My initial reaction to this slew of content is to feel revolutionized yet instantly behind the curve. If AI is brand new, how have so many people managed to become experts? Published experts. Published and profitable experts. 

Perhaps this is because AI isn’t actually new. The term ‘AI’ was coined in the early 1950s but the concept of technology and non-human tools has been around since the Stone Age.

A Brief History of the Future 

In 1988, Pixar released one of their most successful short films. Despite financial constraints, Steve Jobs agreed, in the midst of a complete financial shutdown, to fund the project; and the Oscar Award Winning cartoon ‘Tin Toy’ aired at a 1988 SIGGRAPH Convention to standing ovation. This film was the first official test of a software called ‘PhotoRealistic RenderMan’ and was ultimately responsible for making computer animation a credible form of artistic production. Later in 2003, The Library of Congress elected this film for preservation in the US National Film Registry dubbing it ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 

If you are scratching your head and trying to figure out why in the golden era of Pixar masterpieces, you do not remember anything about a toy named Tinny desperately trying to escape Billy the infant, it’s because the movie was wildly rejected by the public. 

While the PhotoRealistic RenderMan software was truly spectacular, audiences hated the realistic features. Billy looked so human that it made people uncomfortable. Judge Adam Areseneau referred to this film in a DVD Verdict in late 2007 as “the most frightening and disturbing piece of animation in the history of this art form.” This feeling of unsettled rejection to human-like attributes, known as “Uncanny Valley Phenomenon”, is largely subjective and has been debated since the early ‘70s. Is this something that we need to ‘force’ humans to ‘get over’? Or is this something that we just need to accept, and continue producing lesser value productions for greater human enjoyment? I suppose this lends to the greater question, do we create to contribute, or just for the sake of saying we created something? 

Fast forward to 2022, ChatGPT is released and the business world collectively loses their mind in pure panic mode trying to determine how and if to incorporate this revolutionary AI technology into their every day business. 

Is it safe? Will it catch on? Are our competitors using it? Will it replace employees or require more skillsets? How are we going to find time to learn this? Can we use it to publish a blog about how we are at the cutting edge of using it while we figure out how to use it? 

So, where do we start?

Let’s start with understanding the vernacular and distinguishing ‘AI’ from its buzzword counterpart. 

AI (artificial intelligence) is an all encompassing term that essentially refers to any non-human generated smarts. This is in itself a paradox since humans are the ones who have to feed any technological algorithm. 

ChatGPT, while not synonymous with AI, uses the concept of AI to act as a virtual assistant. While chatbot technology has been around since the 1960s, ChatGPT certainly upleveled that capability and is largely responsible for the recent surge in AI trending language. 

But while your headlines may presently be drowning in AI tagged headlines that basically all say “AI has developed new technology…. We’re not sure how to use it… but it’s here and you/we should probably look into this”, AI is not new. 

The Magic of a Good PR Spin

If there’s one thing marketers do exceptionally well, it is capitalizing on profitable products/services by pushing the same thing in a plethora of positioning variations. Leave it to marketing pros to support and proliferate ideas until they no longer hold any meaning. (Taylor Swift watches football. Enough Said.) 

While AI continues to evolve and offer advanced use-cases and iterations, we needn’t panic about the overhaul of everything we know and understand about the world. Because we have already co-created with AI for decades. 

Respond > React

It’s natural for marketers to live a bit on edge. The world is changing, trends are flying (thanks Internet), and with the flooding of new data every second, our understanding and positioning as well as that of our customers is shifting sometimes daily. With the fire under our feet and expectations to deliver exceptional marketing in the same way we did before our consumers had access to every transparent piece of information, this can be a daunting and frankly impossible ask for anyone to oblige. 

Instead of reacting to every ‘new’ trend or buzzword, let’s respond. Reacting is impulsive and often rooted in panic and emotion. We immediately jump into tactics and make long-term decisions based on short-term insights. This can be exhausting as well as expensive as we are tasked with continually shifting direction. It’s like starting from scratch every single day.

When we respond, we pause to absorb the information we are receiving, and we wait until emotion subsides. We think about how to leverage what we already have, and we walk confidently forward in the same direction we have invested our time, energy, and dollars into since inception. 

Leveraging AI 

The goal of any business is to maximize profits and impact. When we partner with businesses to strengthen their brand, one of the first things we look for is their difference. What sets this brand apart from any other competitive offering? What is their story, their WHY, their personality? What can we share with their audience that they won’t be able to get anywhere else? One of the best ways I find to leverage AI is to sift and sort through the copious amounts of information available and use that to streamline your messaging.

Do marketers need to think about AI? Probably. But isn’t that in our job description as marketers? To think about everything? 

What do we do with this information?

AI can be a great asset to your business. You can use it to research, automate, streamline, annotate…. But a tool is only as useful as the craftsman who knows how to use it. 

Technology has existed and evolved since the beginning of time. Ideas are tossed to the masses and the acceptance or rejection of any new idea or change is largely rooted in providence and timing. AI, along with any other marketable product, will continue to be re-named, re-positioned, and re-released to capitalize on current trends. This is marketing.

Where do we as marketers draw the line between creating to contribute, and creating for our own egos? And when does this become problematic? 

It’s not a question of whether or not the world should exist with AI, but rather how do we best use it to better the human experience. With the potential gain of technology, what are the potential losses? If we benefit from saving time and money at the expense of cutting thousands of job roles, what does that mean for our economy? For morale? 

Our job as marketers, as creatives, is to not only know how to create, but when to stop. Going back to the uncanny valley phenomenon, Tin Toy was shelved, but ultimately became the story plot for another popular film series. With some revised and overly-animated cartooning and an A-list cast, Tiny Toy became what we now know and love as Toy Story, which ultimately inspired a whole new world of both award-winning and beloved entertainment. 

Going back to HI

There is power in the story we create. The words we use and the frame we package truth within can dramatically alter perception and results, even when working with the exact same, accurate, data. 

While we continue to tinker with technological advancements, it is crucial now more than ever that we highlight and preserve human intelligence and well-being. Considerations such as legal protections, plagiarism, privacy breaches, psychological impact, economic impact, etc are real human challenges that require exceptional levels of intelligence and discernment. 

What is the real WHY behind technology? I would argue that technology exists to improve the human experience. It exists to make our lives easier, better, and more flexible so that we can enjoy more human experiences. Creativity without contribution is no longer about creating, but taking. Rather than hyper-focusing on the intricacies of technological tools, let’s put the focus back on connecting with our customers. This is where the real magic happens. 

Gigasavvy helps brands move their business forward and position themselves for long-term success with comprehensive strategies, meaningful brand stories, and innovative creative campaigns. Connect with us to chat about how we can help you bring your brand into the future. 

Increased Brand Credibility and Trust

Consumers are more likely to trust a recommendation from a person they admire or relate to than from corporate advertising, especially when there is no face to the brand. In fact, 92% of consumers trust peer recommendations over advertising. Often being loyal customers themselves, brand ambassadors share stories that resonate with their audience and the genuine experiences foster trust and credibility within their communities. 

People trust other people that they can feel a connection to and resonate with. This simple yet profound reason is at the heart of why brand ambassadors are so effective. When a relatable, authentic person endorses a product or service, it clears the air of the constant promotion coming from the direct source. 

Wider Reach and Visibility

Brand ambassadors can extend your brand’s reach. A single campaign from an influential ambassador can open up your brand to hundreds, thousands and even millions of potential customers. With the rise of social media in our day to day lives, this is a strategic way to capture the fleeting attention of consumers and stop them in their tracks while scrolling. 

With their diverse and extensive followings, whether they are micro or macro influencers, brand ambassadors can introduce your brand to new markets and demographics that go far beyond traditional organic reach. 

