By: Jill Josephson
Looking back on all the Creative Services or Promotion Directors I have
known in the media industry, I would venture to say that all of them are creative souls.
Great promotion is more art than science, but that does not mean that science
can’t improve outdated processes, and help enhance creativity.
In a recent analysis at Resonance AI, we examined several sets of
promotions, with the main objective being an understanding of how a branding promotion was resonating with audiences in different markets.
We came away with key learnings that highlight how AI can be used to streamline promotions processes, and establish new goals for planning and placement.
More Is Not Necessarily Better
Conventional wisdom is that a viewer must see an ad three times (or 3X) to make an impact. Volume, placement and length of schedule are built around this goal (+ the reach % of audience). What we saw using our Audience Intelligence is that the tipping point of getting to 3X (or 5X or 7X depending on your KPIs) happens much faster than previously understood.
The longer you run a spot after this tipping point adds no value or additional exposure. This pattern was mirrored in testing multiple frequency goals.
Our findings validated that this type of promotional schedule can be run for shorter periods of time to eliminate waste and diminishing returns.
Set It and Forget It
Resonance AI was able to quickly identify the spot placements that had the most impact on program performance.
Using AI to analyze schedule performance allows teams to rapidly build
model schedules that can be deployed for future projects.
Branding Works
In analysis of a pure branding promotion, which is not created to drive a viewer to any specific program, we were able to determine that the spot
did have a positive impact on the audience and led to an increase of viewership for programming in general.
To A/B or Not to A/B
Running multiple sets of promo content through Resonance AI, we are able to examine what content elements most resonate with viewers.
This should be done with all content. Why wouldn’t you want to know what is resonating with your audiences, which then allows quick and confident pivots to increase engagement?
AI will not be able to replace the human creative process any time soon. But AI should be used to replace rote tasks that bog down our top media creative minds and create unnecessary work and doubt.
Scheduling, planning and A/B testing should be aided by AI for maximum effect. Resonance AI is helping our customers know what works, why it’s working, and how to do it better the next time.