The Secret Behind Football Stadiums Advertising

Whether you’re a football fanatic that can’t pull your eyes away from the screen or an onlooker who has caught site of the screen whilst your partner is watching. We know that you have seen the adverts that run around the edge of the pitch.

But did you know these adverts are different based on channel and location that the viewer is watching from?

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This is done by a technology called Virtual Replacement, which allows different broadcasters to overlay relevant adverts over the physical ones that are present within the stadium.

The first pitchside football advertisement ever seen was at the 1966 World Cup and since then, football advertising has become a popular tool for brands to showcase their name.

Stadium Marketing is a growing style of outdoor advertising. Its increasing popularity is due to its ability to target ideal customers. This means that a brand can understand their audience demographic using their interest in football to determine other similar interests. Alongside this you can ensure it will hit a large number of people to give your brand a mass marketing opportunity.

During this summer of sport watch out for the adverts in the Olympics and The Lions.

If you need help choosing the right mix of media for your brand then please contact our friendly team at [email protected].

The Media Angel’s Christmas Charities

There is no denying that 2020 has been a very different and difficult year for everyone. For some people in Wales, it has been even harder, a year filled with anxiety about health, employment, loneliness and not even being able to afford basic necessities such as food.

As a result, instead of sending out our usual corporate gifts, we have decided to support local charities through physical and monetary donations.

We have chosen charities that are dear to our hearts either for personal reasons or because they are dedicated to helping the most vulnerable people in society, in their time of need.

The charities we have supported this year are:

• Trussel Trust – Stop UK Hunger,
• Tabernacle Food Bank Penarth,
• Velindre Cancer Centre,
• Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth and,
• St David’s Toy Appeal.

We wanted to highlight the incredible work each of these charities do.

Trussel Trust – Stop UK Hunger

The Trussell Trust is a charity that works to end the need for food banks in the UK. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical support to people in crisis, while campaigning for long-term change to the structural issues that lock people into poverty.

In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children.

The trust provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face.

Between April 2019 and March 2020, food banks in our network provided a record 1.9 million food supplies to people in crisis, an 18% increase on the previous year and during the coronavirus pandemic food banks have seen need rise even further. You can find out more about impact of their work during the pandemic here.

Tabernacle Food Bank Penarth

A food bank at Tabernacle was officially set up in September 2008 under the title of “Pharaoh’s Pantry”. It has worked alongside “Home Access” their housing charity, in order to provide support to people in need in our local community. In 2013 Cytun (the churches together in Penarth) agreed to put their full support behind the initiative and adopt it as the Penarth churches food distribution project.

The food bank aims to provide support specifically to those who are struggling with their state benefits, those who are homeless or vulnerably homed and those who are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

This Christmas, the charity are handing out special Christmas Day dinner hampers featuring a local fresh chicken and a voucher which can be spent on local produce. You can find out more about the charity’s work here.

Velindre Cancer Centre

Velindre Cancer Centre, based in Whitchurch, provides specialist cancer services to over 1.5 million people in South East Wales and beyond. They are one of the largest cancer centres in the UK. Each year over 5,000 new referrals and around 50,000 new outpatient appointments are seen by them.

As well as specialist Oncology and Palliative training, Velindre also provides training for:

• cancer nurses
• pharmacists
• medical physicists and provides clinical placements for therapeutic radiography students from the University of Wales College of Medicine.

You can find out more about their work, here.

Marie Curie

Marie Curie offer free nursing care to people with all terminal illnesses across the UK, as well as support for family and friends. 

Their nurses generally provide one-to-one nursing care and support overnight in your home, usually for eight or nine hours. 

In some areas, they also offer care for a shorter period of time, or during the evening or daytime, as well as care at very short notice in a crisis.

You can find out more about the work they do, here.

St David’s Toy Appeal

The toy appeal, first launched in 2015, has seen the generosity of shoppers donate around 25,000 gifts so far.

