Let’s face it, your customers are ignoring your banner ads, video ads, and sponsored search results.

Don’t get caught doing the same ol’ marketing routine where you’re creating campaigns based solely on the product or brand message. Marketers should switch gears and focus on creating digital campaigns based on context.

This post will help you think differently about your marketing so you can start creating marketing experiences that are more effective and memorable.

Here’s what I mean…

Contextual Marketing

Customers expect digital experiences that are personalized and relevant.

In the film Minority Report, John Anderson walks through the mall and experiences personalized greetings all around him. This movie was not only a blockbuster, but it was also a glimpse of how the future of marketing may look.

However, there’s no need to wait for the future; contextual marketing is prevalent today as all consumers’ online behavior is being tracked to some capacity.

If you have a Google account, Facebook profile, or ever shopped on Amazon, this includes you.

Everything we search for, the websites we visit, or the physical location we’re in is included in a profile tracked by a web browser or mobile device.

With this knowledge, marketers are able to effectively target consumers.

Why Contextual Marketing Is Important To Your Business

Contextual marketing is personalized marketing that enhances the customer’s experience based on a customer’s real-time behavior.

The chart above shows different marketing approaches before and after context is implemented.
One thing you’ll notice is the shift in what metrics are valued at each approach.

From focusing on campaigns to interactions and targeting to engaging, there is a fundamental shift from product-centric campaigns to consumer-centric campaigns.

Contextual Advertising

Another way to shift a campaign from being product-centric to consumer-centric when executing an advertising campaign is to focus on what resonates with your consumer at the time in which your ad campaign is running.

You may recall the blue dress/gold dress image that became viral in February of 2015.

Millions of people were talking about that image, and savvy marketers took note.

Here’s an example of how Tide incorporated its brand within the context of the popular social trend…

This was an excellent execution as both the dress and the coloration were relevant to the product and the time in which it was released.

With that said, here’s how contextual marketing can help your brand…

How To Implement Contextual Marketing

• Be contextually relevant. You must be where your audience is. Try segmenting your audience within your marketing programming (i.e. email or CRM database) to ensure you deliver the right message at the right time.
• Use contextual marketing to reward your customers. Your customers can be your best salespeople. By collecting their data and adding it to your CRM, you have the ability to offer exclusive offers relevant to them. If done correctly, you now have a current customer that may assist with helping you acquire new ones.
• Use contextual marketing to properly promote a product launch. For most brands, the promotional and marketing activities are pre-planned and scheduled months in advance. Take time to develop a strategy to leverage everything happening around your product launch. You should consider, holidays, social and cultural trends, and other major events for your campaign.

Final Thoughts

Today’s customer will remember an experience with your brand before they remember your brand message. It’s best to focus on creating experiences instead of simply targeting customers.

Don’t waste your time or resources on irrelevant marketing. Be sure that the driving force behind your strategy is contextual marketing.

If done correctly, you will deliver the right message to the right person at the right time which can increase your brand recognition and sales.

Remember context is key!