Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

Advertising in the eye of a consumer: The crucial numbers How we’re losing track of the customer / Getting them back on board Oct // 2!16 Managing our obsession with data and mobile Sharing data for better marketing Sponsored by Why the user holds the key to ad blocking’s demise Q&A: Looking ahead @nmpi_digital Performance Paid Search.

Get in Touch with our Partnerships Team: [email protected] !3 PerformanceIN.com // Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

Foreword Contents As a neutral party, I bear witness to a lot of conversation 04 Advertising in the eye of between members of the performance marketing space. a consumer The crucial One of the most dominant points of discussion are the numbers challenges and opportunities faced by many of the channels that make results-based marketing what it is. 06 How we’re losing The industry, despite its multi billion-pound work and track of the customer / bags of innovation, can be very self-critical a stance that can only be commended Getting them back on considering the position it’s in. board In amongst its great work, the current landscape makes way for ad-blocking audiences, 08 Managing our obsession metrics that encourage certain members to bid on hundreds of impressions to gain just one click from a user, while even the onset of data-driven marketing has created with data and mobile a lot of room for improvement. 10 Sharing data The upshot of all of the above is advertising’s questionable ability to serve the very for better marketing people on the receiving end of it. We may not have lost track of the customer - who 12 Why the user holds the key treats channels like paid search as a genuine service - but there is an underlying reason why we’ve seen a shift in companies looking to become more consumer- to ad blocking’s demise centric in their approach. 14 Q&A Looking ahead As we prepare to look over the hill of 2016 and into the immediate future, channels like display, paid search and affiliate marketing are being tipped for radical change, and we felt it was time to create a resource that summed up the situation at present and provide clues as to how we get closer to what the consumer needs.

Working with leading performance marketing agency NMPi, we leapt at the chance of creating a supplement that would compile the thoughts of advertisers, agencies, networks and publishers regarding some of the industry’s biggest challenges, and Brought to you by how addressing them will benefit audiences around the world. Richard Towey Head of Content, PerformanceIN I’d like to personally thank NMPi for its invaluable input with the supplement as well as our expert contributors from All Saints, Savoo, Acquire, Affiliate Window, Mark Jones Editorial Executive, PerformanceIN Conversant and Digitas LBi. Monika Komar We hope you enjoy what you’re about to read. News and Features Reporter, PerformanceIN

Jonathan Chubb Senior Designer, PerformanceIN

Mark Atherton Sales Manager, PerformanceIN Richard Towey, Head of Content, PerformanceIN

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Advertising in the eye of a consumer: The crucial numbers

48% strongly agree 21.2% Online ads are more intrusive Brits use an ad blocker than they were 2-3 years ago

Reasons for using an ad blocker Why do people click? The ad was… Ads are intrusive 64% Interesting 40% Ads are disruptive 54% Paid search 21% Security concerns 39% Visually appealing 13% They affect bandwidth 36% Privacy concerns 32%

Which formats aren’t working? (Viewed as extremely negative)

Telemarketing 76%

Pop-ups 63%

Autoplay video ads 48%

Online video ads 22% !5 PerformanceIN.com // Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

The most useful ads Paid search ads 57% 71% Social media ads 47% of consumers want ads

Video ads “in game” or on YouTube 46% tailored to their personal

DISPLAY Display ads 37% interests and shopping habits

Two thirds of 1/ 10 consumers understand 75% the need for ads, while want fewer ads, with just one in ten report a everything aligned to ⅔ positive experience. who they are

Why personalise ads? (the consumer’s view)

Makes ads more relevant 46% Good way to discover new products 25% Makes searching for items faster and easier 19%

