articles of note
Ritson’s recession playbook: 9 steps marketers should take to survive the dark times ahead
With a recession looming, Mark Ritson advises marketers to continue their brand building efforts: “You maintain the long of it because its impact is delayed but substantial and it will kick in exactly when you need it as the recession ends.”
why mental availability, ESOV are fading: Peter Field, Karen Nelson-Field, Orlando Wood warn ad industry faces triple jeopardy threat, effectiveness rulebook ripped up
3 effectiveness experts join forces to promote brand building: “… performance marketers believe brand is a load of tosh and that there is nothing that a timely & relevantly-served promotional message can’t achieve. That, of course, is totally flawed.”
new research in support of the principle of future demand
Great summary from James Hurman on why we need to reframe “brand building” as “future demand” – and how TV advertising can drive long lasting business effects.
why cookie demise could be a blessing in disguise for big brands
“Hyper-targeting has a lower return on investment than contextual targeting for several reasons, including the poor accuracy of third-party databases used to target ads, and flaws in underlying targeting strategies that exclude valuable prospects”
why marketers are returning to traditional advertising
Marketers Are Returning to ‘Traditional’ Advertising: This HBR article outlines which categories are increasing their spend the most (online companies are at the top) & why
D2C brands 2022
“Data-driven growth hacking only takes a brand’s revenue so far. Getting to scale means blending these practices w/ more traditional media – like TV – and means of distribution.”
what is TV and does that matter?
“Although the definition of TV might not bother viewers, as video proliferates, advertisers should definitely still care about what’s defined as TV. It still matters” – Matt Hill’s perspective on the definition of TV
can you achieve long and short at the same time? usually, no
Mark Ritson on why you can’t brand-build and sell in the same spot: “It’s so totally different on so many levels that trying to get a single ad to do both is highly unlikely to be as effective as splitting up your budget”
what we know about TV effectiveness
WARC explores the current thinking and writing on the subject of TV effectiveness, a discipline of measurement that has undergone significant change in light of TVOD and streaming.
what’s happening at Canada’s TV broadcasters?
As the industry evolves, Canadian broadcasters continue to innovate.
in the ad industry? you’re not normal
As an industry, we pride ourselves on staying on top of the latest trends and keeping up with the newest gadgets and offerings. Indeed, new research from Ipsos, commissioned by thinktv, shows that our media habits differ significantly from the Canadian public. The problem is that those differences appear to be colouring our assumptions about how Canadians are consuming media.
there’s a gulf between how consumers act, and how marketers think they act: Ipsos
Marketer perceptions of consumer behaviour are “giganticly out to lunch,” says Ipsos’ Steve Levy.
don’t short-change your brand: the case for a return to brand-building
With the rise of short-termism, our VP of Marketing, Laura Baehr, makes the case for a return to brand-building.
the top ten drivers of marketing effectiveness from the Effie Awards – and beyond
WARC’s must read summary of Mark Ritson’s vital advice on advertising effectiveness.
the top 10 things you should (but might not) know about today’s TV
A top 10 list with the most important facts and insights about the role and impact of television.
TV ads are too short-term in focus
Brands are too focused on narrow, goal-orientated TV creative rather than making ads that are based on empathy, relationships and human connection, according to a study by Orlando Wood with market-research firm System1.
Mark Ritson on why he’s OK with TV, but welcomes a ‘post-digital’ world
The Message caught up with well-known marketing pundit Mark Ritson, where he chatted about the perils of short-term marketing, why he remains a fan of TV, and why he’s just about had enough of purpose marketing.
Old Navy will shift back to brand-building in a growing trend among advertisers
CFO says the company has been too dependent on discounts-driven marketing as opposed to brand messaging.
confronting the dangers of a short-term marketing strategy
If you fail to invest in long-term brand building, your consumer connections won’t stand the test of time.
Adidas: we over-invested in digital advertising
Adidas admits that a focus on efficiency – rather than effectiveness – led it to over-invest in performance and digital at the expense of brand building.
why one of Google’s biggest spenders is redirecting some money towards TV and video ads
Booking.com, Priceline, and Kayak shift marketing spend from search to TV to drive brand awareness.
Canadian advertisers may be overspending on digital: eMarketer
Rob Young, SVP Planning Services at PHD Canada, says that digital has become overdeveloped, and that marketers are “over-activating and under-branding”.
TV underrepresented in media budgets: Accenture study
New Accenture research shows that while both TV and digital drive sales, Canadian advertisers are under-investing in TV and failing to take its “halo effect” on digital channels into account.
Mark Ritson: “Gary Vaynerchuk is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong about media”
Mark Ritson details what he says Gary Vaynerchuk gets wrong about the value of TV and social media.
full article
tech giants are gobbling up tv ads: thinktv’s Baehr
“The digital players are our best case studies. If Google thought they could launch their new phone on YouTube alone, that’s exactly what they would they do. But they don’t. They launch it on television.” Laura Baehr, discusses the power of TV advertising and its halo effect on other media.
a golden age for television advertising
Ebiquity’s Dr. Nick Pugh advises us to ignore the negative headlines and embrace that we are actually living in the golden age of television. Read on to discover the proof that TV works.
what we learnt at Future TV Advertising Forum Canada – confidence in tv is returning
Canadian TV has gotten its self-confidence back, but there are growing concerns that digital buying only boosts efficiency with no benefit to long-term brand health – one of the key take away messages from this year’s Future TV Forum, as reported by Videonet’s John Moulding.
the wrong data is costing marketers billions
In this compelling article, the ARF outline the challenges (and problems) with attribution.
We’re currently working with Ipsos on research that evaluates the impact of different touchpoints, but for now read the ARF’s overview of the problems with marketing-mix models, including the fact that “last touch” gets too much credit, that too many companies are relying solely on digital measures, and that cheap inventory is over represented (chasing a low CPM is unlikely to reach the right audience at the right time in the right place – as we expect to prove with our Ipsos research).
is efficiency killing brands?
“Digital marketing has unleased an obsession with efficiency and short-termism, one that’s trading long-term brand building for short-term ROI.” This Ad Age article dives further into this troubling advertising trend – that includes a too-heavy reliance on targeting – and how it will ultimately hurt long term profit.
See also Peter Field’s presentation on the Dangers of Short-termism
do you suffer from screenesthesia?
Not all screens should be treated equally. With a variety of screen types and a plethora of viewing environments, it’s important to consider context when developing and placing your video ads. We worked with Brainsights to analyze why screen matters in this report, and they have since worked with Strategy & CIBC to break down the relationship of video effectiveness and screen size. Learn more here:
study: fmcg, auto, & finance under-invested in tv ad spends
A new study by Ebiquity concluded that the fmcg, auto, and finance industries need to increase their TV media budgets to truly optimise their marketing ROI. The research applied econonometric modelling to 3 years’ of sales and campaign data by 21 advertisers, with a collective spend of over $500 million.
See also Nick Manning’s Profit Ability presentation – also based on Ebiquity research – that yielded similar results