Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to Koegi's special podcast episode on the game changing marketing trends of 2025. I'm your host, Elise Stieferman. And today we're pulling back the curtain on the future of our industry.
2025 is set to be a transformative year where AI isn't just about efficiency. It's about creating hyper personalized experiences that truly connect with your audience. But innovation needs a strong foundation and that means doubling down on privacy first data strategies to build trust and drive results.
We'll uncover how platforms like Connected TV and TikTok are redefining audience engagement with immersive, authentic interactions. And how real time analytics can help you not just follow trends, but set them, optimizing your ROI and driving your business forward. Integrating these trends can power sustainable growth and help your brand thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world. And to kick off today's episode, we're diving into the topic of innovation and the major shifts reshaping marketing in 2025. Joining us are Allie and Stephanie from our innovation team and they are here to share their perspectives on digital trust, human centered technology and the challenges of staying competitive in a fast evolving landscape. So let's go ahead and get started by exploring some of these big picture trends that we are foreseeing for 2025. So Ali, as a member of an agency and specifically on the innovation team, I know that you're keeping track of all the rapid technological shifts that are happening. So what strategies do you see as essential going into 2025 for brands to stay competitive, for agencies to even stay competitive and meet the evolving client need? Absolutely.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: I think we as marketers are used to being in an industry that is constantly changing to adjust to, you know, consumer changing needs and preferences. But I feel like the period of time that we're in right now, the change has been so rapid. We've got, you know, privacy and compliance, you know, laws and concerns that are adjusting how we're having to, you know, reach our audience. Or you can't talk about emerging tech without mentioning AI, but that's completely changing our day to day operations as well as the quality and quantity of output that we're able to produce. So the first thing that I would recommend to agencies is to establish an agile testing process so that you have a risk free way to test and learn from this emerging technology. So one easy way you could do this is have small pilot tests where you use one DMA in your campaign to test a new technology or a new approach and then, you know, get those learnings and Then, you know, evaluate. Is this something that we want to, you know, roll out to the entire campaign across the entire agency so that way you're not investing all of your, you know, media dollars upfront into something new. On the other hand of that, I also think it's important that you have really focused innovation. I think it's really easy to be a victim to, you know, shiny object syndrome, where you're really wooed and wowed by, you know, a pitch or a vendor demo and you're like, oh my gosh, I need to test this immediately. But I think that's a way that you could easily start, you know, allocating a lot of your, you know, media dollars into tech that doesn't, you know, work work for your agency or your clients. So I think the first step is you really need to establish, okay, what are my agency's current challenges, problems, the areas that we really want to grow in. Do that same exercise for your clients as well. And then you have that, you know, checklist that you can then use to evaluate when you have an emerging tech opportunity, if it's something that's worthy of, you know, evaluating or testing. And then finally, I think the important thing with emerging tech is that you really democratize it across your agency as well as your clients. So if you have an emerging tech that you test and you're like, you know what, this really worked well. That's when you have like a learning and development program where you train all of your employees on the emerging tech, how you can effectively implement it and test it, and doing the same for your clients as well, to bring them along the journey with you so that you're able to test and learn together. Because I think that really builds a nice partnership built off of trust and transparency.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, I love the way that you laid out kind of that three step plan. Right. And thinking about how to look critically and think critically about all this new technology that's out there. And sometimes it's new platforms, sometimes it's new data providers, sometimes it's new measurement. And there are just so many moving pieces to the marketing landscape. It can almost be overwhelming to think through all of that at the same time. So having that kind of focused learning agenda or that focused learning period is very, very critical.
And something else I love is the idea of when is it right to be a first mover and when is it right to maybe take a moment back, watch others?
Maybe it goes well, maybe it doesn't. There's no shame in wanting to have more data at your fingertips if we're choosing to adopt new technology or new trends or things along those lines.
And speaking of that, I wouldn't say necessarily AR and VR is a new trend, but it's certainly something that we are likely to see proliferate in 2025.
What are your thoughts on new technologies, I mean, including AI, which you've mentioned? Ali, thinking about AR and VR, predictive analytics, like all of these new technologies coming out in 2025. And what are some important considerations that brands and agencies should be making or thinking about in order to make them work in the real world on behalf of our brands? So, Stephanie, I know that was a mouthful of a question, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
[00:06:12] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I will say that what is particularly fascinating to me is how we're seeing the technologies evolve from experimental novelties to essential business tools. How the whole of the emerging technology is now becoming a martech necessity. The key here is the successful implementation of not replacing the human creativity, but to augment it.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Right?
[00:06:40] Speaker C: So we're talking about AR VR, particularly in a shift of gimmicky one off experiences to practical applications that genuinely enhance customer interactions. And then you have the virtual product experience, right? Those are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They're offering interactive 3D demonstrations that actually help consumers make better decisions. They don't have to move away from the comfort of their own home or even in the store. They can experience something hands on in the sense of just not having to buy it and then try it. So they can actually try it before they buy it, which enhances the experience that they have without compromising the human creativity aspect of what we're seeing in the activation of the media. What's crucial here, however, is the focus on the practical value rather than just the wow factor that needs to solve the customer's real problems. So one of the most significant developments in my opinion is how these technologies are converging. So we're seeing AI and AR VR becoming something of a molded structure. So you can take blockchain and conversational AI for example. These combined are creating trust verified automated interactions that feel personal while maintaining absolute transparency. But here's what I think is really important for all of us to kind of understand. The successful implementation of those isn't just about the technology itself, right? It's about creating a thoughtful integration strategy. We have to consider cross platform compatibility, we have to consider data infrastructure readiness, privacy and security protocols, but most importantly, genuine customer value. I can't stress that enough companies are seeing the best results when measuring Strategic approaches that are authentically representing the human touch without really diving too deep into it. We want to have an insured data infrastructure that is solid, but that also is keeping the focus on enhancing rather than replacing the human connection. So if we're looking ahead in 2025, I think we're going to see technologies because become even more seamlessly integrated into our strategies. But success will depend on maintaining that balance between innovation and practical value. It's about using technology to enhance human experience, not replace it.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Absolutely.
Lots of good tidbits in that. Stephanie. There are a couple of things that I think are really critical to pull out, and it's thinking about the use of technology to benefit the customer, right? Absolutely. While also keeping your bottom line in mind. Right. Like how is this going to enhance the customer experience and ultimately bring value to my brand as well? And I think having that customer centric approach is critical. In one area. I feel like our industry is catching on to that kind of wow factor in sometimes great ways and sometimes maybe just out of the shiny object sort of approach is AI. And Allie, I know this is an area that you've explored very, very deeply for our organization. I'd love to hear your perspectives on how AI is going to continue to drive personalization. Again, going back to that idea of benefiting the customer and making their experience and their touch points more meaningful, as well as the role of AI in predictive analytics and how we can better assess how technology, how marketing performance, and other marketing touch points are ultimately driving ROI for the organization.
