The Feed

Meaningful messaging and custom emojis for Chinese New Year

The Year of the Tiger is imminent and the usual flood of tiger-themed products and messaging are vying for consumers’ attention and cash, but what makes some more successful than others?

Why it matters

A few years ago, simply incorporating a tiger into a product design or campaign might have worked for brands. These days, such imagery is necessary but not sufficient: brands need to work harder at linking the tiger to consumers’ emotions and interests.

Give me some examples

• Utility: Social platform Twitter today releases a custom emoji with hashtags in multiple languages for use by the millions of people tweeting about Lunar New Year. 
• Sustainability: Luxury brands Prada and Clarins are working with China Green Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) respectively to protect Siberian tigers in the northeast of China. (Gucci, in contrast, has come in for criticism for its use of real tigers as props in its campaign.)
• Gamification: Apparel brand Bananain offers consumers the chance to win a branded red packet, symbolising good luck and prosperity in the coming year, to give online.

Sourced from Chatlabs, Marketing Interactive, RADII [Image: GEORGE DESIPRIS from Pexels]

Aussies hit a tipping point on streaming TV

In 2021, Australian adults were more likely to watch content on subscription streaming platforms than on linear free-to-air television.

Behind the headline 

That’s according to the 2021 Media Content Consumption Survey, conducted by the Social Research Centre, which found that: 

• 62% of Australian adults watched an online subscription service in 2021 (56% watched free video-streaming services), up from 60% in 2020 .
• 58% watched commercial free-to-air television (50% watched publicly owned free-to-air television), down from 61% in 2020.
• 79% of Australian adults had access to at least one video-streaming subscription service in their household in 2021, compared to 77% in 2020.
• 67% had a Netflix subscription in their household, compared to 27% for Disney+, 26% for Stan, 22% for Amazon Prime.
• But free-to-air television remains the most popular source for viewing news (59%) and sports (67%).
• Around a third (36%) of respondents reported watching online subscription services more than six hours per week on average. 
• Over a quarter (28%) watched commercial free-to-air TV more than six hours per week on average.

What’s the attraction?

• Being able to watch what they want when they want is the biggest draw (89%) for viewers of subscription services, while the absence of ads (76%) is also an important factor. 

Sourced from Australian Government [Image Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash]

Secondhand luxury growing 5x quicker than new sales

The secondhand luxury market grew more than five times quicker than new sales in 2021, according to data from consultancy Bain & Company.

Why it matters

This comes as luxury brands have to rethink their strategy post-pandemic with a focus on emerging trends that are important to consumers, like sustainability. The secondhand market, which is often more environmentally friendly, now accounts for 12% of all luxury goods sales.

Takeaways

• Between 2017 and 2021, sales in the secondhand luxury goods market rose by 65% to equal €33bn.
• Over the same period, sales of new luxury goods rose by just 12%.

Sourced from Bain & Company, WARC Data

WFA urges consideration of DEI opportunities in media choices

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has launched a guide to tackling diversity and representation issues in the media planning and buying process; WFA Diversity Ambassador Jerry Daykin says the issue goes far beyond the creative or HR teams.

Why it matters

“Making the right decisions can both ensure brands create more effective campaigns and, critically, play their part in funding a richer and more diverse media ecosystem,” says Daykin. 

“There is a delicate balance between ensuring we block hate speech but increase the funding of positive representative voices,” he adds, “and whilst the solutions can get technical, they all start with advertisers asking some simple questions in their brief.”

What the guide offers

Diversity & Representation: Focus on Media Planning and Buying highlights four key areas where bias can occur and proposes questions and approaches that can be used to ensure progress: 

1. Inclusive audience planning: ensuring audiences are diverse and inclusive at the planning stage;
2. Supporting diverse voices: making deliberate decisions on media spend and building partnerships with unique media owners;
3. Balancing brand safety with diversity: consciously managing brand suitability and safety alongside inclusion; and
4. Measuring success: measuring all audiences fairly and investing in research.

Key quote 

“It is our responsibility to not only create content that is reflective of today’s society, but for it to appear in media that is diverse and inclusive too” – Isabel Massey, Diageo global media director and WFA Media Forum co-chair.

