With an increase in the number of sober-curious and/or health-conscious consumers attempting to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption, chances are you or someone you know has participated in “Dry January.” Now, fueled by a growing post-pandemic ‘zero proof’ trend, the rise of “Sober October” is upon us — a pregaming reset for the holidays achieved… Read More
Halloween is one of the busiest times of the year for candy and gum brands, and as a result, they’re typically blitzing TV in advance of the holiday on October 31. The same is true again this year, as candy (and gum) companies increase ad spend to cash in on the holiday — though you’re… Read More
If you’re reading this you are no doubt familiar with iSpot’s unique ability to measure TV advertising: at scale, in real time, and across linear, VOD and streaming. You likely know that we measure business outcomes and brand impact. And as much as we absolutely love servicing hundreds of brands and almost all TV networks… Read More
Advertisers Perceptions reports that about a quarter of TV advertising budgets are going to streaming this year (1). Based on daily conversations with many top TV advertisers we’ve found that although cross-platform campaigns are quite common, honing in on the right audience and effectively maximizing the reach of streaming ads is shockingly challenging without a… Read More
Sports betting still hasn’t been legalized nationally, but an increasing number of states have legal sportsbooks. Now that the NFL and NHL both have teams in Las Vegas, those leagues — and others in the U.S. — have recently changed long-standing policies around betting to one that embraces the related culture and brands in the… Read More
Football season is back. Even though the NFL is still a couple weeks from kickoff, college football returns with some early games this weekend before jumping into the full season during Labor Day weekend. That’s big news for advertisers anxious to jump back into TV live sporting events this fall. While the NFL remains king,… Read More
Retail stores struggled early during the pandemic last year, with in-person shopping limited and changing consumer priorities (nevermind wide-scale TV programming issues). But eventually, most settled into the “new normal” — a trend that extended through the back-end of 2020 and into 2021. A lot of physical retailers also pivoted ad messaging around ordering ahead,… Read More
With bars and restaurants closed to indoor dining for much of 2020, and most live sports sidelined for months, Beer brands took a backseat. But with live sports back in full swing in 2021, along with successful initial vaccination rollouts, beer brands have spent 2021 sprinting back to TV. From Jan. 1-Aug. 15, 2021, Beer… Read More
Last year’s back-to-school season was riddled with uncertainties, leaving brands unsure of how to approach TV advertising. Those that ran ads empathized with the lack of certainty but did not dwell on it. TV ads remained energetic and cheerful, and narrators used equivocal phrasing like “however you go back” and visuals wavered between in-person and… Read More
We’re halfway through the Summer Olympic Games, but the fight for TV advertising gold is just heating up. Empowering and inspirational messages are all the rage among Olympics-minded ads. In fact, 58% of these creatives have scored on the Empower metric from Ace Metrix Creative Assessment, which measures the positive impact of an ad as… Read More
After a year-long delay, the Tokyo Olympic Games are finally here. Along with athletes and fans around the world, brands have also been anxiously awaiting the postponed 2020 Olympics to debut new TV ad creative. So far in 2021, sponsors like Toyota, Trulicity, Verzenio, Visa, New Balance and more have already advertised around the Games…. Read More
The trend of purpose-driven creative in TV and video ads has rapidly accelerated over the past year. However, messaging wasn’t just about the pandemic and how brands could help as people adjusted to the “new normal”. According to Ace Metrix Creative Assessment, 71% of the purpose-driven ads that made a positive impact in 2020 talked… Read More