What is OTT (Over The Top) Advertising?
We’re not being dramatic, we’re just Over The Top. Over-The-Top (OTT) has been quickly gaining momentum in the video streaming and advertising world. Let’s go over what it is all about. Here is the outline we will be covering in this blog: What is OTT (Over The Top)? Growth of OTT What is OTT Advertising Benefits of OTT Advertising Bonus: OTT Infographic TL;DR – What Have We Learned? What is OTT (Over The Top)? Streaming platforms are all the rage nowadays, with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV, etc. all fighting for people’s attention. What do they have in common? These channels are all OTT (Over The Top), meaning video content delivered over the internet, versus traditional satellite or cable TV. An important term associated with OTT is Connected TV (CTV). Connected TV stands for the device one uses to watch OTT video. Note, it is closely related but not the same. OTT is the actual delivery method, which is bypassing satellite and cable TV, hence, going over “the top”. As consumer demand for delivering content over the top grows, the demand for opportunities like an OTT advertiser or all-in-one OTT platform provider rises as well. This allows to manage and deliver seamless, high-quality content to their audiences. With OTT, companies can reach users wherever they are, on any internet-connected device, without the limitations of traditional TV infrastructure. OTT ads are served through video format on: Smart TV apps (like Netflix, HBO Go) Streaming boxes (Apple TV etc.) HDMI sticks (Amazon Firestick, Roku, Chromecast) Amazon’s Fire TV has 50 million active accounts and Roku has 46 million. Here is a quick breakdown of OTT devices. Note that Connected TV devices are a subset under OTT. Growth of OTT The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 sped things up for the popularity of OTT channels. People are spending more time at home, and all streaming channels have seen a jump in subscriptions. Many are switching from cable television to only streaming (cutting the “cord” if you will). Emarketer predicts that the number of US households that subscribe to traditional television will drop from 86.5 million to 72.7 million between 2019 and 2023. As mentioned earlier, OTT is streamed through Connected TV (CTV). The Drum identified that Connected TV had grown 35% year over year in 2020. Here are some statistics to showcase how popular streaming channels are: 61% of US households subscribe to 2+ OTT channels 45% subscribe to 3+ OTT channels 31% subscribe to 4 or more Here are the most prominent video streaming players: Netflix Disney+ Amazon Prime Video Apple TV+ To give you a sense of how big the userbases are, as of December 2020: Netflix has around 200 million subscribers and Disney+ has 86 million worldwide. It’s the hottest thing, and everyone wants a piece. Players that recently entered the arena include: Hulu HBO Max (HBO) Peacock (NBC) Discovery+ AMC+ (AMC) Shutter Crunchyroll and more Some showcased their entire media library, others like Shutter and Crunchyroll focus on niches: horror and anime–to cater to specific audiences. This competitive group is often dubbed as “The Streaming Wars”. Here is a 2019 CNBC feature and a quick look at their analysis in 2021: The public loves being able to watch Videos On Demand (VOD), binge an entire TV series with no commercial breaks, any time of the day. However, 57% of Netflix users said they would cancel their subscriptions if Netflix brought in advertisements. How do brands manage to reach people in their households in this new era of media consumption? What is OTT Advertising? Now that you have a better understanding of OTT, let’s dive into the advertising side of it! There are three primary types of OTT services: Transactional Video-On-Demand (TVOD): pay-per-view Advertising-based Video-On-Demand (AVOD): content is free, but with ads Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD): ad-free paid content There are three ways to buy and deliver OTT ads: Programmatic OTT ads: served across multiple networks through Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) using automation Platform Direct ads: purchased from the OTT device provider Publisher Direct ads: purchased through the OTT service provider Across these channels, ad formats may include: Banner ads Sponsored content In-stream video ads OTT can be streamed across different devices aside from TV, such as mobile phone, computer or gaming consoles like Playstation. This expands audience reach options. Because it’s internet-based, ads can be delivered to anyone around the world who has access to OTT TV. Pretty neat, right? Why don’t we now look at some benefits of this method of advertising? Benefits of OTT Advertising Guaranteed Ad Delivery What makes OTT ads effective is that they viewers can’t skip an ad or close a window nor use ad blocker. The viewer may not be able to click through to your website via TV, but video completion rates are very high instead. So make sure your ads are visually-grabbing and make an impression! More Accessible & Affordable Than Traditional TV Ads The number of people using Connected TV to stream video content is increasing. Why not take advantage of this trend and show off your brand on a whole new platform? OTT has made advertising to audiences in their households accessible to brands. Bypass lengthy negotiations for a TV spot with a specific channel on a particular day and time within a certain region. Ads can be served to the right people at the right time directly. Granular Audience Targeting Compared to traditional television advertising, OTT has the capability of hyper-targeting audiences. You won’t be limited to regional TV stations anymore, think big and think global. Advertisers can leverage consumer data such as online browser and purchase history to set up their audience segment. Excellent for Retargeting OTT enables advertisers to retarget users who have seen their ads elsewhere. It closes the cross-channel loop, which is invaluable for advertisers. It can be easily incorporated into a bigger marketing strategy and capture audiences. Ad Performance Attribution For every marketer, Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is an important metric to measure. Because OTT is internet-based, it has detailed data analytics of ad performance, which allows brands to attribute that to conversions (website
