We sat down with leaders at Compass Marketing to review the successes of 2021 and the anticipated trends for 2022. We want to extend a special thanks to Keeley Smith, Graphic Designer, for illustrating this blog post. To our clients, thank you for spending 2021 with us and we look forward to partnering with you again in 2022!
This year, Compass Marketing welcomed back Todd Mitchell as our new CEO. Todd previously served as an advisor to our company. We sat down with him to talk about future of Compass Marketing as well as trends in our industry.
WELCOME BACK! WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AFTER REJOINING COMPASS MARKETING?
Todd Mitchell: “I’m very passionate about our digital expertise. Whether it is for digital retailers or brick and mortar retailers adapting to new consumer behaviors, I’m incredibly excited about the advancement we’ve made in expertise and tools over the past two years.”
CAN YOU SHARE SOME AREAS OF COMPASS MARKETING, INCLUDING OFFERINGS AND SERVICES OR EXPERTISE, THAT YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT GROWING IN 2022?
Company culture is Todd’s priority heading into the new year. He wants to ensure Compass Marketing employees are provided with “the tools and support to accelerate their personal and professional growth.”
TM: “Even in this very technologically advanced world, people still do business with people, and I think we have some of the industry’s best.”
ARE THERE ANY MARKETING TRENDS THAT YOU HAVE NOTICED RECENTLY THAT YOU FIND INTERESTING?
Todd thinks consumer behaviors have permanently shifted. The bulk of consumer purchases are made online, with the average number of online purchases rapidly increasing. Although retailers are seeing sales increase, he thinks they are preparing for less in-store traffic.
TM: “I think we are in one of those historical moments of seismic change… It’s an exciting time to be a part of shifts in behavior like this.”
IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR CLIENTS AS WE WRAP UP THE YEAR?
Todd is humbled by the relationships Compass Marketing has fostered with its clients over the years. Clients rely on the extensive learnings Compass Marketing has acquired as a 20-year-old startup to shorten the “learning cycle” in our fast-moving industry. Todd wants our clients to know we hear them, we are committed to them, and that we wake up every day to bring our very best.
TM: “Thank you for your partnership. Your tireless desire to grow faster only makes us better.”
We also sat down with other members of our leadership team. Jerry Cain, President & COO, discussed trends in Specialty Channels. Julia Flood, Managing Director of Digital & Creative, shared her thoughts on digital marketing. Maggie Stark, our Creative Director, spoke about new and ongoing trends in creative and design.
CAN YOU PROVIDE A BRIEF REVIEW OF TRENDS YOU NOTICED IN 2021?
JERRY CAIN, PRESIDENT & COO
“Convenience matters more than price. Retailers are capitalizing on consumers wanting to make fewer stops during their shopping trips by adding new categories to their assortment.”
JULIA FLOOD, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL & CREATIVE
With the desire for brands to “expand where customers can find them,” it’s resulted in a “push to ensure that content across these retailers is the best available. This includes a bigger push to syndicate lifestyle images, graphics that depict features and benefits, and product videos from the main selling platforms to smaller niche marketspaces… We do not anticipate [this trend] fading any time soon.”
MAGGIE STARK, CREATIVE DIRECTOR
“Since the pandemic, eCommerce has remained a key role in how consumers shop. People have become so used to shopping online that it’s become part of their normal routine, even as they return to in-store shopping.”
WHAT SPECIFIC WAYS HAS COMPASS MARKETING EXCELLED IN 2021?
The Specialty Channels has expanded the health and wellness categories by increasing assortments in the front end and queuing lines. Additionally, we “expanded our coverage and communication with our customers using technology and power brands.”
“In 2021, Compass Marketing made a tremendous effort to expand our services to meet the needs of our clients. One of the ways we’ve invested in our future is to build partnerships with best-in-class companies, [allowing us to] provide deeper analytics and services to our clients.”
“I think one aspect of our creative team is our ability to pivot and adapt. Recently this has been a huge advantage. The pandemic affected live trade shows and events: live events were canceled in the beginning and transitioned to hybrid models after that. We worked with clients to develop virtual trade show platforms and tools that can operate independently. We have also increased marketing efforts online with email campaigns, webinars, virtual meetings, and resources to keep up with current communications.”
