Author: Jazmin Brooks

Study delves beyond misaligned content to understanding what and how content areas impact brands

New York, NY – January 23, 2023 – Misaligned content – the idea that advertising your brand against content that is not in line with your brand’s values or ethos can be harmful – has long been a challenge in digital advertising. We know that misaligned content erodes the impact of ads, leading to decreased impact on metrics like purchase intent, for example. But, what about the content in the grey area? This area, also known as “questionable content”, remains largely unexplored within the digital landscape. As a response, MAGNA Media Trials, MAGNA’s industry-leading proprietary research offering, in partnership with Channel Factory, delved into this topic in a research study released today, The Art of Alignment: The Relationship Between Brand Personality and Content Appropriateness. The study explored the nuances in video types, and how they relate to consumers’ perceptions of the brand that is advertising against this content. Notably, the study pointed out that brands are held accountable for the content they appear next to, which was clear in all three markets studied.

The Art of Alignment: The Relationship Between Brand Personality and Content Appropriateness also found that blocking entire categories is not the answer, as perceptions of content differ by consumer. The study explored content that may or may not be aligned with individual brand values as it pertained to brands across a variety of verticals and markets.

The study recruited about 5,800 participants across three markets: Australia, U.S. and U.K. Participants were regular users of a popular social media video app, and they were driven to a controlled mobile version of the app to watch content, with a 15-second pre-roll test or control ad delivered based on randomization. A post-exposure survey was delivered to participants to measure impact on brand KPIs, and also included a POV section to understand content perceptions. The types of content served spanned auto, entertainment, gaming, learning and sports. The research studied brand ads and control ads across the following industry verticals: apparel, beverages, financial services, quick-service, technology and toys.

“Ad environments that fall into grey areas require careful judgment calls be made by brands and their agencies,” said Joshua Lowcock, Global Chief Media Officer at UM. “There isn’t always a one-size fits all solution as misaligned content for one brand could be a smart, under-leveraged opportunity for another. Put differently, what’s right for one brand isn’t always right for another.”

Key findings from the study that may be of interest include:

• Brands have the most to lose with Gen Z Adults and Millennials: Purchase intent decreased by 6% for Gen Z and 8% for Millennials when the brand ran ads against questionable content vs. standard content.
• Brands are held accountable for content they are adjacent to: Across all three markets, consumers agreed a brand was supporting the content their ad was adjacent to (41% U.S., 49% UK and 36% Australia). Consumers have become savvier about the advertising ecosystem as well and shared that they felt an ad being shown before the video had some sort of direct correlation with the brand.
• When content is questionable it prevents the message from sticking and persuasion metrics also take a hit: Consumers from all three markets had stronger message association adjacent to standard content (+12 pts) versus ads adjacent to questionable content (+3 pts). Persuasion metrics like purchase intent and search intent had major decreases (+4 pts and +6 pts, respectively).
• What’s OK for one brand may not be for another: Perceptions of appropriateness vary by brand; while questionable content feels most inappropriate for the toy (26 over index) and financial services (11 over index) brands, it’s less likely to be perceived as misaligned for the beverage (indexed at 86) and quick service brands (indexed at 78).
• In a professional environment, brands should be even more cautious about suitability: When targeting a B2B audience with a B2B ad, questionable content is deemed even less appropriate, with 45% disagreeing with the appropriateness of the content when it comes to B2B financial services brands, and 38% for B2C financial services brands.

“Exploring the grey areas of content in online advertising was an interesting foray into the power of brand perception and how consumers are becoming savvier within the industry landscape,” said Kara Manatt, EVP, Managing Director, Intelligence Solutions, MAGNA. “Brands need to lean into the challenges that the grey area of questionable content provides.”

“Similar to how brands have always made decisions about where to buy print ads or place their billboards, we believe brands buying media placements in online video should have the same rigor, and this study proves out how important alignment is,” said Lauren Douglass, SVP Marketing, Channel Factory. “Especially with younger audiences, consumers are sensitive to what content a brand is running alongside, as they believe the brand is proactively supporting that video. Advertisers who are thoughtful about the content they support will be more successful from a perception and purchase intent perspective.”

