When Invoking Science in Your Marketing Backfires

In This Issue:

 🔬 Science: The case for NOT invoking science when marketing consumer products

🚀 Media Buying: TikTok’s role in the short-form video ad boom — signs of ad saturation and reduced user engagement on the horizon

📱 Social Media: Instagram Reels rolls out new features including trends, editing options, and gifts for users. 

🚀 Monetization: Meta announces plans to expand its Reels monetization program to a broader range of creators. 

🚫 TikTok Ban: Montana edges closer to becoming the first state to completely ban TikTok amid security concerns. 

🌟 BeReal: Has Gen-Z finally grown tired of the “authentic” social apps like BeReal?

Get Your Science Out of Here

The endless pursuit of we marketers is to convince consumers that our product or service is the answer to their problems. 

Need a pick-me-up in the middle of the day? Try our chocolate bar. 

Rats in your crawl-space? You need our remediation service.

There are lots of tactics we use:

  • comparing ourselves to competitors

  • telling people we have the best price

  • promising better customer service…

  • and lately, using science to try to convince prospects

But is that the right play? Especially in a world where some media have been convincing people that science is just opinion?

Aviva Philipp-Muller is an assistant professor in marketing at the Beedie School of Business, at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver — she and her colleagues recently published a paper in the Journal of Consumer Research called “Get Your Science Out of Here: When Does Invoking Science in the Marketing of Consumer Products Backfire”

DR. PHILIPP-MULLER: What we found was that [if the product being marketed] is one where consumers are trying to indulge, or seek some sort of pleasure — like a really gooey chocolate chip cookie — consumers really hate it if there's any mention of the science behind creating that type of product.

It doesn't have to just be food; things like a sensual bodywash or rich and moisturizing lotion that's described in a really indulgent way, or if consumers are really looking to indulge or get some sort of pleasurable experience out of the product, They really don't want to hear about the scientific process behind it.

TOD: Science often uses the phrase "hedonistic" for that category, is that right? Would we consider these hedonistic products where science might backfire if used in marketing messaging?

DR. PHILIPP-MULLER: Yes. For hedonistic products, where you're just trying to gain pure pleasure from the product, you're not trying to get some sort of functional use out of it and it's not serving some sort of practical purpose in your life... for those types of products, [talking about] science is likely to backfire.

Our full conversation goes into much more detail, including what marketers can do to mitigate this backfire and whether she thinks consumers are becoming anti-science. 

The full unedited interview is coming tomorrow morning exclusively to the Premium Podcast Feed, which you can sign up for at TodayInDigital.com/premium

The Rise of Reels and the Fall of TikTok?

Is the end of the golden era of TikTok's short-form video ad boom near? 

Over the past few years, TikTok has dominated the short-form video advertising field, but Digiday has an interesting think-piece up today suggesting how it might be challenged in 2023. 

While ad dollars continue to pour into the app, despite ongoing controversies, those dollars may not flow as fast as they once did, since Reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Spotlight all offer competition. 

According to a research analyst, TikTok's ad growth is expected to slow down to around 40% this year. Which could mean a bigger share of short-form video ad dollars for companies like Meta.

🎭 Enter Reels, Stage Left 

One platform gaining momentum is Instagram, with marketers reporting Reels are now a strong second to TikTok, suggesting the gap between the two is narrowing. 

Over the past year, Reels has tapped into marketing budgets. Its annual ad revenue rate increased threefold, from $1 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to $3 billion by the end of the year. This trend is expected to continue as the format now accounts for more than a third of Instagram usage, per Meta's latest investor call.

💼 Brands Expand Investments

Brands are expanding their investments to other platforms as well.

Quoting the piece: 

As spending is more diversified among these short-form channels, the TikTok-focused mindset that shaped a significant amount of ad spending on short-form in recent years is evolving into something more holistic.

But before we see any grand shifts on short-form ad dollar spend, the industry needs to get a better handle on how best to monetize short-form. 

Instagram Beefs Up Reels

As Reels gains traction among advertisers, Instagram added new features to its TikTok clone today. 

🔎 Find What’s Trending 

First, the platform has added a dedicated destination to find out what's trending on Reels. Marketers will be able to see the top trending songs, how many times the audio has been used, as well as the top trending topics and hashtags on Reels. 

✏️ Easier Editing 

Instagram has also made editing Reels easier by consolidating video clips, audio, stickers, and text onto a single editing screen. New editing tools will also be introduced, but no specifics were given. 

The update is available globally for iOS and Android devices.

📈 Updates to Insights

The platform has also added new metrics to Reel Insights, including:

  • Total watch time

  • Average watch time

Instagram is also adding a new feature that notifies you when you gain new followers through your Reels.

🎁 Gifts on Reels

Gifts on Reels are also expanding. Brands and creators will be able to see which fans have sent them gifts and recognize them by tapping on the heart icon next to their supporters' names.

💰 Expanding Reels Monetization 

Meta’s also preparing to expand its Reel monetization program via ads to more creators in the next few months.

Over the past year, Meta has been working on Reels ads, with select creators having access to Reels overlay promotions, but it plans to expand the option to more users. 

While the company hasn't provided full details yet, it recently encouraged participants to switch on Professional Mode to access its coming creator features.

Meta is also looking to add more tools to help creators build online communities, including insights into their most engaged fans and templated posts to thank them for their support.

Images: Meta / Twitter via Lia Haberman

TikTok Faces the Big Sky Ban in Montana

Montana is on the brink of becoming the first state to ban TikTok, as lawmakers moved one step closer to passing a bill that would prohibit the app from operating within its borders. 

The proposed ban, supported by Montana's GOP-controlled legislature, is more comprehensive than bans in place in nearly half of the U.S. states and the federal government that prohibit the app's use on government devices. 

The House endorsed the bill yesterday. 

The Attorney General of Montana urged state lawmakers to approve the bill, as he is uncertain whether Congress would move promptly on a federal ban. Montana's ban, which would come into effect next year, would be void if Congress passes a ban or if TikTok severs its Chinese connections.

💰 Fine for Non-Compliance

The bill would ban TikTok downloads in the state and fine any "entity" – an app store or TikTok – $10,000 per day for each time anyone is given access to the platform or downloads the app. Users would not be penalized.

In response, TikTok said it would continue to challenge the ban.

Image: Canva

Is BeReal... Too Real? 

Has BeReal's own mojo killed its vibe? 

The photo-sharing app built on authenticity took off last year, offering refuge from meticulously arranged posts and filtered images. However, it seems to have lost its charm. 

💡 Users Find App Boring

Despite its initial popularity, The New York Times this week reported some users found it boring seeing their own monotonous lives reflected back at them.

The app's monthly downloads have declined since September, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. And the number of daily users has dropped by more than 60% from its peak, per Apptopia. 

💭 BeReal's Dilemma

According to a marketing professor, BeReal now faces a dilemma: emphasizing authenticity may make the app too dull while breaking its own rules to generate more exciting content risks turning the app into the very platform it was meant to counteract.

Some users, however, are already bending the rules by posting more interesting photos later in the day.

One expert interviewed by The Times calls this trend 'the online authenticity paradox,' where the importance of ‘being real’ clashes with the desire to share exciting moments and maintain a positive image. 

These factors have made it difficult for BeReal to live up to its name.

Image: BeReal 

And finally...

Parler, the self-described "uncancelable free speech platform," has been cancelled. Originally set up as a Twitter clone mostly for conservative voices in the U.S., the platform has been bought by a firm who has replaced the whole thing with a single web page announcing it had acquired it.

The announcement reads, in part, "No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more."

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