The 3 Lessons for Marketers in 2021
If there is one thing we can all agree on it is that 2020 has been...challenging. But look beneath the scars of this year and three critical lessons for marketers emerged:
1. Marketing plans now require more flexibility. Media and marketing plans must have flexibility in 2021. Gone is media planning, in is scenario planning. Gone are fully committed media plans, in are media plans that can be adjusted on the fly (preferably using first-party sales and engagement data).
2. It is time to digitize ALL of your media. Actually it was time back in Q3, as even linear TV and terrestrial radio are now purchased programmatically rather than laborious negotiations with individual stations. Digital media will keep growing while non-digital media, bought intelligently, will be more effective in 2021.
3. Don't completely abandon the 2019 playbook. Experiential will be back in 2021, and so will the continued effectiveness of traditional media channels. As prices and demand for traditional media drop in favor of streaming media, effectiveness will rise for brands who remain. Just make sure you are balancing the traditional with the new (i.e. digital) to maximize effectiveness.
The rise in nimble, efficient, centralized media and marketing relationships will likely make 2021, not 2020, the biggest time of change our industry has seen in years. Get excited!
-Team Exverus