Category: Blog

Without doubt we are living and working in a world which is mobile first. Our smartphones are our number one device and the advertising industry has attempted to follow consumers’ eyeballs to the mobile screen. A quick search for the term ‘mobile’ on this site throws up hundreds of results, but as an industry, are we better at talking mobile than we are at delivering it?

From a campaign’s inception to its close, the advertising journey can broadly be split into three processes; creative, delivery and measurement. Each of these should be planned to be ‘mobile first’ but in the vast majority of campaigns this is not the case.

In terms of the creative, it is widely acknowledged by those working within mobile advertising that, in terms of video ads, duration really does matter. Repurposing a 30-second TV spot does not provide an optimum experience, a fact which has been discussed time and time again –  yet these creatives are still regularly put forward for mobile advertising. Orientation is another issue, users typically view short form video content vertically, but most video advertising is initially shot for TV and repurposed for mobile, ending up in landscape with two large black bars surrounding the creative. If the industry is mobile first than the creative should be planned with mobile in mind and a video should be produced which is optimised to the smaller screen.

Read the rest of the article here.

Knowledge is power and, as marketers, we are fortunate to work in a time where we have unparalleled insights into audience behaviour.

The rise of smartphones and the digital era have resulted in trillions of data points being created every day, revealing everything from our location history to how much battery our smartphone has left. This data is already being used effectively across the industry and it is common practice to create bespoke audience profiles to identify which users are relevant for your brand and allow advertising to be precisely targeted to the user.

But all too often, once data has been used to identify an audience, the industry recedes to the Dark Ages and fails to capitalise on the improved customer experience and instant feedback loop that are possible.

Read the rest of the article here.

James Corden is America’s new sweetheart, and Apple is keen to tap into this with their newest ad promoting Apple Music. Corden, as a recognisable, hoot-ish individual, seems like the perfect figure for Apple – slightly quirky, slightly creative, and often very silly. Clearly Apple want to tap into a lighter-spirited demographic – a world away from the more intense iPhone 7 launch ads from a few weeks ago.

Check out the ad below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQY3KUR3VzM

There’s a form of haunting terror that drives through BBDO’s latest commercial alongside AT&T’s latest ad in the ‘It Can Wait’ series. This doesn’t just come through the fantastic score and tension-filled edit – interspersing long, melancholic shots with quick cuts and glimpses of possible tragedy. The later apparition of a ‘ghost’ figure is equally scary – especially their childish inquisitiveness and exuberant energy. It all comes across as a mournful saga that remains all too common on modern roads.

AT&T has released a recent app to stop distracted driving, one certainly investing in if you ever feel there’s a danger of losing focus when your phone is nearby. It can be acquired here for Android users.

You can watch the whole video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVEBJxS2J_Y

Artificial intelligence is staying relevant in large-scale marketing channels, but recently it has made headway in mobile video advertising. A recent survey of 1,000 mobile users asked if after watching a mobile video ad whether viewers were inclined to buy a product.

Nearly half of those surveyed said they never bought a product after watching a commercial video. Additionally, when asked why this was the case, 51 per cent stated they were not in the market for the product at that time of viewing and 29 per cent said the adverts were not relevant. These statistics for mobile video viewers indicated that advertising is not being delivered at the correct point in the purchase funnel or to users who were likely to change their minds, ultimately wasting marketer’s budgets.

“The challenge many brands face is getting ROI from their digital campaigns and achieving the marketing goals” comments Stephen Upstone, CEO LoopMe. “Clicks were used to judge the impact of campaigns simply because there was a lack of other reliable metrics to use for optimization or reporting.”

The new way of delivering campaigns is to combine AI with third party brand research from Nielsen and On Device, to expressly target users who have shown the greatest likelihood of moving along the purchase funnel. Throughout each campaign a sample of users will be surveyed to determine its ongoing performance against brand metrics like brand awareness, favorability or purchase intent. That’s at least according to video platform LoopMe, which has announced new optimization and reporting technology, PurchaseLoop that helped deliver the results.

