The pandemic drove radical changes in consumer behavior, upending models for not just e-commerce, but for commerce in general. Dentsu’s President and Chief Strategist Jon Reily is a 25-year commerce veteran and serial entrepreneur. He’s done two tours at Amazon with leadership roles at both the Bookstore and Consumer Electronics, and has advised hundreds of F500 companies on commerce strategy. Jon is joined in this Virtual Roundtable by RealEats CMO Richard Leslie, who brings on-the-ground insights and innovative approaches to navigating in these challenging times. 

The disruption of the tsunami that is the pandemic is exacerbated by the seismic iOS 14.5 shift and the algorithm changes, attribution changes, and CPA fluctuations it triggered. And we know even more consumer privacy driven aftershocks are coming. It’s harder than ever to see around corners, predict consumer behavior, and make reasonable forecasts. This Virtual Roundtable explores how brands are adapting to the radically evolving customer value exchange by diversifying their channel strategies and exploring new models to stay connected to their always-on customer in this ever-changing market.

Questions Answered

• What are the top upsides, downsides, and dependencies you should track when thinking through direct-to-consumer, third party marketplaces, and creating a marketplace of your own? Which models are best for which scenarios?
• In a world where half of consumer product searches start in Amazon’s product search toolbar, what are best practices to implement and pitfalls to avoid when it comes to participating in the markets of behemoths?
• How is scenario planning helping marketers find shortcuts to conversion in customer journeys that are more tangled than ever?
• What are flags any organization considering building their own marketplace should be looking for?
• As third party marketplaces are disintermediating the direct relationships with customers, how do marketers protect brand trust with such forces continually threatening to erode it?