CHAPTER 3
The channel connection
You’ve got your outfit picked out, the gossip primed and ready, and off you head to the agreed location to meet your friend – but you’ve turned up at the wrong coffee shop. Now what?
CHAPTER 3
The channel connection
You’ve got your outfit picked out, the gossip primed and ready, and off you head to the agreed location to meet your friend – but you’ve turned up at the wrong coffee shop. Now what?
Knowing the audience is one thing, getting the creative right is another, but what is the benefit of all of this if the story doesn’t get heard or seen? The next chapter places emphasis on the insight that media strategy/channel planning rounds out the top three mechanisms required to boost effectiveness of storytelling, according to 57% of marketers.
But technology has changed the viewing and listening experiences of consumers. With a growing array of channels and mediums – ranging from offline channels like print and out-of-home (OOH) to online channels including social media and connected TV (CTV) – it’s harder than ever to reach and engage attentive audiences, say 72% of marketers.
“Knowing the audience is one thing, getting the creative right is another, but what is the benefit of all of this if the story doesn’t get heard or seen?”
Context as a king maker
This fragmented media landscape is one of the biggest inhibitors preventing brand stories from being heard in a competitive marketplace, according to 53% of marketers. That, along with falling budgets (40%) and the prioritization of other marketing tactics (47%).
Brand inhibitors
fragmented media landscape
Budgets vs barriers
“If content is king, context is a king maker; where a story lives plays an outsized role in its ability to engage audiences,” says Amazon Ads’ Brandon Geary. “The way a story is consumed matters just as much as reach or cost per impression. When brands engage publishers earlier, they are far more able to create innovative experiences that reflect the unique characteristics of that brand story.”
And every brand story is different – giving marketers an opportunity to bring them to life in different environments, and in different ways.
As part of the media mix, marketers have significantly increased their investment in audio streaming/podcasts (34%), mobile and in-app marketing (34%), search (33%) and social media (46%) over the last two years.
Biggest inhibitors by marketing budget
Budget vs barrier
Brands (£6M+)
limited access to creative resource/innovative thinking
Brands (£4-6M)
being heard in a competitive marketplace
Brands (£2-4M)
lack of/reduced budget
Most popular marketing channels for storytelling
Another key focus has been the power of Connected TV to reach hard to find audiences. According to the research, in the next two years, 72% of marketers intend to further increase their investment in CTV to engage with audiences where they’re already spending their time.
CTV Investment
increase over next two years
“When we tell a cohesive story through different channels, we can take the customers through a journey and cover the full funnel”
Building multichannel customer connections
As the need to build trust through effective storytelling becomes more acute, an omnichannel marketing plan which encompasses the full marketing funnel – from brand discovery to purchase – can create a more positive and memorable brand experience for consumers across all touchpoints regardless of channel, engagements, or time spent.
“When we tell a cohesive story through different channels, we can take the customers through a journey and cover the full funnel,” says Roy Cohen, EU senior creative director at Brand Innovation Lab, Amazon Ads. “But when we tell different stories in different channels, we’re basically asking the customers to take a step backwards and digest an unfamiliar message. It’s not effective.”
To make a splash for the Windows 11 launch, Microsoft France drafted in NBA All-Star Tony Parker and partnered with Amazon Ads to create a three-stage storytelling journey. It started with a 10-second video teasing the launch of an exclusive interview between Parker and Windows on Twitch and Fire TV. When released, the video itself was hosted on a custom landing page on Amazon.fr and the final stage included 30-second promotional clips from the conversation, which all linked back to Windows 11-compatable PC deals during Black Friday.
While there were multiple elements working together, the campaign hinged on Parker’s personal story about basketball and his experiences with Windows as both a businessman and father. [7]
Three seems to be the magic number when it comes to channels, according to most marketers (40%), to be able to tell effective stories – but there are slight discrepancies between marketing, media and creative teams, suggesting that there could be conflicting priorities between how many design assets the creative teams want to produce versus how many channels media teams want to buy inventory to achieve their campaign goals.
“To mix online and offline, the best way is to put ourselves inside a customer’s situation and think about their behavior in that situation,” says Cohen. “The main idea of omnichannel storytelling is not to duplicate the ad into the different channels, but to tell the story in the native language that fits each channel and its audience. This way, the customer can discover new brand angles, while different audiences can resonate with the message that is tailored to their interests. That’s what makes the sum greater than its parts.”
Consumer electronics manufacturer OnePlus is an example of a brand that put this into play across the EU. The company actively uses feedback to adjust its messaging and formats, and has worked with Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab in the past to help tailor creative to its customers’ needs. For one smartphone product launch, the brand removed some of its key features from the storytelling. Customer feedback showed that it wasn’t a good move, so OnePlus brought them back. [8]
Most popular marketing channels for storytelling
Being present in the moments that matter
A growing number of brands are increasing cross-channel activity to diversify their mix and extend their reach (61%) to engage new audience demographics (48%) and better measure and demonstrate ROI of marketing (37%).
“My recommendation is to dive deeper into the customer journey and set clear objectives for each channel within that journey,” says Cohen. “Then it’s easier to check if the balance is right: are there clashes between different objectives? Is there an overlap between the channels? Did the channels get used in the right way? There are insights indicating which is the most appropriate channel to use. It might be a bit more effort for brands in the short term. However, by collecting that information over time, a brand can find the right balance that suits them.”
By being present in the moments that matter – ie the places audiences like to stream, listen or watch content, marketers create the glue that puts the pieces of the media landscape back together.
The way we tell stories has irreversibly changed, but with it comes more opportunities for marketers to embrace a multi-dimensional approach. As Cohen concludes: “A multichannel marketing strategy is crucial to building trust and loyalty and can create that impact, if done right.”
“My recommendation is to dive deeper into the customer journey and set clear objectives for each channel within that journey”
Top tips
Meeting in the moment
Set clear objectives for each channel and its role within the customer journey
Use first-party data as the glue between channels to tell a multi-dimensional story
Build your story narrative out in incremental stages across different channels
Continue the journey...