Our Favorite Valentine’s Day Ads
Love is in the air! In recent years, Valentine’s Day has evolved from its romantic roots. Yes, roses and chocolates are still popular; people are now celebrating Valentine’s with more than just their significant others. Friends (Galentine’s from Parks and Recreation, anyone?), pets, family, and even co-workers—it’s become a themed day that everyone celebrates! According to Printful, they identified the age groups that have been rallying behind the idea of V-Day celebrations: Younger Millenials (age 23-29) Gen X Baby Boomers Gen Z Older Millennials This order is based on the fact that these age groups are more likely to be single looking for love or already settled down in a relationship. Another great stat to note is 50% of people aged 13 -36 years old do keep an eye out for sales promotions themed around Valentine’s day. For this blog, we’ve handpicked ad campaigns from different brands and industries to see how much fun and creativity they could work with for this romantic occasion. Perhaps you can get some inspiration! Editor’s Note: This blog will serve as a living document, and we will continue to update it with other Valentine’s Day ads we fall in love with! Photo by Rinck Content Studio on Unsplash Our Favorite Valentine’s Day Ads Match.com Newsjacking is when you take a current event and use it in a creative spin to promote your brand. Memes like Bernie in a chair being photoshopped into the background of your office are a great example. Everyone “gets” it and feels like they’re in on the joke, which creates a sense of trust and likeability of your brand. Match.com newsjacked the COVID-19 pandemic and launched this commercial series directed by Ryan Reynolds. Satan uses Match.com and is matched up with a woman called 2020. They go on dates in empty stadiums, steal toilet paper, and even take a selfie in front of a literal dumpster fire. It’s cheeky as hell (pun intended), and it’s what we loved about it! Hotels.com Talk about a bold and sassy statement!Instead of presenting a creative ad depicting a typical romantic date night out, Hotels.com rejected those fuzzy feelings and created a campaign that jumped out from the crowd. When you went to the landing page: hotels.com/vdaydumpsterstay (note: link is no longer valid), you would fill out a form saying why your ex deserves to stay in the dumpster and where your dream hotel is. All participants would receive a fictional booking confirmation of your ex’s dumpster stay for Valentine’s Day (which is…oddly satisfying?). Participants would also be entered into a draw: 15 lucky winners would be able to win a $300 Hotels.com gift card. It’s pretty genius to speak to the masses in a cheeky, memorable way. Rent the Runway Going the classical Valentine’s Day route, luxury fashion rental company, Rent the Runway shares a stellar image of a model rocking a pretty, lace dress, content with herself. Their message is that you can treat yourself to beautiful clothes as a form of self-love, not just appeal to others! This image would work beautifully in an email marketing campaign and would be stunning as a social media post. You could repurpose it as a Display Ad or, even easier, serve it as a Social Display Ad. Twitter In 2020, Twitter ran Out-Of-Home billboard ads in high foot traffic transit stations in New York, Seattle, and San Francisco. Their approach to this campaign was to talk about relationships in a relatable way. Their ads featured actual Tweets by everyday people, covering topics from dating apps, nudes, dates, dealbreakers, marriage, or Valentine’s Day itself. We like this campaign because it does two things: humor that everyone can relate to and showcasing that Twitter is for sharing thoughts! Both appeal to the Valentine’s Day theme too. Two birds, one stone. Ads with a text emphasis (those with a statement or strong Call-To-Action) could work well as Display Ads. We also highly recommend you to consider Digital Out-Of-Home as a channel. They are digital billboards that can change and switch out ad creative based on the criteria you set. For example, you could have a statement ad in the morning, and a different one in the evening, which can fit people’s moods at the end of a workday — or you can even have creatives change it up depending on the weather! It’s flexible and gets many eyeballs as DOOH ads are typically displayed in high foot-traffic areas. Deadpool Deadpool is the R-Rated superhero in the Marvel Universe, and his actor, Ryan Reynolds brings him to life. He’s badass, hilarious, and he’s got a lot to say with his potty mouth. The movie was slotted to hit the theatres on February 12, the week of Valentine’s Day, so they did a series of commercials with Deadpool trying to “seduce” the audience. We love that they could weave in the seasonality, a clip from the movie, and celebrate how zany Deadpool’s character is. Hallmark Writing a heartfelt card is a no-brainer. Plus, Hallmark dominates the card industry. How can they promote cards for this Valentine’s Day? They stepped out of the box by tackling the prominent issue of cyber-bullying at school, showing what words can do to hurt someone and cause negative internalized thoughts and a sense of helplessness and isolation. But Hallmark also flipped it around on us, showing us how powerfully positive words can be. They set up this comparison between digital vs. physical text to show that a physical, written card is an excellent embodiment of your love and care for another. We also liked that it didn’t go the typical romantic route but that Valentine’s Day can be celebrated by friends too! Lenovo Lenovo promotes their new tablet with very effective puppy dog eyes. They build the story up by setting a conflic right at the start, thentpresenting their product as a solution to the problem. As the story unfolds, they were able to show off the product’s features such as the built-in projector and storage space. The message is clear that the tablet
Benefits of Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)
