How To Harness Data & Active Attention To Drive Ad Recall & Behaviour Change
Anna Validas, CEO of Convenience Advertising, shares her insights into the relationship between these critical elements in this Q&A. A specialist in the bathroom advertising channel, Anna has led the Convenience Advertising team since 2012.
The COVID-19 pandemic put the effectiveness of public health campaigns firmly in the spotlight. What lessons did you learn?
We worked with Dr Shaun Ratcliff, a political scientist at the University of Sydney, to analyse the effectiveness of government COVID-19 public health information and behaviour change campaigns. The results were a real eye opener.
Across all the government COVID-19 campaigns delivered through Convenience Advertising channels in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, more than half of respondents remembered seeing the advertising assets, of whom 89 per cent recalled the content of the advertising message without any form of prompting.
Importantly, nearly half (48 per cent) said they’d changed their behaviour in regard to hand hygiene, mask-wearing or social distancing based on the information they received in those bathroom advertisements.
This sort of clear, measurable behaviour change is the gold standard metric for public health campaigns. It was a critical outcome for our government clients in successfully delivering important COVID-safe messaging. These results can’t be achieved without quality audience dwell time in front of fixed advertisement panels, within the natural line of sight.
DonateLife achieved similar results. Our data-driven approach showed how well QR codes perform in bathrooms, where people can engage with them in private. The engagement data has been tracked by date, time, gender and state and the results have been incredible.
As a direct result of the Convenience Advertising campaign, over 4,700 people have registered to become an organ and tissue donor. A further 27,000 people have scanned the QR codes to seek information about becoming a donor. That’s huge.
How did data insights shape the delivery of the COVID-19 public health campaigns?
CaptiVision’s audience measurement tool was critical in understanding the potential risks of COVID-19 transmission based on audience attendance in the venues where the digital screens are installed.
Once we came out of the first national lockdown in early June 2020, CaptiVision was able to tell us that people movement in and out of the bathrooms in Melbourne’s west and north-western suburbs increased considerably compared to those in the east and south east.
It pointed to stronger caution shown by members of the communities in the east, which intrigued us, so we immersed ourselves in the data to see how we could tailor messaging on a postcode level.
We drilled down into the demographics of shopping centre visitors in culturally diverse suburbs such as Sunshine and Broadmeadows, and were able to recommend CALD hybrid messaging appropriate for each postcode for COVID campaigns.
People in these communities have lower English proficiency and their household internet access is limited, often driving greater attendance to their local shopping centre to access free Wi-Fi and for entertainment purposes.
Our government clients used these data insights to further sharpen their CALD messaging on a localised level and we ended up delivering COVID-safe messaging in 18 languages. It was highly effective in terms of both recall and reported behaviour change measures.
What’s the latest evidence telling us about how we, the advertising industry, can deliver even more impactful campaigns for our clients?
New research released by the Advertising Council of Australia shows the business impact of marketing campaign investment increases by nearly two thirds (65 per cent) when strong creative is placed on a high attention media platform. High attention media channels were found to supercharge the effectiveness of strong creative by up to 75 per cent.
The report recommends that marketers and media buyers should prioritise attention over reach, complementing earlier OMD research into the importance of active attention to ensure a brand is at the forefront of their audience’s mind in buying or information consumption situations.
The lessons are twofold: 1) active attention is a decisive factor positively influencing ad recall and behaviour change and 2) choosing a high attention media platform is a major factor in determining the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.
Which media channels deliver the holy grail of active attention?
With competition for audience attention at an all-time high, driven by continuous technology changes and a highly fragmented media landscape, one thing has remained constant: humans’ need to visit the bathroom. We know over three quarters of airport terminal visits and 35 per cent of shopping centre visits include a trip to the bathroom.
Bathroom media channels provide a unique platform to deliver messages to a specific audience, at a time when their mind is in a receptive state in a private environment. Messages are delivered in the direct line of sight without distractions. With audience attention averaging two minutes, it’s a powerful messaging medium.
The ability to capture the active attention of a specific audience is a major reason why bathroom media channels deliver such a proven return on investment. This will become even more important if advertising budgets tighten due to economic uncertainty or a potential future recession.
