Finding Your Brand Target Market
Let’s first talk about the difference between target audience and target market. A target market is a set of consumers that a company plans to sell or reach with marketing activities where a target audience is the group or segment within that target market that is being served ads (Marketing Evolution). In this article we will focus on the target market and how your brand can identify yours. Target market is important for businesses in order to be more efficient on targeting specific groups instead of mass marketing to those who may have no interest. It also builds interest in the brand, loyalty and create a higher potential growth of sales. Here are some tips to start finding your brand’s target market.
Memorial Day 2022
Friday Favorite 5/27/22
This week’s Friday favorite ad is not so fun. However, in lieu of the events in Texas this past week we felt compelled to share of our thoughts. This week’s ad is the March for our Lives PSA Addresses Uvalde Tragedy. The ad talks about the meaninglessness of “thoughts and prayers.” The March for our Lives Foundation laid out body bags on the National Mall to make a statement that literally nothing has changed over the years as these acts of gun violence continue to happen. The sad part is that this ad was created back in March and has just resurfaced due to the tragic events that occurred again this week. “In the 62 days since these body bags were laid in front of the Capital, 1 person was shot dead and 4 critically wounded in Laguna Woods, CA. 11 people were shot dead in Buffalo, N.Y. 21 people were shot dead ion Uvalde, TX. Including 19 children.” (Adage). It’s time for some real change in this country with respect to gun laws and it’s time that our senators begin taking this seriously. The video ends with a plea that these senators vote on background checks to purchase a gun. The proposed Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 has been sitting on their desks since it conception. Others in this country are also pushing for the ban of assault weapons. We implore you to watch this video on CNN from Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut if you already haven’t. These mass shootings only happen in this country. Something is wrong. Something has to be done! We have to start taking real steps towards fixing this issue. Our teachers and children should not be afraid for their lives at school! Now is the time for change! This influential ad was created by McCann-New York.
Omnichannel Marketing Approach
One of advertisings biggest challenges today is to market across multiple platforms. Multi-channel and omnichannel are similar but not interchangeable. Multi-channel marketing is the distribution of content and ads across multiple channels. Omnichannel marketing means that the customer journey will span multiple channels online and off. This omnichannel marketing could be in the form of websites, text, email, social media, and apps to name a few. According to a study done by Harvard Business Reviewdone on 46,000 shoppers, they concluded that, “73% of them used multiple channels through their shopping journey.” This approach is important to creating a seamless and positive customer experience.
Tapping Into Gen Z for Advertising
Who’s ready for some changes? We know we are and Gen Z is proving to be new type of market when it comes to the advertising world. They are like no other that came before them. Let’s talk about the biggest difference between Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. Millennials remember a time before social media whereas Gen Z does not know a world without it. Even more, their Gen X counterparts grew up on MTV with zero social media. I don’t think it really comes as a surprise that Gen Z is a unique group who can’t imagine a world without tech.
CTA: Why is it Important?
CTA or call to action buttons have a large role to play in advertising. This is where a brand turns someone who is a viewer into their customer. A lead into a client. According to Creative MMS, CTA’s on landing pages increase conversion rates by as high as 80%. But how? A call to action can help seal the deal on an ad campaign or website page. It inspires your audience to take the next step through giving the viewer obvious instructions what do next. The smoother the brand makes their CTA experience the better. People expect brands to give them information on what to do next so they don’t have to problem solve if they’re interested in what your brand has to offer.
What do CTA’s look like though? Let’s walk through them. First, submission forms. It can be for a newsletter or something similar where your audience becomes more identifiable through emails. One of the most common types of CTA’s found on websites are service/product discovery. As the name states, they lead people to services/products offered by the company. Another popular type is sharing. This offers the viewers to share the content across social media platforms and increases visibility for your brand. One that is commonly found on video content is “learn more” or “continue reading” buttons. However, these tend to perform lower than download now buttons (HubSpot). One specific type of CTA is event promotion and is exactly as it sounds.