Sourced from WFA [Image: fauxels from Pexels]

Axel Springer, other major publishers, demand action on Google post cookie plans

Imperfect as they are, third-party cookies aren’t owned and controlled by any one corporation; major German publishers including the Berlin-headquartered Axel Springer – owner of Bild, Business Insider, and Politico among others – are now demanding that the European Union step in, arguing that Google’s third-party cookie replacement will damage their businesses.

The complaint

Hundreds of publishers from Germany have written to the EU’s competition commissioner, Margarethe Vestager, to argue that by ending third-party cookies, Google is breaking antitrust law, a complaint seen by the FT reveals.

Should a probe find the company guilty it could be liable for up to 10% of global revenues in fines.

Insight

At the business end of the online privacy debate is the question of how to keep people’s data on the internet private without tanking the businesses of the publishers that rely on cookie data to understand user preferences.

Early last year, Google started to talk about its FLoCs technique, which we covered here, which could replace individual-level targeting in what it argued was a privacy-safe way.

However, it is Google’s decision to demise the third-party cookie on its dominant Chrome browser that is the issue here, as any Google-led replacement would only strengthen its colossally influential position in the market. While rival browsers like Safari began blocking cookies in 2020, Chrome’s between 63% and 69% global market share would have a much bigger effect.

Because it is both consequential and controversial, Google has delayed its decision following regulatory scrutiny and similar outcry from publishers around the world. It is just one in a series of increasingly frequent complaints against it. 

While there are some alternatives in the works and different existing techniques to consider, publishers resent having to march to the beat of Google’s drum.

Key quotes

“Publishers must remain in a position where they are allowed to ask their users for consent to process data, without Google capturing this decision. Google must respect the relationship between publishers and users without interfering,” the complaint says.

Google’s response

“Many other platforms and browsers have already stopped supporting third-party cookies but Google is the only one to do this openly and in consultation with technical standards bodies, regulators, and the industry, while proposing new, alternate technologies”, Google told the FT in a statement. 

Go deeper

Find out more about the Future of Identity in WARC’s in-depth guide to the state of play in the identity space.

Sourced from the Financial Times, WARC. Image: Pexels

Ads that offend India: Six major triggers

With hundreds of complaints each year against advertisements that the Indian public finds offensive, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has compiled the “What India Takes Offence To” report, which uncovers six major triggers.

Why it matters

Insights into what people find objectionable in advertising can help brands to plan campaigns better and be more cognisant of consumer sentiment, thus resulting in more sensitised creative development.

Key insights

• Socially undesirable depictions for commercial gains, e.g. ads that promote stereotypes such as fair skin, certain body shapes or create pressure on parents/kids in the field of education.
• Inappropriate for children, e.g. ads mostly viewed at prime time that seemingly provoked children’s interest in “adult life”, particularly in the areas of sexuality and physical intimacy.
• Ads where people seemingly crossed cultural boundaries, e.g. going beyond boundaries set by society or making fun of what is considered sacred in a culture.
• Advertising that mocks men, e.g. ads where men were depicted in a negative or poor light – even in humorous or introspective ways – were considered offensive by some.
• Hurting religious sentiments, e.g. ads portraying mixed religious narratives, depictions of new interpretations of traditions or the use of religious and cultural motifs in a humorous manner.
• Depicting unpleasant realities, e.g. in an in-your-face manner that showcases death, raw meat or blood that tended to trigger the complaints.

Key quote

“At ASCI, we believe our role is not just to police the narrative but to also constantly add value to the industry by guiding our members towards more responsible advertising. These kinds of reports, along with initiatives like our ‘Advertising Advice’ service, will help the industry a lot in that direction.” – Subhash Kamath, chairman, ASCI.

Background

The report on “What India Takes Offence To” is based on 1,759 complaints against 488 advertisements over the past three years.

The greening of China

China is seeking to radically change its economy, calling for more green and low-carbon products and the promotion of “green consumption”.

What’s happening? 

The new policy, published jointly by seven government agencies, sets out requirements across a range of sectors, including food, clothing, housing, transport, tourism and electricity. Greater public awareness and the curbing of extravagance and waste are key aspects.

What does it mean for brands?

• Packaging materials are in the spotlight – food delivery, for example, now generates 150 million pieces of plastic waste daily. 
• Recycling will become increasingly important, whether of clothing materials or building materials. 
• A focus on infrastructure for NEVs (new energy vehicles) will help accelerate the demise of fossil-fuel powered cars. 
• Retailers, both physical and digital, are encouraged to promote low-carbon products via specific sales areas.

