信息流

Reframe brand as ‘future demand’

Marketers shifting budget into performance tactics should heed the experience of start-up digital brands that hit a ‘demand ceiling’. According to former strategist and author James Hurman, writing in a new WARC white paper, building brands is crucial to maintain what he calls ‘future demand’.

Why it matters

A combination of economic volatility and the shift to digital commerce has seen communications budgets shift into performance marketing. Marketers are struggling to make the case for brand-building activity (broad reach, building emotional connection), in part due to the measurability and apparent efficiency of performance tactics.

Takeaways

• Brand-building can be considered the creation of future demand. Future demand, argues Hurman, is created when new customers become aware of a brand and add it to their consideration set.
• Converting existing demand with performance marketing is predicated on targeting customers already in the market. Creating future demand requires the targeting of customers who aren’t already in the market, by standing out with engaging advertising, and creating an emotional connection.
• Start-up tactics have limited effectiveness for mature brands, for whom there isn’t that pool of pre-existing demand to efficiently convert.

Killer quote

“Deciding how to steward a brand by emulating the approach of a sector with a 0.1% success rate is ludicrous.”

Gaming boom to continue post-COVID

Video game usage spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many players will remain engaged in this pastime once the health emergency recedes, according to research from Activision Blizzard.

Why it matters

People from all age groups, across all genders and demographics, took to gaming during 2020, countering many misconceptions around who plays video games. This is an important insight for brands looking to reach consumers.

How COVID-19 impacted gaming habits

Activision Blizzard, the owner of gaming franchises like “World of Warcraft” and “Call of Duty”, told delegates at Cannes Lions Live, an event organised by LIONS, that:

• The vast majority (91%) of people reported increased digital media usage in 2020, with online shopping, short-form video consumption and gaming the top reasons for doing so.
• Out of the 27% of consumers who said they were “new” to gaming in 2020, over 76% were actually returning to this hobby.
• Of those people returning to gaming, 40% indicated social connection was the main motivator for playing games.
• Nearly three three-quarters (73%) of respondents intend to keep playing video games as the world reemerges from the pandemic.

Key quote

“Video games will remain a core part of the ecosystem - for millennials and GenZ, but even older generations as they turn to things like mobile gaming,” Jonathan Stringfield, VP/Global Marketing, Measurement and Insights, Activision Blizzard.

Sourced from Activision Blizzard/Cannes Lions Live

A more realistic representation of the path to purchase

The Hankins Hexagon launched in February 2021 as a new model for explaining and optimising the path to purchase; writing for WARC, its creator James Hankins updates and refines his original idea, with applications for the CPG, automotive and finance sectors. 

Why it matters

A metaphor to understand the customer journey is valuable, but the concept of a linear purchase funnel is outdated and inappropriate. The Hankins Hexagon presents a much needed and flexible model to analyse and optimise the path to purchase.

Takeaways

• In the model there are six stages, consisting of ‘no current need to buy’, trigger, explore possibilities, compare contenders, make purchase and experience product.
• The Hankins Hexagon allows for a person to make their own way to purchase via a variety of routes. There are very few fixed pathways in the model, and most are two-way with feedback loops and changes of mind.
• For different brands and different categories there is likely a dominant path to purchase within the model. Identifying these common pathways is key to increasing the probability of purchase.

What do you want your sonic logo to do?

For a sonic logo to be effective may depend on what a brand wants to achieve with it, according to new research from sonic branding agency SoundOut. 

Building on its SoundOut Index, a Sonic Effectiveness Matrix (SEM) separates sonic logos into four quadrants based on their recall and propensity to buy levels. This finds that AO.com is the most effective sonic logo in the UK, Disney in the US. 

Takeaways 

• The attributes that drive propensity to buy are far removed from those that drive recall.
• Brands need to identify the priority for a sonic logo – whether it is to drive sales or build brand equity, for example. A single logo will not do both well.
• Distinctiveness does increase propensity to buy but does not drive recall or brand attribution.

Key quote

“Perhaps the most exciting discovery of the study is that it’s possible to identify the effectiveness potential of a sonic logo before it is brought to market. This could save brands millions of dollars trying to support a sonic logo that just doesn’t have the attributes to be effective” – David Courtier-Dutton, founder and CEO of SoundOut.

Sourced from SoundOut

Creator marketing reached €1.3bn last year in Europe

Creator marketing, often known as influencer marketing, reached new highs in Europe last year with total investment topping €1.3bn, according to research from IAB Europe and TikTok for Business.

