Let’s Get Visual: Importance of Visual Hierarchy in Advertising

“It’s a visual world, and people respond to visuals.”

-Joe Sacco

The eyes are the window into the soul! But, how do you reach your audience on a deep level through visual mastery? Well, you can achieve this through using the selective arrangements of particular visual elements in a specific order of their importance. This is otherwise known as visual hierarchy. Elements are laid out logically and strategically to guide the viewer through their visual journey. Users tend to act very quickly to decide whether or not they want to stay and read or watch something or not. Their eyes will follow predictable reading paths that are culturally influenced. For example, westerners read left to right whereas Asian cultures will not. These patterns can be followed or broken in order to bring the reader’s attention to certain points on advertisements. You will want to put the most visual things first to make it stand out so they won't miss it. Here are the particular components that can be manipulated to grab the user’s attention:

·      Size: users will notice larger elements faster

·      Textures and styles: rich textures stand out over flat

·      Color & contrast: this will draw the eyes toward something  

·      Alignments: this helps create focal points

·      White spaces: helps create emphasis

·      Proximity & repetition: creates unification

There are a couple of questions when creating your ads to find out where you want your visuals to go, such as: what do you want to draw attention to? What actions do you want users to take? What do the eyes naturally land on? Poor visual hierarchy will confuse the reader and then you’ve already lost them in the first few seconds. The right visual path will get your viewers interested at the get go and keep them engaged to stay. The importance of this in advertising could not be stressed enough. The intent must match the execution.

Corporate Cannibalization

Hello Clarice…. Wait wrong type of cannibalism. Well, now that we have your attention let’s talk about the cannibalization effect in marketing. What is it? How does it work? Cannibalization is a loss in sales that is caused by an intro of a new product that in turn, displaces older ones. This can be done by one’s own company or a competitor. There are a few types of cannibalization: planned, through discounts, and through e-commerce.

1.     Planned: a company offers a new product to replace an old one. Think of when Apple rolls out a new model. This sometimes converts new customers from other brands

2.     Discounts: happens when a brand offers discounts frequently and buyers begin to expect it. They move toward buying only products that are discounted and thus, the full price items cannibalize

3.     E-commerce: happens when a brand puts more emphasis on online sales than brick and mortar.

Most times, cannibalization of a brand’s own products is unintentional but sometimes it isn’t. It can be used as a strategic marketing play. A few benefits are reviving old product lines and bargain alternatives can prevent your competitors from undercutting your brand. That being said, there are some risks to self-cannibalization. It could dilute your value and create market saturation. Cannibalization is unavoidable eventually but can also be used as a marketing tactic to push certain products/services. Bon appetite.

Native Advertising

How do you know a native ad when you see one? There are a couple of tell-tale signs, such as a small icon in the top right corner, it’s marked as “suggested post,” or recommended for you.  Native ads are paid advertisements that fit “natively” on the web page you’re on. They don’t look like traditional ads and typically don’t disrupt the user’s interaction on the page. They can also be in feed, search and promoted listing as well as content recommendations. There are some good benefits to using native ads instead of traditional.

Pros:

·      Resonates without being intrusive

·      Optimize targeting capabilities

·      Captures audience’s attention

·      They perform better: 5-10x higher CTR (Outbrain & CMI)

·      High credibility

Native advertising can help build trust and drive more traffic to your website while fighting ad fatigue. Native ads increase purchase intent by 18%, according to Outbrain. However, that all being said, there are some cons to native ads. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

Cons:

·      Hard to measure metrics

·      Carries and element of deception if done improperly

·      It’s labor intensive and time consuming

Digital spaces are a great place to find new audiences and reach the ones you may already have. Native advertising works great because they fit with the content that users are already interested in. This means that it is highly likely that they will be interested in reading about your product/service when they see the ad on the page. It’s a more organic interaction that takes place where they won’t feel like they’re being sold something. They’ll be more apt to engage if it doesn’t feel like a sale.

The Halo Effect

Immigrant Heritage Month

America is built on the backs of our forefathers, most of which immigrated from other countries in search of a better way of living. Here at Locomotive, we are no different either. Our grandparents were from Italy and Ireland. This month is a time to celebrate Immigrant Heritage. Here is a quote from the White House this month on the subject.

