As the digital marketing landscape prepares to say goodbye to third-party cookies, could the broad reach of television commercials fill the gap?
In an era of digital transformation and privacy concerns, marketers in New Zealand are faced with a shifting advertising landscape. The impending demise of cookies – those small pieces of data that leave a trail of digital crumbs to track online behaviour and allow for targeted advertising – has left many wondering about the future of digital marketing. As we embrace this new normal, it’s crucial to explore the mix of advertising avenues available, and one that stands out prominently is television commercials.
TRA and ThinkTV have been studying New Zealand’s favourite television commercials since 2019. The learnings transcend television execution. All marketers can learn from what the top mass-market brands are doing to grab the attention of mainstream New Zealanders and create positive, lasting emotional connection. Brands with favourite ads on TV tend to achieve stand-out business results, evident in the media mix used by many of the Effie winners over the last few years.
All four of the 2023 Sustained Success Effie winners had TV as a major component of their media mix; ASB’s ‘Ben & Amy’, Skinny’s ‘Get the Skinny’, AA’s ‘Live a Little Freer’ and Women’s Refuge’s ‘Safe Nights’.
Television commercials have been a staple of marketing for decades, and they continue to hold a vital role in the industry. In a cookie-less future, their significance is not diminished; instead, it evolves to adapt to the changing consumer and regulatory landscape. Here, we’ll explore how television commercials will continue to be relevant for marketers in New Zealand, providing valuable insights into the shifting dynamics of advertising in a post-cookie world.
Mass reach in a fragmented world
Television commercials have long been celebrated for their ability to reach a massive and diverse audience. In New Zealand, with the rise of digital platforms and on-demand content, television maintains its stronghold. While the digital space fragments into various channels and platforms, television remains a unified, mass-reach medium. In a cookie-less world, where digital targeting becomes more challenging, the broad reach of television commercials becomes even more valuable.
The broadcast reach of television extends to various demographics and geographies, ensuring that your message reaches a wide spectrum of potential customers.
The ‘Many Eyes’ effect: Mass reach signals popularity and the safety of scale
Broadcast television commercials, where a multitude of viewers simultaneously witness the same ad, send a powerful signal of popularity and scale for brands. This communal viewing experience offers a unique form of social validation. When consumers know that millions of other people are watching the same commercial, it conveys a sense of trustworthiness and legitimacy. It suggests that the brand has achieved a level of recognition and success to secure such prominent airtime. This signal of popularity can influence consumer perceptions, fostering a sense of reliability and authority associated with the brand.
The shared experience of viewing a TV commercial can create a collective memory, something for watercooler conversation, making it easier for consumers to recall and connect with the brand. In essence, broadcast television commercials leverage the “many eyes” effect to bolster a brand’s image, cement its presence, and reinforce its status as a significant player in the market.
Building and reinforcing brand identity
Building and reinforcing brand identity is a cornerstone of successful marketing, and television commercials excel in this aspect. In a cookieless future, where granular audience targeting becomes more challenging, creating a strong brand presence is vital. Television commercials are a canvas for storytelling, allowing brands to convey their message, personality, and values to a broad audience.
In New Zealand, where consumers place high value on authenticity and brand trust, television provides a trustworthy medium for brand building. The emotional resonance and storytelling potential of television ads are well-suited to capture the Kiwi spirit and connect with viewers on a deeper level. Effective brand building on television can lead to long-term customer loyalty and trust, which is particularly important in a market like New Zealand. It’s also worth noting that television ad placement can provide brand safety advantages over some digital channels. Television’s curated, controlled environment, minimises the risk of ads appearing near controversial or unsafe content, even in the BVOD space that can be targeted if required.
The power of emotional impact
Television commercials have a unique ability to create emotional connections with viewers. Through compelling narratives, music, visuals, and creative elements, these ads can stir a range of emotions. Not just the joy and warmth of campaigns like ASB’s Ben & Amy, but also intentionally evoking negative emotions around the problem your brand can solve e.g. the disgust you might feel at seeing dirty dishes in a dishwasher TVC. In New Zealand, where the culture emphasises the importance of community, nature, humour and fairness, television commercials allow brands to tap into the “Kiwi culture” and speak to the values and aspirations of the people.
By evoking emotions, these ads leave a lasting impression on viewers, which can lead to brand recall and loyalty.
In a cookie-less environment, where user data is limited, emotional impact becomes an even more potent tool for marketers looking to make a memorable impression beyond targeted reach.
Targeted advertising in a cookie-less world
While television advertising is known for its broad reach, advancements in technology are enabling more targeted advertising on TV. In New Zealand, this is particularly relevant as advertisers can leverage data from set-top boxes, smart TVs, and other sources to reach specific demographics or geographic regions, even without relying on cookies.
