Gen Z: Turning Connections into a Lifetime of Brand Loyalty

DoubleEnded Causality Between Advertising and Brand LoyaltyWe generally think of advertising as the cause and brand trialbrand loyalty as the effect However it also works the other way around ads tend to be even more effective on your brand loyals Itamp8217s been proven time and again that right after buying a new car for example the buyer pays a lot of attention to the ads for the car he or she has just purchased as if to reassure oneself that it was the right move to make Beyond the car category fans of a brand tend to enjoy seeing that brandamp8217s ads in any categorySome marketing deep thinkers have dissected brand loyalty into the actual behavior of repeat buying satisfaction with use of a brand emotional involvement with the brand promoting the brand to others resistance to competitive brands consumer lifetime value brand equity and brand love Brand loyalty is all of these thingsOnce you have gotten a person to try your brand you have established a toehold of a connection on which you must build if it is to become true loyaltyBrand loyalty continues to be a significant factor in making advertising more effective and its importance is growingIn a recent update to its groundbreaking study The Five Keys to Advertising Effectiveness NCSolutions found brand loyalty now contributes 21 to incremental sales up 6 from 2017 The analysis also showed a direct correlation between brand loyalty and future sales growth for brands We believe that the strength of digital advertising in converting connections into brand loyalty is one of the reasons why in this new digitaldominant advertising age brand loyalty is becoming a stronger driver of the sales lift effects of ads We expand upon this notion in my earlier post hereThese insights offer valuable lessons for retailers publishers and CPG brands To increase incremental sales and share of requirements theyamp8217ll need to prioritize strategies that cultivate lasting connections with consumers Maintaining an authentic emotional resonance is essential and loyalty programs discounts for loyalty are also effective as we shall seeAnd when it comes to future sales younger shoppers present a particularly attractive audience Gen Z for instance is a brandloyal socially engaged onthego generation with 360 billion in spending power Retailers publishers and CPG brands that consistently engage resonate and connect with them will build loyalty and consistently drive sales7Eleven Convenience Meets ConnectivityThe potential for Gen Z to drive incremental sales across the retail ecosystem is a key reason theyamp8217ve emerged as a pivotal audience for 7Eleven Another key reason is that Gen Z gravitates strongly to convenience storesA recent study quotTap into the CStore Consumerquot shows that 84 of Americans will shop at stores with robust loyalty offerings And 37 of Gen Zers who frequent convenience stores cstores three times more than baby boomers belong to a cstore loyalty program This new type of cstore shopper offers opportunities for retailers and CPG brands to test innovative ideas and strategies Loyalty cards also provide insight into the individual shopper which enable personalization of messaging in retail media networksLoyalty programs have evolved into powerful platforms for retailers and CPG brands 7Eleven which launched the Gulp Media Network last year is leveraging its Immediate Consumption Ecosystem ICE to engage consumers and provide CPG brands with comprehensive marketing tools For example C4 Smart Energy leveraged the retaileramp8217s highly engaged and loyal customer base for a topofthefunnel marketing campaign The campaign resulted in a 66 sales lift and introduced new buyers to 7ElevenTo gain an accurate campaign performance assessment advertisers must close the loop for any type of campaign Restofmarket measurement provides a complete picture of how advertising impacts incremental sales across all retailers With it advertisers get a true sense of the effectiveness of the ad in generating additional sales In other words NCS urges a holistic approach to understanding the contribution of a complex of stimuli Measuring just one platform is a common practice but not a best practice because it tends to credit all positive results to the one platform being measuredSnapchat Real Relationships to ResultsFor Snapchat helping advertisers understand the longterm value of advertising on the platform is a priority After noticing that many new buyers were contributing to sales it asked NCSolutions to conduct a metaanalysis to get a better understanding of the trend The results proved the significant longterm impact of the Snapchat platform The multiplier effect of 21 on sales an impact seen as much as seven months after a campaign ends emphasizes the enduring value of strategic advertising effortsIn addition the study found exposure to Snapchat ads led to a 20 higher likelihood of nonbrand buyers making a trial purchase demonstrating the platform39s effectiveness in driving trial buying Triers exposed to Snapchat ads were more likely to become repeat buyers Since Snapchat reaches 75 of the 13 to 34yearold population in 25 countries this finding emphasizes the potential for converting younger trial buyers into loyal customersLook to find the platforms that includes programs print vehicles experiential vehicles all media contexts that your target trusts and loves because by association with those platforms some of that trust and love will rub off on your brandLasting ConnectionsThese data revelations from NCS and other rigorous singlesource practitioners offer advertisers a comprehensive guide through the intricate tapestry of evolving consumer behaviors emphasizing the need for holistic approaches that consider both immediate and enduring impacts on consumer behavior Single source and inmarket experiments are vital in addition to marketing mix modeling to fully understand the complex interrelationships and synergies which produce the best longterm resultsConvenience stores amp8211 and the rest of us amp8211 can invest in strategies to reach Gen Z and building a lifetime of brand connections can have a significant impact on advertising effectivenessWhether navigating the intricacies of retail media networks or delving into the dynamic realm of Snapchat the significance of brand loyalty precision in measurement metrics and the lasting impact of strategic advertising remain a common threadBrand loyalty is a crucial factor contributing to higher incremental sales returns on ad spend These insights offered valuable lessons for the broader advertising landscape and underscored the need for advertisers to prioritize strategies that cultivate lasting connections with their audienceAll too often in recent years we have seen a shift away from longterm thinking to the false palliative of making the quarterly top line look good Several speakers at the recent Attribution Accelerator showed hard data proving that excessive focus on shortterm performance drives down longterm sales and that longterm sales is 80 caused by upper and midfunnel branding effectsPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Gen Z: Turning Connections into a Lifetime of Brand Loyalty

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Bill Harvey

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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