Preparing for Back to School Season

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

It’s never too early to start thinking about back-to-school. In fact, as a marketer and/or brand you are likely heading into planning season soon.  If you time your campaign appropriately, you can be top of mind when 31% of families start back to school shopping two months prior, and 48.4% start up to one month prior.1  Now is the perfect time to begin a brand awareness campaign and retarget users to drive additional performance.

Is it worthwhile? Definitely. Seasonal shopping is a big deal, and provides a big opportunity for a jump in profits when families spend major cash outside of the holidays. While most moms say they target a budget between $100-2000 for school supplies, it seems most families spend much more, with an average of over $600 spent on supplies which included clothing and electronics.2

Where should you run? A digital campaign is crucial for this season, as most Canadians are shopping online than ever before. 92% of 18-34 year old and 82% of 35-54 year old Canadian consumers shopped online last year3 and if you want to reach the purchasers, then online is where you want to be. You can also offer additional incentives such as digital coupons to drive consumers own the purchase funnel.  Approx. 57.5% adults are using digital coupons while they shop4 and it can be an effective way of tracking conversions.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you may want to extend your online campaign with a mobile component. More and more shoppers are using mobile devices to initiate product research before shopping online or in-store5, As users spend more time with their phones, your brand exposure to them could make all the difference, no matter which step of the purchase funnel they happen to be.

Whether you are selling apparel, CPG, electronics, or stationery products (or any other brand for that matter), it’s not too late to start planning your back to school campaign.  Now is the perfect time to get a plan in place before summer when kids are still dreaming of the upcoming school year, and parents are eager to get preparations under way.

Not sure where to get started? Look out for our back to school idea book coming soon!

The Dawn of the Internet of Things

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become a hot topic, with Apple officially in the wearables race, the industry is booming with news of ad potential and apps being developed (source: Ad Age).  Similar to when a new social media channel hits mainstream, brands are eager to dive-in and stay relevant to the ever-evolving consumer, on every medium.  Wearables and IoT tech offers a breadth of options for brands and advertisers, including the potential for customized offers and integrated experiences.  It takes us one step closer to the imagined future when ads are calling out personal names and speaking one-on-one to a customer.  Before you jump on the bandwagon, however, it’s time to consider if this new medium is really a fit for your brand.  

Wearable technology is still in it’s infancy and most consumers don’t know what they want (source: eMarketer). The public have not quite digested what these devices are capable of and adoption rate is still fairly low. For a brand to dive into advertising, there is little data accrued to effectively reach the right audience.  It may be wise to allow audience and unchartered territory to mature, and natural, legitimate inventory to surface.

Advertising with IoT will be tricky, you walk a fine line of annoying your audience. With wearable and IoT tech, consumers are interacting on a constant basis. Advertisers are getting excited at the prospect, knowing their ads can and will be seen almost immediately. However, what would the audience think? This new medium is much more intrusive, in comparison to the desktop, and any ads that would show up, would take up precious real estate of a smaller screen. Advertising that is unwarranted could become overwhelming, setting the wrong brand impression.

How can you integrate this new medium correctly? A great example is, Under Armor, a brand that is taking a more methodical approach to the wearable market.  Known for their atheletic wear, Under Armor is using wearables as a physical extension of their products (sourced: MediaPost).  Perhaps this is a smarter approach, where app integrations and solid consumer interaction build relationships that are also consistent with their brand.

Take the time to evaluate and decide whether it’s truly the right medium for you.  As with any new marketing campaign, there needs to be more forethought put into the process: is this the right medium for our brand? How can your message be effective?

Technology is rapidly evolving and bringing about many new opportunities, coming soon. As consumers adapt to the IoT, there will be much future brand exposure available, right now it’s just a bit too early to tell, but we can dream, can’t we?

