And it’s not just younger people. The baseline behavior of most consumers today is engaging across multiple screens and multitasking, explained Lori Goode, CMO of Index Exchange. Brands must tap into the “fluidity of attention,” she said. “If you lose attention on one screen or one device or one moment, it’s all about recapturing it in the next moment.”
Also, brands need to create content good enough that gets people to “stop the scroll,” Shannon Jones, co-founder of VERB, pointed out. “What makes it to the group chat? What makes it to the DMs?” she asked. “What are they passing on to other people? How do you incorporate that shareability?”
(L-R) VERB’s Shannon Jones, Simon Property Group’s Chip HardingCreating authentic, human connections
The proliferation of “AI slop,” as Whitney Magnuson, head of brand and media for Zoom, called it, has people longing for authenticity. “People are craving something that feels real, that feels tangible, that feels curated and authentic for them. We’re really seeing a resurgence in events,” she shared, both in-person and virtual.
Brands also have opportunities in communal spaces. For example, Chip Harding, EVP, Simon Property Group, would love it if more brands took advantage of programmatic advertising. “I’m a huge fan of programmatic. All our screens in our shopping centers—and we have thousands of them—are all programmatically enabled,” said Harding. “And I give that spiel to brand marketers five times a week.”
Immersive experiences are also popular, but success requires being able to differentiate your brand, explained Greg Holtzman, senior director of partnerships and communications for Hudson Yards Experience. He shared two of their most successful promotions: “We had a solar eclipse party up at Edge that got a ton of media impressions. And then on Leap Day, we let all Leap Day babies into Edge for free,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the simpler, niche things that nobody else is thinking of that could really make you stand out and get that social buzz and press.”
(L-R) Index Exchange’s Lori Goode, ADWEEK’s Bill Bradley, Pereira O’Dell’s Mona Munayyer Gonzalez