New Yorkers are known for being tough. But weather events from the past year alone—Air Quality Index hitting 480+ (hazardous) due to the Canadian wildfire smoke in June, the hottest July on record and Tropical Storm Ophelia dumping 8 inches of rain in less than 24 hours in September—have tested the strength of even the most resilient gothamite.
But New York isn’t unique in this arena—and neither is the rest of the U.S. In 2023 alone, Cyclone Freddy broke records in the Southern Hemisphere, torrential rains inundated Japan, China, South Korea, and India resulting in fatal landslides, and countries all over Europe experienced devastating heat waves.
Weather is the original influencer
Weather is growing more volatile and intense. The most severe impact is often felt on the human level: A record 32.6 million people were displaced by weather-related disasters in 2022. The ripple effects extend across businesses and infrastructure as well, with 2023 seeing the highest incidence of billion-dollar weather events since measurement began in 1980.
Clearly, weather influences every aspect and decision of people’s lives, both big and small. It impacts how they live, how they stay safe, how they feel, what they try and what they buy. And marketers need to pay attention. As consumer sentiment shifts and brands are called to deliver tangible value rather than relying on loyalty to retain market share, those who tap into weather’s immense impact on consumer behavior, purchasing and emotion will prevail.
The winds of change upending ad tech
Much like the physical climate, the advertising ecosystem is facing accelerative winds of change that are increasingly disruptive to the status quo. 2024 is almost here and the cookie is forecasted to finally crumble. Consumers want privacy, but also demand personalization. And the regulatory landscape is more stringent than ever.
Despite these changes, CMOs are still being called on to deliver against the bottom line. Marketing leaders are looked at across the organization as change agents in leveraging real-time consumer data and marketing insights to drive cross-functional impact.
In light of this growing pressure, brands and agencies need a safe, reliable and performant way to operate digital marketing campaigns while allowing personalization and privacy to coexist.
Enter: weather. This privacy-forward, contextual, scaled signal creates a unique competitive advantage for marketers because of its proven impact on consumer behavior and purchasing. Combined with AI, it can put marketers back in the driver’s seat by delivering predictive insights that power more relevant and precise campaigns—without relying on cookies.
Every marketer needs a weather strategy
This starts with understanding weather’s nuanced, pervasive impact on consumer behavior and emotion. But it doesn’t end there. Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, marketing leaders must heed three truths to stay competitive:
Unexpected weather will shape consumer connections: The weather is growing more erratic every day. Not only can marketers anticipate greater volatility, but they also can no longer rely on the seasonal norms that have historically guided promotion cycles. In 2024, there is a strong El Nino phase that will take hold throughout the winter, shifting away from the La Nina phase that has been present for the last two and a half years. This typically drives “upside down” weather patterns in the U.S.—warmer in the north, and colder, wetter conditions in the south—meaning that marketers will need to shift messaging and media spend to reach consumers in purchasing mindsets.
Data collaboration will amplify impact: Weather data is a critical signal in the cookieless future, but certainly not the only one at marketers’ fingertips. As brands look to reach engaged audiences in the new paradigm, they need to look beyond just ad-tech providers to publishers who are prepared to support an emerging set of needs at scale. From rich storytelling, first-party contextual content and highly specific audience segments that help increase messaging relevance, to data clean rooms that enable brands to combine their own data with other sources (like weather) in privacy-forward ways, marketers must lean into new opportunities with publishers who truly understand the landscape and are evolving their offerings in tandem.
Weather intelligence will extend marketing’s influence: As more marketing organizations adopt weather strategies and prove their value, the rest of the organization will take notice. Innovative marketers will capitalize on weather’s proven impact on consumer behavior and purchasing to generate weather intelligence that can be used across business unit needs, from the CIO to the CTO, to determine demand forecasting, supply chain optimization, product innovation and more.
2024 will be a transformative year for the media and marketing industry—that much is clear. At this inflection point, some brands will succeed and others will fail. It’s time for marketers to choose their path forward. As you prepare, look for a trusted partner in weather to help you navigate the journey ahead.
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Crystal Park (she/her) is the head of B2B marketing at The Weather Company. She leads the team that elevates stature and brand perception and drives in-market demand through product go-to-market, executive thought leadership, industry partnerships, events and content.