Now that we’ve discussed some types of CTA’s, what makes one more compelling than another? Let me preface by saying that testing should always be done within a company to see what types of CTA’s and placements work best for the brand. There are a few guidelines that a brand can stick to otherwise to ensure a solid CTA. One, clearly stated benefits and actionable texts for the user. This takes the brain work out of the decision making for consumers who already have insane decision fatigue from fast-paced lifestyles. Two, exceptional designs that make the CTA stand out with contrast to the page or video to attract attention immediately. Three, keep it short! It must be five words or less. Last, and most important, proper placement is key. It must be the most visible thing and command attention. This will require some trial and error to get it just right.
The key takeaway here is that calls to action buttons are important for brands. They shouldn’t be an aspect of ad campaigns or websites that are mistakenly overlooked. They help funnel sales and create new clients. People expect to be assisted on what to do next after reading or watching. CTA’s take the leg work out for them, gives them a direct roadmap, and transitions become seamless from leads to clients.
Silent Video
“Silence is a source of great strength”
-Lao Tzu
Imagine that you’re in a quiet work environment. You get on your phone to look something up. As the page finishes loading, a loud blast of sounds starts coming through and you fumble to get your volume button pressed down to zero. We’ve all had this happen to us. It’s disruptive and it affects people negatively. Turns out that 66% of people hate it when ads automatically play with sound on according to an article by Teads. In response, advertisers are trying to mitigate this by producing ads that begin to play automatically without sound. Since outstreamed videos are going to become a thing of the future, advertisers should focus on silent plays with captions. According to Facebook, captioned video ads increased views by 12%. Ads should be able to convey an emotional message without the use of sound. This can be done with the use of motion graphics and text within the campaign. This new trend will be a way for advertisers to use their creative license to make videos impactful despite not having any sound. We’re certain your team has the creative abilities to do this but here are some quick tips to get you started on ways to make your silent spots stand out and perform well.
1. Use bold visuals and/or animations. This will help catch the viewers eye and keep them engaged. It’s also very visually striking to see good fonts and animations that blend well together within your brand’s signature look.
2. Use Call to Action buttons. Make sure to insert in a way that it is natural flowing. You can even run tests before it launches to see where it receives the most clicks. CTA buttons are imperative to getting conversions. Using a download button seems to yield the best lead results (HubSpot).
3. Subtitles. If your brand feels it won’t be able to get its point across 100% without sounds then subtitles can offer a lot of relief. Facebook now offers a feature where you can automatically add captions to videos.
4. Write unconventional scripts. This is always a fun way to entice viewers to keep watching your campaigns. They’ll want to know what is about to happen next. I know I always appreciate a good creative ad that keeps me on my toes or just completely blows me away with how unconventional it is! A prime example would be the recent OutHorse Your Email Campaign for Visit Iceland.
5. Share your offers/discounts early in the ad. Since attention spans are shorter and shorter each year, you want to get the most important message out first. Research suggests that you have about 10 seconds to hook, line, and sink em’!
6. Be short and concise. Again, for those in the back who didn’t hear. Attention spans continue to lessen so it’s important to make your campaigns shorter than 60 seconds. The ad must also grab the attention of the audience immediately in order to keep them engaged in watching.
7. Don’t ditch the audio. Sometimes people do still listen to ads with sound on. Be able to convey your message without it but really drive the point home with the audio on. Make that emotional connection deeper with your audience.
In the words of the infamous Will Rogers, “Never miss a good chance to shut up!” This is definitely one of those times! A time for advertisers to harness the opportunity to creatively grow through the rise in popularity of silent ads is here. Let your campaigns say a lot through saying nothing at all! Happy creating!
Friday Fun Favorite 5/20/22
This week’s Friday Fun Favorite goes to the “OutHorse Your Email” campaign to promote tourism to Iceland. This quirky ad says that if people take their vacations in Iceland then horses will write your work email replies for you. Obviously, this is meant to be a joke but the fact that, “41% of people check their work emails 5-6x’s/daily when on vacation,” is no laughing matter. It’s no surprise that only 44% of workers say that they’re actually recharged after their vacations” (AdWeek). As Iceland is one of the most naturally beautiful places to visit, the country wants tourists to really unplug and enjoy all that it has to offer without being bogged down with professional commitments. The ad boasts that your work replies may end up being lllerfiadsk;fn from their world-famous horses, but this service is real and it will create an email bounce back reply while on vacation. This ad was created by SS+K for Visit Iceland , which are known for their humorous campaigns.
