3 Changes Brands Can Make To Their Creative To Navigate The New Media Landscape

These are undoubtedly challenging times, with the global spread of the Coronavirus continuing to have a huge impact on our industry and our lives.

As we continue to enter uncharted territory, we’ve outlined three immediate things brands can do to ensure they are reaching the right audiences and striking the right tone.

1. Adjust your creative

With most areas of the world on lockdown and social distancing measures firmly in place, it’s going to be near impossible to film new footage and creatives over the coming months.

To get around this, we’ve seen a number of brands adapting old creative to tell new stories and convey new messaging in light of the coronavirus outbreak and we’ve been testing these ads to see how they resonate with audiences.

Guinness recently did this with a Saint Patrick’s Day message, which told viewers to celebrate responsibly and conveyed the brand’s pledge to support struggling communities during these uncertain times.

We tested the spot using UnrulyEQ in the US and it resonated extremely well, with happiness, warmth and pride as the top three emotions, all scoring above the US norm. The ad also performed well above the US norm for purchase intent and favourability.

The same was reflected in Ford’s ‘Built To Lend a Hand’ campaign, which was one of the first COVID-19 response ads and used a number of sewn-together shots to convey a new message, supporting customers during this uncertain time.

Ford’s spot scored above the US average for pride, inspiration and warmth, as well as performing above average for all key business metrics, including a huge 53% for favourability versus a US norm of 39%!

Looking at the overall EQ scores for both of these ads, which take into account a combination of emotion, favourability and purchase intent, Guinness scored 6.2 and Ford scored 6.0. The average EQ score is 5.0 so both of these ads performed far better than the average ad, showing that this format does work.

Don’t forget… if you need help adjusting your creative, our proprietary UnrulyEQ team is here to help you adapt ads created with specific events in mind, promote updated messaging around your CSR initiatives or to drive alternative CTAs.

2. Rediscover your audience

It’s no surprise that people are consuming more digital content than ever before, a 60% increase according to a recent Nielsen study. As it turns out, the best way to find your audience these days is to look for them at home.

There’s been significant growth in at-home-media, and according to Mindshare US, there’s a 79.17% increase in the population going online, with a 105.26% increase in TV streaming during the period of March 11-17. Our sister company, Tremor Video, has also reported a whopping 200% increase in CTV consumption since the first of March.

Whether it’s catching up on Disney+ and Netflix’s latest shows, keeping up with the latest headlines on the COVID-19 outbreak or video calling with friends and family, access to online media and services has never before been this integral to our daily lives.

Don’t forget… through UnrulyX, our data-driven video marketplace, we can offer you access to a huge list of premium news sites, and exclusive access to NewsCorp inventory. With this surge of active internet and streaming users, we can help you expand your reach by targeting news outlets like CBS News, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and many more. Click here for the full list.

3. Hit the Right Tone

Getting your brand’s tone right during this sensitive time is of paramount importance. You need to ensure your messaging during this time reflects your company values as consumers are very quick to call out brands they don’t believe are acting with sincerity.

Some of the globe’s biggest brands have already adapted their tone and messaging in very creative and surprising ways. Some great examples include Ikea’s #StayHome, in which they’ve created a campaign touching on this surreal homebound moment, and Unilever, which put competition aside by promoting non-Unilever brands in its advertising, with the message, “Please use the soap nearest to you”.

Don’t forget… using our content testing tool, UnrulyEQ, we can test your creative asset to ensure your tone and message still resonates with your audiences.