      “America is more than a place; it is an idea.  It is the idea that everyone is created equal and deserves to be treated equally throughout their lives and that everyone should have a fair shot and an equal chance to get ahead.  That is what has drawn people to our shores for centuries.  It is what makes us who we are.  And that very idea of America has been advanced by immigrants from every part of the world — my ancestors and yours.  Their dreams-built America, and during National Immigrant Heritage Month, we celebrate their courage.”

-President of the United States.

Here are some ways that you can help support our Immigrant Heritage:

1.     Support immigrant communities: stand up to discrimination and/or volunteer

2.     Challenge stereotypes: share stories that counter negative stereotypes

3.     Educate yourself: know the reasons behind immigrations and the contributions of immigrant populations to our society

4.     Use your voice: use social media platforms to voice positive messages to tear down barriers that create anti-immigration rhetoric

However you decide to support this Immigrant Heritage Month, remember that it a celebration of all that our country is built upon. Without our immigrant ancestors our country would not be what it is today. Without those immigrants joining our country today, it will not be where it is headed tomorrow. Let us join forces to become the best version our country that we can be! 

Earned Media

Who doesn’t love free publicity? That’s exactly what earned media is. Coverage for your brand through organic means. It can be though reviews, media coverage, mentions, social shares, etc. As nice as it is to get that free shout out, it is also the most difficult to achieve. Let’s think about a consumer review. We all use them. What’s the first thing that most people do after they read a review somewhere? The answer is that they visit the website of that business and on average they will read roughly 10 before they go the site, according to Local Consumer Review Survey, 2020. We can’t stress the importance of getting positive earned media, whether it be through a Google review, an Instagram share, or media coverage. Here are a few tips to ensure that you will get a rave recommendation through earned reviews no matter where it comes from.

1.     Create interesting & engaging content: if people resonate with your content they will feel compelled to share it.

2.     Create good media relationships: it’s always nice to have a few media friends. Make sure to nourish those relationships through equal benefit.

3.     Make your audience happy: good customer service for the win always

4.     Use all your channels: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Make sure that you’re always posting, engaging and consistent with your voice on all your channels.

5.     Authenticate your expertise: you can do this through writing articles, social media as well as client testimonials.

You have to “earn” your earned media. Nothing is truly free and free publicity is no different. You will have to strive to create a brand name that is reputable and stands the test of time over and over again. Once you do this though, you can reap the rewards of word of mouth marketing and possibly earned media.

Marketing Mix Modeling

The purpose of marketing mix modeling is to understand how various marketing inputs are driving the business metrics of a product or service. A simple way to put this is what is working and what’s not? Otherwise known as MMM, it will determine how each marketing input is contributing to a sale. In turn, you will determine how much to spend on each aspect. There are incremental drivers and base drivers that promote marketing techniques.

1. Incremental: generated by marketing activities like TV, print ads, digital spends, discounts, social, etc.

   1. ATL (above the line) marketing: non-targeted with a wide reach

   2. BTL (below the line) marketing: specific, direct ads on targeted audience

   3. TTL (through the line) marketing: mix of both

   4. Competition

   5. Halo effect

   6. Cannibalization effect

**more on these last two in future articles**

1. Base drivers: reached without any ads. Equity over years being the driving factor

   1. Price

   2. Distribution

   3. Seasonality

   4. Macro-econ variables

There are a few reasons to implement MMM, some of which we mentioned already,

1. Efficient spending

2. Efficient execution of campaigns

3. Scenario tests

You can really go down the mix marketing rabbit hole online. There is a vast amount of knowledge out there on the topic that includes words like regression analysis and mathematical equations. We only wanted to touch the surface of the MMM waters in order to hopefully inform someone who didn’t know about it. Now it’s your turn to dive in.

