Why Pharma Brands Struggle With Digital Ads
Pharmaceutical companies dominate the airwaves in the U.S., but face a much tougher challenge on the Web. Turn on a TV during daytime hours, and the odds are strong you’ll see the work of a pharmaceutical advertising agency. Ads for prescription drugs are everywhere during peak viewing hours for older viewers, and only slightly less omnipresent during evening hours. The numbers bear this out: Pharmaceutical companies are spending about $6 billion on TV ads annually. With an aging population and medical advances keeping us healthier longer, this is a state of affairs that’s likely to continue. Yet while pharmaceutical ads are everywhere on linear TV, they are much less well-represented in the digital sphere — and there are a few reasons why progress on this front has been halting. Paging Dr. Google The Internet has become the public’s number one source for health information. When consumers have a troubling symptom, Google and WebMD are often the first stops. Physicians aren’t immune to the powers of the Internet either, and often use online searches to supplement print sources when developing clinical opinions and treatment plans. Yet despite this rather transformational change, pharmaceutical advertising is still limited in the digital realm. TV and magazines still receive the vast majority of pharmaceutical ad and marketing spend. There are two reasons why digital advertising in the pharmaceutical industry remains a relative rarity: Government inaction and federal regulations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken an exceptionally methodical approach to providing guidance on what is allowable and what is illegal in terms of digital pharma ads and online pharma marketing. Without clear guidelines, companies have been historically risk-averse in terms of formulating digital strategies. While the FDA is slow and deliberate when crafting policy, it sends out warning letters with much higher velocity. Compounding this difficulty is the current rate of technological change. By the time the FDA offers pharmaceutical marketing guidance on a digital platform, two new platforms have been developed and released. Bypassing Programmatic Roadblocks There’s another rather large fly in the ointment for digital advertisers: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. This federal law grants US citizens privacy rights that protect the use of medical data. For programmatic advertisers, this is a substantial challenge. By harvesting location data, search data and other personal information, advertisers can serve highly targeted ads to consumers when their intent to purchase is at its apex. This, obviously, is a very powerful tool. It’s also a tool that’s constrained by regulations in some instances, however. If a pharmaceutical advertising agency wants to initiate an automated ad campaign, they must proceed with caution. HIPAA outlaws the use of first-party data to link a consumer with a medical condition. This means that a pharmaceutical advertising agency cannot use such data to identify a consumer as a high cholesterol sufferer, then serve her an ad for Lipitor. While this is a significant limitation, it isn’t a complete deal-breaker. Advertisers often use indirect targeting based on related conditions. They also white-list the sites their ads appear on and use audience proxies (such as medical websites) when creating automated campaigns. Agencies can target content (serving Viagra ads in an article about erectile dysfunction, for example) but can’t target specific consumers. These strategies help them stay on the right side of compliance. Is indirect targeting based on third-party data or related conditions as effective as standard programmatic approaches? That’s unlikely. Yet it can be quite effective, especially when compared to linear TV ads, which offer only the most crude form of demographic targeting. And, as digital advertising tools continue to evolve, indirect targeting may improve to a point where it is nearly as effective as using first-party data. One thing is certain: Digital spaces remain under-utilized within the context of pharmaceutical marketing. As today’s Gen X and millennial consumers age, pharma brands won’t be able to rely on linear TV and print magazines to reach their audiences — and brands at the vanguard of this transition will be in the strongest competitive position. The Takeaway If you’d like to see what a tech-focused pharmaceutical advertising agency can do for your products, contact BIGEYE today. We’ll help you harness the full power of advertising and marketing across every medium.
