Three major phenomena in overseas digital marketing

For marketers, only by keeping up with cutting-edge trends, constantly innovating and optimizing marketing strategies can they win the market and consumers, so it is particularly important to pay attention to new phenomena in digital marketing. Let's follow this article to take a look at the recent new phenomena in digital marketing, which is recommended for marketing friends to read.

In today's rapidly changing digital marketing field, major brands and media giants are constantly exploring innovative strategies in the hope of standing out in the fiercely competitive market environment. This article will share with you the new phenomena in recent digital marketing from three perspectives:

Phenomenon 1: Programmatic advertising provides advertisers with new options for advertising during the Olympic Games ;

Phenomenon 2: Why some social platforms want to “get rid of the social media label ” ;

Phenomenon 3: How retail chains such as Walmart and Target attract more advertisers’ attention.

So let’s take a closer look at what new practices and trends these three phenomena present.

1. Phenomenon 1: NBCU and Warner Bros. explore programmatic advertising at the Olympics

The Olympics, as one of the most watched sporting events in the world, not only attracts the attention of countless viewers, but also becomes a valuable stage for advertisers to showcase their brand image. However, the high threshold of traditional advertising models often makes it difficult for brands with limited budgets to reach this huge audience group . Ronnie Beach, head of the US sports department of Wavemaker Sports, Live & Gaming, pointed out: "Every time the Olympics comes, all my clients ask how to participate without becoming a sponsor, because becoming a sponsor requires a huge investment ."

In the face of this challenge, the development of programmatic advertising technology has provided new possibilities for brands to participate in the Olympics. With its high efficiency and precision, programmatic advertising is gradually becoming a mainstay in marketers' advertising budgets. A recent survey conducted by Digiday+ Research showed that more than three-quarters of brand and retailer professionals (77%) said that their companies are currently using programmatic website display ads . Among institutional retailers, this proportion is as high as 80%.

With the rise of programmatic advertising, media giants with rich sports live broadcast rights have also begun to get involved in this field.

For example, NBCUniversal (NBCU) has more than 5,000 hours of live Olympic events, while Warner Bros. Discovery has the rights to cover the Olympics in Europe. Currently, the two media giants are providing programmatic advertisers with private market buying opportunities in the inventory of their respective Peacock streaming platform and Eurosport website and its supporting applications.

This development means that brands with smaller budgets can also reach the huge Olympic audience group that was previously only accessible to large advertisers through programmatic advertising .

So, how do NBCU and Warner Bros. Discovery implement this strategy? Next, we will take a closer look at the layout and actions of these two media in the field of programmatic advertising, and how they can provide new opportunities for brands to participate in the Olympics.

1. NBCU: Proposes innovative advertising strategies through the Peacock streaming platform

As the 2024 Summer Olympics approaches, NBCU is actively planning to become the largest seller in the online audience market during that period. To achieve this goal, NBCU plans to implement a series of innovative advertising strategies to provide advertisers with more options.

According to information obtained by Digiday, NBCU has presented its pitch materials to agencies, which clearly proposed two advertising options.

The first option is to place ads around the event coverage on social media , such as pre-roll ads. This approach allows advertisers' content to be closely linked to the highlights of the Olympics, thereby attracting more viewers' attention.

The second option is to directly sponsor content. By cooperating with NBCU, advertisers can combine their brands with high-quality Olympic content to further enhance brand exposure and awareness.

In order to realize these advertising strategies, NBCU's Peacock Streaming Platform will play a key role. The platform will broadcast the entire Olympic schedule, and all related advertisements will be realized through programmatic buying. This move is due to the close cooperation between NBCU and advertising technology provider The Trade Desk. Through programmatic buying, advertisers can target audiences more accurately and improve the effectiveness and return rate of advertising.

2. Warner Bros. Exploration: Launching the "WBD Connect" platform to expand the European Olympic advertising market

Warner Bros. Discovery has successfully acquired the Olympic Games coverage rights in Europe through its Eurosport brand . In order to maximize the commercial value of this resource, Warner Bros. Discovery has begun to provide its Olympic Games coverage inventory to advertisers in a programmatic manner , providing brands with new opportunities to reach Olympic audiences.

To achieve this goal, Warner Bros. Discovery launched a new market platform in May, WBD Connect . This platform, in cooperation with advertising technology supplier Magnite, opens the door to advertising inventory of CNN International Business Channel (CNNIC) and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe Channel (including Eurosport) for advertisers. Through WBD Connect, advertisers can more easily access these high-quality advertising resources and use the efficient and precise characteristics of programmatic advertising to accurately deliver brand information to the target audience .

