We’re excited to announce that Mason Interactive recently added Chicago-based luxury chocolate maker, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, to our portfolio of CPG lifestyle brands.

Founder & chocolatier Katrina Markoff began her culinary journey with an apprenticeship in Spain under the direction of Ferran and Albert Adria of the famed El Bulli, where she began to understand that food was a medium for transformative, visceral experiences.

“Ultimately, as a company we are in pursuit of three things. They are at the core of everything we do and through every experience we create. I wish the same three things for you: Peace, Love and Chocolate.”
– Katerina Markoff

This exciting new partnership will focus on growing awareness and reach through a long-term digital marketing strategy that will support direct-to-consumer eCommerce sales. The Mason paid media and SEO teams will be responsible for increasing YoY revenue, and working with the Vosges team on new channel opportunities, with an emphasis on new customer acquisition, loyalty and retention.

Learn more about Vosges, join the Rewards Members Club, or download the Vosges app and enjoy 20% off your first order.

We’re excited to announce that Mason Interactive added Vancouver-based skincare brand, Blume, to our growing portfolio of beauty brands.

Setting a new standard for skin, body and period care

Sisters + Co-founders Taran and Bunny created Blume to make self-care easier and healthier, while destigmatizing normal things like acne, puberty, periods and sex ed.

From their top-selling Meltdown Acne Oil (with over 4000 5-star reviews) to the Milky Fade Spot and Scar Fade Serum, their growing line of products are made from a powerful blend of clean ingredients.

CLEAN | CRUELTY FREE | VEGAN | NO BAD STUFF

A portion of proceeds from each sale goes to @daysforgirls – an organization that turns periods into pathways for girls around the world through proper education and access to safe resources.

This exciting new partnership will focus on growing awareness through a long-term digital marketing strategy that will support direct-to-consumer eCommerce sales. The Mason paid media strategy team will be responsible for increasing YoY revenue, and working with the Blume team on creative performance insights, with an emphasis on profitable customer acquisition and retention.

Learn more about Blume, start earning points with BLUMETOPIA or read more about the game-changing brand on their blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiXZemVxGHA

We’re excited to announce that Mason Interactive recently added Minority Female-Founded + 100% Women-Run brand, ALALA, to our portfolio of fashion brands.

From training for her first triathlon to a busy professional schedule, Founder Denise Lee was often on-the-go for 18+ hours at a time. She needed attire that could go from the gym, to the office, or happy hour. Before launching ALALA in 2014, she realized there wasn’t an activewear brand that offered the effortless, high-low style that she was searching for.

“We Take Our Name From Alala, A Greek Goddess. Her name signifies a battle cry, a call to arms. To us, Alala represents all that we aspire to be as modern women. We live our lives with the audacity to believe that we can do it all and have it all. The universe is our oyster and every day is another opportunity to make our mark on the world.”
– Alala

Sophistication | Quality | Details

Corporate Responsibility

“At Alala, we believe we have a duty to serve and help others. It’s core to what we do and what our consumer believes in. We commit to use our platform to spread knowledge, share resources, and give love to those around us.”

You can read about the causes ALALA supports, here.

This exciting new partnership will focus on growing awareness through a long-term digital marketing strategy that will support direct-to-consumer eCommerce sales. The Mason paid media and SEO teams will be responsible for increasing YoY revenue, and working with the ALALA team on creative performance insights, with an emphasis on profitable customer acquisition.

Learn more about ALALA, and shop the Tennis Capsule collection.

It has never been more important to understand who your potential customers are. As the industry shifts towards focusing more on consumer data privacy, it’s getting harder to track and measure prospective buyers.

As an agency, we’re staying ahead of the curve so that our clients can succeed despite the coming impact.

Source: Tech Times

We recently attended a company-wide training session with our partners at Google to discuss the future of privacy-centric measurement. This post will cover how you can explore unique implementations of Google’s Enhanced Conversion Tracking protocols.

Don’t know where to start? Send us a message to discuss what this means for the future of your business.

What is enhanced conversions?

Enhanced conversions is a feature that can improve accuracy when it comes to measuring conversion. It supplements existing conversion tags by sending hashed first-party conversion data from your website to Google in a way that still protects user privacy.

The feature uses a secure one-way hashing algorithm called SHA256 on your first-party customer data before sending to Google. The hashed data is then matched with signed-in Google accounts in order to attribute your campaign conversions to ad events, such as clicks/views.

Simply put: Say goodbye to Observed conversions, and hello to Modeled conversions based on hashed data.

Implementation

There are 3 approaches to implementation: manual (preferred), automatic tag based, and API. Once implemented, Enhanced Conversions will start working immediately, however, 60% of data can be missed if Enhanced Conversions is not applied correctly. We can help you with this.