Rise of the Chatbots: Bringing AI Into Pharma Marketing
Looking for a low risk, low overhead, but high impact way to introduce AI into your pharma marketing? Then consider the chatbot. Customer service is one of the most obvious applications for automation — and companies have been ruthlessly efficient in its deployment. Newer tech-based firms, in particular, have opted for near-total customer service automation, at least for routine queries. Most consumers are no doubt familiar with the lengths one must go to in order to get an actual carbon-based life form on the other end of a phone or computer interaction. While dealing with endless irrelevant computer-generated questions is tiresome now, consumers are about to get some relief. AI and natural language processing (NLP) are growing exponentially smarter. Soon, consumers will have difficulty discerning silicon-based vs. carbon-based customer assistance. As chatbots and other automated programs grow more capable, brands will also be able to extend their functionality into the realm of pharmaceutical marketing. How Chatbots Can Help Brands Incorporate AI Into Pharma Marketing AI is playing a critical role in pharmaceutical industry product development. Major companies such as Pfizer and Google are using AI to help with early disease diagnosis. Artificial intelligence is also used to accelerate timelines for new drug discoveries. AI is also positioned to play a critical role in the emergence of personalized medicine, where tailored therapies are created based on a patient’s genetic profile. Heady stuff, to be certain — yet also fairly far outside of the bailiwick of your conventional pharmaceutical advertising agency or pharma marketing department. There is, however, one AI implementation that is both effective and viable for marketing purposes: The chatbot. Today’s chatbots have come a long way from the rather static and limited versions consumers first encountered. Part of this is due to a gradual shift away from rules-based AI (where a chatbot responds according to pre-determined rule sets) to a fully realized NLP implementation. In the latter, a chatbot can continually learn and expand its repertoire, growing more accurate and responsive over time. In fact, today’s NLP-based chat applications have grown astonishingly life-like, even incorporating human-sounding conversational pauses and stammers. Some chatbots even make intentional errors to increase their verisimilitude. Serving an Automated Marketing Role In the context of customer service and marketing, it’s not difficult to see the benefits of having an intelligent helper who sounds like a human and who is ready to assist with patient queries 24/7. This is especially helpful in an industry where consumers frequently have simple questions about dosages, interactions, and other issues. If your chatbot is capable of seamlessly handling these lines of interaction, it frees up personnel to work on higher-value tasks — one of the core advantages of automation. That’s merely one application of chatbot AI, however. While a well-designed bot can provide consumers with information and facilitate positive experiences, it also plays another critical role: It accumulates a vast trove of data culled from thousands upon thousands of consumer interactions. Obviously, privacy regulations govern how first-party data can be used. Yet this information is still quite valuable in terms of identifying how processes can be improved and how consumers respond to particular messages. Teva and other leading global pharmaceutical brands have created chatbots for their internal properties and are using them for pharma marketing purposes. Teva’s Maxbot implementation, in fact, recently won several awards from the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society. Smaller brands should also follow suit. Though these brands may not have the internal resources to develop a chatbot, the right pharmaceutical advertising agency may be able to develop a chatbot solution that fits the bill. The Takeaway At BIGEYE, we believe that technology plays a leading role in the success of a modern pharma marketing campaign. If you’re looking for more from your pharmaceutical advertising agency, we urge you to contact BIGEYE today.
When Two Industry Giants Collide: CBD Finally Goes DTC
Intelligently mapping a CBD marketing plan is one thing, but tackling CBD and diving into the raging sea of DTC can be difficult. What happens when a massively popular product category meets a scorching hot sales method? We’re about to find out, as CBD goes DTC. New CBD brands and CBD advertising agencies are moving to the Direct to Consumer model, as they seek to leverage first-party data to power their CBD marketing plan efforts. Additionally, as we’ll see below, the CBD product category is a natural for the DTC model, as it allows consumers to access these products in a way that many find preferable to conventional retail settings. The brands pioneering the CBD / DTC connection CBDistillery, which sells hemp-derived products (gummies, creams, drops, etc.) uses a model that falls somewhere between wholesale and direct, selling online-only through its dedicated e-commerce portal. This allows CBDistillery to capture first-party data, which is critically important in a CBD marketing plan. Another CBD brand, Feals, sells CBD products DTC by emphasizing two key elements: Consumer education and a subscription service. The subscription model has grown enormously in recent years (800% from 2014 to 2017) and has been a key driver of the DTC model. Consumer education, on the other hand, is critically important for CBD brands selling DTC. Why? Because many consumers are still wary about the CBD / cannabis link and do not understand that CBD is not psychoactive like marijuana. Even for consumers who understand this distinction, many are concerned about not having sufficient knowledge to dose correctly. These concerns, obviously, are heightened when products are delivered to your home in a box – there is no friendly staffer at a store or dispensary to help. Feals addresses this issue by providing easily measured “flights” (essentially dosages) of CBD products and access to educational information and concierge-style customer service. Consumers can call Feals’ CBD hotline to receive additional guidance. This allows consumers to enjoy the convenience of DTC without worrying about misusing the products they are purchasing. Why DTC and CBD are well-paired The DTC model fits well within the CBD space for a variety of reasons. First, some consumers still believe CBD products carry a stigma, and they prefer to purchase CBD products discreetly rather than publicly. This mindset is likely to change in the coming years, as CBD products become routinely sold at every CVS and Walgreens in the United States. Second, consumers use CBD products to treat anxiety and sleep disorders as well as improve daily skin and beauty regimens. What do these things have in common? They all lead to daily or near daily consumption – something that is ideal for a DTC subscription business. Third, while CBD use is pervasive in large cities, in smaller communities the products are much less accessible. The DTC model helps narrow this availability gap, helping serve the ever-growing demand for CBD products. Those who live in smaller communities don’t have to worry about a lack of local retail options, or the possibility of a greater stigma surrounding CBD use. Getting CBD marketing right While CBD and DTC have extraordinary potential when paired, brands need to be cognizant of the challenges associated with a CBD marketing plan. A patchwork of regulatory rules limit what can and can’t be said. Additionally, major ad platforms such as Google and Facebook do not allow CBD marketing at the moment, citing legal and regulatory concerns. This means that brands need to exercise caution when considering elements such as product design and marketing messages. Failing to do so can bring action from the FDA, FTC, or other agencies. About us Our team of experts understands the myriad challenges of CBD marketing – and we can help you launch a creatively inspiring (and fully compliant) campaign. Do your marketing right by contacting us today to learn more.
