A nineteenth century Philadelphia retailer called John Wanamaker famously once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The problem is that I don’t know which half”. This incredibly prescient announcement has stood the test of time and brands have always faced this dilemma. Influencing Canada’s consumer behavior is a challenge.
Companies know they have to make a major investment in this form of marketing. But it’s very hard to quantify the exact return on investment in terms of sales. However, the arrival of the digital age has heralded something of a change. It has been reflected in the changing face of the advertising industry in Canada. Where much of a client’s money was once spent on so-called above the line advertising, the shift has now been very much online. So in 2023 $10.51 billion was spent on digital advertising compared with $5.3 billion in 2021.
This not only dwarfs the $2.2 billion spent on TV advertising it’s also projected to represent nearly 82% of all advertising spend by 2030. As well as relative cheapness in terms of production costs, digital marketing has a key benefit for advertisers – it’s measurable. That’s because every sale can be traced right back to the very first customer interaction – and the effectiveness of every dollar spent can be calculated.
This has also made it a golden age for the kinds of digital promotion that Canadians, in particular, seem to go for. In recent research by Eagle Eye it was found that 77% of people interviewed said they would take advantage of an offer with 64% saying relevancy was a deciding factor.
Types of Offer that Canadians Love
All businesses know the potential benefits of making offers to their customers, whether it’s a well-chosen and targeted gift or simply a discount. So here are the types of offers that are typically getting Canada’s consumer behavior to make that all-important purchase.
Time-limited deals
One of the most effective motivators for consumers is if they know that have a limited time window in which to claim an offer. So the typical promotion of this kind would be to offer a percentage discount on all purchases made before a certain date and time. The one danger for retailers running this kind of promotion is if they use it too often. Very quickly consumers begin to realise that the same offer will be along again soon.
Added extras
The second type sees a purchase being accompanied by another related object. So, for example, anyone buying a set of tools online might also be offered a free tool belt to go with them. Or it could be a light fitting that also comes with a number of free light bulbs. Both of these offers give the reassurance that the consumer is getting a valuable extra. The online casino sector has gone in a slightly different direction with this. Operators generally offer a welcome gift for players looking to claim an online casino bonus in Canada and each type of bonus comes with its own perks, these might be a set amount of free stake money or a certain number of free spins on a slots game. There are countless variations – and all prove to be very popular
BOGOF
For the uninitiated, this is the acronym for “Buy one, get one free”. Although not appropriate for all sales, it can be a very effective incentive in the fmcg sector where consumers are likely to need more than a single item such as food and drink, cleaning items and other consumables.
The Importance of Discount Codes
One of the most important aspects in all of these kinds of offers is the use of a specific discount code to claim them. This allows advertisers to trace the sale back to its source. In some situations they may also want to test one presentation of an offer against another to see which is the most effective. By applying a code to each variant it becomes easy to analyse the results.
The first and most obvious motivator that persuades Canada’s consumer behavior to claim an offer is to save money. The second is a little more subtle. It gives a feeling that they are in a privileged position to be able to make this saving. This, in turn, makes them feel more positive about the brand as a whole.
Looking to the future, the use of AI is set to make these kinds of promotions even more successful thanks to even more precise targeting using the data that companies have collected about various customer profiles. So, instead of wondering which half of a marketing budget is being wasted, advertisers will soon be able to make everything accountable right down to the individual cent.
And who knows what John Wanamaker would have to say about that?
