Strategies for Connecting with Consumers in a Fragmented Media Landscape

This article was created in partnership with Nielsen

Instead of preying on consumers and their fragmented viewing habits, marketers must adapt how they measure, target and capture audiences as the lines blur between platforms.

During a live panel discussion at Adweek House at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, presented in partnership with Nielsen, industry leaders shared strategies for doing just that and connecting with consumers whose media models are more difficult than ever to pin down.

“We’re trying to take what we do to another level with more advanced audience data,” said Alison Gensheimer, head of global marketing at Nielsen. “It goes beyond basic information like age and gender, but also things like race and ethnicity, so you can see the audiences that matter. The era we are entering will allow us to find the audiences you care about most, across all platforms.

While demographics once influenced media buying decisions, behavior has become a key part of understanding what motivates audiences, said Aulden Kaye, head of advertising partnerships for streaming service Philo.

“The old benchmark was demographics: ‘Who is my main customer, what is their personality? “And I will go to where these people are,” he said. “But that requires not only being very nuanced about the demographics, but also about the behavioral data that divides those demographics into different segments. And you also need a good understanding of past purchasing performance. How does flow and behavior change?

But the emphasis on data shouldn’t come at the expense of creativity, said Laura Simpson, chief intelligence officer and president of McCann Worldgroup Truth Central.

“How can we better bridge the gap between the needs of creative audiences and media audiences? » she asked the audience. “We use the word ‘precision,’ but we should also talk about ‘possibilities.’ Are we creating the right data stack that gives us a deeply human view of our audience? Because creatively, it’s not just about knowing where people are, but also knowing who they are on a human level. And when we understand this, how do we inspire creativity? Audience insights may seem obvious and based on demographics. But creative strategists tell me they want “weird.” This is what will inspire the creative idea. And that gets lost in translation between the two parties.”

Deeper connections with consumers will come from the alchemy of data, technology and creativity, agreed Emily Kennedy, vice president and head of partnerships at dentsu Media US.

“We have to keep the consumer in mind. What resonates in the content they consume that won’t be what they consume in six months? With these massive amounts of data, we can predict that everyone will watch the Super Bowl. But what is the one thing we cannot anticipate and need to capitalize on in a different way? she told the assembly.

“How do we bring all these things together? How can we better use data, trends and cultural moments to truly connect more deeply with consumers? If we continue to divide things into buckets, we lose sight of what resonates with consumers and the actions our brands expect from them,” Kennedy said. “The danger is that if we start to devalue creativity in the long term, we lose something truly magical, which is the connection with consumers.”