With the advent of Netflix, HBO, Amazon and other VOD sites some say we are in a golden age of premium content choices.
Inspired by the growing numbers of subscribers to Netflix and Amazon, brands have realised that they too must become publishers of owned, and highly original content. Not just advertising around it, or sponsoring it, but creating branded content from scratch.
The battleground, YouTube Vs TV Advertising
So has old-school commercial TV lost its power to engage us? Google, owners of Youtube, think so. Google are asking, what’s best for brands, YouTube Vs TV Advertising? They have promoted several articles wanting to discredit commercial TV – so they obviously see them as still being a potent threat.
YouTube also recently told UK marketers they needed to move a bigger chunk (24%) of their ad spend over to YouTube if they wanted to reach younger and more affluent audiences.
“Brands are investing too much in TV… In 80% of cases, brands can confidently double their spend on YouTube without risking coming up against the ROI of TV.”
(David Benson, YouTube Media Strategy Director)
But brands still get the power of TV.
YouTube’s desire to grab more of the marketing pot is understandable. UK brands spent £711m on online video ads in 2015. Contrast that to an estimated £5.3bn spend on TV. The money is there and Google wants more of it.
But the smartest brands still understand the power of TV advertising and its long-tail effectiveness in terms of awareness and sales. They know TV delivers on ROI every time, and with more bang for your buck. And with ad-blocking increasing and a consumer reluctance to engage with online ad interruptions in their chosen content then it’s not surprising that UK TV ad spend rose by 8.5% in 2015, a fourth consecutive year of increase. And 2016 on current form seems well placed to beat that figure.
The real value of TV advertising is in how it builds brand awareness, and brand trust, and actually creates the most sales.
“50% of the effect of a TV campaign is actually realised in the year after broadcast, long after most ROI studies have stopped measuring effects” (Thinkbox)
