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Interesting Advertising Experiments HubSpot Tried in 2020 [+ Takeaways for Marketers]

Dec 30, 2020 | Online Marketing

The other day, I was on a run and listening to my trusty Spotify playlist. Lo and behold, in between two of my favorite pump-up jams, I hear a HubSpot audio advertisement trickle through my headphones.

It’s not uncommon for me to see HubSpot ads on social media or Google, but Spotify was a new one.

This experience made me curious about what other kinds of advertisements our team at HubSpot had tested out this year. So I sat down with a few folks on our advertising and editorial teams.

Below, they share some interesting lessons and takeaways regarding the different platforms and audiences they tested in 2020.

Advertising Experiments HubSpot Tried in 2020

“While HubSpot has traditionally been relatively direct response-focused (with software signups being the main acquisition goal), one of the biggest takeaways from our advertising in 2020 actually revolves around driving awareness through brand advertising,” shared Rex Gelb, Director, Acquisition Analytics & Paid Advertising at HubSpot.

In early 2020, the team realized they were reaching diminishing returns on many of their existing ad channels, namely search and social ads, and saw it as an opportunity to branch out.

They spearheaded this effort based on the guiding principle that the HubSpot audience is comprised of people with different media habits.

“What works for one person might not work for everyone, so we were likely only reaching a small segment of them through [direct response ads],” said Jillian Hope, Senior Marketing Manager, Brand Advertising at HubSpot. “But in reality, our audience is listening to podcasts, they’re reading articles in the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal,they’re watching Hulu, they’re doing all these different activities throughout the day.”

So, by expanding where they showed HubSpot ads, the team hypothesized they could reach a much larger segment of their audience and make new consumers aware of HubSpot.

As I chatted with these experts, a few key platforms stood out.

1. Audio Advertising

“In 2020, we started doubling down on [podcasts]. It started as more of an awareness play, but we’ve invested in this really neat tool called Podsights,” said Jillian. Podsights is a podcast attribution tool through which the team measures when someone hears a podcast ad and returns to the site, and becomes a lead.

(Can I plug an audio file in COS? https://wiki.hubspotcentral.net/display/marketing/2020+Year+in+Review%3A+HubSpot%27s+First+Brand+Advertising+Push)

The team has tested a few direct buys with specific podcasts, like NPR’s How I Built This and Masters of Scale. They’ve also done some national radio buys on NPR and a few Spotify Audio Everywhere ads (for those Spotify users who don’t pay for premium).

2. Hulu Advertising

“[In addition to podcast advertising,] we’re diversifying into new channels and also looking for opportunities to really measure and hone in on what’s working even from a direct response standpoint, including Hulu,” Jillian shared.

That’s right — this year, consumers turned on their TV to see some of HubSpot’s first advertisements on streaming channels. The team found that Hulu has high completion rates (about 99%) because the network’s ads are unskippable. “This made it a great tactic for testing out more creative messaging and executions because our audience was tuning into the full ad,” shared Alicia Collins, Copywriting & Brand Strategy at HubSpot.

Alicia worked on much of HubSpot’s 2020 brand advertising campaigns, including the Hulu push.

3. YouTube Advertising

Video as a whole gave the team more room to deliver value through education, entertainment, and inspiration, especially compared to a display or static social advertisement.

“Because YouTube is a Google-owned property,” Jillian said, “we had the ability to target people who are actively searching for content related to our products, so our ads are relevant to their work.”

In fact, Rex shared one of the most successful tests they ran: YouTube’s “affinity audiences,” Affinity audiences are audiences that Google’s algorithm identifies as likely to be interested in your product(s).

“While the algorithm is a bit of a black box, trusting their data ultimately paid off for us, generating some of the most cost-efficient, high-quality impressions and video views, which in turn yielded a great brand lift (as reported by surveys), and a measurable increase in incremental Google searches,” reported Rex.

So, what does developing this brand advertising campaign creative look like?

According to Alicia: “When you’re thinking about brand awareness advertising, you have to think about who you’re coming in contact with.”

Most people who interact with HubSpot’s brand awareness advertisements have never heard of HubSpot — versus those who see the typical direct response advertising. “There’s a reason why people are getting targeted with [direct response] ads; they’ve seen our content, they’ve been on our website, and they’ve interacted with our posts.”

The same can’t be said for this new brand advertising push. Alicia and her team are trying to reach a completely new audience, meaning they have to create clear, direct ads that communicate what HubSpot is and who it’s for.

“[We’re aiming for] eye-catching and engaging, so people are either enticed to click-through to learn more or simply stop and take a second look,” Alicia shared.

Speaking of second looks, Alicia has learned just how different the brand advertising strategy can be. “[It’s a] bit different because, again, people don’t see one social ad and immediately remember your brand. It takes like seven or eight impressions for someone to start recalling.”

In her opinion, brand awareness work is unlike a lot of other bottom-of-the-funnel work. “It’s not that there’s only a science to it, but there’s also a bit of an art,” she shared. “It’s [all about] trying to find the right balance between solving for the data and the short-term results, and thinking about where you want to be in the long-term.”