The next generation of Google Analytics – GA4 (Google Analytics 4) has been rebuilt to include more capabilities, including predictive modeling, attribution, and LTV modeling. Once implemented, it will take 12 months of data for features to accurately model. Speaking of which…

First Party Data is Priority #1

About 80% of advertisers depend on third-party cookies. Without them, those advertisers will need to find a new way to reach their customers and prospects online. User’s behavioral and browsing data will be limited. If you depend on third-party cookies it will be significantly harder to personalize ads, A/B test, and gauge attribution.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There is nothing more valuable than owning your first party data. Whether you have been in business for years, or are just beginning your digital journey, now is the time to evaluate what this data means to your holistic ecosystem. Enhanced Conversions will capture all email addresses, including non-gmail addresses, but keep in mind that only conversion data will be recorded.

Plan for the Future Today

Google announced that third-party cookies will be deprecated by the end of 2022, or early 2023 at the very latest.

This industry-wide change is not going away, and we encourage you to be proactive today so your business has time to adapt to new industry standards and best practices. There’s a lot to be done, so if it seems overwhelming, schedule a meeting with one of our experts today.

Glossary:

Third party cookies: Third-party cookies specifically are created and placed by websites other than the website you’re visiting. Some common uses include cross-site tracking, retargeting and ad serving.

First party cookies: First-party cookies are generated by the host domain. They are usually considered good because they help provide a better user experience. These cookies enable the browser to remember important user info, such as what items you add to shopping carts, your username and passwords, and language preferences.

For an example, let’s say you visit a website called learn.com. Any cookies put on this website by learn.com would be first-party cookies. Any cookies put on learn.com by any other site, like a social media site or an advertiser, would be third-party cookies.

Identity Resolution Providers: The process of matching identifiers across devices and touchpoints to a single profile — helps build a cohesive, omnichannel view of a consumer, enabling brands to deliver relevant messaging throughout the customer journey.

Cross-site tracking: The practice of collecting browsing data from numerous sources (websites) that details your activity

Retargeting: Using search activity to retarget visitors with visual or text ads based on the products and services for which they’ve shown interest

Ad-serving: Making decisions regarding the ads that appear on a website, deciding when to serve these ads, and collecting data (and reporting said data including impressions and clicks) in an effort to educate advertisers on consumer insights and ad performance.

When the first lockdowns of Covid-19 hit early in 2020, we began to see a paradigm shift of the entire world, and the U.S. was no exception. Commerce was reduced to essential services, and people were either restricted from or outright prohibited from interacting in larger groups or anyone outside their household or highly limited circles.

The restaurant and bar industries were hit especially hard. Even with many of the restrictions lifted in 2021 many are still wary of going out for dinner or drinks and socializing with friends and family over a beer or glass of wine. But consumers didn’t quit drinking. Many state governors included liquor stores among essential services that were allowed to stay open even as many other businesses closed their doors or limited their hours.

Marketing Alcohol Direct to Consumers (DTC) Gets a Surge

The increase in direct-to-consumer sales means that alcohol brands need to be mindful of the guidelines and regulations that promote responsible drinking whether a person chooses to drink beer or similar beverages, wine, or spirits. Regulations state that marketers cannot suggest in their advertising that people who consume alcoholic beverages violate the law or act irresponsible when they are consuming these beverages.

Regardless of the type of alcohol sold, all brands need to follow rules and regulatory codes set forth by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the Beer Institute, and the Wine Institute. Many states have loosened restrictions in 2020 and 2021, but these should be checked before marketing in a specific area.

With beer and similar beverages, such as hard ciders and seltzers, the brewing industry needs to continue following long-held policies to appeal to adults of legal drinking age:

There should be no direct or indirect suggestion that applicable sales not be completely followed
The themes suggested in advertising should be in good taste and present the brand as one that is responsible and is opposed to excessive or inappropriate consumption of the beverages.
Wineries and distilleries should follow similar guidelines in order to help assure that alcoholic beverages are consumed safely as much as possible.

Creating a Responsible Marketing Plan For the New Normal

Every aspect of our lives looks different from what it did a little before 2020. Even with some bars and restaurants opening, many have become accustomed to social distancing and virtual gatherings. Long before the pandemic alcohol marketing has paid close attention to the stories behind the brand. Many breweries, distilleries, and wineries are family businesses and marketing for alcohol brands often focuses on the bonding experience of both creating the beverages as well as consuming them.

In many ways, enjoying alcoholic beverages has long been associated with finding and holding on to connections that we have with family and friends. As this became more of a challenge, alcohol marketing professionals began to think outside the box in order to help that connection stay strong even with social distancing. This resulted in online happy hours on Facebook Live and similar venues. Professional bartenders providing drink mixing instruction and promoting brands that reflect varying values and reinforce the idea that we need to find safe ways to stay connected.

