According to Cisco, video will make up 80% of consumer online traffic by the end of 2019.
But how long are they watching for?
Over the last 2 years we have seen video embed itself as the social format of choice, with the rise of Stories, .gifs and new channels such as IGTV and TikTok cementing the moving image’s place in the social content sphere.
We’ve been told as marketers that attention spans are waning and the race to the shortest video content possible is the race to run. Whilst this may hold true in certain circumstances (such as the most effective YouTube bumpers staying at 6 seconds or fewer), we think this is the year set to see the return of longer-form video pieces capturing attention spans and bringing worthwhile ROI.
Why?
A number of reasons – the nature of marketing content is shifting (for instance, more and more sponsored Influencer content is being consumed, which naturally takes longer to engage with), and as production values improve/quality becomes cheaper, captivating video content can last longer for the same budget. It’s proven that if you can capture attention spans for longer, the sales uplift of those who engage is greater. Basically, it’s worth the investment in your production to ensure your audience invest their time.
In fact, 64% of consumers said video content from Facebook has influenced a recent purchase decision. That’s almost on a par with real-life friend recommendations.
So, what’s the key to ensuring audiences engage with your video content? As distribution sophisticates at pace, through pre-planning to understanding the audience, use case and context with which they will engage with your content is paramount. Video is here to stay, but in a million different forms, and understanding how to effectively service many consumer needs with one content production will ensure you stay on the front foot.
According to Cisco, video will make up 80% of consumer online traffic by the end of 2019.
But how long are they watching for?
Over the last 2 years we have seen video embed itself as the social format of choice, with the rise of Stories, .gifs and new channels such as IGTV and TikTok cementing the moving image’s place in the social content sphere.
We’ve been told as marketers that attention spans are waning and the race to the shortest video content possible is the race to run. Whilst this may hold true in certain circumstances (such as the most effective YouTube bumpers staying at 6 seconds or fewer), we think this is the year set to see the return of longer-form video pieces capturing attention spans and bringing worthwhile ROI.
Why?
A number of reasons – the nature of marketing content is shifting (for instance, more and more sponsored Influencer content is being consumed, which naturally takes longer to engage with), and as production values improve/quality becomes cheaper, captivating video content can last longer for the same budget. It’s proven that if you can capture attention spans for longer, the sales uplift of those who engage is greater. Basically, it’s worth the investment in your production to ensure your audience invest their time.
In fact, 64% of consumers said video content from Facebook has influenced a recent purchase decision. That’s almost on a par with real-life friend recommendations.
So, what’s the key to ensuring audiences engage with your video content? As distribution sophisticates at pace, through pre-planning to understanding the audience, use case and context with which they will engage with your content is paramount. Video is here to stay, but in a million different forms, and understanding how to effectively service many consumer needs with one content production will ensure you stay on the front foot.
“Influencer marketing equals the modern day British Royal Warrant” – Paul Scannell, Head of Influencer Marketing at INCA.
This, for me, was the QOTD at my day at Advertising Week Europe 2019.
Since the 15th century, the public have bought into brands and services that have been given the Royal Seal of approval. Why? Because we, as a community, trust the Royal family and their opinion. Nowadays, or since the start of the twenty-teens, tweenies or teens, we as an online community and digital world, are looking elsewhere for inspiration & guidance on our purchase decisions. Cue – Influencers!
But whoever is providing that seal of approval or influencer endorsement requires more these days. One of my biggest takeaways from the various talks I attended at AdWeek Europe 2019, is that it’s not a one way street. Rather, we need to be focusing on the importance of relationships across influencer marketing.
Below are the key relationship takeaways:
Influencer to community
The significance of relationships became abundantly clear from the talk on ‘Harnessing the Power of a Community’, in which the panelists stressed the importance of influencers knowing their community and building a ‘common passion’ amongst them. In this talk, it was interesting to hear how passionate the influencers who spoke were about their community. Christopher ‘Sacriel’ Ball, global gaming influencer actually said “My audience is an extension of my family”, which I found very endearing.
Correspondingly, it’s also profoundly important for brands to recognise who the influencer’s community are, to ensure they are a great fit for the campaign or activation at hand.
So, I bet you’re wondering which type of influencer receives the strongest engagement from their community? The general consensus seems to be that micro influencers tend to have the richest community engagement. This is because the micro influencer tends to be dedicated to a specific passion area, and it is for this specific niche that their audience follows them, meaning they are heavily engaged.
Brand to Influencer
We all know, I hope, that the more you show respect to someone and speak to them on a professional yet friendly level, the more that person will respect you back and therefore go above and beyond. This is just as relevant in the realm of influencer marketing, and was a key theme at AdWeek. Christopher ‘Sacriel’ Ball explained “The strength of the relationship between an influencer and a brand shines through in their content”. Want more from your Influencer marketing campaign? Pay more respect.
Relationships are SO important that, according to the industry professionals and influencers themselves, a trend to look out for in influencer marketing 2019 is the longevity of brand and influencer relationships.
To summarise, the key message from my time immersing myself in everything influencer marketing at Adweek Europe is – in a world where we talk through screens, emojis and likes, it is important to make an effort to get to know one another and build relationships – whether it be online or offline.
Earlier this month, thousands of marketers descended upon London’s Old Billingsgate to attend PI Live. This annual conference is one of the largest performance marketing events in the UK, and garners attendees from advertiser, media owner, agency, tech (and beyond!) to listen to talks from industry heads, participate in conversation on our rapidly-changing industry and give attendees an unparalleled opportunity to meet with their partners.
PI Live in numbers:
2,500 delegates in attendance, from 60 countries
1,868 meetings scheduled in the PI LIVE event app
392 questions asked to Keynote speakers via the app
As well as big brands from the world of digital advertising like Snapchat, Adidas, Net-A-Porter and Groupon, OMD EMEA Affiliates was represented by Alexander Head, Matilde Magalhaes-Cruz and Hailey Talbot-Tittle.
We wrapped up the 4 trends we saw at the event which are also very relevant to any clients in the digital sphere who aren’t currently running affiliate activity!
Key Trends from PI Live in 2018:
Cyber Week: As strong as ever, and growing on the continent
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the largest shopping days in eCommerce in the western market, so naturally Cyber Week was on everyone’s lips in keynotes and meetings. AWIN’s Robert Davison discussed how brands have had to adapt to changing consumer habits, as consumers have become increasingly price conscious and savvy about how they buy their online goods, as well as the necessity of clients to choose to join in or sit out, depending on their brand goals.
Affiliates like HotUKDeals, TopCashback and Vouchercodes.co.uk are incredibly efficient in converting users to purchase in the presence of an offer. If your client is running an offer for Cyber Week, is the affiliate channel on your plan? If not, they are missing out on capitalising on the largest traffic driving event of the year, and only paying on a CPA when genuine sales have happened.
It’s safe to say that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are very much cemented in the psyche of the UK population now, but markets on the continent have rapidly been adopting this holiday too. France, for example, has seen a 74% increase in sales in 2017 vs 2016, Italy saw an increase of 80% and Sweden grew by 104%. This holiday is showing no signs of slowing down, so our role as trusted advisors to our clients needs be to find the best opportunities for growth at the best price, whilst maintaining brand integrity.
Singles Day: China’s Largest Shopping Event
Although Cyber Week is the crown jewel in what many refer to as the ‘Golden Quarter’ in the western world, the largest shopping day in the world is on the Single’s Day in China. The date, November 11th (11/11), was chosen because the number “1” resembles an individual who is alone. $25.4 billion of goods were purchased from Alibaba alone in 2017 – which is an increase of 42% YoY. With such significant volumes and growth, the European eCommerce space is abuzz with how they can participate in this extremely important shopping event.
