Which brands are winning the social video shootout during Euro 2016? (post 1/2)
Crossing the white line from traditional TV advertising to social video has proved an uphill struggle for some brands. Kicking off a bumper summer of sport is Euro 2016, the perfect platform for a research project to find out if the top brands can deliver on the big stage (and increasingly small screen).
Lunging into the challenge, we reviewed every advert before, during and after all 12 games broadcasted live on ITV during the first two rounds of group game matches. Our Jurgen Klopp inspired high-intensity ‘gegenpressing’ analysis, spanned 597 adverts and 118 social media accounts during the first two weeks of the tournament.
Everyone knows it’s a funny old game of two halves, so this first post from our two part series will feast on the TV takeaways from our research.
The majority of TV ads lack relevancy
Two thirds of adverts we analysed included no reference to football. While it’s an obvious statement to say consumers tuning in to watch sport will be influenced by other necessities/wants in life, it does clash with most winning social strategies; achieving higher engagement results come through tapping into the mindset of the consumer in that moment.
Not every brand could get an official sponsorship ticket to the finals, so it’s no surprise to see official sponsorship adverts made up only 15% (via three brands) of the total adverts trying to tap into the football fever. The one official sponsor that did not pick a football TV ad was McDonald’s.
Commoditised products and services continue to try and outscore each other through TV spots
TV advertising remains the primary vehicle for brands that don’t naturally move in sporting circles. Fitting then that automotive brands — 20 in total — appeared the most frequently during ITV’s daily broadcast of the group games. Kia and Hyundai (official Euro 2016 sponsors) had strong creative football themes, joined by Volvo who signed up iconic Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic to front their V90 campaign.
You would have got good odds on (19) financial brands featuring heavily, with betting companies getting in on the football action. Meanwhile, MBNA’s comical #GoodSkillsBadSkills campaign was the only brand in the sector to include actual footballs in it. They and creative agency partner, MEC, also deserve ‘credit’ for extending their TV spots, poking fun at themselves and asking social viewers why they hadn’t moved on to watching cat videos.
The biggest surprise was Nike being the only sports brand to create a TV ad spot during the analysed time frame. It suggests other sports brands saw more value in executing other marketing assets at their disposal.
For brands that consider themselves to be considered purchases, the need to own share of voice and control the broadcast of their message is paramount. Within a one to many medium such as TV, where it requires a concerted effort by brands to create such advertisements, invariably it is the brand that shouts loudest and creates the most noise who hits the back of the net when it comes to brand awareness, ad recall and purchase intent. In that respect, there aren’t many brands that either have the followers or social marketing budget to reach a higher audience than through TV placements on the backdrop of a major event in the calendar such as Euro 2016.
Half time team talk
With 14m viewers watching England’s goalless Group B game on ITV, it’s clear that the reach of broadcast advertising will continue to generate mass traction with brands that place the highest marketing value on audience reach, over deep engagement or topical content. That’s not to say they are behind some imaginary curve of marketing relevance.
McDonald’s as an official sponsor is a case in point. On TV, it has chosen to run product adverts (featuring UK actors). They have also created video content online that is focused on their ‘player escorts’ Euro 2016 sponsorship deal, featuring Alan Shearer. Their disparate marketing messages are targeting different audience demographics and therefore may have decided TV was not the best medium to sell happy meals.
The fact remains that we found two thirds of adverts were not tailored to the major programming event in the footballing calendar that comes around only once every two years through the alternating UEFA European Championships and FIFA World Cups. Our conclusion is that those brands missed a trick shot by not tapping into the emotion and mindset of the football fans they were trying to influence. The brands that did strike, were more likely to see their match day marketing approach put them front and centre when fans inevitably reach for that second screen during the game intervals and moments of extra time purchase decision making.
In our next post we’ll be revealing the social video side of the game and analysing the formations of Euro 2016 TV advertisers to reveal which platforms they picked. Are brands sticking with the tried and tested YouTube or was Euro 2016 a breakout tournament for short-form video mobile apps?
Stay tuned.
Full infographic and downloadable link