[00:10:42] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: So to piggyback off of what Stephanie said, the customer experience is critical. They need to have a, you know, positive brand interaction to then want to, you know, research your brand and then eventually convert. I want to zoom out just a little bit, though, to cover off on, like, the why and why it's important to have a personalized audience experience. So if we think back to the days of cookie deprecation, we know of the roller coasters that we went through with that. But something that came out of that was consumers became very aware that we as marketers collect their data and use it to provide them a personalized website experience or personalized marketing touch points. And since they're now aware that we do collect their data, they're now like, well, I want to be benefited from this, so you have to give me a personalized experience. So customers are now expecting to have that personalization. And I don't want personalization to become this buzzword because it's actually something that's really imperative and must be thought of in every single strategy that we implement. And so one way that we can do this is with AI. There's a lot of AI, you know, personalized creative tools out there where you can have like a video that is location based, based off of, you know, where your user is at to give them a map of like, here's where you can find our store location. And I think that's just an easy way, but a really effective way to have your customer, you easily access your brand and be able to, you know, purchase said product or, you know, the service. And on top of that, with predictive analytics, thinking about like the other side of the coin with AI just really leaning into its power, which is being able to identify trends from past data to then be able to, you know, accurately forecast the future. So really leaning into, you know, your analytics dashboards to understand, you know, what, you know, resonated best with your audience or what do you think your demand will be in quarter one, quarter two to then, you know, align your marketing budget, your marketing creative, your audience strategy to it. Like meet the reality of what's happening.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you know, AI can play a role in that predictive analytics as well, in particular on the analysis piece. But it does require that human to provide the insight. Right. And understanding the brand and the customer more deeply than oftentimes generative AI or AI in general would be able to do. And that actually, I think harkens back to what you said, Stephanie, about how AI and this new technology should not replace human creativity, but instead augment it. And I think that is something critical to keep in mind as technology becomes more ingrained in marketing. It doesn't replace the fact that we are trying to engage with humans and build trust and foster real relationships. And that should be always a top priority for brands. So to wrap up this segment, I'd love to hear from you about trends that you're foreseeing for 2025 on ways that brands can strengthen that digital trust and create even more human centered experiences.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: So I think there's two tracks here that we're specifically speaking of that we've already kind of touched on. The first one is digital trust and authentication. And then we have the second track, which is human connection and experience.
We're seeing industries like pharma, for example, that are becoming more human centric. They're evolving from a very product centric kind of mindset towards that human centric need because of the engagement, because of the shift in mindset, because of how patients and HCPs are engaging with the content. And then outside of that industry even, we're seeing just the whole of the industry kind of adopt that human centric strategy. Right. So we are experiencing a shift of those two trends simultaneously happening. They're both make or break kind of factors in my opinion. When you are creating your strategy, what's really interesting is how we are responding to this. So we're seeing an emergence of sophisticated content verification system. Sorry, not just those detecting deepfakes or verifying reviews anymore. We're moving toward comprehensive trust ecosystems that include credibility scoring and privacy compliant tracking systems.
We're seeing that major shift in the engagement with the second track kind of zoom in here. While building trust mechanisms, consumers are simultaneously creating more human physical experiences. Right. So it's not the rejection of digital, but rather the call for a better balance between the two, which is where we see event integration systems that create seamless experiences between online and offline worlds and then community engagement tools that foster that genuine human connection that people are craving while maintaining that digital convergence. So I think what's really important here is that we need to leverage the technology that enhances rather than replaces human connection while building trust at every touch point. Because consumers are more digitally savvy and they are seeking out those experiences that demand both of worlds converging together.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: Absolutely. I think that essentially what you're, you're getting at is the importance of building community.
[00:16:27] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: And being think about that in the online world versus the offline world and having to have more of that seamless integration and technology certainly helps us to, to think through that. But I love, you know what Allie said in the, in the intro of thinking through it very thoughtfully, making sure you're not adding things just for the sake of adding things because it's sounds fun if it doesn't ultimately bring customer value. So I appreciate you both so much. I know that we have lots of content from you all that we're sharing over for our listeners on our LinkedIn. So definitely encourage anyone listening who wants to learn more on the innovation front or really any of our subject matter experts to go check that out. And I appreciate you ladies helping us set the groundwork for this, this critical topic going into the new year. And up next, we're going to chat with our data and technology team that's helping power many of these changes.
From the data and technology team, we have Tom and Melissa here to talk about privacy, first party data and how AI is transforming marketing decision making. So Tom, I want to jump right in. As is no surprise to you or probably anyone at Coegi AI is making big waves in the world of data driven decision making.
And in particular, you guys are looking at marketing data day in, day out. Can you talk us through a little bit how machine learning models are supporting marketing strategies and the importance of human oversight in that process, especially going into 2025?
[00:18:09] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:18:10] Speaker F: So the term AI has of course been tossed around very consistently and it's. So it's really important to know the differences between some of these most common types of AI. Generative AI is what most people think when they hear the term AI. That's what ChatGPT is, where it essentially uses vectors to understand the user input and respond accordingly. And there are a lot of opportunities for businesses to use ChatGPT and other generative AI models. But when it comes to data driven decision making, machine learning is what a lot of brands are turning to. Often this involves Bayesian statistics to understand not just the data that is coming through platforms, but the evolving environment through which you are advertising. This can aid in finding statistically beneficial opportunities for media placements and messaging styles.
And on top of this, there are many other forms of AI and each operates differently and have their own use cases. But the key to successfully utilizing AI can often be understanding which of these popular technologies is going to be most beneficial for your project, if any at all. And in many scenarios, generative AI can be best utilized in creating a solution. But an AI itself may not be the solution as it can often require a lot of time and a lot of long term resources dedicated towards its success.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: I think that's a great point, Tom. So I think back to the word AI, it definitely is a buzzword today, but we've been using machine learning in Coegi for many, many years. And to your point, it's just a matter of figuring out how to tap into the right types of AI for your actual business need and not just looking to it as the catchall solution because it feels bright and shiny.
And you know something else that we had to think a lot about is how AI is capturing data and thinking about that on behalf of our clients. And in fact, you guys are very, very critical in looking at the data safety protocols that we have within the organization.
And obviously privacy is top of mind in a digital first world. So Melissa, I'd love to hear from you about how as privacy becomes a priority more and more so for brands, how can they make the most of their first party data and what role does synthetic data play in compliance?
Yeah, so definitely brands can really and should focus on their own website data.
You know, making sure, number one, that they have cookie compliance on their website, but also offering some kind of incentives for their own specific website and their key users that go to the website. There are a lot of brands that offer reward systems that people log in and actually do share their data. So just FYI, that is what's happening. But you know, the really great part about it is that we can know a little bit more about the individual and target them specifically based on what their likes and interests are. Absolutely. So, so it's a lot about having that opt in compliance, making sure that the user understands when and why they are giving over that data and how it ultimately is going to benefit their experience with the brand. And then it's a matter of the brand figuring out how to use that data most effectively. You know, oftentimes when you think about paid advertising, the immediate gut reaction is thinking about, oh, how can we maybe use this data to retarget or think about segmenting the data effectively.
But it's also a matter of figuring out, okay, what's the right message then if I'm going to segment this data, how am I going to make sure that that brand experience is more effective? So it's definitely not a light lift.
Thankful to have people like you all who are so smart in the world of data and tech to help lead the charge there.
But just kind of building on that question, obviously the regulation around data privacy, it's shifting, it feels like daily, but it certainly is shifting on a quarterly basis at least. So, Melissa, with new privacy regulations that are on the horizon, what should brands be aware of going into 2025 and what, what are some recent legal developments that have been happening that could impact the way brands use data in the new year? Yeah, and you know, honestly, I'm going to throw that out there, that brands should definitely be a little bit more aware and cautious when collecting data. Just because we've had so many different things happen in the past five to 10 years with data collection issues.
And I definitely do believe that the US is going to follow lead with the EU's General Data Protection Regulations, the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Acts, as well as any type of federal privacy legislations that are going to come into play because people are noticing a specific trend that their data is definitely being.
[00:23:39] Speaker C: Used for many other things which can cause so many privacy leaks and your data being exposed. So I do think that brands should.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: Definitely be aware and have all of the first party data definitely built a little bit more secure. Absolutely. I Mean, I feel like consumers are just becoming much more aware of how their data is being used, whereas in the past people probably would have just shared their email or their, or their number very quickly to be able to get some sort of brochure or to get some sort of discount, even if it was 5%.
And people just are not willing to do that anymore for obvious reasons. And so thinking through not only the transparency factor of this is when and how I'm going to use your data, but to your point, Melissa, thinking very cautiously about when it actually does make sense to collect data, I think that would be, you know, a really critical thing to, to evaluate going into the new year. And I just want to circle back to the idea of synthetic data.
