CMAinsights recap: Combining the science of data and the art of marketing

Marketers are natural adapters and often look to various forms of data for guidance on how best to handle rapid change. Following the unprecedented events of 2020, marketers were challenged to develop actionable, real-time analytics to drive business growth. Many of these were shared at CMAinsights, the first in the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA)’s Event Series of 2021.

Accessing real-time data to determine a go-to-market strategy

For the first presenter, Environics Analytics (EA), the pandemic presented their clients with the challenge of having a go-to-market strategy ready even while circumstances were constantly in flux. As safety restrictions were reduced and then re-implemented, consumer behaviours shifted in turn. How were businesses to contend with these rapid changes?

EA determined that the answer lay in having access to detailed real-time data, which could be found in the one device that almost every consumer owns: a cell phone. To assist with this, EA utilized mobilescapes, an anonymized, permission-based data service that uses data collected from location-enabled mobile devices.

Using mobilescapes, EA was able to guide Sobeys in improving a location’s sales performance by determining who their clients were and where those clients were now shopping. This in turn allowed Sobeys to segment out the specific type of shoppers they were losing. Once Sobeys understood what their customers were looking for in their other locations, they were able to build programs and communications that would lead them back to stores like this one that needed support.

Leveraging podcast data insights

Podcasts have been climbing in popularity for some time now, and it’s no surprise that they have continued to be a prevalent and accessible medium during the pandemic. The second presenter, The Podcast Exchange (TPX), presented data insights from The Canadian Podcast Listener 2020, a comprehensive annual survey about podcast listening behaviours in Canada. TPX dove into the pandemic’s impact on podcast listeners' habits, the trends that are up and coming, and tips for maximizing a podcast campaign with these insights in mind.

For instance, 27 per cent of Canadian adults reported listening to podcasts monthly, an increase from 2019. Podcasts also typically reach a young, well-educated, diverse and affluent audience that can be difficult to reach through other media. A key benefit of podcasts is that they are considered on-demand media, much like audiobooks and paid streaming services for music and video, but without paywall barriers that can make access prohibitive. And, podcast advertising has an impressive level of follow-through -- Six-in-10 podcast listeners recalled taking action as a result of ads. For marketers, this presents a golden opportunity to reach an important audience in an impactful way.

Using neuroscience to develop effective inclusive advertising

Kantar, the final presenter, discussed how social unrest and racial injustice over the past year have impacted marketing campaigns. Their research showed that Gen Z and Millennials in particular largely share the sentiment that they expect businesses to have a positive effect on society and are willing to put their dollars towards brands who accomplish this. As such, Kantar concluded that these new rules of engagement require companies to think differently to create a better world.

Using neuroscience, Kantar examined what kinds of advertising communications are most effective when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Neuroscience was chosen as a method because knowing the way people think is essential to understanding their reactions and their biases.

To illustrate this process, Kantar looked at a few video ads (including a Cheerios video with diverse representation) and analyzed the spontaneous feelings associated with the ads. Kantar even tracked moment-by-moment facial expressions from viewers to get a true sense of subconscious reactions. This in-depth examination established their findings that diverse and inclusive advertising can only be achieved through authentic representation.

Next up: CMAb2b

The final agenda item at CMAinsights was a panel discussion on how data analytics pointed to certain trends that were likely to continue in 2021 and beyond. The panelists represented Epsilon, Rogers Communications, Trendline Interactive and the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.

At CMAinsights, marketers were able to digest case studies and best practices in the world of insights and analytics. The conversation continues with CMAb2b, which pivots over to the B2B marketing space. Make sure to register for this next installment of the CMA Event Series taking place on March 31, 2021.