Agency Blog

Discover how EGC is leveraging big reality TV moments for client impact… 

If the last few years of uncertainty have taught us anything, it’s that the old way of doing things doesn’t have to be the only way. Everything about the way we operate our day is different—from where we work, how we shop, to the way we engage with friends and family. With these shifts in lifestyle, habits around media consumption and interests have also changed, thus forcing advertising models to evolve and brands to take a hard look at how they can effectively reach consumers. These changes are here to stay, so brands need to modify planning accordingly.  

As the cookie has basically crumbled (literally and figuratively), and Google Chrome’s decision to eliminate all behavioral targeting, marketers are scrambling for a solution to their ad targeting woes. So, while some are stymied, leading brands are using this as an opportunity to renew and reset targeting techniques. One strategy has been the revival of the long-thought dead practice of contextual advertising. Have you ever seen a banner ad for a related product or service while visiting a webpage? If so, then you have experienced what is known as “contextual targeting.”

More time at home resulted in more people discovering streaming and turning to audience streaming platforms. Audio streaming surpassed expectations and ended 2020 stronger than ever with more than 345 million monthly active users (up 27 percent YoY), of which 199 million are Ad-Supported.

One advancing change to keep top-of-mind in 2020: “interactive content.” In the online world of today – where people can like, share, follow, and tweet anything and everything on social media and post reviews to Google, Amazon, or any other site – interactive content is in many ways a natural extension of this kind of communication.

As the media director for EGC, I often find myself explaining the “separation of church and state” as it relates to media. Typically, media outlets draw a clear line between paid advertising and editorial. It is difficult-if not impossible-to receive added value/bonus editorial mention in most of our media partners’ vehicles (newspapers we buy print ads in, news programs on stations we buy TV spots, online news sites we buy banner ads on, etc).

This separation is done to help preserve the integrity of the news outlet, and to refrain from showing specific bias toward paid advertisers and against those that choose not to provide the outlet with advertising income. It’s a free world—anyone can pay to advertise in a media vehicle. On the other side, editorial content should be driven by the value of the story, reader/viewer interest, etc.