CMO Briefs

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

How Effective are Cause-Related Messages in Advertising Today?

• CMO Brief

During the last five years, we have seen an upswing and change in the inclusion of values in advertising, especially the increase in cause-related marketing (CRM) which includes messages about societal goals such as sustainability, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and DEI (diversity, equity/equality and inclusion). Given marketers’ interest in these issues—ranging from wanting to express support for causes to being concerned about a possible backlash—the ARF has reviewed the research on cause-related marketing as well as related issues, such as ads with more general pro-social and altruistic messages. ARF researchers conclude that ads with cause-related messages can be effective, but many are not. Future research should focus on which kinds of messages are most effective among different consumer groups.

• Research & Data Quality
• Article

Attention and Ad Impact: The Evolution of Attention Metrics

• ARF Knowledge at Hand, CMO Brief

The proliferation of media platforms, with increases in multi-tasking, has made finding ways to get consumers to pay attention to advertising more important than ever. In response, researchers have developed new methods to assess attention and the ARF has found that they can provide more direct and more accurate measurements. However, as these metrics are constantly evolving, there are open questions regarding their validity and reliability. Further, as researchers are using the term “attention” in different ways, clarity about what is meant by attention and how it is being measured is crucial.

• Audience & Media Measurement
• Article

The Evolution of “OTT” and “CTV”

• ARF Knowledge at Hand; CMO BRIEF

Towards the end of 2018, the ARF issued a Knowledge at Hand report and a CMO Brief each called The OTT Revolution. Since then, the OTT revolution has not only continued but it has accelerated. Moreover, the pandemic acted as a catalyst, increasing the rate of this acceleration. At the same time, the meaning of the term OTT has changed.

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

What Makes Product Placements Effective?

• CMO Brief

Product placements have grown in recent years and the practice is predicted to increase even further. According to a new “Global Product Placement Forecast” by media economists PQ Media, global product placement spending has rebounded at double-digit rates in 2021 and is forecast to do so again this year. What makes this strategy effective? Decades of research provide us with several useful insights.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Influencer Marketing: Best Practices, Trends & Covid’s Impact

• ARF Knowledge at Hand; CMO BRIEF

Influencer marketing has grown more complex over a short period of time, and Covid has accelerated its development. Options have increased significantly while setting the right tone with consumers is perhaps more crucial than ever before. What consumers want to see is authentic relationships between brands and influencers. And the focus has shifted away from celebrities and towards niche, micro-influencers. The following Knowledge at Hand and CMO Brief cover a recent Knowledge Center report looking into the current state of influencer marketing, what the trends are, how Covid has affected this phenomenon and best practices when putting together an influencer strategy.

• Research & Data Quality
• Article

Understanding Biases in Panel and Census Research Using AI/ML

• ARF

There are a number of different biases that can impact panel and census research and big data sets which utilize artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). The attached Knowledge at Hand identifies over two dozen unique biases. It discusses how they might occur and what mitigation options researchers should consider to account for them.

CMO Brief: Attention and Ad Impact — New Insights from New Research

• Posted: June 8, 2021

One of the essential goals of advertising is to get customers’ attention. However, a lot of campaigns approach this simplistically. More “attention” does not necessarily mean an ad is more effective. Attention is a much more complex phenomenon than that. While attention is a prerequisite for ad impact, the term is ambiguous, complex and attention is difficult to measure. Moreover, “attention” does not necessarily indicate a positive response, and a high level of attention is not always a sign of a positive ad impact. Read more.

CMO Brief: Elements of a Successful Brand Purpose Campaign

• Posted: April 16, 2020

What do we really know about a purpose campaign? We know that eliciting an emotional response and sustainability are strategies that can deliver greater brand strength and appeal. Beyond that, there’s little else. So little, in fact that the industry hasn’t even agreed on how to properly define a purpose campaign.

The ARF and Kantar set out to uncover those defining characteristics. The result is Cracking Brand Purpose, a study completed in late 2019 that establishes a best-inclass framework that can be used to inspire, develop and evaluate purpose campaigns.  Read more.

CMO Brief: 2019 Organizational Benchmark Survey, The Advertiser Report

• Posted: March 31, 2020

Advertising and market research have seen significant changes in the last couple of years. ARF members have been inquiring about different aspects of these changes. To answer their questions, the ARF Analytics Council developed the very first Organizational Benchmark Survey of the industry. The aim was to see how companies collect research data, what departments conduct research, how they organize around research and data, and, if small advertisers differ from large ones. Read more.

CMO Brief: What Happens When Brands Go Dark?

• Posted: March 27, 2020

In the winter of 2018, the ARF composed a Knowledge at Hand report called “When Brands Go Dark.” This covered the impact of brands scaling back on advertising spend or eliminating it altogether. With a recession looming due to the coronavirus pandemic, economic jitters once again have many companies considering “going dark.” What are the short and long-term implications of such a move? Read more.