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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!

What Are the Best Performing Digital Ad Formats?

The good guys at MarketingProfs.com shared some data about the best performing digital ad formats. Let’s look at their information a little more closely to see what conclusion the typical marketer can draw.
First, it’s worth noting that this study was conducted by an Australian firm (Fairfax Media) on 100 Australian consumers who self identified as “visiting content sites regularly” and who were shown ads embedded in the content of a specific publisher (The Sydney Morning Herald). This brings up 3 questions of validity for applying these conclusions to ourselves:

Can the results of a study on Australian consumers be generalized globally, or at least here in the United States? On this point, my personal belief is that they probably can be. I don’t have any compelling evidence that Australians consume media very differently than other people around the world. But I could be wrong.
Can the results of people who visit content sites regularly be applied more broadly, such as to people who do not think of themselves as visiting content sites regularly? This one is a little more challenging. I certainly imagine that there are useful insights from this test groups that apply to humans generally, but I could also imagine that the ad attention habits of consumers who don’t visit content sites regularly could be very different from those who do.
Can the results of a single site be applied to placements on all sites across the internet? On this point, I am the most dubious. How consumers take in ads on one news site, might be very different from how they take in ads on a different news site with a different layout, both of which might be even more dramatically different than a mommy blog, or a comedy site, etc.

But let’s put those doubts aside for a second, and look at the results for the best performing digital ad formats. First, the study found different results for mobile and desktop ads. For mobile ads, the most viewed ad format is a medium size rectangle that breaks up the content being consumed. On desktop the most successful ad format, much to my surprise, was the “gutter” ad. A gutter ad is a skyscraper style ad that is displayed completely to the left and/or right of a site’s primary layout.
I think it’s curious that we have essentially opposite results for desktop and mobile. Mobile, you want the ad as integrated into the content as possible, and desktop you want it as separate from the content as possible.
Having seen what the results are, let’s get back to our doubts about applicability. Should you start buying only mobile ad formats that will be embedded in content, and only gutter placements for desktop. I don’t recommend this. The big reason is that YMMV. Running tests with your own ads is so cheap and easy it should be mandatory. So don’t just buy mobile ad placements that break up content, spend a few extra bucks to test other mobile ad formats, then continue running those placement types that perform well. And do likewise with desktop gutter ads. You may find that your results are different from this study, and even from your previous campaigns. Doing a little testing means that your budget will be focused on the best formats for your specific audience and creative.
So what are your best performing digital ad formats? Do your own results mirror the study, or is your experience different?