DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS   |   POSTED ON 30.11.2015

Once upon a time it was only those highly tech savvy types that went to the trouble of finding and installing ad-blocking software, but those days are gone. Today ad-blocking is implemented as standard in the operating systems and devices of the most popular of brands. Basically, everyone now has access to ad-blocking by default, but before you start lamenting consider this; ad-blocking-as-standard presents an opportunity to re-evaluate your marketing approach and the techniques you are implementing.

Delve deeper into your customer analytics

While avoiding ad-blocking leads to marketing challenges it also highlights (again) the need for businesses and brands to really know their customers and their target audience; their wants, needs, desires, styles, tastes, preferences. Only a deep understanding of your customer profiles will lead to marketing channels, strategies and communications that customers will readily respond to.

Consider the role of social media

There is no denying the popularity of social media as a marketing channel; it’s opt in (customers mostly only see information from brands and businesses the actively follow), it can be targeted, and those audience members from social tend to act as brand advocates and be highly engaged – and no ad blocking as standard. But it can’t be the only strategy – it does lack a certain, genuine one on one approach to customer engagement. It may not offer the same powerful, personalised and relevant message.

Go beyond social media

You need to be where your audience is; website, email promotion, SMS or push messaging. Aim to interact with your customers at any time of the day or night, wherever they may be. Make mobile devices a key part of your marketing strategy; find ways to deliver you interesting, engaging, creative, personalised communications direct to their mobile devices. Even if ad blocking is turned on; mobile communications are a must in today’s market. If you are willing to adopt smart technologies there are still numerous ways to engage with your mobile audience in an interesting way, not affected by ad blocking. It all comes down to intelligent messaging.

User engagement within apps increases by up to 600% when marketers adopt an intelligent messaging solution.

Overall this means that marketers and advertisers need to leverage intelligent messaging; leverage big data for personalised communications.

As brands become more confident with holistic messaging solutions through mobile, and make it core to their customer engagement strategy, we will see even better results.
The consequence of this is that marketing agencies and brands will need to become more effective managers of customer data than they are already, and there will be a real drive for data expertise in marketing, well beyond what has already been seen to date.
Advertising has already become highly data-driven. However the quality data and analytics strategies that need to be in place to run successful intelligent messaging campaigns is something else entirely. The future will see CMOs and other marketing executives develop a real and lasting need for expertise and support in collecting customer data in order to make the most of the mobile opportunities available to them. – Brendan O’Kane, founder and managing director, OtherLevels

Side step the ad blocking barrier and construct marketing plans and strategies that are targeted, personalised, relevant and right where your audience is looking for the messaging that will appeal to them. To learn more contact your local branding specialist Liquid Creativity.

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