By Heather O’Shea, Alter Agents
Planning and buying media is intrinsically challenging as audience fragmentation increases, media consumption habits shift toward diverse platforms, and media evolves quickly across the board. Advertisers struggle to reach their target audiences effectively and within budget, often focusing on engaging consumers at either the very top of the marketing funnel (driving awareness) or the very bottom (making a purchase in the moment). Focusing on just the top and bottom of the marketing funnel can mean many brands are missing out on capturing attention and solidifying relationships with potential customers during the most critical time of the shopper journey – when they are going from undecided to decided.
This binary focus on either branding-based activities or performance-based activities means a lack of engagement with those who are considering and evaluating different brands. To avoid these missed opportunities to drive brand relevance and engagement, advertisers and media teams need to deeply understand their audiences – at all stages of their purchase journey.
First, more about the middle of the funnel and its importance
The mid-funnel is crucial for connecting with consumers who are in the consideration phase. These consumers are not yet ready to purchase but are actively researching and evaluating options. Brands need to ensure that their advertising is relevant and meaningfully connects with these potential customers, demonstrating how their products align with the consumers’ values and needs.
For instance, consider a consumer researching anti-aging skin care products. They might see initial brand advertisements that raise awareness about the benefits of retinol. However, if the consumer encounters an influencer who promotes a particular brand of retinol that aligns with their values—such as being vegan and environmentally friendly—their perception of the original brand changes. This alignment can significantly impact their consideration process, making them more likely to choose the competitive brand when they are ready to purchase.
Understanding what mid-funnel consumers need
To effectively capture mid-funnel consumers, we must first understand them deeply. There are many market research methodologies out there that can help us explore how to reach consumers at this critical stage. Just a few include:
- In-Context Testing: This approach involves evaluating consumer responses to products, advertisements, or experiences in real-world media settings where they naturally occur, such as CTV (Netflix, Hulu, etc.), Social media (Instagram, TikTok), or other apps/websites. This method allows researchers to gather authentic feedback and observe actual behaviors and interactions with the brand or product. For example, in a recent project with TikTok, we utilized experimental design with in-context exposure and in-context simulated shopping to provide insights into how users engage with content on the TikTok platform. For this study, we found that for key categories, different content strategies were required to maximize mid-funnel outcomes such as consideration compared to driving upper-funnel outcomes such as awareness. Ultimately, in-context methodology can inform content, design, and user experience iterations – refined based on actual behavior and reactions.
- Agile neuroscience: New techniques use the body’s physiological responses to stimuli to predict what messages are most meaningful and relevant to consumers, and their resulting behavior, adding a powerful tool to the researcher’s toolbox by providing information that goes far beyond traditional stated research data. Our preferred methodology, called Immersion, measures variable heart rate to indicate what’s going on in the brain – indicators that ultimately lie behind emotions, actions, and decisions. It captures data from participants in their own environment, using their own (or a provided) smartwatch or other wearable device. This allows brands to collect important data and attention metrics anywhere, in a remote or in-person setting, in a store, at an event or during a program. This level of flexibility means agile neuroscience can be used in a huge number of scenarios and environments, including for a mid-funnel audience.
- Mobile ethnographies: Similar to in-context testing, ethnography observes people in a natural environment to collect insights. In a mobile setting, participants use their smartphones to document their experiences, thoughts, and behaviors through photos, videos, and text entries. Mobile ethnographies offer the advantage of being less intrusive than traditional ethnographic studies, as participants can share their experiences as they happen. This approach helps brands understand the context of consumer behavior, uncover unmet needs, and identify opportunities for enhancing the customer journey.
Processing and activating mid-funnel insights
After insights are gathered, comes the most important part: ensuring these insights spur action across organizations. Communicating the collected data to stakeholders in a compelling way is an often missed step in the research process. This omission results in failure to realize the full ROI of market research investments. This tip is universal across all types of market research projects and should be baked in from the planning stages, all the way through. Sharing insights, and sharing them some more, gives them power.
Next, advertisers and media planners need to activate these insights by including mid-funnel engagement as a KPI in their plans and strategies. Then they can use the data they have gathered to identify and prioritize efforts to engage consumers at critical points using in-the-moment messaging notifications, content marketing, retargeting, influencer partnerships, social media and email engagement, and other tools. Every customer group is different, and the right research can help reveal the right place, time and medium for reaching the right people.
Gathering consumer insights through appropriate methodologies helps to pinpoint factors that influence decision-making processes and build understanding of common pathways that consumers take during the consideration phase. By activating mid-funnel insights, brands can build stronger connections with consumers and guide them seamlessly from consideration to purchase.
Aligning advertising outreach with consumer passions
With the increasing difficulty of performance advertising, brands must focus on aligning with consumers’ passions and interests. Contextually relevant, meaningful and personalized advertising and media placements throughout the customer journey, can be highly effective. But understanding the nuances of consumer sentiment requires a robust market research program, using the right approach to uncover the nuanced insights that matter in the consideration phase.
Enhancing media planning and buying efforts with mid-funnel strategies can have big rewards. By engaging consumers mid-funnel and aligning with their values, brands can build stronger relationships, drive relevance, and ultimately improve conversion rates. As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, a comprehensive approach that includes mid-funnel engagement will be crucial for staying competitive and achieving long-term success.
