Canadians believe that context matters. That’s the overarching message from a recent study into how consumers perceive ads placed in premium environments.
The research project — conducted by Rogers Insights on behalf of Marketing, Globe Media Group and the Canadian Marketing Association — surveyed more than 4,000 Canadians. That data shows that premium sites have a net positive effect on advertisers’ brand reputations across a number of product categories.
Participants were asked to name websites they felt were premium quality or “prestigious.” They were then asked how seeing an ad for discount and full-service airlines, financial services, luxury or non-luxury automakers on that site would affect their perception of the brand. In each case, far more Canadians said they’d have a more positive opinion of those brands given the premium placement.
Airlines seem poised to benefit the most from this attitude, as 33% of those polled said premium media placement would raise their opinions of discount airlines, and 28% said as much about full-service airlines.
However, experts say that simply being present in prestigious media is not enough unless you have creative that rises to the occasion.
“If it’s just a banner on the premium site, who cares?” asked Ryan Spelliscy, chief creative officer of JWT Toronto. While the creative process of designing a campaign for a premium site versus a non-premium site doesn’t necessarily change (the number one rule is to always stay true to the brand POV, Spelliscy said), the opportunities do because premium sites lend themselves to certain types of approaches.
“A lot of those premium sites are more about in-depth story telling and craftsmanship,” Spelliscy said. “You want a bit of a partnership, you need [the publishers] to let you in a bit.”
It’s a fine balance and everyone, from advertisers to publishers, is looking for the right fit in terms of brand partnerships. As the saying goes, you are the company you keep. In the world of online advertising, cohesion is key.
“A brand should only be in premium places if it is already premium or it aspires to be premium — you can’t force it,” said Spelliscy. “If it’s going into a place that feels wrong, it is wrong.”
In other words, you can’t make a brand premium with premium media placement alone. However, you can, according to the study, harm your brand perception by placing an ad for a luxury or higher-end item on a less-than-prestigious site.
Study participants were also asked how seeing ads on a site they deemed the “least prestigious” would affect their opinion. More people said they would have a lower opinion than a higher one as a result.
This risk appears to be highest for financial institutions and luxury auto brands (see 38% stat above).
Marketers intent on protecting their brand integrity need not only find the right fit for their online ad, but also ensure that creative speaks to the medium.
There are so many different considerations when designing for different sites. With Facebook, for example, Spelliscy said marketers are dealing with a platform that is inherently about sharing. So brands should tailor their message accordingly. The same goes for Twitter.
“On premium sites, you are a little less contest- and social-driven,” said Spelliscy, citing a recent campaign his agency designed for Air Canada that played off the political tensions in the U.S. where citizens were Tweeting plans to move to Canada. Air Canada responded to those social media conversations, inviting the likes of Lena Dunham and Raven-Symoné, as well as regular citizens, to #TestDrive Canada first by flying up for a visit.
The campaign took a different tact on more premium sites, with messaging targeted to residents of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. In those venues, the campaign provided light-hearted travel tips and sight-seeing advice for Canadian cities, along with Air Canada flight schedules.
“It was way more about the brand conversation and more about the bigger brand point of view,” said Spelliscy. “It was a little less snack size (than the social media approach).
Marketing and Rogers Insights are both owned by Rogers Media
