Ray Lansigan is the Head of Corporate Strategy for Publicis Groupe, Digital Experience.
getty
We live in an era of information overload, a concept developed by the prescient futurist Alvin Toffler that has since become a colloquial term. Each day, the average person uses 10 different apps, makes up to 35,000 decisions and scrolls the equivalent of 300 feet of social media content (the height of the Statue of Liberty). However, this ample availability of content creates a digital paradox. Each incremental tranche of content exhibits diminishing returns and taxes the human mind into choice fatigue.
Marketers tasked with cutting through the crowded content landscape can rely on creativity to drive the growth of their brands. While the channel and media landscape has become more intricate over the years, the customer experience continues to rely on the levers of mental and physical availability to drive people to purchase. In other words, a consumer must have top-of-mind awareness of a product or service (mental availability), which has to be available within an acceptable time window (physical availability). Furthermore, the transaction needs to be completed; ease and intuitive experiences are critical to avoid abandonment.
Two Examples To Learn From
Let’s look at two examples.
Folgers Shop-a-Vibe: Gen Z and social platforms are powering the at-home coffee movement, but Folgers was not getting its fair share. Knowing that Gen Z relies on social platforms for product discovery and has an expectation of instant delivery, Folgers and our PublicisOne team worked together to build an experience with TikTok and grocery delivery service Gopuff. Influencers created shoppable product bundles that were available for purchase on the platform and delivery in less than 30 minutes. Essentially, we matched a commerce ecosystem (product availability) with the desire for a caffeine fix (mental availability).
Hyundai Evolve Showroom: Almost two-thirds of Americans buy a car at least every five years. The process can be notoriously difficult because of time spent in dealerships, confusion in sorting through features and disappointment when vehicles are out of stock. Hyundai’s partnership with Amazon leverages frequency and familiarity with the Amazon marketplace to make the purchase of a Hyundai intuitive and comfortable. Connecting to the local dealer network, Hyundai's Evolve Showroom on Amazon gives customers the ability to choose the model, trim and features they want and contact a local dealer for purchase. The Evolve Showroom is a twist on mental availability by using borrowed equity through an enterprise partnership.
The Takeaway And How To Apply It
Folgers and Hyundai are in vastly different categories, but there is a singular takeaway from the examples above: Digital experiences create commerce velocity at critical leverage points for brands.
Acting on this takeaway comes down to three strategies:
1. Emotionalize the customer journey. Journeys are a foundational and well-acknowledged component for marketers, but one that often only scratches the surface. A well-constructed journey is equal parts science and art. Quantitative data uncovers the steps in the buying process and their relative importance, but tapping into customers' emotions leads to a competitive advantage. Try to find ways to map your customers' needs, attitudes and behaviors into the journey. This way, you can create a rich but clearly defined territory for your creative ideation.
2. Create the reason to buy now. A well-crafted experience intersects product availability and mental availability with seamless commerce. The alternative to purchasing from your company is not necessarily going to a competitor, but rather abandoning the cart temporarily or permanently. Make sure you're providing an intuitive and hospitable commerce experience in addition to striking the emotional chord with customers.
3. Build a partner ecosystem to drive commerce. The average American spends half of their waking hours on digital media. The online spaces and places where they dwell are no longer just capturing attention; they are also capturing dollars. The acquisition of Vizio by Walmart (a client of ours) is the latest example of using content to drive commerce. Find partners that are naturally part of your customers' rhythms, and obsessively think about new ways to drive product discovery and purchase.
Follow this playbook to hedge against the digital paradox. The result will be cutting through the choice fatigue, standing out in a crowded content landscape and ultimately growing your brand.
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