Find out how Convenience Advertising can help you capture the active attention of the audience you want to reach:
- Visit the Convenience Advertising website
- Contact Nitin Mascarenhas
Further Reading:
- Advertising Council of Australia (2023) Attention and Effectiveness: To ESOV and Beyond Part II.
- Available on request from Convenience Advertising 03 9486 0233:
- Ratcliff, Shaun (2021). COVID-19 Narrowcast Messaging Research Study, Final Report.
- Convenience Advertising (2022) In-field research on venue visitor numbers.
Latest News
‘Blair Is Mr Happy, Beau Is Mr Dopey, I’m Mr Grumpy’ – Top Gear Australia Hosts Reveal What It Was Really Like Filming
Top Gear features the cars you could never afford to drive. It's a bit like the bogan's Gourmet Traveller, really.
Nine’s Total TV Sales Lead Richard Hunwick To Step Down
Nine's Richard Hunwick calls time after 15 years. Hoping for a last trip to the Olympics before getting the gold watch.
Yahoo Academy Culminates With Pitch-Off For Musicians Making A Difference With Trip To Cannes In Cairns On The Line
B&T happy to support the Musicians Making A Difference initiative. Particularly any that encourages more Watusi.
TV Ratings 16/5/24: Nearly 2 Million Tune In To See Sky Blues Win In Women’s State Of Origin
B&T does make jokes about the Budget reply speech but, to his credit, Mr Potato Head rated OK last night.
Binge Launches “Scene:Scents” Sensory Entertainment Campaign, Via Thinkerbell
There's now scented candles to pair with BINGE shows. We're hoping Rex Hunt's Fishing Adventures doesn't hear about it.
Jolt Partners With Veridooh For Verification Of Its EV Charger Placements In UK
Although B&T's an avid supporter of EV cars, we'd definitely miss the smell of petrol and the service station pie.
Nine Ad Manager Named Principal Sponsor Of CommBank SmallBiz Week
CommBank's SmallBiz Week is coming to Melbourne on the 29-30 May. B&T's as confused as you are on how that's a week.
Pet Circle & Seven Communications Partner On “Pawtition” To Get Pets On Public Transport
B&T's concerned about the fleas, urine & faeces on public transport - and that's just from fellow passengers!
‘A Win-Win’ – How The Matildas Helped CommBank Become A ‘Globally Iconic Brand’ For The First Time
CommBank's sponsorship of the Matildas is a sport marketing masterclass. The opposite to Nick Kyrgios & his sponsors.
VML Australia Dominates The One Show With 5 Gold Pencils
VML Australia flying the flag at the One Show Awards in New York. Not that we need more flag waving at the moment.
Social Soup: Consumers Looking For “Informative” Not “Funny” Social Content When Making Buying Decisions
In a further blow to ventriloquism everywhere, new research says consumers prefer information over funny videos.
GIO Unveils New “Protect Precious” Brand Positioning & Campaign, Via Ogilvy
Insurer asks what's precious in our lives in new work. Which is better than asking is this business highly flammable.
Digitas & Heckler Singapore Launch Animated Symphony For Riot Game’s Valorant Champions Tour Pacific
Stony silence between you and the graphic arts team at Friday drinks? This gaming news could be an ice breaker.
Wavemaker Global CEO Toby Jenner Appointed Global President, GroupM Clients
Wavemaker’s Toby Jenner continues his career trajectory. But is it enough to move him up to the first class lounge?
Fast 10: Mindshare Head Honcho Maria Grivas On Her “Resting Smiling Face”
Mindshare is having a very fruitful 2024. Here, CEO Maria Grivas reveals her fertilisers & pruning tips to success.
Real Home Care Clients & Staff Star In New HammondCare Campaign
Aged care commercial uses real life clients & staff. B&T has not contacted the actor's union for comment.
Mutinex’s Henry Innis: “I’m Imperfect As A Leader”
Mutinex is being touted as one of the hottest start-ups in the land. And we don't mean that in an Elizabeth Holmes way.