Attention Economy

Did you know that, according to Forbes, we are exposed to an average of 6-10 thousand pieces of advertising per day? That is a lot of information and actually our brains only have a scarce number of things that it can take in with attention. This means that as advertisers, we must stand out from a sea of others in order to reach our audiences. Attention economy was coined in the late 60’s by a guy named Herbert Simon. It’s defined as, “a state in which cognitive resources are focused on certain aspects of the environment rather than on others,” according to the American Psychological Association. With attention there is always an exchange. You focus on one thing to ignore another right? Recent technology is making infinite amounts of information available to us and making our attention that much harder to obtain. So, how do brands go about getting the attention of their audience in this sea of information? Well, data collection in order to personalize is a start. One way to avoid data collection is contextual advertising that will place ads in places where your audience already will be. This avoids any mistrust from your audience as well. We’ve written articles on increasing memorability of ads through creativity and this is another way to stand out from the crowd. UGC and found content can also enhance your ads attention grabbing content while creating trust. Trust is going to be key here for getting and keeping your customers long-term in the digital world. People don’t want their data sold to the highest bidder. Resonating with your customers and respecting their privacy simultaneously is the way of the cookieless future!

AI Bias

“100% of organizations will be using AI by 2025,” Forrester estimates. One of the benefits of AI is that it can hopefully contain less bias than humans and none at all if programmed correctly. However, it will depend on who programs the machine learning. Humans are the ones who choose what data that the algorithms use and how the results are applied. It will require many tests from many different individuals in order to avoid unconscious biases. But what are some proper steps that programmers can take to avoid these biases? First, educate all staff on responsible AI. Second, let your audience know what you’re doing and be transparent with how your AI algorithms work to make predictions. Lastly, have a team on deck to do damage control if your audience feels that they have been unjustly treated due to AI bias. Here are some other ways to prevent AI bias:

1.     Use synthetic data sets: the data from the real world can be very bias. This helps prevent that issue through using statistically representative versions of real sets.

2.     Test and test and test: make sure to test models before and after. As we said above, the more eyes on these tests the better.

3.     Create an industry standard for AI: have regulations and rules to creating AI algorithms. We think that some point in the near future there will be legislation implemented across the U.S. in order to keep AI in check. Until then, create a standard within your company that prevents AI bias as much as possible.

AI has some impressive potential, such as helping diagnose breast cancer & other diseases earlier. It will also help in processing loan application in banking, chatbots for any website, it will be utilized in real estate to analyze markets, property prices etc., and this list could go on forever. That being said though, it will be extremely important to prevent AI biases in algorithms because there are serious implications if not. It has the potential to harm people through deepening systemic racism, sexism, etc. Some are promoting socio-technical solutions that take into consideration social impacts of bias as well as technical. Since bias can harm humans, such as affecting whether they get a home loan or acceptance into a school, it’s important to program in the societal and systemic impacts that biases can have. We couldn’t agree more with this strategy. Although we still have a long road ahead of us, we’re confident that our country will do its best to regulate AI in the coming years.  

Gun Violence Awareness Month 2023

It’s no secret that gun violence is at an all-time high in the United States. “Every day more than 300 people are impacted by gun violence in the U.S.,” (Brady Campaign). It’s a little crazy to us how divided this country is over gun laws when we’ve seen so much devastation as a result of the lack of restrictions nationwide. We are firm believers that individuals should have the right to bear arms but in today’s society there should be strict laws that prevent the wrong weapons from going into the wrong hands. That being said, that’s an article for another time. The purpose of today’s article is to bring awareness to the ways that one can act to help end gun violence during the month of June.

1.     Support gun violence prevention events near you

2.     Make sure your guns and others closest to you keep them locked up in the home

3.     Join a movement

4.     Act to restrict/ban AR-15 style weapons

5.     Wear orange

6.     Share information on social media channels

Here are some shocking statistics to get you thinking (NY State Division of Criminal Justice):

·      Every day more than 100 Americans are shot and killed in the U.S.

·      Access to a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it 5x more likely that the woman be killed

·      Access to a gun triples the risk of death by suicide

No matter what your stance is on gun law, it’s obvious that America needs to take some action in order to prevent more gun violence because the momentum hasn’t slowed down. If anything, it’s gotten worse over the past decade. When others travelling from other countries come here there is now a travel advisory warning them of possible gun violence. That speaks volumes to where we are with this situation in our country. It’s unique to our country alone. It’s sad and hopefully in the coming years the issues will be resolved.

