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The Drum •

‘If it’s not relevant, it won’t resonate’ – 5 steps for relationship martech success for media and publishers

From news outlets to newsletters, a new guide from Marigold offers insights for publishers to get everyone on the same page, by finding the right technology to scale relationship marketing efforts.

In a world where millions of publishers are vying for readers’ attention, those that consistently stand out in in boxes are those that communicate with – rather than at – their readers.

With research showing that email is the most effective channel for driving sales and the added benefit of being a
Marigold •

Here's the top reason loyalty programs fail for brands - and 3 ways to fix it

By Roger Williams, head of Loyalty Center of Excellence at Marigold

The world of loyalty programs is complex. That’s true for both brand and consumer perspectives.

On the brand side, loyalty programs are booming. According to our report State of Brand Loyalty in the US in 2023, 52% of consumers are engaging in loyalty programs. Yet, 77% of loyalty programs fail within their first two years, due to loss of engagement after the initial acquisition.

On the consumer side, according to our same re
Marigold •

Prepare your holiday marketing playbook today with these 5 insights-driven tips

It seems that every year, the holiday promotions season starts earlier and earlier. But it’s never too early to start developing the marketing strategies and techniques that will drive revenue and engagement for the busiest shopping period of the year.

Last year’s holiday marketing efforts surfaced a number of valuable insights that can help marketers create campaigns that convert in the months ahead. These insights and suggestions can be found in Marigold’s recently released 2023 Effective Hol
The Drum •

Why collecting zero-party data via loyalty programs is more important than a one-off sale

Do you have transactional friends? Friends who only do something for you if you do something for them.

That’s not really a friend thing to do, is it? Unfortunately, that’s how many companies act with their customers, particularly their best customers enrolled in loyalty programs.

Customer loyalty programs offer brands the opportunity to create a deeper relationship with their customers by making an emotional connection. So don’t just treat it like a sales channel. Use your loyalty program comm
The Drum •

Why, when and how to use data storytelling in relationship marketing

Good relationship marketing is all about communication, and the best way to communicate is to tell a good story. For instance, a famous experiment by Significant Objects found that good storytelling can increase the value of a product by 2706%.

While there are many ways to tell a good story, one particularly effective method is through data storytelling.

Data storytelling is the art of combining data analysis with compelling narratives to convey insights that drive action.

Data storytelling c
The Drum •

Back-to-school 2023: 5 relationship marketing strategies for a successful campaign

By Kristen Ettinger, VP of customer success at Marigold


While parents of school-aged children are spending the summer months gearing up for vacations, camps, and teens’ first-time jobs, savvy marketers are already focusing on crafting their back-to-school campaigns for 2023. Back to school shopping is traditionally the second-largest spending event after the winter holidays. And with the remote learning/shopping baseline of the pandemic lockdown era now long past, this year in particular is a
The Drum •

How to use generative AI in relationship marketing

By Michele Fitzpatrick (VP of enterprise strategy at Marigold)

Over the course of the last six-to-eight months, generative AI has evolved from a plot line in a sci-fi movie to a technology that is disrupting entire industries, for better or worse.

In the last two months of 2022 alone, the monthly page views for one of the biggest AI text generator services — OpenAI — increased from 18.3 million to 304 million - a gain of over 1,500%. As of March, it was getting over 1.6 billion visitors a mont
The Drum •

Hear me out: the death of the cookie is a good thing for marketers - here’s why

Google's decision to sunset cookies by the end of 2024 has led some marketers to despair, others to ignore it completely. But there is another approach, says Nick Watson (VP client success EMEA, Marigold): instead of viewing this as a challenge, marketers should see it as an opportunity for digital disruption. Here’s why.

Please, not another article about the demise of third-party tracking cookies. Apologies in advance, but with so much fatalism on the challenges marketers are going to face as
The Drum •

The power of SMS: How brands can build strong customer relationships in the digital age

In today's increasingly digital world, businesses are recognizing the immense power of SMS (short message service) for engaging with customers. One of the initial hurdles faced by many is building an audience to communicate with. So, how can businesses overcome this challenge and unlock the full potential of SMS?

Mobile devices tick off almost all the boxes needed to develop a personal relationship with customers and collect useful zero-party data. They’re incredibly personal, with the ability
The Drum •

Creator-led affiliate marketing is the future of e-commerce - if you do it right

To find the best influencers for your affiliate marketing program, look for posting frequency and links, not likes and followers, says Mike Balducci (general manager affiliate, e-commerce and payment solutions, CreatorIQ).

The skyrocketing growth in e-commerce that took place during the pandemic is over.

After enjoying 20%+ growth rates for over five years, e-commerce activity is falling back to earth, forecast to sink into the single digits thanks to a combination of a post-pandemic shift bac
The Drum •

How marketers can turn privacy challenges into personalization opportunities

Using zero-party data that consumers provide willingly not only addresses privacy concerns, it’s more effective marketing as well, says Jamshed Mughal (global head of strategy and services, Marigold) for The Drum's latest Deep Dive into The New Data & Privacy Playbook.

Consumers are taking back control of their online data and identities, empowered by a combination of increasingly sophisticated privacy tools and aggressive privacy regulations.

This has many marketers concerned. But they should
The Drum •

For creator-led marketing campaigns, Instagram remains the place to be — here's why

Marketers today have more tools and technology at their disposal to reach and engage with prospective customers than at any other time in history.

So why does it feel like their jobs are harder than ever?

In a word: volume. There’s simply more of everything. There are more TV shows to place ads in, more social media platforms to distribute targeted messaging through, and more creators and influencers to partner with.

