Archive for Direct response

Is the Barbie movie an infomercial or entertainment?

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 August 15, 2023
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Is the Barbie movie an infomercial or entertainment?

The lines can blur between advertising and entertainment and none more visible than the recent
blockbuster Barbie movie, based on the popular Barbie franchise. The Barbie movie attracted
much attention and hype worldwide, with Instagram advertising, Tiktok advertising, Facebook
advertising, and other forms of advertising on social media. Because of the widespread
popularity of the movie, Mattel is also working with other companies in collaboration, such as
Burger King’s Barbie meal, Crocs’s Barbie products, Gap’s Barbie wardrobe, and other widely
known corporations in cooperation with the launch of the movie. In addition to selling dolls,
there is additional merchandise with the Barbie brand that can be sold thus extending the brand
beyond just movie tickets and into retail and online sales.


As a matter of fact, an article on The 1014 states, “The marketing efforts have been estimated to
cost $150 million, surpassing the film’s production budget.” From a marketing perspective, this
would definitely make the Barbie movie seem like a huge infomercial and a gateway to other
Mattel products. This move did in fact turn out well, as Mattel’s stock prices are “seeing a 20
percent increase.”


Product placement in films and TV has been prevalent for decades. This is where companies pay
producers to hold that particular can of soda in a scene or use that particular luggage or beauty
product, but Barbie has taken this way beyond product placement and into a whole new echelon
of infomercial entertainment or infotainment.


Recent TV shows such as Ted Lasso and Yellowstone have manufactured merchandise to be sold
with the show themes. In fact in the Yellowstone series, actors from the series appeared in
commercials on set and in character pitching brands that align with the demographic of the
audience. Is Yellowstone then a giant infomercial as well?


Is this the beginning of a greater trend toward blending marketing and entertainment? The public
has embraced the movie with over 1 billion in box office sales, so that would indicate yes. So
now it is up to all of us in marketing and advertising to find new ways to blend advertising and
entertainment.

Categories : DRTV
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Is less more in video advertising?

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 August 7, 2023
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Is less more in video advertising?

Video advertising is one of the most effective forms of digital advertising, and has been an
increasingly larger portion of digital advertising. And lately the trend has been to shorter
videos.


Previously, digital video advertisements were generally 30 seconds to a minute long. There are
longer advertisements too, such as direct response tv (DRTV) and infomercials, which can last
two minutes up to 28:30 minutes. But with the recent trends, ads are getting shorter, and can
perform even better than longer video ads. According to Mountain Research, “Six-second ads
delivered 60% of the impact of a traditional 30-second ad” and “15-second ad spots yielded 80%
of the effectiveness of a 30-second ad.”


TV advertising is able to reach a wide demographic of audiences, and performs well in bringing
attention to the brand. Research shows that 15 second ads are about 75% as effective as 30
second ads. In addition, an article from Lever states, “A study from 2020 shows that interactive
CTV ads help marketers achieve a 237% jump in time spent with viewers for 30-second ads.
Moreover, for a 15-second ad, you get a 447% increase in total time with a viewer.” While the
cost for CTV has not yet stabilized and the ROI is not there yet for most DRTV advertisers, the
bridge is being built and early adopters are using this format to communicate messaging and
offers.


TikTok, Facebook and Instagram all cater to specific audiences of certain niches and are used
widely by both small and large direct to consumer marketers leading users to their websites to
purchase products or services directly from them. They take advantage of their social media
algorithms by keeping the users hooked on their video ads in multiple ways. For example, one
way may be to start off with a hook to grab the viewer’s attention, then putting a splash of
condensed information in a short time frame so the viewer has to keep watching the video over
and over again, thus feeding the algorithm and sending more users of that certain audience to be
engaged in the same way and the cycle continues (this is one of the most popular methods of
advertising done through Tiktok). Other forms of social media ads can cater to their audience in
a more formal way, giving a small amount of helpful information about a certain service,
product, or topic to hook the viewer, then dropping the advertisement at the end to follow up
with to buy the product or service.

Advertising products or brands online using short video can be more efficient and reliable to
attract audiences and engagements from them, greatly boosting performance marketing. So
whether it is on TV or in digital, remember when it comes to video, less can be more.