Key quote

“It’s impossible to suppress consumption for the sake of curbing carbon emissions, so encouraging low-carbon and green consumption to conserve energy and curb waste is key” – Lin Boqiang, dean of Xiamen University’s China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, speaking to the South China Morning Post.

Sourced from South China Morning Post [Image: Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash]

Digital advertisers not trusted on data protection

Less than a quarter of consumers trust digital advertisers and social media platforms when it comes to protecting their data, according to a study by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), the trade body.

Why it matters

Data is central to modern marketing, and the demise of online tracking cookies means that brands will have to build a new type of value exchange around this information. Trust deficits pose a challenge to that endeavour, and hint at wider questions regarding consumer perceptions in the industry.

Usage does not equate to trust

The ARF’s fourth annual Privacy Study was based on a survey of over 1,200 US consumers, and found:

• Only 18% of participants trusted digital advertisers where data protection was concerned, a total standing at 23% for social media platforms.
• Less than half of respondents trust any organisation to let them control and correct how data is used, to delete this information, or utilise it for their own benefit.
• Forty-nine percent of consumers trust social media properties they use frequently, suggesting that consistent return visits do not automatically equate with positive attitudes.
• The willingness to share information typically rises for the promise of targeted ads — a figure that rose from 14% to 27% when discussing Social Security numbers, for example.

Consumers not “optimising for privacy”

• Consumers are not “optimising for privacy”, with the number of people who regularly change privacy settings, update ad blockers, and so on, coming in at between 15% and 25%.
• Around one-third of individuals will “sometimes take these sorts of measures to protect their privacy”, the ARF found.
• While consumers typically understand terms like “personalised” and “platforms” in privacy policies, many are not familiar with language like “PII” and “cookie”.

Sourced from ARF

Record number of hours spent on mobile in 2021: Report

Mobile continues to dominate as consumers spent a record total of 3.8 trillion hours on mobile in 2021, with 4.8 hours a day spent on mobile in the top 10 mobile markets, according to App Annie’s State of Mobile 2022 report, which lists the global trends.

Why it matters

As consumers continue to embrace a mobile lifestyle, it is seen as the go-to device of the future, with the big screen slowly being replaced by mobile as it continues to break records in categories such as time spent, downloads and revenue.

Key insights

• Consumers spent $170 billion on apps – up 19% from last year – and downloads continue growing at 5% year-on-year to 230 billion.
• Publishers released 2 million new apps and games, bringing the cumulative total to 21 million.
• Despite IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers), ad spend topped $295 billion, up 23% and seen rising to $350 billion next year.
• Mobile gaming grew to $116 billion – an increase of 15% – fuelled by preference to hyper casual.
• Apps earning more than $100 million in consumer spend grew by 20%.
• Led by TikTok (up 90% globally outside China), 7 of every 10 minutes was spent on either social, photo and/or video apps.
• Worldwide consumer spend on dating apps surged past $4.2 billion (up 55% from 2019).
• Time in shopping apps reached 100 billion hours – up 18%, led by fast fashion, social shopping, and by big box players.
• Food and drink apps hit a new milestone at 194 billion sessions in 2021 (up 50% Y-o-Y).

Key quote

“Mobile brings us closer together whether virtual or in person. The future will be based on an immersive entertainment experience you create. You won’t watch movies, you’ll star in them.” – Theodore Krantz, CEO, App Annie.

Netflix reaches 222m subscribers, driven by APAC and EMEA

Netflix ended last year with 222m paid subscriptions, driven by strong growth in Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the company's latest results.

Why it matters

On average, audiences use five video streaming services and although this number is increasing, Netflix is having to invest in order to succeed. Competition from other subscription and ad-supported services in 2022 is likely to heat up and while the company is expanding strongly outside of North America, it lags behind in key demographics.

For example, while children's content has been important for Netflix's success in recent years, the platform under-performs among older audiences.

Takeaways

• In Q4 2021, the company added 8.3m subscriptions from the previous quarter to take the total to 221.8m.
• Asia Pacific, up 8.6%, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, up 5.0%, saw the largest increases.

Sourced from Netflix, WARC Data

How agencies are pitching a metaverse entry to clients

It’s the future of the internet, it’s a frothy investment market, it’s a tussle over the very fabric of how we humans will interact with each other, or it’s a game: the metaverse is, apparently, all around – here’s what agencies are pitching.