Tom, would you be able to share what you believe, the role of that data, how it's going to play into compliance in 2025?
[00:25:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:01] Speaker F: So obviously protecting your data is of the utmost importance in any industry and for all consumers. So you always have to make sure that you are taking security measures in order to do that. However, one strategy to also protect data from any sort of potential data leak threat would be to limit your data's exposure.
This is especially important anytime you are sharing data between firms, agencies, or, you know, working with outside organizations. Historically anonymized data has attempted to solve this problem by removing the consumer specific data. So their name, their email, their phone number. But your data set, your data set still has real transaction data that a potential hacker could still attempt to trace back to a specific consumer, still leaving your consumers with some level of exposure to the threat. Synthetic data has really evolved with this process. AI can be utilized to generate a data set that is mathematically identical to the original, but the individual data instances do not represent actual clients or consumers. So these data sets can be perfect for model training and, you know, sharing between firms without that extra risk, without ever exposing consumer data to outside sources. And it limits risk for brands without ever limiting innovation.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: It's remarkable to think about how much data has changed in, in the last year, five years, ten years, and all of these capabilities that we have today that just were not even, you know, a blip in somebody's mind back, you know, 20 years ago or things like that. So again, just really thankful to have experts like you at the forefront of this sort of research and of course, application for our clients. And appreciate you joining us today to chat through what you see on the horizon for 2025. And up next, we'll shift over to the social side of things where content and engagement really takes center stage.
Okay, so MJ and Nicole are joining us from the social operations team to chat through how social platforms are evolving to reach audiences in new ways. So, mj, I'd like to start with you. Obviously the topic of AI is everywhere and it's enabling more personalized experiences across social media in particular. So I'd love to hear from you on how you're seeing it being used to tailor content to different audience segments. And what's the benefit of using AI to bring that tailored messaging and hopefully drive better engagement?
[00:27:53] Speaker C: Yeah, you're totally right. So one significant trend that we have seen emerge in this year in particular is the rise of personalization and the demand from consumers for more tailored content.
This really is important because we're seeing a shift in consumer sentiment when we see more relevant ads. They no longer view the ads as overly commercialized and annoying. They rather view them as something that can be really helpful and engaging. So we find that users tend to engage more and are more likely to convert later down the line when they're served ads that are relevant to them.
And kind of the goal with that is to engage users via a one to one experience that kind of speaks directly to their personal attributes, demographics and individual characteristics that make them a relevant consumer for whatever we're marketing. So our platforms have kind of taken this in their own different ways. Like for example, MetAdvantage plus shopping campaigns are a huge tailored messaging tactic that is powered by an AI system within Meta. It really enables us to capitalize on our Pixel data and other stored data that we have from our client to reengage people who have already explained expressed interests. The first example we have is Meta Advantage plus Shopping campaigns. And this is a new tactic from Meta that enables us to capitalize on existing customer data and Pixel data to remarket to users who have already shown interest in our clients website and the different products that are available on the site so we can kind of remarket with those relevant products and encourage users to move down the funnel.
Additionally, another platform that's kind of capitalizing on this AI movement for personalization is Pinterest. With their new Performance plus campaigns, they're kind of leveraging all the powers of AI and their algorithm to serve the most relevant ads to the most relevant user and really capitalize on that one to one messaging.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: Absolutely. So it's going beyond just using something like a chatgpt to come up with new creative ideas. It's being able to pair that audience targeting with the message and things like dynamic creative optimization. So you're trying out new headlines, trying out new imagery, trying different CTAs to figure out what is building that authentic connection. What's building that community.
I think community is a key word here that's quite a bit different than maybe a more traditional way of thinking about advertising.
You know, a key piece of community in particular is the world of influencer marketing. And Nicole, I'd love to hear from you on, you know, what you're seeing in terms of Influencer and UGC and how that's surging. And do you expect that these trends around influencer and creators being almost ambassadors for brands that's going to continue to shape brand engagement going into 2025?
[00:30:58] Speaker C: Absolutely. This is a great question, Elise. I think it's something that all brands should really consider when they go into their 2025 strategy planning. And the reason being is that influencer and UGC ads have really evolved over the last few years. But I think there's a little misconception with the impact that a mega influencer can bring to a brand versus a micro influencer. And what I mean by that is I think a lot of people think a mega influencer has such a large following. So I'm going to get a higher reach, higher engagement, I'm going to get all these sales. But in contrast, what we've actually been seeing over the last few years is a rise in micro influencers, otherwise known as niche influencers, because they have more of like a specialized community. They have a much smaller following, but it's much more intentional, it feels more authentic. It's personalized, this community that these micro influencers have established, they trust what they're saying. So as a result, we're seeing a much higher engagement rate which, which leads into sales. So that was the one point I wanted to make with just the impact of understanding the crucial role that influencer marketing and UGC ads have because they build that trust, they build that engagement and they drive sales.
Another thing I've seen, you know, throughout the last few years too, is that your GC ads have a much bigger impact than any conventional ad because the person on the other side of the screen is going to relate with the human that's talking to them, whether it's a product review or whatnot. But they're going to make that connection and they're really going to trust what you're saying over a conventional ad. So those two key aspects are crucial and they're really important. But kind of tying in what MJ just discussed, you know, about the impact that AI personalization and, and tailored messaging has is that when you marry the two, when you marry AI influence and marketing UGC ads, you're going to have such a seamless experience for social commerce. And that is something that we're seeing really surge platforms are really leaning into how advanced AI is becoming.
And ultimately, when we have great content with building these connections, this trust, we're going to have a seamless experience for users to want to make a purchase on a platform they're already spending time on.
So I think kind of understanding, you know, we know the influence in marketing and UGC ads are they're continuing to grow, but I think the impact here is understanding how and why. Where is that, where are those trends leading us and how can we elevate it to our best ability to ultimately drive that brand affinity and, and sales?
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Yeah, Nicole, I want to go to one specific thing that you just touched on, which is thinking about social commerce and, you know, keeping people in the environment where they're already spending time and making it simpler to go through that path to conversion. You know, something that we're beginning to see quite a bit, I feel like, is, you know, people aren't leaving a meta or a TikTok or a Pinterest to go to a Google to then.
[00:34:20] Speaker C: Search for a product or for service.
[00:34:23] Speaker A: They are wanting to find, you know, whatever they're looking for in the social media environment itself. So, mj, I'd love to hear from you on what you're seeing in terms of social platforms becoming almost like an alternative to social or rather to search engines. And what opportunities does this ultimately bring to brand as they're thinking through their advertising strategy?
[00:34:49] Speaker C: Yeah, so we're kind of seeing the emergence of social as a search platform kind of over the last couple of years as it continues to grow. And the unique thing that we're seeing also is that our platforms are kind of capitalizing on that. So, for example, TikTok this year launched their very own search campaigns, which kind of enables advertisers to have a more present role and where they're appearing on the search engine, search engine result page on TikTok and kind of allows them to be available to certain keywords when people are searching those. So that's kind of an interesting thing that we're seeing emerge this year and kind of circling back to what we were discussing earlier. When it comes to brand authenticity, consumers are finding that when they're searching on social media and they're finding real people and real content that can help them answer Their questions and of course can serve as a discovery platform. It's, it's really lending credibility to brands and advertisements as far as having a real person talk about the brand and talk about kind of the product that they're representing. So I saw an article recently that said up to 64% of Gen Z reported using search or I'm sorry, social as a search platform in the last year. So it's kind of interesting to see the ongoing rise of TikTok and Pinterest and other social platforms that are kind of up there with Google as far as search results for users.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: Absolutely. I think it just further brings home that omnichannel is the way that brands have to engage consumers. Thinking about all of these different touch points, you know, being conscientious about the copy used on social and the SEO implications there, you know, and that authenticity, making sure that you have the right people representing your brand and thinking about that consumer behavior. So I appreciate you both being here today chatting through these important topics on social. And next up, we're going to think through how programmatic strategies are adapting across, across the open Internet as well.
