Are you missing out on the Hispanic Market?

Posted on October 23, 2018October 24, 2018 by Modus Direct

With the fast growth of the Hispanic market in the United States, it has become more important for brands to market to that demographic. With overall population growth, higher HHI and a strong purchasing power, brands can no longer ignore that market if they want to grow their ROI.

However, it is not as simple as using traditional “techniques” used to market to the Anglo market. Latinx consumers behave different and it is the responsibility of the marketer (and their agency) to understand the Hispanic audiences first.

A little bit about this demographic:

Hispanics are the second-fastest growing demographic group in the United States * and it’s a young population as for over 50% of them are age 30 years old and younger *. This specific fact should be accounted for in how brands talk and reach out to this massive younger generation of Hispanics, since the majority of this audience, although being of Hispanic background, is born in the US and exhibits bi-cultural behaviors. With that being said, the greatest opportunity lies on a wider spectrum for creativity. Since this demo tends to be bilingual, Creative Directors get the chance to develop messaging in “three languages”, English, Spanish and “Spanglish”. In addition to the message, it is important to tailor messages specific to the platforms where Hispanics consume media. Brands have the chance to engage them where they are “hanging out”. For instance 74.5% of the Hispanic population consume media through TV Cable and/or ADS and Hispanics are the most avid radio listeners *.

Brands are always looking for loyalty and repurchasing tendencies in their consumers and according to the Experian Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study, about 56% of Spanish-dominant Hispanics agree that, “When I hear a company advertise in Spanish, it makes me feel like they respect my heritage and want my business.”

So, let me assure you that for the next two decades, brands that ignore the Hispanic Market won’t survive. They have to understand that this market has great growth potential; nevertheless, it remains an underserved demographic, and there’s where the GREATEST opportunity lands. It’s always a good idea to be the FIRST in doing anything. So, don’t wait and contact us; Modus Direct can become your partner in helping your business grow as never before, with our many years of experience and understanding of this Demographic Group, we will take your brand/product/service to the next level.

Sandra Valencia – Managing Director

sandra@modusdirect.com

*http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/18/how-the-u-s-hispanic-population-is-changing/

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/04/20/the-nations-latino-population-is-defined-by-its-youth/

http://fliphtml5.com/ifva/rjjy/basic

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

TV is More Alive than Ever!

Posted on October 1, 2018June 14, 2019 by Modus Direct

TV is more alive than ever!

People say “TV is dying”, however, in truth, TV is more alive than ever. It continues to be the biggest mass media channel and the “go-to” for brands that desire to make an impact in the marketplace and spread their message to as many people as possible at once. Before you say “nah..”, have you seen the Facebook Ad apologizing for their latest botch with Cambridge Analytica? I am sure you did. How about the re-branding of Wells Fargo claiming “Established 1852, Re-established 2018”? No? Oh wait, how about the new Nike ad with Colin Kaepernick?

Are you still thinking that “TV is dying”? I bet not. Millions of dollars have been spent on TV advertising for each one of these campaigns. Why? Because even the most sophisticated online brands like Facebook realize TV still reaches the masses in a cost-efficient way. They acknowledge the power of TV in their media mix as one of the most (if not the most) impactful of the media channels in terms of reach and social impact. In addition, TV is entrenched in our day to day lives, including our water cooler conversations, our shared social media posts, etc.… I know I’ve heard my share of talks around Walking Dead, Shameless or America’s Got Talent. Have you?

So, whether you are consuming TV programming via linear TV or via OTT options like Hulu, Roku, Sling or Video-On-Demand among others; trust me, TV is more alive than what we give it credit for.

Is TV in your media mix? If it is, are you maximizing it? And if it is not, I invite you to reconsider AND we should definitely talk.

Email us at LetsTalk@modusdirect.com or call us at 941-552-6770 today!

We Believe in a Balanced Scorecard.

Posted on July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 by shanireardon

We believe in a balanced scorecard. Why? Because it is what is best for our client’s.