Did you know that the average human attention span is lower than a goldfish? Our average is 8 seconds, whereas a goldfish is 9 seconds! With so much stimulation around us in person and online when it comes to marketing, brands need to find a way to cut through the noise. Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) is a way to stand out from the crowd. It’s 2022! If you’re a brand marketer, you should know that DCO is a game-changer and should be a part of your digital ad strategy. If you’re not sure what it is, fret not! This blog will discuss what it is, how it works, and how it will affect (and benefit) your marketing. Here are the topics we’ll cover: What is Dynamic Creative Optimization How Does Dynamic Creative Optimization Work Examples of Dynamic Creative Optimization Why is Dynamic Creative Optimization Effective Benefits of Dynamic Creative Optimization What is Dynamic Creative Optimization? Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) is when advertisers serve personalized ads to the right person at the right time by utilizing ad technology and data sets. Data sets may include audience information, such as: Device Location Interests Language Website behavior, etc Common examples of a dynamic ad would be a Display or Facebook carousel of the products you previously browsed on a website but didn’t purchase. The ad is unique to every user. How Does Dynamic Creative Optimization Work? The beauty of dynamic ads is that personalization is automated! DCO ad tech creates personalized ads based on the data of the user viewing it at the moment. It will showcase dynamic content like things they left in their shopping cart or items they’ve browsed. It does so by dissecting an ad into different components, lile: image, tagline, or copy. Advertisers would upload their creative assets (image, headlines, text etc.), then DCO technology will then create various combinations of ads to serve. Think of it as A/B testing but on a much wider scale: less manual, more automatic. While running the variation of ads, the ad tech’s machine learning features will constantly assess what is effective and what isn’t. Then after a few days, it will determine which of the best-performing combinations and serve those to the relevant audience. When your ads are runing, it’s collecting data on consumers. The data records and analyzes users’ interactions with your brand and website. In turn, it gives you more insights to make improvements to your creatives. Examples of Dynamic Creative Optimization Do you remember the personalized ads in the fictional future in the movie, Minority Report? We’re definitely on the path to this level of personalization. Digital Out-Of-Home ads can change messaging dependent on the time, weather etc. Audio ads can be served to specific genres or podcasts users listen to. There has also been a shift towards first-party data: the advertising industry will have lots of options to capture the attention of their audience! Let’s say you’re running an ad that targets the general population. It may appeal to some people but might not pack that extra oomph to persuade another demographic to convert. DCO takes personalization to a new level. You can target different audience segments based on age, interests etc. For example, you own a health and wellness store. You can run an ad promoting protein powders to 20-40 year olds. However, some people could be health-conscious but aren’t gym enthusiasts in that age range, so those ads might not be relevant. With DCO, you could have another ad for your vitamin products be served to this group instead, which might appeal to them better. Personalization provides more context for the consumer as well. Here’s a look at some visual examples! Different Call-To-Actions to appeal to different shoppers: Different image, tagline & landing Pages for different audiences: Dynamic retargeting ad showcasing previously browsed products: DCO is often used for retargeting by brands that sell products and the travel industry. For example: Home Hardware General Retargeting AdSave big on all our home improvement products. Shop now. [Images of miscellaneous products] Dynamically Optimized Retargeting AdThis is a great weekend to install that fence. Shop now. [Carousel of fence products previously viewed by user] Travelocity General Retargeting AdLow fares on hundreds of airlines. Book now. Dynamically Optimized Retargeting AdLow fares on hundreds of airlines.Find flights from Orlando to San Francisco. Book now. With personalized content in the ad, it speaks directly to the consumer and their needs, which increases its effectiveness. We’ll dive more into some statistics to back this up in the next section. Why is Dynamic Creative Optimization Effective? According to Adlucent, 71% of consumers prefer personalized ads, which results in a higher Click-Through Rate (CTR). So, it’s easy to say; relevant ads are a must for successful digital advertising. Some more statistics support this point, for example: 1 in 4 consumers say personalized ads are a great way for them to discover new products. About 20% of people say it makes their online shopping experience easier. 44% of consumers said they’re willing to provide basic contact information (name, email, address, preferences etc) to get more relevant ads tailored for them. Customer journeys are not all identical, and DCO helps prepare brands for this. The process of DCO is data-informed: it minimizes a lengthy process of creation, scales it, collects data, and makes optimizations. Facebook and Google each have their own systems for dynamic creative advertising. Benefits of Dynamic Creative Optimization Increase Brand Awareness Perhaps you’re trying to reach a new market segment and want to make a good impression. DCO’s smart and personalized messaging enables you to speak to different users’ pain points, needs, etc. It helps people feel connected to your brand. Studies show that users are almost twice as likely to click on an ad for an unknown brand or product if it is personalized. It’s a great way to grow your brand presence digitally. Higher Click-Through Rate (CTR) We’ve learned that DCO helps brands scale when it comes to the variations of unique, personalized ads. Because the content is highly relevant, the message is
