Everything I Learned About Product Marketing, I Learned From Being In A Van Halen Tribute Band

By Pat Reinarts

I've been a frontman in cover bands since 1986.  These bands are ones you could find hacking away on a variety of music at your local VFW on any given Friday or Saturday.  I've dabbled in rock, funk, hip-hip, top 40, and against my personal preference...... country.  

In all fairness, there are many country acts I enjoy listening to.  My ITUNES playlists include songs from Johnny Cash, Toby Keith, Zac Brown, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson.  Alabama is a particular pontooning favorite.  However, there is one sub genre of country music that caused me to rethink my side hustle...."BRO COUNTRY".  I'm all for making a fool out of myself in front of a large crowd of anonymous people, but I had to draw the line at Luke Bryan.  Pride is not my greatest virtue, but I could no longer keep the act going.  I had enough!

Music has been a faithful companion of mine since birth.  Performing music has been a passion for decades.  I recently did some self reflecting and realized my days of commanding a stage were numbered.   If I was going to dedicate any more of my time towards gigging I needed to be true to myself.  I needed to launch a new band dedicated to the greatest American band in ROCK HISTORY and that band is THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN!  

Of course, launching a successful band is no different than launching a new product.  This is what I learned from being in the tribute band JUMP: The Music of Van Halen:

• Defining the Product. If you are not a fan of your own product, then walk away. I have a passion for all things Van Halen. My earliest memory is hearing the intro to "Running With The Devil '' turned up to 11 on my older brother's Panasonic, Hi-FI Stereo circa 1978. The recent untimely death of their lead guitarist, Edward Van Halen, has generated a halo effect driving more interest and nostalgia. The music world has come back to my favorite band and I want to be a part of paying them their rightful respects.

• Defining the Target Market. My first inclination was to target those that grew up and followed the heavy metal bands of the 80's. However, I've been amazed at the audience dynamics. It's not uncommon to see a teenager in attendence, along with most likely their parents (and grandparents!) listening to the soundtrack of their youth. That's when it hit me, it's not about THE MUSIC. People want to be entertained. If you want to save the world, go see a U2 cover band.

Which led me to, most importantly

• Defining the Brand Image . Van Halen has powerful music. As David Lee Roth once said, " If you need to lift anything heavy play some Van Halen". What I like most about the band however was unsurpassed entertainment value. The deep catalogue of hits, the areral tactics, the humor. No one before or no one sense can match it. JUMP must then try to replicate. When you come to see JUMP, you are not coming for the music alone. You are coming for the event. Come for the guitar solo, stay for the debauchery!

• Product Launch /Go To Market - COVID has put a halt to our promotional efforts. Venues have shut down. Only until recently has Minnesota lifted COVID restrictions. We are essentially re-starting the scheduling of performances and driving awareness. I'm constantly looking for unique ways to self promote. Our first gig is Wannigan Days in lovely St Croix Falls, WI.

If you're in town stop by, if not I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

https://fb.me/e/1trvMjRyw

On the Road Again

After a long 15 months of Zoom meetings, phone calls and virtual happy hours, Datonics is happy to be on the road again meeting partners in various corners of the U.S. The authenticity of the face-to-face meeting is hard to replicate over Zoom. There is also the added benefit of these types of encounters now representing something more than just an opportunity to build and strengthen business relationships.

The in-person business meeting now represents the comeback.

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, our team was able to experience and share in the excitement of in-person meetings. For some of our get-togethers, we dined at new restaurants and bars. Business is, can and should be fun.

When we first went into lockdown, we were predicting that going back to “normal” would seem un-normal. We would never shake hands again or hug! The hug was definitely not making a comeback.

Now that we are here, meeting etiquette has gone surprisingly unchanged. It’s a personal preference, but it seems a little over a year is not enough time to break habits. We are shaking hands, hugging, laughing, sitting close to one another, and fully taking in the opportunity to safely be together, in-person once again.

A New Family Dining Experience

By Abdul Pierre, Junior Marketing Coordinator

One of my fondest memories from the pandemic was my (virtual) family celebration. We are big food lovers, and when the pandemic Thanksgiving came around, we got creative in how we celebrated.

