Innovative Advertising Formats

Jet2 couldn't have prayed for better marketing Capital Radio has NAILED this. The Jet2.com and Jet2holidays voice-over artist & Jess Glynne combo has reached the serious levels of viral that culture agencies promise daily in pitches. It's a brilliant example of what's possible, but no one understands how and why this happened. Sure, it scratches our corny British humour. And yes, they've consistently ploughed enough cash into TV advertising to actually get this noticed. However, there's a far bigger lesson here that all marketers can use to ensure effectiveness every day. Something we all can do better at. Not just chasing viral hits. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨. Audio has become more important in marketing: 1. TV advertising now struggles to get full visual attention, with us all sat on our phones. Making audio more important. 2. Audio works differently, with audio distinctive brand assets proven to increase brand recognition in System1 research with Effie Worldwide. 3. TikTok has moved social ads back to sound on. Our research shows sonic assets and jingles are far more effective than other brand asset options. 4. MassiveMusic and Les Binet have now shown that the right music choice can create brand pricing effects 7 times more effectively. Yet we still often leave music selection to the end of the creative process? It's time to make the jingle cool again. It's time to wake up to the power of audio. All the top marketers are building audio assets. Don't get left behind. My weekly free column in The Drum today goes into all the evidence, including an experiment where we tried various soundtracks on the same ad and saw its predicted effectiveness double: https://lnkd.in/ePVfn_pn I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily, follow for more. Global

This stat really struck me: most breakthrough innovations come from executing existing ideas in new ways. Our first instinct when seeking change is often to look outward for something entirely new. New habits, new tech, complete overhauls, etc. But especially when we need to be cost-conscious, we need to embrace a different mindset. Look inward first. Scale what's working. Rigorously analyze what isn't – can you extract value or apply it differently? Innovation isn't always about the never-before-seen. It's often about leaning into what works, exploring all its uses, and sparking small wins into something transformational.   I saw this firsthand at HSN when we launched HSN Arcade. The idea was innovative, but simple: combine casual online gaming with ecommerce to create a fun “Watch, Shop, and Play” experience. It all started when I saw someone totally hooked on Candy Crush. That got me thinking, how can we integrate gamification into our platform using our brands and talent as personalities? In the process, we brought that same addictive, engaging experience into HSN’s digital platform. Not only was it highly engaging, but it also had a drastic impact on business performance. Players visited 3x more often, spent 3x more time on the platform, and spent 3x more money with us. And remember HSN Shop by Remote? It was groundbreaking, but at its core, it was about understanding our audience's growing desire for more convenient, accessible ways to shop. These weren’t just innovative projects, they were bold moves powered by a willingness to ask, “What if?” instead of panicking over “What now?”   So, let's not fall into the trap of believing that innovation demands a complete overhaul. Embrace the nuances within your existing frameworks. Cultivate a culture that thrives on smart experimentation. And most importantly, empower your teams to see the current ideas as the critical starting points for your next big breakthrough. They just might need to be explored and connected in a whole new way.