She encourages those who want to invest in brand awareness plays to be patient. “It can take a long time to move [brand awareness] metrics; raising brand awareness can take years and millions of dollars,” said Alicia.

In her experience, people who want to invest in new channels and audiences tend to put their money in one place. But Alicia and her teammates have found that no one spends all their time on one channel.

For example, you might prefer to start your day listening to a podcast, read a few articles during lunch, and watch your favorite Hulu show to unwind after work. However, your coworker might like to start their day watching cable news, scroll through social media during lunch, and travel to the gym (passing multiple billboards) after work. “You’re just getting multiple touch points throughout the day and sharing your stories in new, unique ways,” said Alicia.

Jillian agreed: “What works for some won’t work for all. If we limit channels, we risk not reaching a large segment of our audience.”

And the more channels on which consumers can see HubSpot, the more likely they are to remember and return.

Read more about developing your own cross-channel or omnichannel advertising strategy on the HubSpot Blog.

5 Video Advertising Mistakes Every Marketer Must Avoid

Oct 7, 2020 | Video Marketing

When it comes to video advertising, the creators are always under pressure to compile engaging and informative messages to win over new clients. These communications should have a clear call to action and must stand out against competitors’ ads.

As to err is human, it is quite natural to commit common errors while creating video ads. Unfortunately, careless advertising mistakes counteract all the hard work and devastate a company’s credibility and miss out getting newer clients. Hence, to avoid such common blunders and to give viewers a negative first impression, it is essential to know about specific things.

One of the initial steps is to double-check all ads before posting to be sure you’re not committing the clichéd video advertising mistakes.

Let’s take a look at what is video advertising:

Advertising through video is the latest and newest trend in the marketing industry for effective brand promotion. This strategy benefits every type of business immensely.

Video ads are the ideal way of communicating with prospective clienteles; these promotional materials enable a company to convey one’s message efficiently to a wider audience. Hence, video advertising allows a marketer to get more exposure in the market. Research says that videos have a more compelling power compared to written advertisements.

Nowadays, every consumer seeks instant information about their choicest product or service. Undoubtedly, video marketing works wonder. Advertising through video is the only channel that can adequately satisfy such clientele needs. Video ads deliver the message at a lesser time compared to any blog or article or any advertised text.

As video advertising holds a crucial position in an organization’s brand promotion, any mistake can destroy the image of a company. One must have detailed knowledge about the many pitfalls of video advertising and never commit these blunders.

Mentioned below are 5 common yet shocking video advertising mistakes that you should avoid now:

Mistake 1: Professionalism is taken for granted

While marketing with video, a businessperson needs to present his brand’s competence level. Here, professionalism is the final word. Your consumers must trust your trade name. So, it is necessary to show a video professionally.

Before creating a video one should understand the essential company culture and its image. Lack of professionalism can be detrimental to the success of the organization. Every conveyed promotional message has a theme. This theme should be presented efficiently.

Although B2C and B2B companies have different company image and specific advertisement requirement, yet, all should portray competence of the brand whether in a fun manner or severe corporate attitude.

Mistake 2: Not giving enough importance to voice-over tone

Voice over is the crucial part of any video marketing. Hence, a marketer must understand the necessity of the usage of a proper tone. If the video tone is not engaging, consumers won’t view the video and all your efforts will go in vain. Make sure to synchronize the voice-over tone with the main theme of your video.

But, one should also keep in mind, if the video has similar kind of tonal aspect throughout then, it will become monotonous and consumers would not find it interesting.

Hence, it is necessary to understand the primary purpose of your video. You can implement some fun elements also simultaneously with a serious business approach. Whatever the tone is, not to confuse the audience, it should be consistent.

Mistake 3: Not doing a proper survey with competitor video ads

It is essential to perform a survey before creating a video advert. Mostly, one should see how competitors in the industry portray themselves. Then one can compare one’s own company and dramatically modify itself based on the industry standards.

Consumers have different expectations from different industries. An entrepreneur should follow them within reason or it could cost the company in the long run.

Mistake 4: Presenting a video ad in strange, ambiguous, or indirect approach

Your video is an attention-grabbing tool; it’s perfectly fine to try something different with your video. But people should not create any promotional video material in strange, ambiguous, or indirect manner.

It is not surprising that a creator would want to spawn a video that goes viral. But there are steps to follow. Incorporating unnecessary artistic and abstract details would hamper the inner essence of video advertising. The fundamental purpose of marketing through video would fail and it won’t fulfill your purpose.

Mistake 5: Not considering video ads post timing:

Timing plays a significant role in video advertisements, but many promoters don’t realize that. Just like other projects or product launches, video adverts should also follow a specific schedule.

Scheduling your video ads would take you to a wider client base. This way a publisher would convey his message at the same the time efficiently to a large mass of target audience.

Scheduling enables you to perform proper ads distributions. Adequate ad post timing can be aligned with the audience(s). Throwing up video ads at any time of day may be appropriate for specific brands but for the most part – there should be some strategy for the distribution.

