Tag Archive for: women

Scan To Buy: QR Codes Are Revolutionizing The Advertising Industry

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When you see a QR code atop a table at a restaurant, on a flier you receive in the mail, or floating across a TV screen , your first instinct is to pull out your smartphone and scan it. This almost involuntary action has become a routine part of everyday life. The numbers say it all — 83.4 million US smartphone users will scan a QR code in 2022, a 10% rise from 2021, and more than 50% from 2019, according to Insider Intelligence. This number is only projected to grow in the next few years.

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Quick Recap of The Rise Of QR Codes

The increased adoption of QR codes is in large part due to the pandemic. With ‘contactless’ being the catchphrase of 2020, QR codes helped limit physical interactions that could result in the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Advancements in technology also fuelled the growth of QR codes in almost every industry. Easy and free ways to build a QR code linking to your product or website meant that more brands and businesses could avail this technology. The consumer experience became much easier with the ability to simply use a smartphone camera to scan.

Brands and advertisers quickly realized how this shift in human behavior could propel their business — through QR codes available on TV screens, billboards, public transportation and even in stores. Shoppable ads are the next big thing, with interactive formats allowing brands to showcase products on screens that link to their website directly. The codes can provide scanners with different types of information, from product materials and manufacturing processes to marketing promotions, app downloads and more. On TV screens, QR codes allow viewers to scan and buy products, take advantage of discounts and deals, or download new games/apps directly on their smartphones.

What Are Static VS Dynamic QR Codes?

A static QR code is a fixed, uneditable snippet of code that links to a specific website or page. It cannot be tracked and can be scanned many times. These are useful for situations when you don’t need to change the link, such as for restaurant menus or one-time marketing purposes.

With a dynamic QR code, you can edit the content whenever necessary without having to change or redeploy the code. Here’s a quick example of how it works at LG Ad Solutions — Brands can send us their TV assets and our team will turn them into multiple dynamic template ad variations. Variations are tagged according to data signals, including weather, location, event, time of day, audience preferences, device, etc. Based on these signals, the creative and QR code is updated in real-time to provide the most relevant information to the viewer. It’s a hot August day in New York City? A retail store can target viewers within 3 miles of the store with ads for ice cream!

Measurable Outcomes = Big Wins

QR codes provide a privacy-complaint way of measuring the effectiveness of a campaign. Information on the number of scans, number of bottom-funnel decisions made by consumers as a result of the scan, location data, and time of scan can all be measured using QR codes.

QR codes also provide first-party data on customer behavior, including website visits, coupon codes used, purchases made, and other conversion metrics. Brands can use this data to better understand consumer behavior and optimize for the promotions, creatives, or messaging that performed best.

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Interested in learning more about how we can help you take advantage of QR codes to engage with your viewers? Contact us at info@lgads.tv or scan below to send us a message:

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From The Experts: 3 Tips To Reach And Connect With Women Audiences

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Often when brands are thinking about their advertising strategy, they make ad buys based on general market audience profiles, without stopping to consider the nuanced, specific segment of women. Yet, women control over $10 trillion in consumer spending in the US. Additionally, according to Traqline, women account for a considerable percentage of traditionally male product purchases — 45% of auto tires and batteries, 50% of consumer electronics and 55% of small appliances. With women being at the forefront of many purchase decisions, brands should dedicate a portion of their budget to advertising to this audience group in a manner that reflects their values and beliefs.

In celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth, we brought together a panel of female powerhouses to discuss how brands can better reach and engage with the highly receptive women audience segment. Our expert panel included Tiffany Pegues, Group Leader, Consumer Advocacy and Insights at Church & Dwight Co. Inc.; Katie Klein, Chief Investment Officer at PHD Media; Amy Sheridan, Senior Director, Global Integrated Media at Nike; and our moderators — Katherine Yager, VP of General Market Sales and Monica Longoria, Head of Product Marketing at LG Ad Solutions.

