Project Agora Co-founds the New EMEA Video Advertising Platform- Union
Union, the joint venture of five leading technology providers has now launched a new video advertising platform in London for Europe, Middle East and Africa(EMEA) to help local content providers access to video ad spend from global brands who want to support local media at a time when trusted content is the need of the hour for their readers. At the same time, it enables international advertisers to activate video campaigns on the sites that really matter to their local audiences.
Union empowers local publishers to cater to the premium inventory demand by global brands. With a total of over 300employees located in 34 cities, Union and its founding members – regional technology providers PlayAD, Project Agora, ShowHeroes, Video Intelligence and Viralize enjoy strategic relationships with thousands of local market websites across EMEA region providing video content, monetization and technology to publishers.
This strategic partnership helps Union bring a blend of pre-roll and out-stream video formats to the market for advertisers to target. This is achieved using a powerful combination of programmatic and contextual targeting to reach nearly 300 million users on relevant, brand safe and trusted publishers. Union’s publisher partners involve global brands like Marie Claire, Elle, Vanity Fair, and CNN, as well as leading local publishers such as Aller Media, Axel Springer, Stryia, Libero and Funke Media Group.
Steven Filler has been announced as Managing Director for Union and will lead the launch across EMEA focusing on London, Paris and Amsterdam agency buying hubs.
With 20+ years of experience in the digital industry, Filler has held major commercial roles across a range of leading companies including The Guardian, AOL, and upon his appointment, he said:
“The current global crisis has highlighted the continued importance of local quality media in providing the truth and guidance to readers, so that they can be informed citizens. At the same time, advertisers demand more quality, brand safe video inventory and Union makes this possible through a single-entry point while also allowing brands to support the publishers that really matter to their local audiences.”
Odysseas Ntotsikas, founder of Project Agora, said:
“The launch of the Union is further reinforcing and expanding the reach of Project Agora’s mission to Keep the Open Web Open. Local Publishers so far unable to attract advertising budgets from international advertisers and trading desks can now see an uplift in such revenues by working with Project Agora, Union’s founding partner in Central, SE Europe and MEA. For local advertisers looking to advertise out of their home market there is now a unique opportunity to see their brand in the top local sites of every European market that people trust for their news and entertainment”.
11 Global Brands Create Epic Ads Entirely From Home During Covid-19.
Just weeks into global lockdown, advertising production has changed. It is now confined to homes with shoots canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future. Out of adversity, now comes creativity as advertisers are overcoming the hurdle of not being able to venture out with ads made remotely or entirely from home.
Video advertising isn’t stopped amidst the pandemic but is showcasing creativity in lockdown.
We have handpicked the best ads produced remotely in the COVID- era from around the world.
1. Apple: Creativity goes on
Apple is one of the top names of all brands creating ads from home. The tech giant has captured how consumers are creative amid the COVID outbreak and are using its products for drawing pictures on the iPad, produce video content on Macbook or Facetime with near ones. The film is produced in over two weeks starring many celebrities from their homes and ends with a line reading “Creativity Goes On.”
2. Women’s Aid: The Lockdown by Engine
Engine and Knucklehead created a campaign ‘The Lockdown’ – uses video shot during the daily excursions in London to capture the empty roads and emphasize that domestic abusers are no longer on the streets and are locked inside with their families. Women’s aid has set up a coronavirus advice page to help victims of domestic abuse.
3. IKEA: Making Home Count
An absolute delight to watch the video advertisement and beautiful creative ad in coronavirus outbreak. Ikea Singapore released ‘Making Home Content’ – a short ad made remotely by a team of creatives from TBWA to give thanks to those abiding the lockdown rules. It covers simple ‘joys’ like pets, cooking, and playtime with children and family, using the footage shot by the team who captured their lockdown lives.
4. Vodafone Italy: Importance of Connectivity
Vodafone Italy launched an ad campaign made remotely by the crew to demonstrate the importance of connectivity and raise funds for the Italian Red Cross during the pandemic. The ad features the strapline “Even when we can’t be close, we can be together”.