Or rather, two recent reports from major holding groups – Publicis’ Starcom and WPP’s Wunderman Thompson – reflect the shape of advice to come.

The situation

The truth is that this thing, the metaverse, doesn’t yet exist. 

And what’s worse is that the hype wave has caught all of the VC flotsam and mixed it into this vague, though futuristic thing known as Web 3.0. It includes crypto, but also the metaverse. 

So, bottom line, someone is winning from the confusion; opaque markets are good at that. For instance, Wunderman Thompson rallies 15 different experts to define the thing.

Still, there’s some seriousness to be found. The company FKA Facebook is now pursuing Meta ambitions and spending serious money to do so. Microsoft just spent $68 billion on Activision Blizzard with an eye on the metaverse. 

In effect, all this means that little is certain other than the idea that digital services and experiences will become even more important to people’s physical lives.

Definitions

There are two main schools of thought with overlaps. One thinks of the metaverse as an internet that feels like a videogame, where the internet becomes a virtual realm.

The other, sees the metaverse as fundamentally about digital identity, and therefore the task is to build the back-end systems that allow a user to switch between virtual spaces through one, consistent digital identity. In this case, we might want to think about this as Facebook or Google account log-ins, but richer, and even more consequential.

What to do about it

It’s rare that tech actually engages with the metaphysical aspects of philosophy – its loose relationship with ethics is well known – but the metaverse is currently at this a priori point in which thinking about it means thinking about ourselves, the nature of reality, the nature of control. But you came for guidance and there is some guidance available to be, cautiously, followed.

Starcom is honest about the theoretical phase that this technology is in and highlights four tensions, which it is also exploring in a podcast series to accompany the report.

1. Social vs. Solo: how the metaverse smashes 1st and 3rd spaces together.
2. Truth vs. Design: how the metaverse can tell you anything you want to hear.
3. Access vs. Ownership: how in metaverse spaces, actions as well as objects can be owned.
4. Protection vs. Freedom: how the metaverse is organic but needs regulation.

Wunderman Thompson, meanwhile, is a report based on the ways in which business is being done, whether through virtual property or in advanced remote work. It also settles on five important lessons for brands:

1.  Brands need to be part of digital third spaces – the places where people increasingly socialise, work, and shop.
2. Values and ethics will still matter in the virtual world.
3. The level of integration between digital and physical will be high; virtual events will have physical consequences and vice versa.
4. There are two main ways to be involved as a brand: help develop the infrastructure, the tools that will enable metaversal experiences, or perfecting the end user experience.
5. No one owns the metaverse, even if companies are trying to. The internet works because nobody owns it and if the metaverse is going to fulfil its potential, brands will need to collaborate rather than colonise their patches of ‘verse.

Sourced from Starcom, Wunderman Thompson, FT

Addressable ad tech addresses sponsorship

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, is applying the same addressable technology that powers its AdSmart product to sponsorships, enabling brands to tailor their idents to different audiences. 

What is it?

Smart Sponsorships, which will be available in market later this year, use Sky’s third-party data or advertisers’ own first-party customer data to show a more relevant creative message depending on which household is watching. So, for example, a car brand could change the car model featured depending on the affluence or life-stage of the household, or change the scenery and voice-over depending on location. 

Why it matters 

Sky Media claims AdSmart campaigns lead to, on average, a 48% reduction in tune-away, a 35% increase in engagement and a 10% increase in spontaneous recall. It expects that Smart Sponsorships will deliver similar uplifts for brands using it.

It also opens up opportunities for smaller, local advertisers to explore the use of TV in new ways (in 2021, Sy Media reports that over 450 brands came to TV for the first time because of AdSmart with a return rate of 73%).

Sourced from Sky Media [Image: Cottonbro from Pexels]

China's jewellery retailers take guochao to lower-tier cities

Building on the popularity of guochao (or ‘China-chic’), some of China’s biggest jewellery retailers are expanding their physical footprint into lower-tier cities.

What’s happening

• By 2025, jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook is planning to add another 2,000 outlets to its existing total of more than 5,000 in 660 cities; many of these will be in third- or fourth-tier cities.The focus will be on “affordable luxury” with average prices of around Rmb10,000 ($1,575), the Financial Times reports.
• Lukfook Jewellery plans to open as many as 350 new outlets this year, many in lower-tier cities. At the same time it is expanding its e-commerce operations to reach younger generations.