AI Ethics

Artificial intelligence has been a hot button topic for a while now. We’ve written a few articles on it and where we think it’s going. We can tell you that our inboxes are flooded with blogs and news on the topic every day to the point it’s getting a little annoying. That being said, we don’t think AI is going anywhere. In fact, it’s probably just getting started. While we hope it doesn’t take jobs and is used as an added tool in the arsenal for employees, we can’t say for sure how it will pan out. One area of interest when discussing AI is the ethics. As humans, we have cognitive bias from our life experiences, whether we realize them or not. We’d like to think that because AI is machine learning it does not have those biases and that’s what makes it more efficient. However, we must remember that humans program the machine and therefore, must follow certain rules and regulations in order to not infringe upon human rights & civil liberties. The academic community has come up with The Belmont Report as a guide for algorithmic development & experiment.

1.     Respect for persons: this focuses on consent and autonomy of individuals to protect them.

2.     Beneficence: similar to healthcare ethics “do no harm” in order to keep AI algorithms from amplifying biases from race, gender, etc.

3.     Justice: fairness and equality of who reaps the benefits of machine learning.

a.     Equal share

b.     Individual need

c.     Individual effort

d.     Societal contribution

e.     Merit

There are a few hot issues with AI ethics for now. They include:

1.     Impact on jobs: we touched on this above but it happens every time some new tech comes out that will vastly change our lives. We think that roles will shift but not be taken over. There will need to be people who oversee the AI and all the duties it performs. Therefore, one job may turn into another but not disappear altogether.

2.     Bias & discrimination: this has happened in the past with AI when training data leads to biases. It’s important, as we stated above, to program the system to be unbiased and not discriminatory. Although difficult, crucial and may take years to refine.

3.     Privacy: this is an issue now as it is with the digital world we live in and 3rd party cookies. States are coming up with new laws to protect user data but how will AI deal with personal data? Most users don’t even know that their data is being used to make decisions that may affect them. The answer has yet to be seen.

4.     Accountability: there aren’t any legislations yet to control AI practices since it’s so new. This is why ethical guidelines have been created but there needs to be some sort of repercussions for unethical uses. We see this coming into play in the coming years as AI advances.

5.     Singularity: think Class of 09’ on Hulu. The scary thought that AI will surpass humans and develop its own thoughts and ideas.

Ethical issues can create problems for businesses, such as legal issues, brand damage, product failures and, in turn, loss of revenue. Understanding AI will be important for everyone in the near future if not already. AI ethics are being taught in some high schools and middle schools for the next generations in order to keep it in check.  No brand wants to be the one that accidentally puts out machine learning that is discriminatory or get sued for copyright infringements. In the next few years it will be a balancing act to create the best practices and laws as artificial intelligence grows at a rapid rate.

How AI Will Affect SEO

AI seems a bit scary but it will come with some benefits and trust us when we say it will come. People are already utilizing artificial intelligence in advertising and marketing. It’s pretty much inevitable that it will become part of our daily lives in the not so distant future. So, with that, how will it affect SEO? This is what we found.

1.     Better user experience: improved personalized content and quality of interactions

2.     Voice search optimization: with Siri, Alexa and Google Home voice search has improved

3.     Greater understanding of language: provides more accurate answers to user questions

4.     Accuracy: because AI can analyze massive amounts of data at once it makes it easier for search engines to provide precise results.

As uncomfortable as it may be for some, AI isn’t going anywhere. In fact, chances are we’re just getting started. Sometimes if you can’t beat em’, join em’. AI can provide benefits for business other than a positive tool for SEO performance.

Paternity Leave at Ad Agencies

“Fathers who get longer paternity leave have been shown to have an even closer relationship with child for a lifetime,” according to an study done by Petts, Knoester and Waldfogel. When we’re talking about equality for all, it’s important to consider the fact that some fathers want to spend these first few months with their newborn. Yes, mothers need the time to recover from birth, etc. but is it not fair to offer men some leave in order to bond with their family in those formidable moments? In the past few years, men have been given the chance to take paternity leave for 6 months or more but still report feeling “pressure” to return sooner. Also, it should be taken into consideration that mothers need help parenting as well. It’s been a long time coming. As they have strived for equality on all fronts they have somehow ended up being left with the remains of an old paradigm that she is the one to take care of the home. Women are now expected to work, still be a mother, be a wife, and all-around superwoman. It’s exhausting. Paternity leave isn’t only for fathers to bond with their newborns, it’s a chance for equality within the home. A home where women are no longer considered to be the main stakeholder in all things that are part of a “home.” This parental leave promotes equal parenting dynamics and moves away from the one-sided dynamics of raising children. Parental leave and maternity leave should go hand-in-hand in the society that we live in today.  

