Many of the people in your professional and social circle may have been on a bandwagon of sorts lately that we are very familiar with, and have coined a phrase that has become wildly popular: “Cut the Cord!”. As some have become dissatisfied with the cable TV industry, they have turned to streaming services and pure digital content to meet their entertainment needs.
But wait! There are a few very important things that need to be understood. When the DVR first came out, it was a way of really making cable TV services worthwhile, because you could now record what you missed to enjoy later, and the benefits of streaming services nearly collided in a good way with cable TV that you at one time had to be sitting there watching while it aired.
What happened? Why did so many cut the cord and turn to streaming services only? What if you are a sports fan? Wouldn’t you still want the benefits of cable? After a survey from Consumer Reports about cable TV dissatisfaction in 2018, the results were not at all surprising: it all came down to value. That is when cable companies began to design “specific interest packages” where consumers could finally just have an ala carte’ selection of what they wanted.
We agree that the web itself and its vast portals for video, YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime are quite honestly the way to go if you are looking for variety at about 1/12 the price of cable. But the tried-and-true TV commercial is in no way seeing a fearful future of being six feet under.
Especially within the daytime and prime-time segment, 44% of American households subscribed to a cable service in 2019. So all of the seemingly old-school focus groups, surveys, and analytics such as Nielsen still serve a purpose, and production dollars spent on TV are by no means akin to being thrown in the trash.
This is where some people who are marketers and business owners fail to see the importance of that place where demographics may change fiercely, and loyalty may fall rapidly. Sometimes when it is decided that a brand will now branch out to a YouTube campaign, the decision is made to repurpose the TV spot and just upload it quickly, then waiting anxiously for results.
Many experts in the field such as Google’s own Jenny Cheung believe that doing this may not be a fatal mistake, but might not drive the positive action needed to catch consumer’s valuable attention. BMW Canada set out to answer questions about what prompts different audiences to take action when they partnered up with Google’s Unskippable Labs on an experiment.
When they were figuring out how to successfully launch their 8 Series vehicle, they took close notice of the statistic that claims 75% of auto shoppers say online video has influenced their habits or purchases. Since the heart and soul of advertising revolve around telling a story, BMW was wondering how nontraditional storytelling could stir action from digital consumers.
They then experimented with three different video styles: a very traditional TV commercial, an ad that was focused on the car’s interior, and one that honed in on the raw performance data and outward appearance. What was discovered after this three-pronged approach was that typical car commercial was ever-present at stoking metrics such as awareness and recall but did not generate enough visits to the all-important “Request a test drive” URLs.
BMW Canada had done the duty of serving all three ads to their very specific core audiences, which were most often working professionals in large cities between the ages of 24 and 50. By putting to use the many functions in YouTube’s “Audience Solutions”, they were able to hone in and target people based on important factors such as a job change.
When the campaign came to an end, it was evident that luxury travelers were an astounding 8 times more likely to convert, and it was learned that a few of the predefined audiences needed way less budget spend due to lack of conversion worth. It is now more necessary than ever to find the fastest route to locate the right customers and retain their loyalty.
When we meet with a new client here at FarFetched Studios to concoct the perfect strategy, we are excited to hear the story of how your product or service came to be, and what stop you see your “fast-moving train” approaching next for success. Once you have decided on the ultimate production for a YouTube video, it doesn’t stop there!
Our team of experts will then use their top-notch SEO and data mining skills to see just where to go next. After your video goes live, the right type of organic traffic needs to be engaged in a friendly and welcoming manner. Our specialty is looking at all social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, making sure the digital stars are aligned with a newcomer’s Google search and giving you feedback regarding a strategy to heftily bolster your bottom line!