Originally published on Beet.TV.
CANNES – The gradual disappearance of tracking cookies and device identifiers is pushing marketers to find ways to reach the right consumers while respecting their privacy. People’s programming choices can tell a lot about their interests and mindset. Those data signals are renewing interest in contextual advertising.
“We’re waking up to the fact that consumers have limited attention, particularly the younger generation, and we really need to earn that attention, and really be respectful of that attention,” Caitriona Henry, global brand strategy lead at OMD Worldwide, said in this interview at the Beet Villa during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“That means thinking about how we can create empathy with the consumers and really look at it from their point of view,” she said. “Understanding context and the nuances of context are really, really important….one of the things that’s driving that as well is actually the data available.”
These data insights can help to challenge prevailing stereotypes about what kinds of people spend time with what kinds of content. Marketers shouldn’t assume that everyone who watches the BBC’s long-running “Gardener’s World” is a “little old lady in England,” Henry said.
“In fact, actually, it might appeal to a much broader audience for a number of different reasons, who might not publicly declare those reasons,” Henry said. “And I think that’s really understanding context at its heart.”
Incorporating these insights into media plans is an important part of creating campaigns that resonate with consumers.
“There’s a number of elements of how we’ve actually brought context to life in our planning process, looking at it through the lens of content, context, culture,” Henry said. “That has created a framework for really thinking about how we can develop consumer experiences.”