Categories : DRTV
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Threads vs Twitter

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 July 18, 2023
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Threads vs Twitter

Everybody knows the social media platforms Instagram and Twitter. For most people, everybody
that knows these apps also know their owners Mark Zuckerberg (Instagram) and Elon Musk
(Twitter). Recently, a new app developed by the Instagram team has been brought to light, called
Threads, which functions exactly like Twitter, but obviously with its own differences to avoid
copyright. The reason for its creation is due to the “fall of Twitter”, as Elon Musk has made
many huge changes to Twitter since he purchased it including restrictions on certain things (e.g
the Tweet View Limit) and additions of widely unwanted or controversial features such as the
ability to purchase verification marks. From the purchase of Twitter until now, Twitter has lost
66% of its value, meaning Twitter has gone from being worth $44 billion to $15 billion. Many
people say that Twitter was “ruined” because of Elon, causing hate and controversy surrounding
him. This negative change in Twitter heavily impacted its users, especially the users that use
Twitter for business or growth. With the decline of active users on Twitter, digital advertising,
digital marketing, and even things like TikTok advertising and Facebook advertising on the
Twitter platform is much more challenging. Users required an alternative for this dwindling app,
and that’s where Threads comes in.


Threads was developed as an alternative for Twitter, gaining immense attention and popularity in
the media, in fact, 100 million Threads users joined the app in less than a week of its release, and
there isn’t even any CTV advertisements or infomercials to advertise this app, the only
advertisements that exists for Threads is by users encouraging other users to join it or from
notifications and features about Threads on the Instagram app. Because of the rising number of
users on this app, there is an extremely large potential for business such as new forms of social
media marketing or video advertising. Since this Twitter-like app was founded by Mark
Zuckerberg, it has brought Elon’s attention, which sparked tension between the two social media
leaders. Elon called out Zuckerberg for his new app and threw shade at him, saying vile things
like “Zuck is a cuck” and even filing a lawsuit against Meta for “poaching ex-Twitter employees
to create the ‘copycat’ app.” Zuckerberg is aware of this as well, and even agreed to participate
in a cage fight proposed by Elon.


The Threads app grows more and more popular by the day, and so does the tension between Elon
and Zuckerberg. The competition between these two big leaders is certainly something the media
is unable to ignore.

Categories : DRTV
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Shifting the Direct to Consumer View of Social Media

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 July 12, 2023
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Shifting the Direct to Consumer View of Social Media

Social media is widely seen as an online platform to communicate with friends and family, along
with taking in news or sharing moments of one’s personal life. Many people around the world
use these social media apps and websites for such personal purposes, but excessive use can lead
to addictions of the media, causing problems such as “Zombie Scrolling Syndrome” (mindless
scrolling on platforms), depression among younger users due to comparing themselves to people
others who they think are “above them”, taking in misinformation, and even leading to physical
problems such as back pains and eye problems. But this can be a tool rather than a burden and
this engaged audience can be open to positive advertising messaging from direct to consumer
marketers who offer products and services which solve problems.


Mindless scrolling and irrelevant information intake are a huge contrast to what can be achieved
when taking advantage of social media and its power. Instead of worrying about Tom Holland’s
thoughts on becoming Spiderman, think about teaching and learning and entertaining by
advertising properly to certain audiences, creating d2c relevant outreach, forming connections
with people of similar interests/passion, and working with positive promotions for people. All of
these things can be done on social media, and the tools and information necessary are there.
Insights, analytics, campaigns, collaboration are incredibly useful tools which are provided by
social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc.


Using Social media advertising to enhance people’s lives rather than contributing to the zombie
scrolling can contribute beneficially to the consumer in addition to hopefully turning them on to
products and services which can help make their lives better.
Many direct to consumer marketers realize the value of these tools and concepts, and utilize them
to the fullest extent, while also conducting their own research on things relevant to them (e.g.
hashtags, platform algorithms, etc.). Smaller companies can compete with companies many
times their size in social media by simply keeping consistency with things like posting at the
right time, advertising their products to the right audience, collaborating with other business
owners, etc.


In the end, it is the user who chooses how they use social media, whether it’s to benefit
themselves in a variety of ways, or to be swallowed by the media. The tools to enable good
outcomes for all can benefit both consumers and marketers alike.

Categories : DRTV
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Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 August 23, 2022
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Why does so much D2C advertising drive consumers to Amazon?

