One-size-fits-all doesn't work in advertising anymore. To stay ahead of the competition, know your audience and curate your messaging. Brand marketers and advertisers, are you personalizing your marketing content? Personalization is a popular buzzword in advertising these days, but for good reason! Personalized advertising has proven 3-4 times more effective than blast messages and can reduce customer acquisition costs by 50%. And the modern consumer expects it: research from McKinsey found that 76% of customers felt frustrated when a personalized experience doesn't happen. So, how can brands get started? For businesses new to personalization, we've summarized four key factors that drive successful personalization at scale: Key elements of personalized advertising 1. Data Foundation: Centralize customer data to enable seamless interaction across all channels. Data quality is paramount, as is privacy compliance. 2. Decision Making: Use machine learning and AI models to predict customer behavior and tailor marketing efforts accordingly. Segment customers based on value and trigger propensity scoring to identify the right opportunities for engagement. 3. Design: Develop flexible content that can be easily mixed and matched to deliver personalized messages. 4. Distribution: Integrate communication channels to ensure a unified customer experience. React to customer actions in real-time across all touchpoints. Examples of personalization in marketing Spotify recently built upon its popular, annual "Spotify Wrapped" feature with "Daylists" , sending users daily curated song playlists based on their recent listening activity. Similarly, Penguin Random House created an online "book matchmaker" quiz to help readers find new favorite books based on their reading preferences. And at Exverus, we've worked with the Stella & Chewy's raw pet food team to build personalized campaigns, like the America's Next Top Petfluencer contest, which encouraged pet owners to upload photos of their pets (and zero-party data!) for a chance to put their pet on a billboard; and the rich media AR selfies ad unit, which let pet owners create their own filters for pet photos. All of these strategies get consumers interacting with the brand and feeling confident about making a purchase because the recommendation is tailored their individual tastes. Why is personalization an effective media strategy? Because, at its core, personalization is about helping buyers see themselves in your brand and creating a connection with them through shared values, interests, or experiences. It helps create a holistic customer experience. When asked what they want most from personalization, one of the top answers from consumers was, “Know me no matter where I interact with you.” Online, offline, on-site, or in their inbox -- buyers expect a consistent and tailored omnichannel experience. But you can't personalize your content unless you understand your audience and their needs. Data-driven ad personalization Companies can gain valuable insights into their target audience's preferences, interests, and behavior patterns by analyzing consumer data. These insights allow you to tailor your content and messaging to resonate with the individual -- instead of delivering a one-size-fits-all approach. In a way, personalization starts before you even know your customer. You must build your strategy and workflow to collect the necessary data points to create personalized content. Once you have identified your audience and collected data, the possibilities for personalization are endless. Personalization can take many forms, from creating dynamic website experiences to segmenting email campaigns based on customer preferences. The future of personalized advertising Imagine a shopping mall, retail store, and an e-commerce platform working together to deliver a unified, personalized shopping experience. Imagine a streaming TV service showing ads using AI to deliver the most relevant product message based on the individual viewer. By understanding where personalization is headed, brand marketers and their media planning teams can build stronger customer relationships, drive sales, and stay ahead of the curve. This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here.

Cinematic trailer-style ads play in theaters where craft IPAs are poured (LOS ANGELES) Feb 14, 2024 – Just in time for Valentine's Day movie dates, New Belgium Brewing Voodoo Ranger is launching Tropic Force IPA with a media campaign targeting beer drinkers across the nation with a cinematic twist. As part of an end-to-end customer experience, movie trailer-style TV spots will run across streaming video, online ticketing sites, and even play in theaters where Voodoo Ranger is served. “Tropic Force is one of our most important innovations of 2024 and we wanted to launch the brand in a unique way”, says Dave Knospe, Senior Director of Brand for Voodoo Ranger. “We wanted to play up the cinematic nature of our new TV spot, so using cinema placements at theaters where drinkers can enjoy Voodoo Ranger beers was a natural fit.” Voodoo Ranger, made by New Belgium Brewing, is the #1 craft beer brand in the US. Tropic Force IPA is the latest addition to its Force line of beers and it features tropical natural flavors and a full-throttle 9.5% ABV.  Voodoo Ranger works with Los Angeles-based media agency Exverus Media and Boulder-based creative agency Fact & Fiction. Exverus Media won the New Belgium & Bell’s brewery account in 2023.  The Exverus Media team, led by Shelby Dolan, targeted theaters that serve Voodoo Ranger and placed the trailers just before the lights drop for maximum impact. To supplement the theater ads, the team purchased Homepage Takeovers on ticketing websites for the opening weekends of guaranteed hits.  “Voodoo Ranger is a vibrant, energetic brand for adventurous, drinking-age adults, so meeting them on the big screen in winter makes total sense”, says Dolan.   About Voodoo Ranger IPA Voodoo Ranger, made by New Belgium Brewing, is the fastest-growing and #1 brand in craft beer. Initially launched as three beers in 2017, Voodoo Ranger has released over 20 beers in the past few years including Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA and Juice Force IPA. About Exverus Media Exverus Media is an award-winning, data-driven media agency dedicated to growing modern brands . Our omnichannel strategies combine precise market research with creative ideas to confidently allocate every ad dollar for the maximum return. Named for the Latin phrase "from the truth", Exverus dedicates itself to transparency and long-term client trust. Exverus is the 6x-winner of Adweek 's Media Plan of the Year Award and 2x Ad Age  Small Media Agency of the Year. Media Contact Michelle Andrade michelle.andrade@exverus.com  | +1.919.219.3571

Company culture awards based upon anonymous employee satisfaction surveys Independent media agency Exverus Media of Hollywood, CA has been named one of Southern California's Best Workplaces in 2023 by the LA Times B2B Publishing team. Awards were given out to 65 organizations, divided into two size categories, based upon the results of anonymous employee satisfaction surveys administered by third-party firm DataJoe LLC. The list was published in a special Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Forum magazine because, "when factors such as diversity, equity, inclusion, communication and transparency from leadership and true growth opportunities are present at a workplace, great things are bound to happen." "Creating an agency where employees feel supported being themselves and doing meaningful work has been our priority since day one", says Bill Durrant, Exverus president and co-founder. "We're grateful to be recognized by our city among such respectable organizations." Exverus has had women and people of color in founding and executive leadership positions since its inception in 2014 – we were built on a vision of inclusion and belonging way before they became popular buzzwords. Of our 40+ employees, a majority identify as people of color and/or LGBTQIA+; also, easily a quarter of Exverians are working parents, with whom we provide the flexibility and compensation needed to integrate work and family life in an expensive city. Our retention rate for the last year was an outstanding 92%, and we have not done any layoffs. For all press inquiries, please contact Michelle Andrade at michelle.andrade@exverus.com .

Worried about third-party cookies going away and need zero party data? Our VP, Tasha Day, gave a stellar talk at the MediaPost Brand Insider Summit: CPG in Santa Barbara, CA spilling the beans on how to get ahead of the game. She uses the example of a multichannel media campaign we did in 2023 for Stella & Chewy's in which target pet owners were directed to their local pet store with location data ad tech , invited to scan a QR code and enter info to win a real-life billboard photo of them with their pet! The campaign successfully drove in-store foot traffic, collected thousands of email addresses for Stella & Chewy's CRM, and cultivated long-term customer loyalty all at once. Triple win! Learn the secrets of how Tasha's team accomplished this in the video above, and subscribe to Exverus' YouTube channel for more media strategy ideas and effective marketing campaign examples. Or, if you're more of a reader, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter here .