Today in Digital Marketing - Why is This CEO is Apologizing To Dogs?

Episode Date: January 19, 2022

Causation or Correlation? Is there a connection between the soaring inflation we've seen and consumer brand loyalty? Also: Walmart goes NFT. A lesson in testing your creative on dogs. An acquisition in the conversion optimization space. It was a record year for Spam, and I don't mean the email kind.Go Premium! No ads, more stories, and extended deep-dive weekend episodes — https://todayindigital.com/premiumADVERTISING as low as $20: https://todayindigital.com/ads JOIN OUR SLACK! https://todayindigital.com/slackFOLLOW US: https://todayindigital.com/socialmedia (TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and more) ENJOYING THE SHOW?- Please tweet about us! https://b.link/pod-tweet- Rate and review us: https://todayindigital.com/rateus- Leave a voicemail: https://b.link/pod-voicemail FOLLOW TOD:- TikTok: https://b.link/pod-tiktok- Twitter: https://b.link/pod-twitter- LinkedIn: https://b.link/pod-linkedin Today in Digital Marketing is hosted by Tod Maffin (https://b.link/pod-todsite) and produced by engageQ digital (https://b.link/pod-engageq). Subscribe at https://TodayInDigital.com or wherever you get your podcasts. (Theme music by Mark Blevis. All other music licensed by Source Audio.)Does your brand need a podcast? Let us help: https://engageQ.com/podcastsOur Sponsors:* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected, be Zen. Today, causation or correlation? at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. the CRO space. It was a record year for spam, and I don't mean the email kind. And on the Premium Podcast, with more stories, no ads, and expert deep dive episodes, the one mistake you could be making with your website that will drop you in Google ranking. It's Tuesday, January 18th, 2022. Happy anniversary of Lima, Peru. I'm Todd Maffin from EngageQ Digital, and here is what you missed today in Digital Marketing, episode 542. Consumers might be buying their next George Foreman grill in the metaverse. Walmart is preparing to enter the virtual world with plans.

Oh, God, I can't believe I'm going to read this. With plans to create its own cryptocurrency. Because that's what we need from Walmart. Oh, and NFTs. CNBC is reporting that the retail giant quietly filed several new trademarks that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods. Also, the company said it will offer consumers

virtual currency and NFTs, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office applications. They were filed on December 30th, by the way. There are seven applications in total, including virtual goods across product categories. I said virtual goods, such as furniture, toys, and sporting gear. There's also downloadable software for managing cryptocurrency portfolios or setting up an electronic wallet.

The end is near, friends. And now, a reminder to test your ad creative before you launch it. Uber's CEO this week apologized for how his company's advertisements may have caused some dogs to overreact. As part of Uber Eats' Tonight I'll Be Eating campaign, the ad features a doorbell that rings every time a delivery is made. Tonight, I'll be eating a veggie cheeseburger on ciabatta. Their most recent ad features Mark Hamill from Star Wars and Patrick Stewart from Star Trek.

Tonight, I'll be eating four cheese tortellini with extra tomatoes. So it's come to this. Thank you. Bravo. Of course, if you are a dog owner, you'll know that this sound might be a recipe for chaos. And indeed, many dog owners voiced their concerns online when their dogs became too excited when the commercial was played in the house. As an apology gift, the company is offering consumers a $10 discount on the Uber Pet Supplies Hub and has made a $50,000 donation to the ASPCA. I think we've all felt frustrated by the consent banners on websites. That accept all button is the easiest to click, but if you want reject all, well, good luck finding that one.

That was the topic of a viral skit going around TikTok this week from the Stevie M account. Recipes for cookies. Cookies.com. Cookies.com values your privacy. Okay. Okay isn't an option. I just want to make cookies.

Your options are learn more, manage preferences, accept and save, accept but don't save, agree and save but don't accept, agree and exit, disagree and exit, disagree but only partly exit while saving some preferences you haven't managed to accept. Learn more. Cookies are a way for us to analyse your data so it can be shared with third parties and also around hard biscuit. Who are the third parties?

250 subsidiaries of the Russian government. Decline. You can't decline that. Why? Well, then we won't be able to analyse your data. But I don't want you to. We have to a bit. Why?

So we can serve you relevant adverts like this, and this, and this. Quite interested in a large French horn. While selling that data to third parties. Oh, no, no, no, decline. I thought you wanted the horn. Okay, you know what? I just want to decline everything except the strictly necessary cookies. You also can't decline the mandatory cookies, the compulsory cookies,

or the cookies of great mystery. What do they do? I want to decline everything that's declinable. Done. Thank you. Accept all and save? Yes.

No! What does accept all mean? Accept all. But I told you to decline some of them. There was also save and exit, which would have saved what you'd previously done. Can I go back and change it?

