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How brands can seize the shoppable media opportunity

The convergence of commerce and storytelling is driving the creation of a new advertising opportunity: shoppable media. A new WARC Guide outlines how marketers can take advantage of the rise of shoppable ad formats.

The WARC Guide to Shoppable Media*

Media owners are investing in tools to allow brands to catalogue and promote products on their platforms, with the aim of enabling users to complete a purchase without having to leave the app or website. Shoppable content can include static images or livestream videos, often hosted by influencers, and formats are also being trialled in TV and audio.

Six takeaways

1: Online shopping is becoming a form of entertainment. Where e-commerce was previously utilitarian, users are growing accustomed to more immersive and interactive experiences.

2: Social media has offered a digital ‘store front’ during COVID-19. With consumers unable to visit physical retail outlets, social platforms have helped brands to maintain visibility.

3: Livestream video is a key driver of shoppable media growth. Following its rise in popularity in China over the last few years, media owners are introducing in-app shoppable livestream events.

4: Shoppable media requires a new approach to media planning. Social commerce campaigns must blend storytelling with the information likely to trigger an immediate conversion.

5: Influencers are vital to shoppable media success, but their role is becoming more ambiguous. The arrival of influencers’ own branded product ranges may complicate advertiser relationships.

6: Shoppable media works best in categories like fashion and beauty. These benefit from a sweet spot of high levels of buyer engagement and accessible pricing.

* Readers can sign up to a WARC Talks webinar in which contributors from Isobar Commerce advise how shoppable media can be integrated into an omnichannel strategy.

Read more in The WARC Guide to Shoppable Media

Preparing for audio’s shoppable future

Interactive audio advertising – where an ad heard on a voice-activated device prompts a voice command from the consumer – can be used to enhance brand experience, assist lead generation and generate transactions, according to a WARC Exclusive by OMD’s Flora Williams.

Audio opportunities

• Brand experience: Psychology studies show that memory encoding is processed best semantically, i.e. when actually understanding, and using voice fully taps into semantic memory processing. Voice, therefore, is a great way to drive awareness and consideration.
• Lead generation: Brands can invite consumers to test or try a product by removing cost or logistics barriers. This could involve coupons, sampling or setting reminders.
• Transactional: Advertisers can use interactive audio to create an instant way to direct a consumer towards purchasing a singular or package of products, to commit to a subscription, or to donate money.

Potential hurdle

Many brands still do not utilise sonics, prompts, music and voices within advertising, resulting in poor differentiation. Success might depend on investment in distinctive audio assets, though this may be less of an issue for advertisers with relatively high levels of brand fame.

^{[Image from Unsplash]}

Read more in the WARC Guide to Shoppable Media

Amazon India boxes clever as it expands local shops network

Amazon India says it has now tied in more than 50,000 offline retailers and small neighbourhood kirana stores into its ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ programme.

Local Shops is designed to give smaller retailers the opportunity to reach customers online with products ranging from fresh flowers and groceries to electronics and books. Meanwhile, Amazon is trying to tackle the mountain of packaging waste created as a result of its expansion in India – by asking customers to help solve the problem.

The details

• The number of stores in the Amazon programme has grown to over 50,000 from over 20,000 as recently as October last year, Amazon says.
• Stores in more than 450 cities, including metros and tier-two and tier-three cities, are taking part.
• Amazon India has also launched a campaign urging customers to #PledgeToReuse and recycle packaging boxes. Or, better still, get creative and use boxes as storage in the home or convert them into playthings. Those who share their creations on social media stand to win Amazon vouchers.

Key fact

Online commerce in India grew 36% during the last quarter of 2020, with personal care, beauty and wellness receiving the biggest boost, according to a report from management consultancy Kearney and e-commerce tech platform Unicommerce.

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Hypercasual games see quickest mobile growth

Mobile gaming is becoming increasingly casual, according to data from mobile analytics company Sensor Tower.