When it comes to reaching women audiences and connecting with them on a deeper level, here are three tips to keep in mind:

  1. Don’t Think Pink: Women are multilayered, multifaceted and dynamic individuals. Brands must truly understand a woman’s nuanced personality, tailoring their messaging and creative to represent her accurately. Advertising based on gender stereotypes will not only make a woman feel unseen, but likely prevent her from buying from the brand. As women grow and navigate different life stages, they prioritize different things. A single, working woman will have different priorities compared to a married woman or a mother. Brands must be deliberate in the way they speak to women so as to resonate with them in a way that earns their loyalty.                                                                                                                                                             LG Ads Quote Katie Klein v                                                                                                                                                           vvv 
  2. Content Is Queen!: The importance of following your audience and meeting them where they are cannot be stressed enough. Attention and consumption habits are fragmented, making multi-media marketing a necessity. Video on TV and cross-screen devices, if integrated into content in the right way, can strike a chord with target audiences. Short-form and long-form content both have their own place in media, but lines are starting to blur in terms of where this content can be found. For instance, LG TVs now have the TikTok app available, meaning that short-form content can be viewed on the largest screen in the house and is not restricted to mobile or tablet.                                                                                                                                                                            LG Ads Quote x tiff                      vvv 
  3. Not Out With The Old, But In With The New: Millennials are an important target for brands. But the up-and-coming Gen Z and Gen Alpha cannot be left unconsidered. Gen Z especially looks up to and resonates with brands that take a stand on social issues and have opinions on topics that matter. These generations are also not monolithic and consist of cohorts of diverse thoughts and backgrounds that marketers must embrace. To resonate with these audiences, brands must first consider what aspect of Gen Z audiences they want to tap into and then decide the media mix that will have the most impact.LG Ads Quote amy v

A common thread amongst all the expert opinions in our webinar was for there to be women representation both on camera and behind the scenes. For brands to design campaigns that target women, it is imperative to have women at the helm of decisions who can accurately portray women, their needs and values. Investment in diverse talent is critical not only to amplify the voices of women in general, but women from different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems to help truly make a difference.

To view the full webinar, fill in the form below:


The Perks of CTV For Brands 

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When we talk about TV today, it’s not just cable and broadcast networks but also Subscription Video on Demand (SVODs), Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV Services (FASTs) and Ad-supported Video on Demand (AVODs).

With internet capabilities allowing more players to enter into the content production and dissemination mix, the volume of content available has skyrocketed. Add in the fact that much of the content is on-demand, and you can see how the popularity around CTV, which enables OTT streaming on TV screens, is justified.

According to eMarketer, the US will have 221 million CTV users in 2022, a five-fold increase from 2021, and the number of AVOD viewers in the U.S. will surpass 140 million by the end of the year. Data from Hub Entertainment Research shows that more than two-thirds of TV households use a smart TV to stream content. With so many viewers flocking to streaming on TV, the market is ripe for presenting ads to engaged consumers — ad spend is predicted to grow to nearly $20 billion by the end of 2022, a 32% increase from the previous year.
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Second Screening and Cross-Device Retargeting

You are watching TV when you glance at the lead actor’s wrist watch and remember that you were looking to buy one too. Immediately, you take out your smartphone and start browsing through watch websites. This action of using a second device, while you are tuned into another, is colloquially referred to as ‘second screening’. This phenomenon is widely seen amongst TV viewers, with 84% of US adults admitting that they “frequently hide behind their second screens while watching television” (Engine Insights, 2021). This creates the perfect opportunity for advertisers. By targeting across multiple devices, brands can reach potential customers wherever their eyes are.

Retargeting your consumer and engaging with them at multiple touch points helps keep your brand top of mind to drive brand awareness and sales. Additionally, you can assess clicks and consequent audience shopping behavior through actions taken on these devices, putting a return value on all your campaigns.

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Measurability Is A Priority For Brands 

Another major factor contributing to TV’s popularity amongst brands is measurability. The Trade Desk found that 70% of brands say their top priority for TV investments is linking video investments to business outcomes.