This form of advanced targeting ensures that your television commercials are seen by the most relevant audience. In a country as diverse as New Zealand such targeting can be invaluable.
Cross-channel campaigns: A holistic approach
The future of advertising lies in integration, and television commercials can play a pivotal role in cross-channel marketing campaigns. Marketers in New Zealand can strategically use TV commercials in conjunction with other advertising channels, such as social media, search, and content marketing, to create integrated and holistic campaigns that reach consumers at multiple touchpoints.
An integrated approach ensures consistency in messaging and branding, thereby reinforcing the brand identity in the minds of consumers. For instance, an ad seen on television can prompt viewers to engage with the brand on social media or visit a website. This combination of exposure and interaction helps to enhance the overall effectiveness of marketing efforts. Think about a call-to-action in your TV ad that drives people to your digital showroom, e-commerce site or online tool.
Sponsorship and product placement
Television networks and shows often offer sponsorship and product placement opportunities, which can
be valuable for brands looking to integrate their products or services seamlessly into popular content. In New Zealand, where partnerships and collaborations hold significance, these opportunities can be leveraged to strengthen brand visibility.
Sponsorships allow brands to align themselves with popular programs and events, gaining credibility and exposure in the process. Likewise, product placement in television shows can subtly introduce products or services to viewers. This approach works well when promoting products that are relevant to the storyline, and it can foster a positive association between the brand and the content it’s featured in.
New Zealand insurer Partners Life created a campaign that used killed-off characters from a TV show to convince people to take out life insurance.
The ads from ‘The Last Performance’ campaign aired at the end of each episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, before the credits rolled. Partners Life got the actors whose characters died in the show to reprise their role, playing reanimated corpses with strong opinions on life insurance.
Live events: Engaging the Kiwi audience
Live events, such as sporting competitions, award shows, and cultural festivals, continue to draw large audiences in New Zealand. Television commercials have a distinct advantage in capitalising on these events to reach highly engaged viewers in real-time. For instance, more than 1.5 million Kiwi aged 5+ watched the RWC final on Sky Sport and the free-to-air Sky Open, according to Nielsen data. More than 2.2 million Kiwi tuned in for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which equates to 46 percent of all New Zealanders aged 5+.
Advertising during live events enables brands to be part of the cultural conversation and capitalise on the enthusiasm and emotions of the moment. These ads can be memorable and shareable, as viewers discuss and engage with the content online and offline, extending the reach and impact of the advertisement.
What’s more, even small-budget digital campaigns can consider TV in their campaign design. Team Heroine’s ‘Correct The Internet’ campaign was a gold Effie winner in the Positive Change category. While it was primarily a digital campaign, there was also a TVC as well as a strategy to get TV PR coverage during the FIFA world cup event, driving loads more people to search for it and participate.
The digital shift: Streaming services and beyond
While linear television commercials remain relevant, marketers should also explore opportunities on digital platforms and streaming services. The rise of video-on-demand (VOD) and streaming services has transformed the way people consume content, and advertisers need to adapt to this shift.
Streaming services offer unique advertising options, including the ability to target audiences based on their viewing preferences. While cookies may not be the primary source of data in these platforms, user behaviour and preferences can be tracked, allowing for more customised ad placements. New Zealanders’ growing adoption of streaming services means that this digital avenue is not to be overlooked.
The future of measurement and attribution
In a cookie-less future, first-party data makes it possible for marketers to measure effectiveness of their own digital activity, but keeping track of what your competitors customers are doing will be more challenging. Therefore measuring the total market becomes even more important. Mass-market tracking methodologies are also great for measuring the effect of mass-market advertising channels like TV. To optimise effectiveness of the total marketing mix, it’s useful to consider advanced analytics and attribution models that include factors such as brand strength and awareness at the top of the funnel, as well as website visits, search queries, and customer acquisition to connect the dots between marketing touchpoints and consumer actions.
What next?
As we venture into a cookie-less future, the role of television commercials in New Zealand remains pivotal for marketers. Their enduring appeal lies in their mass reach, capacity for brand building, emotional impact, and adaptability to targeted advertising. Television commercials can seamlessly fit into cross-channel campaigns, offer opportunities for sponsorship and product placement, and engage audiences during live events. Additionally, with the shift towards digital streaming, television advertising can extend its reach into the digital realm.
The TRA ThinkTV Favourite Ads Study
Every three months, TRA in partnership with ThinkTV surveys New Zealanders to find out which TV ads are public favourites. The survey asks a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 people a simple question; “What is your favourite ad on TV at the moment?” The most frequently mentioned favourites make up our top ten list.
This article was first published in our December/January 2023/2024 issue.
