With the back-to-school season approaching, marketers are preparing to engage both eager students and parents. Our Q&A video with Experian experts shares our predictions and tips for the 2024 back-to-school season so you can craft effective back-to-school marketing campaigns.
From early campaign launches to the rise of online shopping and budget-conscious consumer behaviors, let’s explore what lies ahead and how brands and agencies can prepare.
What separates Experian’s syndicated audiences
- Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences are available directly on over 30 leading television, social, programmatic advertising platforms, and directly within Audigent for activation within private marketplaces (PMPs).
- Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes such as Presence of Children.
- Access to unique audiences through Experian’s Partner Audiences available on Experian’s data marketplace, within Audigent for activation in PMPs and directly on platforms like DirectTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
Watch the highlights from our video below.
Three trends for the 2024 back-to-school marketing season
Campaigns will start earlier
We expect back-to-school marketing efforts to kick off earlier than usual. Brands will launch campaigns with special promotions to secure mind and market share ahead of competitors. Additionally, the traditional back-to-school season is extending, urging marketers to prolong their campaigns to capture the attention of consumers who are taking more time to make purchasing decisions.
Online shopping will continue to rise
The surge in online shopping during the pandemic has become a lasting trend – and is especially appreciated by busy parents seeking convenience. Brands should focus on enhancing online and mobile shopping experiences, including options for in-store pickup and delivery. Marketers should prioritize their online presence and optimize e-commerce platforms, including experimenting with shoppable ads on connected TV (CTV), to meet the needs of families shopping for back-to-school supplies.
Budget consciousness is top of mind
With inflation on the rise and tighter budgets at home, households are becoming more selective in their back-to-school spending. Marketers should align their efforts with value-driven products and prioritize advertising that resonates with these financial priorities.
Strategies for brands and agencies
Next, let’s explore strategies brands and agencies can use to prepare for the upcoming back-to-school season.
Brands
First, we’ll highlight three recommended strategies for brands.
Maintain an evergreen presence
Launch your back-to-school campaigns early and maintain a steady presence throughout the season. Experian’s TrueTouchTM audience insights can guide your channel selection for maximum impact, helping you decide on key channels such as email, digital video, or specific social media platforms.
Build loyalty programs that deepen customer relationships
Use your customer data to create loyalty programs that foster stronger connections with your audience. By using insights from Experian, you can gain a holistic understanding of customer profiles and identify potential back-to-school prospects within your existing customer base. On average, Experian has 250 behavioral anddemographic marketing attributes per individual, which means we can decorate households and people with marketing data to get a full customer profile and fill in any gaps you have on your audience.
Prioritize value and convenience
Offer flexible shopping options like in-store, online, and buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) to cater to busy families. Partner with services like Shipt or Instacart to streamline shopping experiences.
Agencies
Now, we’ll share two ways agencies can effectively prepare for the back-to-school season.
Engage early and extend your campaigns
Initiate conversations with brands earlier to ensure timely planning and execution. Extend campaign durations to capture late-decision makers.
Adapt your channel strategies
Shift focus to digital channels like CTV and social media, aligning with evolving consumer habits and preferences. Experian works with major platforms, marketers, and agencies, which means we have existing partnerships across the ecosystem for you to connect with and bring your consumer data to life to meet your needs.
Watch the full Q&A
The 2024 back-to-school season promises new challenges and opportunities for marketers. By starting campaigns earlier, optimizing online experiences, and aligning with budget-conscious consumers, brands and agencies can position themselves for success.
Watch our full Q&A video where our experts cover:
- Tactics we predict marketers will employ to navigate signal loss
- Which channels will be the most successful
- Recommended audiences for targeting
- And more!
Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice. Additionally, work with Experian’s network of data providers to build audiences and send to an Audigent PMP for activation.
