Sentiment In Marketing: Harnessing The Power
May 12, 2016, 09:01am EST
An Adotas Q&A with Joshua Keller, President and Founder of Union Square Media Group, looks at how targeting, bolstered by sentiment, can increase reach and brand loyalty.
Q: How do you measure personal sentiment with a brand, and how does this affect targeting?
A: Personal sentiment of a brand can be very tricky to measure because measuring a feeling is much different than looking at hard numbers. But you can see the benefits when sentiment marketing is used correctly.
One brand that really tackled sentiment in marketing is Budweiser with their now famous puppy commercials. These commercials allowed Budweiser to go from a brand that traditionally marketed to an older, male demographic with more of a rugged appeal to warming up the public’s view of the brand allowing them to further target an audience they wouldn’t necessarily have prior.
With social media marketing, its becoming more and more prevalent that brands pull from personal sentiment to expand impressions on their brand. Now Nike can post a 15 second video of a female running up hill in the rain and millions of users will see that and attribute the brand to female athleticism and strength. Toms shoes can post a video of company placeholders handing out free shoes to children in impoverished conditions that will tug on the heartstrings of buyers in the US, allowing those buyers to pull from the sentiment that buy buying Toms you’re buying more than just shoes but happiness for people around the world. The list of brands and possibilities is truly endless.
Q: What are some challenges and opportunities marketers face as they aim to address audiences across devices?
A: Mobile advertising is still wide open. Compared to desktop, the traffic is still relatively cheap. One mistake that a lot of companies make in regards to mobile is thinking that by only making the mobile experience responsive that it’s the best possible scenario to capture audiences. This is wrong. The mobile site should be made as if it’s it own entity and not just an afterthought of a traditional desktop site.
Q: What do you think of publishers taking audience targeting/data capabilities in house (such as Time Inc.’s acquisition of Viant)?
A: It’s great to see a company that old wanting to stay ahead of the curve. They want to take the power into their own hands and control the full cycle of how a customer is acquired. I can’t speak much to Viant specifically, but with the right data capabilities most companies would see a huge lift in their marketing costs and customer retention. That’s well played.
About Joshua Keller
Joshua Keller has embodied the entrepreneurial spirit since long before he became the President and Founder of Union Square Media Group, a digital advertising agency.
Keller has overseen the growth of Union Square Media’s marketing, sales, and business development efforts as well as its multiple locations in Miami, Boston, and the company’s flagship New York location for the better half of the last decade.