Welcome to Marketing Chronicles. A newsletter where marketers come for expert industry commentary at the intersection of strategy and creativity — every Wednesday sent before daybreak. If you like what you see, join us for free.

In this edition:

• Column: How To Use Proper Targeting in Marketing

• Inspiration: Nike Drops New Wemby Logo… During The Eclipse

• Upcoming: Unlocking the Future of Customer Acquisition Panel

Column: How To Use Proper Targeting in Marketing

The digital age has given us many gifts.

But some of those gifts were empty promises around the idea that hyper-targeting would turbocharge our marketing to new levels.

On the surface at least it made sense — I know who my customers are, what they like, where they spend time, how they consume content, and much more. What if I could serve messaging only to those people who actually are part of my target audience? My marketing dollars ought to work harder, right?

Right?

Well, it’s not that simple.

Targeting has its place in marketing communications, but it needs to be used carefully, intentionally, and at tightly controlled levels.

Let me explain.

False Promises

Marketers who have undergone proper training have likely read Byron Sharp’s book “How Brands Grow”.

This quintessential book is dense in insights backed by actual research done at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australia. They’ve gotten access to data from several multinationals around the world, as well as from smaller brands and associations (such as the IPA) for a great length of time.

This equipped these marketing scholars to analyze the nuances of marketing initiatives around the world by using the scientific method — what enabled them to identify “natural laws” of marketing that work in the same way that the laws of physics work with architects.

Discoveries such as the double jeopardy law, the duplication of purchase law, the law of buyer moderation, and several more gave marketers a better understanding of how their environment really worked.

But there was one finding in particular that really shook marketers to the core: loyalty is a myth and that the only way to grow is through market penetration.

The math is actually quite simple:

Sharp analyzed several categories over the years, and below is what the defection rates for car brands were like in the UK and France from 1986-89:

Insights:

• If Toyota were to reduce its defection rate (aka, percentage of people who do not buy Toyota the second time), it would grow its sales by 50%!

• This would mean that by simply retaining its clientele fully, it could gain a full percentage point in market share. Therefore, one point is the maximum it can gain from improving retention.

• But each year nearly half of people switch car brands (47%), meaning each year almost 50% of the market is up for grabs.

• Now, if Toyota instead solely focused on acquiring NEW customers, it would have 47X the sales potential than by just retaining its existing clientele!

The implications of this are quite clear: in order to grow, brands must drive penetration and acquire new customers — most of which likely fall outside of your brand’s current target audience looking to buy today.

Reach vs Targeting

So, if reach is really that important for growth, then when should I focus my efforts in targeted communications?

Well, that’s when we enter the world of Les Binet and Peter Field.

In what is arguably the most consequential marketing text of the 21st century to date, “The Long and Short of It” showed how there’s some nuance to this debate.

Binet and Field analyzed thousands of case studies from the IPA database and found that there’s an optimal balance between brand-building initiatives (the long-term) and sales activations (the short-term).

And that to grow your brand you need to invest around 60% of your budget (with small nuances by category) into emotional storytelling with broad/maximum reach (which is why TV is so effective to build brand).

Whereas to drive short-term sales, showing up with more persuasive messaging to a small target audience who is actually in the market to buy (which is ALWAYS a minority of your total market by a long shot) you have a chance at converting them at the bottom of the funnel.

This means that while your brand equity campaigns are working hard to build mental availability in the heads of your future customers, those who are looking to buy today need to be captured with precision.

And that’s the gift that the digital age has given us — an ability to find those people looking to buy no matter where they are in your market (which is why CPMs for conversion and lead-gen are always higher than for awareness).

Know Your Category

Understanding how big your category is will be a major difference maker in growing your brand.

That is the work we do during the market segmentation portion of a marketing plan — we look at all the potential buyers within a set category (bound by geography or not if you’re a digital service) and calculate the total size of the market in dollars.

Based on that number then we’re able to calculate what is our market share in said category, segment it into target audiences (also known as customer personas), which will also shine light into which groups we are over indexing and under indexing against in terms of sales and brand salience.