Donated presents are distributed to numerous charities in Wales including Barnardo’s, City Hospice, Latch Welsh Children’s Cancer Charity, Ty Hafan and Vale of Glamorgan Hostel, amongst many others.

You can find out more on how to donate here .

What will come of Christmas Advertising 2020

Will advertisers deliver a much needed dose of happiness and joy, or will Covid-19 be adding more doom and gloom? Not to sound like the Grinch but Covid-19 has ruined 2020 and Christmas this year is not going to be the same.

As always, this time of year is when brands begin to roll out their Christmas ad extravaganzas. Not only are they vital for business, but research last year found advertising plays a key role in getting people in the festive mood, and in these times, rarely has there been a greater need to lift the public’s spirit. Consumers are crying out for advertisers to provide some festive cheer!

But for marketers and designers having to devise relatable Christmas ads while being uncertain as to what Christmas will even look like this year, the challenge is huge..

Each year, big brands like John Lewis and Amazon can be relied upon to dig deep into their budgets and bring out the big bucks to spend on their blockbusters, as they battle to win the Christmas ad showdown. 

The campaigns released so far have been a mixed bag of attempting to distract customers from the pandemic, and directly addressing the elephant in the room. Amazon has been widely commended for sensitively approaching the topic in a way that doesn’t feel downbeat. Argos on the other hand decided to swerve the topic altogether and is all about possibilities and dreams. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of children. The hotly anticipated John Lewis advert has also now arrived and is part of a campaign called ‘give a little love’ which aims to raise 5 Million pounds to help 100,000 families in need. They always create a tear jerker!   

There is the issue of family gatherings; how would advertisers be able to recreate these group scenes without knowing if people would be able to get together? Which is why Argos went down the route of ‘magic’, which it used as a way to talk about dreams coming true, depicting young magicians seeing their extended family in a dreamlike theatre setting.

This Christmas looks to be one for the history books. There’s no doubt that brands will be less generous with their ad spend, but that doesn’t mean consumers should expect no gifts. We hope you all receive that magic and sparkle that everyone deserves during the festive period.
If you need help with your Christmas advertising contact our friendly team [email protected].

TV advertising is more affordable than ever

Advertising spend across the UK media fell by more than £1bn year on year during the Coronavirus lock-down, but opportunities have been created to help smaller brands get on TV for the first time.

UK advertising spend on traditional media – TV, newspapers and magazines, radio and cinema as well as on poster sites and billboards across the country – almost halved from the start of lockdown on 23 March to the end of June.

With the public told to stay at home, high streets shut and travel halted, many companies froze marketing budgets, resulting in a 48% fall in ad spend from £2.3bn to £1.2bn year on year.

TV advert spend steeply fell between March and June 2020 by £500 million, a fall of 43%.

Although TV advertising bookings have therefore dramatically fallen with usual advertisers such as Sky and Mcdonalds freezing their TV spend, this proves great news for smaller businesses as broadcasters have had to reduce airtime rates and potential TV advertisers are able to capitalise on great deals.

Help for smaller brands

With TV advertising in pre-Covid times generally too expensive for companies with smaller marketing budgets, broadcasters such as ITV and Channel 4 have launched schemes to subsidise smaller advertisers to allow them to embark on TV advertising for the first time.

Over 50 smaller advertising budget companies have taken advantage of the opportunity, including Naked Bacon and the disinfectant range Zoflora.

TV advertising helps build brand confidence and are often viewed by the public in a different way once seen on TV.

Though this is great news for companies who would not have been able to advertise on TV pre-covid, this revenue is not going fill the deficit that broadcasters face – ITV’s share price has fallen 60% since the start of the year. With many smaller brands turning to the low-cost attraction of digital marketing, where Facebook and Google gain a predominant share of the spend, broadcasters want to prove that TV is still an option.

Forecasts for TV recovery is looking positive with the expectation of a quick recovery.

