{"id":3139,"date":"2022-01-17T16:03:04","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T16:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/17\/the-common-thread-to-adages-most-successful-marketers-of-2021\/"},"modified":"2022-01-17T16:03:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T16:03:04","slug":"the-common-thread-to-adages-most-successful-marketers-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/17\/the-common-thread-to-adages-most-successful-marketers-of-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The Common Thread to AdAge\u2019s Most Successful Marketers of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

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AdAge\u2019s recently released 2021 Marketers of the Year Awards<\/a> are a treasure trove of buzzy marketing trends\u2014some worth emulating, others maybe less so. The list highlights some big brands doing bold things, and several industry fads and trends are evident throughout\u2014Target\u2019s innovative use of \u201cshop-in-shops\u201d to partner with loyalty driven brands like Ulta and Disney reflects the trend of brands investing in quality shopping \u201cexperiences\u201d as a form of differentiation; Kraft Heinz\u2019s repositioning away from \u201capologetic\u201d messaging about product attributes highlights the growth in brand campaigns that focus on high concept emotional benefits; and L\u2019Oreal\u2019s redefinition of their 50 year old \u201cYou\u2019re Worth It\u201d campaign for the post-MeToo 21st century woman is exemplary of brand\u2019s reimagining their value proposition in an era marked by social change.<\/p>\n

But more prevalent (and relevant) than any of these trends from the AdAge \u201cbest of\u201d list is one key thread that is crucial for your brand to pay attention to in 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand\u2019s who lead the charge in 2021 had one thing in common: inspiring authentic conversations with customers by putting real personalities at the forefront of their brand presence.<\/h2>\n

In 2022, digital conversations will be the key to conversion, more so than ever before. Converse Digital has been ringing this bell for\u2026well, since the beginning (it\u2019s kind of why we chose the name we did). The brands who AdAge singled out as producing the best results in the past year all understand this reality\u2014and have taken strides to invest in building a more \u201chuman\u201d brand persona in order to engage audiences in meaningful conversations around their brand.<\/p>\n

To be clear: This is not the same thing as the Wendy\u2019s Twitter persona fad and its endless knockoffs. The commonality in each of these brands\u2019 marketing is an emphasis on real people talking about a product or engaging with the real humans who make that product a reality\u2014or as the Gen Z kids say, more \u201cauthenticity.\u201d It turns out that the most interesting thing to people is other people, and each of the three brands we\u2019ve highlighted below from the AdAge roundup have acted on this key learning in their own unique way:<\/p>\n

Three Brands Who are Successfully Leveraging Customer Engagement Through Personalizing their Brand Presence<\/h2>\n

Pinterest:<\/strong> In a year when social media giants like Facebook and Twitter were often in the hot seat for their role in the spread of negativity online, Pinterest spent the year \u201cleaning into its role as an inspiration and recommendation hub\u201d with great effect. In particular, Pintererst cracked the code in 2021 on driving quality user engagement within their app at a time when concerns over data privacy have social media users more squeamish than ever about giving up any kind of personal details. A new Pinterst innovation in 2021, \u201cCreate Your Take\u201d had celebrities like Jennifer Lopez share Halloween costume ideas and then invite users to pin their \u201ctake\u201d on the costume\u2014ie, create mood boards consisting of instantly shoppable links to real products. By inviting users into a creative, collaborative \u201cconversation\u201d on the app, Pinterest created a digital shopping experience that felt both personal and communal\u2014a call to action that felt more like a discussion on holiday fashion than it did a 15% off coupon.<\/p>\n

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JLo\u2019s Halloween inspo via pinterest.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

NFL: <\/strong>Though the dominant American sports media franchise by a significant margin, the National Football League nevertheless saw a concerning steady dip in their 12-24 demographic in late 2018\u2014the kind of trend that raises alarm bells about slipping relevance in a crucial market for future growth. In the three years since, the brand has shifted their marketing toward a more \u201chelmets off\u201d approach, placing \u201cmore emphasis on player personalities\u201d\u2014in other words, putting the human faces of the sport at the forefront. This means taking on new brand partners such as esports teams, allowing NFL players to participate in video gaming matches that show their interest beyond football. Heavy investment in programs like \u201cMy Cause My Cleats\u201d has also given the NFL significant content fodder for highlighting players\u2019 personal lives outside of football, and giving the sports\u2019 fans a real \u201cperson\u201d to connect with, beyond a jersey number on the field. To this end, the league has also invested in local content creators assigned to each team, who capture not only on-field action, but off-field activities too. All of these strategies combined allow the NFL to showcase players who feel less like \u201cplayers\u201d and more like \u201cpeople\u201d\u2014people who the fans are excited to watch play football. And, by the way, fans are more excited now: the campaign has reversed the slide noticed in 2018, and the NFL put up their best viewership numbers in 2021 since the 90\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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Kansas City QB Patrick Mahommes with his custom \u201cMy Cause My Cleats\u201d via nfl.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

FaZe Clan:<\/strong> The Esports world has always been interactive in its roots\u2014by nature, the team gaming industry has grown largely through streaming, which is heavily forum-style in its composition. But, breaking its \u201cathletes\u201d outside of the gaming community into the mainstream has presented a challenge. AdAge declares that through their brand partnership efforts and integration of team players into other avenues beyond gaming, FaZe Clan \u201cwent truly mainstream this year.\u201d This was largely due to an intentional integrated marketing campaign to push the limits of what the \u201cmainstream\u201d might think of as a \u201cgamer,\u201d\u2014and crucially, invite them to participate as well. Hosting \u201ccelebrity\u201d gamers such as NFL quarterback Kyler Murray or James Bond star Daniel Craig bridges the gap between the video game community and the rest of us. The brand views themselves not as a gaming company but as a \u201cyouth culture company.\u201d In re-personalizing the persons who play the games as people with interests outside of video games, FaZe Clan has created far more interest in their gaming product. The delicate dance in bringing a niche community into the limelight is paying off, largely because the company is highlighting the real people behind the controllers, over the gaming experience itself.<\/p>\n

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FaZe Clan gamers with athletes Bronny James and Kyler Murray on cover of Sports Illustrated via si.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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007 Daniel Craig hangs out with FaZe Clan on-stream via geekanything.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

So, what about my brand?<\/h2>\n

The most exciting potential that bubbles up from these three examples of brands heavy-ing up on their investment in telling the more personal side of their brand story is the iterative potential for other brands. Each leveraged a different piece of their DNA to achieve the goal, but the common thread stayed the same. This bodes well as a consumer trend for 2022, because it means smart brands like mine and yours can do the same thing, in our own way.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n