This first AD AVOIDANCExSCIENCE event was held on April 19, 2018 and was created to face cross-platform ad resistance head-on. Overcome it, successfully and improve results.
Extent of Ad Avoidance – How Big a Problem Is It?
Josh Chasin – Chief Research Officer, comScore, Inc.
Over 60% of households headed by 18- to 34-year-olds in the Wi-Fi Universe watch Netflix via OTT in a month. Almost half of younger households are heavy streamers. Consumers 18- to 24-year-olds spend four hours a day with mobile. Will younger consumers change their behavior as they get older or will this behavior be further diffused through the population? Where is ad avoidance today, and where is it going?
Key takeaways:
- The media ecosystem is growing increasingly inhospitable to traditional ad constructs: e.g., almost two-thirds of time spent with digital media is spent with mobile apps, and longer commercial pods have a dramatic impact on people in the room – longer pods, less attention to ads.
- Younger consumers are growing up in a totally different relationship with advertising, especially in their profound facility for ad avoidance. They are already the highest ad avoiders, and increasing earning power over time will exacerbate this trend.
- Higher-income consumers are increasingly able to buy their way out of advertising. Ad blocking appears to have a positive correlation with household income. Those in higher-income households also pay less attention to the screen, for both programs and commercials.
- Advertisers need to meet consumers where they are, which means traditional ad models have to change.
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The Attention Economy
Chris Morgan – VP & GM, Moat
Attention is a scarce resource and it’s the fundamental core of what all creators of content are seeking, regardless of platform. Capturing attention is the key to branding. But how do we measure human attention? What questions should we ask?
Key takeaways:
- Consumers are voting on user experiences by installing ad blockers – approaching 500 million ad blockers worldwide. Phones are now being loaded with ad blocking installed and activated as the default in order for consumers to avoid ads; e.g., in India and China, which are huge markets for mobile devices.
- There is a correlation between the increasing sales of mobile phones and decreasing consumer attention. We now have a shorter attention span than a goldfish.
- Measuring with precision, accuracy, and trust are critical. About half of online ads, which are delivered, are not viewed due to ad fraud, bot problems, ad blocking.
- We need to create ad content that is sought out by consumers and provide better consumer experiences in order to overcome these issues. Ads and content should feel seamless.
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Move “Push and Demand” Advertising to “Pull and Earn” for Increased Receptivity
Erik Nylen, Ph.D. – Head of Data Science, PARSEC
Jon Mansell – SVP, Marketplace Innovation, Magna Global
Historically, consumers gave attention to ads. But consumers are suffering from ad fatigue, and ad aversion is easy now, especially due to second screens. How do we regain their attention?
Key takeaways:
- Viewability is highly related to ad effectiveness.
- “How long” the ad is in view matters more than “how much” of it is in view. Time in-view is important no matter the minimum viewability threshold. The longer the ad is on screen, the longer the consumer views the ad, and greater the possibility of that consumer clicking on that ad.
- All ad strategies are not created equal: some help more at lower viewability levels than others.
- When you give consumers control, their attitudes toward the ad change. They give more attention to the ad, engage with the content, go to the website of the advertiser, etc.
- A key industry challenge is that success is viewed differently by TV and digital buyers. There is a need to negotiate on time in view, rather than price alone. This will result in ad units that are better for consumers.
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The Truth About Ad Avoiders: Change Your Approach to Turn Avoiders Into Acceptors
Asaf Davidov – Director of Ad Sales Research, Hulu
Discover why people choose to accept or avoid ads, how changing your ad model, targeting and creative can retain viewers as ad lovers, and what it will take for marketers to help prevent a world in which many consumers have completely opted out of advertising.
Key takeaways:
- Ad receptivity is enhanced by: purposeful viewing; viewing on OTT vs. linear TV; shorter ad pods; customizable ads; choice and flexibility, including the ability to opt-out and different ad options (e.g., see all ads upfront, at end, etc.).
- Ad receptivity is NOT tied to income, age or gender; it has more to do with a psychographic profile.
- Only 7% of consumers are total ad avoiders. No receptivity viewers are suspicious, headstrong; these characteristics would be hard to combat.
- The overwhelming majority of viewers are receptive to ads. When viewers are given a choice to see an ad, they are more likely to choose to see that ad.
- To effectively engage the consumer: give choices; curate a less cluttered viewing environment; aim for a more customizable, relevant ad experience.
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How Influencers Lead to Strong Brand Impact and Ad Acceptance
Sara Grimaldi – Senior Director, Measurement & Insights, Fullscreen
Today’s youth consumers are intolerant of many traditional formats, yet also report wanting a deeper relationship with brands. To better understand this group’s receptivity to advertising and branded content, Fullscreen undertook neuro research methods (including eye-tracking and biometrics), ethnographic studies, and panel research. The studies examined 13- to 24-year-olds in regards to TV spots, YouTube pre-roll, social influencer content, and YouTube digital creator content.