If you are considering TV advertising and would like to find out more before prices start rising, contact our friendly team today on [email protected]. If you have never advertised on TV before, we can help you through the process from beginning to end.

The Media Angel finalists at international marketing awards

The Media Angel are shortlisted as finalists in The Drum Marketing Awards 2020 for our work with Swansea University on their record-breaking 2019 campaign.

We are so pleased to be recognised at these prestigious awards, alongside international agencies and brands.

The Awards

The Drum Marketing Awards is the largest of all Drum Awards and these awards celebrate the best marketers and campaigns internationally, it’s also judged by experienced marketers from some of the best-known brands in the world.

The judging panel includes; John Burke, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Bacardi, Marsha Riley, VP of Brand Preference at Go Compare, Emily Somers, Chief Marketing Officer at Domino’s, Matt Pollington, Head of Digital Media at Sky and Tony Miller, Chief Marketing Officer at Disney, among many others!

The Campaign

Our entry was shortlisted for the 2019 Clearing campaign we created for Swansea University. The multi-media campaign ran across major UK cities in the run-up to A-Level results day.

2019 was predicted to be the worst year for the demographic decline of the clients’ target market and yet The Media Angel helped Swansea University successfully reverse this trend and recruited 21% more students from this target market than in 2018, making 2019 a truly outstanding year.

It’s great to see our work alongside some amazing brands such as Fujifilm, Atom Bank, Pour Moi, Warner Bros, EDF Energy, Lloyds Bank and Panasonic.

Our fingers are crossed for all the finalists at the virtual awards ceremony, to be held at 3pm this afternoon.

Sources: https://www.thedrummarketingawards.com/the-drum-marketing-awards-2020/advertising/record-breaking-results-for-swansea-university , https://www.thedrummarketingawards.com/the-drum-marketing-awards/the-drum-marketing-awards-2020#102437

Will Disney+ be able to disrupt Netflix?

Disney+ is set to launch in the UK on 31st March 2020, does this spell the end for Netflix domination of the streaming market?

According to a survey by Audience Project, 26% of Brits plan to subscribe to Disney+ when it launches.

Of those, 37% plan to cancel other subscriptions to balance the cost.

Over three in 10 claimed Netflix will be the service they drop. Almost a quarter will ditch Amazon Prime, while 17% said Sky’s Now TV.

“The entrance of Disney+ into the battleground of UK streaming services is set to radically change the state of play,” said Rune Werliin, chief product officer at AudienceProject.

“Netflix’s reign could be in question, as thousands of UK consumers consider switching from its service to Disney+. By this time next year, we could be looking at a very different picture when it comes to digital TV subscriptions and usage.”

Netflix is currently the most popular streaming service in the UK, used by 75% of the country. BBC iPlayer follows at 60%, and Amazon Prime is used by 50%.

Will you be changing your streaming platforms in 2020? Video-on-demand advertising captures an engaged audience, get your brand seen amongst shows like Love Island, First Dates, Big Little Lies and more.

Sources https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50344494 https://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2019/11/19/future-disney-users-plan-to-ditch-netflix/

5 Reasons Why You Should Advertise on Radio

Find out more about advertising on radio.

1. Radio is moving

In the past, you probably mostly listened to the radio in the car, or in your kitchen. But with the expansion of smart speakers like Alexa and Google Home, and radio apps, you can listen to radio anywhere. In fact, 50% of all radio listening hours are now through a digital device such as a smart speaker.

2. Online music streaming is becoming more popular

Music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are increasing their reach, offering music on demand. These account for 8% of all audio listening, and 29% among 15-24 year olds. Advertising through an online platform such as Spotify is a great way to reach a younger audience, you adverts can reach them through mobile devices, tablets and desktop.

3. Podcasts are back

Podcasts are gaining in popularity as more content providers seek to offer bespoke content or repackage previously-broadcast content. By advertising via podcasts, you can target your advert to people who are interested in a particular topic, for example an advert for a gym would be played to people who listen to health podcasts.

