MEDIA
ANALYSIS
The family that watches together... “
Cats & Dogs 2. By taking this approach, these relevant spots will benefit from further standout within the ad break which features in most instances from other categories. The ‘family films effect’ is clearly evident when reviewing the latest Google trends. Take the example of Looney Tunes Back In Action, which was broadcast in early August. We can break down that spot list, which included melscience.com – a science and educational website made just for kids. That particular spot was shown to more than 43,000 CH415 (kids aged 4-15) and 24,000 HWCH (housewives with children), which resulted in their Google search data showing an all-time high for the week. See graph, below left. While of course this is only showing one element of the mix, this positive correlation goes some way to suggest that advertising investment to free-toair channels such as ITV2 has a positive effect on consumers going online to find out more. When looking at the norm for TV investments outside traditional kids’ commercial channels, we can see that 134 brands used ITV2 family films last year – a huge 43% increase on 2019’s 94 brands. This number will no doubt increase as we review the effect of Q4. For example, last year, brands such as LEGO City, Hasbro’s Play-Doh, MGA L.O.L. Surprise, Interplay’s Home Drone Game, and Spin Master’s Present Pets - as well as many others made investments to air across adult channels in November and December. As we look beyond Q4, it is key to add an importance to these ‘appointment to view placements’ to the overall media mix. Of course, not every TV plan will have sufficient budget levels to afford placements on these channels that are less cost-effective than kids’ commercial channels, which remain the most cost-effective means of reaching mass awareness among kids in the UK & ROI. If you need assistance determining the optimal marketing split for your brands, please do contact us.
Demand on kids’ commercial airtime in Q4 often encourages advertisers and agencies to invest in alternative means
Source: Google Trends, 2021 August. UK Search Term: Melscience
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s we edge ever closer to the Christmas period, the number of family films broadcast increases on the likes of ITV2 and Channel 4, with favourites such as Harry Potter, The Looney Tunes and Nanny McPhee attracting family audiences on those rather dark and dreary weekend evenings. Film spots have been popular within the toys and games market for the past couple of years, mainly due to the key benefit - the additional coverage points to traditional TV campaigns that these spots offer - as well as the chance to attract families who are sitting down to watch together. Traditionally, costs outside of kids’ commercial TV for a toy advertiser to deploy a heavyweight campaign on adult channels can be higher than traditional budget levels. However, demand on kids’ commercial airtime in Q4 often encourages advertisers and agencies to invest in alternative means. These spots, if strategically placed, can certainly aid in building awareness with a family audience. As allocations to these placements are likely to be reflective of only a small percentage of the overall marketing budget, it is important to be smart and choose those spots that are related to the advertised product in attempts to drive engagement and potential online search. For example, a plush bear featured within Yogi Bear or a toy animal in
Generation Media is the UK and Ireland’s largest independent media buyer of toys and games advertising. Visit generationmedia.co.uk or call 0207 307 7900 or email contact@generationmedia.co.uk to learn more
Ad slots in family films on free-to-view TV can really drive engagement as long as your product is relevant, says Kate Moncur, associate director at Generation Media
