1. Why Above The Line Advertising will stay
By Philip De Meulemeester
2. Above The Line Advertising
Above-the-line promotions use mass media methods.
This type of promotion focuses on advertising to a
large audience. It includes print, online media,
television, and cinema advertising.
Source: Business Case Studies
3. “The death of the 30 sec TV Spot” – Joseph Jaffe (2005) + Trevor Beattie (2013)
“Brand Marketing is no longer one-dimensional.
It’s now a two-way process, with the company and consumer
in constant dialogue” – Razorfish
“Can We Kill Off 'Above the Line,' Please?” – Kevin DiLorenzo
“Advertising is dead” – Tony Uphoff
10. It brought the idea we’re dealing with an active
participating consumer who knows his brands, wants to
engage with those brands and will grow more loyal
when the brand “talks” more to him.
12. Average
Click Through Rate
Average Fans talking
about the brands
Source 1: Shea Bennett / Media Bistro, 2012
Source 2: Karen Nelson Field + Jennifer Taylor, 2012
1.64% 0.5%
13. The more Twitter Followers we collect,
the less likely we will reach those people
Source: Shea Bennett / Media Bistro, 2012
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
50-1000 Followers 1k-5k Followers 5k-10k Followers >10k Followers
%ClickThroughRate
14. Source: European Commission – Media Use in the European Union, 2012
• In Europe, TV is still by far the most watched medium.
• Even Radio is still higher than the Internet.
%peopleeveryday+2-3/week
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Watch
Television on a
TV set + via the
Internet
Watch
Television on a
TV set
Listen to the
Radio
Read the
Written Press
Use the Internet Use online
Social
Networks
Watch
Television via
the Internet
15. • The average American spent about six times more time watching live TV than on
the web.
• 97% of all video was viewed on a television. Less than 3% was viewed online.
• About 0.5% of video viewing was done on a mobile phone.
• Average live TV viewing increased by more than 1.5 hours a month compared to
last year.
• 92% of TV viewing was done live. 8% was time-shifted (DVR.)
• TV viewing remains at record high levels.
Source: Nielsen – Cross-Platform Report, 2013
In 2013,
17. ... “We reach less people yet
talk to the ones that matter”
18. Source: TNS data for UK, 2005
More than 30% of all buyers buy Coca-Cola less than once a year.
19. The “ones that matter”
don’t make up for your business sales
20. I’m a Facebook Fan
I’m on their Newsletter list
I read and watch their content
I have never bought anything from them
21. Brand Sales Volume
Buyer Group % of
Sample
Buying Frequency
in Year 1
Year 1 Year 2
Non-Buyers 44 0 0 14
Light Buyers 22 1 14 16
Moderate Buyers 25 2-4 43 36
Heavy Buyers 9 5+ 43 34
Total 100 100 100
Source: Anschuetz, 2002; US IRI panel data
• 14% of the sales came from people not buying the previous year
• 9% less sales from the heavy or “loyal” buyers, which accounted only for one third
of total sales in the second year
Sales of Tomato Sauce brand in the US:
22. Only talking to your “loyal” consumers will
kill your business
23. “Your brand’s health depends on lots people
who don’t know you well, don’t think of you
much and don’t buy you often, if at all.”
- Martin Weigel, W+K
24. The market is like a big auditorium,
where bigger brands own more seats
and where people sit in slighty different seats each time,
influenced by where their acquaintances sit at that moment
Reference: Mark Earls – Herd, 2009
25. We’ve been obsessed with the NEW
so we could grow our own advertising / media business
While the numbers are crystal clear:
Mass reach is still the most effective method for a brand to grow
Reference: Byron Sharp – How Brands Grow, 2010
26. We are not Silicon Valley,
We are in the business to make our clients money.
And to do so in the most effective and creative ways.
27. So let us please focus less on the NEW
And more on the NOW
28. Above The Line Advertising reaches as
many people as possbile, no matter
what medium
30. We assumed those people did care about
what we do
and who we are
because:
31. 1. We have been too obsessed with the NEW,
instead of the NOW
2. We constantly overestimate our own lives
and situations
32. 0
20
40
60
80
100
Sky Freeview Virgin Media
Ad People
Normal People
Advertising people vs. normal people:
Similar TV platform use...
Source: TV Nation, Ipsos Media CT/Thinkbox,2013
%ofpeople
33. Advertising people vs. normal people:
but not technology ownership...
Source: TV Nation, Ipsos Media CT/Thinkbox,2013
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Laptop/PC Smartphone Tablet Game Console
Ad People
Normal People
%ofpeople
34. Advertising people vs normal people:
and definitely not social media usage.
Source: TV Nation, Ipsos Media CT/Thinkbox,2013
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Pinterest
Ad People
Normal People
%ofpeople
35. We as marketers see the world in brands and media,
just like doctors see the world in diseases
36. Our career bias and jargon overestimates the real world
in terms of brands and culture on a daily basis and it
infiltrates our objectives, KPI’s and creativity
37. 73%
Most people worldwide would not care if more than
of brands disappeared tomorrow
Source: Havas Media – Meaningful Brands, 2013
38. 1/5
Only
brands are perceived as making a meaningful
difference in people's lives
Source: Havas Media – Meaningful Brands, 2013
39. “If anyone here is in advertising or marketing...
Kill yourself”
- Bill Hicks
40. The advertising profession has always been
one of the least favoured by people,
and the modern ways by which we are bothering them again
have only nurtured and grown that annoyance
41. How can we make sure our work aims to be
meaningful, valuable and effective again?