As direct response television experts we are constantly challenged with “why television”, “why not put it all in digital”. We also hear a lot about how no one is watching television anymore. Well, if that was true Facebook would not have just launched a TV PR ad campaign to try to fix their privacy/consumer trust problem. Television continues to have the highest reach of any other media. Period. Are the patterns of how people consume video changing, absolutely! That is why the way we purchase television aka video has changed and must continue to change. We buy more VOD than ever before. We take advantage of DSPs more than ever before. We buy more Hulu and Roku than ever before.

Despite all of that, this article is to provide some up to date trends from IAB, VAB and other sources on how TV and digital media work together to make a positive impact on an advertiser’s business. We also provide some stats on media usage/time spent. And last, we provide some debunking of cord cutting.

Enjoy!

1. TV and Digital Executed Simultaneously Drove the Most Impact for Awareness, Familiarity, Opinion and Intent

2. Television continues to have the highest daily media consumption.

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2018.html?q=*&q_10=listing&q1=Report&x1=contenttypetag&pageFacets=Report&defaultSearchText=&x3=categorytag&q3=Media

3. What are Adults doing any given minute?

4. Cord Cutting – Don’t believe the hype.

MYTH:

Pay TV subscribers will drop cable services for more affordable Over-the Top (OTT) options like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

REALITY:

83% of TV households watch cable – steady over the past 15 years

71% of US TV Viewers are “cord stackers” – subscribing to Pay TV and streaming services. Streaming-only customers account for only 11% of viewers. One of the reasons cord-cutters were liberating themselves from the shackles of cable was the cost of cable. In order to fulfill the viewing needs many are now having to subscribe to multiple paid streaming services – inching closer to the cost of cable.

Hail Direct Response!

Posted on August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 by Modus Direct

What was once an afterthought needs to become an integral part of a Brands advertising strategy. The belief that if people knew that your brands existed, they would see it on a shelf and buy it is unrealistic. The retail experience is going extinct. In an interview with Business Insider Warren Buffet discusses how the face of retail is changing. “The department store is online now,” the billionaire investor said Saturday at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, as Business Insider’s Bob Bryan reported. “I have no illusion that 10 years from now will look the same as today, and there will be a few things along the way that surprise us,” he said. “The world has evolved, and it’s going to keep evolving, but the speed is increasing.”

With retail dying, and more people going online to do their shopping, Brands need to be more creative in finding ways to get their potential customers to click that call to action to push the buyer down the funnel to buy. Extend the brand from just awareness to action.

We at Modus believe that the services we offer such as TVSync, tieing digital/ Social DR campaigns to TV Brand ads, are the way to combat the degradation in retail. Accenture did a study in 2015 that found that 87% of people they surveyed used a secondary device (smartphone/ tablet/pc) while watching TV. What’s better than promoting your brand on TV and hitting your target on their smartphone or Tablet?

Your Customers Want to Text You!

Posted on July 21, 2017July 21, 2017 by Modus Direct

Meet your audience where they already are – on their smartphone!

According to a study by RingCentral, 78% of consumers actually wish they could have a text conversation with a business. The evidence is mounting that smartphones are the primary way consumers interact with each other, and it’s no surprise they want the same from brands.

According to a Nielsen survey Americans text twice as much as they call, on average. 81% of medical and dental patients have indicated that they prefer appointment confirmations and reminders via text (versus 41% via email). If you walk into a Target store you’ll see signage prompting customers to text for coupons, or even to apply for a job. Target uses texting to marry physical and digital shopping experiences, and advertisers can use the same strategy to connect media consumption and direct response. 57% of people use their smartphones while watching TV, and 93% have them handy. This means you can use a text CTA to meet your customers halfway, offering to interact via their preferred method of communication – texting.

Connect with your audience NOW – ask them to engage!

51% of all television ads now show a URL, but only 30% contain a clear call to action. URL’s have moved out of simply being a direct response mechanism and become integral with brands themselves. Cutting through the barrage of URLs washing over your audience is crucial if you want to connect, and offering an instantaneous way to connect via text does exactly that. A text offer creates a sense of urgency and real time connection with your audience.