The full study can be found here.

This research comes on the heels of another study conducted by MAGNA and Channel Factory in 2021, “The Proximity Effect: Quantifying the Impact of Misaligned Content in the Wild West of Video,” which examined the layers of content suitability and how it can affect brands’ advertising efforts (read more about it here).

About Channel Factory:

Channel Factory is a global technology and data platform that maximizes both performance efficiency and contextual suitability and alignment, turning YouTube’s 5 billion videos and 500 hours per minute of new content into brand-suitable, efficient advertising opportunities. Channel Factory’s mission is to create a suitable video ecosystem that connects creators, brands, and consumers – by enabling advertisers access to the most relevant videos, channels, and creators.

Through their proprietary platform that harnesses the power of the deepest YouTube dataset in the industry, Channel Factory has enabled advanced brand suitability, customized content alignment targeting, and maximum performance for the world’s biggest brands. Channel Factory’s algorithm ensures not only that advertisers run against content that aligns with their brand but also delivers outcomes by optimizing campaigns using active and historical campaign performance data.

Channel Factory has offices across the USA and is present in over 30 countries worldwide including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

About MAGNA:

MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trials offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers.

We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

 

Media Contact:

Zinnia Gill

Mediabrands

VP, Global Corporate Communications

(646) 965-4271

[email protected]

 

 

Study finds brands that use innovative streaming TV ads drive 78 percent greater search intent compared to traditional TV ads

NEW YORK, NY – January 19, 2022 – MAGNA Media Trials, MAGNA’s industry-leading proprietary research offering, and Roku announced a new study in partnership with the Roku Brand Studio that finds new video ad formats in streaming TV are 2X more favorable than traditional TV ads for consumers.

Today, marketers want to stand out in the shift to streaming. Traditional TV ads alone miss an opportunity to surprise and delight across the entire streamers’ journey. The Beyond the :30 on Streaming TV report examines how marketers can make streaming TV ad experiences more engaging than traditional TV ads. Ninety-four percent of participants indicated that new ad formats can improve the ad experience.

Three new ‘Beyond the :30’ video ad formats were tested:

• Thematic Tagged Vignette: A :30 second animated ad where a brand celebrates streaming
• Roku Original Vignette: A :30 second ad where a brand references the Roku Original show being streamed
• Watch Alongs: Ad breaks where a brand sponsors discussion about the show or movie being streamed

All three ‘Beyond the :30’ ads posted stronger results than traditional TV ads for top-of-mind brand recall (+57% ‘Beyond the :30’ vs. +43% traditional), brand favorability (+8% vs. +3%), and intent to search (+16% vs.+ 9%). These results illustrate the strong promise of ‘Beyond the :30’ ads, including enhancing brand awareness and promoting purchases.

“In the current advertising environment, it is important to recognize that viewers can easily skip over advertising, but our study found they are less likely to do so if the ads are as entertaining as the programming and present a more enjoyable experience,” said Kara Manatt, EVP, Managing Director, Intelligence Solutions, MAGNA. “One of the most memorable formats for viewers is Watch Alongs, likely because the advertiser is offering the viewer added value to the show they are watching.”

Key findings from Beyond the :30 on Streaming TV include:

• Thematic Tagged Vignettes catch attention: 65% of respondents agreed that the spots “taught me something new,” besting traditional spots by some 20 points.
• Roku Original Vignettes triple return on purchase intent: +10% purchase intent for Roku Originals Vignettes vs +3% for traditional TV ads.
• Watch Alongs improve recall: 66% top-of-mind ad recall for Watch Alongs vs. 39% for traditional ads.

