Category : Channel Insights

By OppGen

The Best Super Bowl LIV Commercials, According to OppGen

By now, you and your coworkers have probably spent all morning discussing and rewatching the latest Super Bowl LIV ads. As it turns out, your favorite commercials are all probably very different from their favorites. 

Maybe a coworker liked one that was more emotional. A different coworker found one commercial hilarious while another didn’t even crack a smile while watching it.

Even in a workspace that specializes in marketing might find itself divided over what the best commercial was the day after the Super Bowl. Case in point: OppGen’s employees all had very different opinions about which commercial was their favorite.

Alex Sheets, Digital Marketing Analyst

#BeforeAlexa (Amazon)

The one that made me laugh the most was the Ellen DeGeneres Amazon/Alexa commercial talking about having assistants named Alexa in different periods in history. It was well thought out and executed, and the ending was great.

Loretta (Google)

The one that made me feel something the most was the Google commercial with the old guy using Google to remind him of the great things about his wife. My grandma has Alzheimer’s, so it hit close to home and gives me chills every time I think about it.

Connor Potts, Digital Marketing Analyst

#SnickersFixtheWorld (Snickers)

My favorite was the Snickers commercial where they fed the Snickers bars to the earth because it hasn’t been a great year so far.

Tribute (Planters)

I don’t think it is a good commercial; I just think from a campaign standpoint, it is generating a lot of buzz, especially when #RIPMrNut happened.

Zain Khan, Director of Operations

Tom Brady’s Big Announcement (Hulu)

My favorite Super Bowl commercial this year was the Hulu commercial featuring Tom Brady. Every year, over the last at least 6 or 7 years, there has always been a debate about Tom Brady retiring from football because he is “too old” at age 42. I genuinely thought he was announcing his retirement, but he was really talking about TV dying rather than him retiring.

The relevance, simplicity, and timing of it couldn’t have been more perfect for me. Hulu took the greatest-ever to play the sport, made it seem like he was announcing his retirement, which could potentially be a bigger moment than the Super Bowl itself, and in that context, made a point about TV dying. That is creative simplicity, which was refreshing to see.

Cody Palmer, Senior Analyst

Love Takes Action (New York Life)

One that I thought was well-made and remember was New York Life. I liked how they took one word (love) and broke it down into the four Greek words for love.

Van Le, Graphic Designer

SodaStream Discovers Water on Mars (SodaStream)

I had a few shots forced on me, so I really didn’t remember much of the ads. I just remember the Mars and soda water one because it was a bit ridiculous. The rest, not so much.

Alex Francis, Developer

Inside Post’s Brain (Budweiser)

>

Because of the humor.

Sydney Schulte, Content Writer

Heroes (Toyota)

OK, I’ll admit: I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. But I did watch just about every 2020 Super Bowl commercial for this blog post, so I think it’d be a mistake to not contribute. As a self-proclaimed geek who’s spent an unhealthy amount of time mourning the losses of characters in TV shows and movies who sacrifice themselves so everyone else can live, I really appreciated Toyota’s commercial. It poked fun at that overdone valiant sacrifice trope with the most unlikely hero of all: Cobie Smulders behind the wheel of a Toyota Highlander — the ultimate soccer mom car.

Alonzo Foreman, Partner

Groundhog Day (Jeep)

My top Super Bowl ad this year was Groundhog Day from Jeep. For me, it connected emotionally seeing Bill Murray reprise his role as Phil from the iconic film, but with a modern-day twist. It does a fantastic job of reinforcing the company’s value proposition while still offering an experience that’s light-hearted and fun. And most importantly, I remembered the product and the brand!

And the award for the best Super Bowl LIV commercial goes to…

When it really comes down to it, it may be impossible to determine the best commercial. That hasn’t stopped USA Today from running its Super Bowl Ad Meter, which ranks what it considers to be the best Super Bowl commercial. Ad Meter scores ads using the average of a panel’s rating. This year’s top-ranked commercial? Jeep’s Groundhog Day.

Featured image: Screenshot via YouTube © Jeep

By OppGen

Top 3 Advertising Fails of 2019

The new year comes with a new start. It’s a time to look toward the future, to make goals and resolutions of how to grow and improve in every aspect of life.

It’s also a time of reflection. Some may look back on 2019 feeling like they conquered the year.

Others, however, might reflect on where they failed. Failures can be turned into learning experiences, and in a few rare cases, successes. This is something that can be seen in advertising campaigns, and 2019 was full of marketing fails.