6 Things I Learned About Media From Photography

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

  1. The ‘Auto’ setting doesn’t cut it – Anyone can use an DSLR on “auto” but the resulting images will not come close to images taken with expertise.  A photographer with five years experience will know their way around a camera, lens, and flash better than someone picking it up for the very first time.  Anyone can claim to buy media with a click of a button, but do they know what they are doing? Experience does matter and can make a difference in your final results.
  2. Lighting is crucial – In photography, natural and artificial light all affect the resulting photo. It is important to be aware what angle of light illuminates a subject. Providing insight into your ad campaign can be crucial to driving results. Is your campaign part of a broader marketing strategy? Does the final landing page take your audience for a secondary action? Any insight you can provide upfront can shed light (pun intended) on your overall campaign goals and perhaps open up the doors for new and improved strategies to be taken.
  3. Constant adjustment is needed – If you want a spectacular photo, camera settings have to change on-the-fly to adapt to lighting, speed, subject, etc. All the minor details can affect the final photo. Your digital campaign needs to be professionally monitored and adjusted (if necessary) by ad operations to fine-tune performance during flight to achieve  desired results.
  4. Sometimes a wide angle shot works beautifully – It’s not all about the zoom, it would be beneficial to have a wide angle to really take in the breadth of a beautiful landscape. When you are planning your media campaign, look at your campaign goals. Sometimes it isn’t all about reaching a precise target market (i.e. Females 34-45 with a specific household income), it could mean broadening your horizons for greater reach and actually result in bringing new customers who may be a new opportunity.
  5. It’s all about the angle – The slightest change in vantage point can make a huge difference. Sometimes you see photographers perched on ladders or laying on the ground, anything to get the right shot. Digital is often thought of as a desktop medium, but perhaps you would consider allotting budget to a mobile campaign – it may be beneficial to reach consumers on the go, for example, if your product exists at physical locations.
  6. Bad photos still provide good learnings – Even imperfect photos bring great insight into how one can change their approach or camera settings differently. Digital campaign results equally provide great learnings. What went wrong? Why? How can you improve? Perhaps it was a limiting decision, or artwork look and feel. Even if your main campaign goal isn’t up to par, there are many findings you can gain expertise from and know to improve for next time.

Using mobile geo-location tracking for a good cause

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

A new app created by Pedigree and Colenso BBDO in New Zealand combines the use of display advertising and pet ownership (source: Creativity Online). When dog owners report their pooch is missing, the app sends out notification ads containing a photo and description within a specific geo-location radius via display ad space.  How can we as an industry take this to the next level?

Currently, the Amber Alert system which is a public notification of missing children is broadcast on radio and television, and with selected carriers, displayed as a phone alert notification. Why not leverage the same idea as Pedigree and broadcast via display media to immediately show people a photo of the missing child or person? It would allow residents to immediately recognize the person and at a glance see their name, description, flag additional medical concerns, and allow them to contact local authorities at the push of a button. With the growing number of people always on their devices, this is a great way to reach en mass quickly and effectively.

What are other ways we can use geo-location for a good cause?  How does this change your perception of geo-location or beacons and push notifications?  We have only recently seen prominent use of beacons in retail and entertainment industries, with further development, the possibilities are endless.

5 Signs You Need To Switch Ad Tech Partners

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

  1. Your account manager changes every day: You need to tell them the entire background story all over again.  You aren’t actually sure where you stand with your ad campaign, is it on time? Are they requesting the same assets for the fifth time and don’t seem to carry over any customer history.  You don’t even know who to call/email any more.
  2. You feel pressured to make hasty decisions:  Your vendor is pushing for you to sign an IO, you can buy first and figure it out later.  Hurry! They tell you not to worry, but you feel you have many unanswered questions and you don’t even have high level budget or a plan yet.
  3. They use so many acronyms your head hurts: SDK, API, DSP, VPAID, MPAID, CPM, DMP, DSP, SSP, CPA, ATD, RTB? Yeah!  If you feel overwhelmed, you should ask your partner to speak with you in simpler terms.  If they can’t explain what they are saying, partners that use too many acronyms may be trying to purposely confuse you.
  4. You want to use 3rd party verification – the vendor puts up a big fight: they assure you there is no need, they’ve never had an issue before and it will take weeks to get something in place. They try to convince you not to use one at all.  What are they hiding? Your vendor should be willing to work with you and your partners!
  5. If it feels like too good to be true, it probably is: Every top level domain on a preview site list is almost too perfect and your CPM rate is very low. Good deal right? Domain fraud is a problem. In our industry, you normally get what you pay for. If it’s drastically cheaper than other vendors, buyer beware!

