verde live: october 21, 2020
listening to the subtle signs of your consumer, the "new" special media conglomerate and reflections on prime day
Welcome to Verde Live, our weekly show where news headlines are made relevant to the specialty business leaders comprising our incredible audience at Verde and the Channel Mastery podcast. Every Wednesday we go live with headlines and trends in media, consumer behavior, retail and marketing. - to help specialty brands navigate the seismic shifts in business today.
key takeaways:
In a recent piece in Marketing Week, Helen Edwards argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the frailties of behavioral science and shown marketers are underestimating the significance of signs when it comes to understanding customer behavior. In her talk, given during the Festival of Marketing, she encouraging us, as marketers, to pay more attention to the subtle signs consumers are giving us.
Or in my words: the consumer is in the driver’s seat. Get tethered to your target shopper, to the point where you have their pulse and can literally ‘feel’ and ‘expect’ the reactions they’ll have to your content.
Last week we said goodbye to Powder, Surfer, Bike and Snowboarder magazines. Earlier this month, Pocket Media acquired Big Stone Publishing (Rock and Ice, Trail Runner and Gym Climber). And just today, October 21, Bonnier Corp announced that Popular Science, Field & Stream and Outdoor Life were sold to North Equity, “A private equity firm that’s been snapping up media titles.”
You may be wondering why on earth anyone is doubling down on magazines right now. The answer: they’re not. CEO, Robin Thurston, has a multichannel plan.
“There's an opportunity to let these brands flourish under a new model that combines advertising, digital subscription, e-commerce, and events.”
The old vertical or endemic magazine model was built almost exclusively on advertising as the main channel of revenue. What Pocket Outdoor Media is aiming to develop and own is nothing short of an entire universe for the audiences in these markets.
Lastly, Amazon decided to hold its first-ever October Prime Day. Prime “days” to be exact: October 13 and 14. Welcome to holiday 2020. As a specialty brand or retailer, you may not be ready for full-on HOLIDAY decor just yet, and that’s okay. We are in the midst of a pandemic, after all.
Join Kristin for the next Verde Live on Wednesday, October 28, and sign up for the below newsletter to be the first to know when the next episode drops!