Bill Skelly
Data Analytics, Marketing Budgets, Mardi Gras
February 20, 2023
With our headquarters in New Orleans, the Causeway Solutions team looks forward to Mardi Gras each year. “Fat Tuesday” is considered the last hurrah before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent and leads up to Easter. Mardi Gras celebrations are quite a spectacle, bringing visitors from around the world to New Orleans for the extravagant parades, costumes and revelry.
Despite a possible recession, Mardi Gras celebrations will be just as festive this year. We expect the local economy to benefit from more than $1 billion in annual spending.[1]
The same is true for many marketers when it comes to ad spending. Although consumers and companies are keeping a close eye on the nation’s economic indicators, management consulting firm Winterberry Group predicts U.S. advertising and marketing spend to exceed $500 billion in 2023.[2]
Enduring brands know to continue investing in marketing and advertising even if there’s an economic downturn. However, marketers are watching their wallets, too.
Here are four tips to trim the fat on your marketing budget.
1. Discover the right target audiences
Prescriptive analytics takes data from all touchpoints, comparing results from each initiative and interaction. Campaigns based on prescriptive modeling create greater efficiencies because they’re highly targeted, reaching the right audiences with the right message. Partnering with a data consultant using advanced prescriptive analytics helps marketers get beyond customers who are already on their customer relationship management (CRM) systems to find acquisition targets. By integrating predictive and prescriptive modeling with demographics and consumer behavior data, the consultant can deliver a new set of highly targeted custom audiences. These new prospect clients go beyond consumers derived from zip codes and “look-a-like” audiences.
2. Invest in data analytics
Make certain your marketing plan is in sync with the overall business goals. Employing data analytics allows marketers to monitor ad spend and better manage marketing costs. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and determine when adjustments need to be made to protect marketing investments.
Examples of effective KPIs:
3. Identify the touchpoints that connect with audiences
Work with marketing partners and use advertising channels that provide performance dashboards. Carefully review KPIs and identify the touchpoints that are resonating with your target audiences. By reallocating your ad spend to the most effective channels, you’ll do more with your advertising dollars and control costs.
4. Enhance customer journey and experience
Predictive analytics uses machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data mining and other statistical techniques to forecast behaviors and trends. This sophisticated modeling analyzes data from the past and present to predict consumer choices and activities. Marketers strengthen ad campaigns using predictive analytics to support the buyers’ journey. Knowing what clients prefer and what messaging will most resonate allows you to level up customer experience to boost loyalty with current customers, while attracting new ones.
Data analytics help marketers better manage their campaign strategies and ad plans. Using these four tips will trim the fat from advertising costs to support you during Fat Tuesday and beyond Mardi Gras. As we say in New Orleans, “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”
William Skelly is CEO of Causeway Solutions, a provider of Acquisition Analytics and innovative data services. Causeway Solutions empowers clients to make smart, timely, data-driven decisions through real-time consumer insights to better reach target audiences.
[1]: "Mardi Gras FAQs," Mardi Gras New Orleans
[2]: "Winterberry Expectes Advertising and Marketing Spend to Top $500 Billion in 2023,” Destination CRM