With over a billion people on Facebook, the social network has become the ultimate go-to destination for killing time, and that includes playing video games. Facebook reports that across web and mobile, an average of 445 million people play Facebook-connected games every month, and over 250 million people play directly on the platform itself.
Aside from investing billions of dollars in game developers for its network, Facebook made a number of moves in 2016 that indicate a more active gaming presence from here on out—at least, that’s the idea. In addition to playing games from its website or logging in from the game’s app, Facebook introduced Instant Games this past November that are playable with friends on Messenger and via a user’s News Feed. This new way to play offers quick entertainment for those who don’t want to download or install another app, but want challenges such as leaderboards and turn-based games.
Facebook has also introduced live game streaming, allowing users to broadcast live gameplay from PC, mobile and console games directly to the social network. While the company has a long way to go before it rivals Twitch, Facebook’s partnership with Activision creates tremendous opportunities for brands venturing into eSports to reach the network’s one billion users. Activision acquired Major League Gaming (MLG) last year, and is enjoying a successful partnership with Blizzard through first-person shooter, Overwatch. Additionally, the rights to broadcast the collegiate Heroes of the Dorm tournament (featuring Heroes of the Storm) switched from ESPN to Facebook this year.
“ESports is an exciting space and continues to be a growing priority for us,” Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships said during its 2016 Digital Content NewFronts presentation. “With over 1.6 billion people on the platform and a growing suite of VOD and livestreaming products that partners can use to increase engagement, Facebook is uniquely positioned to help eSports fans connect around exciting moments and great eSports content.”
“Hardcore” titles may one day be more prevalent on Facebook, but for now, a majority of games being played on are casual titles like match-3 puzzles, time management and slots, all designed for quick and easy play sessions. Nearly 150 million active users are playing Candy CrushSaga on Facebook each month and 11 million play the game daily, if that’s any indication of popularity.
Of course, it would be foolish not to mention the Oculus Rift, Facebook’s huge virtual reality investment that launched last year in March (its Oculus Touch controllers launched in October). Its launch wasn’t what you’d call record-breaking, shipping a mere 250,000 units compared to PlayStation VR at 750,000 units in 2016. Combined with legal battles with ZeniMax, 2017 could be a rough year for Facebook’s VR dreams. However, Facebook’s support for 360-degree videos indicates a growing emphasis on VR content for the Oculus-powered mobile viewer, the Samsung Gear VR.
Someday, the Oculus Rift may transform how Facebook users work and play—but until then, there’s always Candy Crush.
Learn everything you need to know to invest in today’s fastest-growing media channel—Competitive Gaming and eSports on 2.16.17 in Los Angeles. Go to alistsummit.com for more info.
Social media is predicted to reach 2.5 billion users this year, and a separate study by Demandware estimates that phones will account for 60 percent of eCommerce visits by the end of 2017. With so many turning to their mobile devices to research and share purchasing advice today, it’s no wonder the top social media sites are happy to make that process easier.
Facebook
In 2015, Facebook added the ability to add shops to business pages. Since then, the social media giant has experimented with different, even more convenient, ways for users to shop without ever leaving the app. In addition to being a customer service outlet, Facebook Messenger has become a valuable resource for marketers, with users reaching one billion this past July. Messenger now accepts native payments, opening up possibilities for all-in-one discussion, customer service and booking. For its new payments feature, Facebook is working with a number of companies such as PayPal, Stripe, Visa, MasterCard, Braintree and American Express, which recently launched its own Facebook chat bot. The payment tool allows users to complete purchases in-app without going to an external site. Messenger users can also use credit card information they’ve stored in Messenger to make payments via bots.
A partnership with Fandango last year made it possible to purchase movie tickets directly from a feed, and now users can do the same with other events like museum exhibits and concerts.
Instagram
Facebook-owned Instagram is also trying new ways to discover and purchase products and services through the platform. For paid ads, the site has implemented a full-width, call-to-action (CTA) button below an ad’s photo or video, replacing the overlay behavior and prior CTA design. In addition, Instagram has been experimenting with tags on business profiles that offer product info and prices. From there, a user can choose “Shop Now” to visit the product website outside of the app. “This functionality will bring important product information to the consumer earlier in the journey, all without having to leave the Instagram app to search,” Instagram explained in a blog post.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a unique animal, in that it’s a collection of ideas rather than the usual status updates you’d normally find on social media. Last June, the site unveiled its new Buyable Pins, shopping bag and store that enables users to purchase items directly from the site.