We have Ben and Kyle here from our programmatic team and they're here to share what's next for privacy first approaches, targeting and some new opportunities in programmatic advertising. So Ben, I'd love to have you start us off. Let's chat through data privacy. So privacy regulations, they're continuing to evolve, probably have no sign of slowing down in 2025.
So how should advertisers prepare for a future with limited traditional tracking methods? And what role will first party data in particular play in this transition going into 2025?
[00:37:48] Speaker F: Yeah, I think even with the deprecation of cookies being delayed by Google yet again, it's important that both advertisers and agencies start to look into cookieless solutions to be able to find ones that work for them, be able to test different solutions against each other to see what's showing the best performance.
There are obviously options like contextual, first party data, panel based data, all things that'll stick around even after cookies go away. If that ends up happening. And I think the other benefit of this is even if third party cookies don't end up going away anytime soon, even if there are any restrictions or regulations regarding privacy that come down before that, then you'll still be ready with those things in tow.
I think contextual also with the cookies cookie deprecation that we were planning on seeing this year, some of the contextual offerings have gotten a lot more Robust.
So the ability to not only just look at what's on a page, but to be able to tell what the context is to make sure that you're really on the pages that you want to be on. So it's definitely worth looking into different contextual partners and seeing what works best. As far as first party data, that's going to be important not only for your typical retargeting audiences and look alike audiences, but it'll also be really important for anything running in the trade desk. Like with the new Seeds data, being able to look at relevancy scores of even your third party audiences. So useful now and again if third party cookies ever go away, things like UID and Ramp ID will also be able to utilize your first party data to create audiences based on hashed emails and phone numbers. So very good thing to get pulled together and start thinking about how you're going to collect that first party data.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you know, to your point, even if Google doesn't necessarily make the final call on cookies going away, consumer behavior is certainly showing indication that more and more people are going to be less likely to opt in to cookies. And so looking for those alternatives is going to be critical. And I think context to your point, is a great place to start and built a more authentic advertising experience anyways. So lots of good thoughts there. And I think that one area that's helping improve that contextual targeting is things like AI, but it's also feeding into a lot of changes in the programmatic landscape and really all digital advertising at large. So Kyle, I'd love to hear from your perspective. You know how AI is advancing programmatic advertising either from a targeting perspective or an optimization perspective. And how is Kegi planning to capitalize on that even further going into the new year?
[00:41:08] Speaker F: Yeah, absolutely.
One of the tools that we are most excited about using here at Koegi is a new AI chatbot that is going to help us to improve the quality of our impression inventory. The tool works by scanning a campaign's current inventory, which we can just pull from a very standard report and then it assesses page quality metrics like ad load refresh rate and in view rate. What makes the tool great is that it not only factors in those page quality metrics, but it also takes into account our campaign's channel funnel position and our goals and KPIs.
All of that processing would usually take a human just hours to do, but it is done in a matter of seconds with our new chatbot and what we are presented with is a blacklist or a whitelist that we can apply to our campaigns immediately.
As a trader who has spent hours analyzing inventory lists, I'm absolutely thrilled to have this in my toolbox.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, that's a very inventive way to use generative AI. And I'm sure that a lot of brands or, you know, agencies may not immediately have seen the opportunity that Gen AI has on the analysis of campaigns or how it feeds into programmatic advertising. But to your point, it just expedites the way that we're able to do that analysis and it ultimately leads to stronger performance on behalf of our clients. So it's a win win situation and it builds on the machine learning and AI that we've been using in the platform for many, many years. So love to hear that development and excited to hear how it continues to evolve going into 2025.
You know, something else I want to think about is the role of changing channel preferences and new advertising formats that are coming to bear.
And so Ben, what opportunities do you see in terms of new channels that brands should be trying based off of consumer preferences in programmatic and in particular, how are consumers preferring to engage with different ad units? So thinking about like potentially high impact creatives for better capturing audience attention?
[00:43:36] Speaker F: Yeah, absolutely. And I not necessarily new channels by any means, but I think there's going to be a big shift towards CTV and audio. We've already seen a little bit of that. With most of the major networks now having a streaming service of some sorts and most of that inventory being available programmatically, that'll be a really good thing to start looking into.
And along with the ctv, I think the interactive ad units that we've started to see with like a QR code or maybe a pop out will be really worth looking into just because that'll take your CTV buy from being, you know, purely awareness to something that can drive site interaction, can drive even purchases for some clients if that's what they want to focus on. I do think that due to just pressure from the industry in general, CTV and audio buying and reporting has gotten a lot more transparent recently. So being able to serve specifically on podcasts, which are kind of a a growing market of what people are doing in their free time or like on long drives, being able to look at what kind of content, what kind of shows you're serving on through ctv, things that have been a little bit cloudy in the past are starting to become a little bit more clear, which is good. And I think as far as display goes, I think with the increase in the number of ads on each page that I'm sure everybody has noticed. I think it's going to be important to focus not only on your standard IAD sizes, but focusing more on high impact creatives that take up either more of the screen or more flashy things that will just stick in a user's head better versus just a little banner at the top of the screen that they scroll past as soon as they get to that page.
[00:45:50] Speaker A: Absolutely. Kyle, is there anything else you'd want to add on to that in terms of channels and creative approaches that brands should be looking into for 2025?
[00:46:01] Speaker F: One thing that I think that we need to stress even a little bit more is something that Ben talked about a little bit early on, and that's the power that is encapsulated by the trade desk, new seed audiences to kind of go a little bit in depth into what this does for us. I mean, a seed audience is something that we have is. We consider it to be like a client's ideal customer.
[00:46:27] Speaker E: Right.
[00:46:27] Speaker A: It's a.
[00:46:28] Speaker F: It's a consider someone who has taken a particular action, made a purchase, probably made a purchase in the past.
We can now utilize these seed audiences and they will score for relevancy, just like Ben mentioned. Score. Our targeting settings are full campaign settings for relevancy and it allows us to optimize either away or toward a targeting segment just based on how strong that score is. We could even take it a step further with just the general power that Cokai has. I mean, it scores not only the targeting audience, but it is scary scoring the impression that we're serving on and it factors in those audiences that we're targeting. And this is a process that is happening like millions upon millions of times per second. So some real power there. And the end result that we're finding is it should mean a more meaningful impression for our end user and a more efficient impression for our clients.
[00:47:31] Speaker A: Absolutely. So I think just to wrap that up, both of you are saying that it's not necessarily new programmatic channels or new completely new ad units that we're anticipating. It's higher quality in the programmatic advertising space that brands can begin to take advantage of and agencies can leverage on behalf of their clients. So thinking about the quality of that impression, thinking about the quality of the ad creative and grabbing attention and ultimately driving better business impact.
[00:48:03] Speaker F: Very well said.
[00:48:05] Speaker A: Oh, thanks.
Okay, well, I think that's a great place to wrap that up. And so with these programmatic insights fresh in mind, we're going to switch gears Just a little bit in the next segment where we're going to think about the world of paid search and the involving tech and consumer behaviors there. Thanks guys.
So with programmatic insights fresh in our minds, let's switch gears a little bit to the world of paid search where we have Nate and Bennett on to talk about the evolving tech and consumer behaviors there. So Nate, AI obviously is driving significant changes in the world of paid search and really everywhere in marketing. Can you share with us how tools like Smart Bidding Strategies and Performance Max are reshaping how you guys are managing campaigns and optimizing campaigns and any sort of changes you're foreseeing going into 2025?
