TheMarketingblog

Exclusive : adconnection CEO, Catherine Becker, on key media trends

This week, theMarketingblog chats to Catherine Becker, adconnection CEO, @adconnectionUK who on the back of judging some of this year’s industry awards, including the Campaign Media, the Media Week and the DMA Awards, takes a look at some of the key trends spotted that effect our business and that demonstrate the direction the advertising industry is taking.

http://www.adconnection.co.uk/

1.     Crafting content, and doing it well
Content marketing isn’t exactly new, though in recent years our understanding of it has moved on from a basic blog to pretty much anything that delivers something valuable and relevant. Over the past couple of years, more and more brands have recognised the value of content as an engagement tool.

The walls between advertising and content are gradually being broken down and there’s no doubt that by the time we get to next year’s awards, content will dominate even more than it has in 2015.

2.     Cross platform and cross media integration
Effective advertising campaigns are rarely delivered through just one or two channels anymore. The media space is too wide and too varied for this to be effective and so a key theme of this year’s campaigns has been integration – tying together a number of channels most relevant to your target audience, to drive engagement.

We saw the effectiveness of this with a campaign we did for Maplin last year in which the overall success was as a result of it being a truly integrated campaign not just across media, (harmonising social media/mobile/online with the TV ads), but through the line on their website and in-store to both raise brand awareness and drive sales.

3.     Brands partnering with vloggers
Increasingly we are seeing brands partner with vloggers as a way of reaching discreet target audiences, most notably the younger demographic. Fans of YouTubers are among the most loyal of any audience, often hanging on the every word of the video stars.

As with celebrity endorsed advertising, YouTuber and brand partnerships are a notoriously hard balance to strike and one in which both parties run the risk of damaging their reputation. If successful, however, you’ve got yourself an audience of extremely loyal brand ambassadors.

Vloggers reach an audience generally less susceptible to traditional advertising, with some stars amassing more than 9 billion views on their videos. There are also YouTubers for a myriad of interests, from make up to gaming, comedy to clothes – for the right brand there can be a ready-made audience.

4.     Backing up traditional marketing campaigns with social presence
Traditional media such as print, OOH, TV, etc. is no longer relied upon as the sole distribution channel, they are instead being used to drive social engagement, interaction and acquisition. Campaigns are increasingly given longevity thanks to stories continuing online long after the TV, print or radio campaign has finished.

More and more we are seeing how social media can extend the buying process. Particularly with the rise of buy buttons, acquisition is increasingly achievable via social platforms.

In addition, social presence takes traditional media one step further by adding a layer of interaction that encourages dialogue, feedback and two way conversation. Keen to craft a human and personal edge to their marketing, brands are ensuring that all their campaigns are backed up with social presence.

5. Adblocking – engagement and effectiveness.

There has been talk recently of adblocking destroying the media and advertising business. However, this is not a view we subscribe to. We need to be smarter about staying one step ahead. As adblocking closes one media channel, we are constantly finding new avenues to access. Adblocking isn’t nearly ubiquitous and agencies can help clients ensure that the engagement is as rewarding as possible.

From a media point of view, this can be achieved by frequency capping. No one wants to see an ad 60 times, especially when you can’t stop it. This is what leads to consumers wanting to block those ads. Techniques like choosing a relevant ad (rather than pushing an irrelevant one) and also being sensitive around the device it is played on, will also help to drive rewarding engagement.

We need to repurpose TV ads for mobile and online, platforms where consumers want and indeed expect immediacy, unlike ads viewed on live TV or in the cinema where viewers tend to be far more relaxed about seeing ads.

Naturally, it will be interesting to see how these trends develop between now and next year’s awards and indeed what new trends crop up.

http://www.adconnection.co.uk/