Brands Need A TV + Mobile Video Strategy

In a recent spends forecast, MAGNA expects digital to surpass television ad spend in 2017 with digital representing 37.8 per cent at $59 billion, while television’s share is at 37.7 per cent of budgets. Keeping in mind that mobile video consumption is increasing, Facebook launched a PockeTVC programme that allows brands to optimise their TV ads for mobile.

The brain behind the programme, May Seow explains how she came up with the idea of PockeTVC, “Every major brand has a TV commercial but not every TV commercial is optimised for the mobile environment. A few years ago, when I spoke with the brands on how they design their video ads for Facebook, they told me they took the ads as is from TV. However, the consumer’s behaviour on mobile is very different from viewing TV. When I saw this gap, I started optimising TV ads for Facebook on mobile.”

Mobile vs TV: Is the Golden Age of TV over?

MAGNA predicts that mobile advertising would pass the $100 billion mark for the first time this year and reach $110 billion. “Digital spends are going to surpass TV for sure, but how do we equip brands for that change? PocketTVC helps brands to build the muscles, so they are prepared for the shift,” adds Seow.

A 2015 Accenture study found that 87 per cent of people use a second screen device while watching TV. A MillwardBrown Ad Reaction research from 2015 found that people in Southeast Asia spend over 90 minutes viewing mobile videos every day.

Seow highlights that in the Asia Pacific, consumers are truly mobile first. “Businesses have an opportunity to reach consumers where they spend a good chunk of time averaging three hours daily on their mobile phone and check their phones 80+ times a day (+150 for millennials) to unlock growth opportunities.”

However, she stressed that this does not mean that advertisers and brands should disregard TV completely. “It’s taking a strategic and combined approach that could yield the best possible uplifts. Today, fragmentation of TV (with many channels and options) makes consistent, wide reach a challenge. Three times more spots are required to reach 80 per cent of audience now versus 10 years ago.”

Mobile + TV: A match made in heaven?

An Advertising Research Foundation study from 2016 emphasises that if digital is added to TV campaigns, it produces 60 per cent higher ROI. This is where Seow believes the PockeTVC programme can help. “A creative strategy that seamlessly spans from TV to Facebook enables brands to connect with the right audiences, to extend the reach of brands and to significantly improve the efficiency of their campaigns,” she points out.

According to a MillwardBrown study, people across the Asia-Pacific now spend almost twice as much time on their mobile than on TV, but mobile receives only around 20 per cent of  total media spend in the APAC.

There is still a large discrepancy when brands allocate marketing budgets between TVCs and mobile. “Many brands still direct a large part of their budget towards TV ads when planning big splash campaigns, and leave little-to-nothing for mobile. However, brands are beginning to recognise the importance of mobile, and the spending divide is shifting, but we see more potential for growth. With the rise of the multi-screen experience, brands that evolve their story from TV to the mobile screen stand to enjoy better ROI and efficiencies,” Seow feels.

However, the key lies in optimising the TV ads for mobile as Seow emphasises that this ensures message consistency and also attracts and engages with the viewer sooner than on traditional formats. “While consumers have a larger appetite for online video, average attention spans are dwindling, so a brand’s value proposition must be communicated at greater speed,” she says.

Winning the ‘video’ game

Facebook’s research with partners Nielsen and Millward Brown has shown that mobile ads with durations ranging from just 0.92 seconds onwards, are effective in driving brand awareness, brand consideration, key message recall and purchase intent.

Explaining how she believes PockeTVC can help brands, Seow says, “Given that TVCs are still a primary campaign asset, brands and agencies do spend a lot of time and effort creating and crafting that. PockeTVC is designed to celebrate and effectively optimise exactly that, and any video content brands already have for their increasingly engaged mobile audience.”

When McDonalds Malaysia was looking to drive higher monthly sales of the Ayam Goreng McD, it used the PockeTVC programme. According to stats by Facebook, the campaign reached 11.5 million Malaysians, 6.28 times and drove 5X higher sales than their baseline.

A typical PockeTVC consists of five assets — derived from an original asset — one re-cut video, one short video (six seconds or less), one cinemagraph or gif, one carousel, one slideshow or still image. “These optimised assets typically differ from the original TVC story arc and enable advertisers to capture attention quickly and convey brand messages succinctly. This increases the cost-effectiveness and extends the overall campaign life and value of any original TVCs,” Seow adds.

As of January 2017, The Creative Shop has worked with over 250 clients globally. Another pilot partner, Toyota Thailand, was looking to introduce Toyota Corolla Altis with new features and increase the number of test drives and ultimately sales.

Facebook’s data shows that the PockeTVC programme helped in +26pt ad recall and 17x more people viewing optimised video to the 25 per cent, 50 per cent, 75 per cent and 95 per cent mark vs. TVC.

In conclusion, Seow gives her must-haves for a good video strategy, “Firstly, don’t just take whatever you have and plug it on digital. Secondly, understand mobile behaviour. Thirdly, design for sound off, but delight with sound on, and lastly, make sure that the video is optimised for each screen.”