[00:49:00] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, AI has been like a real game changer the last year for Google Ads and especially just search in general with like smart bidding tools. We've been able to lean into those AI features and those learning algorithms to actually like automate our bidding process, which makes it a lot less of like guesswork on our end. So we're leaning into the smart capabilities of what that platform is actually able to offer. And then with like a tool like Performance Max, it's very, very AI driven. So it's focused on leaning into search and display and YouTube to kind of focus on those audience signals and how people are actually searching on the Google network instead of just using keyword lists. So it leans more into the audience factors of how they're looking in market and how they're kind of searching across the different Google networks to target those individuals with their campaigns. So it kind of eases up our work on our end but also helps us lean into the very smart, very trusted search algorithm that Google is and not just walking away, but also just like leaning into the processes. So it's less of just letting Google do its thing, but also learning from what we can kind of pick up on and then staying involved with just monitoring results and tweaking creative assets to kind of where we can see, okay, this campaign's goals aligns with performance and what our clients are looking for in the end. So it takes less of the manual, maybe laborious tasks out of the way and lets us do a really good job of just automation but also optimizations and leading into what our clients goals are.
[00:50:27] Speaker A: Absolutely. And it's nice to be able to take out some of the monotony and be able to instead reinvest that time into thinking about the strategy, thinking about, like you said, how to make the ads function more, more optimally and doing a little bit more of that strategic insight as well, so definitely an advantage all around.
And you know something else that we're hearing a lot from across teams is talking around the world of privacy.
And obviously pmax is absorbing a lot of data over there and using an algorithm to be able to optimize. But that means that a lot of data is being ingested. And so Bennett, I would love to hear from you on as privacy regulations are continuing to evolve and we're still having some conversation around cookie deprecation, whether it's actually going to not happen, is it going to happen in capacity? Who knows, we'll find out. Maybe.
What should advertisers be thinking about as they adapt their strategies to ensure that they are allowing their brand to have optimal visibility and ultimately stronger data compliance?
[00:51:36] Speaker F: Yes, I think that is the biggest challenge today with marketers as we are having to stay on top of policy issues and privacy regulations.
Google has gone back and forth with.
[00:51:53] Speaker A: What they're going to do with third.
[00:51:54] Speaker F: Party data and cookies and marketers are wanting to move past that and focus more on first party data as that allows us to really get to know our users and their intent. And so what I would recommend for marketers out there is just to stay on top of articles and news that are referencing what is going on in the world of privacy. Being sure that you are reading those specific violations that can arise before moving forward with a campaign, making sure that you are crossing any boundaries that can mislead users or cause challenges as you.
[00:52:40] Speaker C: Are running your campaigns.
[00:52:42] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you know, I feel like search is one of those channels where people don't necessarily think about the audience that much, which is kind of bizarre. But it's more so thinking about oh like what's the keyword but there is a person behind the keyword.
And also not to mention that we are able to use like audience targeting currently from Google audiences and even our first party data, being able to upload that and use that to to target users across search platform. So certainly thankful to have people like you all doing all of the research to understand how these platforms are evolving and how regulations impacting that, how it's going to impact performance, how it should shift our strategic recommendations and things like that.
And speaking of, you know, the person behind the keyword, the world of search behavior is also shifting a lot as AI chatbots are becoming much more prevalent in day to day use. So Nate, I'd love to hear from you as we're looking at the rise of things like Google Gemini and Zero click search being a common thread. I'm Seeing in a lot of search articles, what challenges are you foreseeing for advertisers and maintaining that strong visibility and performance and allowing search to continue to be that performance, performance driven channel.
[00:54:09] Speaker F: Yeah, so it's, it's definitely shaken things up, I would say when it comes to searches, people aren't required to like scroll down a page anymore to get an answer. A lot of the times someone can look up something on Google and it's right there at the top from Google's Gemini tool. So AI kind of makes it harder for advertisers to maybe meet those opportunities of searchers and it actually will require them. The good thing about Google is that they introduced performance max almost at the same time that they brought in Google Gemini and they work in tandem. So leaning into these factors of performance max and demand gen as Google's offerings allow you to kind of expand your creative formats and where you're actually targeting your users while also leading into those audience targeting. Like we kind of mentioned earlier, it really just expands our knowledge more than just keyword research, which is very, very vital to search. But I think how our AI kind of is transforming not only search, but all digital media is you have to kind of lean into the user more. So how are they actually actively searching? How can we reach them in different ways? And the great part is that Google is also changing with us. So they're introducing tons of great tools that allow you to expand your into video and interactive content. And their audience tools as well are expanding dramatic, dramatically with better and more incise in market and affinity segments that allow you to actually target users who are searching specific to what your brand is offering or what your client is trying to go. So at the end of the day, I think it really is going to be harder for advertisers if they aren't willing to adapt. But if you're having that adaptability and you're willing to lean into what Google is kind of moving towards, I think they'll see much success.
[00:55:49] Speaker A: Absolutely. I feel like agility is the name of the game in digital. If you're not willing to shift with the technology and with the consumer, you're going to be playing a losing game. So definitely well said and I appreciate both of you sharing your insights today on AI and privacy first strategies and how that's going to shape 2025 and specifically that surge landscape. And like you said, adaptability, creativity, they're going to be critical as we navigate these changes. And now we're going to actually shift gears again to talk more about the project management side side of things and how businesses are balancing automation, evolving client expectations and workplace trends to stay efficient and competitive in the field. So, thank you both.
[00:56:32] Speaker C: Thank you, thank you.
[00:56:38] Speaker A: So from Business Operations, we have Gabby and Michelle here to talk through things like automation, client expectations and workplace trends that are shaping business practices. So Gabby, I'd love for you to help us get started. So one trend we're seeing is the role of automation and how it's helping streamline operations across industries, which is definitely true in our industry in particular.
So from your perspective, how is automation going to be a Trend going into 2025 and how is that going to impact the day to day processes and strategic focus and marketing operations?
Yeah, great question. So I think automation is a huge game changer. I mean, it's undeniable that every single year it gets bigger and bigger. I think the way that it particularly impacts a business operations department, it allows us to automate those more mundane day to day tasks to free up some of our time to be able to think more strategically and put our minds towards a more creative project. So for example, some things that we have utilized, one AI note taking tools, they are great. So they transcribe almost every single word that is said in a meeting and that really frees up our project managers to be more involved in the conversation and pick up on those little things from clients or from other team members that maybe we wouldn't be able to if we were so focused on writing down every single word that's set within a meeting.
Additionally, the use of tools like Asana, those really aid in being able to automate day to day tasks. So anything like status updates, QA processes, stuff like that. So our project managers can focus solely on creating more customized workflows and processes specifically to that individual client or that individual project that we're working, working on. And overall it really does just help the full team be able to impact the work more efficiently and effectively and aids to our creative abilities.
Absolutely. And I have a feeling that even more automated tools are going to come to the surface in 2025 and make our teams even more efficient. And that's not only to the benefit of our internal teams to be able to repurpose that time towards value adding tasks or tasks that are more mentally stimulating or things along those lines, but it's also going to be to the benefit of our clients. Right. And our clients are always expecting more and more from our teams, especially as we become an extension of their team and they are trusting us to come back to them as the experts to keep things on time, on budget, et cetera, et cetera. So Michelle, you know, it's not necessarily just a trend for 2025, but from, you know, the last 50 years, our clients expectations are consistently changing because the world of marketing is always changing. Their businesses are changing. So what expectations are clients bringing to the table that you're seeing now and are projecting going into the new year? And how will that shape the way you begin to think about business operations and even things like reporting in marketing?
[01:00:11] Speaker B: So in terms of evolving client expectations, I know we've seen a lot of requests coming in for more transparent reporting. So as our clients are getting more up to speed on the evolving marketing landscape and you know, some of our clients are even attending some of the conferences that our teams are also going to.
[01:00:31] Speaker A: So again, just increasing that overall marketing.
[01:00:33] Speaker C: Knowledge, then they are building that knowledge.
[01:00:37] Speaker B: And wanting additional information from us.
[01:00:39] Speaker A: So I see that to continue to.
