Advertising insights
TV + Facebook – Turn up the volume on your media campaigns
CONTENTS
Some media industry experts have suggested that TV should no longer be shorthand for television, but instead should be rebranded "Total Video". The idea has been suggested because people now watch television and video content on multiple devices, wherever and whenever they want. The shift in people's behaviour, particularly the increase in people watching on mobile, can make it difficult for marketers and media planners to understand how each channel performs, and which combination of channels is optimal.
We wanted to understand more about the cross-channel impact of TV (in the traditional sense of the word!) and mobile advertising, and how TV and Facebook can work together for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) video campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. So, the Facebook Marketing Science team commissioned cross-channel studies with the help of Kantar Worldpanel, Kantar Millward Brown and GfK in the UK, Australia, Poland and Germany. The research explored the following key questions:
- What return on advertising spend do Facebook and Instagram video campaigns help produce?
- Does the value of reach differ by channel?
- Are people more likely to respond to a campaign when they see ads on both TV and Facebook or Instagram?
From the different studies, we can pull out some key themes around reach efficiencies, return on investment and planning. We found that by coordinating TV and Facebook video campaigns, FMCG advertisers were able to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of the results of the separate media spends.
The challenge of measuring return on advertising spend
In the UK, we commissioned Kantar Worldpanel to enhance their Consumer Mix Model with Facebook advertising exposure data. Kantar Worldpanel collects a range of data about shoppers, including their media exposure and their purchase data via an in-home barcode scan panel.1 Through an analysis of 13 FMCG video campaigns run on TV and Facebook2 in the UK, the research found that 11 of the 13 campaigns produced positive returns on advertising spend (ROAS), and returns for 3 of those 11 campaigns was more than double the investment put into Facebook. On average, the return on pounds spent on Facebook was £1.79.
Return on advertising spend from Facebook campaigns3
In Poland, our study with GfK4 showed that Polish households that saw the advertising campaigns on Facebook purchased in total 20% more of the advertised FMCG products than those that didn't see the campaigns. For each Polish złoty invested in Facebook advertising, companies saw a return on investment of 2.1 złoty.
For FMCG advertisers in Australia5, a Kantar Millward Brown analysis found Facebook to be the most efficient channel in generating awareness and consideration, amongst the other channels compared: online display, online video, OOH (out of home), magazine and radio channels. While in Germany6, GfK found that German households who saw the video advertising campaign on Facebook and TV purchased in total 25% more of the advertised FMCG products. The average return on each euro invested in advertising on Facebook in Germany was an additional EUR 1.55.
Facebook reaches beyond the TV
While current media planning uses TV as the number one mass medium, our studies show that Facebook can also create significant reach, and with even smaller budgets. And Facebook advertising is efficient at creating incremental reach for advertisers, particularly amongst audiences of light TV watchers.
The Kantar Worldpanel UK study layered demographics over reach to show that Facebook was slightly weaker in reaching heavy TV viewers, but stronger in reaching light viewers, and of course non-TV viewers. Despite this different TV viewership composition, there was no material difference in the proportionate make-up of brand or category buyers, meaning that the different audience(s) reached by Facebook were just as valuable to an advertiser as the reach they typically get on TV.
Differences in reach between TV and Facebook3
By understanding ROAS and reach by channel, Kantar Worldpanel in the UK was able to model the likelihood to purchase. Their model showed TV-only exposure uplift of 8% and Facebook-only exposure uplift of 13%. The expected uplift in likelihood to purchase when exposed to ads on both channels was 22%, but the Kantar model showed the figure was actually 29%, a 1.3-fold increase on what was expected.
Likelihood to buy based on all media exposure3
The Kantar Millward Brown analysis in Australia saw results similar to the UK research: Supplementing TV advertising with Facebook video can help improve overall target audience reach and boost frequency amongst light TV viewers. And the Kantar Millward Brown's CrossMedia database showed that the synergy created through exposure to multiple media was responsible for driving between 25-32% of overall brand effect.
The planning and reach trade-off
In the UK study, TV had a 4.7 times greater household reach than Facebook. After accounting for campaign spend, Facebook had an average 1.9 times cheaper cost of reach.7 Adding in the sales return linked to exposure through each channel, Kantar Worldpanel found that Facebook had an average 1.8 times greater sales uplift on a per-household basis.
Efficiency of reach3
Facebook offers the ability to target TV viewers in certain markets, and is working to add more,8 which should maximise the quantity of people reached in combined TV + Facebook campaigns. The trade-off of this, though, would be reducing incremental reach. So media planners will need to decide what will give them a greater return on advertising spend.
What it means for marketers
Plan campaigns from the start to run across TV and Facebook:
Our Kantar Worldpanel UK study shows that advertisers who plan campaigns across TV and Facebook may see uplifts that are greater than expected. And our Australian research shows that channels such as Facebook can work well to supplement and sustain brand effects after a TV burst. So balancing TV and digital video investment between initial reach to build and maintain brand impact throughout the campaign is a strategy worth considering. Also, while cross-media optimisation can deliver increased efficiencies and brand impact, it is essential that any channel is given enough weight and scale for it to deliver. And we've found similar results in other research, such as our Priming Across Screens study and the ARF Ground Truth study, which found that adding digital to a TV campaign produces a "kicker" effect of 60% higher ROI.
Reach audiences that are difficult to find on TV alone:
Facebook and Instagram video can help improve overall target audience reach and boost frequency amongst light TV viewers. Reaching light and non-TV viewers is important and valuable, as our research shows that they are just as likely to be category or brand buyers as those who watch more TV.
Find out more about our measurement solutions:
Have a look at our Facebook Blueprint measurement training.