For instance, watching an advertisement of a fruit juice in the morning would be more useful and boost sales at that time versus at night. Aren’t you shocked to learn about these advert errors? Yes, all these mistakes are common to hindsight, yet, they are shocking. If not taken care, these faults can tarnish the reputation of an organization.

Bottom line

If you’re planning to create a cutting-edge video advertising, then follow the above steps. Although common, yet all such missteps would piecemeal land your business in danger. Whether you are tech start-up or a big firm, committing errors won’t justify your position. It is necessary to be alert and conscious while posting any video materials for promotion.

Animated Commercials: A Proven Form of Online Advertising

Oct 7, 2020 | Animation, Video Marketing

Animated commercials play a pivotal role in the modern marketing scenario. This online advertisement technique helps a brand to achieve an enormous customer base. In this overtly competitive world, if you want to thrive amidst your peers, it’s necessary to invest in creating a long-lasting appeal on the target audience.

With each passing day, high-end animated commercial ads are gearing towards defining markets. These are the easiest and affordable ways for a brand to get closer to new customers instantly.

According to several surveys and reports, organizations using animated commercials have seen an exponential increase in the growth of their client base. It’s proven that using animated video commercials brands can promote their product information promptly without any geographical limitations.

Hence, animated commercials 2018 have been gaining popularity among other advertisement forms.

Let’s take a look below what are animated commercials and how we can leverage this proven form of online advertising.

What are animated commercials?

Animated commercials have evolved as an interactive advertising process. Needless to say, ads presented through animations have emerged as the future in the line of advertising.

Nowadays, every organization understands the importance of animated commercials. In this highly expensive age, such advertisements can be created in a hassle-free and cost-effective way. They require lesser time and can be produced in a fraction of the cost compared to real life advertisements. Furthermore, if needed you can even review these ads easily and alter as and when required.

To be precise, animation videos fit broader demographics because:

Why should you use an Animated Commercial in your business?

When you come across the term ‘animated commercials’, it might stir a thought in your mind that why there’s so much of emphasis on this form of advertisement. You would be glad to know that there are several advantages of animated commercials. But the first and foremost advantage of an animated ad is that these types of advertisements are used across multiple platforms (television or social media channels). Moreover, an animated commercial is used to inform, educate, explain and incentivize consumers to take further action.

A few benefits of using animated commercials are the following:

1. Creativity Makes You Stand Out

Advertisements using animation is the most powerful and profitable way of promoting your company’s products and services effortlessly. As animated advertisements include various visual elements, they attract consumers with more effectiveness and display your brand values and identity as well.

2. Explains Complex Message Simply

Simple animated commercials help any organization to create a personal brand. Animated videos have the power to interpret complicated brand messages in a simple way to its audience. The computer graphics assist you in promoting your brand uniquely and creatively. It’s a fact that animated commercials can engage the potential customers striking the emotional chords. The target audience starts to associate themselves with these animated ads, and eventually, they turn into loyal customers.

3. A Powerful Marketing Tool

Animated commercials have added a new dimension to the marketing campaign. These ad forms create a positive impression on your customers compared to other forms. Brands using animations for producing advertisements have seen a massive rise in their client base from those who use generic videos to market their products. Prospective customers enjoy watching animation because they can be viewed 24/7. In addition to that, the interested potential patrons share these types of advertisements with their friends through social media accounts. With one-time investment, you get a return for numerous times.

4. Ideal Cost-effective Method

Contrary to popular beliefs, animated advertisements are affordable. You might think that producing commercials using animations can be a pinch on your pocket, but surprisingly the opposite is true. Filming live advertisements are more expensive because they involve live actors and actresses who require a host of things (e.g., a set, make-up, etc.). In other words, if budget is your constraint you can easily choose animated advertisements over live commercials.

5. Consistent Content Flow

One of the major challenges that every industry encounters is the need to put out new and fresh contents constantly. Animated video advertisements diminish the dearth of content ideas. Producing quality videos will help you create new contents consistently and also help you to increase traffic and sales.

Influencing potential customers and building long-term connections with them over time is tough. It’s a known fact that you spend months and years on researching to find a lucrative solution. Well, your toil ends here; we have scoured the internet and found the right solution for you that have an immediate impact on your future clients. Try animated commercials – the art of using cartoony characters to promote your products or services.

Witnessing its beneficial effect, today, most of the well-known brands use animated advertisements to yield fruitful results. Several marketing surveys show that animated commercials are the best ways to launch a new product/service to the market.

Producing 2D animated commercials are easy with cartoon animation maker like Animaker. This software helps you to create the best animated commercial and set B2B advertising examples.

Take Away

To conclude, Animated commercials are creative, innovative and stylish and the best source to influence a vast range of your potential customers. Animations are a great way to set your brand apart from your peers. As we see using animations in commercials have several benefits, hence, incorporating animated videos in our marketing strategy should be our first and foremost duty. We must remember that in today’s age if we want to create a lasting impact on our customers, we must do something unique to stand out. Animated adverts will definitely make your brand visible amongst competitors giving you opportunities to draw more and more clients.