Enhanced Engagement and Interaction

Community engagement is what sets you apart from your competition. Building lasting relationships with customers is a crucial part of maintaining authentic relationships within the community. Through their social media presence and online interactions, brand ambassadors create a two-way communication between your brand and target audience. 

This method of communication, when you are talking WITH your audience and not AT them, can encourage feedback, address concerns, and create an interactive experience that deepens your relationship with customers. Long term success builds a solid community around your brand that fosters ongoing interactions. 

Cost-Effective Marketing

Brand ambassadors can be significantly more cost effective than traditional advertising methods. Although most ambassadors are paid for their services, some are also open to an exchange of products or experiences. In addition, micro influencers cost 96% less than macro influencers on average. This means that for a relatively low investment, you can achieve extensive coverage and promotion. 

The nature of organic ambassador promotions will often lead to a higher ROI because of the fact that their authenticity in endorsing a product will likely convert more into sales. 

Valuable User-Generated Content

Brand ambassadors are an amazing source for user-generated content (UGC). To break past the constant promotion of products and services within social media platforms, the genuine experiences that ambassadors share create a compelling and relatable funnel of content that can be repurposed across different marketing channels. 

This allows brands to allocate resources that they normally would be using on content creation to other areas of their marketing efforts. Authenticity is highly valued by audiences, particularly within Gen Z, making UGC an effective content strategy. 

This allows brands to allocate resources that they normally would be using on content creation to other areas of their marketing efforts. Authenticity is highly valued by audiences, particularly within Gen Z, making UGC an effective content strategy. 

Integrating brand ambassadors offers a multitude of benefits to your marketing strategy. They are a valuable asset for not only building trust within your target audience but also are viewed as a highly credible source for advocating for products and services. With a strive to be seen as genuinely authentic in the marketplace, it is essential to implement the cost effectiveness of user generated content into your overall marketing plan. 

As a strategic creative agency, Gigasavvy brings brands to life across all channels to authentically connect with their audiences. Connect with us to chat about how we can help you drive your brand forward. 

1. Advertising Will Be More Interactive and Immersive

In the coming year, we expect to see an increase in the use of augmented reality (AR), which allows users to leverage smartphones and other devices to overlay and interact with static or moving images within their real environment. This technology is making it easier than ever for consumers to “try before they buy.” 

With AR, consumers have access to an increasing number of ways to test out big ticket purchases, including virtually placing their furniture in a new home and then walking through each room, visiting far-away travel destinations, and checking out the view of the stage before they shell out extra money for premium concert tickets. 

As the technology becomes easier to deploy, brands are increasingly using augmented reality to increase engagement and gamify purchases for smaller ticket items as well — so much so that this form of advertising is expected to grow by more than 41% over the next ten years. Brands are leveraging the technology to provide customers a more seamless shopping experience with virtual dressing rooms and makeup studios, creating branded filters that users can interact with and share on social media, and developing immersive games that motivate consumers and allow shoppers to earn redeemable loyalty points.

2. Video Advertising Will Continue to Grow

Video killed the radio star in 1979 and has only picked up since then. 91% of marketers are currently using video content, and nearly 100% of buyers turn to videos to learn about a product or service before making a decision.

With the advent of smartphones, short-form video content has become a regular part of our daily lives. US adults spend 3 hours a day watching digital video (in addition to 3 hours of television). As handheld devices have made video production more accessible, a variety of new video formats have been introduced and have gained in popularity. Today, some of the most popular video formats are live stream videos, search-optimized video, and social media stories. 

While launching a video ad may be easier than ever, differentiating from all of the available noise is becoming more challenging. Brands will need to figure out the right mix of quality over quantity, and dig deeper into authentic and creative storytelling with compelling hooks to provide value to their viewers and keep them engaged.

3. Micro & Nano-Influencer Sponsorships Will Increase, But Be More Subtle 

There has been a recent shift in the world of influencer marketing, and it’s all about tapping into the power of small. Micro and nano-influencers, with fewer than 50,000 followers, are showing us that you don’t need big numbers to have a big impact. Due to their more intimate relationships with their followers, these influencers’ sponsored posts feel more like the natural and genuine recommendations, rather than ads. 

Increasingly, brands are choosing to work with influencers who have smaller followings because their content is perceived as being more real in a world where consumers are actively trying to avoid blatant ads and prefer to purchase from someone that they feel connected to, rather than feel tricked into a purchase by a mega or macro personality. In fact, 45% of Gen Z have boycotted a business that was not transparent in their advertising.

Micro and nano influencers also allow for better targeting, as they often focus on a specific niche and speak to their audiences’ passions directly. These audiences are communities that trust, interact, engage with each other. Micro influencers get 47% more engagement on their posts compared to macro influencers. 

Brands can often achieve macro-level reach for the same cost by partnering with multiple micro or nano influencers at the same time. This helps spread their message in a more down-to-earth, authentic fashion. But to make the most of these partnerships, brands need to understand that it’s not about simply pushing a product, it’s about subtly and seamlessly fitting into their influencers’ lifestyles in a way that makes sense. This opens up far more opportunities to engage the community and promote real, positive conversations about products. 

4. AI Will Power More Personalized Marketing

It’s no surprise AI will continue to play a pivotal role in delivering personalized customer experiences in 2024. Data is the heart of personalized marketing, but consumer behavior changes constantly, and it’s unrealistic to expect marketers to analyze large volumes of data and garner actionable insights in real time. AI-driven algorithms can analyze enormous amounts of data to create highly-focused, curated consumer experiences. 

As disruptive companies have increasingly leveraged breakthroughs in AI technology to deliver personalized, valuable, and immediate experiences, consumers have become more accustomed to this — so much so that 66% of customers expect companies to do the homework and serve up exactly what they are searching for, and 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that recognize, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations. 

In a digitally driven world, marketers can use these personalized experiences to build stronger relationships with customers and stand out from the competition. From personalized content recommendations to dynamic pricing tactics, AI will help businesses optimize marketing strategies and improve customer satisfaction – leading to higher conversion rates, loyalty, and retention. 

5. Social Media Will Become More Shoppable 

Shopping on social media, often referred to as “social commerce,” has reshaped the landscape of online purchasing, fusing social media engagement with e-commerce in a seamless, integrated experience. Social platforms have evolved into sophisticated marketplaces. Short-form videos on platforms like Instagram and TikTok continue to drive product discovery, particularly for Gen Z, allowing users to interact with and purchase products without ever leaving their social feeds. 

This transformation is driven by native shopping features such as Instagram’s Shopping cart tab or TikTop Shop, which offer quick checkout experiences layered on top of persuasive, real-time, and sometimes user-generated content. This allows brands to meet customers where they are already spending a significant amount of time and attention. 

One of the keys behind this explosion of social commerce is the use of interactive content, which engages users through influencer partnerships, live shopping events, and even virtual try-ons. This innovative strategy goes beyond traditional advertising and leverages influencer collaborations, once focused on brand awareness, to generate sales with shoppable posts. 

As platforms continue to integrate more immersive experiences that combine the convenience of e-commerce with the thrill of real-time engagement, brands tap into the opportunities to have 10x the conversion rate of average ecommerce marketing. On Instagram alone, 70% of users have made a purchase directly from a brand’s shoppable post.

6. CMOs and Marketing Executives Will be Subject to Higher Expectations

As technology and digital communication continues to evolve, the C-Suite is being asked to rethink how they look at marketing. Beyond curating brand perceptions, marketers are now tasked with a much larger mission of driving culture forward. There is social pressure on marketers to drive real change in important world issues such as sustainability, DEI, and economic growth. 

