Not since the advent of the television ad in 1941 has the potential for new ad formats been so great. The emergence of digital platforms is enabling marketers to experiment with a number of new ad formats, each of which could revolutionize marketing as we know it. Throughout 2014 we have been highlighting the most effective techniques being broadly adopted.

Part VI: Digital Billboard

The billboard (also known as a hoarding outside of the United States) is one of the most iconic advertising forms.  Designed in the early eighteen hundreds to notify the public of upcoming circus performances, its use as an awareness builder for events is still going strong.  Few advertising forms today communicate “NOW” as impressively as a well-executed billboard.

When placed along commuter routes, the built-in frequency from billboards can gently nudge a brand up the awareness continuum, helping a relatively unknown brand vault to the top of a consumer’s evoked set.  And when placed near a retail area, the recency to the shopping event can cue the consumer for a desired purchase decision.

However the short, static nature of billboards has often led to them being pigeonholed into tactical uses within the media plan.  This is similar to the early days of online display advertising when the channel saw little use for strategic messaging such as brand differentiation, new product/feature information, superiority claims and advocacy content.  It wasn’t until the “richer” motion-based display experiences were introduced that the incidence of strategic uses broke double digits and started to approach those of other media such as television.

We see the same trend playing out for digital billboards.  Like static display ads, digital billboards were first promoted for their low cost, speed of deployment, and media planning flexibility.  By eliminating physical printing, start-up costs are minimized and initial designs and subsequent changes to creative can be made more quickly.  And since the cost structure is managed on an impression basis (as opposed to an installation basis) exposure rates can be manipulated across multiple digital billboards to better optimize frequency and reach ratios.  But from a creative standpoint, this type of digital billboard still presents a static viewer experience and therefore the same content density as its traditional counterpart.

Example Digital Billboard with Rotating Static Exposures

 

But brands are now starting to experiment with the dynamic and interactive capabilities of digital billboards.  This new generation holds much promise for elevating the medium into the realm of strategic campaigns.  The following case studies showcase some of the best examples of brands using digital billboards in strategic ways.

 

New Product Feature: Coca-Cola ‘Share-a-Coke’ Australia Launch

 

Brand Differentiation: Forever 21 Times Square

 

Superiority Claim: British Airways

 

Of course digital billboards will still be used for the time-honored tradition of event notification.  Only now they will be shows in themselves!

 

Event Notification: Cirque du Soleil McNamara Airport

 

 

Please contact your MSW●ARS representative to learn more about techniques for evaluating the performance of out-of-home advertising.

Not since the advent of the television ad in 1941 has the potential for new ad formats been so great. The emergence of digital platforms is enabling marketers to experiment with a number of new ad formats, each of which could revolutionize marketing as we know it. Throughout 2014 we are highlighting the most effective of the techniques being broadly adopted.

Part IV: Culturally Targeted and Inclusive Advertising

In many ways culture is the lifeblood of advertising. By drawing upon cultural cues advertisers can more easily convey emotional and informational content to consumers. And with the rapidly evolving demographics within the United States, making advertising campaigns inclusive has become a high priority. But there is also a potential danger in using culturally charged content. If a cultural reference within mass media does not resonate at least somewhat broadly, the advertising will fall flat or, in extreme cases, may even alienate members of the general audience and lead to social media backlash.

So how can an advertiser reap the reward of either culturally targeted or inclusive advertising without the risk? The secret is a little talked about psychological principle called cultural congruence. Simply put, people are generally most comfortable in receiving and most receptive to messages within the context of their own culture. This has major ramifications for the choices in executional techniques, selling propositions, and casting within the advertising.

To help advertisers navigate around obstacles to these types of campaigns, MSW-ARS Research has released a white paper on the topic, Cultural Congruence and Advertising Effectiveness. Below are two example best practices from the paper.

1. Do not assume that advertising will perform similarly across cultural groups.

For many years it was suggested that advertising effectiveness did not vary much among cultural groups. This was based on lack of statistical significance in the mean values between subgroups exposed to the same advertising. But averages can be deceiving. The table below shows the average response by African American and Caucasian consumers to over two thousand of the same pieces of advertising. While the mean scores are not substantially different, the variation in scores between the groups is significant at the 99% confidence level. In other words, there are differences in which ads performed well and performed poorly among these groups.

2. When attempting to transfer ads between cultural groups, adaptations should be made to ensure the selling proposition resonates with the new group.

Cultural congruence can play a powerful role in the motivating power of a selling proposition. If the insight underlying the selling proposition relies on a cultural association, it will not easily transfer to another group. Or even if the insight is relevant to multiple groups, it may be more difficult to deploy for some groups versus others. This can have a substantial impact on sales effectiveness.

