Robert L. Santos of the U.S. Census Bureau detailed how the organization is evolving itself, as well as its foundational statistics about America’s people and economy, in preparation for the Decennial Census in 2030.
This ARF Pharma Council event followed up on the Council’s podcast episode on “Inclusive Futures of Humancare,” focusing on the importance of inclusiveness in pharma research and marketing with respect to both demographic characteristics and health conditions. Four speakers delivered brief presentations, followed by a discussion moderated by Pharma Council Co-Chair Marjorie Reedy of Merck.
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The ARF hosted its annual flagship conference, AUDIENCExSCIENCE 2023, on April 25-26, 2023. The industry’s biggest names and brightest minds came together to share new insights on the impact of changing consumer behavior on brands, insights into TV consumption, campaign measurement and effectiveness, whether all impressions are equal, join-up solutions across multiple media, the validity, reliability and predictive power of Attention measures, targeting diverse audiences, privacy’s effect on advertising and the impact of advertising in new formats. Keynotes were presented by Tim Hwang, author of Subprime Attention Crisis, Robert L. Santos of the U.S. Census Bureau, Brian Wieser of Madison and Wall, LLC and Andrea Zapata of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Deepak Varma – Head of Neuroscience Insights, North Asia, South East Asia & Pacific, Kantar
Anna Wilgan – VP Product Marketing, Kantar
According to the latest U.S. Census, between 8 percent and 12 percent of the U.S. population identify as within the LGBTQ+ community, yet this demographic is represented in just 1 percent of advertising. Kantar asked: Is the advertising industry creating ads that will reach this audience, and how can it do better? Insights into these questions came by conducting research using both explicit and implicit measures. Deepak Varma (Kantar) explained the use of explicit and implicit tools that measure reactions to advertising. Explicit measures track enjoyment (of the ad and the brand, asking questions on inclusion and diversity), while implicit measures track involvement or engagement with the ad (i.e., use of facial coding to measure smiles). The questions ask whether an ad represents a modern and progressive view of society, and whether the ad have a positive effect on those who are underrepresented in advertising. Using Kantar’s global database, “we found that any positive reactions to these two statements means that the ad is progressive both in terms of race and gender.” Then, using facial coding, in the firm’s database of 55,000 ads, Deepak and team found that ads that are more expressive actually lead to a higher potential of sales success and that for ads “that make you smile, people like those ads more.” Two other reaction-time techniques are intuitive associations: “Instead of asking a question, we flash words for 2.5 seconds so that all a participant has to do is agree that the word corresponds to the act…. We wanted to understand at a spontaneous level, is the ad inclusive/diverse, does it provoke any kind of negative reaction.” Bottom line: “What people say and what they feel, especially in as it pertains to LGBTQ+, is different.” Reactions to a Zola ad showing a lesbian couple getting married, and to an Indeed.com ad about a nonbinary person (played by a real-life nonbinary actor) interviewing for a job, supported the following findings.Key Takeaways
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Markets are growing increasingly transparent. While one of the easiest ways to segment customers is by gender, pricing differences based on this factor are becoming more apparent and harder to justify. Women perceive such pricing discrimination for comparable product as unfair. This reduces purchase intent and their liking of and appreciation for the brand, while men tend to rationalize such differences as justified by product attributes (e.g., dry cleaning a “blouse” versus a “dress shirt”).
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We’ve all heard about the growing use of artificial intelligence in advertising research and doom and gloom predictions that it will knock out jobs, but is this really the case? Agency leaders joined us for an ARF Town Hall to discuss the upsides and possible downsides of generative AI, as well as how they’re utilizing it in their businesses to boost efficiency. Attendees heard predictions on how AI will change the business model of advertising and what it could mean for media agencies.
As civil liberties continue to be politicized, advertisers have a growing expectation to be part of the solution and fill the trust gap between consumers, government, and media. On February 7, Mindshare and GroupM unveiled new research examining the sentiments of those most impacted—voices who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in media and society—by the eroding rights to privacy. Further topics of discussion included the future of using “women’s empowerment” in marketing campaigns and the larger economic implications when bodily autonomy rights are lost.
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The event addressed how diversity in advertising is evolving. Consumers want to buy from companies that commit to diversity but mere representational presence in ads is not enough. Brands that produce creative that is authentic in context, and elicits emotion from consumers, will garner loyalty and ROI. Leaders from Microsoft and Kantar shared how we can collectively understand nuances better to debunk stereotypes and empower all groups of people.
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On November 1, 2022, the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council hosted a discussion on ways that brands have gained an edge by focusing their insights and subsequent marketing on traditionally under-represented communities. Speakers from General Mills, Vevo, and muliti-cultural agency Alma shed light on the kinds of research they find helpful in uncovering valuable inclusive insights and the potential rewards of this strategy. They cited examples of those insights and discussed the societal trends that underlie them. The session was moderated by Council Co-Chair Janelle James of Ipsos.
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