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 will be highlighting the most effective of the techniques being broadly adopted.

Part II: The Modern Music Ad

Music has been a fundamental ingredient of television ads from its earliest days.  When used to set the tone, break through the clutter, or provide continuity within campaigns its presence is proven to improve ad performance.   But exactly how much of a difference can music really make?  The below table shows the results for two versions of an ad with the same visuals and spoken tagline, only the music was different between the two.  Yet this single difference changed the ad from a below average performance to an above average one.

In its most refined form, music can even elevate itself from being the added spice within an ad to being its primary course.  While these “music ads” have been rarely used in the past they are now a mainstay advertising format for both the television and online media channels.  Especially when targeted to the MTV generations (X & Y), the modern music ad has taken on aspects which make it distinct from those of the past.

One of the most striking differences is in the type of brand associations created.  In its traditional form the music ties the brand to specific benefits by highlighting brand features in the lyrics.  In the modern form, the music ties the brand to specific emotions by highlighting personal experiences.   For example, contrast these two ads created 60 years apart.  While they use many of the same visual devices the music in the first links the brand to the benefit of being able to see the country while the second links the brand to deep-seated feelings of desire.

Dina Shore 1952 “See the USA in Your Chevrolet

Lana Del Rey 2012 “Burning Desire” Jaguar F-Type Launch

Another difference is in the immersive quality of the ads.  While both the traditional and modern forms cast the brand as the enabler to an experience, the modern ads take advantage of new production techniques gleaned from video games, home theater, and immersive cinema.  By analogy, if the traditional approach casts the brand as an orchestra, the modern approach casts the brand as a dance partner.

1960s Rice Krispies

2010s Weetabix

A new role which has emerged for music ads is in bringing new consumers into the brand fold as they enter the market.  Since each age group adopts music styles as their own, the use of contemporary music can help make the brand relevant to these new consumers.  When handled with care, the brand heritage can be maintained in this process with the music acting as bridge over the river of time.

1971 Coca-Cola “Teach the World to Sing” aka “Hilltop”

2005 Coca-Cola “Teach the World to Chill” aka “Chilltop”

Another application of the modern music ad is in tying a brand tightly to the equity of music celebrities.  Celebrity endorsements are among the oldest vehicles for building positive brand sentiments.  But since the early 2000s there has been a marked increase in the use of musician alignments with beauty care brands.  In these cases the music ads have the potential to move a simple endorsement to an emotional intertwining of the brand with the performer.

2012 Taylor Swift Wonderstruck “Enchanted”

As long as music remains an important part of our cultural identities, we can expect advertisers and their creative partners to invent new uses for the music ad format.

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 will be highlighting the most effective of the techniques being broadly adopted.

Part I: Illuminated User Generated Content

Aristotle noted that “man is by nature a social animal”, a concept which has been reinforced over time by findings in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience. Simply put, humans have an innate desire to share their experiences and learn from each other. But as marketers it has always been a challenge to draw upon this truth in the creation of advertising. Even well-crafted testimonial ads can fall short of the sincerity, authenticity, and believability that organic conversation produces.

Enter the internet. From its first killer app, email, to the sophisticated social media website s of today the internet has expanded the ways in which people share information about the brands they use. And marketers are tapping into this dialogue.

At first, this primarily consisted of fostering creation of content. Like, share, and review buttons made it easy for ‘browsers’ to become ‘brand advocates’. The growing penetration of webcams and smart phones made it possible for these new brand advocates to transition from the world of text into the world of video. Here is an example of a user generated product review video submitted to the EXPO social media website:

Example of Typical User Generated Product Review Video

With content like this being created by product users, marketers and their social media partners turned to the task of curating this content. Systems were put into place to house and review the content to find those which could be leveraged in marketing campaigns. And most recently EXPO upped the ante by automating this process with a dashboard that not only algorithmically quantifies production quality but also draws in scores from MSW.ARS to help locate the reviews with the greatest probability of being memorable and persuasive. This makes choosing content for distribution onto e-commerce, owned, and earned media channels a breeze.

Screen Capture of ExpoTV Dashboard

But the most recent evolutionary step is perhaps the most important. Techniques gleaned from television advertising are now being applied to enhance their messaging and emotional power. Music is being used to set mood and tone. Screen cuts are being used to manage pace and draw in scenes from multiple reviews. This new breed of illuminated content retains the sincerity, authenticity, and believability of the original reviews while increasing breakthrough and engagement.

Example of Illuminated User Generated Product Review Video

Exactly how powerful is this format? To answer this question we’ve begun actively testing these illuminated user generated product videos in our Touchpoint Plus copytesting system. We’ve seen Brand name recall over fifty percent higher and persuasion twice as high as a typical 30 second television ad for the brand! This suggests that illuminated user generated product review videos may be the most powerful testimonial ad format to date.