BANGKOK,THAILAND – ARP 18, 2020 :A woman using laptop showing Amazon logo and credit card shopping online. Amazon.com, Inc. American international electronic commerce company.

When a DTC marketer spends money on TV, audio, social or any other channel, why does Amazon receive a huge piece of that pie? 

The answer is simple. 60% of consumers start their product research on Amazon. A large portion of consumers search various channels in search of the right product, and many eventually turn to Amazon due to its reliability. It is important to build a trustworthy relationship with your consumers, which is something Amazon has been successful at. Many brands also turn to Amazon advertising, although not happy about giving away a larger share of their profits.

If a consumer sees an ad anywhere, they are more likely to check Amazon before checking your website or calling your phone number. Whether we like it or not, that is what the consumer feels most comfortable with.  Thus, many brands are actually driving directly to Amazon.  And when brands do that, Amazon rewards them with discounted fees and retargeting.  

As digital advertising continues to increase, regardless of where the ads are viewed, consumer preferences become more understood. As customers are getting more selective with their purchases, marketing products on a platform like Amazon that almost guarantees recognition, loyalty, and sales not only seems like the right idea but a necessity.  As marketers, we must understand that regardless of what we want, we must be where the consumers are.

No matter where you advertise, Amazon has remained consistent as a tool to provide a substantial lift for advertisers and brands. They continued to provide new opportunities and sales for smaller brands and businesses and can be a  successful partner. If you can’t beat them, join them.


https://linktr.ee/avalanchecreativeservices
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Is TikTok setting alarms off at Facebook?

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 August 16, 2022
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Is TikTok setting alarms off at Facebook?

In 2012 94% of teens had a Facebook account. Now ten years later only 27% of the teenage
demographic say they are on the platform. Where have they gone and will Meta owners of
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp be able to evolve the platforms to stay relevant and
survive? How will this affect digital advertising for direct to consumer (DTC) brands?
Even though Facebook is the largest social media platform with 2.9 billion monthly users, they
have faced tough competition from TikTok. TikTok’s user base continues to grow as does the
time spent on their platform, and they have seen increased ad revenues. TikTok also dominates
the audience once owned by Facebook.
TikTok’s 1 billion monthly users they spend 90+ minutes a day on the platform. Facebook and
Instagram demographics skew considerably older and use the platform about 29 minutes a day.
And best of all, 46% of TikTok users report that they have made a purchasing decision based
on reviewing something on the platform.
In the past when Facebook found that people were spending more time on other social
platforms, they purchased their competition: i Instagram, which it bought for $1 billion in 2012
and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.


Today, instead of purchasing their most dangerous threats, Facebook has decided to be more
like them. Two years ago, to compete with TikTok, Facebook released its own TikTok-like short
form video known as Reels. Reels can be seen on both Facebook and Instagram. However,
people have reported that many Reels are just reposted TikTok videos. Recently Facebook
added a new viewing feed with a “TikTok-like feel” that displays content from people who aren’t
your friends. This “Feeds” feature uses algorithm-curated content and accounts for a fifth of the
content viewed. Even with the views, it doesn’t appear that Reels has done what Facebook had
hoped: having users create and share more content on their platform.
What does this mean for advertisers? The social media advertising landscape is shifting, and
DTC brands need to adapt to meet their customers where they are on each platform. For DTC
brands this means the power of TikTok can not be underestimated, especially for reaching the
Gen Z and millennial demographics.
Even with competition from TikTik and others Facebook is still bulldozing along. Despite
ongoing controversies and emerging competition, Facebook still remains the largest social
platform among consumers and marketers. But let’s face it, their user base is aging and their
CPMs rising. People of all ages now gravitate to video-sharing platforms like TikTok and brands
will need to invest in TikTok advertising to meet them where they are. It is unlikely that
Facebook can maintain its total dominance over social networking forever.

https://linktr.ee/avalanchecreativeservices
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WHY DIRECT TO CONSUMER ADVERTISERS SHOULD CONSIDER SPANISH LANGUAGE ADS

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 July 26, 2022
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WHY DIRECT TO CONSUMER ADVERTISERS SHOULD CONSIDER SPANISH LANGUAGE ADS

With $2.5 trillion in buying power, the Hispanic market isn’t just an opportunity, it’s a necessity for direct to consumer (DTC) marketers.  According to the 2020 Census, Hispanics make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, and accounted for 51% of all new population growth. Additionally, Spanish is the second most common language spoken after English in the U.S., with over 41 million people speaking the language. This market is huge,  but according to the Hispanic Marketing council only 6% of the marketing industry’s investment is spent on the Hispanic community.  That leaves a large, untapped market for advertisers to connect and engage with. 

