Zenith’s Colleen Hotchkiss on how content and commerce will move even closer together

For Colleen Hotchkiss, the future of advertising lies in balance — between brand-building and performance, between creativity and data, and between content and commerce.

Hotchkiss — the president of growth practices at Zenith U.S. — sat down with The Current at Advertising Week New York in October, where she dished more on how she strives to help clients drive their business forward.

She also explains why she thinks the marketing funnel is dead, name-checks a brand that’s doing brand-building right and offers a prediction for advertising ahead of the new year.

What is your hot take or unpopular opinion on media?

We talk about and hear so much about the rise of retail media and e-commerce today, and I think there’s more opportunity to talk about brand-building and the balance between [awareness and performance]. It’s still critically important — and we do this across all of our clients — to really think holistically and end to end, and how that brand media and brand-building is feeding into the demand that we can capture in terms of sales, but equally assisting the long-term health of the brand.

So, as much chatter as there is about retail media and things like that, a little bit more focus on brand-building couldn’t be bad either.

What trends are you seeing in the brands experiencing growth? What are they doing right?

One of the key things [is adopting] that end-to-end mindset. Even if you’re not fully there or not fully organized to do so, start taking those baby steps. The consumers aren’t experiencing your brand any differently, whether or not it is coming from one budget or another. Marketers that are moving in this direction are likely to do better, [taking] an approach where creative, media, data, and other elements are integrated and work together seamlessly. This consolidation and collaboration are critical for success, and it’s in these areas that we’re seeing clients win.

Brands that are leaning into culture and key moments can help [them] resonate with a new audience, or can help resonate with an existing audience but in a different way. That can be about moment-based advertising, [tapping in to] trends that we’re seeing. But leaning into those cultural moments is something we’re seeing success with.

Is there an example of that?

One good example from a client of ours is how nostalgia is one of the trends in media today. When you look at what Cover Girl has recently done in terms of the creative that they brought back, [introducing] a new product but harkening back and using some of the original voiceover from the commercial when the brand first launched in the 1960s. You hear a male voice but it’s coming out of the fresh new faces of the female Cover Girls of today. That’s an interesting way where we’ve played into that nostalgia angle.

If you could make a prediction about the future of advertising, what would it be?

The reason we call them “growth practices” is because there are things that are growing in importance to our clients and driving their businesses forward. We’re going to continue to see influence from diverse communities that will impact the content we consume, the channels that we’re using. Clients and marketers are going to have to get smarter about resonating with those audiences and speaking to them in an authentic fashion. Influencers and creators are a great way to do that. And I’m eager to continue to figure out how we make more connected e-commerce experiences for everyone, because at the end of the day our jobs are to keep moving our clients’ businesses forward. If we’re not doing that, we’re not succeeding.

Do you see content and commerce continuing to move closer together?

I do. There are a variety of ways to think about it. If you’re thinking specifically within a retail media network or a retail media space, there’s obviously how our brands and products are showing up on the digital shelf. What does that look like and what is most appealing that is going to get a consumer to click to buy? Whether that’s videos or ratings and reviews, and things of that nature.

Then there’s the reality that everything is increasingly becoming shoppable, whether that’s a QR code in a TV commercial or a video spot to a shoppable branded integration environment that we’re starting to see with the interactive TV and video partners. So I absolutely see content and commerce coming closer together. Content is what is going to engage you and inspire you to make that purchase.

The marketing funnel is dead. Agree or disagree?

Agree. The journey’s just not linear like that anymore. Any occasion or opportunity that a consumer has with a brand is an opportunity to inspire and to make a sale. I’m not sitting just watching TV or just listening to a podcast. I’m multitasking and have multiple avenues. That’s a reality we have to accept and make sure we’re doing our best to break through knowing that’s what consumer experiences are.