Take advantage of unparalleled consumer attention – people actually read their texts!
Let’s put this in perspective. 8 trillion text messages were sent last year, and 95% of them were read within minutes. Meanwhile, only 14% of phone calls were answered without being placed on hold (I don’t have to write about why that’s less than ideal) and the average consumer receives 1,216 emails per month, but doesn’t even open 20% of them. This is big, this means that once you do have the conversation started via text, your conversions and remarketing efforts stand to benefit from a level of consumer attention that no other response mechanism can offer.
Sources:
https://www.televox.com/downloads/texting_your_patients.pdf
https://www.textrequest.com/blog/texting-statistics-answer-questions/

TV advertising and Analytics research

http://www.slicktext.com/blog/2014/02/text-message-marketing-the-new-kid-on-the-block-infographic/
https://www.textrequest.com/blog/8-reasons-why-texting-is-crucial-to-business-communication/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/299254/phone-web-and-now-texting-to-marketers.html

The Importance of DRTV Specialists

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Modus Direct

Use Direct Response TV specialists when buying DRTV
DRTV planning, buying and accountability is vastly different than purchasing Brand media (aka retail rates). If you are going to move to accountable DRTV buying you need an agency that is an expert in it.
Some simple questions every DRTV agency should quickly have the answers to:

1. What is my discount off retail rate card?

DRTV rates are up to 80% off retail rate card. This holds true for both national cable and spot market affiliates. Because your media is being purchased at distressed rates not all media will clear. Retail buys paying full rate card may “bump” you out of your inventory. Because you want to make sure you are clearing your dollars, your agency should be booking no less than 150% to budget. This is where DRTV experience is key – people who buy DRTV understand this balancing act so you do not clear over or below your budget. They understand they may need to cancel media (DRTV cancellation is 72-hours vs. Retail’s 2-week cancellation – minimum) or add media at the last minute.

2. How do you track my campaign performance?

The answer should never be Reach, Frequency, Ratings or GRPs. Also, if your agency says they ONLY use Strata, they are most likely not buying much direct response. Strata is a great tool when planning and buying retail but not direct response. Your agency needs a system that will not only allow them to plan and buy media but also track your performance and budget clearance. Direct response experts evaluate your campaign performance every day and review performance of every commercial airing. Therefore, it is critical for optimization and performance evaluation to have the proper tools.

3. What type of reporting do you provide?

Your agency should be able to give you daily performance on exactly which commercial airings delivered what. This should include the full funnel from response to sale and the ultimate return on investment. Even if there is a long tail on the sale (6-months to a year) a direct response pro will be able to track that sale back to the specific television airing. Direct response television experts track everything – creative, unit length, networks, times, programming. You want it Direct Response Television experts track it. Even if you are driving viewers to your branded URL their analytics team will still be able to give detailed reporting. Your media buy will then be optimized based on this data to deliver the highest return on investment.

Don’t be fooled. It could be costly.
If you have additional questions on buying DRTV or are interested in launching a DRTV campaign, contact Modus Direct, modusdirect.com. We are Direct Response.

CRM and DRTV

Posted on June 21, 2017July 10, 2017 by Modus Direct

The Modus Direct media team were recently discussing making optimizations & testing for a campaign and a bunch of questions flew around the room, some could be answered and some couldn’t. It was then that we decided the next blog post should be written on good CRM.

Clients need a good CRM to fully understand the funnel that their customers follow when converting, but CRM are just as important for agency partners making media decisions on their clients’ behalf.

The beauty of DR campaigns is the trackability, but only if it is done properly. This is where CRM programs come into play. These tools can track not only the customer that respond to the desired call to action, i.e. calling a tracked phone number or visiting a specific URL, but will also help track and define those “halo” customers. These are customers that will call a local number instead of the toll-free number displayed on the TV commercial or searching the business on Google instead of visiting the unique URL on the ad. Customers are influenced by the campaign, but did not go through the designated call to action the campaign was promoting. These instances are the halo effect of the campaign and can be challenging to account for in traditional media. The proper tracking helps validate media vehicles or network selection.

