April 24, 2013 by James Grant
“A recent Tremor Video and IAB study illustrated minimal incremental reach in the UK, and even in the US, where cord-cutting is growing and the Video channel options are significant, there has never been an incremental reach study that garnered higher than 4%. So can we please put incremental reach to bed now?!”
April 19, 2013
The future of mobile advertising… consumer data… privacy…
These are issue that many marketers confront daily, and some go to conferences to learn even more so they can share best practices with their colleagues.
Such is the case with SXSW attendees Chris Bohn, one of our regional sales managers in Chicago, and two of his clients, Allison Povse and Connor McCarthy, both digital media planning supervisors at integrated communications agency OMD, named the world’s most creative agency in 2012 by the Gunn Report for Media.
We sat down to discuss what they took away from the ever-growing and influential Austin festival, and how they plan to apply these lessons to their work moving forward.
What was your biggest takeaway?
Connor: Mobile was huge. In some respects, mobile phones know us better than we know ourselves. They track and store our behavior, our searches, our interactions, our shopping and our friends. That’s why there was so much discussion about location-based apps and the notion that many consumers are no longer afraid to share personal information, even financial data, and where they are at any given moment. For many consumers, that stigma seems to have gone away.
Allison: And given that mobile phones are so personal to each of us, we talked about the industry’s need to make media more personalized but at scale. Currently it is easier to personalize ads on mobile devices for the reasons that Connor described than it is on computers.
Connor: That’s right. I am based in Chicago but my IP address is in New York, so marketers sending me advertisements via my PC often get my location wrong—that doesn’t happen any more with mobile devices.
Chris, I hear you downloaded some pretty personalized mobile apps while in Austin.
Chris: Yes, and they have made me a bit reflective as both a consumer and a marketer. I downloaded Glympse, which lets you share, with an individual or a group of people, not only your location but also the path you are following and the places you are visiting over a specific period of time. If advertisers could target me on this app, I would not use it. It would be too invasive. So, as a marketer, I was reminded that people don’t want to feel like marketers are watching them and knowing their every move. This is why the privacy discussions were so prominent over the course of the festival.
Continuing with what Allison said about personalized advertising and media consumption… how does interactive video advertising fit in here?
Chris: Interactive video ads, even on mobile devices, are highly relevant to the discussion of personalization. If you run a standard pre-roll on a computer or a mobile device, then it’s for the masses. But if you accompany that pre-roll ad with extra content, say a few sequels to the initial ad that you believe a certain group of people will like, then you are talking personalization. And you’re talking brand engagement because you are giving the people the chance to touch the screen and participate in the storytelling.
Changing course a little bit… As we sat down for this interview, you said data and privacy were hot topics. What did you think?
Allison: I was really impressed with the number of viewpoints expressed at the festival, and I’ve come home better informed on the issues. In her SXSW blog post, Forrester analyst Fatemeh Khatibloo counted more than a dozen sessions about privacy, including her own talk on personal identity management. She has said that the industry and consumer groups should create a consumer bill of rights around privacy and has said that marketers need guidelines and best practices for privacy policies, governance and consumer data usage. She also noted that people at SXSW were talking about “Privacy by Design,” a concept where privacy and security are both taken into account. As marketers, it’s important to keep a pulse on privacy—one to be better informed and two to ensure we are following guidelines.
Connor: As I was saying before, consumers are sharing so much information these days… as marketers, we need to toe the line. We want to reach people in a meaningful way, which often requires knowledge about them, but also in a trustworthy way. We need to respect their personal boundaries.
Sorry for the shameless plug here…Connor, you’re using campaign data from VideoHub are you not?
Connor: Indeed, and at OMD, we strive to focus on what matters to the brand. What metrics ladder up to those marketing and corporate objectives? It’s imperative to answer the question because many pieces of data are peripheral and not worthy of our focus. We have used data from VideoHub for this purpose—we want to remain focused on how people are engaging with digital video advertising but only in the context of brand health.
Chris, building on Connor here… you’re able to access our VideoHub technology for insight into Tremor Video campaigns. How do you approach the data issue?
