Month: December 2021

“CTV found its place in media plans beyond the initial beneficiary of quarantines,” said Ali Haeri, vice president of marketing, MNTN. “It’s matured as an ad channel where everyone now needs it in their media plans as they do paid search and social media.” 

Even though CTV has emerged as a mainstay in the marketing mix, some shifts are happening in its view and use. Approaches to measurement are being revisited and refreshed, and even the relationship between brands and agencies is changing.

CTV is now a performance marketing channel

There’s been a significant shift in 2021 — marketers now realize that CTV isn’t simply a brand awareness channel. 

“Marketers are in the process of reorienting themselves and seeing this as a channel that can perform, because it’s fundamentally programmatic advertising, and what they love about programmatic are the things traditional TV advertising didn’t have,” said Haeri. 

And with that shift comes a change in how CTV is measured. Whereas traditional TV advertising has relied on Nielsen reports, that’s no longer the case in the age of the connected screen.

“We’re in a post-Nielsen world here,” said Haeri. “Those reports are going to feel even more abstract as people continue to change over to CTV. Now, campaigns track site visits that originate from the TV impression through to purchases made on a website. And that’s really the holy grail for marketers. 

“When you have that kind of capability, you start using the channel differently,” Haeri continued. “If I know that a channel can report back to me with site visits and site conversions, all bets are off. Now, I’m going to start thinking about that campaign in the same way as paid search campaigns. I think that’s sort of the genesis for this new view of CTV as more of a performance marketing channel — more than anything else.”

Brands are changing the way media plans are done

While brands have historically turned to media agencies for their media buying expertise, the way this interaction is conducted is transforming under the CTV lens. 

“Brands are reclaiming some of the decisioning from their media agencies,” Haeri said. “They’re tantalized by all of the available measurement data, so they are resetting the table with their agencies when it comes to their media plans. They are empowered and dictating the terms of how they want TV advertising done.”

At least in part, this stems from brands now being more informed about what CTV can do — and what it can measure. In one analyst’s eye, it’s a welcome step in the evolution of the marketing ecosystem.

“It’s nice to see brands being vocal about which platforms they are on,” said Haeri. “I’ve worked in agency environments where the brand is perhaps a little too hands-off and relying on the agency to make a lot of those decisions.

“Now, they are going back to the agencies saying, ‘I’m happy with the channels that we’re using here, but I want to use them in a different way and collect this data,’” said Haeri. 

“Not everyone is a performance marketer — where they are effectively a data scientist trying to drive as much conversion activity as possible,” he continued. “The brand marketers are the ones who have seen the most benefits from this shift to digital because now they are getting new ways to measure what was previously unmeasurable. I think that’s what’s driving this reeducation and getting the gears working for these brand marketers.” 

Linear TV isn’t going away, but it is changing

According to the recent Digiday and MNTN survey, 58% of marketers shifting budget to CTV are taking it from linear. However, there’s more going on than that alone.

“We talk a lot about the shift away from linear and over to CTV, but that’s not exactly what’s happening, especially with large brands,” said Haeri. “They’re still motivated to do linear advertising, but we are seeing these brands use CTV to inform their linear strategies.”

In other words, brands are using CTV — primarily because it’s programmatic — to test creatives against their target audience and use those insights to make better choices in their linear campaigns. They are using CTV platforms as a sort of sandbox to evaluate variations. The “winner” moves to a linear TV spot.

“They’re gleaning these insights about TV networks, where their campaigns are performing particularly well and using that to inform their linear media buying decisions,” Haeri said. “They see where their audience is consuming content and use that to adjust where they buy linear ads.”

The results that are coming with these changes are promising. 

Since adopting CTV, 71% of respondents from that same Digiday survey indicated they achieved stronger connections between their digital and TV marketing. This reinforces that linear TV isn’t going away, but it is going through a transformation. 

Overall, TV advertising is in flux, but the shifts are positive. More marketers are combining linear and CTV to make the most of their campaigns and test strategies more effectively. It’s an outcome that looks to be more prevalent and crucial for advertisers in 2022. 

Sponsored By: MNTN

The shortlisted candidates for the Digiday Marketing and Advertising Award Europe re-emphasized what remains true about advertising in the present: Authenticity and context are twin rulers of the marketing landscape, and the shifting nature of audience targeting is (once again) ascendant. Highlights from the shortlist include the following campaigns. 

Mindshare and Xaxis boosted holiday bookings with dynamic creative for Landal GreenParks

MindShare and Xaxis are shortlisted for Best Use of AI, Best Use of Data and Most Effective/Measurable Campaign for their work with Landel GreenParks. The campaign was marked by data powering increased off-season bookings for the company’s Danish holiday bungalow parks. 

To accomplish this goal, bespoke messages were delivered to audiences, which was a tall order given the company’s ever-changing occupancy level data. To tackle the challenge, Xaxis developed a live occupancy-level dashboard, tracking the collection and segmentation of Landel GreenPark’s first-party sales data as well. 

The development of an algorithm that used all of this data provided a continuous, optimized and highly adaptive programmatic buying setup for dynamic banner ads that catered unique messages to customers. As a result of these personalized ads, off-season occupancy grew overall and on weekdays — making a significant positive impact when the tourism industry was still feeling the effects of the pandemic.     

Samba TV helped Acuvue see its target audience clearly — thanks to first-party data

Samba TV, shortlisted for Best Use of Data and Most Effective/Measurable Campaign, allowed Acuvue to leverage first-party, privacy-compliant data to identify and reach its target audience. 

The vision-correction brand partnered with Samba TV to leverage the first-party data provided by its proprietary content recognition technology. With this data, Acuvue could see the TV shows, channels and services with which their audience engaged and how to connect them across multiple devices. More than that, the brand was also able to achieve a clearer view of the ROI of its advertising campaign. 