5.Honda Civic: #StayHome
The 35-second spot is the latest video ad made from home entirely for the Dubai region with Memac Ogilvy Dubai. A classic example of creative video advertising where it started like any other sheet metal commercial but with a twist. Honda uses a full-scale miniature car and the camera shots managed to trick the viewers for some time and feel like watching a real car. The ad ended on a hopeful note reading” Until we drive again” with the hashtag #Stayhome.
6.Porsche: Let it Not Tempt you
Another automobile ads made remotely is Porsche for Poland which created a film overnight with a series of graphics to encourage viewers to stay home despite the beautiful weather. It inspires Porsche owners to share photos of the parked cars on social media and comply with safety recommendations.
7.Nike: Play for the World
Next on ads made remotely is Nike’s inspiring campaign where it is paying a tribute to all the athletes who are training indoors due to quarantine.
8. Birds Eye: So, What’s For Tea?
This creative video advertising ad was made to help families cope with the coronavirus crisis presenting life hacks like entertaining families that include coloring pages and word searches. Families can download the life hacks on the brand’s website or social media page.
9.Ad Council: #StayHome, Save Lives
The Ad Council has joined hands with Google, the ANA, and other advertising, media, marketing trade associations, on a wide movement that pleads to the people of America to #StayHome Save Lives in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.
10. The BMW: Contactless Experience
The highly affected sector due to these unprecedented times is automotive. A unique and creative corona ad introduces the BMW India Contactless experience with a digital-purchase experience that gives the feel and benefits of a brick and mortar dealership at a click of a button and from the comfort of the home.
11. Audi: The Drive
Audi is offering a pleasant and innovative experience to house-bound Australians through the freedom of open roads. Audi Australia created a 4 hour long long-slow TV film, a masterpiece of creativity in lockdown for the viewers to experience the soothing nature of the road trip from the comfort of their home.
The creative ads in coronavirus pandemic show that it has not put a damper on the creativity of the people and will inspire audiences to StayHome, StaySafe to win over these tough times.
26 Stellar Video (YouTube) Advertising Examples To Take Creative Inspiration From!
Stephan Vogel, Ogilvy & Mather Germany’s chief creative officer quotes,
“Nothing is more efficient than creative advertising. Creative advertising is more memorable, longer lasting, works with less media spending, and builds a fan community…faster.”
Creativity is the base of advertising and branding and what better medium to propel this creativity than video? Many businesses have started using video advertising creatives to create a buzz for their products and brand. Video tends to drive more engagement and the numbers below from a recent 2020 survey by Wyzowl says it all.
- 95% of marketers say that video has helped user understanding of product and services
- 89% of marketers say that it gives good ROI.
- 84% of consumers purchase a product or service by watching brands’ videos.
- 92% of marketers believe video is an important part of digital strategy.
Brands are facing immense competition to make themselves heard and are opting for creative video marketing to rise. So what does it take to gain attention? Let’s say, choosing influencers for marketing, video advertising campaigns or teaming up with entertainment franchises like Game of Thrones to rise above the noise.
We indeed see many ads per day but how many do we recall by night? The odds are you might not recall even four ads seen in the week. People don’t read or see ads of what the brand is selling. They are interested to read or see stories of people that have the same challenges as they do. This is why the visual guide below explains why video advertising is the best advertising choice and businesses should consider incorporating it.
Image Credit: Brid
Power of Video in Creative Advertising
The beginning of the age of video advertising has created a paradigm shift for marketers. As per Forbes, video ads account for more than 35% of total ad spending online.
Different types of websites – social media platforms, news organizations, company pages, all are employing video content for their voracious audience consumption. Social media platforms prioritize videos over other forms of content as videos help to build trust and engagement. Therefore, all these trends make it important to nail your online video presence.
Snapchat leads to be one of the fastest-growing social media platforms based on its video stories and Instagram successfully introduced a similar feature ”Insta Stories”.
YouTube suggests users use over 1 billion hours of video on the site every day in 2017.