A good CRM tool will also provide insights on which network, daypart, creative, etc., is delivering the most calls verses conversions. This allows your agency to make informed decisions on where the most qualified audiences are for your brand.
Another way to get the most from your CRM tool is to export data and create lookalike modeling on customers that have converted. These data sets can be used across many platforms including traditional media.
The proper tool can increase ROI by eliminating waste in your media schedule, assist with tracking, engaging and converting customers in a more efficient manner. Here at Modus we form true partnerships with our clients and assist in evaluating the current CRM program will allow you to achieve your advertising goals.

TV and Facebook on Steroids!

Posted on June 7, 2017June 7, 2017 by Modus Direct

Facebook says its ads work better with TV than previously thought

By Jennifer Faull–02 June 2017 16:45pm

Facebook says its ads are more effective if combined with TV

Facebook has previously lauded its ability to help TV advertisers reach more people. But, this week it revealed that TV and Facebook work together better than its previous estimates.

The media-giant worked with WPP-owned Kantar Worldpanel on a study investigating whether people exposed to advertising on Facebook and TV are more likely to purchase the products or services they are exposed to.

It builds on a study it published last year with Nielsen which found that Facebook could help advertisers reach an additional 5% of people they would have otherwise missed had they purchased media space on TV only.

As part of the study, Kantar, which collects a large range of purchase data via an in-home barcode scanning panel, as well as details of their media exposure, analysed 13 video campaigns run by FMCG brands.

Based on the figures from TV-only exposure and Facebook only exposure, the social giant expected to see a 22% uplift in likelihood to purchase when exposed to ads on both channels.

But the Kantar model showed the figure was actually 29%, a 1.3X increase on what was expected.

“It shows that with Facebook and TV….they both work on their own, but the value is in using them together,” explained KiriMitchell, media insights director, Kantar Worldpanel.

“The reason we’re excited about this analysis is that it confirms what we thought for a long time but weren’t able to prove,” added Richard Bussy, UK & Ireland measurement lead at Facebook. “Much like in life, when to people tell you the same thing….when two channels tell you the same thing you’re much more likely to buy.”

The ad campaigns all ran across Facebook, some included Instagram, and came from verticals ranging from alcohol, confectionery, personal care and soft drinks. They all ran for varying durations (between four and six weeks), with campaign budgets ranging from just £100,000 to over £2m.

When researchers first looked at the return on ad spend (ROAS) of each campaign individually, they found that 11 of the 13 campaigns produced positive returns.

The average ROAS across the campaigns was £1.79, and ranged from £0.59 up to £5.38.

Across the campaigns in the study, TV had a 4.7X greater household reach than Facebook.

After accounting for campaign spend, Facebook had an average 1.9X cheaper cost of reach.

Adding in the sales return linked to exposure through each channel, Facebook was found to have an average 1.8X greater sales uplift on a per household basis.

Kantar also layered demographics over reach which showed that Facebook was slightly weaker in reaching heavy TV viewers, but stronger in reaching light viewers, and (of course) non-TV viewers.

Despite this different TV viewership composition, there was no difference at all in the proportionate make-up of brand or category buyers. This means that the different audience(s) reached by Facebook were just as valuable to an advertiser as the reach they typically get on TV, according to the study.

4C’s enhanced targeting capabilities helps Modus Direct turn data into calls to action

Posted on June 7, 2017June 7, 2017 by Modus Direct

May 31st, 2017 /

Modus Direct Partners with 4C Insights to Drive Response from Social Media

CHICAGO – May 31, 2017 – Modus Direct, a data-driven direct response marketing agency, and 4C Insights (4C), a data science and media technology company, today announced a new partnership. Through 4C Social, Modus Direct clients will now be able to find and target their most valuable audiences across major social and mobile platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn and coordinate digital campaigns alongside TV initiatives.

It’s no secret consumer behavior has changed. Nearly 9 in 10 people report multi-device usage — watching a TV show while surfing the web or checking in on social networks. With increasing fragmentation in media, it’s a challenge for marketers to effectively reach their audience segments at scale. Through 4C’s end-to-end campaign management platform, Modus Direct is able to run campaigns programmatically, optimize targeting and creative to drive response, as well as utilize on-demand automated reporting with 4C’s proprietary data.