Digital Advertising Trends in 2022
The advertising industry has collectively had quite a journey in the past two years. Brands had to navigate between the COVID-19 pandemic and tech giants’ privacy algorithm updates and so much more. It’s 2022, and to thrive and make this year more than just “2020 too”, we’ve identified channels and trends in the digital ad space that marketers should take note of. Advertising Channels to Consider in 2022 When it comes to digital advertising, we advise against spreading yourself too thin across way too many channels. Think about their target audiences’ customer journey from awareness to after conversion holistically. What channels do they use the most? It may differ depending on their age, interests, locations…etc., but the importance is showing up for them at the right place at the right time, with the right messaging for their needs. For an overview of some of the most popular programmatic advertising channels we offer, check out “How to Choose the Right Advertising Channel”. Today, we’ll share some channels you should consider trying out in 2022. TikTok Did you know that in 2021, TikTok dethroned Google for the number 1 domain ranking? It’s hard not to mention TikTok’s explosive growth since the pandemic. The video social app hit 1 billion users in 2021 and is still growing. A US survey found that TikTok is the primary source of where 39% of Gen Z women learn about new products.If your audience is Gen Z, we highly recommend considering this as a channel–especially if you’re already creating great visuals for Instagram stories, posts, or Facebook videos! It would be a great way to drive brand awareness and engagement. Voice Search Whether it be Microsoft Bing or Google, there’s no doubt Paid Search is a core channel of your digital strategy. It’s effective in capturing people who are actively searching for a product or service. As technology evolves, voice search has been rising in popularity over the past few years, whether it be on a smartphone, tablet, or a smart home device like (Amazon Echo, Google Nest), and also wearable tech, like Apple Watch. Data shows that 65% of people aged 25-49 speak to their voice-enabled devices once a day, at minimum. 18-24-year-olds are the second largest age group to use voice search and are a big reason many households adopt the technology in the first place. The third age group is those aged 50 and above. It’s hands-free and convenient! According to Neil Patel, Google suggests that 27% of all mobile searches are voice searches! In order to increase your online visibility through voice search, long-tailed keywords will be key. Furthermore, it’s expected that 55% of households will own smart speaker devices in 2022.People use these devices to search for answers; they also shop. Experts predict that in 2022, voice shopping will reach $40 billion across the US and UK. Voice search would be a must for brands that sell products on Amazon. So, there’s no better time to get ahead of your competition by aligning your digital ad strategy with an increased focus on voice search! Connected TV Traditional TV has been seeing a steady decline. In 2021, millions of households have cut the cord (meaning cable) and opted for internet-streaming-based video content powered by Connected TVs. This category encompasses Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and Over-The-Top connected devices such as Roku, Amazon Firestick, and Google Chromecast. Almost all Americans aged 25-34 access television content through the internet. In fact, 90% of young people prefer this method over cable television. Connected TV ads are engaging and more interactive than traditional TV commercials. For example, some allow you to click-through directly to your landing page, or you can serve up customized retargeting ads. You’re no longer stuck with paying a fortune for a certain channel’s time slot. Everyone knows you have to drop big bucks for ad spots on cable. But people PCR shows nowadays and skip over the ads anyways. So Connected TV ads are a new way to bypass traditional TV advertising media limits. It offers different options such as home screen display, in-stream and pre-roll video ads. They all have great visibility – many of them are full-screen, which means guaranteed viewability (no more skipping)! This means you could have your ads served at 1 AM to a couple that’s binge-watching a show. Timeslot allocation and big budgets are no longer an obstacle, making Connected TV an excellent channel for many brands to test out. Audio A recent eMarketer report revealed that in 2021, over 40% of US internet users are also paid audio subscribers (around 122 million people). In 2021, advertisers had spent $1.3 billion on podcast ads in the United States alone. A whopping 38.7% Year-Over-Year increase! The most popular audio platforms are: Spotify Pandora Amazon Music Apple Music eMarketer also predicts that Amazon Music will outpace Pandora’s listener count by the end of 2022. People listen to music and podcasts anywhere and everywhere. They may be on the go: commuting on the bus, driving (Apple CarPlay or Android Auto), jogging, or at home doing chores and meditating…etc. There is a podcast and playlist for absolutely everything. Take a look at why Spotify can be a great channel to target people at any time and day granularly. Like Connected TV mentioned above, there is a decline in traditional media advertising. Radio ad spots are competitive and pricey; plus, you’re locked into a specific day and time. What if your target demographic prefers streaming podcasts over the radio for their commute? You can’t even track if the ad had been listened to. That’s money down the drain. Digital audio ads are great for granular targeting. You can choose the basics like user demographic and interests. But you can even target shows, artists, or mood (genre) to serve customized and relevant content. Audio ads can blend in and become part of the listening experience; most of them aren’t skippable either. Some audio ad formats also include a chance for you to serve a display ad to enhance your messaging. In fact, some ads, users can click through to your site right in
How Will Facebook’s Audience Targeting Update Impact Your Ads?