Around the Zoom table, we had family from around the country, from outside of the country, and also from the area. Some of my family members were less than an hour away. This was a pivotal moment for me during the pandemic – I hadn’t experienced the true scope of social distancing until then. Seeing my family who live so close to me and not being able to see them in person was difficult.

This is why my favorite part was the food exchange. Close family members arranged to come to houses to swap favorite dishes. It was like curbside pickup, but instead of paying for whatever you're picking up, it was an exchange of Haitian dishes. 

Even though I was worried that the picking up of food would have defeated the whole purpose of the Zoom call and social distancing, I was ensured that there were more precautions taken when cooking the food that was "ordered."

My family also surprised me at how tech savvy they became. There was a whole WhatsApp group chat designated just for sharing what food everyone was cooking. If someone was making a dish you wanted and you were making a dish they wanted, it was a done deal.

Pandemic Reflections and Opportunities

The pandemic thrust us into a new reality where we didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. We were operating on the hope that things would be better and were trying to hold back the fear that things would not improve. 

During this long period of uncertainty, I decided to lean into the unknown. I stayed in Israel and did not return to my native Italy because I felt safer from a medical and health point of view. This meant being away from my parents, who remained in my hometown. I was unable to see them for more than a year.

I decided to take advantage of this period to get to know myself more, practice new activities, and use my free time to learn and develop professionally.

I learned to cook, starting with simple dishes, continuing with my mom's recipes and professional Italian dishes. I brought the Italian food culture into my Israeli apartment. It brought me comfort and joy to be able to recreate a little bit of home in my new setting.

I also entered the working world, applying for various internships and jobs, while proceeding with my studies at university. I got the opportunity to work as an intern in two companies practicing and applying my field of studies in different positions. I was thrilled to take on a role at Datonics as an Operations Team Member, and begin my career.

I am grateful to have had this time and opportunity to experience it in the way that I did. The skills I have acquired will carry me through the rest of my life. I learned about resilience and that I can count on myself to get by in difficult times. I discovered so much about myself and my values.

In addition to the experiences we have had, there are also the feelings we will keep forever. For example, seeing my family in person after a year was incredible. As well as the feeling of going back to study at university in person, and going to the office to meet my colleagues.

This year has cemented the things that are most important: health, family, personal freedom, and work security.

What I've Learned From Taking up Skiing at 24 Years Old

My love of sports has taught me a lot throughout life; how to win graciously, how to work with others, and most importantly, how to fail upwards.There has never been a sport that I didn't quickly get the hang of. Growing up, I swam, skateboarded, danced, coached tennis, and was the captain of my high school's soccer, basketball, and softball teams. And while I didn't have the access or the funds to go skiing, it had always piqued my interest.

At the start of April, I traveled to Lake Tahoe to go skiing for a friend's birthday. The group's skiing abilities ranged — one friend, a current ski instructor in Sun Valley, Idaho, had spent her winter teaching kids 3-8 how to ski and bombing down backcountry trails in her free time and the rest of the group comfortable skiing blue runs. Only ever having skied once before, I spent the days before watching how-to YouTube videos and practicing shifting my weight while in "pizza" .

I spent the majority of the day on the bunny hill, practicing my turns in solitude, aware that I was not yet ready to join my friends on their runs. After lunch, I had built up enough confidence to try my first green. At the top of the mountain, I quickly realized that I was in over my head. The next hour was a blur of fear, fatigue, and frustration — finishing in tears. I came off the slopes ready for a beer and thankful I no longer had to be pizza'ing.

When I returned home, I jotted down lessons I head learnt during my day on the slopes. Some specific to skiing and others applicable to life and business:

• Take risks and be less scared. The bad outcome is usually not nearly as bad as you envision.

• Focus on one turn at a time, don't get distracted by skiers and snowboards flying downhill from behind you.
  

• Practice patience and trust your gut.

• Your skis will go where you look.

• If things get out of control, sit down and breathe.

