HOW TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIGITAL AWARENESS PROMOTIONS
Septeni Global’s Expert shares the tips! Awareness promotion is usually associated with TV commercials and OOH billboards, but as digital advertising rapidly evolves, we can now reach out to similar audiences through digital awareness promotions methods. In this article, our expert, Rei Yamamoto, will share some tips on how to set the KPI to measure the effectiveness of your campaign. ■Awareness promotion with digital ads is becoming increasingly important We think that there are two reasons why the demand is on the rise. First, due to the barriers to measuring the effectiveness of user acquisition ads caused by privacy restrictions by iOS14 and others. iOS 14 disables the conversion tracking by default. Although alternative tracking measures are available, many advertisers nevertheless found it difficult to deliver ads to target audiences in an effective way, and many have shifted more budget towards awareness-focused ad delivery. Second, existing popular In-feed, SNS and video platforms now have awareness options and adoption of connected TV is fast in Japan as well. Many may associate linear TV with the older generation and mobile for the younger generation. However, over the past few years, SNS and video media have successfully penetrated the Generation X (born before 1980), and are further expanding their reach. Furthermore , since audience targeting and tracking of ad effectiveness are easier to do with these media compared to linear TV, more and more advertisers are now equipped with tools to secure successful digital awareness campaigns. In addition, with a rapid growth rate, connected TV has already penetrated half of all Japanese households in 2021, and has an especially high adoption rate among younger generations. CONSUMER USAGE OF CTV Source: 1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/294654/connected-tv-penetration-rate-usa/ Source 2: https://www.screens-lab.jp/article/27940 Source:3: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1310154/connected-tv-users-age-us/ With respect to ad delivery, while linear TVs use viewing ratings by age for each program, connected TVs offer more precise targeting, including age, geographic targeting (zip code) and interest targeting (program genre), depending on the streaming service that delivers the ad. ■ What is Digital Awareness Promotion? There are two main advantages of digital awareness promotion over liner TV. First, there are a wide variety of delivery methods which allow you to take advantage of the characteristics of each media. Second, it is possible to measure and evaluate the effectiveness and implement a PDCA cycle if planned well. However, it is sometimes difficult to set comparable indexes to evaluate the contribution to Brand Likeability. ■ How to set KPI to measure effectiveness? There are two major elements in setting KPIs for digital awareness promotions: (i) setting evaluation criteria, and (ii) selecting media and menu. (i) How to set evaluation criteria for digital awareness promotions? Thanks to the reporting and measurement tools on the media dashboards, it is now possible to visualize the effectiveness of awareness promotions, but it’s more important to determine consistent KPIs across platforms when setting evaluation criteria unless there are various KPIs. The table below shows some frequently used KPIs in ad delivery for awareness purposes. Since user behavior and sales points vary by industry and product, each company should determine which KPI is appropriate based on available information. Here are some examples that illustrate how to pick the right KPIs: Example 1: Company A Industry wide, the time spent between consideration and purchase is short, making it difficult to differentiate the product from competitors. We want the consumers to recall our products first. →Choose “First recall” from “Psychological change” Example 2: Company B We want users to consider our products at the consideration phase, when they examine information on their own between consideration and purchase. → Choose “Site visit” from “Behavior modification” ■ Combining online with offline awareness promotion When running a 360 campaign that includes both digital and traditional media (such as TV commercials), we recommend integrating online and offline measurement for consistent performance tracking. By utilizing STADIA, a Dentsu Group’s tool that holds TV viewing logs, wecan link the IDs it holds to allow advertisers to conduct integrated analysis of TV viewing logs, web contact logs and offline purchase data. Furthermore, using the new measurement tools, we can now visualize behavioral change, ad index and reach, and other metrics. With regards to psychological changes, which are usually difficult to quantify, we would recommend measuring it by calculating CPB (Cost Per BrandLift), which refers to the cost per attitude change, using the results of the results of the Brand Lift Survey. There are mainly two ways to carry out the Brand Lift Survey: based on the actual contact logs by the media or through research firms surveys. 1. Actual contact logs Users are divided into two groups: one group will be exposed to the ads and the other will not. After the awareness campaign, the media will distribute questionnaires to measure attitude change toward the brand. *BrandLift Surveys can be conducted on Google, Instagram, Twitter, etc., but availability and requirements vary by media. 2. Research firms like KANTER, Macromill, etc. The method is similar to the above, where viewers are divided into two groups, either with or without prior exposure to the digital awareness ad. The survey is carried out by third party independent research firms. ■ How to select media and menu Now that we have chosen the right KPI to measure campaign performance, let’s start selecting the media and menu to achieve the goal. Generally, when making decisions, we need to take into account two factors: target audience and objective for ad delivery. Target audience Choose media and menu based on media-specific user attributes, types of available targeting, etc. Objectives (KPI) for ad delivery. Select the right media based on the objectives, ad placements, format, etc. and the types of measurement tools that can be implemented. Here is an overview of how to make the decision based on the media menu. [In-feed and SNS menu for awareness] The objectives are mostly reach-based, Brand Lift Survey is usually available, and the audience target varies from platform to platform. Make the selection according to the main target audience and budget. [Video menu for awareness] Objectives can vary and may include reach, engagement, viewing, consideration, etc. Use KPIs (complete views, reach, promotion of understanding, etc.) and creatives (format, seconds) to determine the menu. We believe that digital awareness promotions will become more and more in demand in the near future and we hope this article can guide you along the way! If you would like to learn more about how to do digital awareness promotions in Japan, please email us at hello@septeniamerica.com REI YAMAMOTO MEDIA PLANNING, MANAGER She joined Septeni Global in April 2018 and has been actively involved in numerous large scale UA and branding campaigns. She is committed to achieving advertisers' goals with her knowledge of media optimization. 2019: Annual Rookie Award 2020: Annual Consultant Award 2021: Annual Company-wide Grand Award 2022: Became the youngest to be promoted to managerial position. ABOUT SEPTENI GLOBAL Septeni Global is a global company specializing in digital marketing. We provide a full range of services from strategic planning and creative production to brand awareness to user growth, mainly in the digital ads, to achieve a one-stop solution to our clients' challenges.