Marketing is most effective when
the messaging, format, and device are targeted to the right audience, at the
right time, on the right platform. The
shift from traditional media to digital media generated a shift from mass media
to targeted media. Mass media had one
message and pushed it out to the general market. Digital (and emerging media) allows for more relevant,
targeted messaging. While the evolution
of digital devices has transformed the ways brands communicate, the audience is
transforming as well.
Based on the US
census, racial
and ethnic minorities make up about half of children under the age of five. Within the next five years, it’s projected
that minorities will make up more than half of children under eighteen. This rapid expansion of minorities is
signaling to brands to reanalyze marketing strategies and rethink
communications.
Multicultural marketing is a buzz
word that is popping up in every marketer’s boardroom. Previously, multicultural marketing has been
an afterthought or a separate initiative during key time periods, such as Black
History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month.
With the shift in population growth, marketers can’t ignore the
demographic trends any longer if they wish to be successful. Rather than an afterthought or a separate,
isolated initiative, multicultural marketing needs to be built into all aspects
of everything a marketer does. It’s
projected that by 2043, minorities will become the majority in the US. In order to have a total market strategy,
marketers need to develop integrated marketing strategies, strategically
targeted to market segments.
First,
consumers using mobile are usually searching differently than they would on
desktop. Consumers often use mobile
devices for research and comparison shopping.
Other information that is immediately valuable are store hours,
directions, and a phone numbers. Google
has enhanced search features called ad extensions that allow marketers to
deliver the most relevant information to consumers. These extensions increase the size of the ad,
taking up more space on the page and usually generate higher CTRs than ads
without extensions. Extensions can
include extra links to different pages of the sites, directions right in the
ad, or click-to-call functionality. This
New York and Company ad has all three extensions, giving consumers everything
they need with one click. 
Last fall,
Google announced that ad extensions would factor into the ad rank algorithm,
making them crucial for paid search success.
Recently, Google announced the second line of ad copy will often be
replaced by an extension in mobile search ads.
See the example below. This
change will require marketers to look at their paid search copy for mobile and
make any changes necessary to lead with the strongest copy in the first line or
shorten overall ad text. Marketers
optimizing copy for mobile and using ad extensions will see the best paid
search performance. 