But while the expectations are increasing, resources are decreasing. 86% of C-Suite Executives feel they have missed revenue and/or customer growth opportunities due to lack of resources or niche expertise and 60% of marketing leaders feel that a lack of talent capacity is their number one challenge. CMOs have hit the lowest tenure in over a decade at barely 39 months with 70% of polled marketing leaders sharing that economic stressors had led to burnout. 

As the C-Suite continues to shift and adapt to social pressures, new technologies, and the increased need for stronger differentiation, CMOs will need to broaden their scope of work and partner more closely with their CFO, CIO, COO, CEO and agency partners. Silo-busting is evolving from trend to necessity, and marketers are perfectly positioned to mediate some of the more impactful conversations on the table.

7. Search is Becoming a Multi-Sensory Experience

As AI has helped to improve natural language processing, voice search has become commonplace on many platforms from search engines to social media, and across a range of devices — including smartphones, TV remotes and personal assistant devices. 

Although this technology is only widely available in the western world, in 2024 we are on pace to have more personal voice assistants than there are people on this planet. More than half of adults report completing a voice search daily, resulting in a billion voice searches monthly, and that number is continuing to grow.

And shifting consumer behaviors don’t stop with simply speaking search commands into a smart device. Today’s consumer is also likely to conduct a visual search. Google Lens now also allows 8M users to capture images with their smartphones to initiate visual search queries each month, while Pinterest’s robust visual search capabilities shows 600M consumers where to buy products similar to images they’ve viewed. Social media platforms are quickly following suit, helping consumers to spend money anywhere they are spending their time.

Last but not least, video search is far from being left out of the game. YouTubers now complete an astonishing 3B searches per month.And TikTok, while not a search platform, seems headed in this direction as well, with users searching up how-to videos in the #TikTokTaughtMe trend.

These trends have important implications for marketers. To help ensure your brand is found across any type of search, traditional SEO efforts need to be bolstered with content that is designed for Voice Search Optimization (VSO) and visual search. This means ensuring that your website includes engaging and descriptive messaging that answers common customer questions and building out strong image and video libraries, with products shot from multiple angles, to help consumers find your products as a match for their visual and video searches.

8. Consumers Will Continue to Seek Sustainable and Purpose-Driven Brands 

Humans are compelled to make purchases based on emotional rewards. This helps to explain why so many consumers say that they wish to support brands that align with their values. Consumers are demanding social change from brands, and companies are pushed to increase their sustainability initiatives or even hire a CSO and build out an entire department. 

While consumers remain vocal about the importance of ESG, some companies struggle to generate high enough demand for their more expensive sustainable products. This paradox comes from consumers deeply valuing purpose driven and sustainable initiatives, while also feeling the weight of inflation. 72% of consumers say that external factors such as inflation, social movements, and climate change are impacting their lives more than in the past, yet 78% of US consumers prioritize a sustainable lifestyle.

As marketing leaders seek to find solutions that work for both their business and their customers, implementing small, attainable changes can be a powerful way to be present in the public eye while also creating real impact. One place to start is with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This framework provides 17 options to help identify areas where brands can be poised for success, and gain collaborative support from other brands seeking the same results.

9. Brands Will Shore-Up 1st Party Data to Combat Data Privacy Restrictions

With the implementation of stronger data protection laws, marketers are finding it important to work with operations and IT to build out better first-party data as a valuable alternative to third-party data sources. First-party data includes any information that a brand collects directly from its customers from interactions, feedback, profiles, purchase history, and website behavior. 

By collecting this data directly from customers, brands can establish trust with their audience while gaining valuable insights into their preferences and behavior. Consumers appreciate brands who allow them to have this higher level of control over their personal data. According to recent studies, 61% of consumers feel like they’ve lost control over how their personal information is used. This is a significant increase from the 46% reported in 2019. 

Not only is first party data collection a safer bet for minimizing privacy concerns, but it allows brands to build stronger relationships with customers by improving their experiences. Personal data equips brands to identify pain points in the purchase journey, tailor their marketing efforts and better meet consumers’ needs, which is highly valuable in today’s market. 

10. Increased Investment in Brand Building

We’ve discussed several ways that technology is making it easier for brands and consumers to find each other and connect. This is both a blessing and a curse. Unfortunately, all of these advances also make it easier for bad actors to get in front of your customers as well. 

As consumers flock to AI-enabled tools to help them find what they seek, they are simultaneously becoming more skeptical of AI-driven content, and are trying to protect themselves from it, with nearly half of online consumers installing ad blockers to avoid being manipulated by the many fly-by-night organizations that show up on their social feeds.

In the midst of this growing distrust, brands are leaning into their biggest asset – authenticity. In a recent study, 90% of marketing executives said they were planning to expand on their audience engagement by increasing their online and social media presence, with 66% of them focused specifically on building their brand equity by strengthening brand trust and loyalty. The most credible brands are planning to increase ad spending by more than 8% in 2024 to build and protect customer relationships.

With the rapid changes in the digital marketing landscape, 2024 is sure to be another whirlwind for marketers as they contend with AI advances, shifts in content consumption and the continuous entry of new competitors who appear to promise the world, even if they cannot deliver it. Brands have an opportunity to respond by leveraging every touchpoint to personalize their approach to marketing and develop more real, two-way relationships with their customers. Investing in building an authentic brand presence will help to create a strong foundation of trust and drive consumer loyalty.

Gigasavvy is an award-winning brand strategy and creative agency that has helped many brands grow with strategic go-to-market planning and authentic brand storytelling. Contact us to see how we can help bring your brand to life.

In short, challenger brands boldly step out, confident in who they are and what they can achieve, regardless of what’s been done before, embracing any failure that may come as an opportunity to learn and grow. Challenger brands push the world forward. 

Types of Challenger Brands

For those who are not deeply rooted in challenger brand culture, it may not be obvious that there are actually several different types of challenger brands: 

Real and Human

It might be no surprise that we included this at the top of the list, since, here at Gigasavvy, we pride ourselves on being exactly this kind of challenger. Real & Human challenger brands seek to break away from the mold of impersonal, big-brand messaging that talks AT customers, to connect WITH consumers on a human level, like like Harry’s, who took on Gillette “with a small and idealistic group of people fighting to bring us something genuinely better.” These brands dig deeper into, not just what customers want and need, but why they need it, then take a fresh approach to marketing with a more conversational and storytelling style of advertising, embracing and addressing the real and imperfect human experience, in order to foster authentic 2-way communications.

Feisty Underdog

Challenger brands are often upstarts with few comparative resources, but a knack for positioning the established players’ size and strength as a liability. Feisty underdogs loudly broadcast their status as a David against industry Goliaths. Messaging is intentionally designed to highlight the contrast in “Little Guy” vs. “The Man,” or “Good” vs. “Evil” terms, so that they can inspire consumers to route for them and flock to provide support. When Ben and Jerry’s took on Haagen Dazs they were as feisty and scrappy as any ice cream brand could be, though they have since taken on Goliath status themselves.

Next Generation

Next Generation challenger brands recognize the importance of the shoulders on which they stand, the products that came before them, which they now iterate and modernize to meet the demands of the world today. They pay homage to the hard work that originally inspired them, or that gave them their start in the industry, while also highlighting that it is time to move forward with something better. In a perfect example of a Next Generation challenger brand campaign, Hyundai celebrates the evolution of the auto industry, which has notably said goodbye to many older stalwarts such as Plymouth, Pontiac and Oldsmbile, as a natural extension of the evolution of society at large.

Game Changer

As the name implies, these challenger brands forever change the landscape by approaching the market with a completely new perspective. They don’t just seek to take on established players within an industry, but to completely shake up the entire vertical. The most famous example here is when AirBnB completely revolutionized the hospitality industry with a simple premise of sharing vacant space in members’ homes.

