SOCIAL MEDIA

Moving Pictures, Small Screens

At TikTok’s NewFronts presentation last week, the platform’s US head of advertising, Sandie Hawkins, said “people check Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter,” but “they watch TikTok like Netflix and Hulu.” Talk about a flex. 

During the presentation, TikTok also boasted that 30% of TikTokers recently told Kantar they’ve watched “less TV, streaming, or other video content since joining" the app. And a TikTok representative told Marketing Brew that the average TikTok user consumes a movie's worth of content every day. 

Snap and Twitter used the NewFronts to plug their video chops, too.  

• Snap announced a slate of new original shows—including one starring the D’Amelio sisters, who rose to fame on TikTok.
• Twitter showed off its “expanded lineup of new live and on demand premium video content” via partnerships with Genius, NBCUniversal, Refinery29, and others.

Big picture: According to recent estimates from eMarketer, US social network video ad spending in 2021 will grow by 31% year over year to $19.22 billion.

• Nicole Perrin, eMarketer principal analyst, told Marketing Brew that advertisers consider digital video “among their most effective ad options.”
• She explained that “some of that ‘entertainment’ time that previously defaulted to long-form video on television is moving not only to that same type of content on [connected TV] but also to other types of video-based entertainment content in social media—e.g., TikTok—and platforms like Snap and Twitter will want to capitalize on that shift.”

Speaking of TV...

Social Native CEO David Shadpour told us that the “most meaningful revenue opportunity for these platforms sits within shifting ad dollars from TV budgets.”

• “As the larger platforms like Twitter and Snapchat face pressure from shareholders for continued growth, TV is the primary target,” he added. 

This could partly explain why platforms like Snap continue to invest in original, TV-esque shows. Tedi Schmidt, iProspect’s associate director of paid social, claims marketers are “excited” about this type of content. 

• “After the past year, when COVID pushed advertisers to pull back on upper-funnel dollars and focus on online sales to combat the loss of in-store revenue, this is a cool way for brands to make a splash and open back up into branding in a big and unique way,” she told Marketing Brew.
• Schmidt also pointed out that more than 90% of the US Gen Z population watched Snapchat’s shows and publisher content during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Zoom out: “Video is on the rise across all social media platforms,” Socialfly CEO and cofounder Courtney Spritzer told us. “In adding longer form video content, the social platforms are getting closer and closer to competing with streaming services to capitalize on the increase in video consumption.” — PB

BRANDS

How Peloton’s Brand Story Changes Now

From the Peloton Wife debacle to the time the fitness company told the world it “turned off” advertising because of rising interest in home workouts during the pandemic, the brand has had a wild ride (no pun intended). 

But the latest news surrounding Peloton is sure to change the larger story of its brand—and, therefore, its marketing strategy. 

• Ahead of its earnings call last week, Peloton recalled its Tread+ treadmills after one child died in an accident involving the machine, and many more were injured. 
• On the call, the company said it expects Q4 sales to decrease by $165 million because of the recall.

So how will this affect any future ads from the brand? 

Apparently, more than you might think. 

Marketing Brew spoke with Crystal and Tom O’Keefe, hosts of Peloton community podcast The Clip Out, about the company’s evolving brand story. The couple started cyclin’ in 2016 and have since interviewed everyone from company execs to Monica Ruiz, the “Peloton Wife” herself. 

TL;DR: The Clip Out hosts predict that Peloton will try to become an industry leader for safety, sprinkling that theme into future ads as a result of the Tread+ recall. 

Click here to read the full story. — PB

SPONSORED BY LISTRAK

70 Billion Is One of the Larger Numbers

It also happens to be the number of messages Listrak analyzed to compile its 2021 Ecommerce Email Benchmark Report. Sev-en-ty BILLION.

Whew, let’s back up for a second. Listrak is the cutting-edge integrated marketing platform built specifically to drive results for retailers—in other words, they know a thing or two when it comes to increasing engagement, revenue, and loyalty at every point of interaction. 

So what’s in this report? Think benchmark results for 70,000,000,000 emails sent by 1,000+ retailers and brands across 11 different types of email campaigns in 2020. 

Listrak didn’t just hoover up the data on email campaign metrics either; they broke them down into key findings, such as:

• Increased send volumes don’t degrade engagement rates
• Personalized product recommendations increase conversions 
• A single integrated platform is crucial

Want more insights based on a rather large number of marketing emails? Get Listrak’s 2021 Ecommerce Email Benchmark Report here. 

CAMPAIGNS

Get Real

Many moms haven’t had it easy throughout the past year. And brands didn’t shy away from this reality in their Mother’s Day messaging:

• Nivea’s ad told the story of a young woman who struggles to get along with her mom while working from her childhood bedroom during the pandemic.
• Teleflora’s campaign featured two kids explaining how difficult the past year has been for their mom. 
• Saucony’s Mother’s Day video described motherhood as the “marathon that never ends.” 

These campaigns are the latest examples of brands trying to more accurately portray what it’s like to be a mom. For instance, earlier this year, Frida Mom aired a commercial during the Golden Globes that showed new mothers grappling with the pain and confusion that can come with breastfeeding. Last year, an ad for Bodyform, a brand that sells period products, showed a couple suffering a miscarriage. 

Our take: Marketers are ditching glossy depictions of parenting in favor of relatable ones, to try and show that they get how tough it can be. But companies that lack supportive parental leave policies, or perks for working parents, risk backlash if their ads say one thing while their practices say another. Remember when Nike told women to “Dream Crazier,” then faced criticism shortly afterwards for its treatment of pregnant athletes? — MS

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Doner just became Travelocity’s agency of record. 
• Clubhouse is finally rolling out a version of its social audio app for Android. 
• General Mills’s global CMO, Ivan Pollard, is leaving the company, which won’t hire a new lead marketer.
• Disney, Marriott, Electronic Arts, Bumble, and more are reporting earnings this week.

SPONSORED BY LINKEDIN MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Everyone gets a seat at the marketing kids table. We’ve grown into smooth talking marketing professionals, and there’s nothing better than surrounding yourself—and your brand—with like-minded individuals. Where is that, you may ask? Click here to find out.

FRENCH PRESS

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren't those.

Programmatic: Need a programmatic primer? Look no further than these five (free) courses.

Sosh meeds: If you’re launching a new product soon, follow this step-by-step guide on how to include your social media channels in the rollout. 

Copywriting: Speaking of new products, check out these 13 tips for writing product descriptions that convert. 

How the best connect: 9 out of 10 Ad Age 200 brands have chosen Roku, and for good reason—their message can reach households with an estimated 155M people nationwide. TV starts here. 

AD ANTIQUES

Vintage Ad Browser

Does this IBM ad from 1984 depict the first Peloton bike—yes or no? 

ICYMI

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Platforms showed off shopping tools at NewFronts
• How brands will use Twitter’s new Tip Jar feature
• Is the Ad Council’s massive Covid-19 vaccine campaign working?