Should it all be about social?

More and more, we are seeing brands diverting marketing budgets away from television ads and investing in social advertising strategies instead. According to recent statistics, spending on digital advertising (such as influencer marketing and social media marketing) will surpass television ad spending for the first time in 2017, marking a notable shift in how brands are targeting and interacting with today’s more youthful, fast speed, tech-savvy consumers. In fact, by 2020 TV’s share of ad spending will drop below one-third. But should this really be the case? Does everyone’s current enthusiasm for InstaStories, Snapchat stories and the latest YouTube videos truly mean that traditional above the line television advertising is becoming redundant? Fair enough the Mad Men days have long gone, but maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves…

Probably important to look at why social appears to be winning the Advertising platform battle…

DATA DATA DATA!

Social media advertising has one key advantage: the masses of data held within its universally expanding walls. This data can be manipulated to target certain users who have previously expressed an interest in a specific product or service. By doing so, brands not only create a better experience for consumers, but increase the efficacy of their social campaign. Television ads can undoubtedly target broad audience demographics (forgive the generalised social stereotypes, very un-2017 of me)… for example, beer brands like Guinness could advertise during football games, or beauty brands such as L’Oréal advertise during episodes of “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” However, social advertising incontestably wins in identifying incredibly niche markets and through social media, micro and macro influencers can operate within those marketing effectively, interacting personally with millions of interested and already engaged consumers, maximising the effectiveness of a campaign. Not bad eh!

ITS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION:

Social media marketing also has one key advantage over TV ads: communication with consumers. In a world filled with a growing millennial generation obsessed with sharing their experiences online, interaction is not only crucial but expected. Social advertising has undoubtedly enabled this generation to have high levels communication and interaction directly with campaigns through the ability to like, share, comment and so on. This in turn not only gives consumers a greater sense of importance but heightens the level of engagement with the ad. These higher levels of engagement yield what is known as “halo effects.” This entails users to magnifying the reach of each campaign by sharing branded or brand-sponsored content within their own specific social circles. Not only does the social ad through the halo effect have the ability to go viral and maximise awareness but brands gain invaluable insights into their consumer’s thoughts. Through likes, comments, tweets, shares and gamification brands gain instantaneous, free feedback from the people that care the most — their key demographic, maximising the potential for the brand to evolve in the most efficient and effective way possible. Let’s send a thanks to the social media gods.

DOWN WITH THE KIDS:

Importantly, social and digital advertising is extremely effective in attracting today’s most up and coming marketing demographic: millennials. Adweek published a recent article which stated that marketers are spending 500% more on millennial-focused advertising than on any other demographic, and for good reason. With social platforms such as Instagram encouraging an environment in which millennials are consistently comparing and contrasting themselves with others all day everyday, millennials are always looking for the newest, the best and the trendiest goods and services, making them a purchasing powerhouse. Social advertising through trendy apps such as Snapchat along with micro-influencer marketing campaigns is, without doubt, the more effective way to reach younger consumers who now spend on average up to 9 hours a day on various social media platforms. For a brand to connect with a younger audience they really have no option but to speak their social media savvy language.

BUT! There are two sides to every argument…

NOTHING QUITE BEATS OLD SCHOOL:

Sometimes the long-running traditions are long running traditions for a reason. Although the world of advertising has evolved with the rise of technology and social media, nothing quite beats a classic. In fact, a recent survey by Deloitte showed that television programs and ads were the third most common reason people gave for impulse purchases (coming in behind recommendations by friends or family, and seeing an item in a store). In contrast, seeing ads on mobile apps only persuaded 2% to take action, and seeing a product referred to on Twitter only drove 1% to seek out that product.

This ties in with people’s love for storytelling. It’s no secret that storytelling is a very dynamic marketing tactic that works to engage and involve customers and TV ads do this in abundance. Even millennials with their so called ‘goldfish’ attention spans seem to not be able to resist the emotional value that comes with a good story. The ‘Guess the Naked Ute campaign’ pulling Volkswagen rather successfully out of the ashes of their emissions scandal of 2015 goes a long way to show millennials love good storyline and in return will engage with a brand. TV ads and their slightly longer form content are undoubtedly much more likely to convey a good story, and in turn, obtain higher levels of emotional involvement with a brand. Let’s be honest…who can resist those John Lewis ads!

SOCIAL MEDIA GODS KNOW:

Ironically, it is the digital brand gods that benefitted the most from the mobile ad surge that also helped to drive UK’s TV advertising to record highs in 2015. Google, Netflix and Facebook spent 60% of their own marketing budgets in 2016 on TV ads in the UK. What can we take from such a significant investment in traditional media by newly established media? TV works. It is still the most effective brand awareness channel. As Isaac Weber (VP of strategy at MarketShare) stated, “TV is the giant megaphone, when you want to get a message out, that’s still really the most powerful means to do it.” If Google agrees with this, who are we mere mortals to argue?

BEST OF BOTH?

Yet maybe it is not about what is better. A brand’s campaign doesn’t have to be a case of either/or. It seems clear that both mediums have great advantageous qualities. Whilst TV statistically has the highest efficiency at achieving profit and increase market share; it works even better when combined with data-driven digital. If brands want to move forwards there is no better time than now to pursue a multimedia campaign across all platforms. Messages are more likely to be engrained in long-term memory if consumers encounter cohesive creative messaging across multiple mediums. In a globalised transparent world maybe it is time for advertising agencies to truly embrace all mediums. The last decade has provided the industry with an abundance of choice and variety. Maybe its time for all agencies to stop comparing and contrasting, start flexing their creative, strategic muscles and make the most of it all! Ultimately the creative should simply feature in whatever form the idea best manifests itself.