Eight days later, and most of us have recovered from our Super Bowl ad hangovers, but what’s a brand to do now that the biggest night in television advertising has come and gone?
According to Eyeview CEO Oren Harnevo, brands that can afford both television and digital advertising should be leveraging their digital ad dollars to drive revenue.
“Television is a great tool for reach and awareness, but very un-targeted. The message has to be generic,” says Harnevo.
“The huge advantage with digital is that you know who’s watching. You can speak directly to your consumers.”
Launched in 2011, Harnevo’s firm creates digital ad solutions, including targeted, personalized video ads, device targeting and retargeting ads for major brands like Toys R Us, Lowes, Target, Land Rover and Jaguar.
We wanted to know which brands Harnevo thought won this year’s Super Bowl, as well as his take on all things digital. He was generous enough to comply, giving an insider’s scoop on which brands are doing digital right and the biggest weaknesses he sees happening in digital advertising.
Five Questions with Eyeview CEO Oren Harnevo
Amy Gesenhues: Of this year’s Super Bowl ads, which were your most favorite?
Oren Harnevo: Chrysler’s ad was my absolute favorite – it was the most emotional. The ad appealed to consumers’ patriotism, the love and appreciation for Bob Dylan, and the sympathy attached to Detroit and the failing American automobile industry. It had a unique air of “days gone by” when the American auto industry was on top.
However, there were some strong contenders this year for many different reasons. I thought Jaguar’s ad was the most entertaining and had the best creative. H&M’s ad was unique in that it provoked extensive social sharing and consumer engagement, which is what many brands strive to do. Producing and airing an ad is one thing, but having your consumers interact with it, and do the sharing for you, is the holy grail.
Lastly, GoDaddy’s ads have always been a favorite of mine, including this year. Having a person quit on national TV has that X-factor quality that none of the other ads had – it got people talking and made the most noise.
Amy Gesenhues: Many Super Bowl advertisers now release their ads prior to the Super Bowl to extend the spot’s longevity. Do you believe releasing an ad early lessens its impact?
Oren Harnevo: Releasing an entire video ad prior to the game is really smart – you’re getting impressions for free. People will still appreciate ads when they air during game time, and coverage will still include those games far after the game.
The only ad that I didn’t see before, and was seemingly “unveiled” during the Super Bowl, was my favorite one: Chrysler’s “America’s Import” with Bob Dylan. Chrysler wanted to capitalize on the surprise and awe of Bob Dylan in a car ad – in that case, it was worth debuting on Sunday.
Amy Gesenhues: Overall, which brands are doing digital advertising right and what are they doing that other brands aren’t?
Oren Harnevo: The term “digital advertising” encompasses many, many different types of advertising: display, search, online video, mobile, retargeting, email, the list goes on. The best brands are the ones who spend the time to create the best combination of all of these to tell a story that is connected across channels.
LandRover is a great example. They use TV ads to build the brand, they do re-targeting to drive leads, they create mobile ads with call-to-action’s that connect locally and then they use online video to funnel consumers down the sales pipeline – from awareness, to consideration all the way to purchasing.
Advertising across digital is hard; it’s tough to understand all of the minute differences between all vendors and how you (the marketer) can spend money in the right places in order to make sure it translates to revenue. You need to get educated, and innovative, in order to be on the cutting edge of brand advertising.
More and more brands are doing it right – but many brands are still stuck investing all of their dollars into TV buys, not understanding that viewership is moving to digital.
Amy Gesenhues: What’s the biggest weakness you see among major brands when it comes to their digital advertising efforts?
Oren Harnevo: The biggest weakness brands have in their digital advertising initiatives is failing to educate themselves enough on the topic.
We had an experience when a brand cancelled a $10M personalized online ad campaign in order to invest more heavily into TV. The thing is, TV is great, and it should definitely be a part of your advertising strategy, but spending $10M across multiple platforms allows for far more increased exposure – exposure you just can’t get by limiting your reach to TV audiences.
Brands must educate themselves and spread their budget across channels – they have to think outside the box, and look to reach consumers where they are, which is increasingly online.
Amy Gesenhues: For my final question, I’m curious, which digital ad campaigns have caught your eye during the last year?
Oren Harnevo: Volvo Truck’s Jean Claude Van Damme ad went viral immediately, both because it is somewhat outlandish, and visually astonishing.
Another of my favorites was Disney’s latest video campaign featuring parents surprising their children with plans to visit Disneyland. Showcasing real user generated content makes the campaign seem relatable and genuine.
But, my favorite, far and away, is DollarShaveClub.com. It’s only online, as opposed to other campaigns that cross multiple platforms.
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