The shocking and not so shocking things I learned at AdWeek Toronto, 2010.
Last week I snuck out of studio early a few days to catch a few speakers at the 2nd Annual Toronto Ad Week. Only being able to catch a few talks, I wasn’t able to get the full experience but a couple of things stood out to me.
VIDEO
There is still huge growth coming in this area. Apparently we, as Canadians, consume online video content like fat kids eat smarties. In retrospect I shouldn’t have been but when it was announced that the second most used search engine (after google of course) in Canada is YouTube, I was a bit shocked. And then immediately tried to YouTube Search myself.
The best example I saw was an agency out of Charlotte, NC who created their entire agency website on youtube.com. Check it out at www.booneoakley.com
My Take Away >> Start a Mouth Media youtube channel for video content about our studio and services AND to help promote our clients;
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND WHAT THEY LIKE
How do you do this? Research and testing!
How do you do it if you don’t have money for research and testing? You look at other people’s research. Read articles, case studies and whatever you get your hands on – there is a whole web of information out there that could help you make your next campaign much more effective.
Jill Strawbridge of Advertising Products Group, Yahoo took us through some research on web banner ads using three audience groups – Gen Y, Gen X and Boomers. The results were not what they or I would have expected – who knew that there were such huge gaps between Gen X and Gen Y in terms of what type of visual engagement they appreciate and react positively to? Eg. Did you know that static banner ads are much less effecive than flash banner ads for Gen Y but only somewhat for Gen X? And that apparently Boomers could care less? That being said, Boomers didn’t really show any difference for colour, movement, or shape of banner ads. What does that mean to you as an advertiser? Worry more about your other demographics because boomers don’t really have a preference.
My Take Away >> Review target audience information for upcoming banner ad campaigns we are working on for clients and recommend pairing down or beefing up the content depending on who they are targeting.