The pandemic has had a significant impact on the advertising industry, and television in particular. Broadcasters were forced to slash the price of airtime, which has enabled smaller businesses to make their first appearance on the small screen and produce their first commercial. It’s already game over for EA as they remove their in-game ads after being inundated with complaints from users. Here’s our five to watch this week in digital marketing…
COVID cuts empower small firms to invest in television advertising
During the pandemic, big brands such as Sky and McDonalds decided to pause their TV advertising budgets, forcing broadcasters to slash the price of airtime to levels not seen in three decades. This reduced cost enabled smaller businesses to make their first-ever TV commercials. To put things into perspective, a 30-second ad during primetime shows would normally cost upwards of 50k. Since the pandemic, it’s estimated that TV ad spend has dropped by £500m allowing smaller firms to star in the small screen. Read more here.
Game over! EA removes in-game ads from UFC after complaints from users
Remember when we told you about in-game ads? Well, EA has now removed these ads from UFC 4 after the company’s social channels were inundated with complaints. EA introduced ads during the ‘replay’ moments in gameplay. However, fans were less than impressed and EA responded with the following: “It is abundantly clear from your feedback that integrating ads into the Replay and overlay experience is not welcome. The advertisements have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced.” You can read more here.
Advertising spend soars in the battleground states of the presidential election race
As the 2020 presidential election race heats up, it’s been revealed that both President Trump and rival Joe Biden have spent more money on ads in Pennsylvania than any other state, followed by Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona – which are all battleground states. In Pennsylvania alone, Biden has invested $44 million on advertising. The term battleground state or swing state refers to a state in which no candidate has overwhelming support, meaning that any of the major candidates have a reasonable chance of winning that state. Read more here.
Microsoft’s head of search and ads slams Google Ads for removing search terms
Last week, Google Ads announced the removal of search term data from the search terms report that will ‘only includes terms that a significant number of users searched for, even if a term received a click. You may now see fewer terms in your report.’ This came as a shock for Microsoft’s Head of Evangelism for Search and Advertising, Christi Olson who branded the change ‘ludicrous’. What are your thoughts on this? You can read more here.
Snapchat launches new ‘Promote Local Place’ feature
Social media app Snapchat continues to expand its ‘local’ offering by introducing the ‘Promote Local Place’ feature. This new promotional tool will be in the ‘instant create’ section of Ads Manager, where businesses can claim their listing. This feature will allow businesses to review their pre-populated details and make amendments. They can also enter their URL, which prompts the Ads Manager to import images from their website, with optional design templates and formatting for vertical viewing. Read more here.
If you would like to discuss how Modo25 can help with your digital marketing strategy, feel free to send us an email to team@modo25.com
