The following is a guest piece by Peter Hamilton, director of ad innovation at Roku. Opinions are the writer’s own.
Last 12 months’s Super Bowl cut the ribbon bringing the decades-old TV spot to life. Coinbase premiered a spot where a mysterious QR code glided across the TV like a DVD screensaver. The results? Coinbase saw app installs grow 309% week-over-week, in response to Sensor Tower. The 20 million hits to the corporate’s landing page in a single minute was six times higher than previous benchmarks.
However, QR codes are just the start. The future of actionable ads on the most important screen in the house will make shopping on TV as easy because it is on social. Here are 4 data-backed keys to future-proofing your creative technique to win in a world where all TV ads will likely be interactive:
TV remotes outperform QR codes
Shoppable QR codes were originally built upon the straightforward notion of providing customers with quick access to information on products they wished to buy. As consumer habits have modified over time, interactivity and innovation inside shoppable ads must proceed to evolve with it.
QR codes can create friction. A viewer must delay their phone, open the camera, capture the QR code, open the online browser after which begin the checkout experience. Many wander off along the way in which or just run out of time. The brand moment is lost.
Instead, shoppable ads that start with the TV distant deliver a quicker path-to-purchase for marketers and for consumers. The ad appears on the TV screen, and consumers can react with only one click. The results of collapsing the marketing funnel? Shoppable ads on TV using a distant to buy the product drive about four-times more conversions than the identical ads when using QR codes, per Roku’s live advertiser campaign data. Making the experience easy for the viewer means a greater, effortless experience for consumers.
Longer ads perform higher
Our research finds that 30-second spots perform three-times higher than 15-second spots. Sight, sound and motion tell a story. When consumers lean back to look at TV, they need a moment to grasp the brand, the product and the worth proposition. They expect storytelling on the most important screen in the house.
For marketers, this provides an exciting opportunity to transcend the normal banner or buy-now promotion. Creatives can take television story telling they know and love and go larger and bolder.
Frequent calls-to-action win the day
Psychology research has long suggested that once we recall an experience, our memories concentrate on what happened at the height and what happened at the top. This “peak-end rule” is present throughout our life. For instance, the highlights of last week’s tennis match might need that one spectacular rally and the sensation at match point.
However, shoppable ads require calls-to-action early and infrequently to shut the sale. This helps educate viewers that the spot is, actually, shoppable. Quick and consistent priming builds expectation and avoids missed opportunity. When actors or celebrities within the spot tell viewers that the product might be purchased from their TV, conversions can improve greater than 4 times, per Roku data. Even a visible or voice reminder within the creative can deliver two-times improvement.
Reducing friction within the funnel
William Gibson said, “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” The next generation of leading marketers won’t accept the QR codes. They’ll take the canvas that’s TV to bring motion to life and create more of what consumers love.
Read the total article here
