THE ELEVATOR

An Agency Perspective.

 August 2024 - Edition 2 - A Product of 97th Floor

Hi there,

How's it going? I'm currently tending to an eight-month-old with an ear infection.

We're all lucky this newsletter made it out on time, because I have BIG. NEWS.

97th Floor has been hosting Mastermind, an annual marketing leadership summit taking place in Park City, Utah, for six years now. It's not like the marketing conferences you may've been to in the past.

There aren't big crowds or dozens of corporate sponsors. No sales pitches. You don't have to sit in an auditorium seat whose springs gave out long ago.

Instead, Mastermind is packed with robust small group discussions and provoking panels centered on the questions you're asking right now. 

And, less than 100 marketers are invited, allowing attendees to build fulfilling and lasting connections with industry leaders.

This year, for the first time ever, 97th Floor is opening applications for interested parties to attend. 🎉

Will it ruin every other event you could attend in your professional career? It just may. 

Learn more and apply to attend here: https://97thfloor.com/mastermind.

Okay, let's jump in! This month's case study is toooo goooood! ✈️👇

Packd's Sky-High Success: How Digital OOH Ads Soared Engagement, Revenue in Major Airports

Situation 

Packd is a travel service offering pre-paid mailer bags to send your vacation clothes home, leaving more room for all the stuff you find along the way. 

Packd targets two main audiences: business travelers and families. 

Source: packdbags.com

Strategy 

To reach Packd's audience as they are experiencing the pain points that Packd solves, we launched digital OOH ads (both GIF and still images) in four major airports, tailoring the ad copy and creative to each location. 

Results

By putting Packd's audience first and experimenting with a new channel, Packd saw incredible results running this campaign even on a small budget.

📈 19% increase in average engagement time on the site
🛍️ 467% increase in purchases from organic;120% increase in purchases from direct
💸 225% increase in revenue! 

OOH ads so much more than billboards and bus shelters. 

97th Floor and NBCUinversal Media are co-hosting an OOH ads webinar on October 9 to debunk common OOH myths and share even more case studies. If you're looking for a way to break through to your audience and boost your bottom line, you don't want to miss this. 

The Creative Tactics that Drive B2B Ad Performance on LinkedIn

LinkedIn and MAGNA Media Trials recently ran controlled testing of 67 Sponsored Content ads on LinkedIn to understand their effectiveness among B2B buyers.

The research findings confirm what we already suspected: B2B buyers are bored of feature-laden ads and want more 'creative' efforts in their feeds.

"We're people too!," they cry, envious of yet another beautiful B2C ad that they just didn't get targeted for.

You can read about the research methodology and such in this brightly colored report. Definitely dive in to that because I just can't cover all the nuance in the research here. But, here are a few things that are notable:

No sugar-coating this—B2B buyers are absolutely underwhelmed with most B2B advertising. Only 55% of B2B ads can even manage a clear message, forget trying to get humor or storytelling in there! 

This holds true across every B2B industry. 

But you guys... this is AMAZING NEWS for B2B marketers because if you were to put in just a wee bit of effort for this audience... imagine what might happen! 😍

Magna + LinkedIn clue us in:

"When B2B ads are seen as "creative," Business Decision Makers are 40% more likely to consider purchasing the brand." 40%! That is huge! 

But what do we even mean by "creative?"

Survey respondents reported that the above elements registered as creative: humor; good visual/colors; AI; diversity; animal presence; and partnerships.

So basically... just try something! Do some looking, do some thinking, do some writing, go on a walk, and give whatever's in that brilliant brain of yours a try.

Need a little inspo? This article is a collection of B2B cybersecurity ads, but it may just get your wheels turning. The sixth ad on this list uses animal presence in a way we just doubt their buyer could ignore... 🐊

Headline

Meta Announces Major Changes to Ad Platform [link]

Meta is updating its ad system to better customize campaign results based on individual business objectives. New features include Conversion Value Rules to prioritize certain customer segments and a new attribution setting to optimize for incremental conversions. Integration with external analytics tools like Google Analytics enable advertisers to refine campaign performance. Initial testing shows significant improvements in conversion rates. 

13 New Social Media Platforms [link]

I don't even know what to say about this. I've heard of 2 of these 13 platforms, several of which have just launched in 2024. Go scan the list - is your audience hanging out someplace new?

AI in Marketing Copy Kills Sales, Study Finds [link]

New research from WSU shows that mentions of AI in product descriptions "decrease emotional trust, hurting purchase intent.” This correlation held true across eight different products and services, with aversion spiking significantly for products viewed as "high-risk" either because of their price or potential for danger.

The takeaway here is that not everyone is excited about the AI buzzwords. Marketers should consider how to transparently present AI product features without making consumers distrustful or uncomfortable. Perhaps an A/B test is called for, eh?

It's Time for a New Slack Theme

The leaves are changing, school's in session, days are getting shorter...

All signs that it's time for a new slack theme. Didn't know you could do that? Oh, yeah. Check out this site that lets you preview what a theme looks like and then copy the hexcodes to make use of it. 

Have fun, but not too much fun: slackthemes.net

I hope you are loving The Elevator. Please hit REPLY and let me know what you think about this month’s newsletter and what you want more of...

What are you wondering about? Did you just start a new role? Are you launching something crazy cool that you can't believe got ok'd? I'd love to hear about it all. 

Until next time,

Emma

Results are waiting for you.

97th Floor creates integrated marketing campaigns for enterprises. Let's see how we can help you.