Why it matters

Marketers tapping into the growth in gaming consumption need to tailor their creative carefully. Casual games are attracting bigger audiences but the genre also records lower levels of consumption – this means advertisers need to expect a wider but less engaged reach. Other forms of gaming are more immersive so may be more relevant to the brand's objectives.

Takeaways

• India is one of the few markets where arcade games are more popular than hypercasual.
• Some brands may be missing out on the gaming opportunity, though – WARC's survey of over 1,000 marketers finds that 40% don't plan to advertise across gaming formats in 2021.

Sourced from Sensor Tower, WARC Data

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The news organisations pioneering WhatsApp

Facebook-owned Whatsapp is the world’s most popular messaging app, with particular strengths among the vast populations of South Asia, Latin America, and Africa, with new research demonstrating its importance to publishers around the globe.

Why it matters

In many regions, WhatsApp provides people’s primary social medium and is therefore important for content discovery. In Brazil, for instance, it ranks first for social platform use (83%) with just under half (48%) of Brazilians using it for news.

What’s going on

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, part of the University of Oxford, has explored the shift.

• Publications like Correio, a title based in the northern state of Bahia, use the app to build WhatsApp groups in which the paper’s digital team post and respond to members.
• The method brings in around a tenth of the paper’s online traffic, but editors insist it is about engagement – with subscribers now crucial to the health of publications, this relationship has potential.
  
• Group limits, designed to limit mass sharing of dodgy information or guerrilla marketing, remain challenging.
  

Key quote

“We use the open groups as a source to know what people are talking about and sharing. We don’t mind if competitors’ content is shared. If it’s just Correio, you make the group feel artificial” - Wladmir Pinheiro, Correio digital content coordinator.

Read the research

45% of influencer marketers use TikTok, ahead of Facebook

Nearly half (45%) of influencer marketers use TikTok for their campaigns, a figure that is just ahead of Facebook (43%), according to research from Influencer Marketing Hub.

Why it matters

TikTok saw rapid user growth in 2020 and marketers are increasingly using the platform as a way to engage audiences. While influencer marketing on the app has just overtaken Facebook, it still trails behind Instagram.

Both TikTok and Instagram will see growing competition this year as they mix storytelling and shopping. Influencers may present a challenge to shoppable media, though, as many are launching owned products which can complicate the relationship with brand advertisers.

Takeaways

• Instagram may have suffered from the rise of TikTok as the share of influencer marketers using the platform fell between 2020 and 2021.
• Over two-fifths (44%) of marketers plan to spend more on TikTok in 2021, making it the fourth most in-demand platform and ahead of Facebook.

Sourced from Influencer Marketing Hub, WARC Data

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Chinese women reflect growing consumer confidence

Tmall, the business to consumer platform owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has released a report on the beauty market and female consumer trends in China.

Released ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8th, Dao Insights says the study highlights how women have promoted a new wave of consumption.

Key findings

• Women are becoming increasingly self-confident, not just aesthetically but as consumers, and this is reflected in their purchasing choices.
• Female entrepreneurs accounted for 40% of Tmall’s new brands, and more than 50% of apparel brands on Tmall.
• 80% of Tmall’s top new brands in 2020 were focused on female consumer’s needs.
• The number of women buying boxing gloves on Tmall doubled in 2020.
• More than 70% of those who bought Air Jordans were women.
• More than 80% of those who bought suits were women.

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Tokyo Summer Olympics may exclude foreign fans

There is speculation that overseas sports fans may not be allowed to attend the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year, amid widespread Japanese concerns about the safety of the event due to COVID-19.

As reported by the Guardian, Seiko Hashimoto, the new president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee, confirmed that the potential involvement of spectators formed a key part of talks last week with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.

Andrew Parsons, the International Paralympic Committee president, also attended the meeting along with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and the Japanese Olympic minister, Tamayo Marukawa.