Welcome to 2022! We figured we’d kick off the new year with a post on a change coming to effect very quickly that will shake the advertising industry!Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced in November 2021 that they would be removing specific audience targeting options. In this blog, we’ve go over: What Lead to Facebook Updating Their Targeting Options? What is Facebook Changing to Audience Targeting? What Are the Changes Happening to Facebook Audience Targeting? What Can We Do About the Facebook Audience Targeting Change? Final Words What Lead to Facebook Updating Their Targeting Options? Marketers have loved Facebook advertising and what it offers from the get-go. The substantial amount of user data Facebook collects from their users meant countless options of granular audience targeting for advertisers. It meant we could serve highly-personalized ads and anticipate a decent Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Facebook Ads have always been a vital channel for most brand advertisers. However, this also became a double-edged sword in many ways. Facebook faced criticism for allowing for discrimination in its ads. For example, in 2019, the US Department of Housing & Urban Development claimed the ad platform enabled home sellers and landlords to restrict who could see their ads based on people’s national origin, race, and religion. As a result, Facebook introduced the Special Ads Category, which forbade advertisers from targeting certain people for housing, credit, or job opportunities. That’s why if your product offering falls under these categories, Facebook may reject your ads due to stricter guidelines. Revisions might need to be made to your ad copy, imagery, or targeting. PS. As an agency, we work with our Facebook rep to ensure our clients’ ads follow the guidelines and ads are greenlighted and launched successfully! Meta’s VP of Product Marketing (Ads), Graham Mudd stated in a blog post that this change is a “difficult decision.” But the goal is to: …better match people’s evolving expectations of how advertisers may reach them on our platform and address feedback from civil rights experts, policymakers and other stakeholders on the importance of preventing advertisers from abusing the targeting options we make available. What is Facebook Changing to Audience Targeting? Starting on January 19, 2022, Facebook will be eliminating the ability for brands to run ads targeting people based on the following sensitive parameters: Race & Ethnicity Political Belief (social issues & causes, organizations, and figures, such as political party or candidate) Religion Sexual Orientation Health Conditions etc Examples of removed keywords from targeting might be “chemotherapy,” “Catholic Church,” etc. So, hypothetically, a pharmaceutical company may no longer directly choose to target those who have diabetes. The change means advertisers have to pivot and think of other ways to serve their ads on Facebook (and Instagram) to their target audience. You can imagine the panic that’s broiling for everyone in the advertising industry! What Are the Changes Happening to Facebook Audience Targeting? Editor’s Note: This section will be updated as new information is released So far, here are some things we know from Meta’s announcement. Facebook says if you already have campaigns running targeting the soon-to-be eliminated parameters on January 19th, they will be allowed to be served to your target audience until March 17, 2022. Until then: Advertisers will be able to edit most things at a campaign level (such as campaign name, spending limit, etc.), without impacting the targeting. If you make changes at an ad set level, it might affect your target audience (ad placement, targeting options, etc.). Changes you can still make at an ad set level include flight dates and budget. If you pause your ad set before March 17, 2022, you won’t be able to turn that ad sets back on without it automatically updating to the new targeting options. So your audience targeting settings will be impacted. If you don’t have active ads in that ad set, Facebook will turn the ad set off. At the ad level, you’ll still be able to add new ads or edit existing ads with new copy and creative. After March 17, 2022, it will no longer be possible to edit existing campaigns that are impacted by the audience targeting changes. No edits will be available at the campaign, ad set, or ad level. What Can We Do About the Facebook Audience Targeting Change? With the removal of the option to target sensitive parameters, Meta had suggested brands leverage their other targeting offerings such as: Lookalike audiences Location targeting Engagement Custom Audiences There is no doubt the digital industry is headed towards a cookieless and privacy-centric future. What are some things you can do right now to prepare for it? Build Relationships With Your Consumers Directly Ever since Google announced that they’d be retiring third-party cookies in 2023 a few years ago, here at War Room’s Advertising Institute, we’ve been emphasizing the importance of building first-party data. There has been a distinct shift towards data privacy across the tech industry. Facebook is no different. The updates they’re changing are to address the sensitivity of hyper-targeted ads. First-party data can be collected through lead generation and nurturing. Brands need to provide value for consumers to provide their contact information willingly. May it be a landing page with a downloadable, a newsletter informing them of your latest offers, etc. This way, you create rapport by engaging with your audience, but you also have their data to create Lookalike audiences on Facebook. Think with Google had a PepsiCo case study on 3Xing their ROI by building direct relationships with their customers. In 2022, be sure to review your brand’s digital marketing customer journey and think of other ways you can connect with them. Track All Appropriate Metrics and Data Programmatic ad tech simplifies this integral step in digital advertising. It consolidates all of your ad channels into one ecosystem. Data tells a story. You learn about your audiences’ behavior through the performance of your ads. That’s where you find areas of opportunity to make optimizations. Did you know that UK online clothing retailer ASOS increased conversions by 31% by using first-party data to measure their ad campaigns? With Facebook’s update
