By Ethan Jakob Craft, Published in AdAge
New report from Magna and IPG’s Mediahub finds less is more when it comes to marketers’ digital messages
Some of the most common tactics used in online ads might actually alienate consumers and contribute to the public’s increasingly negative perceptions of advertising, a new study from Magna and IPG’s Mediahub has found.
Dubbed “The Ins and Outs of Ad Sentiment,” the report released today examined peoples’ feelings towards various aspects of online advertising including frequency, message content, targeting strategies and more, and found many simply feel “meh” towards online ads. While few actively trust and engage with online advertising, not many more oppose it, with the majority of those surveyed reporting indifferent feelings.
The study was conducted late last year among consumers in both the U.S. and Australia.
“We saw with this research that there is generally a negative, or sort of apathetic opinion towards online advertising,” says Kara Manatt, senior VP of intelligence solutions at Magna.
One of the biggest turn-offs for consumers of online advertising: heavy ad loads. With messages popping up back-to-back all day long, people report feeling harassed or annoyed—especially when they continue to be served ads for products they’ve already purchased.
Reducing the number of ads shown to consumers on a daily basis, coupled with improved targeting formulas, could boost overall ad sentiment by more than one-third, the Magna and Mediahub study found.
However, ad targeting is a double-edged sword, the study shows. Serving consumers non-targeted online ads often equals showing them irrelevant content, which tends to heighten apathy and disengagement; on the flip side, hyper-personalization or improper use of targeting can drive feelings of creepiness, making people weary of the offending advertiser. In addition, targeted ads that are aggressively product-focused tend to turn away consumers.
“Our industry’s tendency to deliver more and more ads is really backfiring,” Manatt says, though the issue is not so cut-and-dried. U.S. consumers who participated in the new study were twice as likely to cite overwhelming ad load as a driver of negative sentiments than their Australian counterparts, she says.
As of late 2020, when the study was conducted, just 12% of consumers reported believing that “online ads are good for society” and only 10% said they completely trust online ads; conversely, 17% said they’re bad for society and 28% responded that they don’t trust online ads at all.
It’s the in-between of those numbers where the silver lining lies: The vast majority of people surveyed reported neutral feelings, meaning there’s lots of room for online marketers to make inroads with the public, Manatt says. “That’s really our opportunity to hopefully improve things, build consumer advertiser trust, and hopefully get people feeling more positive about advertising.”
In general, less is more when it comes to online advertising—creating more impactful, less frequent ads in a non-cluttered environment is what the bulk of consumers respond well to, she adds. Sponsored content also should be clearly marked as such to maintain strong consumer trust.
“The industry, and actually individual companies, should have a vested interest in lowering the ad clutter,” she adds. “It’s also something that we know will make their individual campaigns work harder.”
What is clear from the study is that there’s little consensus among consumers about what makes online advertising effective versus what makes it annoying.
Including music in online ads, for example, can be an engaging add-on for some consumers, although it’s a very subjective creative element that can just as easily be perceived as annoying—particularly when the tracks feature “pounding beats or screeching guitars,” the study says. On the whole, including music in an online ad is a negative factor.
Creating ads centered on current events was another point of contention among respondents. Brands engaging with such issues is a tactic generally looked upon favorably, according to the study.
But while acknowledging current events can help increase the entertainment value of an ad, doing so inauthentically can hurt an advertiser’s reach—as was the case when everyone and their mother jumped on the “we’re here for you” bandwagon during the first wave of COVID-19 last year, leading many consumers to tune out such messages.
“If it’s not authentic, it’s not going to work and it’s going to backfire,” Manatt says. “What we’re seeing six, eight months later,” after the initial rush of solidarity ads, she says, “is there’s a lot of brands that kind of jumped on that bandwagon and felt that they had to have a message related to COVID no matter what.”
And while consumers might not hold a grudge against any particular brand for serving that type of message, being bombarded by similar ads all at once is a turn-off. “Timing is almost as important as authenticity,” she adds.
Read the article in AdAge
Read the Press Release
Download the Full Report
IPG Mediabrands’ MAGNA Unveils Day One of Its First-Ever Equity Upfront™
Launched on Monday March 15th, the weeklong event and subsequent monthly Equity experiences will raise visibility for nearly 100 Black-owned and Black-targeted media businesses
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IPG Mediabrands and MAGNA today launched day one of a first-of-its-kind Equity Upfront™, an annual weeklong event during the week of March 15th, to raise visibility for Black-owned and Black-targeted media businesses. Day one of the event features Upfront presentations by Black-owned media partners including Entertainment Studios’ The Grio, Essence Communications, Inc., Revolt and Urban One, as well as Black-targeted networks BET and OWN. Later in the week, the event will share presentations from more Black-owned media partners including Blavity, Black Enterprise, Ebony & Jet, Mirror Digital, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (“NABOB”), American Urban Radio Networks, Central City Productions TV, NuTime Media, The Source and ReachTV.
