A key barrier to entry for QR Code usage has been third party app to read the codes and lower smartphone usage. In 202081% of U.S. adults have smartphones. And nearly all of them read QR with no third party app required.
QR Code usage is taking off and many DTC companies are trying to figure out how to integrate QR Codes into their ad campaigns to enhance brand engagement and response – especially with the usage adoption in 2020.
Modus has started utilizing QR Codes as a response mechanism on television (linear and OTT/CTV) campaigns and though consumers are responding and engaging, the verdict is still out on the overall effectiveness. That being said, QR Codes are here to stay and we need to continue to work toward understanding how they can add value to advertisers campaigns.
QR Code usage to engage consumers with your brand should start to be a conversation…if it isn’t already!
The opening ceremony for the Olympics is scheduled for July 23, 2021
NBCUniversal has announced they will air a record 7,000 hours of coverage!
Roughly 3 in 5 US Adults are expecting to watch.
Record coverage, does not necessarily mean record Viewership. With Olympic controversy comes speculation on actual engagement and many feel the Olympics should be postponed again.
Athens (terrorism concerns) and Rio (Zika) both had controversy and ratings suffered.
The position at Modus is like everything with COVID, this is different, and NBC is poised to deliver historic viewership based on consumers yearning for Sports programming – especially the emotional, competitive and elite delivery of the Olympics.
OTT / CTV can efficiently expand your campaign television reach. We always recommend a balanced scorecard while allowing the performance to inform the spend distribution.
Inform consumer and network targets
We have utilized OTT/CTV to inform larger Hispanic targeting initiatives leading to linear TV network additions to include Hispanic targeted networks.
Some networks are more risky to test in a traditional linear environment (such as HGTV or Discovery Prime) but may produce the best results via OTT/CTV. This learning allows us to add networks to linear plans with more confidence and less risk for our clients.
78 million U.S. households maintained a cable subscription at the start of 2021. At the same time, advertisers could reach more than 84 million households via connected, streaming TV services for the first time. And, according to The Trade Desk, and all of us in this business – this trend is not likely to reverse.
OTT / CTV outpaced all other media in 2020 (which is not a surprise to anyone) and the projected cord cutting for 35+ in 2021 is something that can not be ignored.
That being said, campaigns targeting 65+ DTC products and services outperformed linear TV in some cases. This is a huge finding for companies targeting 65+ and should be a strong consideration to augment the linear workhorse.
April marked the first full month of lock down for most of the world. As advertisers adjust TV spend and creatives to reach and engage with consumers watching increasingly more video across all screens, what trends have emerged?
Not only are people consuming more TV, but now they are having more conversations about the programs they watch on Social Media
Total volume of TV and COVID-19-related conversations, on Twitter alone, reached nearly 9 million since the start of 2020 in the U.S.—a staggering 40X increase
588% increase in Social TV Activity comparing Spring 2019 and Spring 2020 for Children and Family Movies
Interestingly Spanish-language entertainment is down 23%, but Spanish-language News & Talk is up 71%
eMarketer: Why TV Ad Spend Will Fall. Sports and Political Ad Spend.
Previous reports called for a 2% increase in TV Ad Spend for 2020. Now, experts are estimating a 22.3% – 29.3% DECLINE in TV Ad Spend first half of 2020.
Political ad spend will be on hold in 2Q20. Candidates don’t want to be seen as being insensitive campaigning during the pandemic.
No Sports Content. Professional leagues have cancelled or suspended season.
Kantar estimated March Madness, the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs collectively accounted for about $2 billion in TV ad revenues last year.
NBCUniversal reported advertiser commitments for the 2020 Olympics amounted to about $1.25 billion and Moffett Nathanson Research estimated losses to ESPN, ABC and TNT ~$700 million due to the NBA season cancellation.
This year, I attended the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas. This conference gave “Money Revolutionaries” the opportunity to meet and discuss many challenges, including the following.
Creating Momentum
The major insight I extracted is how difficult it is to communicate brand appeal in the financial Industry because let’s face it, mortgages, loans and account services apps aren’t as enticing as the material presented in the entertainment or travel industries. Additionally,the industry uses very specific lingo that may not be easy to understand for the common customer. Because of these two obstacles, the concepts involved aren’t typically appealing throughout the digital/social media ecosystem.
But what’s the solution to this? TV advertising, of course! And we have three very clear reasons to believe it.
First and foremost,these “Money Revolutionaries” need to face their traditional competitors within their branding realm with a big brand-awareness push, getting the message out to the massive audience and there’s no other medium that could offer such speed and scale than digital and of course TV.
Secondly, we know that the synergy between DRTV campaigns and download rates is strong without high ad spend. Based upon the likeliness of the target market being a multi-screen user, the call to action response is more viable when the TV ad airs while having a mobile device in hand. These results are also more measurable. Having DRTV and Mobile within the marketing mix is simply a no-brainer.
Third, consumers have been losing the trust in the banking and financial sector throughout the years, and TV has been the king of media in relation to trust, giving these digital products/services the sense of reality.These new technology service providers offer new ways to manage finances, meeting the consumer’s needs and desires and moving away from the tarnished reputations of the “bad banks.” This evolution, or shall we call it FinTech Revolution, should be massively televised to build up trust!
Finally, the “cherry on top” for the FinTech data-rich and data driven industry, is that DRTV campaigns can be measured, analyzed and optimized as the “digital revolution” has brought to the marketing/advertising basics.
So for those Financial brands looking to create momentum, don’t wait anymore and contact us now! We will get your product/service where the high street banks are.
A lot of time is spent behind the scenes coming up with great ideas for TV spots: internal brainstorming meetings, long calls and presentations with clients, focus groups, scripting, various rounds of revisions…. the list goes on and on. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fun process, even one of the main reasons I originally got into advertising. And, it is a vital process to make sure companies are putting the best product in the market to lure consumers into buying/interacting with their brand.
Unfortunately, many times, creative teams (and clients) get too caught up in the stories and aesthetics of the spots that they forget one simple element: Does the spot pass the Mute Test?
The mute test you ask? That’s right! At the end of the day, your TV spot and/or video must pass the test! Why? Because after all that effort, time, and money spent producing the spots, you need to make sure that, even with the volume down, viewers understand who you are (brand), what the story is about, and what you offer. Remember, viewers may be at home with their TV muted during the commercials, watching it on Social Media with their volume muted (default for most platforms), or at a bar or restaurant watching sports where, in most cases, only one game has the volume playing, and/or the crowd is so loud viewers may not hear the spot anyway.
Furthermore, it is crucial that your spots pass the test because you are paying for the media placements and impressions. So instead of “wasting” those media dollars with spots that may not get your message across, make the necessary adjustments to deliver the best spot the first time.
Here is the test:
Ask a person to watch your video for the first time
Mute your volume
Play them your video
Ask them:
What was the spot about?
What was the brand?
What product or service was offered?
Publish or revise as necessary
An easy fix? Supers. Good ’ol supers that help tell the story; supers that highlight the main points of your message, and that are designed within your brand guidelines.