“We will continue to leverage our powerful brands, channel expertise, and commitment to execution.”
Jerry CainPresident & COO
“I think there is one common challenge that all brands are facing right now – how do you cut through the noise and stand apart from the rest… Because of this, I think it’s even more critical to continue to innovate and look for new and interesting ways of communication.”
Maggie StarkCreative Director
“In 2021, Compass Marketing made a tremendous effort to expand our services to meet the needs of our clients. One of the ways we’ve invested in our future is to build partnerships with best-in-class companies, [allowing us to] provide deeper analytics and services to our clients.”
Julia FloodManaging Director of Digital & Creative
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HOW WILL WE CARRY THOSE SUCCESSES INTO 2022?
We will “continue to leverage our powerful brands, channel expertise, and commitment to execution.”
Compass Marketing’s knowledge of alternate channels will “play a big role in digital marketing 2022. More and more brands are interested in expanding into Last Mile Delivery (LMD) and subscription platforms—they need the fundamentals of set up, content, and advertising. We will provide these services across as many platforms as possible.”
“Something Compass Marketing has always believed is there is no one right way of doing things. Very rarely is an all or nothing approach the best one, and we are determined to work with our clients and customers as partners to figure out what the best solution is for the problem at hand… The problems themselves may change, and, in turn, the solutions—but how we work together to get there will not.”
ARE YOU NOTICING ANY INTERESTING TRENDS AS WE HEAD INTO 2022?
Leisure, not business, “travel is back” and “it’s all about health and wellness.”
“While Amazon and Walmart used to be the main platforms where sellers were allowed, now there are open marketplaces on Kroger.com and Lowes.com. This means there will be bigger competition on these sites, making advertising and best-in-class content more important than ever.”
“With the growth of eCommerce, and the transition to more virtual events and communications, everyone is competing in the same space with relatively equal playing field. Because of this, anything a brand can do to stand apart from the crowd and grab attention is key. This affects the type and quality of content brands put forward. Right now, the emphasis is on video and other interactive tools to make their brands excel like 360 Spin Images. At this point in time, if a brand’s content is not elite, it will fade to the background.”
HOW DO YOU SEE THESE TRENDS IMPACTING OUR CLIENTS OR THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS?
“Supply chain challenges can cause competitors to gain entry” and may result in costly fees and additional challenges for traditional category leaders.
“Social media marketing is a trend that isn’t going away, and it’s an area that we’re keeping a close eye on because of that… We’ll continue to invest in our team and partners to ensure that we can meet our clients with whatever they need in this space.”
“I think the one common challenge all brands are facing now is how to cut through the noise and stand apart from the rest. Because of this, it’s critical to continue to innovate how brands communicate. Right now video is pretty popular, but will soon become standard practice. We will always be looking for the new, bigger, better way to do things. The tactics may change, but the need will not.”
Contributors
TODD MITCHELL
Todd leads Compass Marketing’s efforts to help great brands accomplish great work from online to in-store.
JERRY CAIN
Jerry is an executive leader in the day-to-day of the organization with a focus on specialty channels.
JULIA FLOOD
Julia manages the digital and creative teams to ensure all clients receive platinum account service.
MAGGIE STARK
Maggie leads the creative services team to develop innovative solutions to help brands share their stories with consumers.
KIMBERLY REACH
Kimberly helps brands build relationships with consumers across platforms with authentic copy and strategic recommendations.
NICK BARCZAK
Nick has extensive experience crafting effective, sales-focused copy for a variety of CPG brands.
KEELEY SMITH
Keeley helps brands tell their stories through persuasive and engaging design.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP
Compass Marketing can help you discover opportunities for your brand. Our account managers and eCommerce experts use a holistic approach based on data and insights to help guide brands to success. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to info@compassmarketinginc.net! We are always happy to help and would love to learn more about you and your brand.
ABOUT COMPASS MARKETING
We are dedicated to making brands more valuable by combining the very best in insights and experiences with unmatched human interaction. Our team of sales, marketing, and digital experts is dedicated to growing our clients’ market share and building brand equity. We combine art and science—pairing the personal expertise of our team with proprietary technology—to help brands grow quickly and efficiently. As an Amazon Ads partner, we can help brands realize significant growth on one of the world’s largest eCommerce retailers.
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