Sharuq Alam

A few things I’ve learned from the recent Starbucks discourse. The first is the price of personalization. There are reportedly “170,000” different combinations of a Starbucks drink order. While enticing to customers and exciting for Gen Z, it’s a strain on resource and driver of food cost and price increases in these inflationary times. The personalization is counterintuitively fueling the brands decline. There is a price to personalization in marketing as well. While it’s billed as an easy and efficient way for digital-driven platforms to simply match copy and image to the right consumer, it requires a multitude of assets from agencies to pull off, straining resources and taking the eye of the ball of more intentional, appealing creative. It also typically results in clunky ads and it’s effectiveness is questionable. The second is that the digital dream failed to consider real world implications. There has been a hunger and greed from brands over the last few years to gobble up as much data as possible as via app ordering and DTC check outs, in the hopes of larger profit margins and better targeting to fuel more purchases in an endless upwards cycle. But in the case of Starbucks, it failed to consider the toll the app takes on what makes it special - it’s in store experience. More app orders means longer lines, more custom drinks that perplex baristas, and more frustrated customers. And this was intentional - on the recent episode of All-In, they spouted a rumor that Starbucks baristas would prioritize app orders to force people waiting in line to download and hand over their data to the app. People are clamoring for in person experiences and shopping in 2024, diminishing DTC and faceless app ordering, and rejecting brands that fail to prioritize their stores and shelves. The last one is you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Google antitrust, Starbucks declines, etc. These once upstart companies are now Millennials trying to find their next phase. It’s why “fame” via marketing is a hack for small brands and arguably a negative for big brands - it’s better to stay quiet and stay the course then show up in the press (see, Ab InBev). The best thing Brian Niccol can do is quiet the noise at Starbucks and get them out of the press. That conversely will open up opportunities for upstarts. For any brand trying to punch above their weight in a category, it’s a prime example that following the playbook of peers is a distraction, and not what you should be striving for. https://lnkd.in/eaHnY-37

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Are your influencer marketing investments paying off? Almost half of all brands struggle to measure the effectiveness of their influencer campaigns. Many don’t know which benchmarks they should be hitting to remain competitive with other industry players. Another third faces resource constraints—stemming from plateaued or shrinking budgets—that keep their best influencer marketing ideas grounded. Check out Sprout Social’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report to get a sense of what’s possible in your industry, and develop a data-driven content strategy that gets leadership on board with your plans.

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Ad personalization is literally taking off to new heights... Interesting highlight here - "U.S. marketers are expected this year to spend $54.5 billion on “retail media” advertising—ads sold based on a retailer’s data, according to research firm Insider Intelligence." Curious to see if other airlines will take this approach, most notably Delta. #adpersonalization #digitalmarketing #united #retailmedia

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69% of advertisers consider Connected TV a “must-buy.” With the rise of streaming, CTV is reshaping how brands can connect with their audience. StackAdapt's latest blog breaks down the key stats fueling this shift and explains why marketers are increasing their CTV spend. 

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📈 Despite Google's delay of cookie depreciation until 2025, the future beyond cookies looks promising. Nielsen's Molly Poppie explains how this shift could lead to a more privacy-compliant and effective advertising ecosystem. Dive into her insights: https://bit.ly/4cbuk3O

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In an interview with Beet.TV at Cannes Lions 2024, TransUnion EVP of TruAudience® Growth Strategy Matt Spiegel explored how identity resolution plays a crucial role in enabling marketers to reach their target audiences across a heavily fragmented media landscape. “Identity resolution is a fundamental part of being a bold, big marketer,” Spiegel said. To learn more about how identity resolution underpins today’s successful marketing strategies — from planning through measurement — check out the full interview: https://gag.gl/wTQAEk #CannesLion2024 #Marketing #Advertising #Identity

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