War Room: 2021 In Review – Highlights Of The Year
Wow–2021 is coming to an end. Where did the time go? At the end of each year, we like to reflect and share what made us proud as a team. First, we’d like to share an infographic of our year summarized. You can think of it as War Room’s own version of Spotify: Wrapped. We’ll break it down into Milestones and Most-Read Blogs. Here we go! Now, we’ll break it down into Milestones and Most-Read Blogs. Here we go! Milestones Resiliency Amidst the Pandemic & Growing the Team One of the biggest takeaways from the pandemic was learning to roll with the punches by staying calm and focusing on being solution-oriented. Consumer behavior and government mandates have ebbed and flowed since 2020. For our campaigns, it meant we had to apply more agility than ever. As we grow as a business, we want to consistently maintain our high-touch customer service and provide an exceptional experience. That’s why we actively grew our team by 50% amidst the pandemic to support our growing client base! We love that we’ve been able to spend more time with our team now that everyone is double-vaxxed. We are excited to have more face-to-face meetings and enjoy outings like movies and outdoor potlucks. We have also introduced a hybrid working model to give our team members more flexibility in work-life balance. To stay agile as we continue to expand our business, we are actively hiring. To learn more about careers at War Room, see our Careers page here. The people are the number one reason I love working at War Room. The management is great, they promote and sponsor ongoing personal and professional development. Staying on Top of Shifts in the Digital Advertising Industry As a team of digital nerds, we’ve been having fun applying what we know and are good at to what we don’t know yet. This includes building our own solutions or workarounds for all the algorithm updates. Take the announcements of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, Apple’s iOS 14’s privacy policies, for example—the landscape is constantly changing! We are always on the lookout for changes that will affect the digital ad industry and proactively inform our clients, so they know what to expect and be prepared ahead of time. It gives everyone involved peace of mind. Aside from our clients, we want to be a contributing peer in the ad industry, so we create blogs and resources to educate our fellow marketers with tips and action items to stay agile and deliver great ad campaigns all the time. This can all be found at the Advertising Institute. Fostering a Record Amount of Kittens In 2021, British Columbia suffered from heatwaves and forest fires, which meant more cats were in need of help. Throughout the entire year, we fostered a total of 22 kittens! We’ve always been a pet-friendly office, but on top of that, we are a long-standing partner of local animal rescue organizations. We foster kittens in the office, care for and socialize them, so they’re ready to be adopted into their fur-ever homes! Check out more adorable photos of our office animals and learn why War Room is One of the Most Pet-Friendly Offices in Vancouver. Launching In-House Charity Program, Kedet Kares The pandemic has made us cherish the community we have around us more than ever before. That’s why we looked inwards and thought about how we could help give back to those in need. Kedet Kares was the answer: a donation matching program for our team members and clients. They would choose a charitable organization of their choice, make a donation and we would match that to double the impact. So far this year, we’ve donated to the Vancouver Food Bank, Make a Wish Canada, and Qmunity, to name a few. Being Named AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Player Advertising authority, AdExchanger highlights the leading players in the industry in various award lists. Read more about our accomplishment in the featured blog, “War Room is AdExchanger’s 2021 Programmatic Power Player!” Refreshing the Brand Refresh & Redesigning the Website As part of our growing team, we created a Brand Team that works on marketing for our agency. We’ve updated our brand with new colours, fonts and set brand guidelines in place. Next, we started working on redesigning our website. We took our mascot Kedet into the third dimension for the first time! Check out our website to see how awesome it looks! We also created a sidekick character named Kolbe the Goat. He is Kedet’s best friend and is a wise and chill lad. When it’s work time, they turn data insights into stories to help businesses elevate their advertising! They enjoy frolicking about, meeting new people, and learning about absolutely everything in their free time. They also volunteer in the local community to spread joy, truly embodying the core values of War Room: passion and service. How do you like his look? PS. Kolbe is a Baaa-chelor 😉 Trending Ad Channels in 2021 As an agency that focuses 100% on paid advertising, we pride ourselves on offering our clients access to 90,000+ ad publishers and an extensive list of channels to choose from. This year, we’ve seen these channels gain some popularity: Social Display Ads: many of our clients have been loving this new, exclusively-programmatic ad format. It takes an existing social post of your choice and serves it as an ad across the Display Network. You get to save time and money from skipping the step of creating a new ad creative. Plus, Click-Through Rates for these ads have frequently been outperforming regular display ads. These are great for retargeting or when you want to run a short flighted campaign. Digital Out-Of-Home Ads: 2021 has seen an accelerated shift from traditional to digital ad formats. A digital billboard can serve up different ads at different times (eg. morning rush hour) or change with the weather (eg. rainy day vs sunny). Your messaging can be updated automatically to always fit the setting. These ads are located in high foot traffic
The Anatomy of a Landing Page