Online Video is predicted to make up 80% of all internet traffic by 2020.
Video Ads are not as Short always and connects through Creative, Personalized Video
Consumers prefer to watch a 15-sec video considering images than read a block with text. However, the most popular video ad length is 30 seconds, and data suggest people are willing to watch a bit longer videos.
Image Credit: Statista
For instance, OYO, one of the world’s largest hotel chains, released a series of ad ‘Raho Mast campaign’ inspired by real-life stories.
Some are more than a minute long but all of them convey the same message that staying in a low-priced hotel room doesn’t require compromise on quality.
With this video ad campaign, the brand is striking a chord with consumers by providing the best hospitality solution with their standardized and comfortable stay at value for money. The advantage of an extended format is that advertisers get time to explain stories and pull consumers into it.
A digital video advertising strategy should involve mixing and matching different length pieces
15-30 seconds is the optimal length for a video ad, as it allows you to strike a balance between creating a relevant narrative and providing a short attention span.
User-Generated Content Builds Brand awareness
Brands are building creative advertisements that give you real buyers experience and perspective and it blends with the marketing strategy as well.
In an Adweek survey, 76% of respondents find UGC more influential than content created by the brand directly.
To help you encourage your own video marketing efforts, here are 26 Crazy and Creative Video Advertisements Examples on social media
Facebook Ads:
Facebook Ads are engaging and get views if they are well made and too good to be ignored. The best Facebook Ad helps brands connect with new consumers every day.
1. Hello Fresh: Orange Cashew Chicken-Stir Fry
Meal kit delivery service Hello Fresh regularly advertises cooking videos just like the above that walks through an Orange Cashew Chicken Stir-fry recipe. These recipes are impulsively watched by the audience and Facebook users are accustomed to seeing their feed.
https://www.facebook.com/HelloFreshus/videos/vl.1025847054221655/1940931509268024/?type=1
Takeaway:
Native Facebook ad matches the style and tone of the platform and is primarily for Facebook users. Facebook users are watching more than 8 billion native video ads every day and these videos are longer than 30 mins giving users a feel of organic content than a mere ad.
This proves the old adage true, People don’t watch ads, they watch things they are interested in.
Twitter research shows 43% of users would fully watch a video ad if it has interesting content.
2. Knorr: Love at First Taste
https://www.facebook.com/dnts2018/videos/1013912421977658/
The brand is passionate to inspire the new millennial foodies and How? By launching a compelling ad campaign centered around people’s personal experiences about flavor, taste, and food. Knorr’s global research report stated that people are more attracted to people who enjoy a similar flavor profile.
The brand conducted a social experiment by having strangers met for the first time over a mutually enjoyable meal .with a twist – they must feed each other and not themselves. In a way, the brand tried to tap the thirst on social media for videos including food, romance, and real-life circumstances.
The brand also partnered with a food community Tasty to spread the video. Also, people were directed to a mini-site that asks questions about your favorite type of food, before putting you to 12 flavor profiles
Takeaway:
In the first three weeks, the video received 100 million views. Creative marketing is at its finest where they building an emotional connection with their customer by trying to understand their personal flavor and setting up on date not because of the way they looked but because of their favorite flavors in common.
3. Always
The brand took a risk with this documentary-style video. The risk was well handled with the four-minute-long video which is a lifetime on the Facebook Newsfeed.
Takeaway:
Advertisers need more time to explain a new or complex product in the following areas:
- The uniqueness of the product to solve the problem
- How different it is from other products
- Reasons and proof of why the new product would work.
The video gets a tick in all three areas and it does with irreverent humor that keeps the viewers entertained and hooked throughout. The video starts with a joke right away – a useful tactic to attract viewers early on.
5. Samsung
Samsung poked some fun at the dedicated fan following that Apple has gathered over the years by highlighting what they consider an unwarranted mentality of a certain sect of fans.
Takeaway:
The one-minute video is an apt length for Facebook, to hold the viewer’s attention. The video highlights competitor’s pain points, and their advantages in an effective way, all tied up with humor. A hard-core Apple fan who would never consider leaving Apple for Samsung can also appreciate the boldness of the video ad is making.
