Tag Archives: advertising

July 29, 2014 · 8:54 am

Trusting Sponsored Content

We’ve explored the subject of branded content or advertorial or deceptive editorial or whatever you want to call it here on the screed a few times.

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Some data on the subject that I came across from Contently is worth a minute of your time.  They were spurred to do the research by a statement from the CEO of Chartbeat, an analytics company, who claimed that only 24% of readers were scrolling down on native ad content compared to the 71% of readers who scroll on “normal content.” Since that content is advertising that is supposed to integrate seamlessly with the site’s other content and, therefore, get the sponsor higher brand engagement, that number is pretty disturbing.  For my money, not quite as disturbing in some ways as what the subsequent study found.

Putting aside that most of those surveyed disagree about what exactly qualifies as “sponsored content”, some of the other findings were:

  • Two-thirds of readers have felt deceived upon realizing that an article or video was sponsored by a brand.
  • 54 percent of readers don’t trust sponsored content.
  • 59 percent of readers believe a news site loses credibility if it runs articles sponsored by a brand.
  • As education level increases, so does mistrust of sponsored content.

In fact, the study found that people would rather have to deal with banner ads than sponsored articles, and the more education the consumer has the greater chance they feel deceived by a piece of branded content.  The fine print labeling it as something not quite the same as other editorial does nothing to change consumers’ views.

Way back in October of 2012, this is what I had to say on the subject:

I’m not a fan.  Obviously I’m a big fan of ad-supported media – I worked in it and sold it for decades.  I do think, however, that doing this in digital in particular is an issue since there is so much content out there and users’ expectations of editorial integrity…are not met when the line is crossed.  It calls into question all of the legitimate reporting.  I get that people might ignore advertising but pay attention to this.  They need to know it’s not the same as other content.

My views haven’t changed.  Have yours?

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June 12, 2014 · 12:07 pm

Branding Badly

The folks over at Millward Brown Digital conducted a survey of marketing executives to assess how well digital media are doing with respect to satisfying brand objectives.

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The results are less than encouraging:

According to a 2014 Millward Brown Digital study, current digital advertising spending trends show that digital marketers fairly evenly allocate budget across ad formats.  However, the majority of digital marketers say that digital advertising hasn’t lived up to its promise and feel that branding ads bought via programmatic methods raise concerns.  They are searching for the best way to connect with consumers on an emotional level to bridge the delta between the branding promise of digital and real-world success.

In fact, 50% say they somewhat/strongly agree with this statement:

“Digital held promise for brand marketers, but for all its promise, it has never delivered as a branding vehicle.”

I see data like that and I wonder sometimes if they’re not like the person who complains about how bad a shoe is at driving nails into a wall to hang pictures.  Maybe you’re using an excellent tool for an incorrect purpose.  Let’s dig into the data a bit.  You have 88% of the respondents saying that making emotional connections would encourage them to spend more on digital branding ad formats. So in order to do that, 37% spend money on “in-game, emotionally-targeted ads.”  These would be ads that run when the player achieves something.  Yep, nothing like feeling good about having the game experience interrupted by a branded message, especially when you’re seeking help or just did something great.  43% run just plain in-game ads.  48% run SMS/text ads.  You see where this is heading?

If you want to establish emotional connections, behave as if you have respect for the customer’s emotions.  77% report running social media ads.  One can’t help but wonder if these paid efforts undermine the good work many brands do in social by transforming what can be a conversation between friends into an intrusive selling experience.

The study also talks about programmatic buying.  30% think that ads bought through programmatic methods negate customer experiences, brand loyalty or branding objectives yet they continue to use it.  So is it the media which are at fault or those who use it incorrectly?

For all the money being spent in digital, it’s still relatively new and that spending to brand may not be optimally done.  I don’t like statements such as the one above which places digital’s promise as  branding media in the past tense.  Am I off base here?

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April 28, 2014 · 9:47 am

The Truth Hurts

Sometimes one has to wonder if the whole ad game is just an exercise in futility.

English: YouGov logo

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Billions of dollars are spent on ads and media to sell products and services yet much of that money is for naught  and I don’t mean in the classic “half my advertising is wasted” sense.  OK, so maybe I’m being a little too gloom and doomy this Monday but let me tell you what’s prompting the screed.

The folks over at YouGov did some research about how the public perceives advertising.  The results are kind of scary if you’re in the business of marketing:

Half of Americans (50%) who are aware of advertising don’t trust what they see, read and hear in advertisements.  44% think that advertisements are dishonest.  A clear majority (58%) thinks that there should be stronger requirements for proving claims in advertising. 

Charming.  The study also says that the more education you have the less likely you are to trust ads with 65% of post grads thinking advertising cannot be trusted.  So much for appealing to the customer’s intelligence…

Another finding does help to point us in the right direction:

Many of the common advertising tactics like comparative advertising, scientific endorsements and awards claims may be counter productive and put consumers on alert.  Although 16% think they are more likely to believe an advertising claim, which includes the testimonial of a scientist or expert, that expert makes 29% less likely to believe in an ad.  Ads making comparisons with brand competitors are more likely to be believed by 15% but less likely to be believed by 26%.

In other words, maybe it’s time many brands stopped talking smack about their competitors and treated their relationships with the customer (or potential customer) as if it were a first date.  Think about it.  You wouldn’t spend your time on a date citing studies about what a good person you are or talking badly about other people who might be in the available dating pool.  You’d spend the time learning more about the person you’re with.  What do they care about?  What are their needs?  How might the two of you be good for one another?

Marketing has changed (about the 500th time I’ve written that in 1,500 posts) and our thinking about it needs to change too.  We won’t build trust – and generate sales – if we’re doing the same old thing.  Maybe we need to start taking our customers out on mental dates?  Thoughts?

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