. Thomas Kohler has been named the brand’s new CMO, bringing marketing leadership experience from the Boston Consulting Group and the BMW Group. While Wayfair handles much of its marketing in-house, there is still potential for project-based work. Scoring a 72 on the Vulnerable Account Index, signs of an agency shift are present, most likely within the next 6-9 months.
Here’s how to reach out: