Monthly Archives: advertising

2020 media strategy sprawled across the image with a cactus standing tall in front.

What is our Media Plan for 2020?

Well, we’re getting ready to say goodbye to 2019 and hello to 2020 here at ON Advertising! While we’re sure you’ve also seen the articles popping up on your timeline describing the top trends for the new year, or what you should look out for when it comes to media planning, we’re here to tell you what’s really what. We keep our finger on the pulse of the latest trends in marketing, branding, and strategy; because we believe a strong media strategy gets results.

We’ve compiled a quick lineup of some of 2020’s hottest predicted trends and how we plan to take them to the next level in the new decade.

Video Marketing

Perhaps one of the most talked about, important aspects of marketing as of late is video marketing. While videos and even GIFs aren’t new to the digital marketing world, incorporating them into your media plan is an absolute must if you want to continue to be viable.

According to Social Media Today, video content can drive a greater response than any other social content type, if it’s done well. In an infographic of video marketing statistics, they revealed that on Instagram specifically, video generates more engagement than any other content type and 65% of impressions from an ad come from videos. On Pinterest, users are 2.6 times more likely to share a video than any other post type. Tweets with video see 10 times more engagement than those without, and promoted tweets with videos can save you on costs up to 50%. Not only that, but on Twitter 82% of users mainly watch video content when using the app. As for LinkedIn, video campaigns have 82% view rates.

Essentially, video rules all when showing social results, and harnessing the power can change the game for your strategy. So, how do we plan to utilize our video services to slay in 2020? By knowing exactly what you need and delivering even beyond your expectations. Our video media professionals are experts at defining the most appropriate video content solution for your needs. By identifying the right type, style, tone, script, and art direction, we can effectively tell a compelling story. Analyzing the needs of your target buyers helps us determine the best way to distribute and showcase your story. These tactics help ensure that the right type of video content is being seen by the right people, and that we’re making the right impact on your bottom line.

Social Media Stories

If you’ve followed us for some time, then you may remember our excitement for ephemeral content for 2019. Again, ephemeral content is any photos and videos that aren’t permanent on your platforms. Typically they disappear within 24 hours, so it’s important to make them eye-catching and memorable for their short lifespan. These stories make it possible to post more, without oversaturating and bogging down your page. We view these as another channel within your channel, and employing them is vital.

In an article by Medium, they explained that Instagram Stories’ see 400 million daily users. That’s a huge number for something that doesn’t remain on your page indefinitely. Although Instagram’s ‘Story’ feature is probably the most famous when it comes to ephemeral content, it certainly wasn’t the first platform to come up with the idea. In fact, Snapchat was the first platform to introduce them in October of 2013 and launch the trend. Since then, we’ve seen a huge influx of other companies coming up with their own versions, such as Facebook Stories. We’re expecting to see even more implement the feature in 2020 and the near future.

As 2020 approaches, ON plans to continually incorporate stories into our social media strategy. With the employment of even longer video mediums, like IGTV, there’s endless potential when it comes to the power of video.

Influencer Marketing

While influencers in marketing is also not a new concept, we’ve seen a massive shift in the impact and influence they actually carry. From beauty bloggers to foodies, influencers from all walks of life are in our feeds, and they hold more power than you’d think.

In an article by BigCommerce, they predicted that 65% of influencer budgets by marketers were going to increase. They also explained that 17% of companies spend over half of their marketing budget on influencers and 89% of all marketers found that ROI due to influencer marketing was comparable or even better than other marketing channels. Sounds like some crazy statistics, right? It might not be as out of the box as you think.

As for ON Advertising, the biggest tactic we used with influencer marketing in 2019 was realizing and harnessing the power and impact influencers and micro-influencers have on social media, especially on Instagram. At the beginning of 2019, we examined our clients and we narrowed down who had a niche product or brand. We then figured out what the best tactic to get the word out about the product was. Unsurprisingly, influencers were the answer. With these tactics, we’ve been able to grow this client’s followers past 15k. We’ve also seen increased impressions, boosted engagement within the 6 digits, and have reported a huge growth of ROI.

Creating partnerships with these influencers and micro-influencers proved to be the most important thing we’ve learned. They trust the brand and the product, and love promoting it. In turn, we share all of their content and find new ways to support them. Building these partnerships through heavy community management and being available to answer various questions took the partnerships even further. It took time but, in the end, our client is flourishing. The influencers and micro-influencers are reporting that their social media has grown with the established partnerships.

As we look to the 2020 and begin planning our social media strategy for our clients, our top priority is finding and establishing new techniques to manage our influencers. Not to mention utilizing tools that can help us find more influencers that we can form partnerships with.

How ON Advertising Can Help in 2020

At ON Advertising, we believe that big ideas build more business. When our decades of experience in full-service advertising, marketing, video production, public relations, website production, media buying, and more pair with new innovations and strategies, who knows what we can create for you. Contact us today.

Man with his credit card in hand is getting ready to purchase items off eBay.

The Pros and Cons of Holiday Marketing

Ho, ho, ho, the holiday season is upon us! It’s once again the time of year where our email inbox is flooded with specials, text message deals come flying in, and all over ads are making use of the festive season to target you. While sales tend to skyrocket during this time of year, the marketing efforts that go behind them can be “snow” joke. Whether you have a large budget or are relying on small marketing efforts, holiday marketing can be the thing that helps you “sleigh” the competition. Here at ON Advertising, we’ve compiled a few of the pros and cons of holiday marketing to keep in mind.

Cost of Christmastime Marketing

According to an article by WordStream, bid prices can increase by 140% over their yearly average during the holidays. Con? This means that your marketing budget has to match your efforts. Pro? Your ROI could increase as well. In a piece by emarketer, they revealed that in 2018, holiday retail sales finally crossed the $1 trillion mark, making it more crucial than ever to secure your spot in a saturated sales snowstorm. An article by Vivial using a report by Ignite showed that companies spent almost $27 billion on social media marketing in 2018 alone and allocated 25% of their annual budgets to social media marketing over the holidays. Essentially, sticking with the same budget is no longer viable and it may be time to up yours. CNBC states that holiday spending is expected to rise 5% this year, so it can be extremely beneficial to revisit your numbers and budget from the previous year to find your baseline. Make sure your budget is substantial, your strategy is flushed out, and that you know your goals. You’ll be feelin’ “pine”.

Digital vs. In-Store Shopping

Do you like to do your holiday shopping online, or do you prefer to head to the store to snag your deals? If you like to purchase on the web, you aren’t alone. CNBC also states that according to Tim Cadogan, chairman, and chief executive officer for OpenX, 53% of all holiday shopping is expected to be done digitally. A press release from Adobe Analytics showed that during Cyber Monday, direct website traffic ranked highest for driving revenue at 25.3 percent share of sales (down 1.2 percent YoY), followed by paid search at 25.1 percent (up 7.4 percent YoY), natural search at 18.8 percent (down 2.8 percent), and email at 24.2 percent (up 0.5 percent). They noted that social media had a 1.1 percent share, impacting online sales very minimally. WordStream’s findings also revealed that 8 in 10-holiday shoppers are influenced by the internet before making a purchase. Con? You may not see the largest crowds in your brick and mortar store. Pro? If your holiday marketing efforts are eye-catching and a substantial enough deal, you’ll have your “elf” a merry little Christmas when it comes to sales.

Coupons and Deals

It’s no secret that most people are happy to find a deal or a discount when shopping, including us! In a 2019 report, emarketer showed that internet users “always” or “very often” use coupons when shopping online. Con? You may need to include some stellar deals in your marketplace to lock in the sale. Pro? As reported by Google, one of the most influential factors in buying decisions was sales, discounts, or promos. That’s directly in line with WordStream’s finding that one-third of shoppers reporting that their holiday weekend purchases were driven by promotions. So while Santa doesn’t need discounts to come out on top this season, you do!

ON Advertising hopes that you have a profitable, successful, and strategic holiday marketing season! If you want help with harnessing consumer spending habits and setting your brand up for success both during the holidays and all year long, contact us.

A woman scrolls through the Instagram app on her phone

How Instagram’s Elimination of Likes & Following Tab May Change SMM

Did you notice anything different when you recently opened up Instagram? You’re not the only one. The platform has finally decided to do away with its Following tab, a feature that has caused quite the controversy among users for its expository nature. The newly deleted tab had once allowed users to see what their friends were liking, commenting on, and who they were following in real-time.

Instagram likes are also currently the subject of a deletion rumor, and if the plan is carried out, it would mean the removal of the most popular, sought after feature of Instagram as a whole.

Why are these changes a big deal? Because it means your behavior and activities on Instagram are once again private. What does this mean for social media marketing? We’ll explain everything you need to know.

How Marketing Companies Made Use of the Following Tab

Though the feature was mostly frequented by typical Instagram users to spy on their friends, coworkers, exes, and significant others (and sometimes even their enemies), it didn’t go unutilized in the social media marketing world. In fact, according to Harper’s Bazaar, the original intention of the Following tab was to allow users to find new accounts and interests through who their connections were interacting with. This, in turn, made it much simpler for companies to actively gain information on targeting specific audiences, find competitors, and keep up-to-date with what content of their own was working well. Essentially, the feature was an extra layer of analysis and insight that businesses can no longer use as a reference.

What Now?

If you’re a company that made particular use of the Following tab as a way to collect data, you may be wondering what tool you can now use to retrieve the same kinds of information regarding users’ patterns. That’s where the Explore page will come in handy. It may not display activity as granularly as the eliminated tab, but the Explore page will help supplement information about what is trending, popular pages, and just a general idea of what’s being liked by the people you are following. Keeping close tabs on this page, along with Instagram’s general insights, will give you an edge when it comes to content targeting and following customer behavior.

What Life Might Look Like Without Likes

According to Instagram, the idea behind getting rid of likes is to remove pressure from users to receive likes, to alleviate the need for validation, and to make an effort to help with self-esteem and mental health. While the withdrawal of the Following tab has already occurred, this change has not yet hit the entire app as quickly. Instagram tested the idea in markets like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, and several other countries, leaving users in the United States to watch its trial run from afar. Although the move may not affect the average everyday user’s experience with the social media platform, influencers, brands, and companies may be greatly impacted. With likes comes revenue, and now active users looking to grow will only have their follower numbers to increase and rely on.

How ON Advertising Can Help

With massive Instagram changes being implemented and the possibility of even greater alterations on the horizon, the way analytics and user data is gathered may be experiencing a huge shift in the coming months and years. Need some assistance making sense of it all? ON Advertising can help with that. Our agency offers Digital Strategy Services to ensure that your marketing efforts are aligned with your goals because a formal strategy puts you steps ahead of your competition. Contact us to see how we can help your business navigate these changes and continue to grow.

John Hernandez standing for a portrait in front of a city street

Our Partner John Hernadez is Featured in Voyage Phoenix!

One of our Partners, John Hernandez, was interviewed and featured in a story on Voyage Phoenix! John talks about his career starting in television before joining Ron as a partner. He also discusses the history of ON Advertising and how we have grown into what we are today.

Click here to read the full article!

A woman looks at her phone thinking of what she is going to look for. Tag reads find help Phoenix.

Looking for help? You found it!

As mentioned in some of our previous blog posts, we have helped with the Maricopa County of Public Health before to build awareness on different health issues and the general well-being of the community. This season we were tasked to create a bilingual campaign to advertise the resources on FindHelpPhx.org. Why? Because there was an alarming 69% of parents who said if they knew how to locate more family resource services, they would use them.

FindHelpPhx.org was created by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) to provide residents an easy way to find social and health services. The user-friendly platform offers 1,500 resources including free and low-cost screenings, doctors, disability services, and more. Each of these services is vetted by the county and available for Maricopa residents who want to increase their quality of life. In fact, the website offers bilingual assistance in English and Spanish for those who need language assistance.

