Alastair Campbell, former media relations guru for Tony Blair and Rory Stewart, former Prime Ministerial candidate for the Conservative Party, remarked recently on their podcast The Rest is Politics, that more people were tuning in for reaction videos to the Leadership Debates than to the debates themselves.
Elaborating further, the pair postulated that media and the way that we consume information, has dramatically shifted, and they are right. Gone are the days of traditional media, when people read the same newspapers every day, tuned in to the same radio show and actually sat down to watch TV shows from start to finish with no distractions.
In 2024 our lives are dominated by what’s happening on our phones. Whether we’re tuning in to watch Sunak vs Starmer, Biden vs Trump or the Super Bowl, we do so with our phones in our hands. Which, from a political point of view highlights the importance of winning the online debate and, from a business point of view, should alert you to the significance of your online presence.
In this article we take a look at how online advertising is being harnessed by some of the savviest modern companies. Read on to find out about the TikTok campaigns encouraging people to play poker online, the borderline unethical AI tech that’s encouraging consumers to buy supplements and so much more in between.
The Why
First things first, let’s look at some of the main reasons that companies are looking to, and even prioritising, online advertising:
Cost: The cost of a 30 second commercial during the Super Bowl – an event with 120 million viewers – this year was $7 million. The equivalent commercial on TikTok would cost an estimated $1.2 million.
Targeted Demographics: Maybe half of the 120 million people watching the Super Bowl would have sat through that 30 second commercial and less than 10% of that number would actually be interested in the product. Online, companies can directly target the type of people that are most likely to buy their stuff.
Efficiency: This could quite easily fall under the first category too. If you were to buy a 30-second commercial slot during the Super Bowl, you’d have to spend half a million producing the commercial itself and dedicate days, if not weeks to the project. Good, online adverts can be produced by teams of 3-4 people in half a day.
The What
Now we know the why of online advertising, let’s take a look at specific examples of modern online advertising campaigns that highlight just how large the difference is between traditional and contemporary commercials.
The TikTok Gamers
TikTok has 1.5 billion active monthly users, and, on average, users spend 6% of their daily waking hours on the platform watching content, which equates to just over 7 hours a week. That’s just an average too, amongst younger viewers the daily consumption times jump from 1 hour a day to up to 4.
In order to reach these younger audiences, online casinos are leaning heavily on TikTok marketing campaigns. Creating short videos specifically designed to look like gaming, streaming content, online betting companies are producing clips that encourage viewers to sign up to play slots, roulette, poker and more.
(TikTok’s algorithm also ensures that commercials find the people they have been produced to find.)
The Unethical Supplement Hawkers
Andrew Huberman Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in Neurobiology at Harvard University. He has a podcast that takes a deep, scientific dive into a range of topics and advises on the various pros and cons of supplements and activities centred on wellness.
Due to his credentials, his voice carries a lot of weight in the wellness arena. In a bid to capitalise on this, certain companies have used deep fake AI technology to produce videos on TikTok and other platforms that make it appear as if Huberman is endorsing their product.
This isn’t just a Huberman and wellness issue though, it’s a technique that is being used by a range of dubiously ethical companies to inject a short-term boost to their sales figures.
(Joe Rogan is another celebrity who has been deepfaked, in the video above for a subsidy scam.)
Content Partnerships
Celebrity endorsements are nothing new, but what is new is the way in which online advertising is allowing people to hide it.
British based pram company iCandy specialises in designer prams for affluent parents, and their latest pram set retails at £1,549 ($2,681.44), which is around £500 more expensive than their nearest competitors.
Convincing consumers that their product is £500 better than the alternative is a tough ask for iCandy, which is why they’ve chosen to use online advertising to make their product as appealing as possible.
To do that iCandy have targeted influencers and given them free prams on the proviso that their products are featured on social media. Not as direct adverts or commercials, but just that they are seen and it’s a technique that has worked. Demand for the pram has never been higher.
(Mollie Mae is one of the influencers targeted by iCandy.)
And whilst it might sound like an underhand way of advertising, it’s merely an extension of product placement and celebrity endorsements that significantly predate online advertising. If you’re looking to get your business ahead in the modern market, content partnerships and TikTok campaigns should be high on your list of priorities.