Democratizer

Democratizing challenger brands seek to make products that had previously only been available to a select few, and make them available to everyone. E-commerce can often play a huge role in their success, as it allows these challenger brands to transcend physical borders. Food purveyor Goldbelly makes regional restaurant favorites available to consumers around the world, perfectly embodying this type of challenger brand.

People’s Champion

Similar to Democratizers, Peoples’ Champions are focused on making products more widely available, but, in this case, with a focus on bringing them to underserved, under-represented markets. One of our own clients is a beautiful example of this. Currently we are helping Radar Tires make premium tires more accessible to all consumers.

Missionary

These challenger brands are on a mission to make the world a better place, or right some wrong in the world with their new product, or new product messaging. In a campaign highlighting what cows, pigs and chickens would look like if they were allowed to live up to their ripe old age, Not Milk took a decidedly missionary brand challenger stance.  

Irreverent Maverick

These challenger brands don’t just challenge the status quo, they poke you in the eye and say “Zoinks” while doing it. Irreverent Mavericks rely on often sarcastic humor to call attention to stale norms and highlight a new way of doing things. Dollar Shave Club, which was started by comedy student from the Upright Citizens Brigade, who had no actual experience manufacturing shaving products, is the ultimate example of how Irreverent Mavericks rely on humor to create success.

Enlightened Zagger 

The name indicates that these challenger brands will zag while everyone else zigs. That is true, but not without thoughtful purpose. These Enlightened Zaggers will flip conventional rules that seemingly everyone knows and accepts as a truth on their heads, as was the case when Casper folded up a mattress and shipped it in a box, smaller than the average adult male — a previously inconceivable idea.

Visionary 

Visionary challenger brands are not always recognized up front; it can often only be seen retrospectively. These brands are attributed with changing their category so much that it can actually end up creating a new category altogether. After struggling for years to make coffee that stood apart from competitors based on quality, Starbucks took a visionary brand challenger approach to coffee shops by creating “the third place” — a sanctuary between work and home where people could retreat to mingle, relax and recharge.  

Benefits and Challenges of Being a Challenger Brand 

When successful in their quest, challenger brands are recognized for making a difference in the hearts, minds and wallets of consumers. As we’ve seen above, in some cases, challenger brands forever change the landscape for the better by solving customer problems, making commerce more efficient, and creating products that address very real challenges in the world.

However, most challenger brands find that they must go up against very well established competitors, often with a lack of comparable resources. Even after the considerable operational and manufacturing hurdles with developing a new product or service have been cleared, these brands often find themselves facing behemoth competitive marketing budgets as well. They have to find ways to efficiently capture and keep audience attention in order to be successful. 

Challenger Brand Marketing 

By the very nature of their company culture, challenger brands usually take a scrappy approach to marketing. That does not necessarily mean that they don’t have a budget or won’t spend any money on advertising. In fact, some of the brands listed above gained notoriety through large broadcast TV ad buys, and even Super Bowl commercials. Being scrappy with your marketing means using resources wisely, often in unexpected ways, to get the maximum impact. 

The key to getting maximum impact is to make sure you have a clear brand voice. Large, established players have often had their value propositions watered down over time as they’ve tried to appeal to the masses. Challenger brands are able to achieve success by very clearly communicating who they are, what they stand for, and how they plan to achieve their mission. 

Once the brand position and voice clearly are defined, challenger brands have a strong position from which to stand as they bring their messaging to life. By taking a storytelling approach, these challengers can highlight how and why they are different, how that helps audiences solve problems in new and innovative ways, and why that matters. The most important thing is to develop creative that connects to audiences in a real and authentic way. 

When the campaign creative is authentic and compelling, challenger brands have more clarity into how they can build and deploy marketing campaigns that will reinforce their narrative. For example, if the brand message is about disruption, guerilla marketing tactics that may make a lot of sense, while a strategy of cost domination would require a more traditional, far-reaching paid media campaign. 

Strategic agency partners can help challenger brands to ask the right questions, figure out what they don’t know, and develop strategies that bring their brands to the market in the way that is the most aligned to the long term strategic vision.

Gigasavvy has experience helping challenger brands assess the landscape and position themselves for long-term success with comprehensive and adaptive brand strategies, meaningful brand stories, and award-winning marketing campaigns. Connect with us to chat about how we can help you drive your brand forward. 

Now is a good time for brands to take a step back and look at what they stand for, what they say, and how they say it. But how do you widen your brand reach without risking public outcry?  

1. Consider Your Customers 

Pretty much every business wants to grow and make money, but expanding brand reach in itself cannot be your sole purpose for being. Successful brand strategy requires delivering real value to customers. To authentically and meaningfully widen your brand reach and appeal, you first have to look at which audiences have a real need for your company’s expertise, and think about who these customers are.

Of course it’s important to quantify your new audience, but really defining who they are goes far beyond the numbers and the demographic details like age, gender and household income. Creating an impactful brand strategy requires really knowing your target audience as people. What motivates them? What inspires them? What problems do they have? What is unique and special about them? 

In working through this exercise, you are likely to notice that your various audiences have very different needs and perceptions, and that they also have several things in common. It is very important to consider all of these audiences, so that, rather than swinging all the way to something new at the expense of customers you are already working with, you can identify the relevant commonalities. This will help you focus your communications on these areas of common ground. 

This is even true in the B2B space, as we saw when we worked to develop a new brand strategy for Cliq, who works with Agents to offer merchant services. Research showed that, although they don’t sell to merchants directly, and are even more removed from consumers, Cliq has to be seen as a trusted source for all of these audiences in order to build a reputation in the payment processing and FinTech space. 

For Cliq, finding the common ground across all of these audiences and updating their brand identity accordingly allowed the brand to connect and build trust in the market. This earned them an opportunity for growth with a new audience of Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), who sell to these same customer groups. Through authentic brand messaging that resonated with all audiences, these ISVs learned that they could partner with Cliq to help them bolster their own offerings. 

2. Understand Your Why

Now that you have humanized your audiences, you are in a position to get very clear on why your brand can, should and/or will take on a mission to help them. In short, thinking of your target audience as unique and special members of your community can help you to recognize how your brand is realistically suited to meet their needs. What kind of solutions will improve their lives? How can you help? 

American Career College is a brand with a very clear sense of why they want to help their audience. They understand that their students aren’t interested in fitting into the traditional college mold, but they are still seeking a path to build a better life — and they deserve a chance to do so. With that kind of clarity on who they are helping and why, it was easy to communicate how the brand can help them experience “college the way it should be”.

3. Understand Your What 

When you know what your audience needs and why you want to help them, you can look at your capabilities and identify what, exactly, your brand can do to meet their needs. This is the beginning of identifying your brand promise, and the product offerings that will help you deliver on that promise. 

When we worked with Brandini Toffee to expand their brand reach, our research showed that each group of consumers viewed the product differently, but that they all had something in common: they all had a desire to treat themselves and the ones they loved, and they saw Brandini Toffee as a decadent way to do just that. Tapping into this insight allowed us to elevate their brand identity and lean into the sense of indulgence audiences craved with updated messaging and visuals across all consumer touchpoints — helping to drive a 25% increase in sales.

4. Understand Your Boundaries

Nobody can be all things to all people with a single product offering. Even Coca Cola® knows this, which leads them to manage 5 distinctly branded Coca Cola products — not to mention the 32 other beverage brands in the parent company’s portfolio. 

