Yum Brands moves, Facebook expanding AR/VR team and more changing places. People change positions, get promoted or move to other companies. Portada is here to tell you about it. Check out last week’s Changing Places here.
ViacomCBS has announced that George Cheeks will replace Joe Ianniello as CEO of CBS Entertainment Group, effective March 23. Cheeks joins ViacomCBS from NBCUniversal, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal Content Studios.
Taco Bell Corp. has named Nikki Lawson as its new Global Chief Brand Officer. Lawson, who has spent the past 20 years in KFC, will report to CEO Mark King. Both KFC and Taco Bell are part of Kentucky-based Yum Brands.
Pizza Hut U.S., another Yum Brands company, has named Kevin Hochman, who is also president of KFC U.S., as President of Pizza Hut U.S., according to Ad Age. Hochman has hired George Felix, former Director of Marketing for KFC Global, as CMO for Pizza Hut U.S.
Dunkin’ Brands has promoted Jill McVicar Nelson to Vice-President of Marketing Strategy at the restaurant holding group, parent of both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.
Facebook has hired former Eventbrite CMO Brian Irving to serve as head of AR/VR Product Marketing. Irving will help promote a range of new initiatives in the sector and will report to AR/VR CMO Rebecca van Dyck.
Loyalty marketing includes tools that help marketers engage with consumers. Here are some pros and cons of digital mobile wallets, in-app rewards, blockchain-based loyalty programs, AI-based loyalty marketing and mobile devices with beacon technologies.
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1. Digital Wallets, Great Organizers of Financial Lives
According to recent data, the average American carries 17 cards. This clearly shows how important it is for consumers to have an overview of their financial life (including their different loyalty programs). Digital wallets are ideal to help customers organize their financial and loyalty products.
2. In-App Rewards: a Loyalty Marketing Tool
The digitalization of reward programs can be an important driver for customer engagement. However, most In-App Rewards are based on a gamification context.
Pros:
Rewards for better prices, discounts, special offers. In other words, this type of technology can leverage the value proposition to customers.
Makes feel your regular customer as a high-value customer, that fact can generate effective recency/frequency and at least more interaction with the brand.
Churn strategies; getting back old customers / capture new generations and/or new markets.
Leverage Ancillary Revenue / Check-in ratio / Leverage negative performance markets or flights.
Incentives for B2C markets.
Differentiation from competitors.
Cons:
In-App can be very strong to generate engagement but also challenging to generate revenue.
Potentially low ROIs due to high operation costs (IT, back-end, front-end).
3. Blockchain-Based Loyalty Programs
Blockchain is a powerful strategy for loyalty marketing because of its inherent safety. The most valuable asset of a loyalty or Frequent Flyer Program is the data. Blockchain is designed to store transactional data in a secure and decentralized way. Customers appreciate this model because it is a “Loyalty Hub”. This technology can simplify the process of applying and keep customers from having full wallets/apps or accounts/passwords with the brands they want to interact with.
Blockchain is designed to store transactional data in a secure and decentralized way.
Pros:
High redemption rates.
Analytical and statistical information / more accurate information / give the customer what they need, when they need it and at the right price.
Customer incentive oriented: “Buy what you need and I’ll reward you”.
Traditional loyalty programs reward you for the extra purchase when customers realize that is a problem. Here the information is secure.
Loyalty Hub: customers always appreciate simple and centralized platforms.
Points can be changed for cryptocurrency.
Cons:
Complex method.
High UX costs.
High consulting costs.
Blockchain technology may not yet be popular enough.
4. Artificial Intelligence
Nowadays is not enough to get customers and generate leads from e-commerce strategies. It is a must for companies to start being AI and Machine Learning oriented in some way. This is not a trend, but a real need. Brand marketers and loyalty marketing experts are looking for deep learning experiences that allow recording and auto-analyzing customer information. AI can enable an extremely high degree of personalization. To get the most out of AI it is important for managers to understand market behaviors, customer preferences, demographics, etc.
Brand marketers and loyalty marketing experts are looking for deep learning experiences that allow recording and auto-analyzing customer information.
5. Mobile Devices with Beacon Technologies
Frequent flyer travel programs or loyalty coalition programs are common currency in the travel and lifestyle sectors. These programs provide customers the opportunities to use/redeem the points (virtual coins) they win in the regular day-to-day shopping to acquire plane tickets, accommodation, car rental, ancillary airline products, etc. Beacons allow these programs to be farther reaching and help opening new markets, generally abroad.
Social media plays an ever-changing role for marketers. The strategy’s strength is in the ability to humanize your brand by engaging with the consumer. And engagement leads to conversions. How to stay current as social media changes is a key discussion point at Portada Council System meetings. Learn how Portada Council System’s leading brand marketers offer solutions to keep ahead of social media’s evolving role.