Key takeaways:
- Findings showed that eyes on target results in higher recall. When consumers are focused on the brand’s content, attention is higher.
- High attention means high recall, and TV had the highest level of recall.
- Teens really are different: Stronger ad liking for influencer branded content vs. 20- to 24-year-old consumers in this study.
- Influencer branded content had higher memory impact than YouTube content. Influencers are powerful in terms of impacting engagement metrics, brand attitude, recommendation intent, loyalty across all screens. The influence of their recommendations span the purchase funnel.
- Lessons learned: emotions matter across all screens; digital creators elevate your brand beyond reach and frequency; storytelling can deliver a memory impact.
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The Empowered Woman: Aligning With Her Values Boosts Receptivity
Barbara Leflein – President, Leflein Associates Inc.
Stephanie Yates – Vice President, Research and Insights | WE tv & IFC
What is the relationship between women’s empowerment and women’s viewing choices? What does this mean for advertisers? To answer these questions, WE tv and Leflein explored the effects of personal values on media, brand preference, and ad receptivity on women 25- to 54-year old.
Key takeaways:
- Affirmation (defined as celebrating power of women, relatable personalities, and having a diverse cast) is equally important when seeking programming. Female-focused programs are more successful than general broadcast or even theme-focused programs. Women want to see themselves in their program choice. Affirmation will drive women to watch.
- It’s not about ideology but about identity. For example, WE tv targeted African-American women on Thursday evenings. These women respond to programs in which African-American women balance careers and families. There is a growth in education and business ownership among African-American women. The target audience sees herself in the content of these programs.
- Confidence is the main driver of female empowerment. Women often control the purse and a large percentage are head of their households. Yet Auto, Home Improvement, Financial Services and Technology are among the industries that overlook women. Brands that feature women can reinforce them.
- There is also a “rub-off” effect on advertisers when they sponsor shows with affirmative programming.
- Consumer selection of the program positively impacts the ad’s effectiveness.
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Panel Discussion: Creating Innovative Ads to Increase Receptivity
Devi Shah – Senior Manager, INSIGHTS, Digital & New Cohorts, Colgate-Palmolive NA
Dimitrios Michailidis – Sr. Director of Creativity & Culture, Anheuser-Busch
Marc Rappin – Chief Marketing Officer, ARF (Moderator)
Creative breakthrough is an important driver for in market performance. How do marketers determine the creative for their products and how is success for the campaign measured? This panel session addressed these questions using examples of some fun ads that consumers enjoy “accepting”.
Key takeaways:
- Ad testing of the creative provides insights into the factors driving creative success. (Devi)
- Pretesting ads for emotion enhances the creative. (Dimitrios)
- Three key levers to consider in order to elicit strong emotional response: sound (e.g., exaggerated product sound effects, human biological sounds increase emotional empathy); sight (e.g., seeing consumers interact with the product and with each other increases the involvement of the viewers); storytelling (e.g., a story’s arc can stimulate engagement, branding when attention and emotions are high is better). (Dimitros)
- Cutting down longer ads may not be the most effective at creating emotional ads. Colgate found that they needed to develop 6- and 10-second ads from the beginning for effectiveness. (Devi)
- Anheuser-Busch was not as in-tune with culture as they used to be. There was a need to immerse themselves in culture, as well as in consumer research. All creative is now concerned with whether the ads resonate with culture. Example, “Dilly, Dilly” is now in Urban Dictionary. (Dimitros)
Campaigns discussed include: M&M’s Just My Shell, Colgate + Black Girls Gode, Bud Light’s Dilly Dilly
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Guidelines: Turn Ad Avoiders Around to Become Engaged
Jerry (Yoram) Wind – The Lauder Professor Emeritus and Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School
The industry has a huge problem with consumer’s lack of trust and the imbalance of power between consumers and brands. How can these challenges be overcome? Professor Yoram (Jerry) Wind offers 10 guidelines for turning ad avoiders to followers and advocates. These guidelines are the core of value creation beyond the advertising models.
Key takeaways:
- Start with measurement. Encourage your companies to engage in experimentation and focus on the right measures. Iteration, not comparable measures, is what is important.
- If we keep doing what we have been doing, we will fail. We must challenge the status quo.
- The 10 guidelines include: align your objectives with those of the consumers in their broader roles and with having a positive social impact; create a compelling brand purpose; leverage all the necessary tools; create an engaging and effective message and offering the following R.A.V.E.S. criteria: Relevant and Respectful, Actionable (frictionless), Valuable & Value Generating, Exceptional Experience, Shareworthy Story.
See the presentation for the full 10 guidelines.
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