Learning from Five Key Pharma Industry Trends
The global pharmaceutical industry is experiencing profound changes — and understanding the impact of these changes is critical for those involved in pharmaceutical marketing. According to a new industry report, the era of pharmaceutical firms succeeding with low innovation products and indiscriminate TV pill pushing is coming to a quick end. The successful pharmaceutical firm of the future will feature smaller and more agile sales staffs, products that truly add value for patients, and marketing efforts that are laser targeted. Let’s take a closer look at some key trends shaping this future, and how brands can partner with the right pharmaceutical advertising agency to develop campaigns that fit this evolution. Projecting Pharmaceutical Industry Trends A recent report compiled by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) outlined the tectonic shifts altering the pharmaceutical industry. Some of these dynamics are associated with broader societal change; others are tied to new technology or evolving consumer preferences. Highlighted developments in the PwC report include the following: Chronic disease rates are growing at a rapid pace, creating a larger — and sicker — population of patients/consumers. Healthcare payers are giving physicians less latitude in terms of prescription decisions. The “pay-for-performance” model is also becoming more established in the industry, as payers seek to tie reimbursements to actual health outcomes. Healthcare boundaries are now overlapping and an interdisciplinary approach to patient care is gaining favor. Demand for pharmaceutical products in the developing world is robust, as globalization raises wages and technology increases access to healthcare. Demand for medicines, however, varies widely in global markets. Governments across the globe are placing a greater emphasis on prevention rather than treatment, hoping to control costs and improve patient outcomes. Regulators are assuming a more risk-averse posture. All of these developments are collectively transforming how patients are treated, and changing the underlying business dynamics across multiple related industries. Most importantly, if you’re a leader within a pharma brand — or a pharmaceutical advertising agency — these trends provide a lodestar of sorts to help inform your industry marketing and advertising campaign strategies. Marketing and Advertising Through the Lens of Trend Analysis As industries evolve, advertising and marketing must evolve in parallel. In the case of the pharmaceutical industry, it’s important that advertisers stay away from a product-focused approach rooted in yesterday’s industry model. Instead of being overly focused on follower products, brands should invest in developing innovative new products that fill an unmet or underserved market niche. PwC describes innovation in the context of drug development as products which: “cure a disease or condition; prevent a disease or condition; reduce mortality or morbidity; reduce the cost of care; improve the quality of life; are safer or easier to use; or improve patient compliance and persistence.” PwC claims that a mere eight new medications meeting those criteria were launched in 2018. In the absence of innovation, patient outcomes suffer. Yet this also creates an exceptional competitive opportunity for brands capable of innovating. Other core imperatives for today’s pharma marketing and ad departments, according to PwC, include: Recognizing how payer, provider, and pharmaceutical value chains work together. Developing the capability to effectively market specialist therapies, which will become more important in the coming years. Introducing products with multi-nation launches and live licensing. Deeper, cultural changes are also critical. Brands need to foster a modern marketing and advertising culture capable of supporting a knowledge-based commercial organization. Such initiatives are certainly ambitious, especially in an industry where firms have been able to make margin by developing low innovation follower products and pairing them with tired, yet tried-and-true, marketing techniques. Yet ambition and innovation are exactly what’s called for, given the massive structural changes that will alter the shape of the pharmaceutical industry in the coming years. The Takeaway If your pharmaceutical advertising agency isn’t pressing you to think three moves ahead, it’s time for a re-evaluation. The pharmaceutical industry will experience a sea of change in the coming years, and brands that begin adapting early will be in the best competitive position. At BIGEYE, we have the right combination to help pharma brands win: Domain expertise, a sophisticated suite of technological tools, and a full range of pharmaceutical marketing services. Contact us today to learn more about BIGEYE, and what a forward-thinking pharmaceutical advertising agency can do for your brand.
Creative Marketing Ideas for FinTech Companies
The FinTech space is responsible for some of the most exciting tech innovations in recent years. But has their marketing been as compelling and innovative? The FinTech space has given us an extraordinary number of new products and services. Square has changed the way we pay for meals, goods, and services. Venmo allows us to send money back and forth to friends and family with the press of a button. Roboadvisors allow us to invest in stocks without even speaking to a human for guidance. All thrilling innovations, to be sure. Yet, has FinTech marketing and advertising kept pace with these product innovations? Along with the basics (such as smart content marketing and audience segmentation), let’s take a closer look at some high impact ideas FinTech firms can use to develop successful campaigns. Creatively inspired FinTech marketing ideas Today’s FinTech companies have completely reimagined the way we pay for products and services, conduct our personal banking and send money peer-to-peer. FinTech is also a highly competitive space, however — which means that it’s imperative to have your products and services supported by a compelling and well-executed marketing strategy. While many of new FinTech products are based on transformative new technological leaps, the space itself isn’t especially fascinating for the average consumer. Given that, let’s review a few tips and examples you can incorporate when devising your next FinTech marketing campaign. Make your marketing campaigns and strategies mobile first. Consumer-facing FinTech is largely driven by mobile — just think about PayPal, your mobile banking app, Venmo, Square, Zelle, etc. It’s estimated that two billion people worldwide will use at least one FinTech mobile app within the next two years. This means that everything you do should be optimized for mobile. These efforts should be supported by advanced digital targeting services to help you engage your ideal audience and give them relevant messages. Push out great content that’s highly relevant. You may have the most innovative consumer-facing FinTech product the world has ever seen — but if you can’t tell a compelling story about what the product is and how it can help people, nobody’s going to pay attention. Additionally, exciting new FinTech products often come with a bit of a learning curve, so it’s important to be informational and educational when necessary. It’s important to illustrate how your technology will have a practical impact on the lives of users. Advanced audience analysis can help you segment your market and deliver relevant, customized content. Focus on trust, credibility, and reliability. FinTech products are decentralizing authority. Today, for example, you can use FinTech applications to engage in peer-to-peer or decentralized lending, cutting banks and financial institutions out of the process. If you’re going to minimize the role third party authorities play, trust and reputation becomes ever more critical. Zig when others zag. Sometimes the most impactful marketing or advertising campaign is the one that runs totally counter to your expectations. Domino’s Pizza launched a media campaign decrying the terribleness of their original recipe in order to promote their new and improved pizza. It was a bold — and very successful — approach. Instamojo, a FinTech payment platform, took the same strategy and published an article called “Six Reasons Not to Choose Our Free Payment Platform.” It’s an attention grabber, and that’s half the battle. Create a spectacle. If you’re looking for something that’s truly attention-getting, consider the case of WePay. The payment company deposited a 600-pound block of frozen ice outside of a conference staged by its competitor, PayPal. The ice, which had frozen money embedded within, was a stunt designed to highlight complaints that PayPal was freezing too many user accounts. As you might imagine, the stunt went massively viral, gaining top-level media coverage from major tech and advertising industry publications. The Takeaway FinTech technology moves at breakneck speed, so it’s critically important for FinTech marketing to keep pace. Innovative and exciting new products need to be paired with creative marketing that is equally engaging. At BIGEYE, we’re experts at helping FinTech firms pair their innovative new products and services with the right marketing and ad strategies. We’ll help you reach new audiences and build market share with compelling creative supported by advanced AdTech. Contact us today to discover what BIGEYE can do for you.