54% of users don’t click banner ads because they don’t trust them

REFERENCES https//www.iabuk.net/research/library/ad-blocking-software-consumer-usage-and-attitudes-july-2016 https//research.hubspot.com/reports/why-people-block-ads-and-what-it-means-for-marketers-and-advertisers https//research.hubspot.com/charts/experience-created-by-ads https//research.hubspot.com/reports/why-people-block-ads-and-what-it-means-for-marketers-and-advertisers https//research.hubspot.com/reports/why-people-block-ads-and-what-it-means-for-marketers-and-advertisers https//research.hubspot.com/reports/why-people-block-ads-and-what-it-means-for-marketers-and-advertisers httphttp//www.adlucent.com/blog/2016/71-of-consumers-prefer-personalized-ads///www.adlucent.com/blog/2016/71-of-consumers-prefer-personalized-ads/ http//performancein.com/news/2016/09/09/92-consumers-demand-improvements-video-ads-spite-channel-growth/ http//www.bannersnack.com/blog/build-trust-display-ads/ !6 PerformanceIN.com // New User Acquisition in Afﬁliate Marketing

How we’re losing track of the customer It would be unjust to say online advertising is reaching a crisis point. The medium is responsible for driving ad spend worldwide this year up 4.6%, to a worth of $579 billion.

ut, that said, recent studies associations believe the message is finally their surroundings. It’s perhaps why ‘native’ and events provide indication getting out, but the current environment may is a runaway contender for buzzword of the that years upon years of system not make for the best conditions on which year. B playing, last-click chasing and to base large-scale change. intrusive behaviour undertaken by some For every tailored item in the sidebar there corners of the industry may have done some Retargeters looking to encourage the last is a pop-up or a pre-roll video, both of which damage. click before a purchase will often play are attracting billions in spend but spurring the volume game to ensure they fend on a bad consumer reaction, if certain studies In an era where choice is bestowed on off the necessary competition. With so are to be believed. web users, 21.2% of those based in the UK few advertisers claiming to have a single are deciding to block advertising. Rapid customer view, there will always be the Ad-blocker adoption may represent an adoption of tools like Adblock Plus is said chance of irrelevant messages being served, intimidating issue to conquer, although to have harmed the display advertising while the race for data - a huge positive in the alarm isn’t being sounded on its own. industry to the tune of $21.8 billion the long run - is putting a ‘spooky’ edge to Consumers are more concerned than ever annually worldwide, with complaints over creative when done in the wrong way. about their privacy online - ironically during a intrusiveness, disruption to web journeys period where advertisers are spending small and a lack of privacy topping the list of Positives stem from genuine service- fortunes on the tech that will allow them to ‘reasons for’. led channels like paid search, where an get even more information on the people advertisement can guise as exactly what the they’re selling to. Numerous experts representing some of the user is consciously looking for. Facebook’s biggest brands, agencies and publishers have user count has only grown since the presence There is a gaping chance to use this power voiced their opinion over what this could do of sponsored listings on its news feeds, pages for good, but there is certainly work to be to the publishers whose content is funded and games, but there is a lot to be said for done going forward. by the very ads being blocked. Advertising platforms that can merge advertising into !7 PerformanceIN.com // New User Acquisition in Afﬁliate Marketing

Getting them back on board

Users are demanding greater relevance audience segments, don’t be surprised to New EU data protection laws are set to shake out of their advertising and this would not see some of this spend trickling down to up sections of the industry that refuse to play be a bad place to start when it comes to smaller sites, too. by the rules when it comes to user targeting, improvements. If more attention is paid to with this being ever-crucial in a period where what the user wants – perhaps with a view Will ad blockers continue to hug the intent data is worth its weight in gold. to sending them fewer, more meaningful headlines? Given the threat of losing their messages – a positive reaction will follow. favourite columns, podcasts and web series Access to personal information has the ability – and the direct approach adopted by many to change advertising as we know it. The Tackling the purported issues with publishers – consumers may wish to revise same applies to mobile targeting again, a ‘intrusiveness’ may not be as easy, the ramifications of blocking the odd display scenario where things could go wrong if the considering the large amount of subjectivity advertisement from entering the space next offers delivered to phones by nearby shops involved. Nevertheless, the IAB’s pulling of to their content. The creators of ad-blocking are not on point, or too heavy in their supply. support for pop-ups can be seen as a notable tools are also courting some big opposition in step in the right direction towards weeding Facebook and Axel Springer, who will surely With the above in mind, there are clear out the repeat offenders. fancy their chances of spotting a chink in positives around the direction online the armour. advertising could be heading, and it’s fair to Adding to the positives are moves from the say the industry is gearing up for a big few publishers who are really starting to get the The spend may even stick around for as years ahead. hang of exactly where the advertisers should long as the ad blockers do. In a poll of get their voices heard. Sponsored content PerformanceIN readers from 2015, 78% is huge business for media behemoths backed organic marketing to benefit from any like the Guardian and Huffington Post, movement away from paid, which triggers a but as advertisers get better at finding big thumbs up to SEO, moment marketing niche publishers that tap right into specific and more.