Slew Of Senior Hires At Sparro by Brainlabs & Jack Nimble
B&T loves to report new hires as it shows the healthy state of the industry. That and cocaine usage at work functions.
Initiative’s Fein, Geer, Colter To Depart For Accenture Song
As you read first in B&T, there are significant comings-and-goings at Initiative. Though mainly goings, if we're honest.
Pizza Hut Fined $2.5m For Spamming Customers
To be honest, if you're going to spam customers, cheap pizza deals is probably on the low side of the dodgy scale.
Jetstar & Qantas Perception Ratings Soar After Bonza Cancelled Flights, YouGov Finds
This poll is further proof nothing builds a positive brand image like your competitor monumentally f@cking up.
Pedigree Launches AI-Powered Ad Initiative To Give All Dogs A Home, Via Colenso BBDO & Nexus Studios
B&T encourages this dog adoption initiative. And that's despite us barely being able to look after our own selves.
Apparent Launches “All Heart, No hassle” Integrated Campaign For Flight Centre’s Corporate Traveller
Apparent charged with Flight Centre's Corporate Traveller creative. Has avoided any gags about stolen hotel bathrobes.
South African Tourism CMO: ‘We Want Consumers To Experience SA Through The Eyes Of A Child’
B&T chats with South African tourism's Aussie CMO. Admittedly, we had to quickly rectify our Barossa Valley questions.
Market Research Firm TRA Names KFC’s “Look On the Fried Side Of Life” As Australia’s Favourite Ad
A poll of everyday Aussies has revealed our favourite ads. And it'll make difficult reading for the Harvey Norman team.
‘A Big, Big Step In The Right Direction’: Media Buyers React To News Corp’s D_Coded
There was a universal thumbs up for News' D_Coded event. Although there were calls for glitter bombs at the finale.
CommBank Announced As Presenting Partner Of Vogue Codes 2024
Vogue Codes is a top initiative encouraging women into STEM-based careers. All while wearing Jimmy Choos, apparently.
Brad Garbutt Joins OMA As Marketing Lead
Seasoned adlander Garbutt joins the outdoor association. Says he's got the DOOH down pat, but working on the PDOOH.
TV Ratings 15/5/24: Gruen Pulls A Crowd For Aunty As It Enters 16th Season
Although B&T typically shuns predictions, we're expecting big numbers for Peter Dutton's Budget reply speech tonight.
D_Coded panel: ‘If You Are A Marketer Handling Data And Haven’t Spoken To Legal, You’re In Trouble’
This fiery panel was a highlight of Tuesday's D_Coded event. Not that it spilled out into the carpark.
SBS Audio Campaign Tells The Stories Of New Australians, With Multilingual Content Offerings To Assist Migrants
SBS Audio has launched a new marketing campaign for its ‘Australia Explained’ service which supports new migrants to successfully navigate life in Australia and achieve a greater sense of belonging and social cohesion. SBS’s flagship service for new migrants, Australia explained, has launched a multi-platform marketing campaign that reaches into the heart of the migrant […]
Tracker App Launches, Promising Consumers A Read On Brand’s & Products Sustainability Chops
Shoppers can now get access to sustainability information at their fingertips through Tracker, a first-of-its-kind mobile app. The Tracker app centralises sustainability data into a single, easy-to-understand format, helping shoppers make informed choices about the brands and products they support. Shoppers can simply scan the barcode of their favourite supermarket, chemist or department store item […]
Channel Factory Expands Team Across Australia & New Zealand By 20%
Social media agency Channel Factory announces a significant lift in staff numbers. Doesn't thank Tuesday's Budget.
Jaywing Extends Strategy Team Appointing Fran Martin As Senior Brand Strategist
As is often said, you can never have too much strategy. Same can't be said of programmatic & AI.
Tourism Tasmania Taps Broadsheet For Latest “Off Season” Campaign Iteration
Do you like to drape yourself in sheepskin, flannelette & weird, wooly hats? Tasmania in winter is for you.
Netball WA Appoints 303 MullenLowe As Brand Strategy partner
Netball WA appoints 303 MullenLowe for its brand strategy. Any mention of Gina also now strictly forbidden.