Special Feature - Precise TV

The Christmas Marketing Mix: the secret to boosting sales this season

Precise TV’s chairman & co-founder, Christian Dankl, advises how to drive sales this holiday season. He starts with some simple advice: “Prioritise spending your first ad dollar on the largest platform that caters to your target audience the most.”

At Precise TV, we compare this approach to filling a tower of champagne glasses, where you begin by filling the top glass, allowing the champagne to flow down to the others. Advertisers should identify the platform that represents the top glass and allocate their resources accordingly. This ‘champagne tower’ analogy can be applied for all brands and products, however we use it in particular when thinking about kids’ brands focusing on children ages 2-12. At Precise TV, we know exactly where kids are spending their time and where your first pound of advertising should be directed.

Bi-annually, Precise TV, in partnership with Giraffe Insights, surveys 10,000 kids aged 2-12 and their parents to better understand their media habits. Our latest Precise Advertiser Report-Kids (PARK) uncovered that 9 in 10 kids watch YouTube, and the average child watches an average of 106 minutes every day.

Furthermore, Antenna Group shows that  the major Video on Demand and CTV apps kids use are mostly ad-free (only 3% of Disney+ and Netflix users are on ad-supported plans).  The vast majority of kids are reachable with ads on YouTube, making it the top glass of the champagne tower.

There is no denying YouTube is the place to reach kids, but will this help drive sales? Our latest research shows that YouTube ads drive three times more purchase behaviour than any other platform. Kids are watching YouTube, seeing an ad and then asking their parents for the product in that ad more than ads seen on any other platform, including linear TV. While the reach and purchase behaviour on YouTube is No.1, it is important to keep in mind that due to COPPA and GDPR-Kids restrictions, the only way to target young audiences is with contextual targeting. The downside is that channel level targeting and affinity targeting deliver, on average, 56% media wastage according to our Precise TV audits of standard YouTube campaigns (consisting of eight leading toy brands’ analysis over 250m video views on YouTube). At Precise TV, we use our contextual intelligence platform to remove media wastage pre-bid, to deliver ads only on in-demo, relevant and brand suitable YouTube placements, on video-level.

As we head into the run-up to Christmas, it is important to note that 35% of kids are starting their wish-lists at least three months before Christmas. Ensuring your ads are on YouTube, facing the correct audience, right now, is essential. According to our PARK study, 82% of parents are planning to spend the same or more, on gifts for their children this year.

If YouTube is where you are beginning your ‘champagne tower’ of advertising, what else can you do?

1.   Take a data driven approach:

While YouTube is the top platform for kids, where else can you find your target audience? Taking a data driven approach will identify where your audience lives. Our assumptions about what apps and channels are popular with kids may not be wholly accurate. To avoid media wastage, you have to understand exactly what audience you’re reaching on the platform you have decided to invest in.

2.   Embrace storytelling:

In our digital era, storytelling has become a potent tool that anyone can utilise. By leveraging the power of digital video, advertisers can craft compelling narratives that resonate with their target audience, going beyond the limitations of traditional advertising formats. Digital video enables advertisers to establish meaningful connections with viewers, enabling them to communicate brand values, showcase product features and depict real-life experiences. However, it's essential to approach digital advertising with a long-term perspective. Success may not be instantaneous, so adopting a sustained approach will lead to more consistent achievements.

3.   Adopt ‘trend hacking’:

Advertisers need to adopt a "hack, test, iterate" mentality to stay successful. Many brand teams invest time in testing new video formats and measuring their success, enabling them to identify effective strategies that can be replicated. Trend hacking is the strategy to apply trending hashtags to TikTok videos to leverage their popularity. Although not always successful, when it works, it can lead to significant reach and impact.

In conclusion, once you know where your target audience is spending the majority of its time, maximize your opportunity on that platform. Creating highly targeted YouTube campaigns in the run-up to Christmas will ensure you reach your target audience and drive sales.

Precise TV is a leading kid-safe COPPA certified YouTube advertising platform using contextual intelligence to deliver brand-safe, relevant and privacy-compliant video campaigns reaching young audiences and families. If you would like to discuss how your brand can effectively engage with your target audience on the right platforms and devices, visit the website at www.precise.tv or get in touch at info@precise.tv.