Warc: From achieving video virality to optimising on the customer journey: five seconds can make all

  From achieving video virality to optimising on the customer journey: five seconds can make all the difference

Lena Roland

Event Reports

iStrategy London, October 2013

From achieving video virality to optimising on the customer journey: five seconds can make all the difference

Lena Roland

Warc

Video, video everywhere

Real-time marketing, big data, online video virality, programmatic media buying and emerging markets were some of the major

themes explored at this year's iStrategy digital marketing conference, organised by media company GDS International and

held in London in October 2013. The two day event featured a mixture of keynotes, presentations and workshops, which

aimed to offer practical advice on how to create more effective, engaging and successful marketing campaigns.

In his presentation, Andrea Febbraio, co-founder of Ebuzzing, a company that analyses viral video campaigns, discussed the

increasing popularity of online video content for marketers. Options include Vine's 6 second micro-videos, to Instagram's

recent launch of a video function enabling users to send 15-second clips. Febbraio aimed to answer two questions: what

makes a video go viral? And is there a science behind the viral video, or is it just a matter of luck?

Febbraio offered several statistics to illustrate his own thinking on virality:

l A video can be classified as viral when it achieves one million views within one week of launch

l Only 1%of videos become viral

l 100 hours of video are uploaded on YouTube, the world's biggest online video platform, every minute

l Brand videos usually last longer than 30 seconds, therefore longer than a TV advert. This is considered branded content.

The top branded videos in 2012 were over three minutes long

l Emotional ads – in other words, brand videos that aim to tap into viewers' emotions rather than making product claims

that aim to appeal to their rationality – are four times more likely to be shared

According to Febbraio there are seven ingredients to achieving video virality:

1. TELL A GREAT STORY. The purpose of branded videos should be to “tell a story, not sell a product," Febbraio said..

2. Hook the audience within the FIRST FIVE SECONDS. Ebuzzing's analysis found if a viewer is still watching after 5

seconds they will continue watching the video until the end. Heineken, the beer brand, used this insight to inform its

'bikers in cinema' video.

   Title: From achieving video virality to optimising on the customer journey: five seconds can make all the difference

   Author(s): Lena Roland

   Source: Event Reports

   Issue: iStrategy London, October 2013

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3. Take the audience on an EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER to maintain engagement. Show the audience 'what is' and

'what could be'. One example of this approach is Procter & Gamble's 'Thank You Mum' campaign Emotions are, Febbraio

declared, the most important component of a viral video.

4. SURPRISE (but don't shock). Even provoking a negative emotion in the viewer can work really well, such as for

environmental campaigns that incite anger or generate activism. Febbraio highlighted Guinness' 'wheelchair basketball'

video to illustrate a brand that successfully utilised the element of surprise. At time of writing, this video has almost 7m

views on YouTube.

5. Identify TASTEMAKERS. Rather than use what Febbraio called the “post and pray approach” savvy marketers

strategically identify bloggers and influentials who can help amplify their message to give the video distribution and

traction explaining that “if content is king, distribution is queen”.

6. THE 48 HOUR CRITICAL MASS. The first 48 hours after the video's launch are crucial – engagement and traction must

be generated within this timescale for it to reach “levels of contagion”.

7. SIZE DOESN'T MATTER. Measuring number of views is the wrong KPI. Instead, Febbraio advised the audience to

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measure sharing rates instead.

CMO or CIO?

Along with creative strategies, corporate issues were also discussed at the iStrategy event. Jon Myers, head of performance

at Marin Software, a paid search specialist, discussed how brands can utilise the “avalanche of data” generated by

consumers. The growing significance of this "big data" phenomenon, Myers said, will have profound effects for advertisers.

Most importantly, the trend could mean that the Chief Marketing Officer's role will evolve into a more technology-savvy role. It

follows that senior marketers will need to act and think more like Chief Information Officers. Myers highlighted research by

analysts at Gartner, the market research firm, which found that by 2017 the CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO. Myers

vision for the future of the marcomms industry includes more reliance on “geeks” and perhaps more robots, stating “an army of

robots is less expensive than an army of analysts”.