Here are some of the most memorable advertising fails of 2019:

1. Chase Bank’s #MotivationMonday Tweet

Chase Bank’s well-meaning advice didn’t exactly go over well with Twitter users in this now-deleted tweet.

Me: Why is my balance so low?
Bank: Here’s another $12 monthly fee because you don’t have direct deposit
Me: My job doesn’t offer direct deposit
Bank: Oh well, now here’s a snarky tweet to help you save money…
Me: Time to close my Chase bank account#MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/RQCbuKXRud

— Michael T. Coe (@michael9000) April 29, 2019

Why It Was an Advertising Fail

Chase Bank’s tweet was tone-deaf and ignored the financial realities many people face. Someone’s bank account might be low on funds for more serious reasons, such as paying for a surprise medical bill, as opposed to getting coffee at Starbucks every morning.

This tweet showed a lack of awareness and understanding of consumers’ real financial problems, which is not a great look for a bank — especially a huge one like Chase. It suggests that Chase is out of touch with reality and its customers.

What We’ve Learned

Marketing campaigns sometimes fall short when it comes to sensitivity and awareness. It’s likely that in most cases, it’s due to ignorance or a lack of diversity in the room or test audience. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, but ignorance is still not an excuse for racist or sexist marketing campaigns, such as Dove’s 2017 social media ads that featured black women turning white after using their products.

In these cases, the brands reach out and publicly apologize and try to do better, though some, like Dolce & Gabbana, fail to improve.

When faced with an ad done in poor taste, the apology is important, but it’s even more important to ensure that there won’t be another one like it. When testing marketing campaigns, make sure the test audience is not homogeneous. The more feedback a brand has, the better. 

2. Peloton Selfie Commercial

While it’s not as rude as Chase Bank’s tweet, the Peloton selfie commercial succeeded in simultaneously alienating and uniting viewers in hating it — and that’s quite a feat.

Why It Was an Advertising Fail

A lot of the hatred for this commercial comes from how out of touch it is. Relatively few people would be excited to be gifted a stationary bike, for starters. Then there’s also the cost of the Peloton to consider, which starts at $2,245 — and that doesn’t factor in the classes that cost $39 per month.

Some viewers were irked that the husband gifted his already-fit wife this gift when she clearly doesn’t need to lose any weight or get in shape. She appears to look the same as she did at the start of the commercial. If people really did want to change their lives with a Peloton, it probably wouldn’t be to lose 4 pounds in a year, as the woman in the ad proudly announces.

Others said this commercial was sexist, particularly with the husband gifting this to his wife (a rude gesture), but it was also sexist when it came down to targeting an audience. A lot of men buy Pelotons, but the husband didn’t use it. The woman is the main focus of this commercial. Peloton failed to reach a good portion of its consumer base with that decision alone.

More tech-savvy viewers took issue with how social media was integrated into the ad. Playing around with social media-style videos can be done well, but this wasn’t the case. People pointed out that parts of the commercial could easily be cut up and thrown into an Instagram ad. 

If those things didn’t kill the commercial, the complete lack of common sense did. The ad ran nationally with no contextual targeting, the woman sent videos to the man she lives with, and she put the exercise bike next to the kitchen island.

What We’ve Learned

Peloton is well-known for being out of touch with the masses. In a CNN Business interview, Peloton CEO John Foley said the bike is “crazy affordable,” which is a pretty bold if not inaccurate statement.

It’s important to keep the target audience in mind, and if Peloton was trying to target the lower and middle classes, then it definitely failed in that regard.

However, Peloton could be using its outlandish expectations to garner attention, and if that’s the case, this commercial could be viewed as a success… but considering the fact that Peloton’s stock dropped about 9% after the commercial aired, it’s probably more of a failure than a success.

3. Tesla’s Cybertruck Reveal

Elon Musk’s Twitter account might be a grand example of what as a company CEO should not be sharing (i.e., the SEC fining Musk $20 million for tweeting about Tesla stocks potentially going private), but the Tesla Cybertruck reveal actually might be one of the more effective marketing failures. 

Why It Was an Advertising Fail

For a car that was marketed as bulletproof, the Cybertruck turned out to be lacking in that department.

To prove the bulletproof claim, Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a steel ball against the car’s window. Immediately, spider-web cracks spread from the point of impact.

Musk said that the Cybertruck had been hit with a sledgehammer before the presentation, which is probably why the steel ball shattered the window.

