Generic campaigns targeting the majority of a target audience don’t typically work as well as those that are more individualized. That’s why many brands are engaging in personalized marketing, with some getting especially impressive results.
Here are some advantages of personalized marketing campaigns:
1. They make in-store shopping more relevant
People often view online shopping as an option that allows them to get the items they need as conveniently as possible. Brands with physical locations focus on making experiences more pleasant and appealing to people who shop in-store
Target uses personalized marketing to bring more relevance to shopping trips. Its mobile app uses information about store layout and product locations for custom messages. The app also allows customers to get information they need without hunting down in-store employees.
2. They help people get better getaways
Traveling is fun, but it requires a significant amount of planning. Some people get stressed at the mere thought of how many things they need to organize before reaching their destinations.
Best Western created an ad that works with Watson, IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform. It’s visible to users on Weather.com, or The Weather Channel app, and prompts people to give information about upcoming travel plans. Watson takes that data and uses it to provide personalized recommendations about how to make the most of vacations, while advertising Best Western properties.
Travelers can also book rooms at Best Westerns, take 360-degree tours of locations and learn about the chain’s rewards program. It’s the entire customer journey, all in one engagement.
3. They encourage desirable consumer behavior
Site content and email marketing comprise certain kinds of personalized marketing. For example, people who visit online pet supply stores, and shop for dog food, might see pop-up ads for buy-one-get-one-free offers on participating brands.
Chime Bank, a digital finance brand, used AI-based predictive personalization strategies to increase new account signups. The company first revamped its website by testing body content that explained the bank’s mission, compared it with other brands, and focused on how people with Chime accounts could enjoy automatic savings.
Chime representatives also created fresh website headlines that capitalized on the banks’ selling points. The marketing team analyzed how different content performed with various audience segments.
Chime’s marketing team tested 216 versions of the brand’s website with the help of an AI-powered personalization platform. The AI personalization system was so speedy that it allowed the brand’s marketers to achieve the equivalent of nine years’ worth of work, in only three months.
4. They reap the rewards of weather-related data
REI, one of the most recognized outdoor lifestyle brands, used weather-based personalization for ski instruction advertisements. Marketers made three different versions of the same ad, and served specific ones based on shopper location, weather conditions, and whether a person had taken an REI ski class before.
The brand also automatically sent Facebook ads to users depending on weather, and how it affected skiing. If the forecast predicted ideal conditions for skiing, REI would show an advertisement featuring a live snow cam at a nearby resort. Conversely, if the weather wasn’t suitable for skiing, people would see ads encouraging them to start shopping at REI to make sure they had the proper gear when conditions improved.
5. They emphasize scarcity and uniqueness
Although most personalized marketing campaigns rely on data mining to appeal to customers, others tie into seasonal trends and people’s natural desires to find one-of-a-kind items for gift-giving occasions.
Kraft did that in a quirky way for Father’s Day, when it launched an eBay-based campaign that allowed people to bid for one of five chances to have the brand create personalized cheese sculptures of their dads. Additionally, Kraft ran a social media and hashtag campaign that encouraged people to post pictures of their fathers — the cheesier the better, of course.
People had a two-day period to place their bids. All proceeds from the auction went to Feeding America, an organization that fights hunger. Kraft also did a dollar-for-dollar matching campaign up to $25,000.