Instagram Ads:
Seeing the best Instagram video ads, it will inspire you to create or boost your own campaign.
6. Underarmour
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpFQ7OrAO4A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
]Two athletes hanging from hot-air balloons, doing tricks with a soccer ball is creative and crazy. The brand partnered with GoPro for this ad is a win-win situation for both. It is filmed with a GoPro and you can feel the thrill and excitement.
Takeaway:
The ad is a great and adventurous concept that grabs your attention.
7. Feetup
https://www.instagram.com/p/BojfmbODE3s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This video is simple and shows their product in action. There is nothing fancy about the advertisement but innovatively showing their product by targeting a passionate yoga learning audience.
Takeaway:
The ad shows what the consumer is interested to see about the product and might be facing a similar challenge. For instance, the video shows the visual demonstration by the FeetUp trainer. Many yogis can recognize the headstands and identify how the product will be helpful to improve the practice.
8. Get Freshly
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrtOLs-DApR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The caption of the video ad is so apt and everyone can relate “Too busy to eat healthy?” The ad is effective and quickly shows videos on how easy it is to eat smart with Freshly.
Takeaway:
The ad gives a glimpse of all the meal options which are helpful and easy for consumers and ends up with a Call to Action(CTA) of an attractive promo code.
9. Wolf and Shepherd
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmKRFonjqO3/?utm_source=ig_embed
The brand owner had put their dress shoes to a test by wearing the pair of shoes and running with the bulls. This sounds crazy but creative marketing is at its best.
Takeaway:
The brand uses its product to an extreme level to give a reality check about their product to the audience with a dramatic demonstration. This surely won hearts and helped the brand to be above the pack.
10. Eczema Honey
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl-_jvED8E1/?utm_source=ig_embed
The bright colors that pop up in the background are eye-catchy and stand out. It has followed a 2step advertising strategy: – on one hand, the color in the background will grab attention and using 5-starred customer reviews builds credibility.
YouTube Ads:
YouTube ads are best for branding and engagement. It is one of the best options for cost-effective campaigns.
With 2 million users, the platform has immense capacity to help brands find new audiences and establish a following. Soon, Google is soon going to launch Youtube Shorts an answer to Tik Tok. Tough competition lying ahead.
11. Grammarly: Words to Travel the World
Grammarly has built its social strategy around YouTube video ads. They are a chrome extension that scans your writing and rectifies your grammatical error and suggests how to make it better.
Their majority of traffic comes from video ads and is a user of Trueview ads.
Takeaway:
Google claims brands that run TrueView ads see a 500% engagement boost compared to their other YouTube content. True View ads a brand is paying for are from a more interested audience who is likely to get converted.
However, recently Google announced to stop serving unskippable 30 seconds ad to users and instead push 6-second bumpers and 20-second ad units.
12.GoPro: Fireman Saves Kitten
This isn’t a typical GoPro’s user-generated ad but shows its brand as adventurous and extreme. They repurpose many of their user-generated videos and put up on their channel that shows stuff like surfing or jumping out of planes. However, this video is different and deserves a round of applause where a firefighter is saving a kitten from a fire. This ad is beyond the athlete persona and helps to reach a wider audience keeping the heroism theme intact.
Takeaway:
Don’t hesitate to push the boundaries of your brand’s image. Experiment with different ad formats and topics to reach a wider audience and build your brand’s personality.
13. Code.org.: What Most Schools Don’t Teach
The faces in the marketing video are known and famous. The piece opens with a quote from Steve Jobs followed by an introduction by Bill Gates
Code.org is a non-profit organization that promotes computer science in schools across the country. It is a great example of influencer marketing and faces made the piece popular. The faces are the owners of renowned software companies and are sharing stories of their humble beginnings in the field.
Takeaway:
Sometimes, the field you are working in can be intimidating to the people from outside. world’s However, to grow your audience, you need to level it.
