Standing out in the digital market is becoming increasingly difficult. So Ibotta, which offers cash-back rewards, is turning to in-person activations to better capture shoppers' attention.
Between Google's phasing out of third-party cookies and the saturation of advertisers in the digital landscape, performance marketers are grappling with changes in this space. For many marketers like Ibotta, this means restructuring their marketing mix to place more emphasis on brand-building channels, rather than focusing squarely on performance marketing.
“Things are getting tougher. It's harder to reach people,” said Richard Donahue, CMO at Ibotta. “We realized we needed to expand the reach of our brand and expand our impact.”
within the past few weeks, Rewards app has launched its first-ever augmented reality experience with interactive art installations in New York City, Chicago, and Denver. The initiative also includes a TikTok-led influencer activation, allowing for national reach.
Donahue said this is the first time Ibotta has focused on experiential marketing. It's unclear how much money the company spent on this particular marketing effort, as Ibotta did not provide specific numbers. But Donahue said that in general, Ibotta is looking at media spending that allows it to engage with shoppers.
“We've become more intentional about where we put our money, because as it gets harder and it continues to get harder,” Donahue said. ”
Ibotta is not alone in focusing on experiential marketing. His home of direct-to-consumer brand Parachute has significantly increased its experiential investments this year. It's a similar story for his direct-to-consumer athleisure brand Halara, which ran its first-ever brand-new campaign, and Orange Theory Fitness, which ramped up its own brand-building efforts with in-person, live-streamed events.
In fact, agencies are increasingly requesting proposals for brand building. According to eMarketer, 36% of marketers plan to increase their investment in marketing their brand this year. But it's not a complete pendulum swing. According to the same report, 40% of marketers plan to increase their investment in performance marketing this year, down from 46% last year.
Clients are not necessarily spending more on brand marketing efforts, especially as marketing budgets continue to come under scrutiny. But Sammy Rubin, vice president of integrated media at marketing agency Wpromote, said they want to be more aggressive.
“There is a lot of fragmentation going on in the market in terms of: [how] “Audiences are consuming media on more platforms than ever before,” Rubin said. “So brands need to find ways to stand out.”
Indeed, there is a growing interest in building buzz for a brand in hopes of building a relationship with customers before proposing them to purchase. But that doesn't necessarily come at the expense of performance marketing, Rubin says. The focus remains on how to do more with less and an emphasis on performance metrics, she added.
This is a stance echoed by Donahue, who said performance will continue to play a vital role in Ibotta's marketing mix, but only better balanced with branding to capture customer attention.
“We're never going to move away from the performance thing. We're tracking it and we know what we're going to get,” he said. “If you're not thinking seriously about how you're engaging with people in the different places they consume media, you're missing out.”
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