If you work in marketing you convince yourself that everyone is looking at your brand and company, yet the reality couldn't be further from the truth.

This is because pre-Covid people were bombarded with brand messages (adverts) of circa 4k -10k per day across multiple devices.

Real-time bidding (RTB) is the ad tech equivalent of Wall Street — where advertisers and publishers are matched up to buy and sell ad impressions, respectively. 

An “ad opportunity” is created when a web page is loaded (e.g. when a user, or Bot visits the page).

That opportunity is put up for auction by sending a bid request to an ad exchange. Multiple buyers bid on that opportunity and the winner of that auction gets the right to serve an ad into that ad slot on the seller’s webpage. 

All of this takes place in a matter of milliseconds; and an estimated 10 trillion such auctions happen every week (equivalent of 10 – 20 million per second). When a bid is won, a call is made to the buyers’ ad server to serve the ad into the ad slot. (link to article here)

What's happened is that we've all started to disengage with the corporate (advertising) digital overload message.

Basically the level of trust has been diluted which in turn means we no longer relate to, or trust what you're saying is true.

In the physical world of retail we see a similar move to invest in the next shiny tech object, many times this just ends up with the 'game changing' tech idea sitting on the company balance sheet and not really moving the growth dial forward.

Focus on tech rather than on customer value.

Many retailers have leaped to embrace tech-enabled, flashy innovations like smart mirrors, Bluetooth beacons, and in-store kiosks to create differentiation. 

But without a proper grounding in customer needs or determining how these investments will create and sustain value at scale, retailers sometimes end up with what amount to shiny objects that drain capital expenditures.

Marketing transformation has more to do with a better understanding around how your potential customers are wanting to access information about your product and company in a way that doesn't include risking your cold spammy phone calls and e-mails, it's certainly not just about 'software' that will probably change very little, just like that last 'software' initiative your company embarked upon.

Many retailers race to advance omni-channel initiatives without doing the critical thinking to identify the starting point and the specific capabilities needed to succeed at each step.

Pressure to keep pace with competitors or eagerness to put a compelling idea into action can prompt some companies to plunge in headfirst. But without clearly sequencing the “crawl, walk, run” approach and investing in the right fundamentals, retailers often end up with fragmented investments that destroy value.

Today's socially savvy prospects and customers are checking out your 'social proof', not your website.

With your buyer looking for a solution to their problem, you need to supply them with relevant content, engage with them, and get 'listening' - you need to give them a solid reason to choose you over your nearest competitor.

The content needs to be informational and in the form of stories that are helpful rather than sales driven. 

This model extends the brand experience, providing consumers with an ever-growing platform of content, offers, and community-based interactions. 

Instead of turning to a retailer for occasional interactions, consumers make omnichannel ecosystems part of their lifestyle. It’s an always-on relationship that can pay ample dividends.