In the past, advertisers would often simply “transcreate” their English ads into Spanish. However, over the years advertisers have learned that this can appear disingenuous and may actually offend the target market.  

Today, although under invested in advertising, this market has evolved.  In recent years advertisers have found success with these tactics. 

  1. Bilingual content: Marketers have Integrated Spanish into their primarily-English Hispanic advertising campaigns, by using Spanish words, phrases, and quotes that appeal to a bilingual audience. 
  2. Culture: Even more important than the language is culture. According to Refuel’s Hispanic Explorer Series™ 2021, Hispanic audiences respond more to ads that reflect their culture, therefore it is important that the audience can see  themselves reflected in advertisements. It is important to ensure that their messages come across as authentic and avoid stereotypes and cliches. 
  3. Spanish at all touch points: Instead of just a Spanish language DRTV ad, social media ad, email, or video ad, advertisers have created landing pages in Spanish, so that Hispanic consumers have a consistent experience across channels when they interact with the brand.
  4. Social media: Social media is a powerful way to reach the Hispanic audience.  Studies indicate that Hispanic consumers are 30% more likely to use any social media than the general population. Tiktok specifically over indexes for Hispanics with 1 in every 5 regular users being a Spanish speaker.
  5. Influencers: More advertisers are using Spanish speaking influencers on social media who can help promote products and services to their audiences to help conversions and sales.

So in these recessionary times of shrinking budgets, perhaps more consideration can be given to the Hispanic consumers, a neglected yet loyal demographic.

https://linktr.ee/avalanchecreativeservices

Categories : DRTV
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When is the time for DRTV Marketers to Embrace CTV?

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 July 14, 2022
  · No Comments

When is the time for DRTV Marketers to Embrace CTV?

Despite the years of headlines screaming about the demise of television, TV is not dead, yet.
Instead how and where TV is watched has evolved with the rise of connected TV (CTV), which
can help breathe new life into TV and empower viewers to take advantage of offers from DRTV
marketers at home or on the go.
With this new breath of life comes a highly effective means of directly engaging existing and
potential customers for direct-to-consumer brands (DTC). However, at this time, it comes at a
high price. And is not always immediately accountable the way terrestrial TV has been.
Connected TV advertising was among the fastest growing for any significant sector of the US
digital ad spending market with advertisers spending over $13 billion on CTV ads in 2021, a
nearly 50% increase from the previous year according to Conviva’s research. It is expected to
grow to $19 billion in 2022. But, were most of those ads for brand advertisers just looking for
reach and frequency?
Because of shorter formats on CTV and the higher cost, many direct response TV (DRTV)
marketers overlook CTV advertising as a viable advertising medium. These marketers may be
missing a significant opportunity to run ads that are highly targeted, unskippable, trackable, and
brand-safe. The CTV spend in combination with terrestrial television can deliver a one-two
punch in ways either can not do alone. It just may require experimentation and ability to look at
the complete picture rather than individual silos.

So why should DRTV marketers embrace CTV advertising?
1) Advertising Reach: 87% of US homes have at least one connected TV, including a
smart TV, phone, video game system or standalone streaming device, such as Apple TV
or an Amazon fire stick and at least 40% of them watch content daily.
2) Measure success with real-time reporting:, CTV advertising provides real-time
metrics such as impressions, completed view rate and reach enabling advertisers to
adjust campaigns in real-time.
3) Higher completion rates: Unlike traditional TV where viewers can change the channel
to avoid a commercial, CTV ads are unskippable, meaning the viewer needs to watch
the entire ad in order to continue viewing their show.
4) More precise targeting at a lower cost: Programmatic advertising uses automated
bids software to buy and sell ad inventory in real-time, instead of traditional manual
negotiations. This allows advertisers to spend their ad budgets more efficiently based on
data and insights specific to their brand resulting in delivering the right ad to the right
audience at the right time.
With the explosion of CTV it is inevitable that DRTV marketers will need to shift some of their
advertising to CTV advertising as consumers shift their focus to on-demand programs. So it is
not a question of it, but more a question of when.

https://linktr.ee/avalanchecreativeservices
Categories : DRTV
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How DTC brands can benefit from in-game video advertising

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 June 22, 2022
  · No Comments

How DTC brands can benefit from in-game video advertising

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands and DRTV and Infomercial advertisers need to be looking for new mediums to promote their products and services, especially as TV continues a decline.  In recent years, many DTC brands have diversified their video advertising efforts to include social ads, but as social media ad costs rise is there another medium that DTC advertisers could benefit from?