High-end and Luxury have seen huge new market in China, with a major luxury affiliate network reporting a 33% increase in the number of British Luxury goods sold on Singles Day 2017 vs. 2016, and greater growth expected this year.
Data from AWIN’s Keynote reported that 45% of shoppers are expected to purcahse online from non-domestic brands by 2020, so publishers with a strong APAC userbase like Dealmoon and RedScarf are ideal candidates to globalize any retailer’s global ecommerce performance.
Therefore, if your client is looking to get involved, the affiliate channel is uniquely positioned to help your client establish partnerships and enable promotional offers and content in this region on a risk-free Cost-per-Action basis!
Rebuilding Client CRM Post-GDPR on Pure Performance
Many in the digital realm have been affected in different ways by GDPR, with many losing valuable customer data from their database. With advertisers rightly keeping their cards close to their chest on quite how much they each had lost, one thing is clear, there is a need from advertisers to rebuild their 1st Party Data.
This is why so many advertisers are interested in Lead Generation via the Performance Channel this year! Lead Generation partners are helping advertisers rebuild GDPR compliant databases for clients on a Cost-Per-Lead basis, meaning that the client only pay’s when a valid lead is driven.
This results in a risk-free source of new customers who are engaged and interested in hearing more via email. This data can also be used to expand 1st Party marketing efforts in different channels.
The ability to build a GDPR compliant database and only pay for valid leads on a Cost-per-Lead basis is a huge opportunity for all clients in the business. If your client has lost any volume of users to GDPR, or is looking to bolster their already existing database, our team is experienced in delivering campaigns across all advertiser verticals and would love to speak to you!
Influencer Marketing: A huge opportunity via the Affiliate Channel
The biggest change this year was the was the number of partners offering Influencer Marketing. With the majority of the talks on Day Two focussing on the incrementality, measurement and value of influencers both in silo and in the larger brand experience – it’s safe to say that the industry is primed and ready to deliver influencer campaigns.
There were a dizzying array of Influencer Networks exhibiting at the event, and as many of these networks offer very similar services or platforms, the difference between each platform can be hard to distinguish.
Every client is looking to support their campaigns with Influencer Marketing, and affiliate marketing is an incredible avenue for advertisers to establish partnerships with networks or influencers directly and provide real-time tracking of performance, again on a risk-free CPA payment method. If your client is talking Influencer, have you considered running it via our affiliate team to deliver their campaign efficiently?
Therefore, the role of an agency such as OMD EMEA is especially critical in this field – our ability to curate potential partnerships and measure their impact outside of the affiliate channel as a silo enables clients to optimise towards the most successful outcomes for influencer marketing campaigns, whilst maintaining that visibility and brand security stay front of mind.
The era of handheld entertainment, communication, connection and everything in-between continues to grow. Whilst devices are pushing out traditional paper-based methods (the last physical Yellow Pages was delivered in London last week) the app industry is going from strength to strength. Fornite has just launched on Android for Samsung phones, whilst Facebook is building its own AR games to use over Messenger video chat.
As more and more attention turns to fake news and what falls between the lines of free speech and defamation, this week Twitter grapples with defining ‘dehumanising speech’ and what this means for the deletion of such tweets and accounts. InfoWars weighs in on the debate with more than a dozen of their tweets being red-flagged for violating Twitter’s rules. 280 characters can hold more than we thought – short but rarely sweet.
Please feel free to pass OMD FWD onto your colleagues, clients and friends – they can subscribe here at any time and watch Wednesday’s get better! #OMDFWD
It’s not a rare sight to see me power-walking through rain in London – like a real Londoner, no less – no umbrella. In fact, it’s a regular thing for most Londoners: eyes forward, head down, rain coat cinched for the daily post-work beeline trip home. Yet, for social media marketers this past rainy Monday it was an ironic chance to pop out of the office and over to co-working space Rainmaking Loft to get to know some influencer marketing masters.