Very few of us have access to the resources Coca Cola draws on to run such a vast family of brands. That’s why, just as important as it is to recognize who your audience is and what they need, it’s also equally important to recognize who your audience isn’t. Avoid the temptation to say that you are selling to everyone. Nobody’s brand reach is this ubiquitous – not even Coca Cola’s!

5. Align Your Brand Values 

With all of this soul searching above, it is time to really take a look at one of the most foundational elements of your brand book – your brand values. These values are the pillars your brand stands on. From here you will be able to write your mission and vision statements, set your strategic direction, make decisions about your business model, guide your team, and so much more. Your brand values give you a framework to tell your story. 

Arriving at this set of values is not as easy as it sounds. There is no one-size-fits-all way of getting there. As a brand identity agency, we’ve had the opportunity to walk a lot of clients through this process and we have created a case study about Brand Values that helps explain some of the ways to identify what is most important for your brand.

6. Tell Your Brand Story

Not many of us can recall the exact date that Alexander Hamilton was born, how long he lived, or which regiment of the army he served in. But those of us who saw the play are likely to remember his story, have strong feelings about his contribution to the founding of our country, know what it was like to be a politician at the time, and feel saddened by the poor decisions that led to his death. That is the magic of storytelling. 

Most people talk about their brands and their products in factual ways — the features, advantages and benefits. Talking about your brand this way is like asking people to memorize the dates and details about the Titanic. Your brand has a story. All brands do. Breaking free from the data and telling your brand story in a compelling way helps to connect authentically with your customers in a way that they will remember.

7. Reinforce Your Brand Narrative

If someone is describing a person whom you’ve never met, maybe someone you’ll be meeting up with for a blind date, would you expect them to stop at what they do for a living? Let’s just say your friend describes this person as being incredibly intelligent and organized, with a high-level job and a commanding presence that really lights up a room. Would you craft a picture in your mind of what you believe this person will look like? If the person then walked in with uncombed hair and three holes in their dirty shirt, would you start to call-into-question everything your friend described? 

Your brand visuals have to match the brand identity you are portraying with your brand story. Visuals reinforce the narrative that you are building for your audience. Whether you are trying to convey a sense of trust, fun, excitement or eloquence, your visual system needs to help you tell that story in a way that all of your audiences can understand. 

8. Craft a Brand Experience 

With all of these foundational decisions made, you can craft a brand experience that will bring this vision to life for your customers. Every touchpoint is an opportunity for you to achieve brand reach — to either step up or fail to deliver on your brand promise. That includes your social media presence, your website, its chat features or webforms (and email responses), your packaging, and everything in between. 

Branded content becomes very important at this stage. Many brands struggle with too few resources or expertise to develop the kind of content they want their customers to see, especially if they are trying to talk to new, unfamiliar audiences, but it is a critical component to your brand identity. This is how your customers experience your brand and share it with others. 

9. Brand Activation: Start Within

It may sound cliche, but it is true that your employees are your most important brand ambassadors — whether you have trained them properly or not. That’s why the most successful brands treat their employees as another target audience. If they are happy and understand what the brand stands for, they will happily communicate this with your customers and prospects. 

When launching a rebranding campaign or starting to communicate with new audiences, employee activation cannot be overlooked. Employees need to be brought along for the ride, see and understand the changes, and embody the brand values. This can happen with an internal brand campaign, including giving employees reference cards with the audience personas, brand mission, vision and values for their work station. 

10. Share Externally

No brand strategy would be complete without a go-to-market plan. This includes developing evergreen brand campaigns that continually tell and reinforce your brand story, as well as performance marketing tactics that are designed to pull your customers through the purchase funnel. 

Go-to-market plans take many forms, but the most effective marketing plans take an omni-channel approach, weaving together organic content across your website and social media platforms, paid media across multiple digital and IRL channels, social proof with peer reviews and content creator engagement, and direct customer communications.  

Gigasavvy is an award-winning brand strategy and creative agency that has successfully developed and brought many brands to life with authentic storytelling and strategic go-to-market planning. Contact us to see how we can help bring your brand to life.

In short – the right branding could make or break your business. So, why would you risk trying to do it on your own when you can leverage the power and expertise of a creative branding agency?

What Is a Creative Branding Agency?

More than just a marketing agency, a branding agency offers specialized services related to branding for businesses. They include a team of professionals encompassing all elements of brand strategy and development, including strategists, designers, and content creators.

Businesses rely on branding agencies for a variety of branding services, including building a brand from the ground up, reigniting a stagnant brand, expanding on an existing brand, and repositioning a brand in the market.

The right agency will act as an extension of your in-house team, with just as much passion and drive to see your brand succeed. They’ll work with you to truly understand your purpose, goals, and mission, so they can craft a powerful story around your brand that resonates with your audience.

Benefits of a Branding Agency

If you’re considering partnering with a creative branding agency, here are some ways working with them can help you set your business apart.

Fresh Perspective

Some business owners believe that it’s better to keep branding in house. After all, who else knows a brand better than its own people? While this is true to an extent, it can also serve as an obstacle to properly conveying your brand’s personality, identity, and purpose.

Building a brand from the ground up requires a fresh perspective, without bias, that considers how your idea of your brand is perceived by the audience. A branding agency can connect the dots between what you want your brand to be and how customers will see it.

Proven Expertise

Branding agencies have cross-industry experience and expertise in all things related to branding. They’ve created brands for a variety of industries, and they understand what marketing trends and strategies are most effective to position your brand successfully.

Dedicated Branding Team

A lot of time and effort goes into building an impactful brand from scratch, which is why entire creative agencies are dedicated to these tasks. It takes a team and plenty of resources to cultivate a successful brand – resources you may not be able to spare.

While it may be tempting to keep your branding efforts in house and rely on your own creative people, you’re missing vital pieces of the puzzle. A branding agency not only has the time to dedicate to crafting your brand but the expertise to pull it off.

Access to Resources

Branding agencies employ diverse, cross-sectional teams with specialists across various disciplines, all of which they lend to you when you hire them for branding. Strategists, project managers, marketing specialists, and content creators are all under one roof for impactful campaigns.

If a branding agency needs to enlist the help of other professionals, they have the industry connections to bring in the best. You benefit from a diverse mix of bold and compelling ideas.

Less Trial and Error

Your company’s branding will define your promise, identity, personality, audience, and messaging – both now and in the future. If you do it on your own, it may take some trial and error to get it right. You can lose precious time establishing yourself in the market and attracting customers.

The experienced professionals at a branding agency have done the work and learned what resonates and what doesn’t, so they can deliver a strong brand with fewer missteps and setbacks. Then, you can start reaping the benefits of a powerful brand without lost time and money.

What Services Does a Branding Agency Offer?

Brand Strategy

A creative branding agency can help you get the most out of your brand by developing an effective strategy from the start. This includes:

• Defining the core purpose of your brand and using it to define your messaging
• Conducting market and competitor research to determine how to position your brand in the market
• Strategizing brand marketing to identify marketing opportunities and channels with the best ROI
• Developing brand pillars to lead your brand and its future development
• Establish consistency across all aspects of your business, from creative assets to campaigns

Brand Creation

After developing your strategy, a branding agency can create the distinctive elements of your brand that make it unique. This includes assets like logos, color schemes, and taglines, as well as:

• A powerful brand story that inspires customers while creating an emotional connection with them
• Your distinct brand voice and personality that resonates with customers and helps them recognize your brand
• Your brand guidelines and style guide to document your brand’s colors, typography, logo size, and photography

Brand Campaigns

With the foundation of your brand complete, a branding agency can create campaigns that spread your company’s story to the audience, building recognition and loyalty. This includes:

• Campaign ideation to brainstorm concepts that gain attention and build excitement when you launch your brand
• A marketing plan to outline the strategies and tasks that will increase your brand’s position and cultivate positive perception in the market
• A content marketing strategy to create and distribute valuable and consistent content that connects with customers
• A content development plan to produce and distribute content to reach your brand and business goals
• Metrics and KPIs for brand marketing to ensure that branding efforts are performing and on track to meet your goals

Position Your Business for Success with a Strong Brand

A powerful, polished brand that drives business and boosts your customer loyalty doesn’t happen overnight. If you want to start off strong with your brand, work with a creative branding agency that can fine tune every aspect of your brand to ensure a memorable launch. 