Programmatic media planning & trading

Next was a panel discussion about the future of media planning and trading, and why brands need to give serious

consideration to new technology such as programmatic buying, in which marketers and publishers are making ever-larger

investments. The discussion explored if brands can get the right split between the science and art of media planning.

Mary Keane-Dawson, a digital management consultant, commenced by asking if new technology such as programmatic is

turning media into a commodity and, if so, what are the implications for the industry? Tim Webster, founder of the Exchange

Lab, a specialist in real-time bidding – a kind of programmatic buying, said media trading is a “whole new complex world” and

that marketers are still trying to grasp what programmatic is, and how it works. He went on to explain that the new technology

allows brands to identify who the audience is, and to evaluate everyone individually, “it makes the person the commodity”, so

a brand owner can say 'yes, we want to target that specific person or that specific audience'.

Echoing Webster's point, Katalin Spielmann, head of media at Johnson & Johnson, the FMCG firm, said that “in today's world

it is fundamental to have programmatic to capture data in real-time” adding that such technology enables brands to “identify

the best customer who is receptive to our message”.

Paul Randle, head of global digital at Akzo Nobel, parent company of Dulux, the paint brand, urged his colleagues to embrace

programmatic buying. But, he conceded, a lack of education was a barrier to adoption of this new media buying technique and

that the “techno-babble” surrounding it was hindering progress. Dowds agreed stating that agencies need to empower brand

owners to understand what is going on with developments in buying technology.

Asked by Keane-Dawson how brands can improve their return on investment, Spielmann said that programmatic is “just

another type of media buying” and that it still has to “look at efficiencies and effectiveness”. Spielmann explained that Johnson

& Johnson “test and learn new technology” by trying it on a couple of their brands in a handful of markets first, rather than

rolling it out globally all at once. The company then analyses how the technology is driving better ROI and optimisation. More

broadly, Spielmann suggested that programmatic could be measured as an awareness driver, not just direct response.

So what should brand owners interested in programmatic buying be asking their media agencies? According to Webster,

marketers should want to know which technologies are going to be the right mix for their brand in the coming months, because

programmatic is here to stay as an alternative to a human media sales force.

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Customer touchpoints

'Why the moments that matter, matter' was the theme of industry manager at Google, Harry Davies' talk. Davies discussed how

brands can look at the signals they get from their customer data, and how they can get better at finding what is important

within this data. Davies also identified a five second rule, but this time in a different context. Research from Google Analytics

has found if a customer spends five seconds on your website they are much more likely to buy from your site.

Of course, retention depends on user experience. With the five second rule in mind, Davies emphasised the importance of an

efficient search experience: stating that, perhaps unsurprisingly, if a customer clicks elsewhere they are 20% more likely to

purchase from another site. Meanwhile, if a search result leads to an error page, Davies suggested doing something creative

with that space.

When it comes to tracking the customer journey, Davies noted the industry is not so good at capturing what he called “the stuff

in the middle”, the social mentions or 'crowd interactions'. Such mid-journey touchpoints, he said, are being ignored. Perhaps it

is within this context that Google has launched its customer journey to online purchase analytics tool will help address this.

The customer journey, Davies continued, is no longer about the web user experience; it is about 'touchpoint' user experience.

So how can the marcomms industry organise itself for this uber-connected, multi-device world? According to Davies, planning

needs 'Experience Architects'.

He urged brand owners to get all experts in one room to enable them to work together, not in silos. According to Davies,

planners need to really think about the context in which customers use devices and start planning around that.