Follow Rich Towey: [email protected] @RichToweyPI !8 PerformanceIN.com // Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

Managing our obsession with data and mobile

ith every view and every click, consumers leave a trail of where they W go and what they do online. Advertisers appear intent on building a strong collection of these digital breadcrumbs, and have the luxury of being able to contact the provider of such clues at any point in the journeys they make thereafter.

The situation at present would be something the more important as excitement over new be ineffective as consumers felt they were of a marketing utopia some 20 years ago. technology and the possibilities of mobile being ‘exploited’. It’s not exactly a luxury that gets taken for ramps up. granted today, given the need among brands Andrew Turner, head of partnerships at NMPi, to base their messaging on solid insight and takes the ad-blocking situation as a warning, the criticism of ‘guesswork’ that leaves them ‘Creepy’ creative stating that “users will not accept advertising catering for the people they think they’re they do not deem to help support their online selling to. Growing from a piece of technology to a experience”. very personal companion people refer to It’s an ideal scenario, right up until the user’s throughout the day, the smartphone is a He’s not the only one to pick up on the own view is taken into account. targeting goldmine for advertisers. They get worrying signs. Savoo’s creative content and access to their audiences almost 24/7 and comms director Ed Fleming understands According to Globalwebindex, ‘intrusiveness’ can push out offers in line with what they why consumers would think some practices and concerns in regards to online privacy are know about the people on the receiving end. carried out across the industry are invasive. among the top ten reasons why consumers block ads. Even if you don’t believe that to Advertising is more intelligent than ever “Can we really say that we currently offer the be true, when considering all the expected before increasingly served based on what consumer the very best experience?” he asks. advances in ‘out of home’ targeting as our consumers share, talk about and search for customers journey down the high street or to create a more relevant experience. Turner believes a key step is to improve catch a bus to work, coupled with advertisers’ communication with customers in the fight demands to do more and more on mobile, Nevertheless, the line between ‘targeted’ to gain back their trust. it’s easy to see that the ability to target at and ‘invasive’ creative is hard to navigate. any given time is going to become greater. A study from Ithaca reveals that tailored “If a user is clearly made aware that their ads are sometimes found ‘creepy’ as they’re purchase history will be used to influence Advertisers need data to better target considered too personal. As a result, some a future marketing message, they would be customers, but users appear fed up with forms of ads can have the opposite effect happy, with any that disapprove removed their boundaries being pushed. Striking a on buyers than what’s expected. In a similar from future marketing.” balance, therefore, is going to become all study, Stanford also found targeted ads to !9 PerformanceIN.com // Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

Changing perceptions “If a consumer has recently shopped with a Follow Monika Komar: retailer, the retailer knows what the person [email protected] Although the data debate seems to be a has bought and sends them a message @MonikaKomar contentious point in the industry, there is saying, ‘Hi – we’ve noticed you haven’t potential for tangible advantages for all shopped with us recently, but we wanted to involved and ads, served at the right time let you know you can get 20% off a similar and with the right message, can boost sales. item – but please click here if you don’t want Rethinking advertising’s own branding and to receive these messages’, then I think the focusing efforts on the consumer could be consumer will be fine.” the key to useful advertising that won’t get blocked. Fleming adds that even in the case where shoppers have not purchased anything in a “If we continue to just blast them [customers] while, retailers can still invite them back to with thousands of ads that have no relevance the store - to enter a competition or to just ask to their lives, we will erode the experience them a question - and the message doesn’t forever,” says Fleming, adding that interacting have to be about sales. with consumers shouldn’t just boil down to sales. Data and mobile targeting can be used “If the context and choice are to offer them “something different”. right, then I believe the consumer will appreciate On that point, Turner believes consumer the interaction.” data should be shared with internal teams, agencies and partners to make better- informed media buying decisions which, in turn, could be the “tipping point” in the change of perception of online advertising.

