Participatory adverts: how to stimulate them

2nd May 2018

Advertising has continually evolved since inception, but what further creative innovations can help elevate your business to new heights? Participatory ones

PARTICIPATORY and engaging advertising is imperative as you look to foster sales, resonance and the multiplier effect, but how can you deliver it?

Amidst the technological revolution that has caused an increasing divergence from the traditional advertising norms, effectiveness has continually been compromised for myriad reasons – creative and display based.

Although TV advertising has remained the most effective means of eliciting short and long-term sales, online advertising metrics have cast a shadow of ambiguity and opacity that has distorted the meta-narrative.

Moreover KPIs have shifted, prioritising elements of engagement that do not support sales, with the emotive needs of consumers not placated.

Thus, it is not only the obligation of the business to provide captivating, emotive and contextually relevant adverts, but further material that is related to the initial moment of stimulation.

From a semantic and symbolic perspective, this will assist memorability amidst an industry awash with similar companies and entities, but ensure that you have the flexibility to alter your adverts to compliment the platforms they are being viewed on.

This versatility yet familiarity is key if you are to emphasise with consumers, without alienating or antagonising them.

Of course there are numerous other issues that can affect how you follow up on a certain format of advertising; server-side insertion, lack of attention, poor display or usage of other tabs.

Villa Plus advertising shoot
Creating participatory advertising online is difficult given the array of distractions there.

This is why all the emotive and brand elements of your advertising need to be conveyed through your TV commercials – you have a captive audience that is focused on a particular program, thus will have a more emotively-driven, impressionable mindset.

Although your adverts carry increased leverage on TV, as with any form advertising, the timing and relevance of an ad needs to be of primary concern.

If you are seeking participation or instant response, choosing the correct call-to-action to compliment the period of the show you are broadcasting within is key.

While increasing automation and interactive means of advertising are shifting some advertising spend away from linear, have defined media buying segments can ensure you are inserting your ads at appropriate times, but this is something that will only work in limited situations.

If your ads are displayed on various channels, alongside an equally eclectic array of programmes, the focus of your media buying needs to be finding slots that placate the call-to-action.

When looking to foster participatory outcomes – through online outlets and your inbound marketing – doing so within the final commercial of the show will assist with this, while generic brand awareness would suit the overall emotive context of the program your ads have been disseminated with.

If you are looking for direct, phone driven response, choosing the breaks at the end of programming will ensure of maximum retention – as it will for participation.

In order to stimulate consumers who have enjoyed the content they have been watching, by focusing on eliciting engagement, thus a continued association with the programming a consumer was enjoying, your business is extending the emotive gratification found within the TV content.

Although this will require various versions in order to be relevant to the surfeit of programs you advertise with, the affirmation that this will create will ensure that your ROI increases.

Houses of Parliament
Although initial costs will increase through this kind of advertising, participatory ads in this context will increase resonance and sales.

Spending can be reduced further still with fewer creatives that are optimised through addressable or interactive elements.

The convergence between TV and online has only been escalating in recent years, with the marriage between the two continually fostering improved sales success, when compared to advertising with one or the other.

Through advertising that is aligned to certain algorithms that relate to online, search and the impulsive, convenience-driven searches conducted by consumers, you can incite participation and awareness in realtime.

The technology now exists to insert or remove ads that may no longer carry relevance to the consumer, ensuring that levels of trust increase in advertising, consumption increases and ROI flourishes.

Trust and the resulting participatory outcomes are all leveraged by whether cognitive behaviour is placated and complimented; this can be stimulated and ensured by inhabiting closer ties to the programming or content you are disseminating your ads on.

Utilising similar language – whether spoken or in written form – will also assist with stimulation – the more metrics you can align with the participation sought, the greater prominence and distinction your ads have.

Space City has been producing TV, online and radio commercials for over 25 years, making more adverts than any over company since 2000.

Contact the team now and make sure your next advert leverages memorability and participation with your business.

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020 7371 4000

0161 210 3330

0117 900 0444

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