Amid digital marketing changes, Ibotta turns to brand-building efforts

Ibotta is turning to in-person activations to capture shopper attention. This includes launching an augmented reality experience and interactive art installations in cities like New York City, Chicago, and Denver, as well as a TikTok-led influencer activation for nationwide reach.

Marketers like Ibotta are retooling their marketing mix due to challenges like Google’s phase-out of the third-party cookie and the saturation of advertisers in the digital landscape. They are focusing more on brand-building channels rather than solely on performance marketing to better reach and engage with their audience.

Experiential marketing involves creating immersive, in-person experiences to engage consumers and create memorable brand interactions. Brands like Parachute Home, Halara, and Orangetheory Fitness have significantly increased their investment in experiential marketing, launching campaigns and events to build their brand presence.

According to an eMarketer report, 36% of marketers plan to increase their investment in brand marketing this year. However, 40% plan to increase their performance marketing investments, which is a decrease from 46% last year. This indicates a growing interest in brand marketing but not at the complete expense of performance marketing.

Ibotta is balancing its marketing mix by not walking away from performance marketing but integrating it with branding efforts. The company is focused on tracking performance metrics while also expanding the reach and impact of the brand to maintain customer attention across various media platforms.