In fact, few sectors of the marketing world have exploded as much as creator
The Drum •

Data enrichment: How to know everything there is to know about your customers

The key to delivering personalized messaging and benefits to customers, at scale, is through the collection of zero-party data.

But equally important is what you do after collecting it. Clean, organized and actionable data will pay dividends. Siloed, outdated, and forgotten data won’t. Given that consumers worldwide interact with brands through multiple channels — email, text, social, etc. — the need to create a single source of truth for customer data across platforms is more critical than eve
The Drum •

4 ways strategic partner programs can improve native marketing platforms

By Andy Gladwin, head of partnerships at Marigold

The primary ambition of any vendor is to provide the most compelling value proposition to customers.

The most successful vendors accomplish this not only by fielding the best product possible, but also by enhancing their native services with a compelling ecosystem of complementary partners.

Simply put, strategic alliances drive improved awareness, confidence, results, and ultimately satisfaction for customers. Building a robust ecosystem acts
Entrepreneur •

3 Risks That Come With Rebranding \u2014 and How to Overcome Them

Here are some tips to manage three of the biggest risks companies face when rebranding.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Rebranding is not an effort to take lightly. There's no shortage of brands that got the wrong kind of attention after changing up their logo (remember Airbnb?) or their name (hello, Meta).

And while a healthy dose of fear is a good thing going into a rebrand (to keep from embarking on the effort frivolously), it shouldn't paralyze you from maki
Forbes •

Council Post: How Loyalty Programs Can Help Brands During A Recession

Wendy Werve is CMO of Marigold and has over 20 years of experience developing, leading and executing growth-focused marketing strategies.

The word recession is a scary one, particularly for businesses.

After all, when the economy gets tough, consumers tend to spend less. According to the NielsenIQ Consumer Outlook 2022 midyear report, 42% plan to reduce out-of-home spending. Another 81% report changing the way they shop to manage expenses (up from 33% in December 2021).

Clearly, brands need t
The Drum •

Survey reveals top 5 trends defining influencer marketing in 2023

The following article references data collected from CreatorIQ’s 2023 Influencer Marketing Trends Report. It is based on survey data from more than 236 creators and 163 brands and agencies conducted between Aug 15 and Sept. 25, 2022, primarily in the US.

The influencer marketing industry has grown to an estimated size of $14.6bn globally. But for all its maturity, it remains an ever-evolving space.

Leading both the industry growth and constant change is the always dynamic creator economy, a co
The Drum •

How to recession-proof your restaurant with relationship marketing

Just as the restaurant industry begins to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, another storm is about to hit it head on: a looming recession. While (hopefully) not as challenging as the forced closings that the pandemic caused, recessions have their own challenges in the form of higher labor costs, food costs and fewer diners.

But in this case, there’s at least a warning, giving restaurant owners time to prepare and get their houses in order. In this article, we’ll examine the main building bloc
The Drum •

Four Ways Influencer Marketing on TikTok Will Evolve in 2023

TikTok’s wild popularity among creators and consumers is nothing new, and in 2022, we saw a major surge in the number of brands teaming up with TikTokers. In fact, the total volume of creator-led TikTok campaigns run on our platform increased by nearly 300% year-over-year. Yet while TikTok itself is here to stay, the strategies brands use to win over TikTokers, and their audiences, will change with the platform’s evolving creator ecosystem.

Let’s take a look at four influencer marketing trends
The Drum •

3 biggest marketing challenges of 2023 and how brands can solve them

By Tim Glomb, VP of content at Marigold

This article references data compiled in Marigold's recently released Consumer Trends Index 2023, featuring the latest global consumer attitudes and trends in personalization, privacy, messaging, advertising, and brand loyalty.

Earlier this month you may have seen the news that our company rebranded under the new name Marigold and with an updated and expanded mission. If any of you have conducted a similar rebranding effort, you know it’s not a small und
Entrepreneur •

8 Ways to Retain Customers During an Economic Downturn

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Recessions typically mean reduced consumer spending. And by many accounts, we're heading into a recession this year. So, companies need to start gearing up.

The first reaction many companies have is to start cutting back on costs. While in many cases that makes sense, it can backfire if you cut investments in areas crucial to your bottom line. One area worth investing more in during an economic downturn is customer loyalty.

As we
The Drum •

Data shows email is still the top channel for revenue - but only if it's done right

Email is only a format. The key to effective email marketing is in the message delivered, says CM Group's Tim Glomb.

Don’t call it a comeback. Email may be an old format, but it continues to be one of the most effective marketing channels brands can use to drive revenue - if used correctly (and that’s a big if).

According to the 2022 Digital Consumer Trends Index, email crushes all other forms of customer outreach — banner ads, social media ads, organic posts, and SMS combined — by up to 108%.
Forbes •

Council Post: What Marketers Say And What They Should Mean In The Modern Marketing Environment

Wendy Werve is CMO of CM Group, and has over 20 years of experience developing, leading, and executing growth-focused marketing strategies.

Like any industry, the marketing field is full of wonky language, cliches and jargon.

For an industry that’s reliant on using language to communicate, too often the language it uses serves only to confuse, or worse … obscure.

Also, like many industries, the marketing field is changing and evolving. In fact, we’re in the midst of what is possibly one of th
The Drum •

The best way to collect zero-party data? Personalized customer relationships – here’s why

Consumers have more control over their personal data than ever before, forcing marketers to change the way they collect it. For The Drum’s Data & Privacy Deep Dive, Tim Glomb (VP of content, CM Group) explains how engaging with customers directly will result in better, more actionable insights.

We are in the midst of a great transition for marketing. Third-party cookie tracking will be dead in the near future. Apple and others are increasingly allowing customers to opt out of ad-tracking featur
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