Social Media Week London, 2017
Social Media Week (Sept 11-15) kicked off with a slew of events to help inspire new campaigns and bring the world’s greatest marketing minds together. The panel talk hosted influencer marketing platform company Takumi – a company that’s motto quite literally tells its star-studded roster of micro influencers to post whatever they want.
Top influencer marketing experts including moderator and creative consultant Ian Sanders, MEC Wavemaker senior planner Tom Cornish, OMD UK’s social director Katie Hunter, Shake Shack social media manager Georgia Beaven, Pernod Ricard senior social manager Sunni Peterson and lifestyle influencer Ornella Kolle (@orneiineii).
The focus of the talk was about transparency between influencers and their audiences and trust building between influencers and the brand they work for. Brands and agencies are often at odds with how to craft this relationship that give influencers complete control over their content or micro-manage the results. It’s a fine, bespoke balance between strategizing the approach and managing the results while letting great content happen in an organic way.
“The key is to treat each campaign on a one time basis. Each one is different. Each one will be different for your brand and it’s important to remember that when looking at your engagement,” says Hunter.
A new method of influencer management.
It’s a more relaxed approach than many marketers are used to let alone ready for. The fight between gut instinct (appeal) and user data is ongoing. As marketers learn that likes, views and shares are sometimes best encouraged by authentic content, the relationship between brands and the influencers they commission continue to change. It’s all about that magic buzzword: authenticity. And really what that means is a new method of influencer management. It’s certainly not without the structure we come to know and rely on (a detailed brief, clear timelines and budgets). It’s more about brands letting go of the creative micro-managing and learning to trust the creatives they’re tapping into.
It reminds me of some of the influencer work that my team at OMD Create, OMD EMEA’s internal creative hub, has worked on with DKNY combining the storytelling and insights to produce social media content on Instagram that’s rooted in cultural trends while at the same time proactive and reactive to consumer interest.
As brands continue to try to be closer to the people they market to, experts encourage them to open their minds to a more human approach to marketing. And while success measuring is important, Katie Hunter suggests that a bespoke approach is key to making sure brands are approaching their campaigns in an intuitive, clever way. Sure, working with influencers can be pricey for brands but there’s also a way to amplify those authentic, influencer voices without having to crack out a big budget.
“The idea of round tables, and one-to-one relationships help you bring in micro-influencers in a cost effective and approachable way,” says Hunter. “You can be clever while at the same time tap into the right audience.”
Clever marketing is all about using the right influencers.
Examples of bad marketing were underlined by celebrity #ad posts by Naomi Campbell and Scott Disick for their wildly viral sponsored posts that went wrong. It’s a warning call for marketers and a reminder that big names don’t equal big ROI. And as a result, micro-influencers is becoming a big buzzword and perhaps the answer to an over saturated influencer marketing pool. The need for brands to work harder and have a more authentic reach and feel to help attract the consumers they are looking for is bigger than ever before.
It was great to get a first-hand influencer perspective as well. Ornella Kolle shared that she tries to make sure that her content makes sense for her, for the brand and especially for her future followers. They appreciate respect for their authentic vision without being told to have overly branded product flatlays: content that’s still artistic and speaks to what the brand wants to give its customers “while still being subtle and beautiful without over the top packaging,” says Kolle.
And isn’t that the basis of artful storytelling?
Here are 5 tips for excellent influencer marketing to take away:
1) Look at customer (discover your brand’s cultural tribes)
2) Employ an always on strategy
3) Look at your amplification plan
4) Trust the influencer and their creativity
5) Understand your audience and appreciate the community your influencer is helping you tap into
It’s not a rare sight to see me power-walking through rain in London – like a real Londoner, no less – no umbrella. In fact, it’s a regular thing for most Londoners: eyes forward, head down, rain coat cinched for the daily post-work beeline trip home. Yet, for social media marketers this past rainy Monday it was an ironic chance to pop out of the office and over to co-working space Rainmaking Loft to get to know some influencer marketing masters.