The Advertising Campaign

We were entrusted to come up with a plan of action to effectively advertise to Maricopa County families in need of guidance. We started this process by researching their exact target audience. Who are they? Where do they live? How old are they? After we dove deeper into who their exact consumer was, we evaluated where they would most likely be exposed to an ad. We determined Facebook and YouTube would be the best digital platforms, and rotating billboards on Arizona freeways would be a great traditional channel.

After we decided who their target audience was and how we were going to reach them, we brought the information to the creative team. From there, the creative team wrote a story and a narrative that would resonate with the audience to grab their attention. See the creative content below.

Maricopa County Department of Public Health / “Find Help Phoenix” (Spanish) from ON Advertising on Vimeo.

Maricopa County Department of Public Health / “Find Help Phoenix” from ON Advertising on Vimeo.

The Results

We are pleased with the performance and results that the ads have produced so far. The entire campaign launched Monday, September 16th, 2019, and will run through November 27, 2019. There have been 223,000 impressions for the Facebook campaign, with nearly 1,000 link clicks. YouTube has garnered 463,700 impressions that have generated 850 clicks to the website. For the billboards, there are 10 locations rotating weekly around Phoenix for 8 weeks, with an estimated 5 million impressions.

Here at ON Advertising, we always love working with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health because they are trying to improve the lives of their residents. However, if you or your business is interested in spreading an important message through effective advertising campaigns, contact us today.

A neon sign that reads "data has a better idea" is in front of a background of large buildings.

The Benefits of AI in Advertising

What Is AI in Advertising?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. AI for advertising is an umbrella term that describes technologies like machine learning, computer vision, process automation, and dozens of others. AI has positive impacts on the advertising industry as it can analyze large sets of data more efficiently than humans. The most advanced AI learns from this data and improves its analysis, recommendations, and predictions over time. AI technology predicts how ad copy and creative will work best in an advertising campaign while using insights from consumer interaction to optimize and enhanced performance.

AI is being utilized far and wide in the advertising and marketing industries. Many tasks being handled by AI, and other machine learning, is making user experiences possible that were not achievable only a few years ago. AI is doing far more than just housekeeping, it is doing the heavy lifting to enable personalization and meet the rising demands of consumers. Keith Eadie, Vice President and General Manager of Adobe Advertising Cloud notes that features within the advertising platform can optimize search, display, and video ads, and that AI is even making adaptive ad buys based on human-set goals. In short, he says “Automation and AI are amplifying what is possible for humans to do.”

For some time, social media has been immune to AI, much of it happens in real-time and allows for real-time optimization. Working within social media you have to nail the right tone, tenor, and timing, which is something AI hasn’t been able to do. It’s machine learning, you have to teach AI what you want it to know, it can’t just “pick up” a new skill or tone of voice as humans can. But with a new dawn of technology comes new dawn of social media. The data we can now receive from AI goes beyond when our audience is online and what they’re interested in, AI can help us boost our conversion rate by drastically increasing relevance and resonance of copy and imagery. And many tools are helping social media marketers craft ads and copy based on their audience’s historical emotional engagement. How? AI.

How is AI Changing?

The marketing and advertising industries are at the center of a seismic change in the way people engage in the world around them. The AI-powered conversational intelligence and voice-enabled platforms, like Siri and Alexa, are significantly changing our idea of what digital marketing can do. Now that there are personalized ads tailored to consumers, a general message doesn’t cut it anymore.

What Does This Mean for the World of Advertising?

AI already has advanced data collection capabilities, however, with growing technology, there is always room for improvement. Within the next few years, the amount of data expected to be analyzed will double. This will allow for an increase in the number of predictions and recommendations AI will use to create better content for the consumer. With less time being spent on analyzing data, it creates more time to connect with the consumer through creative development.

How Can We Help?

Marketers are highly valuing the world of AI and are already planning to use it to better target their audience this upcoming year. ON Advertising is well-versed in using different strategies to assist and enhance your advertising experience. By using AI techniques, such as customer segmentation and content generation, we are able to personalize content to better appeal to the consumer. All social media platforms and Google offer customization to select an audience for us to target with our ads, which is done through artificial intelligence. We are able to select our audience based upon age, gender, location, behaviors, interests, language spoken and more. This allows us to run ads for many clients at one time and target different audiences based upon what we determine needs to be selected for the client. We use the audience selection to ensure that our message and ads reach the appropriate individuals without spending unnecessary money. For more information on how we can help you reach your AI marketing goals, contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help market your business using AI technology.