My ski "vacation" was a nice reminder that if I'm not falling, I'm not learning. I'm excited to get back up there and keep working to get better.

Moneyball Everywhere

In the iconic movie Moneyball, data is used to source the best players for an underfunded baseball team. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the Moneyball concept could be applied to all aspects of life – where we use data to uncover the most efficient and effective opportunities.

It’s already happening, and there is so much more to uncover and apply.

We have seen data become a driving force in navigating the pandemic. Through case numbers, testing, hospitalization figures, deaths, vaccination numbers, and so much more, the world has been tracking the spread of the disease and creating policies based on the numbers to help people stay alive.

The pandemic is a big, global phenomenon, and the world has come together in ways we have never seen before to create solutions. The global data exchange is a fantastic case study to demonstrate the power of data.

Another challenge the globe faces is climate change. Environmental Protection is already benefitting from Big Data through networks of sensors that monitor air pollution, animal migration patterns, and energy and water use. The information collected is analyzed and systems are put into place to improve outcomes and create sustainable long-term solutions.

Data is also extremely beneficial on a local and personal scale.

Data can help us to keep energy costs down through tools that track energy consumption around our home through smart home technology. Data also allows us to experience safer car travel through tools that incentivize safe driving in smart cars.

And as we saw in Moneyball, data also can lead to financial gain.

Working Amidst Turmoil

The Datonics R&D team in Israel is living and working through the current conflict. Below are accounts of individual experiences across our team.

Adi Pinhasi, CTO

Although I live in the north part of Israel, where rockets don't get to, I strongly feel the effect of recent events taking place in Israel and the Gaza strip. Last night on our way back from Ikea shopping, an earthly common task, we had to avoid a road blocked by protestors to reach home safely. 

Our company's Whatsapp group looks like this:

[22:00, 5/11/2021] are you ok there? Do you have a safe room?
[22:00, 5/11/2021] Tomorrow we all stay home. Working from home
[22:19, 5/11/2021] Yes all good, thank you! My room is a shelter :)
[22:21, 5/11/2021] Thank god. Stay safe. Hope for a quite night

Children stayed home with their parents today as schools were cancelled across a large part of the country. Then on the next international call, it's all business as usual...

Some overseas partners have reached out with well-wishes and we highly appreciate that.

To be perfectly honest, work is also a blessed distraction, a healthy escapism from the harsh reality.

We all hope that reason and hope soon return to our region. May the high-tech industry help bring a better life and more opportunities to all of the people in our region.

Yulia Fishelzon, Operations Manager

Second night spent in the shelter room.

Last night at 2 am the rocket hit a mile from my building.

I couldn't sleep so took a live picture from my balcony:

Ira Estrin, Classification and Operations

I live in an old building in Ramat Gan. We don't have a shelter nearby, so every time there's an alarm we run out to the stairway, which is supposed to be the safest place in the building.

We sit there and wait for the alarm to be over and to hear the explosions of the missiles being intercepted. Not fun, to say the least.

On a happier note, it's a good opportunity to catch up with neighbors and share a few laughs in these uncertain times.

Datonics Eats Its Own Dog Food

At Datonics, we believe in eating our own dog food. In practicing what we preach. We believe that to truly serve the needs of our customers, we need to put ourselves in their shoes, try to replicate their projects, experience their challenges and successes, and iterate on our offering to make it better.

It’s the same principles that guided Shopify’s success from snowboard shop to one of the world’s biggest e-commerce platforms. Shopify. At Shopify, employees are encouraged to run their own stores so that they can better understand Shopify’s products and the merchant experience. Shopify employees, including their CEO, are constantly testing the platform through their own side businesses, enabling them to collect first-hand feedback and improve the product in a broader sense.

In an effort to better understand the merchant, we are introducing the Datonics Shopify Store. After all, understanding your users is what Audience Insights is all about.