Social Media Week London, 2017
Social Media Week (Sept 11-15) kicked off with a slew of events to help inspire new campaigns and bring the world’s greatest marketing minds together. The panel talk hosted influencer marketing platform company Takumi – a company that’s motto quite literally tells its star-studded roster of micro influencers to post whatever they want.
Top influencer marketing experts including moderator and creative consultant Ian Sanders, MEC Wavemaker senior planner Tom Cornish, OMD UK’s social director Katie Hunter, Shake Shack social media manager Georgia Beaven, Pernod Ricard senior social manager Sunni Peterson and lifestyle influencer Ornella Kolle (@orneiineii).
The focus of the talk was about transparency between influencers and their audiences and trust building between influencers and the brand they work for. Brands and agencies are often at odds with how to craft this relationship that give influencers complete control over their content or micro-manage the results. It’s a fine, bespoke balance between strategizing the approach and managing the results while letting great content happen in an organic way.
“The key is to treat each campaign on a one time basis. Each one is different. Each one will be different for your brand and it’s important to remember that when looking at your engagement,” says Hunter.
A new method of influencer management.
It’s a more relaxed approach than many marketers are used to let alone ready for. The fight between gut instinct (appeal) and user data is ongoing. As marketers learn that likes, views and shares are sometimes best encouraged by authentic content, the relationship between brands and the influencers they commission continue to change. It’s all about that magic buzzword: authenticity. And really what that means is a new method of influencer management. It’s certainly not without the structure we come to know and rely on (a detailed brief, clear timelines and budgets). It’s more about brands letting go of the creative micro-managing and learning to trust the creatives they’re tapping into.
It reminds me of some of the influencer work that my team at OMD Create, OMD EMEA’s internal creative hub, has worked on with DKNY combining the storytelling and insights to produce social media content on Instagram that’s rooted in cultural trends while at the same time proactive and reactive to consumer interest.
As brands continue to try to be closer to the people they market to, experts encourage them to open their minds to a more human approach to marketing. And while success measuring is important, Katie Hunter suggests that a bespoke approach is key to making sure brands are approaching their campaigns in an intuitive, clever way. Sure, working with influencers can be pricey for brands but there’s also a way to amplify those authentic, influencer voices without having to crack out a big budget.
“The idea of round tables, and one-to-one relationships help you bring in micro-influencers in a cost effective and approachable way,” says Hunter. “You can be clever while at the same time tap into the right audience.”
Clever marketing is all about using the right influencers.
Examples of bad marketing were underlined by celebrity #ad posts by Naomi Campbell and Scott Disick for their wildly viral sponsored posts that went wrong. It’s a warning call for marketers and a reminder that big names don’t equal big ROI. And as a result, micro-influencers is becoming a big buzzword and perhaps the answer to an over saturated influencer marketing pool. The need for brands to work harder and have a more authentic reach and feel to help attract the consumers they are looking for is bigger than ever before.
It was great to get a first-hand influencer perspective as well. Ornella Kolle shared that she tries to make sure that her content makes sense for her, for the brand and especially for her future followers. They appreciate respect for their authentic vision without being told to have overly branded product flatlays: content that’s still artistic and speaks to what the brand wants to give its customers “while still being subtle and beautiful without over the top packaging,” says Kolle.
And isn’t that the basis of artful storytelling?
Here are 5 tips for excellent influencer marketing to take away:
1) Look at customer (discover your brand’s cultural tribes)
2) Employ an always on strategy
3) Look at your amplification plan
4) Trust the influencer and their creativity
5) Understand your audience and appreciate the community your influencer is helping you tap into
In recent years, big luxury brands have been shifting their ad spend to digital channels and we are now seeing print trends like the ‘September Issue’ emerge across social video. The insights were revealed today in the joint study, New Video Code of Conduct in Luxury Marketing, between OMD EMEA and Tubular Labs, uncovering social video insights across select sectors of the luxury industry.