Chris: One thing I make sure to do when talking to clients is explain that we gather data for their respective campaigns responsibly. We look at data and trends across their campaign(s)—never at an individual level. For instance, we know that people responding to CPG ads watch a range of video content—from celebrity news to business—when engaging with a video ad. And people who engage with auto ads are not necessarily on a car site—they can be reading about politics and style and fashion just as easily. But here again, we’re talking trends over a range of Tremor Video campaigns.
Secondly, while people talk about “all powerful” data, it does have its limits. Marketing is a mix of science and art. Just because a type of viewer or type of variable did not respond well in one campaign does not mean that viewer profile will perform poorly in the next campaign. And that’s because every campaign is different—each campaign has its own messaging, its own goals, its own slot on the calendar. So many conditions are at play.
Net net, while we use data to understand and optimize campaign performance in real time, we still need to use our intuition, even art, for the next campaign.
April 18, 2013 by Kauser Kanji
“This week – and again in association with the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) – Tremor Video, the online video ad network, presented the findings of a significant study called ‘TV and VOD: Friends with Benefits’. Working together with Nielsen and a company called Performics, Tremor’s research focused on one brand in particular, UK insurer Aviva, which has seen a significant increase in brand awareness and message association by using the VOD ad channel to complement its TV campaigns.”
Read the full story at VOD Professional.
April 17, 2013
“New research released in the UK has put some science behind the long term held view that VOD compliments TV advertising.
The study carried out by Tremor Video, IAB UK, NIELSEN and Performics was based on UK consumers and a range of UK ad campaigns but definitely acts as a strong guide for the Irish market.”
Read the full story at We Are Starcom, the Official Blog of Starcom Ireland.
April 17, 2013 by Warc Staff
“Video on demand can add to the reach of TV and extend campaign messaging when television advertising is off air, a report has revealed.
TV and VOD: Friends with Benefits, a joint research study undertaken by Tremor Video, IAB UK, Nielsen and Performics, was based on research of UK consumers and a range of UK ad campaigns and found that VOD can add between 0.19% and 1.33% to the reach of TV.”
Read the full story at Warc.
Study Results: Brands can use digital video advertising channel to drive brand awareness and message association, and to complement TV campaigns
London and New York, April 16, 2013 — Tremor Video, the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK), Nielsen, and Performics today announced the results of “TV and VOD Friends with Benefits,” their joint research study as part of the IAB UK’s sold-out event entitled, Stretch that reach! Video on demand.
The study findings are based on 1.5 years of research into how UK viewers consume TV and video content plus a statistical analysis of five UK ad campaigns (TV and video) across a wide array of categories: fast-moving consumer goods, retail, beverage, tech, and finance. The results validate the team’s hypothesis that VOD ad campaigns are a cost-effective way to increase reach, brand awareness, and message association, especially when targeting affluent consumers and light TV viewers who are increasingly watching VOD content.
The study’s researchers have also concluded that advertisers and media agencies can maximize their ad budgets and keep brands top of mind by running TV and VOD ads simultaneously and also by continuing with VOD when TV ad campaigns have finished. (VOD, the ad term used in the UK, is synonymous with digital video advertising in the U.S.)
“This study
confirms what we have known to be true — that VOD and TV are friends with benefits, working together to maximize advertising budgets,” said Doron Wesly, head of market strategy at New York-based Tremor Video. “TV advertising does a fantastic job of raising brand awareness. VOD advertising amplifies it further, and can extend the life of a campaign’s brand message well after the TV ads stop.”
Said Charlotte Ellis, media & advertising manager of Aviva: “Aviva strives for marketing innovation and devotes resources to emerging media channels, such as VOD, so that we can engage consumers where they are, on their terms. That is why we were pleased to see the results of the ‘TV and VOD: Friends with Benefits’ study, for they validate our strategy. We firmly believe that VOD serves as a perfect complement to our TV advertising, helping us extend our reach and brand awareness as more and more people choose to consume VOD content.”
Mauricio Leon, commercial director of Performics, Aviva’s media partner and ZenithOptimedia’s performance arm, said the research confirmed some hunches and is also opening the door to wide-ranging conversations with brands about the power of this new ad channel.