[01:00:41] Speaker B: Evolve, getting some more details about, you know, where the ads are specifically serving.
[01:00:46] Speaker C: Where the impressions are serving, and then.
[01:00:49] Speaker A: Exactly who the audience is and digging.
[01:00:51] Speaker B: Into more audience details, who are you targeting and how it aligns with their overall media plans.
This also changes the need for like operational flexibility. So in order to meet those needs.
[01:01:04] Speaker A: Changing how we're operating internally to make.
[01:01:07] Speaker B: Sure these requests are being funneled through properly as well.
[01:01:10] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, I think that it's great to have internal processes that help our teams align on best practices and what we think would best suit the client. But that agility or that adaptability is critical in continuing to meet client needs. And from an agency lens, there are, we have a whole bunch of different clients, right. Lots of different industries, people at different stages in their marketing careers. And so we have to be flexible with them and figure out how to use our capabilities and our technology alongside their processes and meeting them where they are.
And you know, something else that we had to think about is the integration of our teams within an agency landscape of culture and the agency culture and really every workplace culture has gone through a lot of changes recently, especially since the pandemic. But really since the, since digital first kind of acting or behaviors have really come to light.
And so Gabby, I'd love to hear from you on how you see things like hybrid work models coming into, into frame, moving forward with some businesses really asking people to come back to the office full time, thinking about the benefits of hybrid potentially versus, you know, remote work versus in office work and the mental health initiatives that are also influencing teams retention and their ability to Deliver on these, these changing client expectations and needs.
So I definitely think hybrid work models have reshaped the way that we think about our working environment. I mean, since COVID we've seen more employees are putting a higher importance on the ability to have that hybrid work model. And I think a lot of companies really need to invest in that. And a few strategies that I think that they can do that are one, empowering your employees, allowing them to have that hybrid work model and building that trust among employees and their managers or even across teams to know these are the clear expectations, these are your boundaries, regular check ins. And we trust you to work independently and to get your work done, whether that be in, you know, a hybrid setting, a remote setting or an in office setting. I think that's huge for a lot of people these days.
Additionally investing into our employees is a huge thing that I've seen a lot of companies do and I know here at Coegi we do that as well. So offering different tailored work experiences. So are there certifications that we can encourage and help our employees get? Making sure that we're always having the employees up, leveling their own skill set. So one, we are making sure that we're retaining top talent across the board, but then also keeping the employees engaged, making them feel like they come to work and learn something new every day and they're super engaged with the work that they're doing. I think the second half of this question in regards to mental health is also a huge initiative that lots of companies has done. And just like hybrid setting, a lot of employees are putting more of an importance on that when they're looking at what company do I want to work for, what type of culture do I.
[01:04:30] Speaker C: Want to work for.
[01:04:32] Speaker A: So you know, prioritizing that work life balance, whether that means a hybrid setting, you know, flexible scheduling and flexible working arrangements, you know, for parents, for anyone, mental health resources, just, you know, offering that and helping them to find the right ones for them. And even wellness programs to help employees just up level their overall wellbeing.
Michelle, anything you want to add?
[01:04:59] Speaker B: You know, I think Gabby really touched on a lot of the core elements, but I did want to leave us with this. One piece of info is employee recognition. I know a lot of team members end up feeling stuck and like they're not contributing to a bigger picture when without their work and their contributions, we wouldn't have a successful end product for our clients.
[01:05:23] Speaker A: So just making sure that everybody feels.
[01:05:25] Speaker B: Like, you know, they're recognized and the.
[01:05:27] Speaker A: Work that they're contributing to is beneficial.
[01:05:30] Speaker B: Especially for our end clients who super appreciate all the work that we're doing.
[01:05:33] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I think that having that ingrained in our culture is also going to impact the way we engage clients. Right. But anyways, I think that's a great place to wrap up on this segment. I really appreciate you both being here and sharing your thoughts on the world of business operations and where it's heading going into the new year. And now that operations is all covered off, we're going to actually move next to the heart of client engagement where a lot of that account interaction and experience is happening.
And here with us from the client engagement team are Cammie and Madeline who will share their thoughts on brand planning and client relationship building. So, Cammie, I'd like to start with you. I want to dive into the world of cross channel brand strategy. So you know, from your perspective, how important is cross channel integration and maintaining a consistent brand message for your clients? Especially as we're thinking about 2025.
Yeah.
[01:06:37] Speaker D: So cross channel integration is very important and something that should be at the forefront during planning and implementation and also onto reporting.
So without cross channel cohesion of measurement and messaging, it's hard to see the impact of the program as a whole and how the various channels are contributing to that success.
So with this, it requires consistency in.
[01:07:02] Speaker A: How we're setting up the campaigns, applying.
[01:07:04] Speaker D: Measurement tools and ultimately reporting out on the campaigns to show our impact against.
[01:07:09] Speaker A: The KPIs in the larger business goals.
[01:07:13] Speaker D: We also want to make sure that.
[01:07:15] Speaker A: From the end user's perspective, they're receiving.
[01:07:17] Speaker D: A cohesive message if they're being reached.
[01:07:20] Speaker A: On social, programmatic across all different channels.
[01:07:23] Speaker D: Just having that cohesion there.
There's more tools and integrations too that.
[01:07:28] Speaker A: Are available now to tie different channels like social and programmatic back together and show the impact of a larger cross channel strategy against our KPIs.
[01:07:39] Speaker D: And each channel can have their own place in the plan, but we don't want them to work in silos. There should be a cohesive message and measurement strategy that's integrated across all channels.
[01:07:50] Speaker A: Just to ensure that all pieces of the puzzle are in alignment with the overarching strategy and really ladder back to those larger goals that we're trying to achieve outside of just media metrics. Absolutely. So I think that, you know, to your point, there are so many different channels out there that are all of our consumers are on and it can be, I feel like, very difficult to not only have that, that tie in with your brand of what you want that message to be, but also being able to do platform best practices and you know, what does the message look like on TikTok talk versus Pinterest? You know, there's lots of things to consider and thankfully we have people like you all to help advise on that. So another thing that you touched on was thinking about measurement and how to tie together that data across many siloed channels. So, Madeline, I'd like to hear from you on this topic. And you know, our clients are expecting real time data now more than ever. How are you using real time insights to help our clients stay agile and help you inform any shifts that are needed in the strategy for the plan?
[01:09:04] Speaker D: Yeah, great question. So I think this is one that has been extremely pertinent and relevant coming out of the pandemic. We have so much data at our fingertips and it's understanding how to best harness that data and how to best use it to drive business outcomes forward for our clients. And something that even Cammie had mentioned is just how important measurement is. Here at Coegi, we do tend to take a measurement first approach which enables us to really use data in a way that makes sense for our clients business goals.
So for example, having that real time data really does empower our clients to be able to react more instantaneously to changes in the market as well as react to the evolving consumer needs. Things are constantly changing and the way that consumers are interacting online is changing. So to be able to adapt quickly is, you know, super important. And I think having proper forms of measurement in place empower us to do so.
[01:10:03] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you know, with digital in particular, we have access to so many metrics in the platform, but we're also able to use things like GA4 as a source of truth so that we're looking at it from a unified front, not to mention all of the advanced measurement tools that are out there. So it's amazing to have that much data at our fingertips.
And it feels like clients are receptive to figuring out how do we act on this more and more quickly, which is both exciting and a bit of a challenge.
[01:10:39] Speaker D: Absolutely. I think one thing too that we've kind of been leaning into more is some of those more advanced forms of measurement like sentiment analysis and attention units, and those enable us to see, you know, beyond the click metrics, beyond your standard media metrics, what does that full customer journey look like and how are consumers interacting at all touch points? So with sentiment analysis we're able to really see, you know, brand perception, you know, are consumers responding positively to something or is There a negative response and do we need to kind of shift how we're looking at things? Or maybe a message is not landing and we're able to then pivot mid flight, which again really enables us to be, you know, strategic stewards of our clients investment and we're able to make those, you know, on the fly, pivots and changes depending upon what the data is telling us.