When it comes to an ad campaign, whether it be Paid Search or Display Ads, your goal is to get the user to click on the ad and go to your landing page. In a previous blog, we dissected the anatomy of an ad creative. This blog is a direct accompaniment, with a focus on how to build an effective landing page. In case you’re short on time, feel free to jump to a certain section: What is a Landing Page? An Anatomy of a Landing Page Elements You Need on a Landing Page Additional Elements That Would Be Nice On Your Landing Page Landing Page Best Practices Copy Form Call-To-Action (CTA) Additional Resources What is a Landing Page? Let’s say a user came across your ad online and they were enticed enough to click on it. That means your ad creative was effective for them to take action, yay — but now what? The user will then be directed to your Landing Page. A Landing Page is a designated webpage that is created specifically for a digital marketing campaign. Unlike your website or homepage, it’s not supposed to be jam-packed with information. Instead, it is going to have goal: a Call-To-Action (CTA). Whether it be generating more leads or driving more sales, it’s meant to increase conversions. You can build your own, or consider partnering with a web design agency to help you create an effective landing page that aligns with your brand. An Anatomy of a Landing Page In this anatomy of a standard landing page, we break it up into two sections: mandatory must-haves and optional, nice-to-haves. Elements You Need a Landing Page The centerfold of your landing page IS the money shot. This is the first thing they see when they click through and the page loads. What you need are:Headline: Hook the user in with a strong headline and state your value proposition. It should be a short statement that matches the language and offer you had in your ad creative. Supporting Copy: This is usually found right below the Headline. It provides more context, typically highlighting the benefits of your brand’s offering. Hero Image/Video: use an attention-grabbing image that tells a story that aligns with what your ad copy is conveying. Another option is a video placed front and center that summarizes your landing page’s core message. Benefits: The most common layout is to share three main benefits, completed with blurbs and corresponding icons that illustrate each benefit concept. Show off why you’re the absolute best option for them. Lead Form: the ultimate action we want the user to take is fill out your lead form and hit your CTA button. It is usually created in and synced with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Call-To-Action (CTA) button: we know the entire landing page acts as a CTA, but an actual CTA button is essential! It’s typically placed right under the lead form and is in an eye-catching color (think color contrast)! Social Proof: feature one or more client testimonials: they can help build trust amongst your audience. You can also create compelling testimonial videos and showcase them in the most important places according to the page’s context. Additional Elements That Would Be Nice On Your Landing Page The rest of the landing page below the centerfold can incorporate these elements to elevate the user experience. It provides them with more context to better understand your brand and offering. Features: if the user is scrolling past the centerfold, that means you’ve successfully captured their intrigue, and they want to learn more about you! This section is where you can discuss more in-depth what you have to offer and SELL, SELL, SELL! Additional CTA: Sprinkle a few more CTA buttons throughout the page so the user can take action when they reach a new section and decide to make the decision. Make it easy for them, so they don’t have to scroll back to the top. Footer: this is a visual indication for the user that they’ve hit the end of the page. It typically showcases your logo, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions page links, and social media channels. For more details and tips, download our resource, “Blueprint for a High-Converting Landing Page!” Landing Page Best Practices Ensure the landing page for ads has content that is consistent with your ad’s offering, language, and theme. Utilize concise bullet points so people can quickly scan your content. 80% of users spend their time above the page fold so make sure you convey important points above the fold. Reduce the number of links on your landing page to avoid users clicking away. If there is a lot of detailed information on the page, consider adding redirect link click buttons to allow users to jump over to the section they are interested in. Choose visuals that reinforce your message, such as icons or product photos. To enhance scroll depth, try placing a feature video or essential information in the middle of the page. Create an Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) version of your Landing Page. Consider A/B testing for headlines, imagery, CTA, etc, but test one change at a time to accurately observe what should be optimized. Before you launch your landing page, run an on-page SEO test to ensure it’s performing well and make optimizations accordingly. Copy Your landing page can look sleek and represent your brand in the most visually appealing way. But you need compelling copy to complete this beautiful picture you’re building for your audience! Here are essential factors to take into consideration when writing landing page content: 1. Before you start crafting your ad copy, ensure you have a fully fleshed-out target persona. You know their struggles and needs inside out, and you cannot wait to share your offer. You will know who you’re talking to directly, and they will be more receptive because it’s highly relevant to them! 2. On the centerfold of your landing page, you should address these items at first glance: Who you are What your
Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Vancouver