“An amazing 87 percent of Pinterest users have purchased something they found while using the platform,” Ayzenberg stated in its latest Earned Media Value Index Report. “Sharing is also an enormous component on the platform. 80 percent of content posted is a repin from another board, meaning there is a lot of opportunity for brands to get quality content (and the associated calls-to-action) distributed on other boards.”
Speaking at an event in June from the company’s headquarters, Pinterest executive Ben Silbermann explained, “Shopping with Pinterest is meant to be that bridge between getting inspiration and actually making it a part of your life.”
Snapchat
Quick to attract young consumers but late to the monetization party, Snapchat has been hard at work finding new ways to create lasting relationships between brands and would-be shoppers. While sponsored filters and interactive games certainly engage and entertain, there remains a gap between viewing a product and buying it.
The app’s latest efforts include interactive ads on its Discover section—inviting users to swipe up for product mini sites and calls-to-action—which were jump-started by brands Lancome and Target. Sweet, Hearst’s Snapchat channel, has partnered with Everlane to test a new, interactive way to engage shoppers on the platform. A project that appeared on November 8 encouraged Sweet Discover Page visitors to “draw” a monogram on an Everlane bag, then email a saved screenshot of the design to Everlane to purchase. Customers used Snapchat’s text and drawing tools to pick colors and monogram details as opposed to the traditional, drop-down or field selection method.
Ross Clark, vice president and general manager at Sweet, called the channel’s brand of interactive editorial “conversational content” and said it’s an approach Sweet has used to score firsts from brands such as Gucci and Carolina Herrera.
Twitter Says “Bye” To “Buy” Buttons
First appearing in 2014, Twitter’s “Buy” button allowed brands and non-profit organizations to include a call-to-action in its posts, thanks to a partnership with Shopify. Eight months ago, Twitter disbanded its commerce team and announced a new focus on website conversions. Now Shopify members are receiving notices that Twitter will phase out the “Buy” option, although donation buttons will still be offered for charitable causes.
If your brand is planning to invest in social video this year, you may have heard some buzz about Facebook’s updated News Feed algorithm. Essentially, Facebook users may see longer videos in their feeds based on their viewing habits. Mind you, these new changes won’t affect paid video advertisements—but for those who invest in original, organic content on the platform, longer doesn’t necessarily equal better.
Finding The Completion Sweet Spot
You would think that the shorter a video is, the more users would consume the entire message. Surprisingly, a study by Kinetic Social found that video ads less than 15 seconds were only completed by 26 percent of users. Meanwhile, video ads more than two minutes long were completed by 31 percent of users. At a completion rate of 44 percent, video ads between 30-to-60 seconds in length appeared to be the sweet spot.
While Facebook’s new algorithm doesn’t affect video ad distribution, it’s still interesting to note the behavior of viewers and attention spans thereof. It’s worth noting that as of September, around 93 percent of Facebook users accessed the site through a mobile device. How long a user is willing to spend watching a video on his/her phone will vary, but even Facebook admits that video length should depend on the story brands want to tell.
“As always, Pages should focus on creating videos that are relevant and engaging to their audiences,” the social network advised in a blog post. “Longer videos that people don’t want to watch will not perform better in News Feed. The best length for a video is whatever length is required to tell a compelling story that engages people, which is likely to vary depending on the story you’re telling.”
The idea behind Facebook’s new update is to give users more of what they’ve enjoyed in the past. “[L]onger videos that people spend time watching may see a slight increase in distribution on Facebook,” the company noted, “so people who find longer videos engaging may be able to discover more of them in News Feed.”
Making The Way For Mid-Roll
Facebook is testing mid-roll ads for its live videos, which would be great news for brands who’d like to earn more on the platform. If the tests are successful, mid-roll ads on Facebook will encourage creators to upload videos of at least a 90-second duration, and the ads only appear once a viewer has watched a clip for at least 20 seconds. In order for these ads to appear, however, the News Feed algorithm has to find enough videos that are long enough—and completed enough—to even show up.