Drawing a line

With no rules surrounding how much is ‘too much’ when it comes to using data, the line between ‘useful’ and ‘invasive’ can be all too easy to cross. Considered the ‘most exciting’ mobile opportunity this year by two-thirds of marketers, location-based advertising could take the customer experience to the next level bringing more precision and effectiveness to mobile ads.

To drive value to both consumer and advertiser without appearing too ‘invasive’, Turner advises an ongoing dialogue to ensure progress.

“Communicating to a user via their mobile that a store they’ve just walked past has a product in stock that was not available to them online is using data and customer insight to add value to all parties, “ he says, highlighting the importance of a value exchange where necessary.

For Fleming, the key elements to bear in mind in conversations around this emerging capability are context and choice. 1! PerformanceIN.com // New User Acquisition in Afﬁliate Marketing

Sharing data for better marketing

any digital elements have been crowned as pivotal to the functionality of effective marketing throughout the years. Data M seems to be the buzzword of the moment, continuously finding new ways to re-invent some of the more aged practices and opening up a whole host of opportunities for connecting brands with audiences.

Advertisers can easily gain insights into Affiliate Window’s account director Paul used to leverage performance for similar their consumer’s story using first-party Stewart explains that even though the brands. Owing to a lack of insight from the data, although this type of information network facilitates transactional data advertiser's side around the publisher's will fall short at revealing the full picture. being passed back, which is later available planned activity, there could be further That’s where publishers come into play. via custom reporting, not enough hesitance.” advertisers use it. The reason this is not Much like the advertisers they work passed to publishers lies in advertisers’ Acquire’s founder and director Tom for, publishers collect a huge amount concerns regarding data protection, as Holland puts emphasis on the importance of information on the people that visit well as uncertainty around what can and of trust between a brand and a network, their sites. That data can be incredibly cannot be shared. as building that relationship takes time. useful to the advertiser, and vice versa. After all, if brands are increasing their Stewart believes the lack of regulatory “Publishers rarely get that much time efforts in finding new customers, it would guidance might be a key factor stopping in front of a brand, because the brand make sense to facilitate an exchange marketers from letting loose some of their hasn’t got enough time to get to know that would identify whether someone information. publishers in the same way. Therefore, connected to a publisher had bought I believe that brands are more hesitant with an advertiser before serving them “We’ve published a lot of advice on this to share information with the publishers potentially inappropriate content. ourselves, but I feel there could be more because of a lack of relationship with guidelines saying ‘this is the kind of data them.” Although the consolidation of ‘shareable you want to be sharing, this is the kind you data’ between the two makes a great deal don’t’. Without that, some may decide to of sense, an open exchange is still not take a default standpoint of ‘why risk it?’” Win-win commonplace across the industry, and - like data - remains a talking point for Andrew Turner, head of partnerships at Holland claims that in the correct today. NMPi, believes it’s key to communicate circumstance, sharing data will “without why data is needed, how it might be used doubt” improve the advertiser’s experience and what the value in sharing it is, as and help achieve their objectives. Building relationships well as reassuring advertisers on privacy protection. Data analysis and a common understanding While a direct connection is hard to find, of goals ensure publishers’ and advertisers’ some advertising networks will offer “It is common that publishers work with strategy is relevant and user experience is an automated feedback loop between multiple brands in the same sector, improved. publishers and brands raising concerns over the data being 11