The Importance of Customer Satisfaction
Statistics show that 59% of customers will leave a company after several poor experiences and 17% after just one according to PwC. I know I have done this and you’re probably saying to yourself right now that you have too. The top reasons for customer dissatisfaction are quality issues, pricing problems, poor customer service, failure to meet implied expectations and usability complications. Don’t be that person. Listen to your customer’s wants and needs.
Ways to Foster Employee Trust in the Workplace
Oxytocin is called the “love” hormone released into the bloodstream that produces a euphoric feeling. It happens after we exercise, listen to music and embrace another human being in some way. A study done by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that acts done in order to produce trust from person to person, oxytocin is also released. This feel good hormone aids the process of trust within our bodies. It makes us feel good when we can trust someone.
Brand Recall
Content is Queen! “Did you know that 65% of people are visual learners and 94% of all communication is visual?” (Vennage). There are many benefits of visual marketing versus pure text as we all now know, but it’s important to make your brand memorable through your visual content advertising. People remember things visually so brand recognition is vitally important. Customers are more likely to remember your brand’s advertisements if they’re associated with something that they can recall easily because it caught their eye in some way. Was it different in some way? Did it make them think and use some brain power? Were they connected on an emotional level?
The Importance of Marketing Research
Research shows that businesses are 60% more profitable when they are customer-centric according to an article written by Lucid. Market research is one of the best ways to do this by getting to know your customer base. This is done through gathering data to learn more about demographics and marketing trends as well as other important aspects of business goals. First, there are many subcategories of marketing research and I will only touch on a few in this article.
Friday Fun Fave 5/13/22
This week we’re taking a new direction for our fun favorite pick of the week. With summer right around the corner we are all very much looking forward to sitting out in the sun enjoying time with family and friends. We just came across a new ad by Guinness beer created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.
Contextual Advertising
While writing our blog about Google’s announcement of their 3rd party cookie phase out the term contextual advertising came up as a possible solution. We found this topic worth digging into a little. Contextual ads are placed on web pages based on the content of those pages. For example, if you’re reading an article on Yosemite an ad for hiking boots may pop up. This keeps the user’s data privacy in tact while still getting the right information in front of the right audience.
Environmental Impact of NFT’s
We should all know what NFT’s are at this point. It is a hot topic right now, as is the metaverse. But what most people haven’t been made aware of is, their impact on the environment. These blockchains run-on high-energy consumption to be created and checked through what is called the “proof of work” system, through cryptocurrency companies such as Ethereum.
Google 3rd Party Cookie Phase Out & Advertising
What are third-party cookies? Well, think about it like this, you’re thinking about buying yourself a new pair of work boots. You research on the internet with search engines and end up on some of your favorite boot makers websites. Now every time you open up your browser you’re seeing ads for work boots everywhere. This is no coincidence and there is a reason you are now seeing these ads. It’s called third-party cookies.
Personalized Advertising
Friday Fun Favorite
Embracing Health & Wellness as a Brand
It seems to be an ongoing trend that we keep finding in all of our advertising research lately here at Locomotive. Consumer mindsets are shifting as a result of the pandemic. People want authenticity. They want transparency. They want brands that care about the environment and social economic issues. And… they want brands that care about health and wellness, not only for their customers but for their staff. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since we all faced a major health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic for over 2 years. Many suffered from a mental health crisis due to mandated lock downs and for some, physical health fell off all together. It’s sad that it took this insane event to make people realize how important mental and physical health and wellness truly are but we say, “better late than never to this party.” Now, health and wellness are at the forefront of everyone’s minds after two plus years of bringing awareness to these topics. People realized how stressed they were in their old “normal” day to day lives with work, life and everything else in between and aren’t planning on going back to that way of life. People now want brands that are transparent about what they put into their products. They want their values to align with what type of impact their products will have on the environment. They want to be sure that what they are bringing into their homes is safe for their families. Today, this is becoming a the major factor in what is driving consumer choices, aside from “price and quality” according to a Media Post article. All brands must embrace this shift in choices by understanding and implementing what their market audience wants when it comes to these things. The health and wellness movement isn’t going anywhere and it shouldn’t. it’s great that this shift in mindset of consumers has happened and it’s an opportunity for every brand to become better.
