2022 was a tale of two moods. While the end of lockdowns meant people in the Nordics and Benelux could go back to doing the things they loved – socialising, travelling, eating out – the prevailing economic uncertainty had an impact on their spending and shopping behaviours.
For marketers, this required a firm grip on consumer insights, measurement tactics, and marketing effectiveness – a need clearly reflected in our most popular content. To see what topics were top of mind for our readers as they navigated the dualities of 2022, we’ve rounded up our top 10 articles of the year. We hope you enjoy revisiting them.
10. The new 60/40 model: The ideal budget split to drive retail traffic
E-commerce retail is expected to grow faster than its in-store equivalent. For omnichannel retailers wishing to maximise the potential of this opportunity, they need to know which marketing channels will most efficiently drive growth. This research commissioned by Google found the optimal way for retailers to split their marketing budget.
9. Big-ticket items: What car buyers can teach us about the customer journey
When a Google and Kantar study revealed that more and more car buyers are using online sources for research and decision-making, we wondered what retailers of big-ticket items could learn from this. So we dug into the data to identify key actions retailers across industries can take to better serve their customers – from identifying key purchase drivers to helping shoppers better experience products online.
8. The case for brand investment in a time of budget cuts
The economic uncertainty this year has impacted all of us. To find out how marketers can best respond to this, we spoke with Tom Roach, VP brand strategy at global digital agency, Jellyfish, and Dr. Grace Kite, business economist and founder of data consultancy, Magic Numbers. We discussed the role of branding in the current climate, how to better measure its impact, and how to speak to CFOs about it.
7. Why omnichannel measurement shouldn’t be an afterthought
Ever since Belgian consumer electronics retailer, Vanden Borre, opened its first webshop 20 years ago, building seamless connections between online and offline has been the company’s main priority. But as the consumer journey became increasingly complex, it was harder for them to measure the effectiveness of each individual channel. To close the gap, they worked with Google and data analytics partner GfK to conduct media mix modelling. This is how the findings informed their long-term omnichannel strategy.
6. Consolidated campaigns. Concrete results. This is the future of ads
Unpredictable customer behaviours across channels and devices make it difficult for today’s marketers to reach their customers effectively. Performance Max campaigns offer a streamlined solution: a way to consolidate ads across every Google channel, putting marketing objectives front and centre. They are designed to reach the right people, at the right times, with the right messages, on the right channels. We spoke to companies who tested PMax early to find out how it improved their conversions.
5. Google Search trends 2022: Searches are driven by heightened emotions
Google Search trends at the start of this year revealed that searches were often driven by heightened emotions, with the war in Ukraine, finances, and health among key reasons for concern. At the same time, people got more ready to socialise after two years of lockdowns and restrictions. To shine a light on this duality of emotions, we analysed thousands of high-growth searches – and explored the new needs and behaviours that came out of it.
4. How your privacy strategy can help create better customer experiences
Privacy was top of mind for consumers this year. In our most recent privacy study with Ipsos, we found that privacy experiences offering customers an increased feeling of control can help drive greater marketing effectiveness. At the same time, doing the opposite can negatively impact brand trust almost as much as a data breach. In this summary article, we highlighted the four key takeaways from the research.
3. 5 branding lessons from Booking.com’s CMO
Booking.com is fast becoming one of Europe’s most popular travel brands, but their goal is to become a household name in all the countries where they do business. To find out what it takes to create a strong brand, we spoke to senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Arjan Dijk. Here, he shares his five hard-won branding lessons.
2. From sketch to runway: How H&M adopted value-based performance marketing in 4 steps
Like many retailers, H&M used to focus their performance marketing efforts on driving short-term revenue. But when analysis by their measurement and CRM teams revealed that this wasn’t the way to achieve long-term brand effectiveness, they decided to shift strategies and move towards a paid Search strategy centred on value. These are the four key steps they took.
1. How to measure ad effectiveness in a cookieless world
The depreciation of third-party cookies and the continued industry-wide effort to protect consumer privacy means that marketers are increasingly faced with data gaps. To remedy these shortcomings, Google worked with measurement solution provider, Objective Platform, to create a unified marketing measurement framework, which maximises the use of available data sources and techniques to create a single source of truth. In this whitepaper, we explain what it is and how it can help you make better marketing investments to drive business success.