For example, a meta-analysis of thirty-eight US Hispanic targeted ads representing twenty product categories shows how advertising effectiveness varies based on the customization of the selling proposition. Ads were segmented by whether they were specifically created for the Hispanic market (thus drawing upon market specific insights), general market advertising adapted to the Hispanic market (changing elements to make insights more relevant to the Hispanic market), or general market advertising simply dubbed into Spanish. It was found that ads created specifically for the Hispanic market were forty percent more persuasive than those simply adapted for this market and three times as effective as ads dubbed into Spanish.

This same principle holds true for inclusive ads but instead of adapting the selling proposition to each group, a universal need or desire is drawn upon to create a selling proposition that transcends groups. As an example this ad from Chevrolet draws upon the universal desire for safety for one’s family.

 

 

Additional learnings, best practices , and case studies are included in the full white paper.

To receive a complimentary copy of our full Cultural Congruence White Paper, please contact your MSW●ARS representative.

Celebrity Advertising: Pitfalls or Payoffs?

In many ways we live in a celebrity driven culture.  Whether it be television, movies, music, sports, fashion or politics; star power rules.  We read celebrity news, watch them on talk shows or reality television and follow them on twitter.  Certainly the stars have cashed in on this national – and international – obsession with celebrity.  Some examples – Beyoncé’s $50 million deal with Pepsi, Usain Bolt’s $8.6 million annual contract with Puma and Brad Pitt earning $6.8 million to be the face of Chanel No. 5.  But can the interest and loyalty attached to a celebrity be successfully transferred to a brand that pays for an endorsement?  Or do jaded consumers dismiss these endorsements as a sell-out by their otherwise adored idols?

 

Celebrity Endorsement Track Record

Based on historical results of MSW●ARS television ad testing, in terms of the ability to persuade consumers to choose the brand over competitors, overall, celebrity ads achieve CCPersuasion scores right at parity with the norm.

 

 

However, when a celebrity ad clicks, the results can be outstanding.  In fact, among the top scoring established product ads in the MSW●ARS database, celebrity ads have out-performed non-celebrity ads.  The top 5% of celebrity ads have achieved a CCPersuasion index of 233 versus 205 for the top 5% of non-celebrity ads.  Celebrity ads retain a diminishing advantage in the top 10% and top 20%.

 

 

But there are challenges to taking full advantage of this effect, as reflected in the overall track record for celebrity ads.  Some additional insight into these challenges can be drawn from a comparison of consumer diagnostics for ads with and without celebrity presenters.  In general, feedback is less positive for celebrity ads across many diagnostic metrics.  The diagnostic elements that show the largest differences provide some insight into what commonly holds back celebrity ads from realizing their full potential:

• Importance of Main Point:  Too often a celebrity may be used as a replacement for a compelling proposition.
• Easy to Relate:  Celebrities live in a different world than the rest of us.  This presents a challenge in using them to illustrate how a brand will satisfy “our” needs in a way that is relatable.
• Ad Believability:  Consumers may be skeptical that the celebrity actually uses – or has even tried – the product and may also be cynical that the celebrity has been “bought”.
• Made Me Interested in Brand:  This illustrates the challenge of redirecting interest from the celebrity to the brand itself.

 

 

Examples: Using Celebrities Effectively

Two of the most important keys to using celebrities effectively are to ensure an appropriate fit between the celebrity’s reputation and the benefits or claims being made about the advertised product; and ensuring that the presenter does not displace the brand as the key focus of the ad.  The following examples illustrate brands that have done this effectively.

In the Epic Splits ad for Volvo Trucks, Jean Claude Van Damme describes the years of hard work that has allowed him to attain a “body crafted to perfection”.  This harmonizes with Volvo’s reputation for quality, attention to detail and heritage.  And the demonstration illustrates not just Van Damme’s amazing flexibility and balance, but also the stability and precision of Volvo’s dynamic steering system.

 

 

In his endorsement of the MicroTouch One razor, Rick Harrison’s historical expertise on consumer products, not to mention his clean shaven head, makes him a great fit for their television ad.  The ad achieves a balanced perspective by keeping the product and its attributes the main focus through ample demonstrations and time on screen.

 

 

Finally, in this spot from Taylor Swift’s on-going campaign for Cover Girl, she not only portrays beauty but also provides a realistic context for the problem of makeup removal – that is, clean makeup enables “taking off the mask”, a stage performer challenge.

 

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To receive a complimentary copy of our full Celebrity White Paper, please contact your MSW●ARS representative.

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