4. Radio is resilient

Despite the increase in competition for audio time, radio continues to maintain its reach of nine in ten adults in the UK. Three-quarters of all audio listening is to live radio, and although this drops to 36% for 15-24 year-olds, it is still the audio source with the highest proportion of listening hours.

5. Get your advert listened to by the right people

We can help you ensure your advert is heard by the right audience. By planning the days, times and stations your advert is played on, we can limit wastage and increase cut through.

Want to learn more about advertising on audio, see our blog ‘8 Reasons to Advertise on Audio.’

5 Reasons Why You Should Advertise on Video-on Demand

Find out more about advertising on video on demand (VOD).

1. Watching TV is no longer limited to the living room

Gone are the days when you needed to be in your living room to watch TV. Now, people can watch TV via their tablets, smartphones and laptops. With the expansion of data networks like 4G and 5G, TV viewing has gone mobile.

2. You can target your advertising

Advertisers are able to select and target audiences based on region, demographic profiling, audience interests (foodies, deal seekers, eco-conscious) and genre of content (entertainment, lifestyle, comedy and factual) for example. These choices allow your advert to be shown to exactly the right people.

3. Video-on-Demand (VOD) is great for reaching a younger audience

VOD is extremely popular with the younger audience. 75% of the UK’s 16-24 year olds are registered on ITV Hub and 35% of the UK’s 16-24 year olds are registered on All 4. This makes this platform great for reaching the younger audience. Read our blog on how Love Island reaches younger viewers.

4. VOD viewing is growing

VOD viewing on devices has grown by 14% year on year (Thinkbox). In recent news, the UK’s two biggest broadcasters, ITV and the BBC, are in the final stages of discussions to launch a new subscription video-on-demand streaming service, BritBox, in the second half of 2019.

5. The ability to reach an affluent and engaged

61% of viewers are ABC1 (IPA Touchpoints 2016) and the view-through rate (the proportion of ads viewed from start to finish) is 92%. VOD has highly engaged viewers catching up on their favourite shows and watching premium box-sets and movies. They are happy to watch ads, as they are getting free, quality content in return.

5 Reasons Why You Should Use Outdoor Advertising

Find out more about outdoor advertising and how it could benefit your business.

1. Outdoor advertising is high-impact

Outdoor advertising has some of the most high-impact advertising spaces in the UK. Static outdoor advertising provides continuous coverage, while digital sites can utilise real-time data. We can help you source high-impact sites across the UK, reaching commuters, families, shoppers, youngsters, and more.

2. It reaches a large percentage of the population

98% of the UK population see some form of outdoor advertising each week (Outsmart, 2018.)

Outdoor advertising can reach people in high-dwell time locations such as bus stations and shopping centres. These audiences are extremely receptive to advertising, 71% of consumers look at, and digest, roadside marketing. 

3. Smarter advertising

As we mentioned above, digital advertising can use real-time data in your artwork. For example, a beverage retailer may decide they want to advertise their gin and tonics when the temperature goes above 15C, or on weekends, and advertise their coffee on a Monday morning, or in colder temperatures.

Digital advertising can utilise weather data, time, day of the week, location (“You are five minutes from your nearest…”) and live social media feeds.

Read our blog ‘Making the most out of outdoor digital advertising‘ for a quick overview of using dynamic content.

4. Helping you reach the right audience

Using industry-standard data tools we can select the right locations and the right media to reach your audience. With digital advertising we can target this even more, for example if you wanted to reach commuters we can set your advertising to only show between 8am-10am and 4pm-6pm.

5. Forever innovating

Outdoor advertising is continually innovating, with new sites and new technology. Our long-standing relationships with media owners allows us to stay at the forefront of new sites, and we’re proud to say that our clients have been among the first advertisers on several innovative platforms across the UK.

