NEW YORK — Good creative is simply good creative, but a brand needs to know which emotions an ad elicits in a customer and what the takeaway will be, said Barbara Singer, VP, Advertiser Insights & Strategy, ESPN during an interview with Beet.TV, citing research ESPN has conducted into brand image and brand metrics across screens. “Entertaining commercials can improve likeability, but we found that very annoying commercials get remembered so maybe it’s not so bad to annoy people once in a while.”
However, softer brand measures such as “wholesome” or “innovative” don’t push KPIs very well in TV, she added. ESPN also learned that creative doesn’t need to be contextual, meaning a brand doesn’t need to run a football-themed commercial during a football game in order to connect with consumers.
Singer also touched on the value of media mix and cross-platform reach. In ESPN’s research, digital venues provide a 23% lift in reach for the male audience in a given week. The sports network also learned that multiple platforms support each other. TV usage doesn’t decline when combined with other platforms, she said.
Singer was a panelist at the Beet.TV Video Ad Effectiveness summit presented by Nielsen.