We launched Audience Insights to help Shopify merchants to learn more about their customers and create better experiences for them. Audience Insights enables merchants to learn what customers buy, what motivates them, what makes them tick, and what inspires them and to gain comprehensive insight into the makeup of audiences across interests, behaviors, shopping preferences, age, gender, family, hobbies, income, education, occupation, political interest, and more. With that information, they can tailor product catalogs, styles and themes, copy, marketing efforts, and ad campaigns to be more relevant and inviting to shoppers and then monitor the impact of targeted campaigns, allocate media spend, and take action via Datonics' comprehensive datasets.

In the Datonics Shopify Store, customers can:

·         Schedule a lunch & learn from a premium assortment of local New York City establishments, or pick their own favorites through Grubhub, Seamless and Uber Eats

·         Coming Soon:

o   Nike Air Force 1’s

o   Datonics’ THC Cookies

o   Datonics branded Yeti

o   Programmatic industry conference tickets – paid for by Datonics

o   Datonics decals

o   Datonics branded journal

In The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, Alan Cooper writes about the issues that arise when the technologists who make the decisions about how technical products are created are out of touch with the end users of these products. Through the Datonics Shopify Store, we are not only able to offer exclusive Datonics experiences and products but, more importantly, we are able to learn who merchants are, what they need, how they work, so that we can design effectively for them.

Staying Fit and Healthy While Working from Home

Did you know that sitting in a chair all day can have similar effects on your organs as smoking?

Working from home has led some people to neglect their healthy habits like abandoning their daily exercise or giving up healthy eating. If you got your daily exercise at the gym or from walking in the City, you probably aren’t doing much of that anymore.

Rob Klein from our New York office is working hard to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally, while working from home. Without commuting daily, Rob is missing out on his daily walks to and from public transportation which also included several trips up and down the city subway’s stairs. And don't forget running to the subway and prying the doors open to avoid waiting for the next train!

Fortunately, Rob has come up with several quick and easy tips to improve physical and mental health while balancing Zoom meetings.

To begin, Rob suggests stepping away from your desk and heading outside for a walk. Walking

outside for ten minutes at least three times a day improves your heart health and also provides an opportunity to get fresh air and rest your eyes from the harsh blue light that radiates from your

screen.

To make walking less of an option, Rob recommends adopting a dog. There has been a surge in animal adoption during the pandemic, and for good reason! Animals serve as excellent emotional support and force us to get the physical activity we need.

If you are able to self-motivate, it’s best to get your exercise in in the morning, before the workday picks up. Rob likes to go on a 30 min run to get him energized for the day.

Rob also recommends taking a fifteen-minute mental break at least once a day. Meditating with an app like Headspace or Calm can have tremendous benefits, and there are also other free options online.

Finally, it is critical to keep personal relationships strong. Make time each day to connect with family or friends, even if it’s just over text or email.

Seizing Opportunity - Transitioning to a Dream Role

Over the past year, many of us have made various changes to our lives, and some of these have been positive. At Datonics, we have spent more time with families and outdoors, and have used lockdown periods to work from anywhere and explore interests.

For Director William Li, the pandemic has offered an opportunity to become more involved with a professional passion area: marketing. Through the support of the team, William has been able to transition to his dream role.

The pivot away from events has contributed to this shift. William has been able to tap into his creative side and infuse this with the work he has been doing. Together with the team, William has been able to lead multiple initiatives focused on charitable causes to engage the digital advertising community.

The opportunity to grow and develop professionally in a somewhat nonlinear path is important. Few know from the onset of their career where they want to end up. After being in the workforce for a few years, people begin to form their idea of who they want to be, and it’s rewarding to be part of a company and team that can help to support these visions once they’re formed.

A Newfound Appreciation of Nature

The pandemic has simultaneously increased our screen time and given us more time to spend outside. This has been a big benefit to Donna Fintzi, our resident digital nomad, who has been taking advantage of the ability to travel and explore the outdoors over the last year. The ability to work-from-anywhere has not only piqued her sense of adventure and love of travel but has made her life and work more purposeful.

Donna has particularly enjoyed the anticipation that comes from planning her travels. She looks forward to the opportunity to unplug from her screens at the end of the week to hike, camp, or ski in new part of the country. Her travels span the West Coast, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. Donna has been finding month-long stays and driving from place to place — carefully following state and local guidelines to protect herself and others during her travels.