Let’s talk: Mobile Ads 101

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

There has been a growing desire for Mobile inventory; however, not all advertisers are clear on different types of mobile inventory and ad units available. The wide variety of ad units available can add to the confusion. In the second of the 101 series, we will explore the general topic of Mobile and explain in easy to understand language.

Devices
– Mobile devices are identified separate from laptops and desktop computers
– They are most often tablets and smartphones

Inventory
Mobile can be broken down in three types of inventory:
1) Mobile Web – Regular websites being viewed on a mobile device
2) Mobile Optimized – Websites that have been made specifically for mobile, i.e. often indicated by the m in the URL http://m.webaddress.com
3) In-App – Ads that appear inside of a mobile app

Ad Formats
The options have grown immensely from the single 300×50 unit that was first introduced. With HTML5 technology, dynamic rich media ads can now be served across mobile devices. Standard display, social, expandables, interstitials, video, are just some of ad units that can be served on Mobile Inventory.

Quick Guide: Colours and Messaging

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

Colours have a powerful effect on emotional tone or feeling. It has been a long-standing trick for fast-food restaurants to use the colour red in their décor and signage to entice consumers to dine. A similar use of colour can be applied to online advertising to invoke certain emotional triggers in your audience.

Besides the use and consideration of your brand colours, you may want to use additional tones to grab attention, drive a call to action or relay a message. Different colours can affect the mood your messaging and ad creative convey:

  • Red – Strength, courage, energy and excitement
  • Yellow – Excitement, purity, fun and modern
  • Green – Environmental, harmony, balance and peace
  • Blue – Intelligence, trust, logic, and success
  • Orange – Comfort, warmth, fun, and abundance
  • Purple – Luxury, authenticity, femininity, and quality

On your next creative campaign, take a look at the overall colour palette being used and consider what subconscious message your ad is conveying. Is the emotional tone the right one for the campaign? Does it work alongside your brand identity?

3 Wrong Ways to Run Your Next Online Campaign

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

  1. Obsessively check your metrics: You check every morning, afternoon, evening, pouring over every impression and click. Why did your ad perform better yesterday than the day before? Hurry, hit the panic button!
    Solution: Relax! Let the optimization and campaign flight take it’s course. Just as you wouldn’t check your RRSPs every day, you don’t want to do the same with your media. Results will fluctuate, and waiting a few weeks to look at your metrics will give you a more holistic picture.
  1. Use outdated ad artwork: It’s still good right? You paid a designer 5 years ago and you want to use it for every pixel its worth. It doesn’t matter that everyone in your audience pool has seen the same message and the image that looks out of date.
    Solution: Give your ad creative a refresh! Times have changed, IAB standards have probably been updated, your brand itself may have undergone some changes. Revisit that artwork and maybe update the colours, fonts, message so that its more up-to-date. If it looks new to you, it will look more new and appealing to your consumers.
  1. Ignore your landing page: Your ad campaign is set to click through to a fancy new landing page, your designer took it to the moon and back and you are feeling on top of the world. You’ve been told it works, so that means it’s fine.
    Solution: It takes two seconds to make sure your landing page is up and running! Make sure your click-through URL works as it should, and the landing page that displays is relevant and updated for your campaign. There is nothing worse than having an interested client click to land on a 404 error page.

Let’s Talk 101: Video Ads

Digital advertising thoughts from the minds at MediaNet

There are so many advertising options available and it can be daunting to find the very basic information you are looking for. In this series, we will explore various ad options and explain them in easy-to-understand language.

Video ads can be broken down in two basic formats:

Linear Video

  • Popular units are Pre-Roll, In Stream, Skippable
  • These are your video commercials that play within a video player a user has engaged with
  • Often times, advertisers will re-use their TV commercials for a similar experience
  • Example: think of the video ads that play before you watch an online video

Non-Linear

  • These ads run concurrently to existing video content
  • The most common unit is the “banner” that floats over top a playing video at the bottom of video player screen
  • Often times, advertisers will re-format their display ads for a unified campaign
  • Example: think of the graphical banner that pops up while you are already watching an online video