How reactive advertising raises the bar

Blog Bethan Palmer – Client Consultant

Before the dust had even settled from the fall out of the ESL debacle, Heineken, a long-time partner of UEFA, had released a tongue-in-cheek advert poking fun at the unravelling situation.

I am a huge fan of reactive advertising. And whilst many brands have used this, personal favourites for me are Aldi’s parody of John Lewis’ Christmas 2015 campaign ‘Man on the Moon’, which took 10 days from script sign-off to being on air, and pretty much anything Nike does in this space. And whilst reactive advertising can be seen as a mere marketing stunt, in reality, the impact it has can run much deeper for brands. At DVJ, we discovered last year, during the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic, that advertising with a link to Covid was deemed to not only be more relevant to consumers but also more likeable. Importantly situationally relevant ads also led to more positive impressions of a brand, and more interest for the brand – a real thumbs up for reactive advertising.

Heineken advertisement in response to the European Super League, April 2021

Our work also pointed to the fact that to cut through, being relevant alone is not enough. At DVJ we speak a lot about cutting through the clutter – ads need to capture and maintain attention. Our work has shown that ads that build on memory structures, using consistent brand cues and distinctive assets, are more likely to be recalled. Heineken, with their ESL ad, has done this exceptionally. The creative is unmistakably Heineken, from the green colour mnemonic to the font and layout of the ad itself.

Toys and noise

Another important characteristic for successful reactive advertising is authenticity. Last year’s Festival of Marketing saw authenticity appear as a key theme brilliantly summarised by Lubomira Rochet, Global Chief Digital Officer at L’Oréal, who spoke of the need for focus on ‘what’s meaningful, not toys and noise’. For me, this is about getting the fundamentals right – focusing on what a brand stands for and delivers, rather than jumping on the coattails of the latest newsworthy issue or trend. Brands were called out last year for releasing Covid ads, professing to be there for consumers, in sectors that were not relevant, nor impacted. That’s not to say they shouldn’t have advertised, but simple pretesting could have helped optimise and improve effectiveness. There were also own goals scored when companies came out in support of Black Lives Matter, with little authenticity or substance – resulting in hashtag #pullupforchange putting pressure on brands to create real change.

Just do it

Which brings me back to Nike. Nike’s responses to current affairs are often lightning-fast, and unmistakably Nike – they use a consistent creative look and feel to tap into memory structures, and show an authentic link to the issue, whether that be Covid (through “Play inside, Play for the world” coupled with free access to various Nike fitness apps) or racism (their ongoing support to Kaepernick when he became a free agent despite backlash from some consumers, through the campaign “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”).

When it comes to reactive advertising, my parting words to brands are stolen from Nike: Just do it, but mindfully! Utilise brand cues, be authentic and if in doubt – test.