Promoting Brand Loyalty and Image While Marketing For Alcohol Brands

The image behind a brand of alcoholic beverage can vary considerably depending on many factors. Sometimes smaller companies struggle to compete with larger brands that have become large household names. They need to develop a more specific niche for their brand and the type of image they want to reflect. By choosing a specific target market with the help of marketing consultants, or even by using software to help with the sales process, it becomes easier even for smaller producers to find their core market and begin the process of expanding on it.

Before the pandemic, there were many smaller wineries, distilleries, and brewers that hosted tastings on site where they would aim to make consumers feel like part of the process. By taking advantage of CPG, smaller quantities of beverages can be marketed to consumers directly along with whatever values the company may have. Some companies show a sense of social consciousness by supporting certain types of charities, or they may emphasize their commitment to sustainability or positive environmental or health practices.It is important for companies to display a clear picture of who they are and who they aim to be, and continually look for stories that support that image. The less that people are able to connect in person, the more important it becomes that they are able to stay connected through consistent and entertaining sales and marketing practices through their own website as well as various social media channels, e-commerce sites, and email marketing campaigns. In the end the connections and relationships remain important for any brand, and this is especially true when it comes to developing the right campaign for alcohol marketing.

Let us help you develop a robust marketing strategy!

Your marketing strategy is integral to the success of your marketing efforts, especially with the holidays coming up, it’s more critical than ever.

Are you ready to make it big and give your company the edge it needs to succeed during this new normal and beyond? Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our digital marketing experts.

Are you transitioning from B2B to D2C and joining the eCommerce revolution? Fitting the direct-to-consumer roadmap into your wholesale model seems like an impossible puzzle to solve. You have all the pieces, but putting them together to create a bigger, better picture takes a bit of problem-solving. Owning your consumer while balancing your B2B relationships is possible by refining your message, finding the right partners, and supporting retailers.

Speaking a New Language

Expand your operations team to include customer service and small-order processing. Plan sales and marketing campaigns that reach your audience in their everyday lives. Make space for your customers as they discover, consider, purchase, and return for more.

Understanding your consumer journey helps you determine what message you need to convey and when. First, make consumers aware of your brand’s positioning in the marketplace. What problem are you trying to solve for them? How will they identify with you and become aware of your solutions?

Second, figure out where your buyers are likely to take action. What social media platforms do they use? How much information do they want before making a purchase, and how can you provide that information to them? Lastly, nurturing customer relationships is much different than business relationships. Be prepared to take extra efforts to make repeat business a healthy revenue stream.

It’s worth considering creating a sub-brand within your business, specifically for D2C. Find out which of your products and services make the most sense to market to consumers directly and develop a brand around those solutions.

When it comes to D2C marketing, figure out where your buyers are. For example social media. — The language and content you use to target your target audience will depend on which platform they use.

Find the Right Partners for the D2C Model

Manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesale partnerships were your MVPs for the longest. You likely generated and retained business with a team of account managers. Now it’s time to consider partners in marketing and payment processing specifically for direct-to-consumer/eCommerce.

Get ready to up your marketing and advertising game. If you are tweaking your branding, a creative agency can help you create the perfect look. At the same time, appearance isn’t everything! Use a performance marketing partner focused on data and testing strategies, so your beautiful ads and landing pages produce results. Not sure where to start? Try our free marketing analysis, and we’ll get you on the right path .

Find an electronic payment system that makes it easy for customers to make purchases (#getpaid). Your website may need to be updated or completely redesigned, but ensure your developer integrates an excellent checkout platform. Processing payments from other businesses, usually done by invoicing, is much different than taking payments from a customer. Be prepared to find a new solution partner so customers can place orders efficiently and quickly.

Your customer journey plays a huge role in

Manage B2B Relationships while becoming a competitor

Hopefully, your retail partners support your transition. Either way, be mindful that you are becoming a competitor by selling directly to consumers. Ultimately, if you do not end your wholesale operations, striking a successful balance between B2B and D2C requires a little synchronizing with retailers.

Don’t be afraid to own your consumer and make no apologies for it ! Building relationships with your customers directly increases brand awareness, which drives traffic and retailers to your website. Collaborate with your retail partners to find ways to elevate business for both of your companies.

In addition to being collaborative, be supportive. Appeal to traditional shoppers who use their senses to make purchase decisions by letting them know where they can find your brand. Include web pages like “Find us in stores” or “Find us elsewhere.” Sure, that might mean you don’t win their direct sale at first. But, if a retail partner has a trustworthy reputation, customers may be more likely to purchase from you directly next time.

Transitioning, growing, evolving – whatever you want to call it – it all means that your business is changing and moving in new directions. Going from wholesale to e-commerce is a business decision you’re not making alone. Consumers are aligning their purchasing behavior with private, personal lifestyles. So, building brand equity is a smart move. Learn the D2C language and start speaking it in every part of your business. Find a marketing partner specializing in profitable growth and scaling customer acquisition. Then, collaborate with and support your business relationships.
If you still feel like a piece to your puzzle is missing, let’s find it together .