A Person holds her phone towards the camera to show ON Advertising's website on a mobile device

Why Marketers are Moving Towards a Mobile-First Strategy

Mobile devices are responsible for major changes in how consumers buy, research and ultimately view a product being advertised across a wide range of industries. We are in the middle of a specific digital transformation, which is an exponential growth of consumer activity on mobile devices and an extreme increase in mobile advertising. Life seemingly revolves around smartphones, which is why mobile-friendly websites have become so important.

Mobile devices have become the preferred method of accessing digital media. ComScore found mobile devices account for more than 60% of all digital minutes. To put it in perspective, the time spent on desktops has decreased by 20% in the past year alone. The reality is that mobile advertising must be a priority for a company to avoid stagnation or even failure.

Every day, businesses are encouraged to focus on a mobile-first strategy to stay successful within their industry and here’s why.

Thank Mobile Devices for Half of the Paid Search Clicks

Mobile has become a key role in the consumer’s journey specifically when researching and creating brand awareness. Mobile devices have become a leader in the number of paid search clicks. Acquisio found that year-over-year, paid search clicks have increased by 45% on mobile phones. This means that desktop clicks have decreased by 16% and in contrast, nearly half (48%) of clicks are now happening on mobile devices.

Befriend Social Media

Companies who fail to utilize and maximize their social presence on Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms are subjecting themselves to a very small advertising box. When you compare the total U.S. ad spend in 2014 to 2018, the shift is very clear. An MDG study found that “brands are devoting 33 percent of ad spend to digital platforms—up from 25 percent in 2014 while television’s ad spend is decreasing this year.” Because mobile advertising is becoming the most popular and effective type of advertising, it takes engagement, shared content, and an appropriate strategy to be successful as a mobile ad platform.

Videos are the New Billboards

Video ads are the fastest-growing mobile category. Platforms like YouTube and Facebook are visible on mobile apps, emails, social sites and more. Mobile marketers can promote their ads on a pre-roll to capture the short attention span of the audience. This allows the user to watch the advertisement without making them feel pressured to purchase a product. Video advertising combines sound and motion to create connections between the buyer and the brand by evoking emotions. When it comes to social platforms, YouTube is on top. Forbes conducted a study and found that “73 percent of adults spend their screen time on the video-sharing site. Social networking giant Facebook ranks second, with 68 percent of consumers spending time on the platform.”Mobile users are viewing content more than ever, so logically they view more ads in the long run.

How can ON Advertising help?

There are many different ways to adhere to mobile-first advertising, which can be overwhelming and leave a little confused. Now is the time to work towards a mobile-first strategy. Not sure where to begin? We can help! ON has researched new and innovative ways to market, advertise and promote your business using a mobile-first strategy. Contact us to explore how mobile-first strategies can help your business grow.

Mikaela Copley goes over an assignment with Amanda at her desk in the ON Advertising office

The Ultimate Guide to Advertising to Gen Z in 2019

From Millennials to now what we call Gen Z, the personalities, attitudes, and values have shifted from generation to generation. As new generations are introduced, it is often hard to keep up with and understand them all.

Each generation has had a significant event or tragedy strike in their lifetime; defining who they are, how they live their lives and the decisions they make. Gen Z’s significant life event was the Great Recession/Housing Recession back in late 2007. Watching the rate in which their lives changed and those around them impacted them in a huge way. One way is how they handle their finances. They are careful and meticulous and never make a decision on a whim, instead they research. Looking into every purchase to ensure they will remain financially safe.

The technology era is also a huge turning point for Gen Z. With such technology, they prefer connecting via smartphones rather than face-to-face interactions. They would rather shop online than spend time at a brick and mortar. In addition, print has been undervalued as they prefer getting their news from online sources or through social media.

