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Let’s face it: every brand and its office dog is plowing the digital fields these days. It’s the done thing in 2023; get some catchy assets drawn up, feed them into an ad server, and watch the clicks come in.
All well and good – except, internet users are being hit with so many of these ads that the only rational response is to plug out. Our brains simply don’t want to handle the overload of information. And who can really blame them?
The facts speak for themselves, with research indicating that 42% of people with an internet connection now use ad blocker software. 42%. Let that sink in.
Of that figure, 64% cite the reason they use a blocker is because, quite simply, ads are annoying. 54%, meanwhile, claim that online ads interrupt what they are doing.
We’ve all been there: you’re trying to read a news article on your mobile when, suddenly, the page jerks around because a display ad has decided to load. Few articles are worth the time and patience required. In cluttering their real estate with adverts to maximise revenue, websites have only succeeded in quite literally turning people off.
The result is scores of brands having to deal with lost capital. So, what’s the solution? Well, here are six…
Most of us now use social media platforms daily, making them an obvious place to channel your marketing activity.
The beauty of social ads is that you’re able to target specific user groups based on interests and behaviours. Ads can be tailored to maximise engagement, and due to being relatively low cost, your return on investment is often healthy. What’s more, each social platform offers its own insights hub, giving you the power to optimise your campaign as results come in.
Then there’s the range of formats available. Influencer marketing, for example, promises prestige and brand awareness within an audience that is likely to be interested in what you’re offering – providing you choose the right influencer. Factor in image ads, video ads, stories, carousels and message ads, and the possibilities are bountiful.
A word of caution, however. As the ongoing circus around X (formerly Twitter) shows, advertisers on social media must be wary of where their ads are being shown. While platforms themselves have a duty of care to remove malicious content, brands cannot always rely on them doing so.
Native advertising continues to go from strength to strength, with many brands valuing the sense of trust and quality it engenders.
Unlike banner and display ads, sponsored content on newsbrand websites is contextually relevant and therefore more likely to engage. It’s less intrusive, with emphasis placed on ensuring it looks and feels in keeping with the rest of the website it’s featured on. You can even commission an advertorial, as our friends at Bobbi Brown recently did with Grazia.
Sure, it will cost you more than a standard banner or display ad, but the added creativity, credibility and cut-through it delivers are enough to justify the additional outlay.
Search Engine Marketing is practically as old as the internet itself, yet many business remain half-committed at best.
SEM all begins with your website. By ensuring it’s well structured and rich in engaging content, you’re giving yourself a head start over the sea of sites out there that fail to hit the right notes. From here, you can run targeted paid ads optimised around keywords. Its programmatic, with a large dose of strategy thrown in.
The drawback is that, depending on your market, the competition for a good search ranking may be fierce. It will involve a fair amount of micro-management – and even then, the amount you’re willing to bid on your keywords will be integral. With generative AI also now entering the game, the rules around best-practice are only going to get more complicated.
But regardless, ensuring your website ticks all of the SEO boxes is fundamental if you’re an online business. And let’s face it, it’s 2023. If you’re not online, then why?
Ok, so while not strictly an online option, out-of-home has evolved to such an extent that it has become a truly cross-media solution with serious digital chops.
Now, not only can you reach people as they’re on the move. No – with the evolution and solidification of programmatic buying as part of the OOH ecosystem, brands and agencies can serve tailored ads to distinct audiences with impressive accuracy. Creatives can be deployed at specific times of day and in targeted locations of tactical value to the campaign (i.e. Tube Stations, or within a certain proximity to your store). This allows for a large amount of optimisation that can be applied in real-time to maximise cut-through.
Add to this DOOH’s compatibility with social media and mobile activity, and the potential for engagement is considerable. With tools such as QR codes now in widespread use, the journey from offline to online is frictionless, opening up new dimensions for brands intent on broadening their reach.
It’s no secret that the way we consume TV content is changing. Broadcaster video-on-demand is now in the ascendancy, with linear viewing figures in slow decline. Channel 4, for one, had its biggest ever streaming month in October; ITVX, meanwhile, has experienced a 69% increase in streams this year.
This presents an interesting opportunity for brands: by allying yourself with quality content in a trusted environment, you’re creating positive associations. In turn, these associations increase the likelihood of engagement. View-through rates are typically higher on BVOD ads – and with the right creative, this will translate into clicks.
Whether we like to admit it or not, Amazon is now a big part of daily life for most consumers. It’s a super convenient one-stop-shop for, well, pretty much everything.
Consequently, it represents prime (pun intended) real estate for brands to promote their products in an environment where potential buyers are already in the purchase mindset.
The range of solutions available is quite something: audio ads, video ads, sponsored display, sponsored products, brand stores, to name a few. And with Amazon’s comprehensive analytics dashboard facilitating the optimisation of activity, everything is in place to ensure the return on your investment is maximised.
With so many options available, it can be difficult piecing together the right strategy for your business. This is where a media agency comes in. It can work with you to develop and execute a coordinated plan of action, or provide consultation on possible solutions.
Get in touch with our experts if you’re looking for some guidance – we’d love to help.