“Better TV storytelling for brands starts with Roku,” said Asaf Davidov, Director, Head of Ad Measurement and Research at Roku. “The takeaway for marketers is clear — the key to winning the entire streamers’ journey is surprising and delighting beyond the traditional TV spot.”

The research involved multiple brands representing different verticals, including T-Mobile and Subaru. An at-home panel of 1,316 viewers was divided into randomized exposed and control groups, who watched content of their choice interspersed with streaming-specific advertising and traditional advertising. Following the content-viewing experience, viewers were surveyed to assess the impact on brand key performance indicators, or KPIs, and to learn more through consumers’ points of view.

The full study may be found here.

About MAGNA
MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trials offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers.

We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Roku, Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku streaming players and TV-related audio devices are available in the U.S. and in select countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with service operators. Roku TV™ models are available in the U.S. and in select countries through licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku Smart Home products, including cameras, video doorbells, lighting, plugs, and more are available in the U.S. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to those related to trends related to TV streaming, marketing and advertising related to TV streaming; the benefits, features, and capabilities of the advertising in streaming TV; and the benefits, growth and reach of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.

Roku is a registered trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders. 

Study Commissioned by SXM Media, MAGNA & Identity Finds that Audio Ads that Leverage a Cultural Connection Drive Brand Growth

NEW YORK (Dec. 19) — MAGNA Media Trials, MAGNA’s industry-leading, proprietary research offering, and Identity, Mediabrands’ cultural consultancy arm, collaborated with SXM Media on a study, released today, on multicultural audiences, including AAPI, Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino audiences. The study, titled “Challenging the ‘One & Done’ Approach,” reveals how critical it is for brands to invest in digital audio creative that culturally connects with multicultural audiences to drive growth. The study also highlights what levers brands should pull or avoid to connect with diverse audiences more authentically.

Many marketers leverage a “one and done” creative approach for all audiences, without being mindful of the multifaceted nature of diverse audiences and the cultural nuances that make them so distinct from one another, even within their own segments. To address this pitfall, the study set out to determine the most impactful digital-audio, ad-creative strategy for Growth/multicultural audiences. The report analyzed the importance of culture for today’s American consumer, along with what happens when brands connect to multicultural consumers on a cultural level through digital audio ads.

“We are living in a time when culture is more accessible than ever. And as this continues to happen, we are rediscovering our history, celebrating our roots, and reclaiming our pasts to make it a prominent part of our present,” said Deidre Smalls-Landau, EVP, Managing Partner, Mediabrands Identity. “As such, we are expecting brands to also do their homework to acknowledge the multidimensional nature of our communities, as well as realizing that the bar on authenticity has been raised. Authentically reaching diverse audiences requires an understanding of how we code switch, when we accentuate, and how fluid identities truly are.”

The study recruited digital audio listeners across two industry verticals, clothing and dining, and collected responses from three multicultural groups, as well as the U.S. general population. The types of digital ads tested were General Market advertising, mainstream ads aimed at broad audiences, Blanket Multicultural advertising, ads customized for all multicultural groups combined, and Culture-specific advertising, ads customized for specific cultural groups (in this case AAPI, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) by referencing specific food, dialect, themes, etc., pertaining to that group. The multicultural versions of scripts and spots for this study were crafted by the creative team at Studio Resonate, an audio agency that creates campaigns for advertisers within the SXM Media portfolio.

“Diverse audiences respond to representation in advertising, and they react more favorably to ads that are ‘blanket’ multicultural and, more so, culture-specific, with these two types of ads well outscoring those created for general population on a range of indicators,” said Kara Manatt, EVP, Managing Director, Intelligence Solutions at MAGNA. “As long as the spots ring true and do not fall to stereotypes, brands that create advertising for specific, diverse communities will reap positive outcomes across favorability, preference and relevance.”