Boasting roughly 100 million hours of videos viewed per day, Facebook continues its quest to compete with Twitch and YouTube for video-viewing supremacy. Whereas users typically pop onto the aforementioned video sites with a topic in mind, Facebook faces the challenge of engaging consumers with seemingly random videos that appear organically and automatically begin playing without sound.
In a statement accompanying Facebook’s third quarter earnings, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said they are “making progress putting video first,” which includes testing a new app feature that will offer direct access to the camera with one swipe—similar to Snapchat or Instagram.
Snapchat is the place to be for brands to reach American youth, particularly teenagers and millennials. With only 10 seconds to tell a compelling story, the disappearing photo and video app favors candid, unpolished and authentic posts. Fashion and beauty brands, in particular, are having a bit of fun when it comes to engaging fans through Snapchat from scavenger hunts to behind the scenes and, of course, sponsored lenses to make those Snaps shine.
UGG
Fall is #UGGseason for fans of the luxury comfort brand, and to celebrate, UGG launched a custom, fall-themed 24-hour Snapchat lens in North America on September 22 featuring leaves, earmuffs and mini UGG boots that appeared once a user opened their mouth. The frame was accompanied with the line “Finally UGG season.”
“Snapchat is a focus for us because it’s a part of our fans’ everyday lives,” Jim Davis, vice president of consumer engagement for Deckers Outdoor Corporation, (parent company of UGG) told [a]listdaily. “If you look at Instagram as a visual lens into a person’s own brand, Twitter becomes their microphone—Snapchat occupies a unique space where the unpolished and goofy can be celebrated. Everyone wants authentic content—Snapchat is still one of the few platforms that offers that reality. Snapchat also offers the opportunity to reach GenZ and younger millennials in very authentic ways to help build brand heat with the next generation.”
Bloomingdale’s
The luxury department store chain implemented a scavenger hunt Labor Day Weekend on Snapchat to celebrate the fall launch of its “100 percent” campaign. Inspired by mobile users playing Pokémon GOin their stores, Bloomingdale created custom geofilters for consumers to collect. When those filters were “Snapped” back at the company, that customer was entered to win a wide range of prizes such as concert tickets to Maddie & Tae, a meet and greet with Rebecca Minkoff during her fashion show, gift cards to Bloomingdale’s and a variety of fall products.
“Hiding hundreds of Snapchat filters at local stores around the country felt like a fresh take on a scavenger hunt or sweepstakes,” said Jonathan Paul, operating vice president of social media at Bloomingdale’s. “One of our insights came from Pokémon GO and that mobile user behavior. We thought that if we could gamify Snapchat geofilters we could connect with shoppers in a playful and creative way.”
Maybelline New York
The drugstore beauty brand offers tutorials, announcements and behind-the-scenes looks for make-up-loving Snappers each week. “Maybelline Girls” periodically takes over the account as well, acting as influencers to create must-have looks and product demonstrations. For National Lipstick Day, the brand sponsored a Snapchat lens featuring its new Loaded Bolds lipstick collection—allowing users to virtually test out each of the bold colors for themselves.
L’Oreal Paris
Beauty brand L’Oreal took Snapchat Spectacles to the Golden Globes Awards, allowing fans to witness the red carpet first-hand. Worn by make-up artist Sir John and two brand ambassadors, L’Oreal’s Snapchat followers were treated to behind the scenes clips like putting make-up onto celebrities’ faces. In the past, L’Oreal has sponsored lenses to virtually apply make-up on users’ selfies, as well.
“At L’Oréal Paris, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to engage our consumers,” said Kristen Comings, vice president of integrated consumer communications. “Snapchat serves as a proven tool to engage audiences.”
L’Oreal’s Cat-Eye Snapchat filter. Source: Elle
Gucci
Suicide Squad star Jared Leto took over the official Gucci Snapchat account in August for 24 hours, snapping candid photos together with scrawled messages and lenses. The takeover was to promote Gucci’s new fragrance, Guilty, with Leto as the new face replacing actors Chris Evans and Evan Rachel Wood. Choosing Leto as a spokesperson for the brand was an obvious one for his model looks, but also his millions of social media followers.
