Authored by: Evon Hung, Product Researcher at TripleLift
This article was updated on February 3, 2023
Have you given thought to your product mix?
As people continue to cut the cord and spend more time with streaming services, you’d expect advertising agencies to put their money where audiences are. Keyword: expect.
Technology and media are advancing faster than most people hit the “skip intro” button at the beginning of an episode of The Office. Brands grasp at the tail ends of consumer trends hoping for a taste of the next big wave without understanding what that entails. Agencies industry-wide are planning to grow digital advertising spend on banner ads at the same rate as video spend, with notable increases in CTV technology.
Push for Innovation in Your Product Mix
TripleLift’s brand partners are aligned with plans to purchase an average of three ad formats in the next year. Did someone say omnichannel? But a deeper dive into industry-wide attitudes toward innovative platforms like CTV reveals spend in this area is less than those for traditional ad formats, suggesting that companies are giving new, emerging ad formats only a skeptical glance for the next 5-10 years. But if brands want to keep up with current trends, why are they passing up this golden opportunity?
In reality, brands are hesitant to employ strategies they see as “risky.” According to TripleLift’s research, only 50% of marketers plan to increase the number of ad products they activate. Primarily due to the fear of unknown performance. But this conservative approach unnecessarily limits a brand’s performance and growth potential. Imagine if Michael Scott was too afraid to leave Dunder Mifflin. Sure, he’d still be regional manager with a nice condo in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but would he have reached his full potential? Probably not.
Four Ad Formats to Consider
Let’s take a look at a breakdown:
- A brand chooses to run a campaign with a single ad format, say banner ads. By running a brand lift study, we conclude that the banner ads effectively generate a strong lift in lower-funnel metrics.
- The same brand runs a campaign that splits its budget across four formats: in-feed native, banner ads, and in-stream video/CTV spots. The campaign still delivers lifts on the lower funnel and statistically significant brand awareness and favorability increases. By implementing an omnichannel approach (including relatively new formats), the campaign efficiently and effectively targeted the full funnel mix efficiently and effectively.
This is just one example of single vs. multi-format performance. Diversifying budgets across multiple ad formats leads to more impactful results across the purchase funnel. Conservative, single-ad format strategies may lead to strong lifts, but the downside? Brand stagnancy.
Activate the Right Product Mix
Consumers spend more time with new media like digital videos and branded content. So, their trust in advertisements running in these spaces steadily grows. As the industry focuses on emerging products like CTV, what was previously seen as risky will soon become the norm. They say the early bird gets the worm, which is especially true in tech adoption. As the great Michael Scott once said, “I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise, and I have worms.”
At TripleLift Research, we understand entering new, untouched territory feels risky. Despite perceived challenges with new ad formats, like poor ad inventory scale or lack of audience targeting, activating a mix of products into your long-term strategy will minimize potential brand stagnancy while optimizing performance. We’re confident that this “risk” is an opportunity worth every penny. Advertisers who are wise enough to activate the right product mix can look forward to many, many worms.