Donna has been able to hike several national parks during her time outdoors. She has spent time in Glacier National Park in Montana as well as the Zion, Bryce, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. She has also hiked in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho and various trails in Sedona, Arizona. Donna has also spent time camping and hiking in White Sands in New Mexico and Joshua Tree in California as well as skiing in Snoqualmie, Washington.

The time outdoors has been a highlight of Donna’s pandemic year as it allowed for her to grow personally and gain a newfound appreciation for nature. She was also able to see new parts of the country that she might have had to wait longer to see had we been in normal times.

Transitioning from Art to Data

Gilad Grinberg started his career working as an artist. More recently, he has become a talented programmer. He has often reflected on how his two career paths, while seemingly very different, converge and appeal to similar personal motivators. . 

Grinberg began learning to program so that he would be able to create both visual and interactive art. Some of his programming has also ended up being used for electronics and games. 

As his work progressed, his interest in programming deepened. He moved away from being interested in coding as a tool to accomplish other projects and learned to admire it as an individual skill set. He finds beauty in the code, and in the things it can produce. Grinberg has transitioned from visual-oriented programming and frontend to backend coding. He has become proficient in a number of programming languages like Java, C#, Arduino and more, as well as theories and tools.

The combination of his programming and art skills have brought forth an amazing and unusual career journey.

Benefits of a Flexible Work Environment

One bright side of the pandemic is that employees now have a lot of flexibility in where they call their office. Yes, many were rushed into quickly turning a corner of their bedroom or living room into a home office but a year later, many have taken advantage of the remote concept and have brought the office to varying destinations, both domestic and international.

William Li is no stranger to working remotely. He had a stint in 2016 when he lived in Peru and worked for Datonics. Will enjoys the experience of being able to work remotely as he did not have the funds nor the opportunities to do so when he was younger.

During the pandemic, Will temporarily relocated to Cartagena, Colombia working remotely and found that he was able to have a more active work life rather than being deskbound. He found that he was able to better his Spanish speaking skills, which goes to show that allowing employees to work remotely offers personal development opportunities. This could be in terms of lifestyle, developing hobbies, and more. Remote work also allows employees to have more flexibility in their schedule, which have been shown to positively impact mental health and productivity.

In addition to the benefits for employees, employers also derive value from remote work, and many are factoring these in when considering a continuation post-pandemic. Two of the biggest benefits are cost savings from reduced office space and the ability to hire talent nationally and globally.

With the pandemic thrusting most businesses into a remote work environment, management processes have adopted to this new normal. Previously, many would have questioned how they can collaborate, manage and motivate employees under such circumstances. This unknown prohibited businesses from giving employees the ability to work from anywhere. Now, with new management processes in place, the transition to permanent flexible working is possible.

Trust remains a critical factor for both employees and employers to create an optimal, mutually beneficial relationship.

Keeping up with Cultural Activities Amidst the Pandemic

One of the most popular tips given to employees in the beginning of the pandemic was to keep up mental wellness by finding opportunities to disconnect and unwind. For those who enjoy museums, theater, cinema and concerts, the only option was to attend these cultural events virtually.

Gilad Grinberg has been attending cultural events virtually through Zoom. Pre-pandemic, he enjoyed events like these to unwind after a busy week at work. Gilad has found that the experience of attending a museum virtually does not compare to the in-person experience. Sitting in front of the screen to enjoy these activities strains his body and eyes, which takes away from the relaxation factor. He misses hearing out on other viewers' commentary and being able to fully examine exhibits rather than scrolling through or viewing artwork from someone else's point of view through a video. Gilad looks forward to the day where he and other art lovers will be able to return to their respective scenes and be able to enjoy the company of others as they admire the content.

Online exhibitions are becoming increasingly popular as museums are hosting virtual tours through Google Art. Although this takes away from the experience, it makes museums and performances across the globe more accessible. This has been rewarding for Gilad, who has experienced events that would otherwise require travelling to view.