Asos
For Asos, Snapchat is “increasingly important” to its business. An early adopter of the app, Asos joined in mid-2013, snapping outfit ideas, office tours, discount codes and behind-the-scenes clips from events ranging from photo shoots to fashion shows. Snapchat’s roundup of Fashion Week Stories was viewed more than 20 million times in Europe, the company told investors last spring.
Hidden Figures has been a box office smash ever since debuting in theatres this year. The film—which covers the story of three African-American NASA employees who turned around the Space Race in the ’60s and served as the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit—has spent two weeks at the No. 1 spot and already grossed more than $80 million. Not too shabby for a movie that worked with a $25 million budget.
The film also has opened opportunities for brands to enter the conversation about empowering education and diversity in tech—specifically through STEM—to act as role models for the next generation.
IBM’s branded content division was front-and-center behind this message by unveiling the branded AR app “Outthink Hidden” in partnership with The New York Times.
The experience entails 3D computer graphics and renderings that explore stories of STEM innovators through a mobile device by using a Pokémon GO-style hunt with 150 geo-fenced locations around the Unites States.
The virtual museum, complemented with audio and video narratives and written content about historical leaders in science, technology, engineering and math, enjoyed its day under the sun earlier this month at CES before the movie’s premiere.
Ann Rubin, IBM’s vice president of branded content and global creative, oversaw the “Outthink Hidden” activation. She joined [a]listdaily to discuss IBM’s strategy in the space.
Why was it critical for IBM to be at CES this year with “Outthink Hidden” and complement it with a mobile component and panel discussion as well?
The timing aligned perfectly with the Hidden Figures and our partnership with Fox and we knew people would really be talking about the film. It’s definitely a movie that has sparked a lot of interest and enthusiasm from people. We knew there would be a lot of buzz. At the same time, we were in a position to give people deeper insight into the film and the important women in history and tell a deeper story. People were super engaged, and the interest level was very high. We feel like it did what we intended for it to do in terms of inspiring them and thinking about STEM.
How did you engage with consumers through social and digital channels?
We had a Facebook livestream for the panel discussion hosted by Soledad O’Brien and posted lots of key pieces of content that pushed to a landing page with more content. We had plenty of engagement through Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. We like to experiment with new platforms and really try new things. It’s really a great way for people to interact with us in real-time. We make it a priority to engage and respond with them. It’s really nice because people can also watch it later. It kind of serves two purposes. We’ve been livestreaming strategically since last year, and this was one of the right places to do it. We got a lot of engagement.
IBM also produced mini-documentaries and created a micro-site, too. What was the overall marketing strategy for this activation?
The app itself is intended to let people explore the key figures in an immersive way. We were inspired by the Hidden Figures story to share more about the unsung heroes. The overall program itself was to increase diversity in STEM. It’s part of the core of our company’s culture and values. We want to continue to encourage how important inclusion and diversity is to a company’s success. Things like this program get people to think differently about other people, and perhaps new hiring processes, and that results in improved innovation and success within a company. It’s really critical to us as a company, and our clients, that we all think this way.
Why was augmented reality the best approach for the in-person experience? Why was it important for IBM to partner with a media company like The New York Times?
We’ll always look at what’s new and what’s emerging. We want to make the learning about science and technology as interesting as we can. We think people like to explore new technologies, so might as well make the learning fun and combine desire with curiosity. There are a number of companies who do AR, and we explored a few, but we landed on The New York Times. We knew that they would provide great quality from a tech perspective. We knew that they would collaborate with us and our ad agency for the creative elements. They are also a great distribution channel with the newspaper, online and the AR app to get the message across. It’s important for brands to partner with media companies who are publishers first to create great content because they can help us distribute the content to various platforms. We can learn a lot from the true publishers, so partnering with them just makes all of the work a lot better.
Which of IBM’s previous branded content activations has resonated most with people?