What We’ve Learned

A failure can be turned into a success, and the Tesla Cybertruck is one of those successes. Part of that success is probably due to the appearance of the Cybertruck. It’s also the first electric pick-up truck, and firsts can do very well.

People poking fun at the Cybertruck’s polygon-esque body and the smashing reveal on Twitter and other social media sites made for great free publicity. Bad publicity is still publicity, and sometimes that’s all a brand needs in order for a marketing campaign to take off. (And 250,000 Cybertruck pre-orders certainly don’t hurt, either.)

The 3 Big Lessons We Can Learn from These Advertising Fails Are:

1. Diversify test audiences and reviewing for offensive content 
2. Know your audience
3. Try to spin a failure into something people will be talking about for days

By OppGen

How to Increase Senior Living Occupancy with Digital Marketing

What marketing leaders need to maximize digital marketing spend

If you are a marketing leader within your senior living community, you know there are countless ways to spend marketing budget on digital channels for lead generation.

How do you market to those who are interested in your community and who will be the right fit? How do you get your message to break through the crowded digital space?

OppGen has worked with a number of senior living communities, and our method for lead generation has proven to boost occupancy rates and return on advertising dollars.

Start the conversation

Families who are researching senior living communities for a loved one are doing so more and more through digital channels. Providing as much valuable information about the community, culture, and care as possible is key in building credibility with them.

For example, including detailed images of your facilities and amenities can help potential residents picture themselves in your community. By using videos, health improvement stories, existing senior experiences, and proving to instill a true sense of community can make an impact on prospective senior living residents to move them from an evaluation to a consideration stage in their journey.

Identify residents that fit your senior living community

Every community and the culture it depicts is unique. In order to run an effective senior living campaign, it’s vital to know who your audience is. If you have a detailed resident persona in place, it can help narrow in on who should your campaigns resonate with the most. Gone are the days of blanket targeting. Offering personalized experiences to prospects helps in turning engagement or online traffic into real occupants.

Keeping the needs of your clients at the top of your mind can also help build trust with them over time. Start to address the needs of the persona through the marketing materials you provide them. When it is a good fit, there needs to be an optimized experience for future residents to take the next step and either submit their information on a form or call to schedule a visit.

Serve local seniors targeted ads

Once you have the specifics on who the best prospect is, you can start to use multiple advertising channels to replicate that demographic and psychographic intelligence that we mentioned earlier. Targeting options such as age, gender, net worth, interests, education, and marital status to name a few can help refine the prospective audience.

Identifying where these audiences live online is the next step in determining a successful senior living marketing strategy. We have found the following digital advertising channels to be extremely effective in generating high quality leads for senior living communities:

• Google Search
• Google Display Network
• Facebook
• Local news publications

With the audiences and channels identified, you have to ensure that the overall prospect experience is streamlined to maximize engagement with your senior living community.

This starts with writing great advertising copy. For a channel such as Google search, your ads should be highlighting value propositions that your ideal senior living resident cares about the most. These ads can also be used to qualify future residents by including a starting price. For a social media advertising channel such as Facebook, there is more flexibility with video rich media or carousel images that allow you to showcase the community.

Once an ad is clicked, your website or landing page should be streamlined to encourage visitors to take the next step and initiate a conversation. For example, having information such as answers to frequently asked questions help with building trust and enables users to establish if your community is a good fit for them or their loved ones.

Follow-up and engage

Committing to a senior living community is a big decision for any family and can take from a few weeks to a few months. To keep your community at the top of mind, retargeting your online ads to those who have visited your website and not converted or bounced all together may be a good option. Retargeting leverages cookies to target ads to consumers based on their previous browser history.

Website visitors who are retargeted are 70% more likely to convert. With retargeting it’s important to think about these ads through a customer’s perspective. What type of ad would they want to see to improve conversions?

It’s important to have a designated salesperson, sales team, or team member whose only responsibility is to follow up with incoming digital leads. Following up with digital leads is critical to the success of the campaign. The goal of your senior living community should not only generate high-quality leads, but to provide a sales road-map to follow up, nurture, and convert these leads into new residents.

Commitment to your senior living community’s growth

If your senior living community is interested in implementing new digital marketing strategies or expanding on your current efforts, we can provide you with a free digital market analysis. This analysis will allow our team to evaluate your current online efforts, along with your business data, and deliver actionable recommendations for where to invest your digital budget.

Start the process by visiting our website and fill out the form. Please be as detailed as possible. Our team will be following up with you to discuss the next steps and sending you your complete digital market analysis.