At 80 million strong, millennials comprise $600 billion of consumer spending per year, which represents a little less than one-third of all daily per person consumer spending. By 2030, the generation is projected to own 35%.

These days, the creativity and strategy behind mobile marketing tactics knows no bounds. Consumers are being targeted with increasing accuracy and effectiveness, and in turn, are embracing brands that effortlessly offer support.

With Mother’s Day quickly approaching, it’s no wonder gift-givers across the U.S. have already made purchase decisions for the special women in their life. Overall, Americans plan to shell out a staggering $23.6B for Mom, an increase of $2.2B since 2016. On a per person basis, the average expected spend this year is $186.39, another increase (of about $14) from 2016.

Much like an actual person, a brand persona is crafted to exude human characteristics that mirror those of the brand’s target audience. In doing so, consumers are more willing and interested in connecting with a brand that speaks their language, and resonates with who they are. By developing a genuine and relatable brand persona, companies, in turn, are better able to produce everything from messaging to content that will effectively speak to their consumers.

Competing with a household brand name is a common challenge for smaller companies in a similar product category. In the past, consumers have often opted for brand name's they're familiar with despite the availability of better options.  Yet today, we are starting to see a shift in this long-standing trend. Many of today’s consumers have transformed into SuperShoppers, a new breed of savvy mobile users who are open to new brands and products. These shoppers are hungry for information and they're on the quest for the best, not necessarily the cheapest or most recognizable name. This shift is important when considering your marketing strategy, particularly when planning for the upcoming holidays and your approach for 2017.  

We all know that most US internet users rely on reviews when deciding to purchase a product. But how important is a good review? For services like Amazon, a slight difference in star-rating has a significant impact on whether a customer buys your brand’s product or decides to shift to a competitor with more positive reviews. For brands selling on Amazon or other online retail channels, it’s crucial that you look at consumer reviews to understand potential barriers that may stand in the way of a successful communications program.  

Wearable fitness trackers are not only growing in popularity among fitness enthusiasts and competitive athletes, seniors are also beginning to use these devices as a means to monitor their general health, with 48% stating they are willing to use wearables.  

Today's moms still control most of the family's purchases. This makes it essential that we understand how they are discovering, researching and ultimately purchasing products. A recent Google study explored how Moms are using YouTube before and during the purchasing process and the different behaviors they exhibit when shopping for themselves, their kids or their household. For companies with Moms as a target audience, YouTube is an essential channel in your marketing mix. The key is developing the right content based on what we know of our target's behavior on this channel.