The global in-game advertising market is on track to grow by $3.54 billion by 2025 and it is a medium that DTC brands should explore.  At first glance, advertisers might assume that the demographics of gamers are mostly teen males who do not fit their target market. However,  mobile gamers actually skew more female. Overall the mobile game market is 60% female and 40% male. In terms of age demographic more than 20% of mobile gamers are over 50 and 39% are between 21 and 35. This provides an enormous potential for DTC brands.

There are a few types of video ads that can DTC marketers can take advantage of within mobile games:

Interstitial Ads

Interstitial video ads are full-screen ads that typically appear in-between game level and allow players to skip the ad after about five seconds depending on the game.  Since these ads don’t interrupt the player’s gaming experience, they typically generate high impressions and conversions.

Reward-based ads

Reward-based video ads follow a “prompt, opt-in, reward” structure in which players choose to play the ad in order to receive a reward.  After watching the ad the player is rewarded with another life or some form of in-game currency to help them continue playing the game. Most gamers prefer this ad format and find it the least disruptive.

Both player and advertiser benefit from reward-based ads. The player is rewarded and the advertiser only pays for the ad if the player watches the entire ad. Additionally, since the ads are generally watched to the end in order to receive the reward DTC brand advertisers have increased brand awareness and recall. Reward based ads receive higher user engagement than interstitial ad formats, resulting in a higher return on ad spent.

Ads can be purchased on a CPA, CPM or CPC basis and the costs rival more expensive platforms like Facebook.

Although not top of mind for DTC marketers, in-game video advertising is definitely a channel that should be considered because it holds enormous potential to reach their target market affordably, increase brand reach, and get conversions.

Categories : Advertising, Digital Marketing, DRTV, Social Media
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DTC and Social Media: Snap back or flame out?

Posted by PCvG7TOtDYt5MrTyFkR on
 June 13, 2022
  · No Comments

DTC and Social Media: Snap back or flame out?

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) and performance marketers have been steadily shifting budgets away from Direct Response Television (DRTV) to social media such as Facebook, Tiktok, and Snapchat to create awareness and grow their customer base. These platforms have been effective for DTC brands because of their consumer scale and focused reach via targeting and measurement.  However, just like the DRTV landscape shifts, so does the social media landscape causing DTC companies to diversify among them. 

Social media giants Facebook and Tiktok continue to lead the digital advertising world while others like Instagram and Snapchat have fallen behind.  

Facebook (Meta) the largest platform has proven successful through several rebranding efforts, including the recent “Meta” shift, however, they have faced backlash from DTC companies on the rising cost of their ad prices.  The rising cost of Facebook advertising has opened the door for TikTok.  The platform has paved the way for many DTC brands with its massive reach and engagement. They continue to stay on top of innovation and attract advertising dollars. In fact, TikTok is on track to surpass the advertising revenue of  Twitter and Snapchat combined this year.  Move over…. Facebook!

Snapchat, despite its initial success, has similar audiences, and better retargeting abilities than Tiktok has fallen behind. This year, Snapchat’s CEO warned employees that the company would underperform in targets for revenue and adjusted earnings in this current quarter. So why is Snapchat failing while other companies succeed?

Aside from recent macroeconomic issues plaguing the industry, Snapchat’s primary focus through the years has been on changes to the interface and making the app more user-friendly. These changes reverberated negatively and prompted outrage at the app’s creators as well. Snapchat has also failed to attract older users. 

Video content has maintained its position as the top-performing ad content of late, and yet Snapchat continues to be unappealing to advertisers.  We will see what the future has in store for Snapchat and other social media platforms, but it’s easy to see how fast-paced and ever-changing the digital advertising landscape can be.

DTC and performance marketers need to be ahead of the curve on these trends to reach out to consumers at the right time on the right platform with the right offer and the right content.

Categories : Advertising, Business, Digital Marketing, DRTV, Social Media
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