Disruptive Ad Campaigns in a Time of Crisis with Meghan Maydel
Episode 420: Show Notes
Before diving into the show we wanted to let our listeners know the date on which this was recorded – March 18th – because we know the world is in a weird place right now. The strategies discussed here are hyper tailored to this moment and things could be totally different by the time you listen! In any case, from our side, we are trying to create a sense of normalcy in our business and within our friends, so we wanted to go ahead with our chat with Meghan Maydel.
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The strategies our guest shares today are highly valuable due to their applicability not only in this time of pandemic and crisis but also to other spikes within the world and the industry of advertising in general that could happen in the future. Meghan talks about how advertising doesn’t just have to happen on Facebook and gives a whole bunch of pro tips about other platforms and what using them can look like for you. We will be brainstorming different ways for you to be really effective in your ads today!
Leveraging Current High Internet Usage with Sensitive Online Campaigns
A byproduct of people having to spend so much time indoors due to quarantines worldwide is that everybody is online. Meghan gives some thoughts about how this can relate to AdSpend strategies but emphasizes that things can change at any moment due to the highly fluid situation. The extra eyeballs that are looking at screens right now has logically led to online businesses and marketing strategies flourishing. While it’s good to be extremely sensitive not to seem like you are exploiting this moment, certain kinds of ad campaigns have been doing really well, especially ones with an educational rather than hard sales slant. Meghan shares some of her favorite stories of brands that are doing a great job of this. Verge is running a customer gratitude campaign to their online shoppers and a soap brand she loves is selling soap which doesn't dry your hands out. The key at this time is to work out how to surprise and delight people and leverage their extra browsing time without looking insensitive!
How to Learn and Employ Smart Ad Campaigns Outside of Social Media
When people think of advertising online there is a misconception that this has to happen purely on Facebook or Instagram (which are the same thing, let's be real). The truth is there are so many other places we can put ads online, which is exciting because each offers a different strategy. Campaigns should match behaviors so the range of platforms out there means some will be better suited to do this than others. Meghan gets into two main strategy groups, one which is interest and relevance-based and the other, problem awareness-based. Google is a good place for advertising your problem-solving product to people who are seeking solutions. By the time somebody searches your product on Google, they are already far down the funnel. On the other hand, Facebook is the home of relevance-based advertising and shows you ads based on interests, a more top of the funnel strategy. We hear about pegging ads to IG Linebreak and how Spotify targets customers and makes podcasting very easy – two left of the center strategies for sure. Meghan gives some tips for learning how to do ad placement better, by learning yourself through short courses or just hiring somebody to do it. It is a great idea to play all of these strategies off against each other so if one phases out or experiences a change in algorithm, you still have your others to bank on!
Approaching Digital Media Placements on a Range of Platform Types
We discussed the IG Linebreak strategy earlier, whereby you would place an ad directly on their website so that when people use it they see your ad. This and other similar strategies are called digital media placements, and Meghan weighs in on how to arrange them. You can either hire a media buyer or go through an ad agency, or even email the company directly. Some of these companies will only work through agencies, but some will do direct too. It sounds cliche but this whole thing really comes down to how well you know your target market, and not just their demographics but their psychographics and sociographics too. How are they making decisions? Know this and you’ll get ahead. These days all major platforms run ads though, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Amazon. Meghan also discusses the voice-assisted technologies such as Google Home and Alexa, speaking about how they don’t allow direct ads yet, but have partnered with companies like FastCompany who does flash briefings in which ads can be run.
The Disrupt. Scale. Lead Method for Dominating Your Industry
A key strategy for becoming an industry leader which Meghan preaches is the Disrupt.Scale.Lead model. This is a method that allows you to take advantage of your market and industry to lead it. To consider the current moment, we are about to enter a phase where millennials have a major economic buying power, so how can you get to where your product is front of mind for them, to where they don’t even make a decision before choosing you? First, you need to disrupt, which means producing content that stands out in contrast to your market and your industry. It is about finding out how to zag when others are zigging. Next is scaling, which people often think comes before disruption, but you can't scale unless you have that disruptive product to use as the foundation. Finally, after scaling, you have arrived at the point where you can now leverage your influence, to either write bestsellers, completely steer your industry, or a whole bunch else!
Disruptive Marketing in Times of Crisis: Learn to Listen
The strategies we have heard so far are brilliant, but many people right now are probably just wondering how they can keep their heads above water in the current crisis. Maybe the answer lies in being disruptive though? Meghan gives some powerful ideas for why this is true and it all revolves around figuring out the correct way to disrupt. Right now businesses are planning in terms of weeks, not months, and so much of the messaging we are seeing is fear-based. The secret here is to listen carefully. The disruptive thing to do would be to offer your services as a way of helping people, educating them, and putting their minds at ease! Another big shift in terms of how businesses are operating is the move to remote work. Meghan has the opinion that this forced shift could have lasting effects because people are realizing their teams can be just as productive without coming into office, and overheads are lower too! Bring on the rise in freelancers and online businesses!
Quote This
Even if we are talking about disruption on a small scale, let’s talk about that from a different angle of helping people and being supportive and solution-oriented, not fear-driven.
—Meghan Maydel
Highlights
Leveraging Current High Internet Usage with Sensitive Online Campaigns. [0:03:26.7]
How to Learn and Employ Smart Ad Campaigns Outside of Social Media. [0:09:22.2]
Approaching Digital Media Placements on a Range of Platform Types. [0:25:43.7]
The Disrupt. Scale. Lead Method for Dominating Your Industry. [0:29:23.3]
Disruptive Marketing in Times of Crisis: Learn to Listen. [0:35:32.3]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:41:52.2]
Shut up and listen.
What are the problems and how can your product help?
Take your product to different paid advertising platforms; pitch with empathy.
Look into Spotify and audio-based advertising on friends’ podcasts.
Brush up on your ad campaign knowledge using Udemy and other course providers.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Meghan Maydel
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Meghan Maydel is the CEO and owner of the digital advertising agency Disruptr.Creative, and creator of the Disrupt. Scale. Lead. framework. Pulling from her experience working with agencies on top campaigns for Volvo, Trident, and Converse, her agency’s framework helps mid-6-figure brands and businesses break through the white noise plaguing the digital marketing space via advertising that increases leads, enables scalability, and puts them at the front of the pack in their respective industries. Meghan has loved helping her clients generate multiple figure profits from AdSpend, so they can focus on what they do best—run their business. She is also the host of the upcoming podcast, Disruptr Insights, which is dedicated to giving entrepreneurs the insights, tips, and tools they need to capture their market’s attention in a fast-moving world.
KEY TOPICS
Sensitivity, AdSpend, Pitching, Ad placement, Disruption, Solutions, Listening