14. American’s Greetings: World’s Toughest Job
An excellent example of emotion-driven marketing created by Mullen and Cardstore by American Greetings. The content is free of sales and product placements. A creative advertisement using the faux interview to throw some light on the day-to-day mom’s routine everywhere, it is difficult for the viewers to walk away from the video without appreciation. At the close of the video, small witty talk to get your mom a Mother’s day card.
Takeaway:
Remember to show the plot with unexpected twists and turns to keep your audience engaged throughout the content.
15. Alibaba: To the Greatness of Small
The multinational e-commerce platform is based in China. The global footprint of the brand is similar to Amazon’s. it made a heartfelt and emotional statement of Loyalty to Team Kenya during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
The message at the end of the video is the creative marketing finest of all. It shows greatness comes from small places and the comparison is drawn here is just like a young athlete having Olympic goals, all amazing brands start with an ambitious founder.
Takeaway:
Sometimes the inspiring and powerful messages are more relatable to the smallest audiences. Be around and vigilant about your actions and you will impress everyone else.
Linkedin Ads
Video advertising is one of the most famous ad formats on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn, the most successful video ad campaigns are less than 15 seconds.
16. Salesforce
This corporate ad is a 30-second clip that gives a brief introduction about their products and services. The interaction between the animated characters and the human being is in sync and harmonious. Salesforce has done a great job with this advertising piece.
17. WeWork
One of the best video advertising ads on LinkedIn. This corporate ad is powerful in its visual content and is below the recommended time span of 15 seconds. A simple, appealing, and short ad. It is easy to process and engaging.
18. Slack
A great example of creative marketing. The ad is impressive because of its creative way to offer a job position. It shows a couple of interviews with its existing employees and the way they bring the most out of their job. The company expresses its values in a great manner and shows the electrifying work atmosphere and happy employees which gives you an instant desire to work at Slack.
Though the advertisement is fun but a bit longer.
19. Adecco:
Two words to describe the corporate ad- hilarious and funny. In this creative advertisement, the recruiting company Adecco have compiled the best and worst CV’s received by their client and is worth the minute to watch it. In fact, it can leave you craving for the video to be longer.
The brand should have had a better CTA but its creativity is at its peak generating brand awareness and engagement.
20. Amazon Web Services
Another great simple, straight, and short video by Amazon Web Services. The best part of the video ad shows the audience’s real-life application of the technology ‘AWS’ for EDM artists. It is easy to comprehend, practical, and less technical which makes it easy to process. The CTA is also clear.
TikTok Ad Campaigns
According to HubSpot’s social media team, the video-based social app TikTok is “leaking” with brand opportunities. Recently it launched an advertising process for brands.
21. Chipotle:
Chipotle, a popular Mexican restaurant chain has over 55,000 TikTok fans. They publish an array of posts using music, memes, and other references to highlight their menu.
The above video marks the one-year celebration of TikTok using hashtag #oneyearofTikTok showing tortilla chips set around a bowl of guac with the Adele song, “Someone Like You”. As the sound bite features Adele’s audience singing back to her, it feels as if the chips are actually singing to the guac – a perfect blend of creativity and video marketing.
22. San Diego Zoo:
San Diego Zoo’s TikTok account is a treat to all animal lovers. The zoo has over 50,000 fans who are enjoying the zoo’s simple strategy to post videos of animals with fun music.
Like this one -How would one not enjoy and follow them after seeing the video of lounging meerkat?
If this is not enough to fall in love with these cute animals, check this duet created by the zoo with other friendly animal accounts, like the Monterey Aquarium.
This is a perfect example of a cross-promotion of two similar brands using TikTok features. Because of the zoo’s tagging strategy, this video ad would be seen by zoo and aquarium followers.
23. NBC’s Stay Tuned
After the success of Stay tuned originally for Snapchat News Show, produced by NBC to target Gen Z, the network started making content for TikTok. The account has nearly one million followers and offers a mix of behind-the-scenes videos, quick news bites on pop culture, and weird events.
In the following example, the reporter surveys on top fast-food chains.