“The exclusive and crafted nature of luxury brands meeting the open accessibility of online video was always going to be a challenge,” said Blake Cuthbert, Chief Digital Officer, OMD EMEA. “The most successful luxury brands have embraced the opportunity by allowing their followers to be truly immersed in their unique stories, building authenticity and equity in this redefined category.”
GETTING THE BACKSTAGE PASS – UNEDITED & UNFILTERED
Adverts and premium content currently deliver the lowest return in engagement compared to the volume uploaded. Mystery is no longer enough, consumers are craving more access into the world of luxury. It is the ‘real’ content – fashion shows, montages and behind the brand access – that is driving 74 per cent of all luxury video engagements. In response creative directors are taking the lead, opening up their world and sharing what’s happening behind the scenes in real-time.
THE NEW INFLUENCER AUTHORITY – AUTHENTICITY & ORIGINALITY
The rapid adoption of influencer strategies for categories from FMCG to luxury automobiles has also left consumers more sceptical of the true relationship between brands and influencers. As a result, only 16 luxury lifestyle influencers made The Sermo Digital Influencer Index cut. The balance brands need to strike is between humanising their influencers and still driving views and engagement with topical content, such as unboxing which accounted for 72 per cent of the luxury watch topics viewed in 2017.
PASSION HAS NO AGE – JUST COMMON GROUND
Nevertheless, how different audiences engage with luxury video content is unique. Looking specifically at the luxury watch category, as expected 73 per cent of YouTube engagement is driven by those under the age of 34. Perhaps surprising, luxury watch videos are also generating 18 per cent of their engagements from those over 55 years old, which is 14 times the YouTube average over the last 365 days.
THE COUTURE CONTENT SOLUTION – DYNAMICALLY SERVED BY AGE, INTEREST & BEHAVIOUR
Those under 35 years old focus on beauty and entertainment influencers, concentrating on how luxury brands make them look. While the older audience engages with influencers who concentrate on craftsmanship and in-depth luxury product reviews. There is an opportunity for luxury brands to deliver content solutions dynamically, serving more relevant videos based on data such as age, interest and behaviour.
“With the growth of online video, brands are increasingly leveraging video to create and distribute content online,” said Denis Crushell, VP of EMEA, Tubular Labs. “Results of the luxury industry and social video study confirm this with luxury brands accumulating over 500 million cross-platform views in Q4 2016 alone. It’s commendable when leading organisations like OMD recognise the importance of this transformation and take action to provide their clients with powerful actionable insights.”
In recent years, big luxury brands have been shifting their ad spend to digital channels and we are now seeing print trends like the ‘September Issue’ emerge across social video. The insights were revealed today in the joint study, New Video Code of Conduct in Luxury Marketing, between OMD EMEA and Tubular Labs, uncovering social video insights across select sectors of the luxury industry.
“The exclusive and crafted nature of luxury brands meeting the open accessibility of online video was always going to be a challenge,” said Blake Cuthbert, Chief Digital Officer, OMD EMEA. “The most successful luxury brands have embraced the opportunity by allowing their followers to be truly immersed in their unique stories, building authenticity and equity in this redefined category.”
GETTING THE BACKSTAGE PASS – UNEDITED & UNFILTERED
Adverts and premium content currently deliver the lowest return in engagement compared to the volume uploaded. Mystery is no longer enough, consumers are craving more access into the world of luxury. It is the ‘real’ content – fashion shows, montages and behind the brand access – that is driving 74 per cent of all luxury video engagements. In response creative directors are taking the lead, opening up their world and sharing what’s happening behind the scenes in real-time.
THE NEW INFLUENCER AUTHORITY – AUTHENTICITY & ORIGINALITY
The rapid adoption of influencer strategies for categories from FMCG to luxury automobiles has also left consumers more sceptical of the true relationship between brands and influencers. As a result, only 16 luxury lifestyle influencers made The Sermo Digital Influencer Index cut. The balance brands need to strike is between humanising their influencers and still driving views and engagement with topical content, such as unboxing which accounted for 72 per cent of the luxury watch topics viewed in 2017.