Multi-Sensory Marketing Takes CPGs by Your Senses
Consumer packaged goods marketing often experiments with the most innovative techniques and exposes brands to a breadth of campaigns touching multiple channels because they are attempting to reach a wide audience. As a result, CPGs have generated tons of data on the types of campaigns that work and don’t work. One of our favorite emerging trends is multi-sensory advertisements. Made popular by Oxford University’s Dr. Charles Spence, multi-sensory marketing suggests that customers will be swayed to taste, feel, smell, or see CPGs a certain way by pairing sensory triggers that support the emotion a product is trying to inspire. During a coffee symposium, Spence shows how the mind can be misled to believe coffee tastes better (or worse) by changing its packaging, presentation in a coffee shop, adding smells, or different colors. Don’t believe us? Just watch. Amazing stuff, right? Multi-sensory advertising is especially popular with millennial marketing experts because these campaigns break through the clutter and create a stronger emotional bond with the brand than traditional print or television ads. This is a “must-do” when marketing to millennials because the single most important factor in attracting this audience is creating a real, emotional connection with your brand. Below, we share some of our favorite multi-sensory CPG campaigns and why they are so successful. We’re excited to help you create your next (or first) multi-sensory campaign, so discover how we have worked with brands like yours in the past or set up a one-on-one consultation today at your local Orlando marketing agency. CPG Marketing Meets Taste What do Kit Kat bars and Pringles have in common? Aside from being delicious – if somewhat indulgent – snacks, both CPG brands have discovered that consumers associate freshness with the sound of a crisp crunch. In a study sponsored by Dr. Spence, Pringles played the sound of different chips crunching to their consumers. Based on how fresh or stale the chips sounded influenced the consumers’ opinion of how the chips would taste. Leveraging that information, Pringles has never shied away from showing sound bites of happy customers munching in their television spots, and routinely reinforce this messaging with their “once you pop, you can’t stop” tag line. Everything from the sound of opening a Pringles tube, to the chips rattling inside the canister affirms the crisp freshness of the chips. Similarly, Kit Kat has built hundreds of campaigns around the crunch and snap of sharing and eating a Kit Kat bar. Their ads show customers being transported outside their mundane day-to-day lives as the crunch takes over. In other ads, the entire commercial leverages the various signature sounds of breaking into or biting a Kit Kat bar. The crunch, in this instance, is a pleasurable sensory experience customers have come to expect and crave. It was just a matter of discovering which this sensory experience delighted customers. Consumer Packaged Goods that Smell … Well … Good Sure, scratch and sniff coffee bags and air freshener packaging seems like an obvious use of the sense of smell to make a sale, but one of our favorite examples of multi-sensory marketing doesn’t rely on smell to make the sale … It changes the smell of the product itself. In blind tests, Axe Body Spray discovered that it’s masculine cologne had great potential, but found that consumers thought the spray was less masculine if they heard the traditional swoosh of a perfume atomizer before smelling the product. To counter balance this unintentional multi-sensory fail, Axe Body Spray changed their packaging so the bottle’s nozzle created a more aggressive, “manly” sound when using the product. That simple commercial innovation boosted customers perception of the smell and appreciation for the product. Talk about taking your packaging seriously. Using focus groups or setting up user testing can help reveal insights like this that can make or break how your CPG is perceived. Seeing is Believing for Millennial Marketing Packaging and presentation is one of the most powerful tools when crafting a multi-sensory marketing campaign targeted at the millennial audience. Because millennials are used to consuming information via photos and rely on visual cues as they move from device to device, colors and packaging can have a profound subliminal effect on how they perceive CPGs in the real world. Color alone is enough to trigger a certain sentiment or influence taste. Just ask Coca-Cola. As part of their holiday collection, Coke released a limited edition white can featuring polar bears frolicking in the snow. Although they had not changed the product itself, hundreds of customers called in complaining that the drink formula had changed and that the product did not taste as good. Simply switching back to the traditional red can solved the sales issue. If you are marketing to a millennial audience, consider what they are looking at every day and how you could use those natural triggers to align your product with a certain feeling or effect. The Right Touch for CPG Brands The challenge with CPGs is that they are usually packed in such a way that customers don’t have the opportunity to feel, touch, or play with the product until after they have purchased it. Two companies have solved this problem in unique ways that we love. Electronic retailer Apple has created entire stores dedicated to touching and feeling their products. In their store kiosks, customers can play with, try on, weigh, and admire each and every product Apple sells. This high-sensory experience affirms Apple’s commitment to quality and design and sets them apart from other electronic manufacturers. On the other end of the spectrum, organic soap company LUSH, has taken a similar approach by setting up “mini spas” in several of their key stores across the United States. Customers can come in and enjoy quick in-store treatments using their hand lotion, soap and scrubs right to discover the benefits of these luxurious, eco-friendly products. Touch is especially important for CPGs trying to establish themselves based on value rather than price and can be a
CBD Mania has Arrived, but What do Consumers Really Think?