With this information we’re then able to create a strategy as to how we will grow:

• How much do we need to spend to reach the entire category for brand-building purposes?

• Which audiences are we going to activate against this year, and at what times of the year?

• How will we show up (positioning) from a brand standpoint?

• What category entry points matter to my audiences so that I can build mental availability when they think of a desired situation for my brand?

• Which channels will I use to maximize reach, and which channels will I use to capture sales? And so on.

Understanding how and when to tap into targeting will prevent you from spinning your wheels with an audience who doesn’t know you even exist.

Until you’ve built mental availability within your category, your performance marketing (aka sales activations) won’t be as efficient.

The more people know your brand and remember you, the greater the ROI in your short-term targeted marketing initiatives will be.

📢 Community Shout Out

Interested in more marketing and advertising content or have unanswered questions? All you have to do is the following:

• Share this week’s newsletter on LinkedIn.

• Write something nice about it and add a question.

• Tag me on LinkedIn so I can see it.

I’ll answer it in the post comments and pick someone to give a shout out in my next column!

Inspiration: Nike Drops New Wemby Logo… During The Eclipse

By now there is no denying that Victor Wembanyama is a generational talent who will be the face of the NBA for years to come.

When trying to describe his freakish abilities, players began calling him an alien — as opposed to the “unicorn” label given to big men who can shoot.

With his first season almost fully under his belt, Wemby has already broken several NBA records and is pretty much a lock for Rookie of the Year.

So, Nike waited until the right moment to release their young star’s signature sub-brand logo… Enjoy.

Upcoming: Unlocking the Future of Customer Acquisition

• May 16 @ 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm MDT

• Earl Grey Golf Club - 6540 20 St SW, Calgary, AB T3E 5L2 Canada

• REGISTER HERE

In an era where the landscape of customer acquisition is ever changing, staying ahead of the curve is not just beneficial; it’s essential for any marketer looking to make a significant impact. This exclusive Panel & Power Hour session brings together a trio of local marketers (including yours truly), each with a distinct set of experiences and insights into the dynamics of customer acquisition in today’s marketing world.

What You Will Learn:

• Emerging Trends: Uncover the latest trends in customer acquisition, from technological advancements to shifts in consumer behaviour.

• Strategic Insights: Gain valuable insights into developing and implementing strategies that resonate with today’s consumers.

• Real-World Applications: Learn from the firsthand experiences of the panelists, who have successfully navigated the challenges of marketing in various industries.

• Interactive Q&A: Engage with our experts in a dynamic Q&A session, where you can seek advice, clarification, and deeper understanding of the discussed topics.

Whether you want to refine your strategy, explore new avenues for growth, or simply stay informed on the latest customer acquisition trends, we designed this Panel & Power Hour for you.

REGISTER HERE.

• May 16 @ 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm MDT

• Earl Grey Golf Club - 6540 20 St SW, Calgary, AB T3E 5L2 Canada

Founded in 2001, The Calgary Marketing Association (CMA) is a nonprofit industry association that supports Calgary’s thriving marketing community. They bridge the awareness gap between agencies and large corporations—providing industry professionals with access to exclusive events, mentorship opportunities, shared tools, and networks. From showcasing emerging best practices to creating a community that fosters collaborative knowledge exchange, the CMA offers a variety of resources that can raise the bar for Calgary’s marketing industry.

More of PPA:

• 🤝 Connect with Pedro on LinkedIn and/or X

• 💌 In case you missed it:

  • What Marketing Strategy Is and Isn’t

  • Why Strategists Should Read Philosophy

  • The Strategist’s Paradox

PPA 

Pedro Porto Alegre is a seasoned marketing professional with in-depth experience building brand and communications strategies for top-tier B2C and B2B organizations across Canada. His repertoire extends from crafting and executing integrated multi-media brand marketing campaigns to the commercialization of performance-driven innovations for multimillion-dollar and nascent brands alike.