1. How
Brandsare
Builtinthe
DigitalAge

2. : HOW BRANDS ARE BUILT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Purpose
equals purchase
New consumers are looking for their media experience
to match the purpose with which they lead their lives.
They want help fulfilling their needs, passions and
interests. Purpose drives their shopping and purchases
so much so that consumers end up choosing brands
that engage them on their passions and interests 42%
more often than they do those that simply urge them to
buy the product being advertised. For these consumers,
the path to purchase is actually the path to purpose.
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3. : HOW BRANDS ARE BUILT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Purpose driven
consumers
are great customers
Some people go online to seek entertainment. Others
are after connection with others. But there is a third
group that is looking for more than that. These folks
go online primarily for information on their passions
and interests. And they are a market you want to
reach. Not only are they better customers—70%
more likely than others to have purchased a product
or service online in the past month—but they
are word of mouth machines, too (1.6 times more
likely to rate a product or service once a week).
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4. : HOW BRANDS ARE BUILT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Media usage doesn’t =
media influence
The joint research project found that just because
a media platform has heavy usage, that doesn’t
mean that it has profound influence. In fact,
there is little or no correlation between usage or
influence. Consumers are more influenced by
YouTube than by any other media touchpoint. It’s
up there with word of mouth and store visits.
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5. : HOW BRANDS ARE BUILT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
The ownership
experience
Online video gives brands a way to connect with
consumers in a way that no other media can provide:
an experience of ownership (even before the purchase).
Consumers turn to online video to get a digital test drive
of products before they plunk down a credit card, but
keep in mind that they’re not just looking at that nicely-
produced video you made. 86% of the views for brand
related content comes from YouTube creators, seller/
intermediaries and users—not the brand itself. But
that doesn’t mean brands are shut out. Consumers
expect—welcome, even—brand communications. In
fact, 18-34 year olds are 4 times more interested in
watching an ad on YouTube than on any other platform.
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6. : HOW BRANDS ARE BUILT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Is it content?
Is it advertising? Yes.
The line between content and advertising is blurred
on YouTube, according to Google’s Tara Walpert Levy.
Consumers can choose the ads they want to engage
with and can, therefore, choose to be influenced. Even
if they skip the—because, say, they’ve seen it before or
because they are familiar with the product—it may still
register influence. But what makes an ad impression lead
to influence? When a consumer opts-in emotionally to
what a brand is saying. Or, as Marc Mathieu of Unilever
said, “Marketing used to be about making a myth and
telling it. Now it’s about telling a truth and sharing it.”
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