[01:11:30] Speaker A: Absolutely. You know, another metric I've been seeing a lot more on is the idea of attention.
How do we measure that versus, you know, just looking at exposure through like a CPM or a view through through. Any thoughts on the role of attention metrics going into 2025 from either of you?
[01:11:50] Speaker D: Great question. Attention has been such a pertinent conversation and especially in such a cluttered and fragmented marketplace, it's important to ensure that we are capturing consumers in a way that is meaningful and intentional. So attention units have been something that we've been implementing across the board on some of our client accounts. And it really helps us understand, you know, where consumers are at and what messages are really landing, which pieces of creative are the most engaging. And that can then even help inform early on in the brand planning stages and even message and creative development stages, they're able to make more strategic, you know, decisions and investments based on, you know, audience response and where that attention is being spent. Spent. So we're then able to inform future strategies which again is just creating this more strategic use of their media investment.
[01:12:45] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[01:12:46] Speaker D: And I think too attention is a great indicating factor for other performance. If you have a campaign where there's a lag time in the end result that you're trying to measure. Using attention units can be a powerful tool to get some of those indicating factors in how your performance is going.
[01:13:05] Speaker A: Absolutely. It's definitely not just a brand awareness play. You know, attention also is a signal of how receptive the brand is to your message and ultimately how likely they are to convert or to be an advocate for you. So I think there are definitely innovative ways we could look at attention. So to wrap us up, I mean, both of you are client relationship experts here and you know, a key role that the client engagement team plays as being that client relationship advocate and being able to really serve as a consultant on behalf of our brands and agencies. So in a digital first world where we are oftentimes meeting with our clients virtually and we're not able to always be in the same room, what are some ways that you are helping keep those client relationships really strong and continuing to build that trust so that you are able to openly discover, discuss what's working, what's not working, and how we can continue to benefit the brand. So Cammie, do you want to start us off on that question and then Madeline, I'd love to hear from you as well.
[01:14:15] Speaker D: Yeah. So the Digital First World definitely gives us a lot of flexibility and great tools in the way that we work. But personal communication and check ins still play a huge role in building and maintaining the client relationships, even if it is virtual.
[01:14:30] Speaker A: But still having that face to face.
[01:14:32] Speaker D: Connection, emailing, pinging, chatting are all great communication tools, but nothing can really replace.
[01:14:39] Speaker A: Having that conversation with another person.
[01:14:42] Speaker D: Being able to ask questions, understanding their pain points, their goals, having more face to face time with our clients, even if it is virtual, just gives us a better understanding of how we can support them.
[01:14:54] Speaker A: It opens the door for more candid.
[01:14:56] Speaker D: Conversations that you're not able to get over email. And ultimately having check ins being transparent, it just builds trust and rapport for the long run.
[01:15:07] Speaker A: Absolutely. Madeline, anything to add on?
[01:15:11] Speaker D: So I think some of the biggest things to keep in mind is although we are in a digital first environment, clients still value that in person interaction as much as your account teams do. And I think having that rapport and that constant stream and communication between the two is really kind of where the magic lies. To be able to hear real time business updates, you know, from our clients and then to be able to share innovative ideas and things that, you know, we're seeing in the market. It's really cool to have that value exchange. And I think, you know, that's, that's what we're supposed to be is strategic advisors. So although the digital first world offers, you know, many great tools for automation and AI, I would say use those with caution and never rely solely on, you know, AI or automation to take the place of those in person interactions. I do think that the magic really does lie in, you know, having that face to face conversation and more regular touch points.
[01:16:10] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, I think it goes back to what we were talking about at the beginning of this segment on building that authentic connection with consumers. The same thing is true with our clients. We're all looking for that human interactivity and the more we can keep that really transparent, really authentic, the better off both sides of the of the equation are. So I think that's a great wrap up point. Thank you both so much for being here today and I know that both of you have lots of great insights to share. So anyone listening should definitely go check out our LinkedIn, our Kwegi's LinkedIn, where we're going to sharing new trends throughout the entire week.
So throughout this podcast, we've explored key trends shaping marketing in 2025 from insights from our incredible team. And these conversations have touched on things like AI and data privacy and evolving consumer expectations and much more beyond that.
But now we want to actually take a step back and start to look at the bigger picture and what these trends mean not only for Coegi as an organization, but our clients and really just the future of marketing. So to help us do that, I'm thrilled to welcome Sean Cotton, CoEGI CEO, and Robby Perry, who's the president of Coegi Canada, to the conversation. And together we'll dive into how Coegi is preparing to lead in this evolving landscape and bring value to our clients. So welcome to you both.
Sean, I'd like to start off with you. The world of AI and automation, that's really recurring themes that we've been hearing across all of our team discussions, from enhancing things like operational efficiency to driving better personalization and predictive analytics. So how do you foresee Coegi continuing to leverage these advancements to deliver more value to our clients going into 2025?
[01:18:12] Speaker G: Yeah, at least that's a great question. I think the key word there is continuing, as you know, we've started working with AI a couple of years ago even, and just like everyone else, understanding the basics of it. And then it moved to how can we utilize AI to be more efficient in what we do day to day. So as we continue to integrate AI into everything we do, you know, one of the, some of the things that we're working on right now is in planning and strategy. We have years and years of historical data on the campaigns that we ran for our clients and what's worked well and what hasn't worked well, we have proprietary technology around analyzing and evaluating the creative that was used for those campaigns. And so AI really puts us in a position to make smart decisions faster. And even before we put campaigns for our clients in the market to predict success. And so that's really an area that Koegi is going to continue to lean into over this year and the coming years of using AI to really almost ensure success for our clients, the other area that we want to use it is in terms of the personal growth of our employees. And not just thinking about how it's implied at a company level, but how can our employees use AI in their day to day life to help them grow and advance as professionals? Because the facts are, is that's going to be a necessary professional skill for everyone in our industry within a few years. It's actually becoming that even now for anyone. That's forward thinking. So I foresee Coeggie continuing to develop training programs within our organization, workshops within our organization to help each and every one of our employees integrate artificial intelligence generative AI in a way that helps them to grow as as professionals.
[01:20:18] Speaker A: Sean, I love that you mentioned using AI for that professional development piece. You know, I feel like more so in a lot of articles we see all the fear mongering around, oh, AI is going to take my job. But the reality is if you understand how to leverage AI effectively, it actually strengthens your ability to contribute to an organization. So definitely a good perspective there. And Rodney, I'd also love to hear from you about specific ways you see AI shaping the Canadian market in particular going into the New year and how Quegy Canada is also going to align with these trends.
[01:20:56] Speaker E: Absolutely. Thanks, Elise. So here in Canada, we've always had the unique situation in digital media where most of it showed up in Canada and we always used to say 12 to 18 months after it was available, either in the US or Europe, it would show up in Canada and be available. Well, what AI has done is shorten that time frame frame very dramatically. And so what we're seeing is the it more of a North American market or the US market and then the Canadian market, a very fast follower to it. So we're not seeing the delay in being able to use the AI tools and be able to then deliver for our clients. The second element to IT that I would highlight is the fact that data in Canada is a smaller subset of the data that's available. Using the AI tools allows us to get more out of the smaller data sets that are available. And all of our clients, especially the clients that have loyalty data or POS data, are very interested in how to pull the insights and the knowledge out of the data that they have that we can then bring into the ad campaigns and deliver performance for them throughout the year.