Led by Mediabrands entity MAGNA, the leading global media investment and intelligence company, the first day of the Equity Upfront™ kicked off with an introduction from the MAGNA team highlighting insights on the Black audience and Black media consumption, followed by six scheduled Black-owned and Black-targeted media partner presentations. The rest of the week will feature additional media partner presentations. The goal of these presentations is twofold: giving the partners the opportunity and access to Mediabrands clients and learning about how to market to them. For clients, it provides the opportunity to understand the importance of Black audiences and why they should target them in their media investment strategies.
MAGNA plans to host subsequent monthly Equity experiences focusing on specific media channels and has already earmarked April to focus on Black audio and podcast media properties. The Equity Upfront™ will initially focus on partnerships with Black-owned and Black-targeted media businesses, with future efforts expanding to include other underrepresented media platforms including, but not limited to, the Latinx, Asian and LGBTQIA+ audiences.
“We are excited to host the kickoff of our Equity Upfront™ initiative by welcoming Black-owned and Black-targeted media partners to present to our clients,” said Joy Profet, EVP, Head of Growth & Operations, MAGNA. “This event is one tactic in a bigger strategy to build deeper partnerships with and access for platforms that create engaging and responsible content for valuable and influential Black audiences. We hope to add even more media partners as the Equity Upfront™ gains increased industry recognition.”
“We must take accountable steps forward to address the inequities in how we invest, said Dani Benowitz, President, U.S., MAGNA. “This is the start of MAGNA and Mediabrands’ work, focusing on giving access to media partners across BIPOC audiences and helping to gear investment strategies toward multicultural consumers. MAGNA intelligence was critical in revealing growing media consumption habits and the ever-increasing buying power of these important audiences. It’s a logical step to educate our clients and agency partners so they can include them in this year’s media strategy.”
For more information please contact [email protected].
ABOUT MEDIABRANDS:
IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Mediabrands manages approximately $40 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients and provides strategic services and solutions across its award-winning, full-service agency networks UM and Initiative, and through its innovative marketing specialist companies Reprise, Magna, Orion, Rapport, Healix, Mediabrands Content Studio and the IPG Media Lab. Mediabrands’ clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors. The company employs more than 13,000 marketing experts in more than 130 countries, representing the full diversity of humanity. For more information, please visit our website: www.ipgmediabrands.com and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or https://www.instagram.com/ipgmediabrands/?hl=en.
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.
Contacts
PRESS:
Rahel Rasu
Global Chief Communications Officer, Mediabrands
[email protected]
NEW STUDY BY MAGNA & IPG MEDIA LAB FINDS OPTIMIZING CREATIVE EXECUTIONS BASED ON PURCHASE JOURNEY MORE EFFICIENTLY GUIDES CONSUMERS TOWARDS PURCHASE BY +14 PERCENT
Study Explores How Ad Optimization Accelerates Progression Through the Purchase Journey & Debunks Traditional Purchase Funnel
New York, NY – March 11, 2021 – Understanding consumer behavior and how best to appeal to consumers at each stage of the purchase journey has long been an industry focus in the media, technology and retail spaces. A new study by IPG Mediabrands’ agencies MAGNA and the IPG Media Lab reveals that serving the right creative at the right time based on that journey can more efficiently guide consumers through to purchase. “The Accelerated Purchase Journey: Efficiently Guiding Consumers Through to Purchase” also found that optimization drove more product purchases (+8%, versus +2% for unoptimized ad exposures).
Before purchasing a brand, a consumer must be in-market for the product, be aware of the brand and include that brand in their consideration set. After three optimized ad exposures, 14% of people were closer to purchase . Meanwhile, without optimization, where the same ads were delivered at random, there was no progression through the purchase journey at all.
The study explored the consumer behaviors and paths to purchase for two leading brands in the beauty and personal care spaces, specifically in foundation and shampoo. Qualifying consumers for the research fit each brand’s key audience demographic and were open to buying the product from category over the next six months. Consumers were randomized into a test cell: Control, Non-Optimized or Optimized. The optimized groups received pre-roll ads over the course of several weeks with the creative execution based on their position in the purchase journey. The non-optimized groups received the same ads over the same time period, but the creative execution was chosen at random, regardless of purchase journey position. The control group served as a clean baseline and received ads for non-competitive brands.
“The key to driving purchase is delivering content that feels relevant and provides useful information,” said Kara Manatt, SVP, Intelligence Solutions, MAGNA. “The difficulty is that what is relevant and useful varies from person to person depending on whether they’ve just started considering a purchase or whether they are ready to make a final brand choice. When we deliver ads that are customized to that journey, we are removing obstacles and accelerating the purchase journey.”