Read the rest of the article on The Drum website here.

Renowned filmmaker Spike Jonze had a lucrative start to his career – specialising in incredibly well executed pieces that made no attempt to conform to expectations – often undermining or subverting trends and leaving a lasting impression on consumers. If advertisers sometimes think outside the box, then Spike Jonze likes to think outside the idea of thinking – everything is to be interrogated, questioned and prodded. You can see some of his best work here.

His latest ad with Kenzo does exactly that – undermine the conventional depiction of perfume adverts with something bold, incredibly well choreographed and fun. Watch it below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABz2m0olmPg

 ‘Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half’. John Wanamaker

We are pleased to share the results of our latest piece of consumer research, examining users’ purchase behaviour after viewing mobile video ads, in order to determine if the advertising users see is truly delivering brands value.

In partnership with independent consumer research company, Morar, LoopMe surveyed over 1000 mobile users in the US and UK, covering a range of demographics, regions, ages and genders, to explore whether mobile video ads were driving users along the path to purchase.

Q1 Have you ever watched a mobile video advert for a product and bought that product in store or online?

In total 55% of users had gone on to purchase a product after viewing a mobile video ad, (50% in the UK, 60 in the US), showing mobile video ads were often incredibly successful at delivering brand and advertiser messaging to consumers, and driving those users along the path to purchase.

However, this left 45% of users across both markets who did not feel compelled to buy products after being served mobile video ads.

 Q2. If not why not? Answer all which apply:

1)      I was not looking to buy the products advertised

2)      Adverts are not relevant to me

3)      The ads were intrusive and put me off buying

4)      Other

This was the subject for the survey’s second question, which asked why users did not feel motivated to buy products either in store or online after seeing specific ads. The results here were significant, with 51% found to be not in market (averaged across both markets, with 47% of UK users and 54% of US users agreeing to this point) and 29%  stating that the ad in question was not relevant to them personally.  Furthermore, 21% of users across both markets stated that ads could sometimes feel intrusive or put them off buying entirely.

In the US younger audiences between 18-29 were much more likely to perceive ads as intrusive or annoyingly, whereas in the UK the age distinction was less clear cut, though older demographics were less likely to see ads as a nuisance.

Across both markets, men were 5% more likely to buy products after seeing mobile video ads, whereas female users were 7% less likely to see ads as intrusive or annoying.

What is clear from the results is that the format of video ads or the quality of the creative is not always the greatest influencing factor in ad effectiveness. If users do not feel that ads are relevant or if they have no desire to buy the product, then the ad will be wasted on them. It is therefore more important than ever that advertisers recognise that in order to achieve ROI from their advertising, campaigns are targeted to users who are in target audience and in market for their product.

To ensure your campaigns are reaching the right audiences, with the right ad at the right moment to deliver brand uplift, LoopMe have developed an intelligent brand optimizer, PurchaseLoop, which uses artificial intelligence to improve uplift across brand metrics in real-time.

Click here to find out more.

Download the full research here.

Grey New York, who oversee the Volvo creative account, have been ambitious with their newest angle for the car manufacturer. Here the emphasis is not on the car’s qualities, but its significance – we are being sold the idea of travelling, rather than the car product itself. It’s an intriguing novel approach that taps into a Kerouac, Whitman-esque approach to life – an appreciation of fleeting experiences while also learning to treasure the journey. Whitman’s ‘Song of the Open Road’, read with a husky, whiskey-edged breath by Josh Brolin, is the ideal thematic umbrella, unifying what could be a series of disparate (albeit beautiful) images from director Niclas Larsson and Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth.

The oscillation between intense closeup and expansive, immersive imagery adds a sense of sentimental scale to proceedings – this isn’t the story of one man facing writer’s block, but the story of anyone, travelling across open, empty landscapes, looking for direction.

