Air fryers, membership cancellations and how Pmax can improve omnichannel performance in a post-covid world

Teodora Hallett, Paid Media Strategist, Summit

I’ve got a question for you: what do air fryers, membership cancellations and refurbished phones have in common?

If you guessed that all these terms have seen a significant growth in interest over time in the last two years, you were spot on! While the terms themselves have little in common, the search intent behind them is clear: UK consumers are looking for money saving opportunities in order to offset the rising cost of living.

As an example, search intent for air fryers is up over 600% compared to 2021, showing that people are looking to save money on their energy bills by using more energy efficient alternatives to cooking. According to Google1, searches for related terms such as “cheap recipes” and “batch cooking” have also increased in popularity. This trend is further supported by the most recent Kantar data suggesting that discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl hold a combined 16% market share 2 – an all-time high and an indictment of the current economic climate.

Similarly, we have seen a significant increase in searches relating to “membership cancellations”, showing that Britons are trying to take more control over their finances in a world that seems uncontrollable.

While gym membership cancellation ranks highest on the breakout terms list in the last two years, streaming service cancellations have become increasingly common too. According to a survey by Statista3, as of June 2022, 25% of respondents who have cancelled a video streaming service subscription said their decision was financially motivated, while 28% of respondents said that they are already paying for too many services.

This switch off from streaming is likely to result in consumers returning to more traditional media consumption, such as TV, due to its wider affordability, which in turn, will push up the demand for TV advertising from brands wanting to engage with their target audiences.

As streaming services are losing subscribers, it is increasingly important to think about incorporating other areas into the mix alongside traditional TV buying. So, the million-dollar question is how can marketers still deliver excellent results and revenue growth for their clients in this very challenging landscape? The answer is (kind of) simple – Move away from siloes and measure omnichannel performance instead. Use digital channels alongside traditional ones such as TV in order to improve the overall success of your brand – both online and offline.

One of the most effective ways to combine traditional media with digital advertising is through the use of Google Pmax campaigns. Pmax is Google’s newest campaign type which enables advertisers to access a wide range of placements within the Google inventory from a single campaign. It is path to purchase aware and is designed to work alongside a robust PPC strategy in order to find more converting customers.

While the description of what this campaign type can do might seem a little too good to be true, the numbers speak for themselves. Our clients have seen significant ROAS uplifts driven through Pmax campaigns, with one client seeing an overall ROAS increase of 77% in Q4.

The benefits of Pmax campaigns are clear, but how do they work in conjunction with traditional media? Let’s take a look.

One of the biggest advantages of combining Pmax campaigns with traditional media is that it can help you reach a wider audience. Traditional media can help you reach people who are not necessarily actively searching for your products or services, but who may be interested in what you have to offer. For example, a television commercial during a popular show can reach a large audience, some of whom may not have been actively searching for your product or service online. By using Pmax campaigns, you can then retarget these viewers with ads online, ensuring that your brand stays top-of-mind and increasing the likelihood of them converting into customers.

Another benefit of combining Pmax campaigns with traditional media is that it can help you measure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts more accurately. By using Pmax campaigns, you can track the performance of your ads in real-time and adjust your bidding strategies accordingly. This can help you identify which traditional media channels are driving the most traffic to your website, and which are not. You can then adjust your traditional media strategy to focus on the channels that are performing well and improve your overall return.

Finally, combining Pmax campaigns with traditional media can help you create a consistent message over all your customer touchpoints. By aligning your messaging across all channels, you can ensure that your brand is portrayed in a cohesive and compelling way, which can help to build trust and loyalty among your target audience.

About the author

Martin Corcoran is the CEO of Summit.

Summit is one of the leading partners for retailers in driving measurable value through performance marketing. Our people, technology and 20+ years’ experience make this possible. As a Google Premier Partner, Summit is one of the top 3% of agencies in the UK and in the last three years, it has driven over £3bn of online sales for our clients.

To learn more, visit http://www.summit.co.uk/