How to Incorporate Personalization in Marketing Strategies

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in advertising anymore. To stay ahead of the competition, know your audience and curate your messaging.

Brand marketers and advertisers, are you personalizing your marketing content? (No, we’re not talking about the personalization fields in your email client — although those are useful too!)

In 2024, effective personalization means taking it a step further and crafting stories that resonate with each audience member on a personal level. That may sound fluffy, but make no mistake! Although it can be fun to create catchy and clever marketing shtick, it ultimately falls flat if it doesn’t align with your data.

Personalization that isn’t rooted in data will fall on deaf ears.

So, which brands are executing personalization effectively?

Examples of personalization in marketing

Spotify recently built upon its popular, annual “Spotify Wrapped” feature with “Daylists”, sending users daily curated song playlists based on their recent listening activity.

Similarly, Penguin Random House created an online “book matchmaker” quiz to help readers find new favorite books based on their reading preferences.

And at Exverus, we’ve worked with the Stella & Chewy’s raw pet food team to build personalized campaigns, like the America’s Next Top Petfluencer contest, which encouraged pet owners to upload photos of their pets (and zero-party data!) for a chance to put their pet on a billboard; and the rich media AR selfies ad unit, which let pet owners create their own filters for pet photos.

All of these strategies get consumers interacting with the brand and feeling confident about making a purchase because the recommendation is tailored their individual tastes.

Why is personalization an effective media strategy?

Because, at its core, personalization is about helping buyers see themselves in your brand and creating a connection with them through shared values, interests, or experiences.

It helps create a holistic customer experience. From the moment a potential customer engages with your brand, personalized content can guide them through their journey and build a sense of trust and loyalty.

When asked what they want most from personalization, one of the top answers from consumers was, “Know me no matter where I interact with you.” Online, offline, on-site, or in their inbox — buyers expect a consistent and tailored omnichannel experience.

But you can’t personalize your content unless you understand your audience and their needs.

Data-driven ad personalization

Companies can gain valuable insights into their target audience’s preferences, interests, and behavior patterns by analyzing consumer data. These insights allow you to tailor your content and messaging to resonate with the individual — instead of delivering a one-size-fits-all approach.

In a way, personalization starts before you even know your customer. You must build your strategy and workflow to collect the necessary data points to create personalized content.

Once you have identified your audience and collected data, the possibilities for personalization are endless. Personalization can take many forms, from creating dynamic website experiences to segmenting email campaigns based on customer preferences.

So, we’ll ask it a different way…

Are you really personalizing your marketing content?

This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here.