The 411 on Emerging Media with Hydrogen’s Media Guru
Media Director Lauren Rose keeps a close eye on trends and innovations in media so she can apply that knowledge to your media plan, and puts together a quarterly report to keep clients up-to-date on what’s new. She answered a few questions about the state of emerging media as it is right now, and what she’d like to see in the future.
What strategies do you use to keep tabs on emerging media?
Keeping up on media trends is definitely a group effort. We have long-term partnerships with our vendors and they help keep us updated with what’s new. But my fellow Hydrogenites are also really great about sending me information on things they are seeing, which I then investigate. I love discovering new media vehicles and targeting capabilities, and ultimately applying them to engage audiences more effectively. Getting in on the ground floor of new channels is a great way to stand out and stay one step ahead of the competition. Those are the things that can make for a really effective campaign.
What paid media are you most excited about now?
The latest round of innovation has been all about targeting. Using a brand’s own data like CRM or offline purchase information, customers can be precisely targeted online. Not only that, but you can also create lookalike audiences of potential customers to grow your business.
What is a tried-and-true media method that you still love?
TV is still the largest mass reach and the only real “shared experience” where millions of people watch the same thing at the same time. Creatively, it is the best way to tell a story because you get to play with sight, sound and motion. It also has the best brand recall of all media vehicles so, much respect to TV. The latest tactics of OTT Content, Programmatic Linear TV, and Addressable TV help engage not only the traditional audience in a more targeted and cost-effective way but also engages audiences that no longer watch traditional TV.
What medium has improved the most this year?
Social has a lot of new innovations. Some good, some bad. Two of the biggest trends I see are the ever-increasing use of video and a focus on creating content that specifically fits each platform. I think the rule of social is still to create authentic content—something that user considers valuable— to create a positive brand experience.
Where is there room for improvement?
As a media person, I always want to see reporting improve. The more data I can get from not just the campaign itself but the target audience and their interaction with the campaign will help optimize our strategies and messaging further.
What tool doesn’t exist yet that you’d like to see made?
I have always wanted a vendor that can show me a heat map of where consumers are interacting with our advertising. For instance, I want to see where people who clicked on the ad are in proximity to a client’s location(s) and to my knowledge, that does not exist yet—but I will keep asking!
