A Harvard Business Review paper points to a number of reasons why the Bud Light boycott was more effective than most. The researchers suggest steps companies can take to avoid such boycotts while emphasizing the unique circumstances of this particular situation.
Colgate-Palmolive reveals how AI helps them achieve key objectives and improve processes. They provided insights into the use of AI in marketing at AUDIENCExSCIENCE as well as MSI’s Summit 2024.
Research has demonstrated that developing messages, creative and targeting based only on demographic characteristics is not optimal. Investing in research on consumers’ values and emotions is likely to increase marketing effectiveness. Read more »
Tarya Weedon – Cultural Insights Strategist, Horowitz Research
Yatisha Forde – Senior Director, Insights & Thought Leadership, ANA
Tarya Weedon of Horowitz Research and Yatisha Forde of the ANA discussed how to connect and create trust with Gen Z through accurate representation, authentic allyship and honest dialogue. This generation is redefining American culture with their views on gender, sexuality and fluidity. Champions of gender equality, they are a vocal cohort at the forefront of reversing the negative effects of traditional gender rules and stereotypes. Gen Z are hyperaware of when a campaign’s message is inauthentic or a brand does not “walk the walk.” Fewer Gen Z than other generations think advertising accurately reflects them. Tarya and Yatisha offered advice on how to pass the “vibe check” with this generation. Their study had two legs, a qualitative phase which was interacting over a two-week period with an online community with 70 Gen Zers in the U.S. The quantitative phase was an online survey among 800 U.S. respondents ages 14-to-24. Key takeaways:
Nicole Lawless DesJardins, Ph.D. – Sr. Director Data Science, iSpot.tv
Leslie Wood, Ph.D. – CRO, iSpot.tv
Leslie Wood and Nicole Lawless DesJardins, both of iSpot.tv, provided an overview of advertising trends in linear and streaming over the last two years in terms of ad creative, campaign and measurement. They defined linear as any content purchased on a national schedule and noted that variations exist across industries. Among their findings:
Ben Cunningham – Director, Ad Experience Measurement, NBCUniversal
Simran Srinivasan – Product Manager, Video Products, NBCUniversal
Ben Cunningham and Simran Srinivasan of NBCUniversal shared their research on whether ad effectiveness changes when the language of the ad and the content is not aligned. They specifically examined what was working and not working when targeting Spanish language speakers. Their methodology included a three-phase approach, starting with a qualitative study in local markets with high Hispanic populations (e.g., LA, Miami) as well as through virtual groups to better understand their tolerance for language fluidity that is happening on their connected TVs. This was followed by a quantitative phase (n=7,200) with an experimental design where participants were recruited to watch content as though they were watching on Peacock with similar ad loads. A post-exposure survey was conducted to evaluate brand effectiveness, ad effectiveness and general perceptions towards the experience. This phase was paired with biometric research where they used facial coding to track the information processing and unconscious responses. They tested Spanish vs. English language ads in English and Spanish language content. Overall, they found that people generally understand ads in a different language, it doesn’t affect the enjoyment of the show and there was not much difference on recall. Key findings: For Spanish language ads in English language content:
Christina Radigan – SVP, Research & Insights, Outfront
Christina Radigan of Outfront explored the advantages of out-of-home advertising (OOH) and discussed advancements in its measurement techniques. Christina noted that with the loss of cookies and third-party data, contextual ad placement will see a renewed sense of importance, and in OOH, location is a proxy for context, driving content. She further indicated the benefits of OOH citing a recent study by Omnicom, using marketing mix modeling (MMM), which found that increased OOH spend drives revenue return on ad spend (RROAS). This research also highlighted that OOH is underfunded, representing only 4% to 5% of the total media marketplace. Following up on this, Christina pointed to attribution metrics, measuring the impact of OOH ad exposure on brand metrics and consumer behaviors, to demonstrate OOH's effectiveness at the campaign level. Expanding on their work in attribution, she noted changes stemming from the pandemic: Format proliferation and greater digitization, privacy-compliant mobile measurement ramping up (opt-in survey panel and SDK) and performance marketing and measurement becoming table stakes for budget allocations. New measurement opportunities from OOH intercepts included brand lift studies, footfall, website visitation, app download and app activity and tune in. Finally, she examined brand studies conducted for Nissan and Professional Bull Riders (PBR), showcasing the effectiveness of OOH advertising in driving recall, ticket sales and revenue. Key takeaways:
Pedro Almeida – CEO, MediaProbe
Pierre Bouvard – Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One
The presentation focused on determining the emotional impact of AM/FM radio ads. MediaProbe was retained by Cumulus Media to measure second-by-second electrodermal activity (EDA)—a measure of the sympathetic nervous system, to see when it is activated, whether listeners were excited by the stimulus they heard. This is termed Emotional Impact Score (EIS)—an impact metric that can help understand how excited people are on a second-by-second basis and what are the elements that drive this emotion. This is an objective way of quantifying emotion in media and advertising content, capturing the emotional implicit data (what people feel). Throughout the session, participants can also dial those moments that they like/dislike—the conscious explicit capture of likes and dislikes, and are asked pre and post session questions to learn more about recall and purchase intent. Methodology: 36 AM/FM radio ads, in a simulated broadcast of 30 minutes across four genres (urban, news, adult contemporary and rock/oldies). Each “broadcast” had three ad breaks and the average commercial break had three ads. Also, 227 people participated. Each “broadcast” had a sample size of 75 people and consumers listened to at least three of the four broadcasts. Each ad was exposed to 225 people. Findings:
Shannon Bosshard, Ph.D. – Lead Scientist, Playground XYZ
Bill Harvey – Executive Chairman, Bill Harvey Consulting
Advertising starts with attention. If gained and sustained long enough, brain engagement occurs. Once this happens, memory encoding might happen, and that is when incremental brand equity and sales occur. Attention economy has now reached a pivotal moment: What is it that drives attention and how is this related to outcomes? Is it media platforms or creative? The presenters took two approaches: the first was brand lift studies (focusing on the conscious) with 20,000 participants, 35 well-established brands, 60 ads, on social media platforms, using eye tracking and post exposure survey. The second approach was a neuro study focusing on the subconscious, with 50 participants, across 150 sessions, people exposed to over 1,800 ads. They used a combination of eye tracking and EEG, and RMT method for measuring motivations. Hypotheses:
In decades past, demographic characteristics were considered the strongest predictors of consumers’ values, attitudes and purchasing behavior. Over time, however, they have grown to become weak predictors and correlates. In this Knowledge at Hand report, Dr. Horst Stipp, EVP at the ARF, summarizes the latest and most impactful research to date on consumer values and how researching them carefully can help shape effective business strategies and impactful ad messages.
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