Part one of Jyoti Rambhai’s takeaway from Cannes Lions looks at the full funnel marketing matrix and whether it is something marketers should base their strategies on.
Last week I attended Cannes Lions – the biggest global hub where marketers, advertisers and tech companies gather. While the panel sessions spoke abundantly about how adland is embracing AI, along the Croissette the chatter was about the challenges and reality of this evolving sphere.
Of those involving AI, there were two key themes that emerged: how the full funnel matrix no longer exists and the role between data, attention and incrementally.
And that’s not all, this year saw more creators than ever before gracing the French Riviera, cementing their place as a key engine in the marketing mix… But what does this all mean for the modern marketer?
There’s a lot to deconstruct there so I’m going to split my column into two parts. Today I’m going to focus on the full funnel.
For years, the so-called marketing funnel has been used to describe the goal of campaigns. Traditional linear TV and out-of-home sat at the top as this was about brand awareness; email and content were about building trust and potential leads so it sat in the middle; and performance marketing channels such as display, search and affiliate were considered bottom of the funnel as it looked at direct conversions.
But that model is changing. The phrase I kept hearing was the ‘full funnel is dead’… AI has melted away the boundaries of the funnel and everything now is an amalgamation of the key goals rather than one leads to another.
Damon Berger, senior vice president, marketing shared services, at Gap, told delegates that the “chain” [the funnel] no longer exists.
Berger, who was part of a panel discussing ‘no more silos’, hosted by TikTok, added: “We know through social media, specifically influencers, that the purchase funnel […] is no longer linear.”
The point he makes is that consumers are on platforms like TikTok and Instagram and when they see content for the first time, they can also see the opportunity to purchase; especially if it’s from a person they are following and they trust their authority.
This is where “content and commerce is collapsing” the funnel, Bergers highlighted. Therefore what matters now is the quality of the engagement and content that is being put out there.
In a separate panel, hosted by adtech firm Equativ, Amie Owen, chief client officer at Flywheel, echoed a similar sentiment. From her standpoint, the funnel no longer exists because “we have a lot of data” and it’s now about “how do we use that wisely”.
Owen makes the point that it’s about understanding who your audience is, being able to have that awareness play but also quickly being able to have that consideration or awareness piece ready.
She gives the example that if a user is watching something on TV or Netflix and they really like what a character is wearing, there’s an opportunity to offer them the product right away because it’s “top of mind”.
It then becomes about how you interact with them, is it on the second screen or ads across platforms like connected TV (CTV).
“That’s one piece,” she said. “There’s different channels where people are prone to going right to purchase. And there are others in different categories […where you] have a longer lead time. There’s a lot that goes into it, but you have to understand what their [consumers’] thought process is.”
At the end of the day, consumers are “looking for their own personalisation”, which is why it is crucial to have those data points.
The fluid social loop
Social media has become one of the biggest marketing channels and despite some of the restrictions coming into place, it remains a key area of spend for many brands.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that social media is playing a key role, perhaps not collapsing, but redefining what that marketing funnel looks like. This is exactly what Ghadeer Khub, creative, social and digital director for the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said.
It’s “no more funnel”, but a “fluid social loop like a figure of eight”, she explained. “People are going to understand your brand, engage with your brand, see your brand through different voices, not just through your own channels. They’re going to engage at different points, so beyond your awareness and consideration, that figure eight loop now includes participation and advocacy.”
Jennifer Cho, chief customer officer at CreatorIQ, agreed adding that if the funnel is a fluid loop, the most important thing marketers need is a “connected infrastructure”.
“Whatever shape it is, you need a source of truth that has no silos [… between] paid and organic,” she said. “You also need a source of truth for all the partners, that connection and that accountability to the data across internal teams, agency partners, and everyone else is so critical.
“Because ultimately, if you’re measuring against the same standard and you have the same operating system, you can […] always add more data as we look at a fluid loop, a different shape, or whatever that is, and just make sure we’re being accountable and making decisions and insights together without those silos.”
If the traditional funnel no longer exists, where does that leave affiliate marketing? Interestingly, now affiliate or partnership marketing is spread across: it’s about awareness, consideration and conversion.
Much of this now boils down to collaboration. Ashley Arena, head of investment at PHD, an Omnicom agency, highlighted that’s the reason we’re here in Cannes.
It’s about “how we can make sure the partners that we’re working with, the clients that we’re working with, the platforms that they’re executing on” all work together, she explained. It’s about having a creative, initially produced for a CTV audience, but adapting it so it “looks the same” but runs on social or display.
The new capabilities coming through which are “collapsing the funnel” are also “providing opportunities for conversion or action […] in places that are not native to it”, Arena explained. And all of that goes back to “shared accountability and partnership”.
Whether you believe the marketing funnel is collapsing or becoming more fluid, it’s clear that it is reshaping strategies. For brand marketers, agencies and adtechs, it’s an interesting area to watch as it ebbs and flows… There’s certainly no right or wrong way to consider this.