Key coverage

• “If the situation is tough and it would make the [Japanese] consumers concerned, that is a situation we need to avoid from happening,” Hashimoto is reported to have said.
• “We will focus on the essentials,” added IOC president Thomas Bach at last week’s virtual meeting.
• Their comments coincided with a report in Japanese newspaper Mainichi, which suggested Olympic officials have already made up their minds even though a final announcement is not expected until later this month.
• The Mainichi report quoted a government source saying: “In the current situation it is impossible to bring in foreign spectators.”
• Clearly, a Summer Games that does not include foreign spectators would have implications for broadcasters, sponsors and advertisers.

Key quote

“We need to look at the overall situation before we decide on any percentage rates. We believe we will not be accepted unless the citizens feel confident that sufficient countermeasures are taken” – Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee.

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Amazon seeks exclusive $1bn NFL streaming deal

Amazon, the retail and media giant, is reportedly in talks with the National Football League (NFL) about securing an entire season of exclusive games that would be streamed on the Amazon Prime video platform.

First reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited ‘people familiar with the matter’, Amazon could pay up to $1 billion to win the right to broadcast a significant number of Thursday night games – and those games may not become available on traditional television outside of the local markets of the two participating teams.

The details

• If a deal is reached, which could happen as early as this week, it would mark the NFL’s most significant foray into streaming to date, according to the Journal’s sources.
• Any such deal would not commence until after the 2022 season, when Fox’s current rights to Thursday night football expires, and it might also have to include the NFL Network.
• Amazon could pay up to $1 billion to secure Thursday night games, as long as there is no other video component beyond the local TV markets of the two participating teams. The package would be worth significantly more than the $660 million a season that Fox currently pays.
• However, the NFL may conclude that maintaining NFL Network’s value is a higher strategic priority than handing over the rights to Thursday night games to Amazon.
• According to CNBC, the league is still considering proposals to simulcast Amazon’s Thursday games on the NFL Network or to split Thursday’s games between Amazon and the NFL Network.
• That’s because the NFL is trying to strike a balance between embracing new platforms and the revenue they generate, while keeping most of its games on traditional television.

Key quote

“This is a pretty watershed event for the TV industry. The fact that now you can get Thursday night games without having any local television – no antenna will work if you’re outside of the home markets” – Rich Greenfield, partner and media analyst at LightShed Partners.

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Disney’s online ad revenue jumped 47% in the last quarter

Advertising revenue at Walt Disney’s online channels, such as Hulu and ESPN+, are on course to surpass its ABC broadcast network, according to a company filing.

Seen by Bloomberg, Disney reported that ad sales at its direct-to-consumer businesses rose 47% to $882m in the last quarter, compared with 5% growth to $984m at ABC.

Key insights

Walt Disney is benefitting from surging demand for streamed TV. At the same time, the company has consolidated its ad-sales team to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for advertisers across its various networks and platforms.

It means that marketers, using technology pioneered at Hulu, can buy ads themselves and make use of Disney’s viewership data.

The company estimates that, within five years, as much as half of Disney’s online and traditional advertising inventory could be purchased this way.

Hulu now has more than 39 million subscribers and research firm eMarketer expects the service to generate around $3bn in ad sales this year, up 31% from 2020.

Key quote

“Disney, inclusive of Hulu, has proven to be a strong, strategic partner that understands our business, our consumers and how to engage them with compelling content” – Rebecca Traverzo, VP of marketing at ThirdLove, a lingerie firm which worked with Hulu on a campaign last year.

Sourced from Bloomberg

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Will FLoC excise tracking from the web?

With the news that Google is to move away from individual-level identifiers for advertising in a post-cookie world, questions of what will replace them are bubbling over.

Why it matters

Ultimately, the cookie was one of the aspects of the internet (and, by extension, digital advertising) that gave it a bad name. But at least they were everyone’s problem/opportunity – what comes next could lead to a vast concentration of power.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation take

The EFF, a major non-profit that focuses on civil liberties in the digital world, eyes Google’s proposed changes with scepticism.

“The goal of FLoC and other proposals is to avoid letting trackers access specific pieces of information that they can tie to specific people,” writes technologist Bennett Cyphers in a new piece. But “FLoC may actually help trackers in many contexts”.