Why it matters

Creator marketing investment in Europe almost tripled between 2017 and 2020 and is also expected to increase this year as well as influencers prove popular with key audiences like Gen Z, particularly in categories like fashion and beauty.

TikTok is also expected to take a larger share of this investment, with 45% of influencer marketers using TikTok for campaigns. This puts the short-form social video app as the second most used influencer platform, ahead of Facebook.

Takeaways

• Creator marketing, often known as influencer marketing, investment almost tripled between 2017 and 2020.
• It grew 14.0% in 2020 to a total of €1,322m, with further growth also expected this year.

Sourced from IAB Europe, TikTok for Business, WARC Data

Mega-sales days driving online shopping adoption in Southeast Asia: report

Mega-sales days are the main drivers for online shopping adoption in Southeast Asia, according to a study Facebook and Bain & Company that looks at the impact of such events on the consumer journey and how they contribute to Southeast Asia’s growing e-commerce momentum.

Why it matters

The SYNC Southeast Asia: Discover the New Wave of Mega Sale Shoppers report highlights how mega-sales days have an enormous impact in introducing people to online shopping and discovering new brands and products. The purchase behaviours, motivations and platforms used by shoppers during such events in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam also showed the role of online platforms in guiding consumers throughout their purchase journey.

Five findings

• 86% of Southeast Asian shoppers have purchased products online during mega-sales days.
• For 43% of them, it was their first time shopping online, with Thailand and Vietnam leading the way.
• Mega-sale shoppers continue to use newly discovered brands instead of switching back to old ones – 91% of SEA consumers buy brands never tried before during such events.
• Consumers are savvy and influenced prior to mega-sales days, with 72% of shoppers across the region saying they had prepared for the event.
• Social media is key to discovering new products, with video as a leading source of inspiration – 63% discovered the products they bought on social media.

Sourced from Facebook, Bain & Company

Word-of-mouth is most popular way to discover brands in China

Word-of-mouth recommendations are the most popular way to discover new brands and products in China, according to survey data from GWI analysed in WARC's latest Spotlight China report on DTC disruptors.

Why it matters

A new genre of digital-native, contemporary brands known as 'DTC disruptors' in China have quickly eroded market share from big brands in their respective categories. Part of their success is from a recognition that word-of-mouth plays a fundamental role, as they often sell through WeChat stores and private groups by developing intimate relationships with customers.

Takeaways

• A quarter (24.4%) of Chinese internet users say they discover new brands and products through word-of-mouth recommendations from friends or family members, the most popular method.
• Earned media is as powerful as paid media for brand discovery in China - overall, 80% of the online population find new brands and products from earned media channels, compared to 79% from paid media.

This article is part of a Spotlight series on what marketers can learn from DTC disruptors in China. The full series of articles is available here.

Sourced from GWI, WARC Data

YouTube and Hulu have most active users and highest consumption

YouTube and Hulu are the video streaming platforms that lead on the frequency of user visits and the amount of content consumed, according to the latest data from Nielsen.

Why it matters

Nielsen outlines the three key ways that video streaming platforms can grow: larger audiences, users consuming more often, and users consuming for longer. Although Netflix has the most users, YouTube and Hulu attract more committed users who visit frequently and consume a lot of content.

Takeaways

• YouTube was accessed an average of 2.8 days per week in May 2021, making it the most frequently visited video streaming platform.
• Hulu (130 minutes) places first in the amount of content watched per day used, just ahead of YouTube (128 minutes).
• However, Netflix has the largest user base at 101.3m, with YouTube second (76.4m) and Hulu fourth (44.9m).

Sourced from Nielsen, WARC Data

Nike Crazy Dreams wins Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix

Nike and longstanding creative agency partner Wieden + Kennedy Portland have won the top prize at the Creative Effectiveness Lions, announced at Cannes Lions Live 2021.

Why it matters

The conversation surrounding brand purpose had been waiting for a campaign that showed what it looked like to be brave, pick a side in a very real battle for racial equality in the US, and for that bet to lead to business success and global impact. You can’t please everybody, but Nike understood whose side it stood on – that of its athletes and young, diverse customers.

Details

• The campaign, which launched in 2019 amid a febrile political atmosphere, saw the sportswear juggernaut find a new angle to the self-assurance of its ‘Just Do It’ motto for the 30^th anniversary of the line.
• This was voiced and fronted by the American football player Colin Kaepernick, who shot to international fame following his protest at police brutality which influenced the symbolism of the modern movement for racial equality. 
• The campaign started with a tweet from Kaepernick, before Nike launched a two-minute film during the opening of the NFL season, encouraging a new generation of athletes to ‘dream crazy’ by celebrating athletes who had bucked convention and pushed their sports forward.
  