Yes, but I can't tell you how. Why not? Because then you'd do it. You know what? I don't care. Just buy on me. I just want to bake a cookie. Thank you for your preferences. The skit ends with the consumer sitting in the same room she always was. But this time, when we cut back to her, there's a guy behind her looking at her through binoculars. You're welcome. Inflation may be having a surprising effect on brand loyalty.

A recent study has found that 93% of consumers say they've noticed an increase in the price of their most commonly purchased groceries. Here are the most common categories where consumers have noticed price hikes beyond groceries. 63% said gas, 35% said dining out, and 32% said household essentials have gone up. And 85% of respondents expect these price increases to continue, which two thirds of them say will change their shopping habits. So how? Well, depends on the price increase.

If the price increase is even only slightly higher, 60% said they will be seeking out more discounts and promotions. 46% say they'll cut back on non-essential spending. 42% will switch to lower-priced brands. And 39% will opt to find a cheaper retailer. If the price increase is going to be significantly higher, the same people, 60%, say they'll be hunting more discounts. But cutting back on spending will increase to 52% of shoppers. Switching brands jumps to 50%. And almost half,

47% of consumers, will switch retailers. The analysis surveyed 1,008 Canadians and was done by numerator. It's the season for new styles, and you love to shop for jackets and boots. So when you do, always make sure you get cash back from Rakuten. And it's not just clothing and shoes. You can get cash back from over 750 stores on electronics, holiday travel, home decor, and more. It's super easy. And before you buy anything, always go to Rakuten first. Join free at rakuten.ca. Start shopping and get your cash back sent to you by check or PayPal.

Get the Rakuten app or join at rakuten.ca. R-A-K-U-T-E-N dot C-A. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Two updates in our space to tell you about. The

first, Unbounce, a landing page platform based in Vancouver, has acquired LeadsRx, a U.S.-based marketing analytics platform. Unbounce says by combining LeadRx's data with their data, the acquisition has the potential to deliver more value to marketers at all stages of the funnel. The second acquisition, Creator IQ, the customer intelligence cloud used by companies like H&M and Disney, announced it is now an official TikTok marketing partner, allowing its clients to plan and execute TikTok creator marketing campaigns. Brands using the platform will gain access to creator and content metrics from the TikTok creator marketplace, which should provide insights into demographics and trends and help brands select the best creators to work with.

Also, marketers will be able to plan and execute campaigns within Creator IQ, of course. TikTok's first-party data and analytics will be combined with Creator IQ's workflow and measurement solutions to help marketers create more effective campaigns. And finally, yes, it's true. There are record high levels of spam out there.

No, not the email kind. The actual spam meat-in-a-can product. The company behind spam announced record high sales in 2021. And that was the seventh straight year of record high sales. Why are people still buying spam? Experts say it's not necessarily the taste of the meat spread that keeps consumers coming back for more. It's great branding and execution.

The four primary messages they use, it's the cheapest meat you can eat. Is that really a selling point? I guess it is. Number two, it has a long shelf life. Three, spam is a throwback to simpler times. And four, did you know this? There's actually variety. Spam comes in the following variations.

There's regular spam, spam light, spam less sodium, spam with real bacon, turkey spam, hickory smoke spam. These are all separate products, by the way. Hot and spicy spam with real bacon turkey spam hickory smoke spam these are all separate products by the way hot and spicy spam jalapeno spam teriyaki spam spam with portuguese sausage seasoning spam with toquino seasoning single classic spam packages single classic light spam packages spam bacon sausage and spam spam egg spam spam bacon and spam spam spam spam egg and spam I mentioned that ticket count, Stevie M. It has a weird spelling, by the way, if you want to find it, and I recommend you do.

It's a great account for that privacy preferences skit. It's S-T-E-V-I-E-M, but the S is actually a five. So it's the digit five, then T-E-V-I-E-M, but the S is actually a five. So it's the digit five, then T-E-V-I-E-M. Ron B., Christine A., Jim L., and Susan M., those people in the last 24 hours have signed up for the premium podcast feed. Thank you so much. It's just like this feed, but with more stories, no ads, and expert deep dive episodes on the weekends and chapters.

So you can jump right to a story while you're listening. More info at todayindigital.com slash premium feed or tap the link in the show notes. Talk to you tomorrow. It's the season for new styles and you love to shop for jackets and boots. So when you do, always make sure you get cash back from Rakuten. And it's not just clothing and shoes. You can get cash back from over 750 stores on electronics, holiday travel, home decor, and more.

It's super easy. And before you buy anything, always go to rakuten first join free at rakuten.ca start shopping and get your cash back sent to you by check or paypal