Reflections on Remote Learning

It’s been nearly a year since schools have closed for in-person learning. The transition from in-person learning to remote has been hard on students, parents and teachers across the globe. Senior Data Analyst Asaf Rosenthal, from our Israel office, has experienced the struggles of being a parent, working to educate his children from home during the pandemic.

Asaf has found that one of the biggest challenges with remote learning is keeping the student tuned in. Does the responsibility of keeping the child engaged fall on the parents or the teachers? Many parents struggle to find the time to provide their children with the appropriate amount of attention to ensure that their students are working to the best of their abilities. Something else parents struggle with is motivating children to focus on schoolwork in a virtual setting. For educators, it is difficult because they do not have the opportunity to connect with their students in person.

Another challenge for Asaf is being able to accommodate learning in a way that works best for his children. Differential learning allows for parents and children to come up with creative ways tailored to the child’s learning style. Asaf discovered that his children maximize their abilities when they have a set schedule over which they have a degree of control. They know what to expect while also feeling that they have a bit of freedom. This is something a traditional school environment cannot offer.

Flexibility and Remote Work Helps with Work/life Balance Needs

Yulia Fishelzon joined the Datonics team during the pandemic. Like many, she has found it challenging throughout her career to juggle work and family needs. Thanks to the ability to work remotely and have flexible hours, Yulia has felt that Datonics offers her a great opportunity to lead a career while still participating in key moments with her family, while also meeting needs for her family.

After a decade working as a Business Analyst and Project Manager at Customer sites, Yulia is delighted to lead Datonics’ Operation team. She loves to collaborate with R&D and Product teams. She enjoys this environment where she is able to problem-solve and contribute to the success of the company and her colleagues.

Mastering Cooking During Quarantine

Like many, Donna Fintzi has picked up a new quarantine hobby -- cooking. Quarantine has provided many with the opportunity to master new skills whether something crafty, exercise related or working in the kitchen. The obvious benefits of picking up cooking include eating something delicious, and Donna also loves the opportunity to better understand others, their cuisine and culture. Mastering cooking helps to alleviate some of the pandemic-induced anxieties through small moments of diversion, challenge, creativity, and reward.

Donna usually aims to try two or three new recipes a week and works to follow the recipe as closely as possible. She  embraces her creative side and sometimes modifies ingredients used. Donna also makes sure to apply new techniques she has learned to better her cooking.

Donna thinks about her mother cooking as she grew up and attempts some of her mother’s skills and recipes as well. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, Donna cannot share her meals with her family, but she has found cooking to be a source of connection with her mother. She regularly shares recipes and discusses successes and failures over FaceTime. This is also an opportunity for Donna to pick up more tips and tricks to use in the kitchen. She looks forward to the day when she will be able to share these meals with her mother and the rest of her family in person.

Zoom vs In-person – One Year Later

After working in a purely remote environment for almost a full year, Rob Klein, VP, Data Solutions, shares his thoughts on the pros and cons of virtual meetings compared to in-person.

Pros: Virtual meetings are much easier to schedule. People have much more flexibility, and meeting etiquette has been relaxed with everyone at home. Think pajama pants and a blazer! Beyond what the camera shows, we also get a glimpse into people’s personal lives, which isn’t something everyone necessarily talks about at work. We see family members strutting by, trying their best not to be seen. We hear the dog barking in the background. We see the occasional child popping in to say hello.

With greater flexibility also comes fewer cancellations of meetings. Take the recent winter storms, for example. For those of us in the North East where the infrastructure can handle cold weather and storms, work life has been relatively uninterrupted, whereas it would have been severely hampered during pre-COVID times.

Cons: The most apparent are technical issues, which we routinely joke about on almost every call. The biggest loss from the lack of in-person interactions is of course the difficulty of building relationships. It is possible to connect via the screen, but some don’t turn on their camera. It’s also much harder to keep people engaged when they have their email, Slack and other distractions on display while on the line.

Building relationships is critical to business growth and development. Meeting people over lunch, dinner and drinks lead to stronger connections. Once the relationship is established, the efficiency of virtual meetings is fully realized.