Digital marketing encompasses paid advertising, design, content marketing, social media, PR, SEO…and so much more. Because of this, many brands need supplementary support for specific marketing needs, and that’s where digital marketing agencies come in—to fill the gap and elevate your marketing efforts. In 2021, we had the honor of being named one of Vancouver’s Best Creative Agencies. We would like to showcase some of the peers, and in our opinion, the best digital marketing agencies in Vancouver. We’ll highlight their service offerings, specializations, a little more about them, and why we think they’re great! Here is the list in no particular order: War Room Major Tom Forge & Spark Thrive Digital Jelly Marketing Blue/Meta Pound & Grain Massive Media Soulpepper War Room Services Offered PPC (Paid, Search, Display, Native…) Advertising Video Ads Social Ads Audio Ads Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) Ads Online Travel Agencies (OTA) Ads Hotel / Metasearch Ads and more Specialization Programmatic advertising Hyper-targeting Cross-channel Physical visitation tracking In-depth analytics (You bet we’re gonna put ourselves on this list because we are proud of the work we do!) War Room had to find a way to stand out from all the full-service digital marketing agencies in Vancouver. So, we chose to focus solely on digital advertising, specializing 100% in programmatic advertising. We’ve been rocking media buying for over a decade now. AdExchanger recently named us one of the best Programmatic Power Players! Did You Know? In 2021, more than 89% of the entire display advertising dollars in the United States are programmatic, and that number is only about to go up. Our in-house programmatic platform, Kedet (which our experts built from scratch), automates ad buying. It has capabilities for ad campaigns for all types of objectives, whether it be lead generation, brand awareness, or physical store visits–we got you covered. Cross-channel advertising We will connect all of your ad channels and sync their data. For example, Facebook Ads can now have transparency with your Google Ads and Youtube Ads. These channels now speak to each other, and we can exclude audiences who have already converted from one channel, in turn saving you ad dollars. Then, we can even run retargeting campaigns later down the road. (Not many agencies can do this, so we dare you to ask us about our specialty!) Hyper-targeting Advertising is all about getting in front of the right people at the right place and time. Demographics like age, location, gender are straightforward, but complex insights like shopping behavior; interests etc. can be laser-focused, thanks to Kedet! Plus, Klick&Mortar is another neat add-on feature of ours. Businesses with physical storefronts can actually track ad performance the moment a user sees their online ad to when they visit your store in person. Our approach is customizing a holistic advertising strategy based on your goals and budget. We perfected the balance between ad tech and human expertise. Our team is made up of digital nerds who specialize in different advertising channels. They will be the ones proactively monitoring and optimizing the campaigns to ensure every dollar you’re spending is used to the fullest potential. Our direct partnerships with 90,000+ premium ad publishers means when it comes to digital ad buying, you can expect: Lower Cost-Per-Click (CPC) A wider audience reach Overall, a lower Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) We do advertising and nothing else. We do advertising exceptionally well. So, if you’re looking for a trustworthy agency to take care of your digital advertising and drive better Return On Investment (ROI), connect with us at War Room today! Major Tom Services Offered Brand & Digital Strategy Content Marketing eCommerce marketing Digital advertising Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Social Media UX & Web Design Web Development Specialization Full-Service Marketing Named after an iconic Davie Bowie persona, Major Tom is probably the most prominent digital agency in Vancouver. They are a full-service marketing agency covering almost anything you can think of, spanning from branding, strategy to creatives. Their clients love them for their full-service team’s coverage and the ability to help many brands launch websites, creatives, and ads campaigns seamlessly. What’s neat is that they have offices in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto. Forge & Spark Services Offered Brand Strategy Content Marketing Digital Marketing Campaigns Specialization Strategic Story-Telling Content Creation (blogs, social, etc.) What we love about this women-led agency is its specialization in content marketing. Their team is made up of creative content professionals who are passionate about story-telling. They believe in purpose-driven content, which will help brands achieve impact digitally and connect with audiences. If you’re thinking of revolutionizing your brand’s messaging or need help with producing high-quality content, the team at Forge & Spark will be your biggest ally. Thrive Digital Services Offered Online Advertising Strategy Analytics Design Specialization Full-Service Marketing eCommerce User Acquisition Thrive Digital is one of the most famous digital marketing agencies in Vancouver. One of their biggest clients is Uber! They manage all aspects of online advertising, from planning and building to execution. Even Neil Patel, the SEO guru praises their performance marketing team! For biggest agencies like this, be sure to inquire if they have a minimum monthly spend and the ongoing service fee to ensure it’s a great match. Jelly Digital Marketing & PR Services Offered Public Relations Social Media Marketing Media Buying Videos & Podcasts Production Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization PR Social Media Online Advertising The holy trifecta that makes up the heart of Jelly Marketing’s business are social media, digital advertising, and public relations. They have worked out a formula for balancing these three aspects of marketing and synergizing them! They take care of press releases, media events, and your social media strategy. Their digital marketing team then tracks how effective your campaigns are with your target audience. If you’re looking for a digital partner to help build a successful strategy with PR and social, Jelly would be worth checking out! Blue/Meta Services Offered Business Strategy UX design Sales & Marketing Ideation & Development PPC Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization Strategy Creative Branding Digital Ads Data