PASSION HAS NO AGE – JUST COMMON GROUND
Nevertheless, how different audiences engage with luxury video content is unique. Looking specifically at the luxury watch category, as expected 73 per cent of YouTube engagement is driven by those under the age of 34. Perhaps surprising, luxury watch videos are also generating 18 per cent of their engagements from those over 55 years old, which is 14 times the YouTube average over the last 365 days.
THE COUTURE CONTENT SOLUTION – DYNAMICALLY SERVED BY AGE, INTEREST & BEHAVIOUR
Those under 35 years old focus on beauty and entertainment influencers, concentrating on how luxury brands make them look. While the older audience engages with influencers who concentrate on craftsmanship and in-depth luxury product reviews. There is an opportunity for luxury brands to deliver content solutions dynamically, serving more relevant videos based on data such as age, interest and behaviour.
“With the growth of online video, brands are increasingly leveraging video to create and distribute content online,” said Denis Crushell, VP of EMEA, Tubular Labs. “Results of the luxury industry and social video study confirm this with luxury brands accumulating over 500 million cross-platform views in Q4 2016 alone. It’s commendable when leading organisations like OMD recognise the importance of this transformation and take action to provide their clients with powerful actionable insights.”
Authenticity was key in the launch of Destination Canada’s latest suite of rich content. The ‘Explore Canada’ campaign is focused on bringing to life the amazing sights, wonders and experiences that Canada has to offer.
There are over 6 million European travellers considering Canada as a future holiday destination. Despite being on people’s travel list, there was no urgency to book Canada as their next holiday destination. Our goal was to change Canada from a ‘might visit at some point’ destination to a ‘must see’ and next on the list.
Destination Canada is Canada’s national tourism marketing organisation. They promote Canada’s extraordinary experiences in 11 countries around the world. Their key markets include Germany, UK, Australia and France.
Research shows that consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional media. Instead, they are turning towards more personalised and trusted sources – such as friends, family and key influencers – to research and plan their travels.
Traditional marketing campaigns with sponsored banners or branded social posts are no longer enough to convince consumers to buy a big-ticket item like an international holiday. Our content marketing approach needed to reach and entice consumers at key points along their decision-making journey. We wanted to use more novel, innovative marketing ideas to engage these travellers emotionally.
Based on this, our focus is content like videos, photos and articles. Rather than a traditional branded campaign, the idea was to have viewers come into contact with the content naturally in relevant environments they typically visit for travel planning and purchase.
Over 500 pieces of high-quality content were developed across passion points and locations in Canada. Because authenticity is integral to this strategy, we didn’t include any branding on this content.
For the video content, we are leveraging a high-profile YouTuber from each of our key markets. Each influencer uses their typical filming style to highlight Canada as the perfect vacation setting. Influencers share and promote the content directly with their YouTube followers, allowing the material to seed organically. Many also promote their Canada videos on their Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram accounts.
You can currently view the latest influencer content tailored for the UK and Germany, with France and Australia content coming soon.
We then use data to align consumers with unbranded content that caters to their individual interests, passions and travel purchase behaviours. Once viewers engage with multiple pieces of unbranded content, we then serve them a personalised message from a local tourism partner who can offer them a great deal for the location or experience they’d viewed.
We are in the second exciting year of this campaign. The tremendous success of last year’s efforts included over 50 million content views and over 190K content viewers booked a holiday to Canada, with over $231 in additional tourism revenue generated for a 67:1 ROI.
Want to keep exploring? Visit Destination Canada’s key market websites – UK, France, Germany and Australia.
OMD and Destination Canada were recently awarded two M&M Global Awards for Smart Use of Data and International Growth Strategy. Our work has also been featured on the Think with Google blog.
