Why TV ads alone won't do your campaign any good

Do you ever consider how often your television ads are being screened to an empty couch or how many times your female-targeted content is served to a male audience?By simply paying attention to your own behaviour, you can better understand how your customers are behaving. How often do you have your TV playing in the background while you finish household chores? And when you finally do fall into the chair to watch your favourite show, notice how many times you look at your mobile phone to chat to friends, scroll your Facebook News Feed or catch up on news.It’s easy to see that multi-screening has become the new norm in Southeast Asia with 9 out of 10 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam frequently using their smartphones while watching TV (source: eMarketer, July 2015).If Asia’s consumers are spending most of their time on mobile while your television ads are running, why are the majority of advertising dollars in Southeast Asia still being poured into TV?There is no question that TV reaches mass consumers, but what value does this reach alone have if those consumers, say a ‘mother with kids’ target audience, is buried in their phones during TV commercial breaks, or that it is not even her (and it’s her 4 year old son).We know that reach doesn’t really matter if you don’t reach the right people. Platforms like Facebook, where the user is logged in as their authentic self, gives marketers the opportunity to advertise to the right audience at scale. New data from a Millward Brown CrossMedia study, commissioned by Facebook, shows just this.Consider the results. Compared to TV, advertising on online video channels are 186% more efficient and even more so on Facebook, which is 200% more efficient in driving brand impact compared to TV. Overall, the study also revealed that when compared against other advertising platforms like out of home, online display and online video, Facebook drives greater impact efficiency across the funnel.We also know the opportunity to reach individuals via mobile ads is growing here in Southeast Asia. According to another Millward Brown study, consumers in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines spend the most time on their mobile devices (compared to the global average). The results from that particular study also reveal that Southeast Asian consumers are more receptive to mobile ads (again, compared to the global average), showing some of the highest levels of favourability when it comes to receiving ads on their mobile devices.With Asia’s consumers leading the mobile-first charge, it’s time marketers start questioning the accuracy of the reach and efficacy they achieve through current traditional media.Brand Success StoriesForward thinking companies are already seeing the benefits of running mobile-first campaigns. Take for example Oreo Mini, Mondelez International in Indonesia.For the launch of Oreo Mini in Indonesia, Mondelez International ran a mobile first campaign, partnering with Facebook’s creative shop to design ads suited to mobile. The snack company created a number of audience segments like young mums, movie lovers and millennial, targeting them with different content. The six-week campaign achieved a 6-point lift in ad recall, 5-point increase in purchase intent and reached 18.6 million people.Another successful campaign in the US is by Dunkin Donuts. Recognising 87% of people in the US use a second device while watching TV; Dunkin Donuts leveraged the power of live sport and social conversation to create timely content that was designed for mobile-first consumption. The mobile units attained more than 79MM impressions, and over 420 thousand clicks, resulting in a strong CTR of 0.53%.Your customers are on mobile– so why aren’t you?The writer is Justin Halim, head of agency, Facebook Southeast Asia.