With the CBD market estimated to hit $22 billion by 2022, it’s best to understand the CBD marketing regulations that could stop you in your tracks. At this point, only hermits and monks are unfamiliar with the story of CBD (cannabidiol), but few know about the CBD marketing regulations. In the last 12 months, CBD products have permeated the public consciousness much in the same way the “gluten-free” craze did a few years earlier. Despite this market omnipresence, there’s still one thing we’re a bit foggy on — what U.S. consumers actually think about these products. Fortunately, a recent GlobalWebIndex post took a deep dive into this issue and surfaced some remarkable insights. Let’s take a closer look. The CBD explosion Cannabidiol, a hemp / cannabis byproduct, is non-intoxicating and has been associated with a variety of positive effects on health and wellness. For people looking for a more natural way to treat issues such as pain, anxiety or insomnia, CBD is an attractive proposition. As such, the CBD market has seen extraordinary growth in recent years. One report estimates the CBD market alone could be worth $22 billion by 2022. One key to unlocking that growth is public perception. GlobalWebIndex queried U.S. Internet users about their perceptions of CBD and found strong support for the market. 64% of respondents indicated they would be open to using CBD products 15% said they’d do so if stronger evidence of medical value existed Only 14% of respondents ruled out CBD completely CBD sales get another boost because they are situated within a market that’s expanding at a rapid rate: Health and wellness. That market is now worth more than $4 trillion and has been growing at a rate of nearly 13% annually. Trends toward alternative medicine and self-care are underpinning this growth, as more people are seeking viable alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Data from GlobalWebIndex shows that U.S. consumers place CBD squarely within this context: 65% of U.S. consumers associate CBD products with healthcare applications 37% associate CBD with food 28% associate it with beauty and personal care The survey also found that most CBD users are deploying the product within a health and wellness regimen. More than half of respondents said they are using CBD to treat pain, stress, or an underlying psychiatric condition. The regulatory evolution Recent growth in the cannabis market is directly tied to loosened CBD marketing regulations. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill allowed, for the first time, CBD and other hemp-derived products to be sold commercially. This move came on the heels of a wave of medical and recreational marijuana legalizations at the state level. Consumer opinion backs up this regulatory evolution. More than half of those surveyed by GlobalWebIndex reported believing that all cannabis products should be legal, while another one-third support full legality for CBD and hemp, but not recreational cannabis. Somewhat surprisingly, negative connotations associated with cannabis use were not a primary concern for those surveyed. Instead, most respondents expressed concern with consumer protection. Because CBD is ingested, it’s critically important to establish safeguards in terms of product safety and marketing. Why marketing CBD is challenging Google, Facebook, and other major digital ad platforms restrict the advertising of CBD products. Additionally, a web of media laws and CBD marketing regulations governing CBD marketing plans exists through different jurisdictions, limiting what marketers can do. As the market matures, however, these rules are likely to change. Consumer attitudes indicate that finding the right CBD messaging is important: 56% of consumers want CBD health benefits to be stressed 46% want to see testimonials from health professionals 39% want testimonials from current users 37% want CBD’s “natural” status emphasized 33% want CBD’s legality promoted 29% want to see CBD promoted as a beauty product 25% want CBD showcased with food and beverages There’s another marketing angle that makes sense in terms of CBD –premiumization. Research from GlobalWebIndex indicates 60% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for CBD-infused products. In larger, more cosmopolitan areas, CBD products are being marketed as a more upscale / healthy version of a standard coffee or chocolate bar. This strategy is likely to bear fruit, as consumers have long demonstrated a willingness to pay a premium for niche health products (gluten-free, organic, non-GMO, etc.). The takeaway At BIGEYE, we understand the challenges that come with cannabidiol and CBD marketing regulations. If you’d like to hear more about what a sophisticated CBD marketing campaign can do for your business, reach out to us today.
The Numbers Every Pet Marketer Must Know
Pet food marketing requires more than creativity – you need hard data to inform an audience analysis. Here’s what the stats say about pet marketing in 2019. If you want to sell pet products, you need to know your audience on a fundamental level. That requires hard data — the raw material that facilitates proper audience segmentation. Without it, your pet food marketing campaigns will be scattershot, poorly targeted and irrelevant to most of the people you reach. Fortunately, we’ve collected the data and consumer insights you need to connect with the right pet-owning audience. The pet-owning audience, by the numbers Audience research can provide us with critical insight. It tells us who pet owners are, how they spend their money and the hobbies, interests and priorities that drive them. Armed with this data, it becomes possible to create finely targeted pet food marketing campaigns that resonate with buyers and spur them into action. This market data can be broken down into three primary categories: Commercial data, demographic data and personal interest data. Let’s take a closer look at all three, beginning with commercial data. What commercial pet owner data tells us Examining how pet owners spend their money gives us clear insight into buyer motivation. Unlike with consumers surveys or interviews, there is little open to interpretation here. These are quantifiable numbers, which makes them highly reliable. Consider the following: 84.6% of pet owners in the U.S. are searching for products or services they want to buy. 93.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are visiting online retail sites such as Amazon. 60.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are the main shoppers in their households. 