I love all of my children, but one that resonated particularly strong with people was our Cognitive Dress at the Met Gala that we did with high fashion designer Marchesa. It was one of the first big activations we did where people could really see man and machine working together to do something that they weren’t able to before. It was done in a very acceptable way; it was cultural, and approachable. Not everyone sees the amazing and incredible things that we’re doing with Watson. You can’t ‘touch’ it. But the cognitive tech was visually apparent for a dress in the public eye because it was analyzing social sentiment and social feeds and changing colors based on what people were talking about. It was so tangible, that people were saying, ‘we get Watson. I can see it happening, and how it can apply it elsewhere.’
Looking at the current marketing technology landscape and all that is currently available, what sort of tech and services do you think marketers are lacking?
For us, Watson is the technology that we continue to experiment and explore, even in our branded content. We test and implement in a lot of ways, and we’ll use the APIs to make the content more engaging and personal, so they can experience Watson and see it in action. It’s important for marketers to understand that cognitive technologies are here, it’s now, and it can be applied to business. Call it Watson, or cognitive, or artificial intelligence . . . it’s one of the main areas of experimentation. For us, we’re testing how we can personalize content for audiences in new ways based on personality and tone. It can help us predict what our audience wants to hear and how they’re feeling about it.
Do you think marketing executives can keep up with the current pace of innovation?
It’s our responsibility as marketers and leaders in the field to make sure we’re up to speed, just like a doctor would with the latest medical procedures. It’s the right events to go to, the right partners to talk to, or the right agencies to have.
How has IBM’s brand narrative evolved through branded content activations? How do you further plan on carrying the momentum this year?
Our main narrative is the same—that IBM can help companies, individuals, or even cities, apply data and science technology to all kinds of problems in order to perform better. It’s about world-changing progress. What changes with the current technology. Given where the world is today, it’s important for us to communicate cloud tech, or Watson’s cognitive technologies. Our branded content programs will focus on those areas. We’ve said that we are the ‘cognitive business and cloud platform company.’ Some things never change. Some things do.
This week, consumers expect a lot and want to see before they buy. Social media may love TV, but marketers are letting their Snapchat profiles grow dusty. Meanwhile, the tables have turned (ever so slightly) on how consumers watch live video.
Great Expectations
Modern consumers demand more from brands, which creates “an increasingly challenging environment for products and services seeking brand engagement,” according to the 22nd annual 2017 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), conducted by Brand Keys. Examining 740 brands across 83 categories, the study states that while consumer expectations have increased 23 percent over 2016, brands have only improved by 4 percent, leaving an enormous gap between what consumers want and what brands are seen able to deliver.
“’Brand engagement’ is a measure of how well a brand meets expectations consumers hold for the path-to-purchase drivers in a given category,” said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, in a statement. “Those drivers and expectations can be measured against a Category Ideal (100 percent) with brands best meeting consumers’ expectations generating greater loyalty and profits. Brands that cannot meet expectations lose customers and market share.”
For 2017, the top five sectors where expectations grew the most were:
Online: Social Networking and Entertainment (+35 percent)
Technology (+32 percent)
B2B: Services and Equipment (+30 percent)
Cosmetics (+28 percent)
Personal Products & Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) (+26 percent)
“Interestingly, there was only one category where expectations virtually stood still,” noted Passikoff. “Non-alcoholic beverages were up 9 percent, the lowest expectation growth in years. Perhaps that’s why selling soft drinks has become so problematic.”
Source: Brand Keys
Keeping It Social
According to Nielsen’s Social Media Report, adults spend an awful lot of time consuming media, particularly that of the social variety. Not surprisingly, millennials spend the most time on social media—six hours and 19 minutes weekly, or 24 percent of their total time spent on media overall. This figure is up 21 percent. It’s not just the “kids” that are doing it, either—share of media time spent on social media has jumped 64 percent among adults 50 years and up. They now spend 20 percent of their media time using social media.
Did you see that shocking scene in that one show you like? Of course you did, and chances are, you posted about it online. Nielsen reports were 14.2 million social media interactions about TV across Facebook and Twitter on an average day this fall in the US. On Twitter, 81 percent of the engagement with TV-related tweets come organically from audience tweets, while the remaining 19 percent come from owned content.