Its argument is that the replacement, FLoCs – which uses machine learning to form groups large clusters of people with similar browsing habits and serves ads to all of them – is simply a modern, even more centralised version of tracking.

It identifies two continued privacy problems with FLoCs:

• Fingerprinting (gathering lots of different data from a browser to create a unique, stable identifier) which is given a large head-start by the FLoC.
• “Any company able to identify a user in other ways – say, by offering “log in with Google” services to sites around the Internet – will be able to tie the information it learns from FLoC to the user’s profile.”
  

Meanwhile, as Campaign Asia pointed out, the announcement that Google wouldn’t be taking part in identifiers had a strong knock-on effect on other industry efforts to move beyond cookies, drawing accusations that the move was an attempt to undermine confidence in other initiatives.

Sourced from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Campaign Asia, WARC

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Three-quarters of sellers use Amazon pay-per-click advertising

Advertising on Amazon is becoming a requirement for e-commerce success and research from seller platform Jungle Scout shows that three-quarters (75%) of Amazon sellers use the platform's pay-per-click (PPC) advertising tools.

Why it matters

Audiences often start their shopping journey on Amazon so brands are increasingly relying on advertising in order to capture consumer attention. The Sponsored Products format proves most popular, being used by two-thirds (66%) of sellers.

This powered Amazon's advertising revenue to over $20bn last year, doubling its share of the online ad market.

Takeaways

• The majority of conversions from the Sponsored Brands format comes on the first search results page, meaning advertisers often pay more for this placement.
• Rising advertising costs are a concern, though, according to three-fifths (62%) of sellers.

Sourced from Jungle Scout, WARC Data

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Twitch finally reveals safeguarding measures, allaying brand fears

Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform, has, for the first time, published  a report detailing its efforts to protect the millions of people who visit the platform each day.

Context

The platform, which mainly focuses on video game live streaming, has seen explosive growth – a 40% rise in channels in 2020, and it speaks to a valuable audience for brands. But it has also attracted criticism over efforts to stamp out hateful conduct, sexual harassment, and predators. A 2019 study found almost half of Twitch users surveyed had faced some kind of harassment.

The details

• The company’s Transparency Report says its AI-powered AutoMod tool, which blocks inappropriate content, or moderators, looked at more than 95% of platform content during the second half of 2020.
• Manual deletion of messages by creators and moderators was up 98% relative to the first half of the year, which the company attributes to the 40% increase in channels between the two halves of the year.
• Total enforcements were up 41% during the year, dealing with a wide range of categories including hateful conduct, sexual harassment, violence and gore, nudity, and even terrorist propaganda, which Twitch says is very rare.

The challenge

“Because content is viewed as it is created, live-streaming provides a particularly challenging environment for machine detection to keep up. Nevertheless, we have found ways to use machine detection to bolster proactive moderation on Twitch, and we will continue to invest in these technologies to improve them” – Twitch Transparency Report 2020.

Sourced from Twitch

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Daily Mail owner snaps up New Scientist, seeking sustainable revenues

The owner of the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper has bought New Scientist, one of the world’s most prestigious science and tech magazines, for £70m as it looks for sustainable growth through events and subscriptions.

The move by Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) comes as it continues to restructure its business, which is a mix of news titles, events and data businesses. As with other publishers, DMGT’s advertising revenue has been hit hard during the pandemic, with pre-tax profits down by more than a third. 

The context

• London-based New Scientist relies heavily on subscriptions rather than advertising – around 75% of its revenue is derived from subs. It has a weekly circulation of around 120,000.
• The title is forecast to generate profits of around £7m this year on sales of over £20m.
• Around 50% of readers are in the UK, with most of the rest in Australia and the US.

Key takeway

DMGT sees growth in New Scientist’s online offering as well as its events business, which includes the highly successful annual New Scientist Live festival that attracts tens of thousands of science fans.

Sourced from the Financial Times

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