Using ACR technology, smart TV OEMs like LG Ad Solutions can measure everything ‘on-the-glass’, i.e. both CTV and linear TV campaigns. Brands can not only measure ad impressions, but also accurately link ad viewership to in-store traffic, website visits, brand lift and more. Using a device-first strategy makes it easy for brands to see which strategies are working and optimize their ads in real-time to get the best results. In addition, they can test out messaging and creatives with various audiences, gain a comprehensive view of their campaign results and capture return on ad spend (ROAS).

When you buy CTV inventory with LG Ad Solutions, there is an added dimension of measurability — accountability for actual campaign results through our Guaranteed Outcomes Program. This means that brands only have to pay for media that hits their predetermined campaign metrics, such as reaching a specific demographic, extending reach and frequency, driving TV app installs, 100% video completion rates and more.

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Interested in learning more and partnering with us to take your CTV campaigns to the next level, while measuring business outcomes against ad investment? Contact us at info@lgads.tv or send us a message on our contact page.

 

 

Breaking The Bias: Why Brands Must Intentionally and Accurately Represent Women in Messaging

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If common sense, instinct, and good ethics weren’t enough to convince brands that the accurate portrayal of women in marketing was important, there is now data to prove it. According to the 2021 GEM Lift Study conducted by SeeHer and IRI using LG Ad Solutions TV viewership data, women across the globe together control $31.5 trillion in consumer spending, of which $10 trillion is in the US alone. A massive chunk of the consumer spend is women-led, with 90% of decisions around purchasing consumer goods driven by women.

Our world is not as equitable as we wish it to be, to make a gross understatement. But media today plays a central and pivotal role in fighting against discrimination and improving equality. In fact, more than half (52%) of consumers believe that the onus is, in part, on media to improve equality. Similarly, 72% believe that brands can drive social change. 

GEM Study To Understand Impact of Equal Representation on Brand Sales 

SeeHer has been actively involved in measuring the value of diversity in media. In its latest effort, SeeHer led the development of a measurability index called GEM (Gender Equality Measure) to examine unconscious gender bias in advertising and programming. GEM evaluates the accurate portrayal of women and girls in ads and programming. The baseline GEM score is 100, with any score higher than 100 meaning that the programming/commercial accurately represents the female population. 

The GEM research study* conducted found that:

*For full methodology on the research study download the 2021 GEM Lift Study here. (Page 16)

  1. A campaign creative that accurately portrays women and girls can garner five times incremental sales lift and two times sales lift when placed in proper programming
  2. Across gender, language, race and ethnicity, ads with high GEM scores overall delivered 60% improved sales performance
  3. Ads that score 106 or above on GEM see a 12% incremental sales lift for women and an 81% lift for men vs. those scoring below that number
  4. Ads placed on TV shows that have a high GEM score also contribute to significant sales increases (up to 93% lift)

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Inclusion and representation should be the core of every business

Media investment directed at marginalized audience groups is very small compared to the percentage they account for in the population. For example, there are 31 million Hispanic women in the US, representing one in five women overall. However, according to the Hispanic Marketing Council, only 6% of advertising industry investment is directed at the Hispanic community. This discrepancy is also present for Asian and Black audiences, in part due to lack of diversity within companies.

“Understanding the audience is key. Having a team that can add a cultural lens, that can interpret the data, make it [the Hispanic audience ad experience] authentic and make it real is extremely important. In front of and behind the camera, the creatives at any point must reflect the audience.” – Annie Leal, Head of Content at H Code [Full webinar here]

As a society, we are making strides, most often in the right direction, toward shattering stereotypes and biases. While inclusion is obviously beneficial for society, it is also valuable to the bottom line: Brands that stand for accurate representation and have a diverse internal makeup build trust and loyalty with the consumer, leading to increased sales performance. Media that showcases the intersectionality and multidimensional personality of an audience helps them feel seen. As such, if brands want to grow and gain more traction with their audiences, focusing on equality should be the highest priority. 

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Interested in learning more? Download the 2021 GEM Lift Study – Accurate Portrayal of Women and Girls Accelerates Business Growth Across Gender, Language, Race and Ethnicity here.

To discuss how we can help you reach women across TV, contact us at info@lgads.tv or send us a message on our contact page.