While brands are eager to reach young consumers with Snapchat, not a lot of them follow through, according to a new report by L2. Per the report, 62 brands opened up a Snapchat account between January and October of 2016, meaning that 64 percent of marketers have adopted the app. The watches and jewelry category grew the most, adding nine brands in nine months. Per L2, once a brand opens an account, it often goes unused. In January of 2016, 70 percent of brands’ accounts were active while only 67 percent were active in October.
Marketers and media agency professionals in China are eager to invest in social networking sites on mobile this year, according to AdMaster. Nearly 70 percent said they would prefer to invest in the medium, while 55 percent preferred to do the same on desktops and laptops. “More ad formats and marketing vehicles that are being made available to advertisers are relevant to younger generations,” said AdMaster COO Calvin Chan in the report. “This includes more in-feed ads on social media platforms like WeChat, QQ and Sina Weibo.”
Short video clips, in particular are becoming more popular in the region. “Though China doesn’t have a strong player like Snapchat yet, there’s an increasing number of apps like Meipai and Miaopai that encourage users to upload and share video clips that range in length from a few seconds to a few minutes.”
You’ve Got To Fight, For Your Right, To Live . . .
Live video isn’t just for news anymore, and a study by the UBS Evidence Lab found that millennials are the biggest consumers and creators of live video—63 percent have watched live content and 42 percent have created it. However, the number of people watching live video streams experienced a slight drop in just a few months’ time. Thirty-six percent of internet users said they watched live video as of November—two percentage points less than those who reported watching in a June survey by UBS.
In June, live video was consumed the most on YouTube, but Facebook Live won by a nose during a follow-up in November study, at 16 and 17 percent, respectively.
Source: eMarketer
Visual Shopping
According to a report from DigitalBridge, there is an increasing “imagination gap” impacting purchasing decisions in the UK. The research found that in the last 12 months, a third of consumers delayed or decided against buying items when they couldn’t visualize how they would look like in real life. The majority of consumers revealed they would use a visualization tool if it was offered, and more than 55 percent believe it would make them more likely to make a purchase. That may all change, however, in a matter of years—Gartner believes that by 2020, 100 million consumers will shop in augmented reality.
Game On
Pokémon GO generated an estimated $950 million in revenues in 2016, according to a report by market researcher App Annie. The game brought in a staggering $800 million in consumer spend in 110 days (by the end of 2016, the game reached over $950 million). This was far faster than some of the most successful mobile games of all time. To put Pokémon GO‘s success in a broader perspective, its global consumer spend in 2016 exceeded the total worldwide box office gross of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Video game industry sales saw a decline across the board in December, dropping 15 percent to $2.8 billion. Individually, however, Microsoft enjoyed a year-on-year, 10 percent increase in the number of Xbox One systems sold during December. PlayStation 4 was the top-selling hardware system in the month and the PlayStation 4 Slim System 500GB Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Bundle was the month’s top seller.
The NPD’s top 10 best-selling games for December 2016 are:
Social media has a new look thanks to Snapchat Spectacles. These wearable cameras let anyone see through your eyes, inspiring creative spontaneity from Snapchat’s massive user base. The new, $130 camera glasses have quickly been adopted by users and brands alike to share memorable moments—from playing with the dog to concerts and everything in between.
Beauty brand, L’oreal, for example, took spectacles to the Golden Globes Awards, allowing fans to witness the red carpet first-hand. Worn by make-up artist, Sir John and two brand ambassadors, L’Oreal’s Snapchat followers were treated to behind the scenes clips like putting make-up onto celebrities’ faces.
“At L’Oréal Paris, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to engage our consumers,” said Kristen Comings, VP of integrated consumer communications. “Snapchat serves as a proven tool to engage audiences.”
Musicians are excited about Spectacles, too. Grammy award-winning artist, Ed Sheeran hid his new single within a sponsored Snapchat lens that overlays Spectacles on a user’s face. Using the filter with sound turned on plays his new song, “Shape of You.”
Now calling itself Snap, Inc., Snapchat’s future is looking so bright, it’s gotta wear shades.
KFC is appealing to hungry football fans with a “real team” of its own and an interactive video game on Instagram. The restaurant chain has stepped up its marketing game just in time for the college championship game on January 11 and the NFL playoffs just around the corner.