Gigasavvy is a creative branding agency that specializes in building authentic consumer and B2B client connections through storytelling. Contact us to talk through how we can help you build stronger relationships with your customers.

What is Customer Engagement?

Customer engagement is the cultivation of a relationship between a brand and its customers that goes beyond a simple transaction. With intentional, consistent efforts to provide value, an engaging brand can increase customer loyalty for long-term value.

How Does a Creative Branding Agency Engage Customers?

If you want your brand to become a household name, you have to have a strong brand to start. Businesses often take branding for granted, but you can’t build the kind of loyalty, recognition, and equity you want without a powerful brand.

Branding agencies have the expertise to cultivate compelling brands that resonate with customers. With storytelling that is relevant to the brand personality, effective, well-crafted brands can inspire people.

Building a Strong Brand Story

Storytelling is a natural part of building human connection. Successful brands create a narrative that positions them as unique, and taps into the emotions of the audience. All aspects of a brand come together to form a captivating story, from the motivation for starting a business to its value to customers.

Founded in pursuit of a dream, Brandini Toffee is one such brand with a strong story that connects. With its local roots and storied history, the toffee company shared the tenacity that created a small business dedicated to spreading joy through delightful confections.

Similarly, the gourmet ice cream company Salt & Straw rose from local roots in Portland to nationwide delivery and Scoop Shops across major US cities. Salt & Straw gained attention locally as a neighborhood gathering place that happened to have excellent ice cream, and now with shops spread all over the country, it maintains that story of humble beginnings and place to connect with your community.

Developing a Strong Brand Personality

A brand personality creates an emotional association in the mind of the audience, helping it resonate with target customers. If we think of a brand as a person, the brand personality defines its attitude and distinctive traits that reflect its image – such as an outdoor brand adopting a tough or rugged personality.

For example, the Japanese candy brand HI-CHEW has a passionate cult following and an image of uniqueness, individuality, and creativity. Its marketing campaigns further reinforce this personality by highlighting unique fruit flavors in imaginative settings, bursting with color and life – for an audience as distinctive as the brand itself.

On the opposite end of the spectrum – but no less distinctive – is Death Wish Coffee. Embracing the stereotype of coffee drinkers being a little “rough around the edges” before having their morning brew, the brand relies on edgy imagery and copy that communicate its rebellious personality. For example, one of the brand’s motivating calls to action says, “Mugs up, mother functioners.”

Offering Value Through Content

Engagement marketing is about valuable content more than products and services. The content isn’t supposed to be promotional but a genuine effort to help customers – offering value in exchange for attention.

A perfect example of content elevating a brand is Makeup Geek, an e-commerce makeup company started by a high school music teacher with a passion for cosmetics. After launching her YouTube channel by the same name for makeup tutorials, she brought those teaching skills into her brand to help customers get more value out of her products.

Nationwide Insurance publishes newsletters for pet insurance customers to add value by highlighting how to proactively care for pet health and avoid the most common pet health issues. To help their content gain visibility, they built a campaign in corrdination with HR directors who offer Nationwide pet insurance benefits to employees. 

Nurturing a Brand Community

Brands and customers are no longer a one-way conversation. Part of engagement is sharing dialogue with customers and encouraging them to share with one another. Customers not only get more value out of the brand and its products or services, but they satisfy the inherent human desire to be part of something.

One of the strongest brand communities in history is Harley Davidson. Despite being around since 1903, the brand faced extinction in 1983. Now, it’s valued at nearly $7 billion, and that’s mostly due to the commitment around building a brand community of passionate customers that enjoy the lifestyle and ethos of the brand. Though they may be from different walks of life, Harley Davidson riders share the thrill and romance of the open road as part of the Harley Owners Group (HOG). And with that, they gain the benefits of an exclusive community of fellow riders.

Wahoo’s Fish Taco, a popular franchise with a cult following, also has a strong personality with a laid-back attitude, an affinity for surf & skate culture, and a SoCal energy. Relying on the nostalgia of the 1990s, its founding year, and a “locals-only” vibe, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos brought its community together with a collection of skate brand stickers in collaboration with surf & skate brands. Fans were encouraged to put stickers in unexpected places, both expanding the community and giving a “nod” to those who were already within it.

Inspiring Customers

People want to feel inspired with a brand’s vision. And, as part of that brand, customers feel that they play a role in a shared vision of the future or social impact.

For example, philanthropic brands will often highlight their efforts to make the world a better place. Toms, the e-commerce shoe company, often shares its promise that for each pair of shoes purchased, it will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need around the world with its One for One model.

American Career College, a vocational healthcare education institution, is designed around helping students successfully enter new careers. In some circles, trade schools have a reputation for being “lesser colleges,” but American Career College turned that idea on its head with a campaign focusing on “Real College for the Real World” to inspire prospective students to take the next step in their careers.

Engage Your Customers with the Help of a Creative Branding Agency

Brands are more successful when customers have a genuine emotional connection with the brand’s origin story, personality, or community. This connection doesn’t come with a single sale, and cannot be built on the basis of impulse buys. True brand relationships require ongoing conversations that build a real sense of community and understanding between brands and consumers.

Gigasavvy is a creative branding agency that specializes in building authentic consumer and B2B client connections through storytelling. Contact us to talk through how we can help you build stronger relationships with your customers.

Here are 7 benefits of having a strong brand.

1. Increased Brand Recognition

Brand recognition is how recognizable you are – or how well the target audience recalls the brand and identity of the products. Brands with good recognition can be so powerful that they’re known beyond their existing customer base; non-customers recognize the brand as well.

A great example of brand recognition is Starbucks. One of the major coffee chains across the US and the world, even if you don’t drink Starbucks, you’ve likely heard of it and seen the logo.

Whether you visit a Starbucks in your hometown or anywhere else across the country, you can rely on consistent logos, colors, fonts, messaging, and café interiors. You know that your favorite drink will be the same as it is at home.

2. Improved Customer Loyalty

Strong brands have a tremendous impact on customer loyalty. Research has shown that 57% of customers will spend more money on brands they’re loyal to, and they’re more likely to make repeat purchases. This comes from continuously positive emotional experience and satisfaction.

Loyal customers can be fiercely faithful to their preferred brands, often believing them better than their competitors. Some famous examples of this type of connection include Apple vs. Microsoft and Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola.

If customers have strong loyalty, they’re more likely to stick with products from the same company, ultimately leading to more sales. For example, Apple enthusiasts typically have a MAC, iPad, and iPhone, rather than mixing and matching their devices and operating systems.

3. Lower Price Sensitivity

Price sensitivity describes the effect of product cost on the target market’s willingness to purchase. Lower price sensitivity indicates that customers don’t consider price to be a major factor in making a purchasing decision.

As a result, a strong brand gives you the freedom to use premium pricing. Luxury fashion houses like Gucci and Chanel have the ability to charge high prices for their products because of the customers’ emotional connection to the brand, leading to a higher perception of value.

This concept is not just limited to fashion and status symbols, however. Luxury can be communicated in a variety of products, including the candy company Sugarfina. Branded as the “ultimate luxury candy shop for grown-ups,” Sugarfina offers premium artisanal candies with exquisite details that command higher prices.

