Kurt Hawks emphasizes the importance of shifting marketing strategies from a device-centric approach to a consumer-centric perspective, advocating for unified data profiles that reflect individual behaviors across devices. He notes that over 50% of digital time is now spent on mobile devices, and brands must leverage cross-device insights to optimize advertising campaigns effectively. Ultimately, successful marketing relies on understanding consumer needs rather than focusing solely on the devices used.

1. By Kurt Hawks, General Manager – Conversant® Mobile
IT’S THE PERSON,
NOT THE DEVICE!

2. These days it seems as if everyone is
talking about how much a brand should
be spending on smartphone and tablet
advertising. We all need to stop thinking
about smartphone allocations. And tablet
dollars. When I hear that sort of talk, I
must resist the urge to channel my best
Charlton Heston impression from Soylent
Green. Because cross-device is people!
Years ago, In response to the growth
in mobile usage, lots of brands started
allocating a certain percentage of total
digital spend to mobile. Back then, you
couldn’t have a comprehensive profile of
a user’s activity across all of their devices,
or deliver a coordinated campaign across
devices. We couldn’t connect a person’s
PC profile to their mobile profile with the
prevailing technology. Having separate
campaigns in PC and mobile was the best
we could do – it was preferable to not
reaching people at all on devices other
than a computer.
But times have changed, and brands need
to change their strategies with them – to
unify data from across all of their devices
to a single anonymized profile. Thanks
to advances in user-to-device mapping,
it’s now possible to understand all of the
signals people send about what they want -
regardless of the device they send them on.
As a result, we now need to stop thinking
about devices, and put our focus back
where it belongs – on the consumer. Brands
must learn to plan and execute programs
“person-first,” letting the individual’s
personal behavior govern the particular
spend level for each device channel.
Cross-device must strategically permeate
our data and profiles, media delivery
and insight analytics.
Ugh! If I had a dollar for every time a brand asked
what percentage of its budget should go to mobile…
I’d be a rich man, indeed.
CROSS-DEVICE
DATA AND PROFILES
To best reflect the consumer in your
marketing, you need to understand all
of their digital behavior. Not just their
mobile-based behavior. In October 2013,
comScore first reported that more than
50 percent of the average person’s digital
time was spent using smartphones and
tablets. Brands that use only mobile-based
data for targeting are missing out on more
than 50 percent of what a user does online.
Even if you are planning and buying a
campaign for just one channel like mobile,
you need cross-device behavioral data to
identify the best audience and advertising
opportunities to reach them. You must
understand consumer behavior across
devices, even if you are only planning a
single device ad campaign.
True customer understanding requires that you
bring all of the data together – from PC, mobile,
and tablet - in united profiles. And further, you
need to do that quickly before the insights you
can glean grow too old to be valuable.
Brands that use mobile-based
data only for targeting are missing
out on more than 50 percent of
what a user does online.
We now need to stop thinking
about devices, and put our
focus back where it belongs –
on the consumer.
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3. CROSS-DEVICE
DELIVERY
Once you understand the user’s behaviors and
interests, you need to identify and leverage the best
media to reach, connect and convert. It’s the classic
right place, right time and with the right message.
The media exchanges make it easier to reach people
in more places. You also need to be able to evaluate
the relative merits of an impression in one medium
versus another. Again, what’s critical is real-time
access and processing of information so you have
the intelligence necessary.
CROSS-DEVICE
INSIGHT ANALYTICS
Once your program is in place, you need to dig in and
uncover both the individual and interconnected value
of each channel in conversions.
Google released a study last year that showed that
67 percent of us start the purchase process on one
device but complete it on another. For example,
browsing for vacation destinations on your phone at
Starbuck’s, then reviewing destination pictures on a
tablet in front of the TV, and finally moving to PC for an
easier purchase. Without understanding the role of each
channel in the user’s decisions, you can’t make informed
decisions on how to optimize future campaigns.
67 percent of us start the purchase
process on one device but
complete it on another.
What’s critical is real-time access and
processing of information so you have
the intelligence necessary.
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4. CONCLUSIONS
The device is ultimately a pipe that allows people to consume content. Each type of pipe is
better for some things than others. Phones are great for on the go. PCs for content creation.
Tablets for viewing content. People expect consistent brands across devices. They want access
to information on their terms and on the device(s) they choose. You can’t deliver a great
communications strategy if you focus on the screens instead of the people viewing them.
Such efforts must start with the person. Leveraging all three dimensions of cross-device – data,
delivery and insights – in order to better meet their needs. Because Heston impression or no,
cross-device is people.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kurt Hawks is General Manager – Mobile for Conversant. Kurt is responsible for driving the cross-device strategy for Conversant as well as
overseeing mobile operations across Conversant’s business units. He focuses on developing cross-device personalized marketing offerings
that put the individual at the center, rather than in segments or silos. Prior to Conversant, Kurt served as a senior associate at Monitor Ventures,
where he focused on evaluating investment opportunities and building early-stage businesses in the areas of mobile, media, software and
business services. Previously, he served as an engagement manager at Monitor Group where he advised clients on various corporate strategy
issues including development of growth strategies, organizational design and new business creation.
ABOUT CONVERSANT
Conversant, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNVR) is the leader in personalized digital marketing. Conversant helps the world’s biggest companies grow
by creating personalized experiences that deliver higher returns for brands and greater satisfaction for people. We offer a fully integrated
personalization platform, personalized media programs and the world’s largest affiliate marketing network – all fueled by a deep understanding
of what motivates people to engage, connect and buy.
For more information, please visit www.conversantmedia.com.
Copyright 2014, Conversant, Inc. All rights reserved. Conversant is a trademark of Conversant, Inc.
You can’t deliver a great
communications strategy
if you focus on the screens
instead of the people
viewing them.
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