A bigger and more pressing question is raised, for businesses at least: “How do we advertise to Gen Z?”

1. Leverage Video Communications

As previously stated, Gen Z prefers connecting via technology; however, they never leave voicemails and prefer text to email. They also are one of the first generations to frequently use, and prefer, YouTube, Netflix, and Reddit. If you can catch their eye and appeal to them in 5-7 seconds with your 2-minute ad before their chosen video begins, then your campaign is a success.

2. Utilize Influencers

Gen Z was born into a world where social media became incredibly prominent. They value the impact of social media and celebrities influencers which help them to make a decision. Influencers spend a considerable amount of effort and time creating content that will appeal to their accounts followers. When followers are genuinely engaged, it creates a long-lasting relationship with the influencer that they are following. When this happens, it builds trust and loyalty in their minds to believe and trust the advice and recommendations from that influencer.

3. Mobile Strategy

Gen Z values their time spent on mobile devices which is why, on average, they engage in over 10 hours on online mobile content per day. By making sites mobile-optimized, they are more likely to be viewed more often. Say goodbye to desktop web browsers and emails, mobile strategy is the way to go!

4. Be Entertaining

As we know, Gen Z values are connected online. They expect authentic, entertaining interactions and experiences that provide what they need before they tell you. To win them over, marketers and advertisers must evolve from simply informing their audience to catching their eye and keeping them entertained.

5. Provide Them With Information

Gen Z values being well informed before making any big decisions. They want to know who they are doing business with before they do it. Share your company’s message with them, be precise, informative, entertaining, and transparent with what you are selling. Gen Z is different than any other generation, they do their homework!

Catering to different generations through advertising can take time to get a hang of, but as we grow to find new and innovative ways to and become proficient in how to market and advertise to Gen Z, the creative options are endless which opens an entirely new door for the advertising and marketing industry.

How can ON Advertising help?

Above are just a few of the types of ways to market and advertise to the newest generation. Finding new, creative, and innovative ways to appeal to a technologically driven audience can be difficult. At ON Advertising, we have done the research for you to bring high investment to your business. We have found new ways to market, advertise and promote your business with the help of our social media and strategy team. Check out some of our many content strategy services and ways that we can help you. If you would like to learn more about content marketing and how it can benefit you, Contact us today!

A close up shot of a Burger King Burger that is being held and in the process of being eaten

Burger King’s #FeelYourWay Campaign

Advertisers are always under pressure to stand out amongst the crowd and out-perform every other ad to get noticed. With the increasing amount of platforms and opportunities for advertising, companies have to be creative when coming up with ad campaigns to grab consumers’ attention. Lately, the trend has been to highlight social problems in advertisements to show consumers that they care about these issues and to give a sense of connection to people.

A few months ago, we talked about the Nike campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick that grabbed attention from the world. Now, we want to focus on another campaign that was released by Burger King that has piqued the interest of users.

One of the latest ads that have sparked attention in the advertising industry is Burger King’s newest campaign called #FeelYourWay. The campaign directly takes a stab at McDonald’s and their ‘Happy Meal’ to bring awareness to mental health issues and stress about life. Watch it here:

In this ad, Burger King is using values-based advertising by trying to be real and down to earth to connect with the younger generation. They wanted to showcase stressors people deal with including, mental health, bullying, sexual harassment, and student debt. The idea of this was to bring awareness that not everyone is always happy and in the mood for a McDonald’s ‘Happy Meal,’ but that people have different emotions and feelings, and that’s okay. This campaign was directly targeting Millennial and Generation Z consumers.

Studies have shown, people in the younger generations, prefer to spend their money on brands that they can emotionally connect with. This is why value-based advertising has become such a popular trend nowadays. It has been reported that 60% of millennials are more likely to buy items that speak to them and their personality. The reason Burger King, and many companies want to target the younger demographic is because of their buying power in the marketplace.

If you’re interested in spicing up your brand’s advertising to be relevant and trendy in today’s competitive world, contact us today. We research and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the advertising industry, so you don’t have to. Learn more about the services we provide here.