Debuting on January 4, the Kentucky Fried Football Challenge will invite users to play the beloved sport via a series of animations on KFC’s Instagram page. A page of thumbnails will create an image of a football field on the chicken purveyors’ profile, along with a “start here” tab. Users will then select the play they want to run from the caption area and are directed to a football field with a marker showing how far the ball progressed down the field. Users then watch a replay of the gain or loss before choosing their next move—repeating the process toward scoring a touchdown.
Kentucky Fried Football Challenge continues a gamification trend on social media—following Gatorade’s Serena Williams’ Matchpoint and UnderArmour’s It Comes From Below. While the aforementioned games were available only on Snapchat, KFC is debuting its football challenge via Instagram instead.
KFC is also making good use of its newest in a long line of revolving Colonel actors, Rob Riggle. The Daily Show veteran is perhaps the first actual Colonel, being a retired Lt. Colonel with the United States Marine Corps Reserve, to take the role and play up the tongue-in-cheek humor. Riggle stars in a number of TV spots featuring KFC’s first “professional football team,” the Kentucky Buckets. As the “owner, head coach and marketing director” of the team, Riggle assures viewers that the Kentucky Buckets is a “real team and not just a marketing gimmick to get buckets of delicious chicken in front of football fans” while strolling through the locker room.
https://youtu.be/yRRNmZTm5lo
The running gag continues with “Speech,” a spot in which Riggle inspires his team for what turns out to be a photo shoot and “Mascot,” in which an injured player is miraculously healed by their oddly-creepy bucket of chicken mascot.
Experiential marketing taps into consumers’ fear of missing out (FOMO), the desire to create fond memories and the ability to connect with others who have similar interests. While these activations serve to inform consumers about a product or service, attendees are more inclined to not only participate, but help promote. This is especially true for millennials—eight out of 10 value experiences over physical purchases.
Sharing The Brand Love
A recent study by EventTrack revealed that 98 percent of consumers capture content at live events, and 100 percent of those who capture content share it across their social media networks. While 83 percent of consumers share content from events up to 15 times—nearly half (47 percent) would prefer to share content they captures versus content fed to them by a brand.
For the 25th annual Lollapalooza music festival, Toyota was on-hand with an exclusive, pop-up concert that was accessible only to festival-goers who used Toyota’s limited-time “golden ticket” Snapchat geo-filter. Toyota’s “25th Hour” surprise concert featured performances by Grammy-nominated recording artist Leon Bridges and Outkast rapper Big Boi.
While not all updates shared on social media had anything to do with cars, the activation proved to be a fun way for attendees to show off their latest adventure.
Finally realizing why people have been calling us twins for the last 8 years! Having a great time at the #25thHourpic.twitter.com/Xz8Q1DokqT
Eventbrite reports that 69 percent of millennials believe attending events makes them feel more connected to other people, the community and the world. Millennials aren’t alone in this sentiment, however—when Netflix surprised Gilmore Girls fans with a pop-up Luke’s diner at their local coffee shops, long lines were made fun through camaraderie.
“It ended up being great because everyone in the line was so happy,” wrote Danielle Trullo, a journalist for Cosmopolitan after attending an event in New York City. “They all love Gilmore Girls and their childhood dreams were coming true.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLL2eWnDO9n/
Getting To Know You
A report by the Event Marketer showed that after attending an activation, 98 percent of consumers feel more inclined to purchase, 74 percent have a better opinion about a brand and 70 percent become regular customers.
Taco Bell teamed up with Sony to create a pop-up VR arcade in New York, allowing anyone to try the new PSVR for themselves and get some free tacos while they were at it.
Seventy-seven percent of millennials say some of the best memories of their life have been made at live events.
Ahead of Dishonored 2, Bethesda hosted a scavenger hunt around London. One of the items participants could find was an invitation to Karnaca Supper Club, a Dishonored-themed banquet on November 4. The activation, hosted by GrubHub, was a huge success and those who attended showed up in cosplay and posted dozens of times across social media. One couple even got engaged at the dinner table.