5 Reasons Why You Should Use Transport Advertising

Find out more about transport advertising and how it could benefit your business.

1. The transport network is (almost) everywhere

The transport network provides many valuable prospects for gaining outdoor exposure for your business. From Thurso in Scotland, to Penzance, the transport network covers a huge percentage of the UK.

Bus, rail, taxi, airport and underground advertising are all highly visible formats, reaching large numbers of people in many busy locations.

2. Using data to minimise wastage

Using the latest data-tools, we can find the best transport for your demographic, and the locations which will target them best.

With the London Underground, we can pick the best stations for your demographic.

3. Long dwell times

How often do you wait for a bus, train, taxi or a flight?

Advertising on transport networks benefits from long dwell times when people are able to research your product or brand.

A major report into commuters’ spending habits revealed that, across the UK, the typical weekly spend for commuters amounts to £89, rising to £153 a week for commuters in London. Nearly half (43%) of commuters nationally said they made a purchase whilst commuting at least four times a month. 

4. Innovation, innovation, innovation

New innovations such as the Elizabeth Line on the London Underground, are at the forefront of advertising, and the transport network provides amazing opportunities for station take-overs, and experiential.

You can even have scented posters!

5. Static and Digital

The transport network offers great static and digital opportunities. We’ve talked more about the opportunities digital offers here, but static gives your great continuous coverage.

Exterion install new HD screens across TfL network

Commuters on the London Underground will now be able to watch the news as they wait for trains.

TV channel Euronews has struck a partnership with out-of-home advertising business Exterion Media to show bulletins on its 60 new HD screens across the tube network.

Passengers in 15 stations – including Camden Town, Green Park and Oxford Circus. Will see local and international news reports encompassing sports, technology, weather, business and lifestyle updates.

Exterion and Transport for London are hoping the broadcasts will catch the eye of marketers too. They said that during an initial test phase, audience response will be assessed “to inform commercial opportunities for brands, such as content sponsorship and adverting alignment”.

Richard Simkins, creative solutions director at Exterion Media, said: “In our world of 24-hour content, this is an exciting industry development for taking broadcast news to the Tube. We know that Londoners are spending more time away from their homes, with four million people using the Tube every day.“Looking ahead, we are confident about the new advertising and commercial opportunities this partnership with Euronews will unlock for advertisers.”

A survey from Exterion Media’s national consumer panel work.shop.play identified a demand for news content on journeys. It showed 69% of Londoners want to see news and current affairs content while travelling through the city, with this number rising to 71% among 16-34 year olds.

It also found that users of the tube are most interested in keeping up-to-date with world news (81%), local news (74%) and the weather forecast (69%).

Source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/08/13/london-underground-air-broadcast-news-euronews-partners-with-exterion-media?utm_content=media&utm_campaign=social&utm_source=twitter

If you want to make sure your using your marketing budget to its full potential, then give our team a call on 02921 320 200 or email at [email protected]

UK Adspend looking positive despite Brexit gloom

Adspend in the UK is forecast to grow for the eighth successive year in 2017, with predicted growth up from 5.8% to 7.2%, according to the latest figures from the WPP media agency group.

Upgraded growth forecasted for Group M this year – up from 6.3% to 7.2% for 2016.

Traditional media advertising spend is predicted to fall from -1.1% to -2.6% for 2016 and from +0.5% to -1.4% in 2017

TV ad spend is expected to be down 0.1% this year and up 1.0% in 2017.

A growth in cinema advertising is expected by 1% in 2016 and by 3.4% in 2017 following a huge increase of 21.5% in 2015.

Pure-play digital ad market share has risen to 52% this year and is predicted to grow up to 55% next year.

A 15% rise in digital display demand is likely for next year, with paid search accelerating and remaining the largest driver of growth.

Are you undecided on the best channels to suit your marketing objectives? Contact our friendly team on 02921 320 200 or email [email protected] for award-winning media planning and buying advice.