Successful Business Partnerships

A business partnership is like a relationship. Success depends on communication, negotiation/compromise, collaboration and mutual investment. Turns out, “65% of businesses fail due to conflict and relationship breakdown between partners,” according to Harvard Business School. Both relationships and business partnerships are complicated so it’s important to follow some guidelines in order to be successful.

1.     Create a strong foundation: draft a co-owner agreement where all parties are clear on how things will be run. How will decisions be made? How will profits be split? Have uncomfortable conversations now to avoid turmoil later. Be upfront and honest in the beginning and keep that ball rolling throughout your time as a partner.

2.     Discuss long-term goals: this is a BIG one. Knowing what each other’s goals are will be important. You will want someone with similar values and fully committed to getting there together.

3.     Clear communication and act like an adult: it’s inevitable that conflict will arise. How you handle it will speak volumes about you as a leader. Listen, respect your partner(s) and take responsibility for your own mistakes.

4.     Lay out strengths and weaknesses of each partner: one of the benefits to a business partnership is that they complement you with things you may lack.

These are just a few of many guidelines to follow when creating a business partnership. We’ve only listed a few of our top points. The advantage of a successful business partnership includes: new perspectives, extra support, possible expanded expertise, varied incomes, shared expenses, etc. The list goes on and on. However, that being said there are some typical pitfalls, such as personality conflicts but if you follow good guidelines when creating the partnership, they will be avoided.

Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. This is a little off topic from advertising but we thought it an interesting one since our founder’s wife, Natalie, has been a professional fighter for over 7 years in combat sports. Natalie has been part of a study with other combat athletes as well as football players called, Fighting for Brain Health, conducted by the Cleveland Clinic. She travels there every few years for a series of tests consisting of an MRI, a series of memory tests and a series of balance tests. It is to help identify changes to the brain from repeated trauma. Organizations, such as the UFC are donating millions to this cause in order to better understand the effects of fighting long term. This month wearing the color purple on June 21st is one way to support of this cause. Other ways would be to visit loved ones who may be fighting this disease, donate to organizations and/or educate others.

Co-Branding

We’ve all heard of branding so what is co-branding? It’s just as it sounds really. It’s a marketing strategy in which two (or more) parties work together in order to increase visibility and profits while reducing costs. It has mutual benefits to both parties and typically between two brands that have interests that align. There is one difference here that makes it co-branding and not co-marketing and that is that the partnership is created in order to promote a new product or service. Co-marketing is a partnership between two parties where they promote existing services/products or a one off. So, why use co-branding? The benefits include those listed above as well as increasing customer base, perceived value, loyalty and creation of higher quality products/services. There are some distinct co-branding strategies.

1.     Joint venture: focuses on value addition as two or more brands create an alliance to present a product to the target audience.

2.     Sponsor: this is where brands work together in tech, promotions, sales at events, such as concerts etc.

3.     National to local: a local, small business links up with a national one in order to increase brand awareness.

4.     Same company: this is where multiple in-house brands develop and promote a single product/service. This can improve perceptions of each part of the partnership.

5.     Ingredient: this is when a brand’s product is marketed as a separate entity.

Co-branding is a low-risk, high-reward partnership. If your brand is looking to increase awareness, reach out to other like-minded brands to create a partnership. Put a list together of people your brand would benefits from working with and vice versa. Then, you can brainstorm possible ideas for the alliance.

Persuasion Tactics: The Rhetorical Triangle

At the heart of all persuasion tactics are the age-old Ethos, Lagos and Pathos. But, when we think of these tactics, we don’t necessarily think of The Rhetorical Triangle. Around 2,000 years ago, Aristotle taught these in order to improve a speaker’s ability to persuade an audience. But, in advertising, they invoke action taken by the viewer. The three of these are called the “three pillars of persuasion” in the ad world. Seems that some things stand the test of time and are still very effective today. Let’s take a look at what each one entails.