To keep their services a cut above the rest, Modus Direct evaluated multiple technology providers, but ultimately chose 4C Social for its intuitive interface, data-driven targeting capabilities, and the team’s exceptional customer service support. The success of 4C Social quickly trickled into the accounts of Modus Directs’ clientele, whom span the B2B and B2C gamut with top financial, research, home service, healthcare, education brands and include residential mortgage company, Guaranteed Rate. Just 3 weeks after implementation, Modus Direct clients saw link click volume double and cost per click improve by 37 percent.

“At Modus Direct, we don’t believe in what cannot be measured or proven,” says Shani Reardon, President of Modus Direct. “We won’t spend a penny without being able to show how it’s impacting our client’s bottom line. The unique targeting capabilities, ability to integrate social with TV, and campaign performance metrics in 4C Social completely sold us. No other platforms can do what 4C does.”

“Consumers are harder to reach than ever before and marketing budgets are getting squeezed,” says Lance Neuhauser, CEO of 4C Insights. “The solution? Agencies and marketers need to embrace new technologies and automation to keep pace with the changing behavior of consumers. Modus Direct is already seeing great gains after integrating with our technology. At the root of this is data science, insights, and the ability to demonstrate marketing is moving the needle.”

4C is helping brands win the battle for consumer attention across screens. The company was recently named#1 in customer satisfaction for cross-channel advertising software by G2 Crowd. 4C’s products are built on more than 30 years of computational science research by Founder and Chief Scientist, Dr. Alok Choudhary, at prestigious institutions including Northwestern University. The company’s patented technology also leverages hardware and intellectual property acquired through Civolution and Royal Philips Electronics.

Modus Direct Partners with 4C Insights

Posted on June 7, 2017June 7, 2017 by Modus Direct

Modus Direct Partners with 4C Insights

Modus Direct Partners with 4C Insights to Drive Response from Social Media.

Modus Direct, a data-driven direct response marketing agency, and 4C Insights, a data science and media technology company, announced a new partnership. Through 4C Social, Modus Direct clients will now be able to find and target their most valuable audiences across major social and mobile platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn and coordinate digital campaigns alongside TV initiatives.

“At Modus Direct, we don’t believe in what cannot be measured or proven,” says Shani Reardon, President of Modus Direct (pictured top left). “We won’t spend a penny without being able to show how it’s impacting our client’s bottom line. The unique targeting capabilities, ability to integrate social with TV, and campaign performance metrics in 4C Social completely sold us. No other platforms can do what 4C does.”

4C is helping brands win the battle for consumer attention across screens. The company was recently named #1 in customer satisfaction for cross-channel advertising software by G2 Crowd. 4C’s products are built on more than 30 years of computational science research by Founder and Chief Scientist, Dr. Alok Choudhary, at prestigious institutions including Northwestern University. The company’s patented technology also leverages hardware and intellectual property acquired through Civolution and Royal Philips Electronics.

About Modus Direct

Modus Direct is the next generation of direct response marketing, advancing the methodology where the old guard left off. In today’s challenging business environment, fresh thinking, keen problem solving and accountability are paramount to success. Modus Direct combine intense mathematical understanding with tactically focused creative to produce maximum results with the least risk.

About 4C Insights, Inc.

4C is a data science and media technology company with solutions for multi-screen marketing. Brands, agencies and media owners rely on the 4C Insights Affinity Graph™ to identify their most valuable audiences and improve effectiveness across channels. With nearly $1 billion in annualized media spend running through its software-as-a-service platform, 4C offers activation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat as well as TV Synced Ads across display, search, social, and video. The company also provides paid, earned, and owned media analytics leveraging its Teletrax™ television monitoring network which detects over 400 million TV asset airings on an annual basis. Founded in 2011 and based in Chicago, 4C has staff in 15 worldwide locations across the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, India, and Singapore. Visit www.4Cinsights.com for more information.