Holland highlights In Holland’s view, brands that although advertisers are beginning to understand might think they have an in- that data sharing can help them not depth understanding of their audience, only achieve, but also exceed their goals. having access to a publisher’s data is campaigns. In the long run, it can also However, he admits to this depending useful for benchmarking their insights. have a positive effect on advertising on the brand, as not all are comfortable overall. Stewart believes it could breed giving information away, while logistics For publishers to remain competitive, it’s relevancy and effectiveness because a regarding internal sign-off often prevent key to offer all possible measures to boost more personalised offer is more likely easy sharing. value for advertisers, and data is their to bring better reactions for the brand. currency. Getting access to advertisers’ Turner believes improvements are already information will help them understand At the same time, he is confident the underway as the space has reached a customer behaviour after they have made numerous ‘poor’ practices in advertising, key stage in addressing challenges a purchase, and therefore identify the such as invasive pop-ups, would disappear surrounding the value of advertising. right tactics to target the right customers. if the industry looked at a ‘truer’ measure of the publisher's value. “Publishers and advertisers working Further to this, Stewart believes that if closer together to share data, track publishers don’t get access to things like “A lot of advertisers reward on the last campaigns, share insight will deliver more lifetime value data, they should not be click and a lot of publishers chase it. You effective campaigns and move away from measured on it. see plenty of pop-overs and pop-unders publishers working in silos,” he stated, targeting that metric.” outlining a goal that advertising at large “As a network, we are seeing more and should be chasing down. more cases of advertisers being able According to Stewart, correct data to securely share this information with sharing would show how effective such us, particularly new clients, who often an approach is, potentially encouraging joined the network for this very reason,” advertisers to take a closer look into he explains. user behaviour. This, in turn, could make advertising more helpful.

Impacting advertising But with so much conversation around Follow Monika Komar: this topic, will improvements happen [email protected] The impact of data sharing goes far soon? @MonikaKomar beyond individual relationships and 12 PerformanceIN.com // New User Acquisition in Afﬁliate Marketing Why the user holds the key to ad blocking’s demise worthy candidate for ‘crisis point number one’ for a great many in A digital advertising, ad blockers - the tools that prevent certain ad formats from entering the user’s line of vision - could prove useful as a means of pointing out where display advertising must up its game.

While the tide of hysteria tracing back to the programmes, while advertisements have “Content has to be paid for, and if you infamous report by PageFair has receded, the taken further tacks towards user experience. can’t make someone understand the value use of extensions that hide advertisements Most recently, Facebook made tweaks to its exchange, then you have a serious problem,” from view continue to siphon a worryingly ad servers to reject the software’s effect on asserts Elliot Clayton, commercial director large proportion of ad revenue. its network. for Conversant.

Juniper research diagnosed the cost of the All of this and more has occurred amid a However, it’s not just a consumer education damage worldwide at $27 billion by 2020 cluster of skirmishes and lawsuits between issue. Current advertising models, such as the - as much as 10% of global ad revenue. digital marketing stakeholders and the ad 30-day cookie period - a standard timing used Although countless other sources front their blockers themselves. As the dust shows signs in affiliate marketing - means some parties own statistics, few offer kernels of comfort. of settling (UK ad-blocker usage is dipping, often don’t know if a user has visited a site albeit slowly) 2016 seems like a great time to frequently or not, and as such, get chased Attempting a moralistic perspective on the take stock and find out ways of getting more around the internet. matter, Affiliate Window’s Paul Stewart draws onside with the user. a comparison with the upset subjected to the Coupled with concerns over data privacy, this music industry circa two decades ago, when resulting frustration is partly what’s caused MP3 sharing portal Napster threw a wrench The balance 22% of UK consumers to take up arms in the into the commercial model, irreversibly form of ad blockers. shaping it into what stands today. If there is some solace to be taken out of the tidal shift in ad-blocker adoption, it’s a “Retargeters are getting pulled off plans “Is ad blocking right? Ethically, no, but with deeper understanding of the premise ‘value because they’re showing someone 2,000 ads both ads and music that option was given exchange’. in the space of a week. It's detrimental to user to the user and the various industries had experience,” Clayton comments. to react.” The online content that many expect to be free often comes funded by the very ads the The alternative - backing away from the Nevertheless, two years - the time it’s been consumer is blocking. This informal trade consumer and monitoring behaviour over since PageFair’s landmark study was released ensures that publishers and web users get what a longer period of time (even as much as - is more akin to a decade in the performance they want out of their relationship, even if rates six months, according to Clayton) - allows industry, and it has been characteristically of growth for companies like Eyeo - creator of advertisers to craft their messaging as a service reactive in its ability to adapt. Publishers Adblock Plus - suggests there is work to be done to the user advertising that provides relevance now frequently wall access to users of the in getting its message out to the public. and genuinely welcomed product suggestions. ds