In the next example, the host explains complicated AI news in a short amount of time and in a funny way.
Stay Tuned has had huge success on Snapchat and is not repurposing the content or putting the same content for Tik Tok. It creates specific content for each platform which proves that it can give you big wins for brand awareness and engagement. This strategy can help publishers, bloggers, academics or others who post about news, interesting topics, or studies on different platforms.
Snapchat Ads
Don’t believe the press- Snapchat has a big fan following and is blowing up. They have highly engaged and over 210 million Daily users. Snapchat is rising quickly in creative marketing as the Snaps are fun, engaging, and creative.
24. Shein
Image Credit: Delhi School of Internet marketing
A global fashion brand operating in 224 countries delivers stylish and in vogue apparel to women and men. They partnered for clothing advertisements with Snapchat to create an immersive full-screen ad experience to target Gen Z and millennials.
Image Credit: Snapchat
Takeaway:
They created a short-form video to showcase their products front and center to attract Snapchatters to swipe up. The brand also used Snapchat ads to highlight their product lines to engage the audiences with fashion interest. The clever headline, creative images drove curiosity among Snapchatters to tap Story in Discovery feed.
They also used Snapchat’s optimization tools- Audience Insights and Goal-based bidding. This helped them reach the relevant audience who were likely to convert and achieve a 50% lower cost per purchase compared to other platforms. This video marketing strategy is highly effective and achieves a 20% ROI.
25. FitBod
Image Credit: Delhi School of Internet marketing
This mobile app uses machine learning to customize your workout goal and guides you to reach your fitness goals. The aim is to create Snapchat ads to reach a new audience that would not only download the app but spend time on the platform.
Image Credit: Delhi School of Internet marketing
Takeaway:
To achieve the goal of acquiring new users at the lowest CPC and CAC, it ran APP-install campaigns. It also used a combination of predefined and lookalike audience targeting to reach Snapchatters who are most likely to engage. Each snap ad followed a creative practice of CTA to prompt Snapchatters to Swipe up and download.
This resulted in a 54% lower CPA than other platforms and a 31% lower CPA than their average CPA goal.
26. BMW
This is an excellent example of creative video advertising where the launch of BMW X2 wanted to change the way people discover cars by turning the world into a showroom. BMW’s AR Trial lens helps Snapchatters to take X2 for a ride from their phones. A unique experience, isn’t it?
Takeaway:
One of the first advertisers to use Snap Ads that deeply connected to a World Lens in order to swipe up by users to unlock the lens.
Image Credit: Delhi School of Internet marketing
The lens provides a different feel to experience the car. This creative video marketing campaign was running in 7 countries worldwide. The BMW X2 lens witnessed an average of 54 seconds of playtime.
Image Credit: Delhi School of Internet marketing
To create excitement for x2 and maintain the levels, Snapchatters Gold color feature was turned on to drive awareness of the car color. This allowed lenses to change the color of the face to gold. There were 1 in 4 shared or saved x2 lens and 40 million impressions of the face lens.
Where is Video going in 2019?
This infographic by Hubspot with uscreen, a VOD platform will explain:
Image Credit:Impact
Summing Up:
These stellar examples of video advertising grab the audience’s attention and keep them engaged. If you want to see the increase in audience engagement and ad-click through, you need to invest in an integrated video advertising campaign.
An excellent video ad campaign is within your reach and can be a driver for increased traffic and sales. It is a great way of storytelling and drives your performance. The visual content is here to stay. Buckle up to fully embrace the effectiveness of video ads. Social media platforms are the perfect place to meet prospects who can see engaging video content.
Do you have any questions or wish to know more about video advertising trends and practices? Leave a comment below as we are happy to serve you.
The 5 Digital Advertising Trends That Matter in 2020.