Kick-off Facts
SMS or messaging apps are on the rise with 41% of travel marketers planning on implementing this in the near future. (Sojern)
Three out of five travel companies are using chat for customer service with 28% actively using or experimenting with AI technology. (Phocuswright)
The majority of marketers (77%) are using one or more social media platforms but only 48% have a positive ROI from these strategies. (Impact)
Three Social Media Challenges for Portada Council System Members
1. Managing Brand Reputation and Trust
Related comment: “Your customers don’t necessarily trust Influencers (since most know they are being paid). It is better to win them over organically.”
Social media make it easier to discredit a brand. Companies should try to turn these experiences into something positive.
2. Training Staff to Provide Consistent Customer Service
Related comment: “Right now, the front line staff is composed by people who are not prepared enough for the job.”
We have to make all messages coincide across roles in spite of the emphasis of each area.
3. Increased Complexity and Cost of Social Media Strategies
Related comment: “It is vital to understand the way each platform works.”
Even though the reach is there, it’s getting gradually more expensive.
2. Humanize the Brand Voice and Keep it Consistent
Related comment: “Every role matters, and each one can influence the whole in a different way.”
Practical example: The CEO could humanize the message and community managers should have a “tone of voice” that coincides with the company’s values.
When the head of the company is an activist, this helps the brand’s reputation.
3. Give Staff the Skills to Handle All Types of Social Media Feedback
Related comment: “Strive for accuracy and timely answers when addressing customers’ comments on social media.”
Practical example: Provide appropriate training to the social media team so they know how to handle messages with different objectives: communicating, positioning, selling, etc.
Make sure the whole organization has the same culture and train staff to deal with social media’s evolving role.
Practical example: Using an algorithm that answers immediately on social media without the customer noticing it’s a chatbot. Instead of having hundreds of people answering, a company could hire less high-profile employees to do it right.
When the algorithm can’t solve an issue, there’s a seamless transition to a human specialist.
AI is on the way to transforming the marketing world as we speak. While it is still in its nascent stage, it offers marketers a wealth of tools for leveraging data about customers to understand their preferences and journey with your products.
More importantly, it allows brands to keep up with customers’ increasingly high standards and expectations. Customers want their interactions with brands to feel personal and relevant, and AI enables a level of targeting and tracking that any marketer should get excited about.
But distinguishing between what can be implemented now and what will be possible in the near future is important, as the field of AI is in constant evolution. Here, we break down the different ways marketers can use AI to streamline operations, deliver better customer experiences and channel data into insight.
Defining AI
AI can be defined as a subset of computer science through which machines display “intelligence” by making predictions and decisions. AI acquires intelligence based on the analysis of data sets, a process enabled by algorithms that tell the machine how to complete tasks and interpret information.
The most basic form of this is machine learning, which uses historical data to predict future outcomes. As the machine acquires more data, it becomes better at making predictions.
AI already driving marketing budgets, data-driven insights
Recent studies reveal the important role that AI plays in driving marketing budgets and business growth strategies. Marketers clearly believe that AI is a valuable tool: 72% of marketers surveyed in a PWC study view AI as a “business advantage.” By 2021, organizations are projected to spend $57 billion on AI platforms for marketing.
AI in Marketing
And organizations are already seeing the results of implementing AI: 3 of 4 companies using AI have reported a boost in sales of at least 10%. 75% of organizations in another study say AI has driven customer satisfaction by at least 10%.
In terms of how CMOs are currently implementing AI, another recent survey found that many are using it for content personalization (56.5%), predictive analytics (56.5%), and targeting decisions (49.6%). But those are just a few of the ways AI can support marketing efforts today.
AI has 8 broad applications in marketing today
Marketers are accumulating data at an astonishing pace with the intention of harnessing it into better targeting. But sometimes the mere volume of data that organizations acquire makes it difficult for them to know how to make use of it. AI is incredibly helpful in this respect, as it enables real-time analysis of large volumes of data, automate tasks, and generate insight.
1. Market intelligence and insight:With the help of algorithms, machine learning enables in-depth analysis of complex data sets from data management platforms (DPMs), data warehouses, or other repositories, connecting the dots to support marketing intelligence and forecasting in a way that humans cannot.
2. Customer profiles and personas:Through the analysis of on-site interactions, purchasing history, referral sources and geo-specific behavior, AI can help brands form a 360-view of their customers and match them with personalized content and promotions.
3.Lead generation and sales:Machine learning and predictive analytics can help marketers automate the process of generating and scoring leads. They also help brands keep customers engaged through predicting turn: through analyzing users’ engagements with brands, they can tell when someone is about to drop off. Brands can then attempt to re-engage these users with notifications and emails.