“The key to achieving that is to look at the incremental measurement of conversions, rather than solely the cost per acquisition. Measuring this way will allow you to serve ads at the moment of intent, benefiting both brand and user," Clayton adds. For Stewart Toll, however, performance “Those things that form part of your daily life marketers could do worse than looking at that don’t involve you being on your laptop or what the leaders in social advertising are similar, are going to take off,” Toll comments. Defining success doing for their non-intrusive, engaging ad experiences. What this now means is that online advertising For Stuart Toll, head of affiliates at DigitasLBi, can no longer be overly apparent, but must a “select few” have been guilty of ignoring “Those guys are integrating advertising with form part of a user’s experience - whether best practice on impression caps and user things their users want to do. With Snapchat that’s providing a service in the form of experience, but this has been symptomatic it’s built around filters and other options in personalised recommendations, or offering of advertisers’ current benchmarks of success, the app, with Facebook it’s customised videos some interactivity. Today’s advertisers need which he believes will always determine based on your attributes. to offer something more than being sold to. publisher behaviour. “Generally the rule is that whatever the user In the words of Snapchat’s UK general “Gradually we’re seeing advertisers buy into is doing, you have to enhance that. If the user manager, Claire Valoti, on mobile advertising direct marketing that isn’t necessarily so is on Snapchat and looking at Stories, the “Look at what your audience wants to do and stringently results-driven, and become more company has to do something related to that add to that.” flexible on what constitutes success,” says Toll. feature. If it’s different then it’s going to seem like an interruption,” says Toll. This includes an increased advance into content marketing, which hasn’t come as It’s a change in attitude which is gaining Follow Mark Jones: a direct result of ad blocking, he adds, but ground, demonstrated by the launch of a [email protected] “won’t be overlooked” as a sound measure of number of new IAB-approved formats, which @markjonesltd circumvention. When done well, it can reach focus on the “next generation” of online ads - the end user with proven impact. things such as emojis, 360-degree images and videos, as well as virtual and augmented reality. 14

Q&A: Looking ahead

s we ponder what the next few years could hold for the online advertising A industry at large, we grouped together three representatives across the advertiser, agency and publisher side to gain their thoughts on what may lie ahead.