2. Phenomenon 2: Pinterest and Snap Transformation: Creating a Positive New Social Media Image

In recent years, some social media channels have begun to gradually fade their traditional label as "social media networks" and seek new identity positioning . This phenomenon can be mainly divided into two categories.

The first type of social media platforms, represented by "Pinterest" and "Snap", position themselves as "antidotes to traditional social media."

Pinterest's chief revenue officer Bill Watkins made this point clear to Digiday at the Cannes Lions International Creativity Festival, emphasizing the platform's unique positioning, which aims to differentiate itself from traditional social media and give users a completely different experience .

At the same time, Snap is actively positioning itself as a refreshing alternative to social media in its “Less social media, more Snapchat” advertising campaign, further highlighting the innovation and subversion of traditional social media models by this category of platforms.

Transitioning to the second category, we find that this type of social media emphasizes functionality rather than sociality, and Reddit is an outstanding representative of this trend .

Reddit has successfully differentiated itself from traditional social networks by emphasizing its unique functionality . It positions itself as a platform that combines search and community functions, where users connect with communities rather than individuals. This repositioning strategy not only helps Reddit avoid the negative connotations associated with social networks, but also successfully shapes the platform into a more neutral, practical service provider.

So why do these platforms tend to remove the label of "social media network"? The main reason behind this is brand safety .

In the current market environment, social media networks are facing many challenges . For example, Meta is facing strict scrutiny due to election fraud; X (formerly Twitter) is working to address brand safety issues under new leadership; and TikTok is under the shadow of a possible ban in the United States.

This series of problems not only exacerbates the complexity of the market environment, but also causes the label of "social media network" to be closely associated with negative public impressions.

In view of the above situation, major platforms have realized that maintaining a good reputation is particularly important for attracting advertising revenue. In order to better deal with brand safety challenges under the new identity positioning and attract more advertising revenue, these platforms have begun to choose to remove the label of "social media network". By reshaping the brand image and positioning, the public's awareness and trust in their brands can be improved. This strategic adjustment not only helps the platform avoid the negative connotations associated with social media networks, but also lays the foundation for its future development.

3. Phenomenon 3: The rise of Wal-Mart and Target, retail media becomes a new favorite for investment

Although Amazon has long dominated the retail media space, the market landscape has changed significantly recently. According to a recent Digiday+ survey of brands, retailers and agency professionals, Walmart and Target are gradually winning the favor of more marketers and becoming the new hot spots for retail media investment .

1. The rise of Walmart’s retail media platform

As of the first quarter of 2024, survey data showed that 85% of marketers said they invested the most in Walmart's retail media platform . This proportion has increased significantly compared to six months ago, when only 54% of marketers said they spent at least a small part of their marketing budget on Walmart's retail media network .

This growth trend shows that Walmart’s appeal in the retail media field is rapidly increasing, and more and more marketers are beginning to regard it as an effective marketing channel.

2. The core competitiveness of the “Roundel” platform and Target’s growth engine

Roundel is the retail media business of Target. The core competitiveness of this platform lies in mining and utilizing Target's consumer insight data to create intelligent and personalized advertising campaigns. Based on this marketing strategy, Target not only brings consumers more products and offers that meet their personal preferences and needs, but also enhances consumers' shopping experience, thereby improving brand loyalty.

To achieve this core goal, the “Roundel” platform has established partnerships with more than 2,000 suppliers to provide exclusive images and advertising content for “Target”. This cooperation model ensures that when consumers are ready to shop at “Target”, they can receive the most appropriate online discount information at the most appropriate time.

Furthermore, the Roundel platform has played an important role in Target's growth. According to Target's official data, Roundel has achieved a significant growth of more than 60% in the past two years; in the past three years, Roundel has brought more than $1 billion in value to Target. Looking ahead, Roundel is expected to achieve its $2 billion goal in 2024, further consolidating its important position in Target's growth engine.

In general, with the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous evolution of consumer behavior, the future of digital marketing will undoubtedly be more diversified and personalized. For marketers, keeping up with these cutting-edge trends and constantly innovating and optimizing marketing strategies will become the key to winning the market and attracting consumer attention.

Author: Digiday

Source: WeChat public account: "Morketing (ID: Morketing)"