• It worked. The winning paper, which WARC subscribers can read alongside all the winners and shortlisted entries, reveals sales, purchase intent, and stock price increases as a result of the work.

Post-COVID live events will mix physical and digital

Major events and brand activations in the post-COVID age will involve the “co-mingling” of digital and physical elements, according to Bob Bejan, corporate vice president of global events, production studios and marketing community at tech giant Microsoft.

Why it matters

The events sector was forced to innovate by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resultant levels of engagement, inclusion, efficiency and effectiveness may permanently reshape the industry, and how brands engage with consumers through physical activations.

What next for events?

• Microsoft Build, the firm’s in-person developer conference, used to attract some 6,200 developers. But 2020’s all-digital version reached an audience of 197,000.
• This included people who typically would struggle to attend, such as those who could not afford to travel, or individuals who are not comfortable with attending live events.
• As physical events bounce back, Bejan predicted, the digital audience will “co-mingle and interact with the people that are live in a given location”.
• Bejan told an online audience at Cannes Lions Live he believes events will now revolve around “the delivery of a digital core simultaneously around the planet”, with “big brands activating against that digital core with local and regional activations.”

Key quote

“Corporate communications, events, conventions, expos, even things like Cannes Lions, will be incredibly influenced by this co-mingling of the digital experience and the live experience as we move forward to engage with each other, and brands with customers, in the future” – Bob Bejan, corporate vice president of global events, production studios and marketing community, Microsoft.

Broadcasters exchange ads for startup equity

Rival ad-funded broadcasters in the UK, ITV and Channel 4, have set up venture arms tasked with promoting TV ads to startups growing out of digital advertising, investing in these early-stage companies with in-kind TV exposure.

Why it matters

Naturally, broadcasters would say that ad time on their networks is worth more than what cash can buy, but in the case of startups trying to grow awareness they note a very real plateau where digital advertising can take the brand no further. 

Details

• The idea originated in Sweden back in 2002 when a company called Aggregate AB, Bloomberg reports, used a ‘fund’ to buy equity with ad time. German broadcasters took on the idea before the end of the decade.
• Channel 4 began its fund in 2015, investing in firms including DTC mattress firm Eve Sleep, crowdfunder Crowdcube Capital, and even Pinterest.
  
• While some venture capitalists doubt that the benefit of media can match that of cold, hard cash, the combined cost of millions’ worth of media plus creative and strategic consultation tends to be way out of young companies’ reach; TV also brings a certain mainstream validation.
• Some bets have paid off for broadcasters, with exits like Pinterest delivering a certain payback. But the bigger prize is an early connection to potentially major companies in future as well as access to startups’ troves of data that can shed light on how digital and TV marketing can better work together.

Key quotes

“There is stardust in making a TV ad. It’s really energizing. You can’t put a value on that” – Ben Farren, founder of Spoke, a men’s clothing website now advertising on ITV.

“We use a lot of digital because it’s very measurable, but it only gets you so far. You can see where you hit that plateau on Facebook and Google” – Giles Rhys Jones, CMO, what3words, a digital mapping startup now advertising on ITV.
_{[Image: what3words]}

Sourced from Bloomberg

Influencer marketing in the media mix reduces cost

New research by Facebook finds a combination of influencer marketing and paid for ads is more efficient than either strategy in isolation.

Why it matters

As investment into influencer marketing continues to rise, research into the effectiveness of influencers in the media mix is badly needed.

Takeaways

• Facebook tested the impact of creator content along with standard paid for ad formats for 17 FMCG advertisers. The results were analysed to discover what worked best, influencer activity, standard advertising or a mix of both.
• Rather than one format winning out right, a combination of the two approaches together was the most impactful. Running both reduced the cost per acquisition.
• A secondary analysis determined whether this was caused by increased reach or a synergy between the two approaches. It was the latter, when people were exposed to a combination of influencer activity and standard advertising formats the combined exposure dropped cost per incremental consideration point by 79%.

Key quote

 “The journey into understanding how to build brands on mobile first platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Messenger is at an early stage. There is much to learn still, but as mobile increasingly becomes the dominant channel in the media day, this is an area that the industry needs to focus on” – Ian Edward, Connection Planning Director EMEA, and Harry Davison, Head of UK Marketing Science, Facebook.