feedback, then that’s ok because if you AA: There is too much focus on how to get With ‘personalisation’ continue to strive to improve the UX and around this at present. Any format (there a key pillar in providing are transparent about your desire to do are far too many of them currently) that so, the level of personalisation will not be can either have a positive impact on the users with value, how can seen as creepy, but as innovative. customer or tap into authenticity, will marketers keep on the right thrive. The channels that perform well, side of ‘creepy’? Tom Holland: This is a question which though, will be the channels that have regularly surfaces when working with always done well. Alex Adamson: The concept of being retargeters, basket abandonment creepy will obviously differ between affiliates and overlay specialists. EF: I think the affiliate channel will verticals (data-rich industries like banking Unfortunately it’s being done poorly by continue to grow but only if it innovates face the biggest challenges) but it really too many advertisers, which frustrates in the right way. Perhaps ‘in-feed’, ‘native’ comes down to the utility of the message the consumer and gives the method a and ‘sponsored’ content will flourish, but and the benefits from personalisation. bad reputation. No one wants to see a advertisers need to be strong enough to Before putting any creative live, really discount for a product they’ve just bought. diversify their messaging and test new think ‘what is the benefit to the customer?’, However, I think that people are becoming concepts. rather than doing something because you more open to personalised content. Their think it's 'best practice'. Once you get argument is, if you’re going to see an ad, TH: Every year is the ‘year of the mobile’, to the point where you're struggling to it should be relevant to their interests. right? Maybe it’s 2017? Affiliates like find that benefit, you've already crossed That would make them happy with the VoucherCloud have five million followers the line. ‘creepiness’ of it. and with smartphone screens getting larger, I feel like the shift will continue to Ed Fleming: I don’t think ‘personalisation’ lean towards mobile purchasing. High should be just what the advertiser and/ In a ‘post-blocker’ value purchases like flights are likely to or publisher thinks the user should have ecosystem, what ad formats still get made on desktop, but FMCG firms it should be a conversation in order to will continue to grow on the mobile side. continuously improve the experience. and channels do you expect I also think channels like PPC are due That means testing, offering choice to flourish in 2017 and a facelift. We’ve introduced NMPi to a and asking for feedback. If you need beyond? couple of our brands, and they’re saving to incentivise a consumer to offer their them the time and hassle of managing 15 PerformanceIN.com // Getting Consumers Onside with Advertising

Google Adwords for a better return than TH: Consumers are very quick to complain EF: I think the answer to this comes in two the brand was seeing previously. Before when they see an ad they don’t like or parts, but falls under the heading, ‘Don’t you know it, we could have everything think is inappropriate. In 2015, 50,000 misread the consumers’ digital body running through the performance people signed a petition to have a Protein language’. Advertisers need to understand channel. Works ad removed from the London what the consumer really needs and then Tube Network after the ‘beach body create messages and services that reflect ready’ campaign apparently offended that pain point. Publishers also need to Do you feel the advertising commuters, who deemed the image be aware that if they place unwanted ads industry on the whole does inappropriate because it promoted in the consumers’ timeline, they will have an “unhealthy body image” and the less of a chance – over time – of winning enough to listen and act on “objectification of women in advertising”. repeat business in a world where loyalty consumer opinions? The advertising industry listened to the is scarce. It’s easy to say, but not so easy complaints, and I’m sure the ad would to do. AA: We will try, and we will get a good have been removed if it hadn’t been due understanding of our customer - who they to anyway. No such ad has been launched TH: The buzzword has been, and always are and what they want - but we should since then. However, the company say seems to be, ‘incrementality’, and of always aim to do more. Going forward, we that the PR around the complaints gained course it’s necessary to ensure that the should strive to exceed their expectations them 20,000 new customers, so who really sales driven by publishers are incremental. and I think the advertising industry has a won? The misuse of some affiliates will often lot to learn from the customer experience cause the brand to write them off. We industry in that sense. find that we must help educate the brand What is the one mistake to hear more about the affiliate before EF: I used to work with a senior figure advertising must learn from deciding against using them. This is more in the advertising industry who said common when it comes to retargeters (be that agencies should never listen to moving forward? it basket abandoners, retargeting ads or the consumer. I’m not sure I agree with AA I appreciate this sounds a bit strange, overlays/panels). Time and time again, him, but I can see his point… to an but being too data driven. Obviously the brand recruits the affiliate, allows extent. I think we should understand there's power in analysing and evaluating them free reign, and then removes them consumer needs and – in the digital data when making decisions, but there and accuses them of cannibalising other world in particular – look to understand is a risk of become too blinkered in channels. If there’s something to learn for how we can create a better product and this approach, rather than taking into 2017, it’s how to use the correct publisher UX. However, sometimes the consumer consideration logic and context. At times appropriately. doesn’t always know what they want, it feels like the industry has come from a and it should be down to us as creative place of logic all the way to data, and a marketers to tell them what they should balance needs to be struck in between. be using to improve their digital lives, as long as it’s relevant to them.

PANELLISTS

Alex Adamson Tom Holland Ed Fleming Senior Global Digital Marketing Manager Director and founder Creative content and comms director AllSaints Acquire Savoo Contact us

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