Work From Anywhere – Israel During Lockdown

Eleven months into the pandemic and people in most parts of the world are still working from home, including our very own Ira Estrin, who is in Israel. She and her family have transformed parts of their home into spaces suitable for work and study. The transition from working in an office or academic space to working from home has brought the family closer together and has given them more opportunities to connect, as there is more flexibility and free time in everyone’s schedules.  Because Ira works frequently with Datonics teams in North America and is very hands-on with ensuring that advertisers receive the custom segments and data plans that they need, she is a “night owl” and her teammates are always amazed at how she gets it all done!

Although the increase in family time has been wonderful, Ira often thinks of the day she will be able to return to the office and other pre-COVID activities. Returning to the bakery, the gym, hanging out after work with co-workers, the list goes on. She is optimistic that the day will come soon as Israel has recently ended its third lockdown and the COVID vaccine is being issued throughout the country.

Israel is currently leading in vaccinations as 35% of the country has already received the first dose and 27% have received both doses, resulting in a 94% drop in symptomatic COVID cases. Even though they are producing good results so far, Israel has not been very successful with exit strategy plans with the first two lockdowns. In the last two exits, people have rushed to reopen and return to pre-pandemic life quickly, which has raised the case count.

Now that the vaccine is here and widely available, the people of Israel may be able to return to normal very, very soon meaning Ira will be back to life as she remembers.

Love Lockdown: Navigating Valentine's Day 2021

Kanye West begins his 2008 hit Love Lockdown, 

“I’m not loving you, way I wanted to…”.

Today, as Valentine’s Day 2021 nears, Kanye’s message rings true as consumers are forced to navigate the holiday of love within their own lockdowns. With rising COVID-19 cases and continued restrictions on indoor dining across the country, consumers are reimaging how to celebrate and spread love from a safe social distance. 

For over a decade, The National Retail Federation has surveyed consumers about how they plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Let’s take a look at how the pandemic has altered this year’s Valentine’s day celebration and how Datonics can help marketers and brands manage these shifts:

• Love Lost? Nope. — More than half of U.S. adults (52%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, spending a total of $21.8 billion. That’s slightly lower than last year (55%) but not as big of a difference as many expected given the circumstances, showing that people are looking for any opportunity, or excuse, to bring a little extra joy into their lives, or even just to mix up the routine.

• Buying for the Bubble— It’s not all about romance. Consumers are embracing broader connections and planning to spend an average of $164 on their loved ones including family members, friends, children’s classmates/teachers, co-workers, and even pets. 27% of consumers say they will buy Valentine’s gifts for their pets.

• Dining In, Baby — Plans for an evening out fell from 34% to 24%, the lowest in survey history, translating to $1.5 billion less in spending on an evening out this year. However, 41% are planning to put their quarantine cooking skills to the test and whip up a special dinner at home.

• The Drought — Compared to last year, those between the ages of 18 and 24 are significantly less likely to be celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s not just that they are passing on a romantic night out; they are also less likely to be planning get-togethers with friends or treating themselves to something special — activities that, in a typical year, are popular even among younger, single consumers.

• E-commerce. E-commerce. E-commerce. — Purchasing trends are on par with how consumers have been buying gifts since COVID-19 hit. About 39% of lovesick shoppers say they’re planning to buy their Valentine’s gifts online this year, the highest in survey history.

• Spending by Age— Ages 18-24 plan to spend an average of $184. Ages 25-34 tend to have higher incomes and children to buy for and expect to spend $240. Ages 35-44 are the biggest spenders at $264.

• Spending by Gender— As in each year of the survey, men plan to spend more than women at $231 vs. $101.

Valentine’s Day success for your brand requires creativity in marketing, increased personalization, and accurate targeting. As always, Datonics is here to help:

1. Use Datonics Audience Insights to learn more about your audience’s interests, hobbies, demographics, and what gifts and product options are likely to be the most meaningful to them on Valentine’s Day. You might find that your products work surprisingly well for a niche market for Valentine's Day.

2. Reach the right people. Activate Datonics data and target those who are spending the most this year according to gender, age, relationship status, parental status, location, and even pet ownership. Connect with us and learn more about our data.