Omnichannel marketing, that favourite theme of advertising and marketing seminars, has been doing the industry events circuit for quite a while now. A&M executives have been discussing sustained and consistent brand experience, for consumers in whichever way they engage, interact and transact across the sales funnel. But the question is: “Are we there yet?”
Given that we constantly cycle between personal, household, workplace, and third space devices, surely omnichannel marketing is a given. But industry observers tell exchange4media that we’re still on our way, and while we’re not there yet, we are getting closer, in no small part thanks to the Smart TVs in our homes, offices and the outdoors of malls and eateries.
Log-in for all devices?
Gavin Buxton, Managing Director, Asia, for Magnite, points out that with consumers active across more channels and devices than ever, advertisers have greater opportunities to reach their desired audiences. Device interoperability can help facilitate a more seamless and personalised experience throughout the consumer journey, regardless of device or channel.
Rajiv Rajagopal, Head – Advanced TV, GroupM Nexus India, agrees that with more devices getting smart by connecting to the internet, they can work better together. “Like smartphones were the first smart screens, now TVs are also getting smarter. The Internet of Things (IoT) makes this possible by letting devices share and exchange data. For instance, CTV, which makes your TV smart and tracks things like what you watch, preferences, etc.”
The idea is somewhat like your CTV acting as the nexus device for all brand interactions you may have on your phone, DOOH scanners, QR codes during payments, and other digital interactions. This brings us to true device interoperability, and thereby, an omnichannel marketing experience.
Data from Google's consumer insights reveal that people are engaging with an average of 3.3 devices daily, highlighting the need for campaigns that can effectively transition between screens. By leveraging interoperable devices and platforms, brands can deliver a cohesive omnichannel experience tailored to each consumer's journey.
“For instance, a prospect who views a CTV ad can later be served relevant display ads on their mobile device or remarketed to on YouTube – fostering familiarity and driving action. Conversely, CTV can become an upper-funnel touchpoint for customers who have previously engaged on other channels,” says Russhabh R Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Frodoh World.
The Future is Now
Nikhil Kumar, Chief Growth Officer at mediasmart, believes device interoperability is not a future aim, but is very much the present as consumer journeys today exist across devices/platforms. “It’s important to understand that when we speak to device interoperability, reaching the same users across defined frequencies through multiple channels may not even create favourability and instead contribute to user fatigue.” The only way marketers can do it well is by ensuring they do not operate on isolated content and publisher-led strategy, rather by going digitally programmatic through superior connected devices targeting, Kumar added.
Given the growing share of retail and commerce media within the digital pie, each type of commerce company (retailers, marketplaces and large eCommerce brands) has its unique way of selling ads, defining their audiences or data and closed-loop policies.
“This can make it difficult for brands to reach their target audience and measure the ROI of their campaigns across multi-commerce environments. Unification could be the single most valuable industry-wide endeavour to unlock more revenue for all. Unification enables marketers to leverage data insights from various devices to deliver highly targeted and personalized marketing campaigns,” says Medhavi Singh, Country Head, India, for Criteo.
For example, a consumer may begin their journey by researching products on their smartphone, then transition to their laptop to make a purchase, and finally, complete the transaction on their tablet. With a unified approach, marketers can track this journey seamlessly, delivering relevant ads and recommendations at each touchpoint. It also facilitates the implementation of cross-device attribution models and closed-loop measurement, allowing marketers to accurately measure the impact of their marketing efforts across different devices.
Appositely, marketers across media agree that as the landscape of consumer behaviour evolves with the increasing adoption of Connected TV (CTV) and the synchronization of various devices, the concept of device interoperability becomes paramount in crafting a holistic digital marketing strategy.
Singh says, “To connect with consumers across the funnel, commerce media employs a variety of ad formats and channels beyond the sponsored product ads traditionally associated with retail media, including video, display, contextual, shoppable, CTV, digital out of home, SMS and more."
It also includes all media that is connected and can be attributed to online and offline sales transactions, or that uses commerce data to enrich and optimize audience targeting. It allows brands to promote their products or services within a retailer’s, marketplace’s or large ecommerce brand’s platform or physical store, or across publisher properties on the open web.
Device Intelligence
And speaking of engaging with their brands, Buxton notes that developments to device graphs, which are data structures that link individuals to personal devices anonymously, can help to drive better targeting and engagement.
“Device graphs aggregate data from a range of sources in real time and categorise, organise, and verify it to provide a comprehensive picture of a household and the various devices within it. The ability to leverage data and consumer preferences from these combined datasets effectively allows brands to deliver more targeted, relevant advertising and bridges the gap across different touchpoints, from initial awareness to post-purchase,” says Buxton.
“This holistic view of the customer journey enables marketers to optimise campaigns for maximum effectiveness and return on investment (ROI). In essence, device interoperability empowers marketers to create a unified brand experience across all devices, driving engagement, conversion, and ultimately, brand loyalty,” adds Singh.
Kumar says ultimately, device interoperability isn't just about connecting technology; it's about connecting with consumers in meaningful ways, delivering value at every interaction point. “While strides have been made towards achieving device interoperability and offering a fully omnichannel experience, we must acknowledge that we are not yet at the finish line. As consumer journeys continue to evolve, digital advertising - agnostic of the medium - has to be responsive to those needs.”
End Game
“While the idea of providing seamless, connected experiences to customers across all their devices sounds ideal, many marketers still find this omnichannel vision challenging to implement fully. The roadblocks? Things like inconsistent measurement, fragmented data sources, and consumer privacy considerations,” says Thakkar.
However, according to him, and others, we may be closer than we think to crossing the omnichannel finish line. “With emerging technologies and smart strategies, bridging the gaps is becoming more realistic: unified customer IDs to recognize the same user across platforms, privacy-safe data onboarding to ethically collect and combine insights, and advanced analytics to understand interactions across all touchpoints.”
Companies taking purposeful steps now to responsibly connect these measurement dots are going to pull ahead. They'll have the ability to deliver relevant, cohesive messaging from the first CTV ad to the final mobile purchase. “While not automatic, achieving omnichannel excellence is absolutely attainable for brands willing to evolve their data infrastructure and adopt a customer-centric, journey-based approach. Those who make the shift won't just keep up with consumer expectations, they'll set the new standard,” says Thakkar.