Engaged consumers spend more, and 65 percent of brands say that their event and experiential programs are directly related to sales, according to Event Marketer. The company also reports that 77 percent of marketers use experiential marketing as a vital part of a brand’s advertising strategies. Experiential marketing not only provides an opportunity for fans to spread the word online, but for brands to engage with them to create lasting relationships.
According to Twitter, customers are willing to spend anywhere from 3-to-20 percent more on items from a business that engages with them through Twitter. In addition, those who receive responses on the social platform are 30 percent more likely to recommend the brand to others, and 44 percent more likely to share their experience online and off.
A lot has happened this past year in the realm of social media. Facebook introduced live video, Instagram launched Stories, Snapchat became a camera company and Vine went the way of the dodo. While ad spend is up for social networks, customer satisfaction isn’t as high as in recent years. Social media users are more diverse and digitally savvy than ever before—challenging brands to engage them through meaningful, frontline marketing. Let’s take a look at some of the top social media trends going into the new year . . . we hope you’ll “like” it.
Paying To Play
A recent study by Steelhouse/Forrester revealed that a majority of marketers (89 percent) spend on social advertising, while 77 percent purchase display banner ads, 65 percent use video advertising and 60 percent use email advertising. According to a separate survey by Animoto, a cloud-based video creation service, 70.8 percent of respondents said they plan to invest in social video ads, including ads to boost content over the next 12 months.
When it comes to marketing B2B, brands are struggling with whether social media is worth the effort. According to a study by Regalix, 67 percent of respondents said they allocate budget to social media ads. Despite this fact, whether or not the investment is worth it seems to be in question. While 52 percent said that social media marketing is “very important,” the remaining 48 percent said the effort was “somewhat important.” Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they hope social media marketing will increase brand awareness and a majority (58 percent) named LinkedIn and Facebook as having delivered efficiently on advertising dollars.
Influencers Reign Supreme
Per Social Times, 84 percent of brands are now using influencer marketing to drive their business goals, and for good reason. Forward-thinking brands realize that the word of an influencer is far more powerful than a pop-up ad. Massive video game events, once the epicenter for press conferences and secret demos are now moving in a completely different direction. During Gamescom, Peter Moore, Electronic Arts’ chief competition officer said, “I’m not too sure that press conferences have a future. The medium is changing. Influencers, celebrities who aren’t the classic journalists are finding their own way. Our job is to put the games in their hands.” Brands like EA and Microsoft opted for public user experiences rather than press conferences to accomplish just that.
A study by Think With Google revealed that 70 percent of YouTube subscribers relate to YouTube creators more than traditional celebrities, making a strong case for the power of branded content and strategic influencer partnerships.
Women Want Answers
According to a study by Influencer Central, 88 percent of women say they often seek peer opinions over social media prior to making purchases, while 59 percent turn to experts, and women value firsthand experience over any other reason for the recommendations they receive. While a vast majority of women reach out on social media channels for help, the offer goes both ways. Seventy-two percent of women consumers often share their own opinions, advice and recommendations via social media as well.
Rising Demographics
Analytics firm, eMarketer estimates that 17.5 million social network users between the ages of 12 and 17 will use a social network at least once per month in 2016, with that number growing to 18.2 million by 2020.
In addition, more than half (55 percent) of African American millennials report spending at least one hour a day on social media, which is six percent more than all millennials, and 29 percent say they spend at least three hours a day on social media—nine percent more than all millennials.
Facebook Love
According to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) released in July, social sites such as Twitter and Facebook saw a decrease in satisfaction year-over-year, dropping 9 and 8 percent, respectively. If you’re wondering which social media site ranked the highest in customer satisfaction, Wikipedia dominated with a 78 ranking. Top satisfaction rates were followed closely by YouTube (77) and Google+ (76). Pinterest (76), Instagram (74) and Tumblr (67) all dropped 3 percent. LinkedIn (65) tied with Twitter for last place.
A drop in Facebook satisfaction hasn’t stopped users from flocking to the site, with 71 percent of American adults using it, according to Pew Research. Advertisers love it, too, naming Facebook the best platform for calculating return on investment (ROI). Facebook Messenger is now the top messaging platform of its kind, with a whopping one billion active users.