“As an industry, we have often spoken about VOD in terms of incremental reach vs. TV, and these results prove that. But the most pleasing element of this project is how VOD can improve awareness and complement brand-building initiatives both during and after the TV campaign,” Leon said. “Using VOD to support a TV campaign and adopting a strategy of heavy VOD presence once the TV campaign has ended, means clients can maintain the reach and awareness levels generated by their TV campaign and get an extended audio-visual presence cost effectively. A key consideration for practically all advertisers who cannot be on TV 52 weeks of the year!’’
Research Findings: UK Insurer Aviva Benefits from Combination of TV and VOD Advertising
One aspect of the team’s research focused exclusively on Aviva’s use of TV and VOD. Here are the findings:
Brand Awareness and Message Association Increase with VOD
At the end of October 2012, the Aviva TV campaign ended and VOD advertising continued to run alone in November. Researchers found a significant difference in message association among those who were exposed to Aviva’s November VOD ads versus those who were not. Among those exposed to the VOD ads, 32% correctly associated Aviva with its messages, down from the high of 48% during the TV campaign but still higher than the pre-campaign level of 29%. Among those not exposed to the VOD ads, advertising “decay” set in and only 26% made the brand-message connection.
Digital Video Advertising: Cost-Effective, Too
Ad Industry Taking Notice
While the TV and VOD: Friends with Benefits study explains how VOD advertising helps brands, other reports are confirming the VOD industry’s growth. According to the “IAB UK PwC Digital Adspend Full Year 2012” study released last week, the UK’s digital video advertising market increased 46% from £109 million in 2011 to £160 million in 2012.
“Given the size and sustained growth of VOD, it’s important to understand how it works and how it complements TV campaigns,” said Tim Elkington, director of research and strategy for the IAB UK. “The ‘TV and VOD: Friends with Benefits” study should help answer these questions and aid marketers in understanding how they can leverage both media.”
Note to Editors: Methodology
Tremor Video and the IAB UK co-funded the TV and VOD research, which took place from October 2011 to November 2012. Nielsen fielded the study, analyzing with Tremor Video the campaign performance of several ZenithOptimedia clients. All four stakeholders designed the cross-media research approach:
Phase 1
Looked at cost efficiency and incremental reach across five TV and VOD ad campaigns in the retail, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), tech, and finance sectors. Each campaign reached between 11 million and 25 million UK consumers in the following categories: people ages 16-34; and women and men in the lower, middle, and upper-middle classes.
Phase 2
Measured effectiveness of TV and VOD advertising to raise awareness and message association for Aviva. Survey of 1,375 UK consumers.
Download the TV and Video: Friends with Benefits FAQ.
For more information:
Sally O’Dowd
Tremor Video
sodowd@tremorvideo.com
About Tremor Video
Tremor Video is a leading provider of technology-driven video advertising services enabling brand advertisers to engage consumers across multiple Internet-connected devices including computers, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs. Our clients include some of the largest brand advertisers and media agencies in the world. These relationships have helped us create a robust online video ecosystem that includes more than 500 premium websites and mobile applications, 200 of which partner with us on an exclusive basis. Our proprietary technology, VideoHub, analyzes in-stream video content, detects viewer and system attributes, and leverages our large repository of stored data to optimize video ad campaigns for brand-centric metrics such as user engagement, brand lift, and time spent. Through our enterprise solution, VideoHub also provides advertisers and agencies with advanced analytics and measurement tools enabling them to understand why, when, and where viewers engage with their video ads.
Tremor Video is based in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with international offices in London, Singapore, and Toronto. For more information, visit tremorvideo.com and find Tremor Video on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the Internet Advertising Bureau UK
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) is the UK trade association for digital advertising. With over 800 members, most of the UK’s leading brands, media owners and agencies take part in the IAB. Given the rapidly evolving nature of the digital landscape, the IAB works to ensure that marketers can maximise the potential of digital media and mobile devices, helping members engage their customers and build great brands. By disseminating knowledge and fostering dialogue through research, policy guidance, training and events, the IAB aims to be every marketer’s authoritative and objective source for best practices in internet advertising. To access the IAB’s current research, policy briefings, training opportunities and events schedule, please visit iabuk.net.
About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows, and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit nielsen.com.