AI in Marketing
4. Media buying: AI automates the laborious process of media buying and ensuring that ads are seen by relevant audiences through programmatic advertising and optimization and measurement platforms. With almost no human input, AI helps marketers analyze, manage, and measure the performance of ad campaigns.
5. Customer experience: According to Gartner, 85% of customer service inquiries will be handled via AI by the end of 2020. AI is increasingly being implemented in the customer experience space to support improved call centers and automated customer service via chat bots and digital assistants.
6. User experience: AI helps marketers optimize user experience on websites through analyzing data about single users’ behavior to personalize content, promotions, and notifications. A study from Evergage found that 33% of marketers are using AI for more personalized website experiences, and that 63% of them noted increased conversion rates, while 61% assert that customer experiences have improved.
AI Marketing
7. Natural language generation and content creation: There are a variety of applications for AI in the realm of content. Using simple rules and formats, AI-enabled tools and platforms can author content such as business reports, product descriptions, stock market reports, and sports recaps without human input. Through setting the rules and formats, marketers can dictate the tone and style that the content takes.
AI-enabled content platforms can also make suggestions about what kinds of content formats and topics a brand’s target audience is likely to engage with through tracking users’ online activity.
8. Chatbots: While chatbots technically fall under customer experience, they have changed the marketing world in such a way that they deserve their own dedicated text. AI-enabled bots are successfully delivering customer service for thousands of global brands through natural language processing and machine learning.
Natural language processing allows machines to interpret the meaning of written and spoken speech and respond accordingly, all without human intervention. The machine can track the effectiveness of its responses and adapt accordingly, improving as it has more conversations.
Marketers must self-educate before selecting vendors
Marketers considering ways to implement AI in their organization have to be careful when evaluating different products and platforms. Many use the term “AI” loosely, mislabeling tools that implement data processing and analytics as “AI.” Smart organizations can bring in experts to educate and advise them as they consider the alternatives.
Ask questions about the data sets they use and pay attention to whether they have data scientists on staff. Request a demo and confirm what deliverables and KPIs will be included in their activities.
Make sure your data is clean and high-quality
While AI might seem like magic, it still depends on effective human inputs: namely high-quality data that it can learn from. If marketers don’t format data in a way it can be processed, or you do not have the infrastructure to process it correctly, it will not produce an “intelligent” machine.
To this end, marketers must innovate and collect more annotated data that can be tagged to train AI systems. Measuring only clicks is not going to create a rich enough data set to use for impactful AI.
Remember the human touch
AI will be able to replace humans in many, but not all, of the brand interactions customers expect. Consumers are excited about AI – an Acquia study found that 53% of consumers say they are “looking forward to artificial intelligence making interacting with brands a better experience.” At the same time, the study found that 85% percent claim that “a human touch is needed, in addition to technology, for a positive customer experience.”
Marketers should only use AI where it will enhance customer experiences, and it turns out there are plenty of situations in which people prefer to speak to a human than a machine. 75% of the respondents to the Acquia survey agreed that “the problem with automated experiences – interacting with technology instead of a real human – with brands is they are too impersonal.”
The future of AI in marketing depends on smart investments
Implemented correctly, AI will offer us tools that make our work better, easier, and more enjoyable. Marketers will be able to focus on the strategic, creative elements of their work and leave the tedious and time-consuming tasks to a well-trained machine.
All of this, though, depends on marketers educating themselves so that they can help their organizations invest in smart solutions. As AI evolves at a rapid pace, marketers will face increasing pressure to keep up.a
ViacomCBS has announced that George Cheeks will replace Joe Ianniello as CEO of CBS Entertainment Group, effective March 23. Cheeks joins ViacomCBS from NBCUniversal, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal Content Studios.
Taco Bell Corp. has named Nikki Lawson as its new Global Chief Brand Officer. Lawson, who has spent the past 20 years in KFC, will report to CEO Mark King. Both KFC and Taco Bell are part of Kentucky-based Yum Brands.
Pizza Hut U.S., another Yum Brands company, has named Kevin Hochman, who is also president of KFC U.S., as President of Pizza Hut U.S., according to Ad Age. Hochman has hired George Felix, former Director of Marketing for KFC Global, as CMO for Pizza Hut U.S.
Dunkin’ Brands has promoted Jill McVicar Nelson to Vice-President of Marketing Strategy at the restaurant holding group, parent of both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.
Facebook has hired former Eventbrite CMO Brian Irving to serve as head of AR/VR Product Marketing. Irving will help promote a range of new initiatives in the sector and will report to AR/VR CMO Rebecca van Dyck.
