At [B]RIGHT, we illuminate data-informed digital solutions to help your brand succeed in an increasingly complex marketing landscape. We take the guesswork out of your marketing strategy.
According to Tapjoy, a mobile ad platform, “mobile games are especially suitable for advertising due to [the fact that they have] broad audience appeal, are brand-safe, have ‘natural’ breaks in gameplay, and have in-game rewards for users that are willing to opt-in to watching ads.” The pandemic brought on an increase in time spent on gameplay for 63% of consumers worldwide, according to a survey conducted by LoopMe and researcher IDC.
Marketers can expect to have more substantial systems for reaching their audiences in the gaming industry, as some major acquisitions have taken place over the last couple years, most notably Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda’s roster of popular games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. Microsoft already generates billions in ad revenue between LinkedIn, MSN, and video streaming with Xbox consoles and is positioned well to have in-game advertising.
For Women’s History Month, Infiniti and navigation app Waze partnered on a “Pave It Forward” campaign to highlight women-owned businesses. Infiniti, the luxury car division of Nissan, was promoting their new 2022 Infiniti QX60 as part of the partnership, represented by a custom avatar used on the Waze app to navigate to featured locations across 14 select cities and landmarks relevant to important moments in women’s history.
The partnership and alignment with Women’s History Month is a creative way for the two brands to boost their brand awareness while highlighting their own values through support of women-owned businesses with featured top-of-result-page listings. The car industry is one that has traditionally targeted advertising to male consumers, but Infiniti is helping to change that.
Media proliferation and content saturation are two of the six drivers that we at [B]RIGHT see contributing to the changing marketing landscape. Those two drivers are apparent in how influencer marketing is organically changing to more of a “producer or creator” economy, and creators are combating arising problems by establishing their own media distribution spaces that are independent of social media channels. This approach is great for allowing full ownership and control over what is created and distributed, like long-form content similar to TV programing or hitting on topics that may get flagged by the big social channels for violating policy.
A great example of creators seeking to own their distribution channel is Abundance+, a self-made streaming content platform centered around homesteading, sustainable and regenerative agriculture, food, and family that was pioneered by Justin Rhodes, a homesteading YouTuber, and a group of like-minded YouTubers that regularly had videos demonetized for showing the real-life process of raising livestock and how food makes it to families’ dinner tables.
The upside for brands seeking partnerships with these “influencers” on their owned platforms is that the viewers on these platforms are highly engaged. The downside is that, when it comes to brand discovery, users may never make it to these owned communities and will instead consume similar content on the social channels they regularly frequent. Another hurdle for marketers is meeting the more complex needs of each creator's particular platform, as opposed to adhering to only one platform’s policies and format guidelines. Nonetheless, there is a shift happening with the creator/producer economy that is bringing about additional changes to the marketing landscape.
A comparison test conducted by Creatopy sought to determine the best ad format to use on Pinterest: video or static image ads. Their campaign tests were set up identically using the same budget, geographic delivery areas, audience targeting, 30-day duration, and content messaging. The only variable was the delivery format, with the goal of comparing the number of conversions driven by each ad type to a trial sign-up form.
The results demonstrated that static ads drove more conversion than video—in fact, three times more landing page views than video ads—but only one more trial sign-up resulted from those views than the video test. The video-driven landing page visitors therefore had a higher potential conversion rate than that of the image ad.
Where traffic driven by the image ads truly shined was the average time spent on site, which was nearly two minutes more than traffic coming from the video ads. Creatopy concluded, “A static ad requires less attention and focus, as the benefits you present are clear from the first seconds, compared to when the audience needs to watch a video ad.” So, the traffic from image ads could mean they have a fuller understanding of what they are navigating to when clicking the ad, in this case resulting in more time spent on their website.
A study conducted by Data Axle found some interesting generational preferences regarding marketing promotions and distribution. One of the key takeaways was that customers want to hear from your brand. The survey found that 96% of consumers feel loyal to a brand, and 84% engage with advertising from brands they are loyal to when they receive communications from them. When consumers want to hear from your brand, there is still a generational preference for email among boomers, Gen X, and millennials, but Gen Z has a higher preference for social media.
The messaging you send must be personalized to the customer; the study found that 81% of all respondents prefer personalization, with 88% of millennials wanting personalized advertising and Gen Z ranking close behind at 87%. Deals and promotions are often a large part of email communications, and those resonate the most with 65% of Gen Z respondents and with Gen X, whereas boomers and millennials were the least likely to respond to deals, according to their survey. When it comes to following a brand on social channels, exclusive deals and offers are the number-one ranked reason a consumer follows a brand and 70% of all Gen Z respondents selected this as their main motivation. The report goes on to review preference in TV or streaming advertising, purchasing motivators, customer support, and product quality.
Some advocates see the metaverse as the next frontier, with social media channels aging out and becoming saturated with content. Does this mean that brands should establish a presence in the metaverse and be early adopters so they can cut through the noise for a time? Is it safe for brands to do this yet? Think tanks like Oasis Consortium are putting into place what they are calling smart contracts and user-based community governing to manage and remove bad actors on the platforms. So, smart contracts could be implemented by brands in the metaverse to prevent access to digital spaces or require compliance as a term of purchasing digital goods. It is recommended that brands take these smart contracts seriously and seek specialized legal counsel. According to experts, while hate will always exist, the metaverse may be less risky than other platforms, and steps are being taken to create even better brand safety.
Now how does a brand best market itself on the platform? While there may be incoming opportunities for brands to sell NFTs and other digital products, it seems important to market in a way that is native to the platform, much like how unpolished, trend-following advertisements work well on TikTok. Jack Cameron, the cofounder of Luna Market, a metaverse marketing company, has this to say: “At its core, the metaverse is a game. So while it’s a way for people to pass time online and connect with friends, the metaverse shouldn’t be treated like other social media platforms. Instead, brands should think in terms of video games and design their strategy to fit what makes gaming appealing.”
(Editorial) Methodology: We help brands grow based on data, research, data analysis and synthesis, and a hefty dose of proven processes, tactics, and channel-specific strategies. | Objective: To distribute timely insights and information about tools, trends, and research and data strategies that work. | Sample size: n=the entirety of the Internet. | Audience: Smart brand marketers that understand the importance of using data and research to inform strategic decision-making.
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