It’s funny how wide the gulf is between December and January. The final month of the year is often spent looking back, analyzing the good, the bad and the ugly, trying to predict what will come next, whilst in January we regularly yo-yo between being overly enthusiastic and looking shell shocked. New years are like that, but 2020 is more special than most; it’s a new decade, which means we all need to redouble our efforts to forecast far into the future to see what lies ahead. As much as I’d like to declare myself the ‘Digital Oracle’ when it comes to the big digital advertising trends shaping media today, much of what we see now is an evolution of the changing landscape. The digital media machine has been transforming at a rapid rate for the past 10 years, with video fast becoming the centerpiece for generating consistent engagement and a decent ROI.
Clearly this isn’t exactly new news. We currently spend some 84 minutes a day consuming video content online and according to Cisco, by 2022 video content will account for 82% of all online content – so yes, this is not a medium we can afford to dismiss lightly. There’s always a knowing smirk whenever marketers declare that ‘video is the future’ but given these figures and the growing popularity of platforms like TikTok edging it further up the priority list, I’d say the video is firmly for the here and now as well.
Of course, video is only a part of the larger digital media story. Granted, it’s a fairly big piece of the puzzle, but there are other factors at work when it comes to deciding our priorities for the coming 12 months. So, with this in mind, here’s my take on what I think will be important for digital media in 2020…
1. Lights, Camera, Action!
It won’t come as a shock to anyone that video content is rising up the ranks in terms of importance, winning the hearts and minds of advertisers and consumers alike. It’s already a medium we’re spending vast amounts of time and money on, with Zenith forecasting online video ad spend to reach $61 billion by 2021. World domination sounds inevitable, doesn’t it? What will be interesting to see is how platforms adapt to this, pivoting to focus more on long and short-form video content as standard, and not as an afterthought. TikTok has a huge advantage here given it started life as a video platform and will continue to capture market share on a global and regional level in 2020, leaving the likes of Facebook and Instagram playing catch up. We saw last year how TikTok created a much-needed point of difference to the online filtered reality we had become accustomed to, highlighting a growing trend for creative expression that focuses on users, and it is this ‘unpolished’ approach that will influence future brand content. Advertisers will now have to think about both mobile and video-first when it comes to executing their campaigns, which will prove a game-changer over time. And, as we all get more comfortable becoming amateur videographers, shooting quick and unedited content on our smartphone, the raw, unfiltered look will grow even further in popularity, challenging the influencer dominance still present across most digital mediums.
2. Playing The Influencer Game
Speaking of influencers…this kind of content has almost done a 360 in terms of how we have come to view it. Once upon a time, it was the golden goose of marketing, only to be challenged and criticized for lack of transparency in measurement and effectiveness, landing to where we are today; influencers are accepted, but with conditions. Given that this is a global industry said to be worth $8bn and growing, it’s clear that influencer marketing is going nowhere anytime soon, with brands keen to invest in the right kind of people. In 2018 there were 3.7million brand-sponsored influencer posts on social media and that number looks set to almost double this year. Transparency has been the buzzword of the digital advertising space for the past few years and this extends to the influencer market too; everything must be upfront and tagged as a paid promotion or advertisement if they are to get user buy-in and earn their trust. Brands in response are now shifting their strategies to work with a range of niche influencers that will resonate more with their target consumer, aiming to make an authentic connection above all else. This is part of a broader trend too; the move to relevancy over-reach – it’s no good hitting loads of eyeballs if they’re not the right ones. On the back of more influencer guidelines and accountability, I predict we’ll also see a rise in User Generated Content (UGC) appear in the marketing mix as standard. Anyone can now create content, be it written, visual or video through a touch of a button, so why not leverage this potential to create a viral campaign? We’ve seen it take off with YouTube in the past (cat videos, anyone?) or more recently though user-created filters on Instagram (I’m the Genie from Aladdin, how about you?) and of course, moving to TikTok, where the focus from day one was on real people, AKA, the ‘content creators’ of tomorrow. In 2020, we’ll see social media, and in particular platforms like TikTok, become more & more widely utilized by everyone, experimenting for fun whatever their age.
