Oxford Languages’ first definition of ‘value’ is “the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.” However, the things we consider to be of value are constantly changing depending on the situation we find ourselves in.
As we face a cost-of-living crisis, and general economic fragility, consumers are having to constantly evaluate the value of products and services they use. There has been a genuine fall in income for everyone, and this is having a knock-on effect for brands – some of which are benefitting, while many others are losing their customers.
What value means to brands
We’re seeing German discount grocery chains, Aldi and Lidl, growing their market share, while services like Netflix are losing subscribers. Brands are having to prove their products or services to provide consumers with the much sought-after value they seek, and marketers are having to re-evaluate what value now represents for them.
The current economic climate is proving to be a far bigger challenge for brands than what they faced during the pandemic. As a result, value has become one of – if not the – most important aspect of their campaigns. With marketers increasingly unsure of who their target customer is, many are struggling to find the value they are desperately looking for.
Nonetheless, it’s not the time for marketers to reduce their budgets – it’s time to continue investing and show them why your brand provides value to their lives. To do this, marketers must see value as being closely tied to brand and performance, with all three working together to get the most out of their campaigns.
The changing face of value
Marketers must look beyond the transactional media investment and consider the role that improving their brand and driving performance have to play in providing value.
When looking to protect or grow market share, insight and creativity must be at the heart of the campaign. Insights help understand audience behaviour to form the strong foundations for the campaign, while creativity ensures that audiences are engaged and interested in the advertising being served to them.
Performance should be driven by utilising KPIs that matter, with a particular focus on attention metrics and how these can help brands to produce the most effective and efficient advertising. Ultimately, every campaign is different and brands must focus on the performance indicators that are more relevant to their needs. Value can’t be found in viewability continuing to be the standard metric for measuring the quality of impressions.
Getting brand and performance right will automatically create value for brands, because they’ll be able confidently identify who their target customer is, and ensure these are the people that are being reached at the right time. This will help to encourage current customers to continue buying from the brand, while proving to new customers that the brand can add value to their lives.
Understanding the link between value, brand, and performance isn’t just about generating value for the brand, but also delivering value for the consumer, both in and out of difficult economic climates. Tying brand and performance to value will ensure that both consumers and advertisers benefit, even as the definition of value evolves.
