Cinema Advertising Stands Strong

Cinema advertising is often overlooked by many marketing departments and booted from their media mix. Video Advertising Bureau released some data that might make marketing managers change their minds about the big screen.

According to VAB, box office ticket sales saw an eleven percent increase from 2014 to 2016. Perhaps this is due to the rising median household income amounts. From 2010 to 2015, the median HHI has increased from $53,569 to $56,516. With an increase in HHI comes an increase in disposable income which has grown from $11,515 in 2010 to $14,281 in 2016 (referring to personal disposable income).

Demographically, heavy movie goers tend to be young, multicultural, affluent, educated, and professional. The majority of these people are ages 18-44, employed, home-owners, college educated, and making over $50k per year.

So, what’s so special about cinema advertising? Well, beyond the fact that you’re speaking to a captive, engaged, willing audience; cinema advertising drives consumer action. Many steady cinema advertisers like Vans, Shazam, esurance, LG, Infiniti, and Hotels.com see an increase in website activity when cinema is a part of their media mix verses when they’re not on the big screen.

On top of that, consumers are choosing to spend leisure time watching movies at a theater more often than other activities like attending a sporting event, going to the zoo, or having a picnic.

It might be time to rethink that marketing mix and see how your brand on the big screen can make a difference.

Dominate Digital Forces Look to Continue Their Growth

As eMarketer projects digital ad spend/revenue for the next few years, Facebook and Google look to hold onto their top ranks. Ad spend in the United States looks to grow by 15.9% equaling $83 billion in revenue. Both Facebook and Google look to increase their ad share percentages by 32.1 percent and 14.8 percent respectively.

Overall, Google wins the gold by owning 40.7 percent of the US digital ad market with Facebook settling for silver with 19.7 percent. However, when that’s broken down by search and display the tables turn just a bit.

Google still takes home the prize when it comes to search with an estimated $28.5 billion in ad revenue for 2017 (77.8%), but Facebook comes in on top when we’re talking about display. Facebook brings in $16.3 billion in US digital display ad dollars making up 39.1 percent of the market. Both Google’s search and Facebook’s display revenues are expected to continue growing through 2019.

When looking at mobile, the two digital powerhouses combined accumulate for 57 percent of mobile spend with Google acquiring 32.4 percent and Facebook earning 24.6 percent.

The below chart shows multiple digital providers and their ad share percentage projections through 2019 while focusing specifically on digital mobile ad revenue.

Snap Inc., the inventors of Snapchat, is expected to see the most dramatic increase over the next few years. However, their share is still small and far from the dominating digital forces.

Other platforms like Twitter, Yahoo, and Yellow Pages are expected to decline in the near future. 

Making the Most of Email Marketing

Email marketing – when executed correctly – can be a huge success for any marketing campaign. Seamas Egan, Associate Director of Revenue Operations at Campaigner, digs into the art of email and provides three tips to making the most of your email marketing.

1.     Subject line

Subject lines of an email provide a teaser to the recipient and is ultimately what makes them decide to open or delete your email. In fact, thirty-three percent of recipients report the subject line to be the only factor in deciding whether they will open a marketing email or not. Subject lines should be personalized with either the recipient’s name or the words “you” or “your” to establish a personal connection. Numbers can also be used to help your subject line stand out and create a sense of urgency. Subject lines should also be under 30 characters as sixty-six percent of emails in today’s society are opened via mobile device.

2.     Past purchasers

Segment your email lists based on purchase behavior and target specifically those who have converted with your business on prior occasions. This information will help you send emails that are not only personalized, but directly targeted at the recipient’s interests.

3.     Frequency

Just remember the Goldilocks and the Three Bears – too hot… too cold… just right! You don’t want to annoy your customers with too many marketing emails, but you also don’t want them to forget your brand. It’s important to strike the right balance to keep your product at the top of customers’ minds while not overwhelming them. A good way to test your frequency is by some A/B testing; compare separate emails lists with different frequency levels to discover a happy medium.

When email marketing is done right, it’s a huge success. In fact, 91% of Americans say they like receiving marketing emails. Consumers frequently complain about marketing and how advertisements “obstructs their task”, but in the email space, marketing is actually welcomed. 

Back to Basics with Generation Z

As Generation Z grows into young adults who hold a little bit of spending power, marketers are eager to see how their path to purchase compares to the generations preceding them. Since Gen Z is technology savvy, one would assume that their behavior would revolve around the digital world.

However, a study conducted by Accenture shows something a little different.

Older Gen Z consumers (ages 18-20) actually prefer purchasing at physical brick and mortar locations. In fact, 77% of older Gen Z consumers would rather purchase in-store.

When compared with Millennials, Gen Z shoppers lead the way with in-store and mobile shopping while Millennials still lead when it comes to desktop and tablet.

The difference being, Generation Z consumers are influenced greatly by social media on what to purchase. In fact, 72% of US Gen Z survey participants said they want to make purchases directly from social media. Half of the participants said that social media inspires them to purchase products, and one third of respondents have increased their use of social platforms specifically to inform their decision-making within the past year; as shown by the chart below.

Going beyond social media, Gen Z consumers are open to developing shopping methods like voice-activated ordering (45%), curated subscriptions (77%), and automatic replenishment (66%). 

Jill Standish, senior managing director at Accenture, says, “I think the key takeaway for marketers is you have to be listening in social media. You’ve got to be there, and you’ve got to be inspiring.”