There’s certainly a lot to chew on here, and kudos to Volvo for trying something that actively defies convention and making people think about the images that they’re seeing. It’ll be interesting to find out how audiences react to the ad itself, but anything as interesting as this going forward can only be welcomed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBt_niVG4sM

New study shows nearly 50% of users have never bought a product after watching a mobile video ad, LoopMe solve problem with AI brand optimization technology.

Mobile video platform LoopMe has announced new optimization and reporting technology,PurchaseLoop (patent pending), a global industry first which has the potential to revolutionize the way advertising is delivered to consumers. The new self-learning technology will use AI to continuously optimize mobile video campaigns towards brand metrics such as purchase intent, brand affinity or product recall, helping deliver ads to the users most likely to change opinion and move along the path to purchase, enabling brands to increase revenues and loyalty.

While the performance of digital campaigns has traditionally been measured by views and clicks, the impact CTR has on brand metrics such as purchase intent, and subsequently on consumer purchase behavior and ultimately brand revenues, has been called into question. Research by Nielsen, which examined the link between clicks and offline purchase behavior, suggested there is no correlation between CTR and sales.

“The challenge many brands face is getting ROI from their digital campaigns and achieving the marketing goals” comments Stephen Upstone, CEO LoopMe. “Clicks were used to judge the impact of campaigns simply because there was a lack of other reliable metrics to use for optimization or reporting. The implementation of this new technology allows advertisers to act on metrics which genuinely have an impact on revenue. It will also allow them to overcome the challenge of identifying users who are in market for their product, improving ROI and their understanding of what works for their brand”.

In a survey of 1,000 mobile users conducted this week, close to half (45%) said that they had never watched a mobile video ad and subsequently been driven to make an offline or online purchase. When asked why this was the case 51% stated they were not in market for the product at that time and 29% said the adverts were not relevant. These statistics show that advertising is often not being delivered at the correct point in the purchase funnel or to users who are likely to change their minds, ultimately wasting marketer’s budgets.

LoopMe’s AI has been used across a variety of campaigns, for brands including Samsung, Unilever, Mattel, Comcast, Macy’s, Renault, Oracle, Cartier and Verizon, delivering uplifts in brand consideration of 68% and purchase intent of 40%. “The results were hugely impressive” commented Matthew Dodd, Managing Director Global at On Device Research speaking about a recent LoopMe campaign “across all key campaign effectiveness measures LoopMe outperformed our normative scores”.

The new way of delivering campaigns is to combine LoopMe’s AI with third party brand research from Nielsen and On Device, to expressly target users who have shown the greatest likelihood of moving along the purchase funnel. Throughout each campaign a sample of users will be surveyed to determine its ongoing performance against brand metrics like brand awareness, favorability or purchase intent.

The results of these surveys are fed into the AI engine which undergoes a full update on its assumption set every 20 minutes to act based on survey learnings. This allows the campaign to be upweighted to users displaying a higher propensity to move along the brand consideration scale, reducing the number of ads shown to users who display little likelihood of being swayed by the ad and improving user experience.

This ground-breaking technology also means users can be targeted with campaigns which complement their point in their purchase funnel, with different messaging delivered to users who are moving from awareness to favorability to those who are brand loyalists.

Coverage of LoopMe’s New PurchaseLoop Brand Uplift Technology:

MarketingWeek – New AI Video Ad Optimising Solution Launches
MobyAffiliates: LoopMe Launches New Reporting Technology
BizReport – New AI Tech Optimizes Mobile Video Ads
CMO: Top 10 Martech Stories from the Week

After the recent trend of a huge swathe of Olympic ads over the last couple of weeks, it’s exciting to see GAP turn their attentions back to issues closer to home. A vibrant, cultural community within New York is a interesting topic for an  ad/documentary, exposing ideas and individuals that are often left ostracised or ignored. In effect, GAP have managed to associate their brand with marginalised yet energetic groups, promoting their own brand while also fostering awareness in New York.

The Brooklyn United Marching Band are an ambitious group of musicians, ready to make noise (both musical and otherwise) in their pursuit of recognition. It’ll be intriguing to see where they go next.

Check out the advert here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk9Og5vmNFE