In our latest installment of the Audience Data Sessions (ADS), we invited Rachel Macey, head of TGI business development at Kantar, to discuss how consumer attitudes and motivations have changed since the onset of the pandemic, Kantar’s positioning in a post third-party cookie world and what opportunities lie ahead for marketers using data in 2021.
Kantar is a leading provider of consumer insights. How have you responded to the appetite for insights into consumer behaviour since the pandemic hit?
Of course the last 12 months have seen dramatic and sudden changes in consumer behaviour as a result of the pandemic. Almost every area of day-to-day consumer life has been impacted – from how we shop and how we eat, to the way we interact with our friends and family, to changes in our media preferences, especially around streaming, mobile and on-demand content.
We have worked closely with our clients to ensure they have a very clear view not just of these changing behaviours as they happen, but of the attitudes and motivations that are driving those behaviours and what these mean for their brand.
At Kantar we established a bespoke ‘Covid barometer’ that closely tracks consumer behaviour and feelings as they relate specifically to the changes caused by the pandemic. These and other Covid-specific studies we have undertaken have also enriched the consumer data on our other solutions, enabling our clients to understand rapid, COVID-led changes in behaviour within the context of broader, longer term consumer habits and attitudes.
To help keep our clients up-to-date with key consumer trends last year we began a ‘Chart of the Week’ initiative whereby we send short, punchy, timely insights from our TGI consumer data each week to our clients to engage and inspire them. Anyone can sign up to receive these, just click here.
What makes Kantar’s insights unique?
Kantar’s TGI consumer data gives a detailed picture of consumers’ day-to-day behaviours, attitudes and media consumption that is unmatched in breadth and depth by other consumer surveys.
This enables us to create trusted, privacy-safe audiences for online activation based on directly-claimed online and offline consumer behaviour.
The Great Britain TGI consumer survey acts as the industry currency for media planning and selling in Britain and beyond, used daily by hundreds of media agencies, brands and media owners.
Eyeota works with Kantar to activate its valuable consumer attitudes, characteristics and behavioural insights as digital audiences, are there any new updates to our partnership this year?
Absolutely. We already have several hundred ready-made consumer segments that we have activated via Eyeota, available across all major DSPs/DMPs. This year we will be expanding the range of segments, including key demographics to align with offline planning standards, as well as updated seasonal buyer segments like our detailed and in-market selection of Christmas shopping segments.
The key benefit of TGI in having over 38,000 data points is that we can build just about any target an advertiser or agency might need. So if you’re struggling to find a precision campaign target, or want to replicate an offline segmentation for social, programmatic or CTV targeting then do get in touch as we’d love to help.
What is Kantar’s positioning in the identity and cookieless landscape?
In a cookieless landscape it will become more important than ever for marketers to be able to target consumer segments built on real world, in-depth, privacy-safe data that the consumer has directly and explicitly agreed to share.
With first-party data front and centre of our clients’ data driven strategies, having the ability to enrich this first-party data beyond contextual datapoints will be key to maintaining a 360-degree view of their audiences, identifying new and growth audiences and ultimately connecting these audiences to activation and positive business outcomes.
Through our robust and in-depth TGI consumer data we enable impactful online targeting of any consumer audience, in which our clients can have complete trust.
What are the opportunities for marketers using data in 2021?
As we emerge from the pandemic over the course of 2021 there will be all sorts of new opportunities for marketers to exploit.
Thriving in a post-third-party cookie world
It would be impossible to talk about 2021 and not mention the death of the cookie as we know it. Recent Kantar research reveals a slightly greater concern than in 2019 about the impact of a cookieless world, most especially among media owners (publishers), where 64% are worried. Some 48% of marketers worry their companies won’t be able to provide impactful performance without cookies. And yet, only 40% indicate their companies are preparing for this (although this is up from 35% in 2019). Consumers are conflicted: while 54% like advertising tailored to them, 56% are concerned about privacy.
It is crucial therefore that marketers make the most of opportunities to leverage ‘real world’ consumer data they can trust and activate it online in a privacy-safe way.
Optimising the impact of first-party data
The death of the cookie signals an acceleration in reliance on first-party data to power not just media, but also broader business outcomes. The limitation of first-party data however, is whilst it often has great depth it lacks breadth beyond contextual consumer insights – what consumers think, what other products and brands they use, their media consumption etc. For brands, integrating their first-party data with compliant and approved third-party data sources for better insight into - and activation of - their consumer targets will be key to thriving in the long term.
Exploiting changing audience behaviours
Media habits changed under lockdown and the industry is asking which will bounce back and which will stick as we emerge from COVID restrictions. The next few months will be a period of flux and those who keep their strategy agile and stay close to evolving media trends will be those best placed to emerge in the long run ahead of their competitors.
Optimising use of social media when trust in the channel is so low
Marketers are increasingly reliant on their social channels – and advertising on social media – as a means of building relationships with their core consumer targets. The challenge they have is the high level of distrust consumers have towards what they see on social media compared to other media forms.
It is therefore key for marketers to ensure they understand exactly who it is they are reaching via social channels and ensuring that the messaging aligns precisely with the interests and aspirations of their consumer targets. This relies on a detailed understanding – both offline and online – of the right targets and activating campaigns against them in a way that is tailored as closely as possible to their behaviour and characteristics.
If 2020 taught us anything as an industry it was the need to be resilient, agile and to keep the consumer at the heart of whatever we do. By putting people and real word insight at the core of data driven strategies brands will be well placed to take on whatever 2021 may bring.
Are you ready to activate Kantar audiences for your campaign? Contact our Audience Specialists at datadesk@eyeota.com to request your custom targeting solution today!