4. More Referrals

Word of mouth can be a powerful tool for growth. When people favor a brand and believe in its story, they are more likely to make recommendations to friends, family, or even perfect strangers – ultimately leading to free promotion of your brand. Often, these brands offer consistent, quality products that deliver on their claims, such as Zappos.

The online shoe and clothing retailer grew quickly with its vast selection, exceptional customer service, and legendary 365-day return policy. The word spread, and eventually Zappos created a referral program of its own to help customers earn rewards for their recommendations.

5. More Successful Product and Service Launches

When you already have customers who recognize and trust your brand, you have a group of people eagerly ready to try out your newest products or services. It’s easier for an established brand with an existing customer base to launch new products and services with ready adoption from current customers who are willing to bolster initial sales and give referrals on your behalf.

And if your new product doesn’t gain traction, it won’t ruin your entire brand. There are plenty of examples of strong brands with major product flops that stayed standing because of their preexisting foundation.

One great example of a company that used its existing brand equity to expand its product line is Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Along with home, auto, life, and specialty insurance, Nationwide offers pet insurance. With so many competitors in the market, Nationwide tapped into a built-in audience with its pet insurance products to gain traction more quickly.

6. Better Brand Trust

Brand trust refers to the confidence that customers have in a brand’s ability to deliver on its promises. When a brand consistently meets the expectations it sets, customer trust grows.

With strong trust, customers are more likely to make repeat purchases and choose your brand over a competitor. Conversely, when the experience doesn’t meet the brand’s promises, customers are more likely to switch loyalties.

Knott’s Berry Farm is an example of a brand that used customer trust to continually expand its offerings. From humble beginnings as a roadside berry stand in 1923, Knott’s Berry Farm has grown to become the 12^th-most-visited theme park in North America. With its 40 rides, shops, restaurants, and other attractions, the park regularly hosts over four million visitors each year.

7. Easier Talent Recruitment and Retention

With an ongoing war for talent, having a strong brand can attract job candidates as well as customers. Top talent wants to have strong brands on their resume, and they’re looking for opportunities with companies that have a reputation for doing right by their customers and their employees.

A strong brand permeates company culture, keeping employees engaged while improving retention. Employees who are engaged are loyal to their employers, productive, and profitable.

Few brands have the reputation for being a positive workplace like Google. For six years running, Google took the top spot in the list of the country’s Best Companies to Work For from Fortune. This is due, in part, to its focus on employee perks like gourmet food and nap pods, positive company culture, and advancement opportunities.

Elevate Your Brand Strategy

Crafting a strong brand doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s a crucial part of having staying power and a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded market. The benefits of a powerful and lasting brand are virtually limitless, from more customer loyalty to simplified product launches to more customer referrals.

Gigasavvy is a brand strategy and creative agency with experience delivering results for brands award-winning strategy, content creation and marketing support. Contact us to talk about how we can help you with your brand.

About Fractional CMOs and Outsourced Marketing

Just as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is chiefly responsible for developing and executing a marketing strategy that will meet the business goals, Fractional CMOs are responsible for managing a company’s brand strategy, defining marketing plans, growing the customer base and increasing revenue, all while working for the company only part time. 

An outsourced marketing executive provides the same level of marketing leadership, but only works for a company a fraction of the time. Similarly, outsourced marketing agencies take ownership of developing and driving brand strategy and go-to-market plans, not as an employee, but as vested partners, motivated by opportunities for mutual success.  

Benefits of Outsourced Marketing

In a recent survey of C-Suite executives, 86% of leaders said that a lack of sufficient capabilities and resources had resulted in missed opportunities in terms of revenue, growth or customer acquisition. Some of the most commonly cited needs were fresh perspectives and new thinking, experience with proven methodologies, and the skills needed to ramp-up performance.

With their outsiders’ perspective, outsourced marketing executives can bring fresh ideas to the table. Rather than iterating on what has already been done or tried, or what competitors are doing, these brand strategy and marketing professionals are able to apply best practices from a variety of verticals. It can be easier for people with a range of experiences in multiple industries to see opportunities to apply new and different principles and practices. 

With a tendency to work with many clients for shorter periods of time — anywhere from a few months to a few years — outsourced marketing professionals are also likely to stay current with trends in the industry. This helps companies avoid falling victim to the status quo. 

As attractive as these benefits are, perhaps the most obvious and beneficial benefit of outsourced marketing can be financial. Full time executives typically come with high price tags. The average CMO salary in the United States is $174k per year. That price tag can double in more expensive parts of the country, like the average CMO salary in Los Angeles of $382.6k. This, of course, does not even include the salaries for the rest of the marketing team. 

How Companies Decide on Outsourced Marketing

If a company is interested in outsourcing their marketing, one of the first decisions a company must make is whether or not they need one single professional, a true Fractional CMO, or a more diverse team of marketing professionals. This primarily comes down to understanding the size and capabilities of the existing marketing team.

In organizations with very capable creatives who can ideate campaigns, and experienced marketing coordinators, who can own the day to day operations such as creating assets to support the sales team, deploying campaign emails, managing social media, and reporting on the performance of marketing activities, a single Fractional CMO can be a very good fit. 

When a strong marketing department is in place, a Fractional CMO would take responsibility for defining campaign plans, identifying departmental processes and structures, and recommending any necessary upgrades to platforms and technology that will help the company meet its goals, then setting the team in motion.  

If companies are lacking in resources, two options remain. A single Fractional CMO can still define the strategy, then help to oversee additional agencies, such as creative and media buying agencies, to carry out the plan. This approach could still garner cost savings as compared to hiring a full team, though the savings may be smaller.

Alternatively, companies can consider hiring a strategic marketing agency with brand strategy and creative teams. In this type of agency relationship, clients would benefit from the agency’s marketing and brand strategy expertise, the creative development and project management of campaign executions from a single partner, while paying only for actual resources used. 

Gigasavvy is a creative agency with experience delivering results for brands through brand strategy, content creation and marketing support. Contact us to talk about how we can help you with your outsourced marketing needs.

For a year marked by lockdowns, 2020 was also paradoxically a time when many people were in motion. We moved from densely packed cities to remote spots in the countryside and transitioned from physical locations to virtual ones.

The gym gave way to live-streamed Peloton classes. The office was replaced by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other productivity and collaboration platforms. Even school went virtual and many medical services were delivered via telehealth.

Digital transformation was a priority across industries even before the pandemic hit, but after, it became a true lifeline.

Post-Pandemic Pivot

Some brands and companies were slow to change when COVID emerged. Others saw the opportunity to use their skills and creative strengths to quickly develop memorable and innovative solutions.

For example, when the L.A. Dodgers made it to the World Series, Postmates developed a unique at-home experience for fans. Everything from classic Dodger Dogs to a mini baseball helmet filled with chicken strips was made available for home delivery to recreate the stadium experience as best as possible under the circumstances.

Lockdowns forced us to rely far more heavily on digital tools than ever before. And not just the mundane stuff like online spreadsheets and chat rooms. Almost two-thirds of leading consumer brands, invested in AR, VR, 3D content, and 360-degree video in 2020, according to Accenture.

These still early experimentations will only grow more sophisticated, more immersive, and more engaging. We still haven’t seen a killer app in this sector, a piece of content, or a platform that massively drives adoption, but it’s only a matter of time.

In fact, Gigasavvy Creative Director Mitch Fait believes that reality is closer than even many industry insiders realize:

“There has always been a barrier to entry for AR in advertising because you had to force users to download a special app to view content. People resisted using QR codes for the same reason. But, with that tech now native to most phones, there is an opportunity to push AR experiences in ways previously unimaginable to mass audiences.”