3. The Rise & Rise Of Social Commerce
Last year was where social commerce really started to gain traction, with platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest linking awareness and consideration with the actual conversion. Since the explosion of social media, brands have been looking for a way to embed their products into a narrative, easing the consumer in with creative posts that have a shoppable element; in other words, an ad that isn’t an ad. If the goal is to engage with consumers on a platform and device that makes sense to them, then this could be the year that we see conversions start to happen in a big way through mobile. According to data from eMarketer, in 2020 the time spent on these devices will surpass time spent watching television, with social media referral traffic growing over 100% in the last two years – more than any other channel; if that isn’t a clear signal that we need to pay attention to the power of social mobility, then I don’t know what is. As online platforms begin to up their presence on key social channels, adding exploration and entertainment into the mix, brands will be able to deliver a more seamless and integrated experience overall, especially as visual search increases in popularity. From a business perspective, this new layer to social media helps underscore its value to the C-suite decision-makers, showing them how spending on these channels can generate leads and increase sales too.
4. Say Hello To Elevated AR/VR Experiences
There’s the filtered reality of carefully edited images and then there’s a different kind of reality that cleverly merges fantasy with our real life, making the online experience that much more enjoyable. Whether it’s Augmented, Virtual or Mixed Reality concepts, last year we saw this technology really begin to take off as brands leveraged custom filters and digital-heavy campaigns to place ‘the experience’ at the heart of their engagement and retention strategies. AR resurfaced, at least as far as the newer generation was concerned, within the gaming world thanks to the popularity of Pokémon Go, but it’s also now a very credible means to reach your consumers on various levels. Fun filters can go viral in seconds, but don’t discount how this technology can be useful too. Take IKEA’s AR-enabled app that allows consumers to ‘place’ furniture directly in their living room, giving a whole new meaning to ‘try before you buy’, or how about TikTok’s Diwali campaign? Successfully merging the online and offline experience, the platform gave its users a way to record interactive greetings in a mall setting, customize with different effects and then share to their network and family members. As this kind of technology becomes more widely available and adoption increases, we’ll see more ‘one-off’ experiences like this pop-up, largely guided by social trends, as creativity shifts up a gear with 5G enabling fast, fearless and on-the-go campaigns to be enjoyed at a time and place of a consumer’s choosing. By 2025, Statista estimates that the AR market size will be worth $198bn – so if you don’t already have plans for this, I’d suggest now is the time to make some inroads in understanding what this technology has to offer.
5. Brand Voice 2.0
Try not to roll your eyes when I say this one word: purpose. I hold my hands up that this is so overused in brand communication today, almost eclipsing everything else that the industry stands for. Let me break it down. In the race to appear ‘conscientiously conscious’ (go on, try saying that 10 times) about everything that matters to the consumer today, brands have almost unwittingly backed themselves into a corner, trying to instil a sense of identity, and yes, purpose to set them apart from their competitors. Here’s the thing though, if you try to latch onto the latest trend without context, consumers will waste no time in calling you out publicly. Instead, brands need to rediscover their voice to cut through the clutter, producing content that is appealing, useful and engaging. Sounds easy right?! In essence, consumers don’t want convoluted campaigns. They don’t want to be preached or talked down to and they don’t want to be underestimated either – in short, they want something authentic and real. Brands have the unenviable job of balancing long-term loyalty with ‘in the moment’ quick wins that connect with users at any given time. To do this, they’ll need to listen to their audience, anticipate their needs and then create tailored 1-1 messaging that will resonate. The technology that will truly enable this kind of personalization is coming, giving brands the key to unlocking sustained success built on an authentic offering.
So, there you have it – my view in a nutshell, and full disclosure here: I’m not claiming to be a fortune teller of any kind, gifted with foresight on what will be an absolute certainty for years to come. Ultimately though, we live in a perfectly imperfect world and If we could accurately predict everything that’s ahead then we’d be laughing, but then again… where would the fun in that be?
Wassim Mneimneh
Business Director – DoubleVerify
Wassim Mneimneh is a Business Director at Double Verify, MENA specializing in Strategic Media Management, Digital Marketing Strategy, Mobile Marketing & Technology, Media Planning, Procurement & Sales.