“This study proves that journey-informed content is a critical accelerator of customer flow, effectively moving customers from one step in their journey to the next, ultimately culminating in a purchase,” said Jonathan Rigby, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Reprise Digital. “Audience needs and motivations change at each stage of the purchase journey so the content we create, whether for paid or owned channels, must be fluid enough to create flow.”
Additional key findings of the study include:
- A plan beats no plan. When the creative execution is tailored to the individual’s position in the purchase journey, progression to purchase is accelerated. After just three exposures, +14% progressed closer to purchase, while there was no progression without optimization. At higher levels of frequency, after five ad exposures, an optimized plan drove more than 3 times as much progress through the funnel as an unoptimized plan (29% v. 9%).
- Consumers could feel the difference. Not only did the optimized ad delivery prove more effective for advertisers, but consumers also had better ad experiences. When optimized, the ads felt more enjoyable, relevant, and offered more information. In addition, optimization decreased ad annoyance.
- Location, location, location. Leveraging location-based messaging when at the end of the purchase journey led to greater impact on intent to search for and purchase the brand.
- If you don’t succeed. For those stuck in the middle of the purchase journey after multiple optimized ad exposures, switching to a “feel good” ad (as opposed to product-focused) proved to be a successful tactic.
- Traditional purchase funnel, debunked. While many rely on the traditional purchase funnel, the research found that many were skipping steps in that funnel, indicating the funnel is an outdated explanation and that a matrix is a more appropriate way to look at the purchase journey.
Read the full report
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 IPG Media Lab
Part of the Interpublic network, the IPG Media Lab identifies and researches innovations and trends that will change the media landscape and how brands engage with their audiences. Since 2006, the Lab has worked with our clients and with industry partners who can help them best adapt to disruptive change. Its expertise, resources and consulting services also help to inform the learnings, strategies and business outcomes of all Interpublic agencies. For more information, please visit www.ipglab.com or follow @ipglab.
Media Contact:
Zinnia Gill
Mediabrands
Director, Global Corporate Communications
(646) 965-4271
MARKETERS NEEDS TO TAILOR ADS TO WHERE CONSUMERS ARE IN PURCHASE JOURNEY: MAGNA
By Ethan Jakob Craft, Published in AdAge
Optimizing ad delivery appears to drive far more product sales than random placement
Marketers can better drive sales by optimizing their ad messages to where consumers are on their purchasing journey, according to a new study out of Magna.
The study from Magna and IPG Media Lab suggests that just three optimized exposures to brand messaging can increase a consumer’s likeliness of buying any given product by 14% over the following six-month period.
It also found that successful optimization accounted for more product purchases by 8%, versus the 2% uptick driven by randomized ad delivery. The study was undertaken with a sample of two “leading brands” in the personal care space: one foundation makeup brand and one shampoo brand.
“The key to driving purchase is delivering content that feels relevant and provides useful information,” says Kara Manatt, senior VP of intelligence solutions at Magna.
That industry tidbit should come as no surprise to any marketer worth their salt, but where the difficulty in effectively reaching consumers lies, Manatt says, “is that what is relevant and useful varies from person to person depending on whether they’ve just started considering a purchase or whether they are ready to make a final brand choice.”
Repetition is another core pillar in creating an effective messaging strategy. While three optimized ad executions move consumers 14% closer to making a purchase—versus zero progress without optimizations—just upping the frequency to five impressions can accelerate that same positive purchasing behavior by 29%, the study shows.
Consumers who participated in the survey reported that they were able to feel the difference in creative execution methods as well, with optimized ads being received as more relevant, while simultaneously causing less annoyance.
“Audience needs and motivations change at each stage of the purchase journey so the content we create, whether for paid or owned channels, must be fluid enough to create flow,” says Jonathan Rigby, global chief strategy officer at Reprise Digital.
And for customers still on the fence, the study notes that after multiple optimized ad exposures, “switching to a ‘feel good’ ad,” rather than one that’s product-focused, can be a successful tactic.”
Read the article in AdAge
Read the Press Release
Download the Full Report
YouTube Brand Safety Validator – Case Study
Over the past several years, YouTube has made progress on improving brand safety and suitability controls available to protect clients brands. In order to help clients navigate the growing options across the platform, Mediabrands partnered with YouTube and Google to further streamline the adoption and monitoring of suitability settings to ensure that our client interests are better protected.
As part of this effort, we worked closely with Google in 2020 to adopt the Brand Suitability Validator (BSV). Using BSV as a monitoring tool, we could achieve greater control in ensuring that our teams are implementing the correct settings when setting up campaigns on the platform.
This document details this initiative, and the great results that were achieved as a result of this partnership.
Download the document here