81.9% of pet owners in the U.S. are always looking for the best deals for products they want to buy. Additionally, free delivery, coupons, and discounts increase the likelihood of U.S. pet owners buying a product online; followed next by reviews from other consumers. Pet owners in the U.S. typically discover new brands and products through TV ads and word-of-mouth recommendations. Search engine recommendations and online ads are next in order of importance. What demographic pet owner data tells us Demographic information also plays a critical role in audience analysis by illuminating who owns pets, the kinds of pets they own and their financial attributes. For example: U.S. pet owners are 51.2% female; 48.8% male. 49% of U.S. pet owners are married; the slight majority are childless. Household incomes of pet owners are in the mid-50th percentile. Dogs are the most common pet (71.8%), followed by cats (49.6%). What personal hobby and interest pet owner data tells us By evaluating how pet owners spend their time and gauging their hobbies and interests, it’s possible to create tailored pet food marketing messages designed to resonate with audiences. Package design, product naming and other creative processes are more informed by analyzing this kind of data. Hobby and interest data shows us the following about today’s pet owners:55.4% of pet owners are interested in wildlife/nature; camping and hiking are their next greatest interests (47%) followed by technology (46.6%). FOX, CNN, ESPN, Food Network, History Channel and HGTV are the most-watched networks by pet owners. U.S. pet owners report being fans of the NFL (55.5%), baseball (42.9%), basketball (40.1%), soccer (38.5%) and hockey (25.6%). Pet owners in the U.S. are most likely to participate in the following sports and activities: swimming, exercise classes such as yoga and spinning, basketball, soccer, and golf. U.S. pet owners enjoy cooking, food & drinks, traveling, DIY and home improvement and gardening more than the average person (and, of course, pets and pet care). Choosing the right pet food marketing firm A great marketing agency uses all tools at its disposal: Hard research data, engaging creative work, deeply informed audience analysis and sophisticated technology. At BIGEYE, we have the tool suite to help you create the kind of compelling pet food marketing campaign that truly moves the needle. Contact us today to learn more about pet food package design, logo design, SEO, TV production, and other services.
Why Direct to Consumer Brands Need TV Ads
Direct to consumer brands are winning market share from brick and mortar retailers – but they need the power of legacy TV to take the next step. Direct to consumer (DTC or D2C) companies have taken full advantage of paid social and paid search to bootstrap growth. The dominant digital ad trio of Instagram, Facebook and Google has allowed DTC brands to reach vast audiences on a fairly limited budget. Yet if DTC brands want to maintain or even exceed their early growth trajectory, they need to look beyond direct to consumer marketing to a legacy channel: Television. Why DTC + TV is the growth equation for brands According to data from the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), TV spending among DTC brands is rising. The Bureau tracked Nielsen research data from 125 DTC brands and found that they spent $3.8 billion, collectively, on TV ads in 2018. The more interesting statistic, however, is this: 70% of these DTC brands were spending ad money on TV ads for the first time in 2018. Top spenders in the DTC TV ad category include prominent names such as Chewy, Smile Direct Club, Purple and Peloton, all of whom spent more than $100 million in 2018 alone. Purple, a mattress company, was particularly notable, spending $140 million after spending almost nothing on TV ads in 2017. In many cases, this was money well spent. Peloton, for example, doubled its sales to $700 million in 2018 after increasing its TV ad spend by 48%. Overall, DTC brands increased their total spending on TV ads by 60% in 2018. Total ad investment by all brands in the category reached $3.8 billion last year. What’s behind the increased spending? There’s a reason why DTC brands are pumping money into TV in unprecedented numbers: They need to scale, and quickly. DTC companies have, in most cases, validated themselves and their model within the market; now they face heightened competition from other DTC brands and traditional retailers who are rolling out their own DTC strategies. This trend is supported by changing consumer behavior. According to a study from YouGov, 64% of Internet users say that 20% (or more) of their total purchases will occur through DTC brands. Businesses are staking out territory now to capture this revenue. TV is playing a critical role in this process, as DTC brands seek to leverage its vast reach to drive viewers into the online marketing funnel, as shown by VAB data: Turo, a car sharing startup, increased online video views by 5,100% after increasing its TV ad spend. GrubHub increased its online video views by 1,100% after tripling its TV ad spend. Poshmark saw online search queries increase by 6,900% after increasing its ad spend by 8,400%. Barkbox witnessed a search query gain of 824% after increasing its ad spend by 726%. Current data also shows that viewers are receptive to this strategy. Research done by Telaria showed that DTC shoppers who are shown both linear and connected TV ads are twice as likely to buy. Overall, DTC brands are using TV to exponentially increase exposure and awareness, which results in massive increases in search interest, online engagement and, ultimately, sales. Another factor influencing DTC growth is cost. While digital advertising is still much less expensive than TV, the cost of advertising on Facebook and other platforms is rising. The takeaway DTC brands have used a digital-first approach to grow and win market share while operating on relatively small budgets. That strategy, however, is becoming less relevant as DTC brands mature. In order to reach the vast new pool of consumers outside their digital sphere, it becomes necessary for DTC brands to enter the TV market, where potential buyers can be engaged and guided to online channels. At BIGEYE, we’re experts at helping DTC companies reach their full potential through savvy media buying and strategy. We can help you scale and reach new audiences with creatively inspiring new campaigns, smart media buying strategies, and advanced audience analysis and market intelligence. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us today to learn what a truly great marketing campaign can do for your brand.