[01:22:11] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you know, a key point that both of you made throughout your responses was the underpinning of data and the use of AI. And data is a conversation that we are a topic that we have conversations around every single day with our clients within our internal teams, how to maximize it and how to drive greater return. Like you were saying, Rodney, being able to do more with smaller amounts of data. But you know, something that we're seeing a lot is questions around trust, questions around privacy. How are we going to use the data compliantly. So, Sean, with privacy regulations tightening in 2025, like we've been seeing for the last several years, innovation and data is going to be critical. And how do you see COEGI transfer transforming compliance into an actual competitive edge that allows us to deliver more personalized and more impactful brand experiences?
[01:23:15] Speaker G: Another great question, Elise.
You know, it starts with building partnerships with all of our technology partners who we rely on, you know, to activate media and be compliant, but also having a really deep bench of data partners that are also compliant. And where we bring our expertise is bringing together, which is we know that's what coaghi means, bringing together the technology that gives us the ability for that personalized experience and to activate against it and our expertise and our knowledge of audiences and the data that's most effective in reaching them, along with our our proven ability to remain compliant in those industries. So that's why we do a lot of work in regulated industries such as alcohol and pharma and finance. And that in itself creates that competitive edge because there's real risk and liabilities to brands to not being compliant in this world that we have now. And so as we continue to promote that trust and that proof our capabilities in that regard, we feel that that's certainly a competitive edge.
[01:24:38] Speaker A: Absolutely and definitely agree about the critical component of finding the right data partners. Understanding where that data is coming from, understanding what type of data you can trust and when it makes more sense to maybe not use data for targeting, but instead thinking about the context of the ad placement and things like that. And Rodney, something that we're seeing in Canada as well as privacy laws are also evolving there in the same way that they are in the U.S.
how do you foresee brands and agencies taking more of a privacy first approach in terms of how they're planning their media and using that to fuel innovation and future proof campaigns in 2020.
[01:25:24] Speaker E: Yeah, and I absolutely agree. I think that really is the approach as us as their agents for our clients is really understanding and helping them understand what data and privacy means when they're out collecting and talking to their customers, making sure that we're using their data in a way that lives to all of the legislations out there, but also to the moral standards of our clients and ourselves that we're not using data in a way that shouldn't. So in my mind, we really are acting as their data agents to make sure we know what we can do with it. And often we know more what we can do with the data, especially when we move IT across platforms to be able to go out into media. And we have to take that responsibility and bring it through to our clients even to the point where we're making sure if the client goes to do something wrong, we're stopping them. We know the issues, we know the rules and we know where they will be impacted if they actually deliver a campaign do something inaccurate with their data here in Canada. There's they will be hit with penalties if they do things wrong. So that's where we need to understand that and work with our clients to make sure that we're bringing that to them across their entire campaign. And I do believe it is a growing part of our business as each one of our clients focuses more on collecting and managing their first party data and then using that data throughout all of their business practices. We need to be the ones making sure that they're not doing anything that would be considered offside and then understanding it. And this is why we've got kind of the North American footprint, the global footprint is understanding that data and how it crosses over borders as well. So they don't get into, if they have issues working in Europe, they're not getting into challenges that way.
[01:27:25] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I love the point you made about being agents on behalf of our clients. And I think that really showcases how Coegi is not just a media planning or buying agency. We are true partners for the brands and agencies that we work with with. And you know something else I always like to think about when talking about privacy is that at the heart of it, it's about doing what's best for our consumers and thinking about the way we use data empathetically. And you know something that a lot of articles I've been reading has been have been saying is that AI and automation and things like that are actually going to remove the human element from the way we advertise or the way we market on behalf of our brands. And I just don't think that's true if you take a very strategic approach. So Rodney, as we're looking ahead to 2025, how are you imagining cross channel integration and human centric strategies really being part of the conversation even as we continue to lean into tools and technology like AI and automation?
[01:28:31] Speaker E: Well, I think the technology allows us to make the message that consumers are receiving, receiving much more receptive.
And really the way I think about that is in the past we would have gone and looked at all of the data that's available in the digital ecosystem and we drop people into segments. It's an automotive enthusiast segment just because you went to an automotive site. Well, now with what we're looking at, at all of the data that's available and the AI opportunities to crunch through that data, what we're coming up with is much more niche segments or very specific segments that put that human touch on the communication between our clients and their customers. Delivering an ad that absolutely resonates or resonates with somebody is exactly what our clients want. And that is what consumers want as well. Get ads that work for them versus the thousand ads that they just ignore most of the time. And that's where what we're moving to is becoming a much more human centric approach to the ads that are being delivered. And the responses will come with that as well.
[01:29:44] Speaker A: Absolutely. I think it's just reframing how we talk about marketing strategy. Reframing. You know, I think oftentimes it was like the audience first approach. Well, what that means in 2025 is not the same thing it meant back in 2020 or back in 2000. Right. And it's just thinking about it through the new lens, through the new technology and the new capabilities that we have.
[01:30:06] Speaker E: One thing I would add there is in that we've always went that audience centric approach, we always forgot about the end of that. What happens if the audience doesn't respond well? We continued to deliver ads to them because they were in the segment. Well, having this human centric approach allows us, and this is also a part of coegi the performance elements of what we do. If the ad doesn't resonate, if it isn't that human centric approach that is going to work for that consumer, we stop doing it. Look to something else that will do. And so it allows us to even go deeper to make sure that consumers don't get annoyed with the volume of ads that they're seeing. And they are only seeing ads that work with them that they're interested in. And then we continue to move on.
[01:30:55] Speaker A: Absolutely. That's a great point. It's going back to the heart of our measurement strategies, which is testing and learning and being able to iterate and get inventive when things aren't necessarily performing the way we predicted and being able to again think about that consumer experience. Like you said, nobody wants to see the same ad on a streaming platform five times in a row. Um, and it's wasteful for the brand's dollars as well. So it's a lot about thinking strategically, not just looking at the data, for looking at trends, but pulling out insights from that, um, And Sean, you know, just to wrap us up, I'd love for you to talk a little bit about how we are able to use this kind of innovative thinking to help build those meaningful brand experiences on behalf of our clients and how we'll continue to push that going into 2025.
[01:31:49] Speaker G: Yeah, just piggyback. You know what Rodney said, certainly we've accomplished a lot if we know that we can reach a certain audience at any given time or through a certain media channel. But really where the real value is is what do we move that audience to do? And that's where it always comes back to measurement. You know, so by putting measurement frameworks in place where we can see what is working and what's accomplishing the brand's objectives, that really allows us to be innovative. Because then we're not innovating just for the sake of doing something new. We're innovating to solve our clients problems, to drive their business forward.
And so what we need to do as a company and continue to do as a company is one, listen closely to our clients. What are the business challenges in front of them, Understand what are their objectives. But we also need to listen closely to our partners in the space, our technology partners, our media partners, our data partners, and what solutions exist that can help solve those challenges of our clients. And our role is to understand where we can apply those. So yes, client A, this is your business challenge. You know what? We've done this for this other client over here. It may not be your industry, but this is how it worked for them. And adapting this for your business, this is what we would expect to see. And this is how we would measure it. Measure it to show that it works for your brand, for your business. And then as we document that, we're able to evangelize that and help other clients to do the same thing. And so the way we continue to stay at the forefront of innovation and building brands is one by measurement. And then it's also through documenting results and ultimately striving to be problem solvers.
[01:33:51] Speaker A: Absolutely. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Thank you both so much for your time today. Sean and Ronnie, you both have shared great perspectives. And as we move into 2025, it's clear that Kawaii is certainly going to continue to focus on AI and trust and human connection. And that's going to be a guiding light for us as we help lead our clients to success. So looking forward to continuing that conversation.
[01:34:15] Speaker F: Great, thank you.
[01:34:16] Speaker G: Thanks.
[01:34:20] Speaker A: To our listeners and viewers. Be sure to check out Koegi's LinkedIn page to tomorrow. Friday, December 13th for the drop of our full 2025 trends report. This comprehensive report will dive even deeper into all the trends and the topics our subject matter experts discuss today and more. Thank you for joining us and we'll see you next.