By reaching consumers through non-traditional media channels and using safe, opted-in data, the partnership allowed Acuvue to grow awareness, consideration, and purchase intent among vision-impaired audiences.    

Campfire leveraged micro ‘skinfluencers’ to create scroll-stopping content

Campfire and The Inkey List are shortlisted for Best Use of Social for their work on the #AskINKEY TikTok campaign that amplified the skincare brand to Gen Z consumers.  

By partnering with hundreds of TikTok micro-influencers in the skincare space — both dermatologists and thought leaders — the campaign generated content that could maintain a tricky balance between educational and entertaining. 

The carefully curated brand representatives utilized their expertise in TikTok content creation, along with their knowledge of skincare and Inky List products, to create compelling, viral-worthy content. The thoughtful influencer selection and their content helped build brand awareness and drove sales, with multiple products selling out within days after the campaign’s launch. Inky List accumulated six times the number of views Campfire had initially set, all within the first month of launching on the platform.

St. Tropez and Campfire: Brand awareness milestones via body positive messaging

With the popularity of TikTok exploding into life in 2020, St. Tropez wanted to ignite brand awareness and following on the platform, appealing to beauty-focused Millenial and Gen Z audiences. With the objective of a significant rise in visibility on the platform, St. Tropez aimed to increase sales of their new Glow Kit alongside various other tanning products.

In collaboration with renowned plus-size model Ashley Graham, Campfire helped St. Tropez launch their new Glow Kit, accumulating millions of views and growing their brand page while creating body-positive experiences for women with a trending moment on the TikTok platform. It was a significant accomplishment, given that it was the brand’s first foray into TikTok, and it highlighted the power of a positive approach to an audience that wants all types of beauty to be represented in the creative with which they engage. 

Next up, the announcement of this year’s winners will take place on February 10, 2022. Stay tuned for our judges’ final decisions.

Best Brand/Influencer Collaboration
OneFifty Consultancy and Green Cola – 21 Days
THE FIFTH – #SQUAREBYIT
THE FIFTH – YouTube Originals: Pride
Influencer.com and Isobel – DoYouAlmond?
Fanbytes and ACCA
Initiative Russia – Rexona IGTV Series

Best Use of Social
LADbible Group and Tampax – Think Outside the Box
OneFifty Consultancy and Mazda UK – Beautiful is on the Horizon
Campfire and The INKEY List – #AskINKEY
Hootsuite and Clarins
CHS – Petplan Best Care
CHS – The British Horse Society: Together We Can

Best Use of Video
CHS – HSBC My Investment
Crunchyroll
On Running
Gumtree UK
CNN International Commercial – BMW – The Art of Leadership
Mixmag and Social Chain – Zalando’s Longest Set of Summer

Best Creative
Thomson Reuters – “Westlaw Edge, The Standard for Legal Research” 2021 campaign
Thomson Reuters – Practical Law
Thomson Reuters – Shaping Tomorrow, Together 2021 campaign

Best User-Generated Content
Fanbytes and Warner Music Group – #TheStarman
Campfire and The INKEY List – #AskINKEY
Campfire and St. Tropez – Ashley Graham Glow Kit Launch

Best Use of Native Advertising/Sponsored Content
LADbible Group
Børsen Brands and Mercedes-Benz
CNN and The Macallan – “In Collaboration With”
Outbrain and Royal Canin

Best Use of AI
D-ID – Creation of Deep Nostalgia for MyHeritage
Xaxis, Mindshare and Landal Green Parks

Best Use of Data
Merkle and QueryClick
Realtime Agency and OVO Energy
Samba TV and ACUVUE®
Xaxis, Mindshare and Landal Green Parks
Nespresso and Greenhouse
Bestbesetzung Wagawin and Deutsche Telekom

Best Use of Technology
Crealytics and Otrium
Next, iProspect & Google
Uberall and Cushman & Wakefield
Zorka Agency – YouTube Progress Bar
Burt Intelligence
Xandr – Launch of Xandr Curate

Best New Product or Launch Campaign
On Running – Cyclon
LADbible Group
Campfire and The INKEY List – #AskINKEY
Fingerspitz, TDE & RacingNews365
Campfire and St. Tropez – Ashley Graham Glow Kit Launch
Sifted and Piano

Best Paid Social Campaign
CHS – The British Horse Society: Together We Can
CHS – Petplan Best Care
ROAST and CCUK

Most Effective/Measurable Campaign
Meta and MADE.com
Xaxis, Mindshare and Landal Green Parks
Piano and Funke Mediengruppe
Samba TV and ACUVUE®
Crealytics and New Look
Circus PPC Agency and Number 1 Plates

Best Branded Content Series
LADbible Group
Insider and ING
On Running – Run the City Guides

Best Content Site
Brand Movers and Satair – The Satair Knowledge Hub
Biites.com
Software AG – Virtual Customer Event conXion 2021
Brand Movers and Beumer Group

Best Search Campaign
Journey Further and 247 Blinds
Crealytics and Otrium

Best Multi-Channel Content Distribution Strategy
Initiative Russia – Dove #ShowUs 2020
LADbible Group – Lynx: Java’s Coming Home

Most Innovative Use of Content
LADbible Group – Army: A Soldier is a Soldier
Software AG – Virtual Customer Event conXion 2021

Best In-House Content/Brand Studio
On Running
Little Dot Studios
Haymarket Automotive Studio
CNN Creative

Agency of the Year
The Keenfolks
Journey Further
THE FIFTH
Crealytics
Campfire
OneFifty Consultancy