In this week's member guest post, we hear from Edouard Lauwick, Senior Vice President, Southern Europe at Rakuten Advertising,as he shares his views on the importance of context and creating the right 'moment' in advertising strategies.
Imagine that you’re settled on the couch in front of an exciting movie, glass of wine in one hand and popcorn in the other. You’re enjoying a night at home after a long week at work, in a moment of pure escapism. The break arrives and an ad for a sporty new car captures your mood perfectly…the one for the toilet bleach less so, even though you’re only metres from your bathroom. You’re not in the mood to think about cleaning.
For the advertiser, both of these ad placements might cost the same, but one was almost certainly more effective than the other. As a ‘data point’, the individual on the couch is the same, but the context makes all the difference. As such, while demographic is an essential factor in planning an advertising strategy, it shouldn’t always be the sole dictator of it.
Advertisers need to understand where their audience is throughout the day, understand them as a person and consider the context they’re in when they want their message to resonate.
Weaving this into an advertising strategy involves elevating them to a concept – the Moment – which encapsulates the role they play. In understanding Moments, budgets become vastly more effective, and the resonance increases significantly. They’re ignored at peril.
Context makes the Moment
We’re all different people at different times of the day, and our emotional (or rational) state reflects this. This can be kicking back with a coffee, taking a walk, or staring out of the window wondering what to buy your partner for their birthday.
However, each of these can also involve media consumption: watching the rolling news with that coffee; video calling a friend during that walk; and browsing online for that birthday treat. They all, therefore, become Moments, none of which are actually momentary.
A Moment doesn’t have to be fleeting. It’s how long and how deeply we are involved in an act over a period of time.
The opportunity in advertising strategy
Advertisers need to be part of these Moments alongside the audience because brand loyalty is increasingly driven by a shared set of values. Brands must demonstrate how much they align with their audience’s lives – be they professional or personal.
Connecting with the audience in the context of the Moment multiplies the impact of the message. It brings emotional understanding to what would otherwise simply rely on broad demographics – a depersonalised and detached approach to recognising individuals as people.
We’ve created a new report which helps advertisers understand the concept of Moments, and how to use them strategically in campaigns. The report examines the different Moments that occur across Rakuten Advertising’s media properties, and how brands and agencies can utilise them to reduce wasted ad spend. ‘Connecting in the Moment: A guide to key media ‘Moments’ and how advertisers can use them’ can be found here. Never be in the wrong Moment again.