Additional takeaways from “Challenging the ‘One & Done’ Approach” include:

• • General Market audio ads fail to resonate with multicultural audiences: General Market audio ads had lower impact on brand favorability and brand preference. While the general market audio ads saw a +13% lift in brand favorability among general audiences, the lift was only +4% for multicultural audiences. Similarly, the general market audio ads drove an +11% lift in brand preference for general audiences, and only +5% for multicultural.
• • Cultural audio ads drive positive emotion and brand impact among multicultural audiences: People feel happy and excited after hearing cultural ads, and brands benefit from higher brand relevance. Cultural ads drove a +6% lift in brand relevance among multicultural audiences, while the general market ad only drove a lift of +3%. Similarly, these culturally relevant ads drove +8% lift in brand favorability among multicultural audiences.
• • Culture-specific audio ads connect with multicultural audiences on a deeper, cultural level: Surpassing General Market audio ads and Blanket multicultural audio ads, Culture-specific audio ads have a halo effect on the brand, making multicultural audiences feel as if the brand itself is culturally conscious. In turn, this fosters the perception that the brand is “relevant to them.”
    • Multicultural audiences who strongly identify with their race and ethnicity like the Culture-specific audio ad more, which ultimately leads to increased purchase intent.
• • Multicultural audiences/growth segments want to see “Authentic representation” in ads: Authenticity in ads is important to the majority of multicultural audiences (76%), as surface level references in Culture-specific audio ads, such as exaggerated accents and limited language insertions, are not enough to achieve authenticity.
• • “Relatability” is a key driver for likeability of Culture-specific audio ads: Relatability is complex as you get more specific; references might not feel relevant to everyone in the group. When the references in the Culture-specific audio ads are directly relevant to the specific cultural group, brands benefit from higher brand preference.

 

“While brand ads have become much more inclusive these past few years, culture-specific messages are still not every advertiser’s top priority,” said Nidia Serrano, Vice President, Sales Marketing, SXM Media. “Specificity matters, especially for an increasingly culturally connected group who doesn’t always hear or see themselves in ads. Digital audio is an easy and effective way for brands to celebrate all voices and to be more relevant and gain the love and attention of multicultural consumers.”

The full study can be found here.

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About MAGNA

MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trials offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers.

We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Identity

Identity is a diversity consultative practice under IPG Mediabrands. With specialties in the Hispanic / Latino, Black/African Americans, Asian, LGBTQ, Gen Z consumer segments, Identity designs cultural solutions to help organizations futureproof their business and thrive internally and externally. Identity adheres to a proprietary approach, known as CULTURESMART™, as a way to strategically map the DNA of cultural influence, to unlock opportunities and accelerate the momentum for brands. By doing this they focus on the most influential, high growth audiences and cultures most relevant for a brand.

About SXM Media

SXM Media is the gateway for marketers to the largest digital audio advertising ecosystem in North America. As the combined advertising revenue organization of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., SXM Media spans across leading owned and operated audio platforms Pandora, SiriusXM, and Stitcher; innovative ad tech solutions powered by AdsWizz; sonic creative consultancy Studio Resonate; and an extended content network featuring exclusive monetization agreements with Audiochuck, NBCUniversal, SoundCloud, and many more. Reaching more than 150 million listeners each month, SXM Media delivers audiences tailored brand experiences while putting creators first, making it easy for every marketer to produce, plan, buy, and measure across its entire audio universe.

For more information, please go to: https://www.sxmmedia.com/.

About Studio Resonate

In 2009, Studio Resonate created the world’s first streaming audio ad with Pandora. Over 200,000 audio ads later, that spirit of innovation is still what drives us. From global sonic strategy to cutting-edge advertising to daily audio production, we are the makers behind the signature sounds of countless beloved brands. We may not be able to see what the future holds, but we do know what it sounds like. Tomorrow’s audio is being created by Studio Resonate and its advertising partners.

To learn more visit https://www.sxmmedia.com/studio-resonate.

 

Media Contacts

Zinnia Gill
VP, Global Corporate Communications
Mediabrands
[email protected]

 

Victoria Chow
Director, Corporate Communications
SiriusXM
[email protected]