Contact us
Latest posts
Dextro clients to achieve increased accuracy in cross-device consumer measurement and engagement NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Dextro Analytics, a pure play analytics company that harnesses the power of human learning and artificial reasoning to drive more informed and effective consumer marketing, is partnering with Tapad, the leading provider of unified, cross-screen marketing technology solutions and now a part of Experian. The deal is effective immediately and the scope of the partnership covers North America. Additional terms were not disclosed. Leveraging Tapad's privacy-safe Device Graph™, Dextro Analytics will be able to significantly bolster its insight engine to decode complex customer journeys. Armed with more relevant, actionable insights, marketers can use Dextro's cross-screen, closed-loop measurement systems to reach and engage the right customer at the right time through the right channel. "Being able to accurately map consumer preferences, behaviors and journeys in a privacy-safe and unified way across devices is still one of the biggest pain points for marketers," said Ajith Govind, co-founder of Dextro Analytics. "At the same time, this partnership engages customers with the right message at the right time." "Detecting latent patterns and signals, and tracing backward- and forward-looking behavioral characteristics, are keys to sustaining a competitive advantage in a crowded space," said Manmit Shrimali, co-founder of Dextro Analytics. "With the proliferation of data and devices, connecting the dots is of paramount importance." "Dextro is solving some of the biggest challenges in analytics today," said Pierre Martensson, GM of Tapad's data division. "Our partners consistently see notable improvements in both budget allocation and device optimizations after integrating with the Tapad Device Graph, and I have every confidence that Dextro will be among them." For more information about Dextro Analytics' revolutionary approach to using human learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to solve business and analytical problems, please visit http://dextroanalytics.com/. For more information about Tapad's cross-platform advertising solutions, please visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync. Contact us today
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES / BUSINESS WIRE / Jan. 30, 2017– Tapad, part of Experian, and Rubicon Project (NYSE: RUBI) announced today a new global partnership offering a unified, cross-device campaign delivery solution within an automated advertising marketplace. Tapad is the leading provider of unified, cross-screen marketing technology solutions and Rubicon Projectoperates one of the largest advertising marketplaces in the world. The Tapad Device Graph™, which enables buyers to expand their high-value display data signals to associated mobile devices, will be integrated across Rubicon Project’s leading advertising exchange and Orders platform, significantly improving consumer mobile reach. The new global partnership will empower Buyers within Rubicon Project’s exchange to find and engage audiences across their entire digital experience. Rubicon Project operates one of the world’s largest mobile exchanges connecting to approximately 1 billion unique mobile devices globally. “We’re excited to partner with Tapad to continue to provide our customers the very best data for managing their advertising businesses,” said Harry Patz, Chief Revenue Officer, Rubicon Project. “Cross-device delivery is crucial for buyers today with more than 81% of internet users currently relying on more than one device for digital access[1]. Through our partnership, buyers will be able to extend their desktop private marketplace campaigns to mobile, allowing them to find and engage their audience across devices, anywhere in the world. The net result will also benefit sellers; the increase in mobile reach will better position publishers and app developers to strategically capitalize on their inventory, ultimately increasing bid rates and mobile revenue across the board.” “Our partnership with Rubicon Project marks the first time advertisers and publishers alike are able to use cross-device solutions at significant scale outside of Google and Facebook,” said Pierre Martensson, GM of Tapad’s Data Division and APAC. “Our Device Graph will help Rubicon Project’s advertisers make more informed buying decisions and find the audiences who matter most.” Barry Adams, VP of Commercial Development at Bidswitch, said, “As digital advertising moves away from desktop and increasingly toward a mobile-first model, cross device data becomes critical to finding consumers. The rich data buyers will now be able to leverage at scale through the Tapad and Rubicon Project integration will enable us to provide a state-of-the-art cross-screen solution for the 150+ buying platforms that use our service, and the tens of thousands of advertisers they represent.” For more information about Rubicon Project’s inventory, please visit www.rubiconproject.com. For more information about Tapad’s cross-platform advertising solutions, please visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync. Contact us today
Tapad expands linear TV analytics solution, enabling optimal reach and frequency across TV and digital platforms NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ – Tapad, now a part of Experian, has partnered with WideOrbit, the leading provider of advertising management software for media companies, to develop the industry's first programmatic TV-buying platform powered by a device graph. Tapad is the leading provider of unified, cross-screen marketing technology solutions and was first to market with a device graph, the Tapad Device Graph™. WideOrbit's robust supply platform and industry-leading footprint offers access to premium TV inventory on top networks, reaching more than 99 million households across local affiliates. The partnership pairs Tapad's demand-side technology with WideOrbit's supply-side inventory. As a result, marketers can leverage cross-device audiences in their TV buys for the first time. Additionally, integrating the Tapad Device Graph™ with digital feedback loops and audiences both accelerates optimization and enables precise audience discovery for TV marketers. "The integration of WideOrbit's quality TV supply takes orchestrated cross-screen media buys to the next level," said Marshall Wong, Tapad's SVP of TV market development. "Marketers can now optimize TV campaigns within days instead of weeks. This also untethers them from buying against generic demographics like age and gender. By allowing brands to employ their own CRM or third-party data, we can move them much closer to audiences who will take action." "Integrating Tapad's device graph with WideOrbit's programmatic marketplace delivers enormous value to marketers looking to add TV to cross-device campaigns," said Ian Ferreira, EVP of programmatic at WideOrbit. "Television still delivers the most efficient reach of any medium, and Tapad's platform now allows marketers to purchase premium broadcast inventory that extends the power of cross-screen campaigns to TV with a single, unified solution." "Our clients build lasting relationships with consumers through thoughtful and pioneering marketing," said Jeff Giacchetti, VP of digital at Mediavest Spark. "The strategic partnership of demand-side technology and supply-side inventory makes it easier for brands to find efficient, incremental reach and are critical in this endeavor." For more information about Tapad's cross-platform advertising solutions, please visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync. Contact us today