Red, Yellow, and Green: 3 Colors Explaining the CBD Market
Knowing the difference between red, yellow, and green when it comes to the CBD advertising restrictions is vital to the success of your business. CBD companies are seeing green. Lawmakers are flashing yellow. And some online platforms are holding a large red stop sign that says “CBD Ad Restrictions”. That’s the status of the CBD industry in 2019. There is intense consumer interest, lots of money changing hands, and it’s all happening under the cloak of regulatory uncertainty. However, more clarity may be forthcoming. Let’s take a closer look at why the regulatory and legal landscape is so confusing, what that means for CBD marketers, and what the future might hold. A legal and regulatory patchwork Before we explore the law, it’s important to grasp one key distinction: hemp-derived CBD products – which help with pain and anxiety as well as provide health and beauty benefits – are non-intoxicating. This means they are not subject to the same restrictions seen with medical or recreationally-approved cannabis products. Meanwhile, laws remain a complex patchwork. Technically, cannabis and hemp-derived products with a THC level greater than 0.3% remain scheduled as a narcotic by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). However, this is a murky situation, as they have also been legalized (and are widely sold) in a variety of U.S. states. The 2018 federal Farm Bill legalized cannabis and hemp-based products below that 0.3% threshold — a threshold that most CBD products sit below. However, states still have their own laws governing CBD products. Currently, there are only three states where all cannabis and hemp products are illegal: South Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska. There are another 33 states where cannabis and hemp products are legal, either recreationally or medically. This legalization extends to CBD products. Finally, there are 14 states that have either partially or fully legalized CBD products. However, the rules governing access vary widely. In Alabama, CBD products are only available to those who are in a medical trial or who have a serious medical condition. In Wyoming, the standard is much stricter: Only patients with severe epilepsy who have failed to respond to other treatments may purchase and use CBD products. Evolving marketing standards While low-THC products may be legal, significant restrictions remain in place on how they can be advertised and marketed. CBD products with a THC level below 0.3% can be retailed at brick and mortar shops and online. Additionally – and this is a critical competitive differentiator – conventional cannabis products are not only banned from online sale, they cannot be fully digitally marketed. Manufacturers and sellers are limited to the narrow category of brand promotion when marketing cannabis products with a THC level higher than 0.3%. However, businesses marketing CBD products also need to be careful in terms of the language that is used. The FDA has targeted CBD companies making health claims for their products that the FDA considers to be unfounded. The FDA also targets CBD companies that market their products under the category of “dietary supplements.” The FDA’s official position is that all CBD products are excluded from the dietary supplement category and cannot be marketed as such. Given these CBD advertising restrictions (no health claims, no dietary supplement claims, etc.), CBD companies have to walk a thin line with their marketing efforts. However, these rules may be easing, as greater clarity from the FDA could be coming soon. The agency held a hearing in May, 2019 to “to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds.” The agency also plans to establish “new pathways” for the lawful marketing of products containing CBD. Some observers believe this action is long overdue. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers prodded the FDA into action, raising concerns that the marketing regulations are too onerous and regulatory certainty has been too slow to develop – something that is costing American businesses money. After all, the hemp-based products market is booming globally, and U.S. businesses are at a disadvantage given the uncertainty that surrounds industry-marketing practices. Once the FDA issues firm guidance, CBD businesses will be able to advertise with confidence, and won’t have to worry about running afoul of the ad hoc enforcement structure that federal regulators are currently following. CBD advertising 2019 and beyond Creating FDA-compliant CBD marketing in the absence of clearly articulated FDA rules isn’t the only challenge CBD companies face. Because federal rules governing sub 0.3% products are looser, players in the CBD space have a definitive edge over those selling intoxicating, cannabis-based products – if they know how to take advantage. To do that, you need a finely tuned understanding of not only the laws, but also the rules that have been established by various ad platforms. Google, Facebook, and other large digital advertising networks do not allow CBD products to be marketed due to the current regulatory uncertainty. The takeaway We’re experts when it comes to the ins and outs of CBD advertising restrictions and marketing. Contact us today to learn how we craft CBD marketing ideas that move the needle.