Ethos: This appeals to the credibility of the speaker to persuade the audience with authority. This can be through a celebrity endorsement or even an expert in a field. This is to create a sense of trust and connection through ethics. The person used to appeal to ethos must be presented in a way that shows their credibility through professional, academic or authorial credentials.

Pathos: This appeals to the heart through emotional connection. It also uses the sympathetic imagination as well as beliefs and value systems. Think of what we do. UGC and/or Found Content creates an emotional response through the created content by real people. Others can relate to it and connect with it on a deeper level. When someone creates an ad using pathos their words are chosen wisely to invoke specific emotions.

Lagos: This appeals to logic, reason and fact of the viewer. This can rely heavily on data, statistics, tables, numbers, facts, etc. When creating an ad using Lagos it is presented in a clear and concise manner. Connections between ideas and facts are presented as well as historical analogies. There will be no holes in the argument.

When making an ad, creatives don’t necessarily have to stick with just one of these, they can mix in a couple. These techniques work so it’s important to understand them. I mean, think about it, they have been around for like 2,000 years. If they didn’t then brands wouldn’t still be using them today.

Decision Making in Business

We’ve all had to make tough decisions in life at one time or another. Whether it be in our professional or personal lives, the process is always the same. It always involves identifying the goal, collecting all the relevant information and finally, weighing out the options to make the best choice. The benefit to making sound decisions is that they will stand the test of time, they weigh out all possible outcomes, they can eliminate conflicts of interest, it creates less second-guessing and provides somewhat of a roadmap. There are so many types of decision-making models out there. Ethical, formal, 5/6/7/8 step processes, analytical hierarchy process, rational, managerial, etc. The list goes on and on. Your goal can help determine your process. Let’s just look at the 8-step decision making process as an example.

1.     Identify goal

2.     Gather relevant information

3.     Determine criteria for critiquing alternatives

4.     Brainstorm all options

5.     Compare alternatives (pros/cons)

6.     Make your decision

7.     Execute decision

8.     Evaluate decision after implementation

Being strategic when making decisions is crucial. It’s important not to overthink but to appropriately analyze. Pragmatic decisions are made from using a systematic process that will guide you along to the right outcome.

Digital Privacy

Digital privacy has been a hot button topic for a while now since third party cookies have been phasing out on Google with their official start date of zero third party cookies in 2024. Digital privacy is not only important for individuals, it’s important for brands as well. Every action that we take is tracked. We all leave a digital footprint that can identify us. It’s for this reason that it can be easily stolen. That being said, one of the most important reasons that brands must protect their data is because they collect multitudes of data on every customer they have. It’s not only the brand’s data it’s their entire audience’s information as well. We’ve all heard of data breaches that have happened on a mass scale and millions of peoples private banking information was stolen. It’s this reason that businesses must have high digital privacy practices. There have been a ton of bills that people have tried to pass in D.C. but all to no avail from disagreements. That means it is up to the organizations to protect digital data. This is where data solutions companies come into play. They are outsourced and they specialize in data security, such as Threat Detection and Response that helps employees monitor possible threats. It’s also important that your staff be trained on data security. It’s crucial for your brand to understand the possible threats of data leaks in order to prevent the PR nightmare that it will be if it occurs. Not to mention the millions it could cost to reverse the damages.  

What’s the Difference Between UGC and Stock Footage?

At this point we should all know what user-generated content is but for those of you that may not… UGC is any content created by consumers and brand advocates in a natural and organic way that typically has nothing to do with the brand in particular. It can be video, photos, music, art, and even blogs. The benefits of using UGC in advertising is paramount and extremely effective in creating emotional connections with brand audiences. It creates trust through transparency. So, what is the difference between UGC and stock footage. Stock footage is produced content that was created for the sole purpose of reuse in advertising, marketing, film, etc. UGC is organically created and unproduced. Stock footage is produced and people can see the differences between the two if you set them side by side. There are tons of stock footage libraries online and we work with some of them on particular briefs for our partners. However, since the audience can tell an obvious difference, we only pursue stock footage for briefs that call for it... There is a place for stock footage, but we prefer organically sourced user-generated content in order to create strengthened trust from audience to brand.