Context

• More than half the sales of Chow Tai Fook’s heritage collection, inspired by the traditional emblems of emperors and empresses, went to Millennial and Gen Z buyers in Q2 and Q3 2021.
• China’s personal luxury goods market doubled in size between 2019 and 2021 to about $69bn, according to figures from management consulting firm Bain & Company.
• Reduced travel options have meant fewer purchases being made outside mainland China. 
• Luxury Swiss jeweller Richemont this week reported Q3 sales growth in China slowing to 7%.

Final thought

“[Gen Z] likes different types of jewellery . . . their preference for the design of Chinese cultural elements could also rise during times of high international tensions” – Xianchi Dai, associate professor of marketing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, speaking to the FT. 

Sourced from Financial Times, Reuters [Image: Chowtaifook.com]

The nature of distrust: Edelman Trust Barometer 2022

Amid rising distrust in organisations including government and the media, expectations of business are on the rise – but that means there’s more to do, not less, according to 2022’s Edelman Trust Barometer.

Why it matters

A majority of people (59%) tend to distrust until they see evidence of trustworthiness. For marketers, it’s important to consider the techniques that can win over sceptics rather than true believers, even as business continues to be the most trusted of the four main institutions studied.

The details

With nearly half of the 36,000 respondents across 28 countries agreeing that government (48%) and the media (46%) are divisive forces in society. “On competence, business now leads government by a 53-point margin and is viewed as more ethical than government by 26 points,” the organisation explains in a business deep-dive.

The onus is now on business to drive impact.

It’s not all good news, however, as the vacuum of trust leaves people expecting more from business. Still, 63% believe they’re being lied to by business leaders (an increase of seven points).

People demand more of business, especially in the areas of:

• Climate change (52%)
• Economic inequality (49%)
• Workforce reskilling (46%)

Eighty-one percent of respondents want CEOs to lead in discussing public policy or what their companies have done to solve societal problems.

Yet, people are increasingly doubtful of the system, if not of individual firms. 52% of respondents now agree that capitalism as it stands does more harm than good in the world.

What to do about it (Edelman recommendations)

• Focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) at the core of business strategy.
• Action over pledges on climate change.
• Ally with expert organisations to innovate and drive impact on the big issues.
• Communicate responsibly, show evidence, earn people’s trust.

Sourced from Edelman. Image: Edelman

P&G confident its brands can deliver profit amid rising costs

Procter and Gamble (P&G), typically the world’s largest advertiser, insists its brands are built solidly enough that its customers will continue to choose them as the global cost-of-living rises.

Why it matters

Arguably, major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms like P&G are advertising companies first-and-foremost. It’s rare that it will make a shampoo or chocolate bar that is radically different from its competitive set. Instead, they rely on building brands whose superiority is assumed, mostly on the strength of marketing activities.

Results in brief

P&G’s Q2 (October-December) results included highlights in home, health, and hygiene.

• Organic sales up 6% year-on-year, driven by large average price increases since 2019.
• Strong segments: Healthcare up 8% and fabric & home care up 7%.
• Slower growth in beauty and grooming, up 3% and 4%, respectively.
• Operating margin down on higher commodity costs, transportation and supply-chain.
• Price increases are set to continue throughout the year, but the company expects improved profitability in coming quarters.

The meaning of superiority

P&G has performed consistently during the pandemic, with demand maintained throughout global lockdowns and reopenings. Some of this can be put down to the company’s so-called “Superior Strategy”, credited with a strong FY21.

P&G’s formulation for “superior communications”, according to its annual report, centres around messaging that “must create awareness, demonstrate superior performance, and create the desire to purchase”. A 12% rise in adspend over the year to reach $8.2 billion didn’t hurt either.

This continues, even as economic conditions worsen. “Superiority does not mean that we're trying to trade up the consumer or trying to innovate only at the top end of the portfolio,” CFO Andre Schulten told Investors.

“Superiority is defined as Superiority at each price tier to the competing.”

Key quote

“We've made investments to strengthen the health and competitiveness of our brands across innovation, supply chains and brand equity. And we'll continue to invest to extend our margin of advantage and quality of execution, improving solutions for consumers around the world” – Andre Schulten, CFO, Procter & Gamble.

Sourced from P&G, WARC, Seeking Alpha