By Nikki Gilliland

Let’s get down to business.

Over half of teens are influenced by ethics when buying a brand

According to Mediacom’s Connected Kids Report, a growing number of young consumers are being influenced by ethics when buying a brand.

From a survey of 1,2001 eight to 19 year olds in the UK, it found that 54% of those aged 16-19 have either deliberately bought from or stopped using a brand because of its ethics. What’s more, 63% of young people aged 16 and over are more likely to buy from a brand if it supports a cause or charity important to them.

In terms of specific brands, Lush, The Body Shop and Fairtrade were the most cited for good ethics. On the other end of the spectrum, Starbucks, MAC and Primark were among those teens have stopped using because of poor ethics.

Alongside this, there appears to be an increasing level of scepticism towards brands that overtly shout about ethics. 69% of teens believe that brands overstate how much they support good causes, while 69% also think they exaggerate how much they do to look after the environment.

More on ethical brands:

• How ethical fashion brands are marketing to conscious consumers
• Purchase with purpose: How four brands use ‘social good’ to drive consumer loyalty

Smaller brands are creating better engagement on social

Red Hot Penny has released a study on how UK retailers are faring when it comes to social engagement. Its study involves the analysis of 110 of the UK’s largest high street fashion and accessories retail chains, all of which have a physical presence at more than ten British locations.

The brands were ranked in terms of their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter activity, follower numbers, and post engagement rates.

While a number of big global brands appear in the top top, including Nike and Tommy Hilfiger, interestingly, smaller brands such as Lululemon also make the cut thanks to much higher engagement rates.

Similarly, though the most established brands tend to have the most followers, engagement rates fall far below newer brands. These big retailers also had much more visible negative customer experience complaints, with 250,000 Facebook followers appearing to be the tipping point when engagement and comments switch from being positive to negative.

At this point, brands’ Facebook platforms seem to be perceived by customers as a customer service channel rather than a place for general engagement.

More on social engagement:

• Report: Adidas: New rules of social engagement
• What happened to social communities? Do brands and businesses still care?

Tech companies spent over $7 billion on TV ads over the last year

The latest MediaRadar Trend Report has analysed the top national TV advertiser categories by spend (relating to TV ads from May 2017 to May 2018).

It has found that tech advertisers spent a whopping $7.15 billion, with the top three spenders in the tech industry being Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile.

Pharma advertisers were the next big spenders, shelling out $6.5 billion. The top three spenders in the pharma industry were SmileDirectClub, Entyvio, and XEXLJANZ XR.

Other categories in the top five include Auto, Media & Entertainment, and Financial Services.

More on TV ads:

• Ask the experts: How to integrate your programmatic and TV ad strategy?
• Fox plans more 6-second ad slots, as digital influences television

Marketers have less than six days to re-engage app users before they uninstall

A study by Adjust has revealed the rates at which users install and uninstall mobile apps.

From an analysis of over eight billion installs, across acquisition types, platforms, and verticals, Adjust found that marketers have less than six days (after the last app open) to re-engage users before they uninstall.

The study also found that the rate of uninstall varies across verticals, ranging from less than three hours to more than 15 days after the initial installation. Entertainment and lifestyle apps tend to be quickly discarded, with users waiting just half a day to a day on average before uninstalling. In contrast, ecommerce and travel apps have a much longer life span, being typically deleted 10 to 11 days after a user’s last session.

Despite the rate at which users uninstall apps, this does not mean all is lost. The study also found that 34% of users who uninstall an app are willing to re-download it again further down the line.

More on apps:

• Why marketers should consider in-app advertising [stats]
• Why apps are a key part of mobile strategy for charities

Three quarters of people who have been exposed to ads do not recall them

A study by On Device Research has revealed that three quarters of consumerswho have been exposed to digital ads do not remember them. This comes from the analysis of 3,000 consumer responses.

As well as the 76% of people who were exposed to ads but claimed they didn’t see them, some consumers actually over-reported ad exposure. 19% of people who definitely weren’t exposed to test ads claimed that they had seen them.

The research also suggests that digital ads have passive impact, as those who didn’t recall seeing ads still recorded a 1.6% uplift in purchase intent and a 10.2% increase in unaided brand awareness.

More on ads:

Placement & brand safety are important, but are we forgetting ad quality?

Holiday-themed emails generate higher conversion rates than standard emails

Yes Lifecycle Marketing’s latest report has revealed that holiday-themed emails can drive higher conversion rates than business-as-usual emails, despite generating a 16.8% lower open rates. The report stems from the analysis of eight billion emails sent in Q4 2017.

It found that Halloween conversion rates beat out standard emails by 11%, while conversion rates for Black Friday emails were 13% higher than business-as-usual (despite clicks and CTO being lower). Similarly, while open rates for Cyber Monday emails in 2017 were almost 2% behind those of BAU emails, these emails were almost twice as effective in converting clickers to purchases.

Lastly, the report suggests that using a shipping promotion on top of a holiday theme could be the key to success. It found that themed messages promoting a free shipping offer generated an impressive 14.9% open rate and a 14.7% conversion rate.

More on email marketing:

• Only 17% of email marketers planning for AI, more than half will innovate with automation
• GDPR and email marketing: Everything’s gonna be all right

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