Gearing up for 2023: What marketers need in their toolkit

This post is sponsored by Yahoo. 

The new year ahead will be exciting for marketers as people explore and venture out more, but still rely on their digital devices for everyday tasks. Changes in consumer behaviour alongside privacy attitudes have raised expectations, with people desiring even more from brands – trusted, seamless, innovative experiences that provide value, no matter where they are.

With consumers expecting brands to move with them, and the times, brands will need to raise their game in 2023. Here is how marketers can power-up for success in the coming year.

Explore limitless possibilities through omni-channel

Consumers will stride into 2023 with cautious optimism, being more discerning and intentional about how and where they spend their money. In this environment, a strategy centred on the customer and their shopping experience is crucial as brands seek to interact with shoppers across the various stages of the consumer journey.

Connecting the dots is the order of the day, and brands that integrate their online and offline touch-points will have the upper hand in enticing consumers towards a purchase decision. 

And so, this means that marketers and brands need to meet people where they are and inspire them to take action.

Adopting an omni-channel mindset – a screen for every routine – creates multiple, interconnected touch-points for brands to engage with consumers as they live their moments, from emerging formats such as DOOH and Advanced TV to mobile or tablet screens.

While more screens and channels give rise to limitless possibilities, an omni-channel approach goes beyond having a varied media mix. It involves a deep understanding of the consumer, their lifestyle habits and device usage, how they interact with your brand, and their pain points.

Begin with data-driven insights that shed light on what makes your consumers tick, and apply these in a cohesive strategy with a mix that leverages the right strengths of each media.

Partner with a trusted expert who can help you analyse and segment the behaviour of your audience and create a seamless, tailor-made experience, to be delivered on the right screen at the right time.

Take, for example, Yahoo’s comprehensive full-funnel platform that is inherently omni-channel by design. With access through a single entry point, advertisers can plan, buy, execute, measure and optimise campaigns across a broad media mix.

The single unified view makes it more efficient and allows advertisers to place their focus where it should be – on their customer’s journey and needs, and ready to engage with them on their preferred devices.  

Getting ready for whatever comes with identity solutions

Consumer privacy concerns continue to grow worldwide as legislation and regulations evolve. In APAC and Southeast Asia, readiness for the cookie-less future is as diverse as the region; here lies an opportunity for marketers to test their solutions, learn, and get their ducks in a row.

The key to unlocking marketing success for your brand lies in understanding what percentage is addressable versus non-addressable, what sort of browsers and operating systems people are using, and how to meaningfully utilise all this fragmented data from various channels to deliver seamless experiences people desire.

And, as addressable inventory continues to decline in 2023, brands need to prepare to face whatever comes next as they explore new approaches to running their campaigns.

Through a pioneering suite of identity solutions, Yahoo has been helping partners and clients prepare for the future.

Yahoo ConnectID leverages first-party data for seamless audience activation and measurement when an ID is present, all while respecting consumer choice and privacy. On the other hand, Next-Gen Solutions is an advanced contextual targeting solution rooted in machine learning that leverages proprietary data and real-time signals (such as location, weather, and device type) to infer audience characteristics in unaddressable environments.

Leveraging branded content for high impact

Now more than ever, consumers want to know and understand a brand – everything from its purpose, core values and mission – and how that all translates into sales that contribute to a better community and world.

Branded content is a powerful way to tell your brand story and humanise your business. A Kantar study found that branded content led to a higher ad association on Yahoo Ad Tech by 110%, with a 70% greater purchase intent. With compelling narratives, effective branded content can attract new audiences, form deeper connections, provide meaningful engagement, and deliver more impact.

Storytelling can take various forms and formats such as interactive long-form articles, videos, podcasts, and even more immersive AR/XR experiences.

As a full-service partner for branded content, Yahoo has capabilities that can help you develop effective branded content at scale across every stage: from creative strategy and ideation to creative development, distribution, and analysis.

Recently, we partnered with Citibank to launch a dedicated personal finance hub on Yahoo Finance in Singapore that went beyond content to create a relevant, useful and seamless branded experience for Citibank and its readers.

The partnership, tapping Yahoo’s strong editorial expertise and massive reach as the No.1 source for business and finance news in the country, featured a specially curated selection of original content contributed by and jointly with Citibank, and relevant aggregated content from Yahoo Finance.

Compelling storytelling, delivered in premium, trusted environments, enables brands to resonate with audiences as their stories unfold each day. And when consumers feel more confident in making purchase decisions, they become more willing to invest in deeper relationships with your brand. 

Amid continuously changing consumer behaviours and tech developments, brands will have their hands full next year. As you step into 2023, think out of the box and move with the times to embrace the ever-changing landscape, and meet consumers where they are.

The writer is Carol Tay, Senior Director Sales Southeast Asia, Yahoo