Real time marketing

Real time marketing – in which brands react to news events with rapid-response ads and messages, usually through their

official social media accounts – was a recurring theme throughout the day. Oliver Snoddy, head of planning at Twitter

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explained how brands can use real time techniques to plan 'for the moment'. Describing the micro-blogging site as “the pulse

of the planet”, Snoddy opened with some striking statistics:

l There are now 15m Twitter users in the UK

l 80% of users access the site via mobile devices

l 500 million tweets are sent every day

Snoddy explained how two very different brands utilised real time marketing in very different ways to engage with customers

during Andy Murray's Wimbledon tennis victory in June 2013. When Murray won the Wimbledon title, 3.2 million tweets were

sent within 12 hours, most of these were in a 30 minute window. Morrison's, the UK supermarket responded by renaming its

local Wimbledon store 'Murriwins'.

Elsewhere, Adidas, the sportswear brand, ran a contest - #hitthewinner - where winners got to play Murray the day after his

Wimbledon victory. Snoddy noted that savvy brands seek out these special moments and plan different scenarios in advance.

As such real-time marketing may involve elements of strategic planning, not just instantaneous reaction.

So how can brands plan for optimising on 'the moment'? According to Snoddy, it is the everyday moments where most

opportunities exist. Twitter analytics found there is a huge volume of conversation about hunger. Clearly this presents

opportunities for grocery stores, or snack brands to connect with consumers. Running is also a popular topic on Twitter, and

Snoddy pointed out that when patterns emerge from the data smart brands can engage via content strategy or keyword

targeting.

Looking to the retail sector, Lowes the US DIY giant engaged with consumers by posting a six second video on Vine, the

micro-video site owned by Twitter. The brand demonstrated how to overcome a common DIY problem hence adding value, in

a sense becoming what is known as a 'brand butler', by helping simplify consumers' lives. Closer to home, NatWest, the UK

bank, is also using Vine on Twitter in what Snoddy called “a move from customer service to practical marketing”.

Brands can also capitalise on live events. One such example is this cheeky tweet from Nokia, the mobile handset brand, who's

strategically timed tweet coincided with the much hyped launch of rival, Apple's, latest iPhone. It stole the limelight and has

become one of the most retweeted brand tweets ever.

Snoddy pointed out that brands can also optimise on 'connected moments' via connected media channels. TV is, Snoddy

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pointed out, more effective with Twitter and that combining the two channels delivers +95% increase in message association

versus campaigns using TV alone, as well as a +58% increase in purchase intent.

One such brand using Twitter and TV is premium ice-cream maker, Ben & Jerry's. The TV ad promotes its latest flavour while

encouraging devoted fans to suggest new flavour ideas via the twitter hashtag #MyBenandJerrys – an example of a brand

using twitter for new product development.

Emerging markets = emerging opportunities

On a different theme, John Grant, founder of ad agency St Luke's and author of Made With: Brands, creatives and

entrepreneurs from the emerging global Interland, a new book that examines the emerging alternative to western brands. Many

of the case studies Grant presented provided unique insights into the spirit and culture of emerging markets such as Turkey,

Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and Dubai.

Grant has observed that while western brands are 'made by', eastern brands are 'made with'. One such example is the 'Make

Food, Not War' movement, started by chef, celebrity and writer, Kamal Mouzawak in Beirut, Lebanon. The idea being that

despite Palestine and Israel's volatile relationship and deep divisions, they eat the same food – and are therefore united by

food. Grant observed how brands in emerging markets get to “the bone of the culture” which creates a sense of real

authenticity. As such, brands have to get out there and meet the local people, understand their culture, and tell great stories.

But how can marketers overcome the challenges of connecting with consumers in these emerging markets, for many, literally a

foreign territory? Grant said the industry needs to prepare for “endless chaos and change” but added this is a good thing due

to the countless opportunities this presents.

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In summary:

l Programmatic planning and buying should be considered earlier in the planning process. Marketers should start asking

questions about this new technology NOW.

l The customer journey is more complex, multiple devices mean multiple touchpoints. Simplify the jigsaw puzzle by getting

your experts to collaborate.

l Video content is increasingly important for customer service and consumer engagement.

l Data is important but the power of a great story, and tapping in to emotions is what will make your brand brilliant.

l Ride the waves of opportunity presented by the emerging markets.

l Five seconds can make all the difference.

About the author

Lena Roland is Warc's Knowledge Officer.

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