Ad-supported mobile games attract the most committed players

Advertising-supported mobile games are most popular and attract more committed players, according to data from Toluna and Harris Interactive.

Why it matters

Gaming audiences grew rapidly last year and free-to-play mobile gaming that is supported by ads has a clear role in the channel. While these players may be more committed, ad-supported gaming sessions are often shorter. This suggests advertisers may be able to reach a committed audience with in-game advertising but will have a limited amount of time to drive engagement.

Takeaways

• Half of mobile gamers surveyed said they have played free-to-download mobile games that have ads, making this type of game the most popular.
• Ad-supported games attract more committed players – gamers who play free games that have ads but no in-app purchases play an average of 6.3 of these games, the lowest level across all game types. Other players spread their attention across a broader range of games.

Sourced from Toluna, Harris Interactive, WARC Data

Bringing a new sense of cultural relevance to Mattel

Over its 75 year-plus history, Mattel has created some iconic toys, from the Barbie doll to Hotwheels cars, and it is now inviting artists to reimagine these in new ways. 

What it’s doing 

A collaborations platform, Mattel Creations, offers the artistic community the opportunity to use Mattel’s brands as a “canvas for conversation” that is curated by Highsnobiety, CEO Richard Dickson told Cannes Lions Live. 

Why it matters

As a lifestyle site that promises to keep its audience ahead of the curve, working with Highsnobiety opens up opportunities for Mattel to connect its brands with a new taste-maker consumer base and to do so in an authentic manner.

Takeaways 

• This approach has enabled Mattel to build new stories around its brands in a unique way. 
• At the same time it has created a new DTC model, selling brand-derived artists’ content based on limited availability in contrast to the ubiquity of the toys themselves. 
• Collaborations between artists and brands should be long-running and not just a short-term fad.

Key quote

“When you think about our toys, they’re iconic form factors … so really all we’re doing is offering these iconic form factors to artists as canvases” – Richard Dickson, President and CEO at Mattel. 

_{[Image: Mattel Creations via Instagram]}

Amazon and Apple extend lead as most valuable brands

Amazon and Apple have extended their lead as the most valuable brands, according to data from Kantar BrandZ.

Why it matters

Amazon has taken the top spot as the most valuable brand for the third year running while Apple has placed in the top two every year since 2011. Their success has in part been a result of an ecosystem approach mixing growth areas including hardware, software and services.

While brand-building has been challenged by the growth of performance marketing, WARC's latest white paper argues the need for an integrated approach and a clear focus on product and experience.

Takeaways

• Among the top ten most valuable brands, Apple saw the quickest year-on-year growth, rising 74% to $612.0bn.
• Amazon follows, with a brand value growing 64% to reach $683.9bn.

WARC's latest white paper, titled 'Rethinking Brand for the Rise of Digital Commerce', brings together the latest research on the role of creative brand-building in a period of performance marketing and digital commerce. The report is available here.

Sourced from Kantar BrandZ, WARC Data

Why investing in brand during the priming stage is crucial in digital commerce

In a world increasingly driven by algorithms, is it worth investing in brand building? In a WARC Exclusive article, Mudit Jaju, Global Head of Ecommerce at Wavemaker, the media agency network, outlines the findings of an extensive study which presents a strong case that, yes, brand communication does indeed matter in an e-commerce dominant world.

About the study

A comprehensive study across 13 countries and 21 categories by Wavemaker (referenced in a new WARC white paper, Rethinking brand for the rise of digital commerce) looks at how and why people buy and explores the role brand investment plays in today’s e-commerce-first world. The study found brand building improves online purchase consideration: building strong bias before a consumer begins an online shopping journey massively improves a brand’s odds of being considered before purchase: by 14x.

Key takeaways

• Nearly two thirds of online buyers were arriving on e-commerce sites with a strong bias towards a small number of brands. To influence active stage behaviour, investing in brand building in the priming stage is vital – to drive not just salience, but priming bias which has such a powerful effect on both consideration and purchase.
• Priming bias is crucial, but it is also critical to achieve effective visibility on the e-commerce platform/s. If a shopper cannot find you, they cannot buy you.
• Working across the whole of the purchase journey creates better results. Knowing and understanding which touchpoints matter to your consumer is critical to how we think about the interplay between branding and conversion/performance media. The two should not be detached from each other.
• It’s crucial to have a view of the purchase journey that synchronises across the priming and active stages of the customer journey. An example from an OTC brand is discussed.

Key quote

“The only way in which brands win is by planning across the entirety of the purchase journey and not in individual silos”.