Ultimately, technology is only as useful or engaging as the purpose for which it’s deployed, and 2020 saw some ingenious implementations — many of which will stick around in 2021 and beyond.

Digital Togetherness

Humans are social animals. We are driven to share, connect, and congregate. When we couldn’t see each other in person we formed gatherings on messaging apps, video conferencing platforms, and social media networks. We formed digital clubs, live-streamed our days, and shared our experiences through whatever digital means were available. And the platforms responded to this new normal.

Discord, the online service for gamers, artists, and hobbyists, saw a 47% increase in use. Spotify rolled out a plugin-in for listening parties. Twitch, the video game streaming site, broke usage records seemingly every month. Five billion hours were watched on the platform in the second quarter of 2020 alone.

Live viewings jumped 50% on Facebook during lockdowns, and Instagram was up over 70%. Generation Y favorite TikTok broke 100 million active monthly users in the U.S., an 800% increase from 2018.

What’s more, these platforms enabled a far more interactive and engaging experience than legacy media channels are capable of. Viewers could post questions, tag images and videos, share digital stickers and emojis, and even buy products directly in their mobile apps and social media websites.

Virtually There

Another thing that is likely here to stick around in 2021 is the increasing number of incredible interactive virtual events. A record-breaking 12 million players logged into Fortnite to catch Travis Scott’s live virtual concert, Astronomical. J Balvin’s Halloween concert in the battle royale game was also incredibly well received.

Though forced to take their acts online by the pandemic, brands leaned into the opportunity and created experiences that were eye-popping, larger than life, and so engaging that you can bet Fortnite will continue to seek out top artists to collaborate with for virtual events, regardless of whether real-world venues are hosting events or not.

With its runway show canceled, Prada converted its SS 2021 Womenswear Show into a multimedia experience, complete with fully immersive 3D VR. Competing high fashion brand Zegna described its approach as ‘phygital,’ a hybrid solution that merged pre-recorded content with live models.

Rebranding Revolution

Some of the changes brought about by the pandemic will slowly fade away with time. A post-COVID world will hopefully feature a lot less social distancing. But not every new change will disappear. 75% of U.S. consumers tried different stores, websites, or brands during the pandemic. The majority of them said they expect to integrate these new brands or stores into their post-pandemic lives. Gigasavvy Strategy Director Kristy Gulsvig expects the recent interest in rebranding will spread in 2021 and continue growing as brands are required to evolve and adapt to accelerating trends.

“Brands are beginning to invest in rebranding to keep up with changing consumer behaviors and attitudes,” says Kristy. “They are also rethinking the way they converse with their customers. Brands are laser-focused on identifying what consumers truly care about and communicating their values in authentic ways that resonate by tapping into our shared humanity.”

Conscious Companies

An increased demand that brands and companies articulate their position on pressing issues of the day and behave in accordance with their stated core values, a trend that has been attributed to the Gen Y and Z demographics, exploded in 2020 amid cultural upheaval surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, pandemic lockdowns, and growing awareness of environmental risks.

Diversity and inclusion, in particular, were hot button issues in 2020. Accenture found that 41% of consumers have begun deserting retailers that don’t reflect their views on identity and diversity. That trend has implications from the consumer perspective — 66% of millennials say they won’t patronize a company that refuses to take a stand — and for employers who have discovered that most of the younger talent pool is willing to ‘job-hop’ until they find a home that matches their ethos.

“The need to formulate and express a prosocial corporate culture and vision has become a vital objective, with very real repercussions not just for most company’s ethical grounding and perceptions of their authenticity, but on profitability and brand growth,” said Gigasavvy’s Kristy Gulsvig.

Co-creative User Involvement

In March of 2020, as the pandemic was just starting to become a reality, there was an 80% increase in searches for “DIY” (“do it yourself”) on Google.

Taking the initiative to build it yourself turns a rote activity into a journey of personal growth. Harnessing the IKEA effect (the tendency to put disproportionate value on goods you help build) is an emerging goal for all designers of engaging experiences and interactions. What was once limited to couches with unpronounceable Swedish names now applies to just about anything.

“Your audience isn’t a dumping ground for content, messaging, and products,” explains Gigasavvy Marketing Director Daniel Reizes. “So much of what traditional marketers do is landfill, put into the world to meet a deadline or check a box, then tossed away and forgotten in an instant with the hope of subconsciously influencing purchasing decisions. But it doesn’t have to be that way. As marketers, we are in a position to add significant cultural value to society by creating opportunities for dialogue and discovery. Best of all, we don’t need an algorithm or cookies that track our behavior to make these connections.”

Part and parcel with that development has been the perpetual growth of user-generated content (UGC). “Audiences loved the opportunity to share their voices, and brands were more than happy to help them because it’s an inexpensive source of relatable and authentic earned media that helps form lasting bonds and stay stop of mind amongst consumers,” says Reizes.

Gigasavvy’s Senior Social Media Strategist, Angie Guevara, predicts that the next big trend in UGC will be remixing. Superfans empowered with the tools of digital creation aren’t just consuming culture, they are recreating and reimagining it, and adding in their own personal touches and character.

Agile Agencies

Another trend that flourished in 2020 and which is primed for further growth is the rise of smaller and independent marketing and advertising agencies. With a new reason to pivot seemingly every month, the value of a partner that is inherently nimble — and able to extract maximum value from smaller, more targeted brand identity investments — has been highlighted.

According to Adweek, 40% of brands could be looking for a new agency in the next six to 12 months, and with less bureaucracy and fewer stakeholders to appease, small and independent shops are empowered to be proactive in solving problems and accelerating turnaround times to address rapidly changing conditions in the marketplace.

Even the very biggest brands, like pizza giant Domino’s, are devoting a lot more attention to this space these days. “I really feel that the independent agency model gives us more flexibility and less distractions,” said Domino’s Chief Marketing Officer Art D’Elia. Others, including their rival Papa John’s and massive conglomerates like Kraft Heinz, are also diversifying their roster of creative marketing agencies to include smaller firms that are more open to creative experimentation and a quicker cadence.

Cookieless Web

One of the biggest unknowns facing us in 2021 will be the fate of a time-tested piece of digital marketing technology: the browser cookie. These tiny bits of data record user activity on the web and are essential for advertisers attempting to track, target, and optimize digital ads. It’s difficult to personalize outreach when you don’t know who you are talking to, after all.

That is about to change, though. Google has announced that in 2022, its Chrome browser, which dominates globally with 65% market share, will stop supporting third-party cookies. That change might result in the development of new, less invasive, and more private means of tracking users.

It also looks to spur the growth of advertising directly on ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Walmart, which rose by 39% in 2020, according to eMarketer, and is predicted to grow another 30% in 2021 to reach 13% of the total digital ad spend in the U.S. Top ecommerce sites know a lot about their customers already and aren’t as reliant on third-party tracking.

What’s Next?

Complacency breeds contempt, but new obstacles light the fires of creation, and the whole world was challenged in 2020 like at no point in most people’s lives. We should be proud that, in the face of volatility and turmoil, so many forged ahead unabated. More than half of the respondents to tech brand Wetransfer’s year-end survey said that the changes in their working environment resulted in them having more ideas, not less.

Growth always happens outside our comfort zone, and 2020, most would agree, was a year spectacularly devoid of typical comforts. For certain, the road ahead is still perilous and uncertain, but the knowledge that we can not only survive but thrive no matter what 2021 throws at us is confidence-inspiring and should serve as motivation to continue to evolve, ideate, and connect.

Ready to start leveraging the lessons of 2020 to make your 2021 revolutionary? Talk to Gigasavvy today.