Why Brand Continuity is Critical in the Digital Age

In this episode of Masters of MAX, host Tom Butta welcomes John Gregory, a seasoned professional with a diverse background in retail, media, and digital. Having worked with top brands like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, AOL, Pandora and Spotify, John shares insights on the power of brand continuity and how to orchestrate a consistent cross-channel customer journey.

Show the Value of Your Mobile App Users Through First-Party Data Collection  

Showcase the value of your mobile app customers to advertisers and sponsors through first-party data collection with cross-channel acquisition. John shared how consumers come to Spotify for an audio experience and consume various types of audio content, including audiobooks, music and podcasts. Tracking first-party data allows you to view insights into how customers consume content, fine-tune your app onboarding experience and deliver relevant moments for your mobile app users. 

Enhance Mobile Engagement With Personalization 

John highlights that most of Spotify’s digital content is consumed through the mobile app. Because of this, Spotify and other mobile app companies need to provide the best mobile experience possible. The key to enhancing mobile engagement is consistently engaging with customers and monitoring their past and current behaviors. Leveraging this data as part of your customer engagement strategy allows you to create and deliver personalized, next-level experiences tailored to your customers’ interests. 

Deliver Brand Continuity Across Touchpoints

Customer experience matters and shapes how people view your brand. John stresses the importance of brand continuity in all its expressions, whether it’s your mobile app, in-store experience or daily advertisements. A clear and connected cross-channel customer experience creates familiarity for your customers. 

Of course, offering a great product or service is equally important. You can set yourself apart from your competitors by providing a consistent and meaningful customer experience and tailoring your products to meet the customer’s perspective.

Create Relevant Customer Experiences With Zero-Party Data Collection 

Zero-party data collection allows brands to create memorable, relevant customer experiences. John shares his involvement in developing Spotify’s stage experience, where they invited users to answer a few questions about their listening habits and current moods. By combining zero-party data with first-party data, Spotify created personalized playlists tailored to users’ preferences and listening behaviors and offered merchandise recommendations based on their individual experiences, all within the mobile app. 

Continue Evolving & Innovating to Attract New Customers 

John explains that many advertisers take a narrow approach to targeting and messaging. While immediate conversions are necessary, focusing on brand marketing is equally important to attract new audiences. The key is to build moments of serendipity for your customers and find the right balance between brand and performance marketing. He advises companies to test in small markets, experiment with content and the user experience, and continuously focus on innovation in marketing to improve the customer experience.