What makes TV and digital adverts so effective?

So you are want to know the effectiveness of TV vs Digital advertising?

While TV advertising remains a staple fixture due to reliability and constant delivery of performance, digital advertising has changed the game somewhat in the last twenty years. In fact, Forbes recently reported that internet advertising has surpassed TV in the U.S. This is due to an increase in responsive ads, video ads, native advertising and Facebook expanding their advertising revenue by 62% in 2016.

Advertisements are designed to emotionally connect with their target audience. It influences the consumer to buy the product. Which is why brands are likely to achieve better results from a multi-platform campaign rather than taking an all eggs in one basket approach. However this means that buying ad space can be aggressively competitive and so there is little room for mediocrity.

In 2015, digital ad blocking increased globally by 42% with approximately 90% of TV viewers skipping ads on DVR. This is further championed by a mere 8% of people who pay attention to online ads, 16% for radio ads and 14% for billboards.

How do brands entice their audience with TV advertising?

  1. Personality: Customers who feel a connection to the personality of a brand are more likely to be receptive of the message delivered. An example of this is the Haribo Starmix Advert in 2016 in which adults on a train platform appear to talk as children. It’s focus is to bring out the inner child in us all with previous adverts such as ‘Boardroom and ‘Cinema’ with the same theme doing equally as well.
  2. Taglines: A strong tagline reinforces brand ideas and encourages their audience to connect with the message. An example of this is Kit Kat’s own Have a break, have a Kit Kat. Go on. I meant it.
  3. Characters: Characters can go a long way, especially unforgettable personas that have a strong association with the brand. One of the most obvious examples of this is the meerkat otherwise known as, Alexander Orlov, from the Compare the Meerkat  advert which is a play on words on comparethemarket.com. The character became a staple feature in their 2009 advert, in fact it became so popular that it even became a toy. Simples!
  4. Audio: Without music, life would be a mistake! Or so the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, liked to say. Music is just as important as the visuals in an advertising campaign. This is especially the case in the No Place Like Home advert by British Gas where the illustrations are complemented by the melodic background music to ease the consumer into the environment it has created with it’s visuals.

How does this differ with digital advertising?

Digital advertising focuses on capturing consumer attention, in fact Forbes reports that, ‘it now takes people on average about eight or nine seconds to find the result they want.’ Which means competition is fierce. So how do brands use digital advertising to instigate a consumer reaction, and fast?

  1. Headlines: Attention grabbing headlines should be thought provoking and concise. They should leave the consumer wanting more. A great example of this is Pinterest: Create Your Own Outcome.
  2. Well-written Ad Copy: If the headline and visuals have been effective enough to pull the consumer in, well written ad copy will keep the consumer interested. It should be easy to read, compelling and relevant. But this can be difficult to achieve, especially when 80% of users never make it past the headline.
  3. Call to Action: The final piece to the puzzle is what seals the deal. A call to action is defined as the instigator for an immediate response. Sometimes it can be as simple as a ‘Sign Up For More Info’ or similarly to Netflix, ‘Join Free For A Month!’ Now, how can you say no to that? It’s free!

Best results are achieved when campaigns are distributed amongst various platforms

The most effective adverts are those that live through the times with the same impact as that in which they were first released. Take the De Beers, A Diamond is Forever, for example. Founder, Cecil Rhodes, monopolised the diamond market in the twentieth century by limiting the sale of diamonds which simultaneously increased their value and the desire for people to buy. The message was clear, diamonds were rare and everybody wanted one! The De Beers company created this unbreakable concept of the diamond so well that it still continues to influence the market in present day. Although diamonds can be chipped, discoloured or incinerated which we know are certainly not forever, consumers are still swayed by the everlasting impact of the diamond.

For maximum results we always suggest that campaigns are distributed amongst various platforms across digital and TV. Measuring the campaign impact on multiple channels is what makes our econometric skills crucial because it allows for a clearer read on measurements. As well as this, having the sums to spend generously is also an advantage.

However it will never be as effective as creating an advert in which the message is so powerful that it sometimes overrides reason. Diamonds may not be forever and overpriced, but they sure do look nice.

 

Brightblue Consulting are a London based consultancy which help businesses drive incremental profit from their data. We provide predictive analytics that enable clients to make informed decisions based on data and industry knowledge. Through Market Mix Modelling, a strand of Econometrics, Brightblue has a proven track record showing a 30% improvement in marketing Return on Investment for clients’ spend. If you are interested to find out more please contact us through email by clicking here and one of our consultants will get back to you shortly.

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