Ever felt uneasy leaving something half done? That’s not you being restless, it’s psychology. It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect. People remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones. And brands absolutely love to use it. ✅ LinkedIn: “Your profile is 70% complete. Add 2 more details to unlock opportunities.” ✅ Snap Inc.: Streaks! Miss a day, and the fire emoji disappears. Nobody wants to be the one who breaks it. ✅ Zomato: “Add one more item to get free delivery.” Suddenly, dessert feels like a necessity. ✅ Netflix: That auto-play timer. You have to finish the episode because it started already. ✅ Tinder: “It’s a Match!”, but you only see who when you swipe back. That unfinished loop keeps you in the game. See the pattern? Unfinished = uncomfortable. Completion = dopamine. That’s why progress bars, streaks, and gamified nudges are everywhere. They keep us hooked without us even realizing. As a marketer, the lesson is simple: Don’t sell the product. Sell the incomplete journey that only your product can finish.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠  Marketers may use the human need to collect as a powerful tool to reinforce a good brand experience by capitalizing on the psychological gratification that comes with completing or owning a set. 📌Create a Collectible Series – Limited Edition: Starbucks Holiday Cups – Starbucks releases a series of limited-edition holiday cups, each with a unique design. Customers often collect these cups – Themed Collections: Create items with distinct themes (e.g., seasonal, character-based) Collectors often seek to complete an entire theme or series, For example, LEGO’s “Star Wars” series 📌Gamification and Rewards – Digital Badges/Points: Rewards system in which clients receive points or badges for each item they acquire NikePlus Rewards, offers digital badges and rewards for achieving fitness milestones. – Tiered benefits: Sephora Beauty Insider, Sephora’s tiered loyalty program offers escalating rewards, from birthday gifts to exclusive product access 📌Community Building – Encourage Sharing Example – LEGO fans share their creations and collections online, where others can vote and comment. – Unique Access: Example: Royal Enfield organizes exclusive events like Rider Mania, where enthusiasts can access limited-edition gear and bikes 📌Storytelling and Personalisation – Narrative Integration: Example – Paper Boat tells nostalgic stories of Indian childhood – Personalised Experience: Enable consumers to personalise their collections, Example – M&M’s offers personalized candies where customers can choose colours, and messages, and even add images 📌Scarcity and urgency Limited Time Offers: Example – The McDonald’s McRib Sandwich – Exclusivity: Make certain things available in fewer numbers Example – Tanishq launches limited-edition jewellery collections for festivals like Diwali 📌Cross-promotions – Collaborations: Example – Supreme x Louis Vuitton – This collaboration resulted in highly sought-after collectible items, blending streetwear and luxury fashion – Bundle Offers: Example – BookMyShow often bundles movie tickets with exclusive merchandise 📌Customer Engagement – Feedback Loop: Involve clients in the development of future collectables via surveys or social media participation Example – Paper Boat’s Flavor Polls – Paper Boat engages customers by asking for their input on new flavours via social media polls – Interactive Experiences: Example – Pokémon GO uses augmented reality to allow players to collect Pokémon in the real world. FOR MORE, VISIT BLOG, LINK IN COMMENTS

Digital advertising is cooked. Zuck just made that clear. But Meta’s AI won’t kill marketing. Here’s what will happen. Context: Zuckerberg launched an “easy button” for making ads. Fully AI powered. Campaigns you can launch from your phone. Copy, creative, targeting, optimization are about to get noisier, cheaper, and less human. Your feed is about to be a wall of sameness. No trust. No creativity. No emotion. So yes, digital advertising is cooked. But marketing isn’t. And here’s what happens to marketing: We go back to basics. We do things that hit our emotions. That make people feel again. We meet face to face. Every time I go to an event I’m reminded of what really matters. Not because someone says it. But because I feel it. These things actually matter: 1. Real human connection. Sharing a meal with someone. Laughing. Talking about your family. Building a relationship that pushes someone to lend an extra hand. 2. Deep memory imprint. Multi-sensory experiences (sound, scent, swag, serendipity) stick far longer than a sponsored ad. 3. Looking someone in the eye. It sounds korny. But it’s human. Watch for this. Because it’s already happening. 1. Budget Shifts: As digital CAC climbs and ROAS stalls, CMOs are shifting spend to experiential. Dinners, summits, trade shows. Where engagement is measured in minutes, not milliseconds. Conversations > Impressions 2. Community moat: Events forge tribes. They let your customers become your sales team. Takeaway for the event industry? The more AI-driven advertising becomes, the more humans will crave being human. People want to feel. Event professionals who design genuine, story-rich experiences aren’t just safe. They’re the future of modern marketing.

Experiential is splitting into two very different species — and the brands who don’t recognize the distinction are mis-measuring the output. 📷 Content Factory builds → engineered to be instantly photographable → one frame = the whole message → top funnel acceleration, fast EMV 🌟 Fan Service builds → worlds, lore, emotional payoff → slower curve, deeper intent migration Both work. But they work differently. The mistake is forcing them into the same KPI model. Now — here’s the real unlock the category is just starting to internalize: The highest ROI happens when physical assets are engineered to be used multiple times. Not one city. Not one moment. Multiple cultural surfaces. Example: The Walt Disney Company Predator: Badlands a world-building prop that drove value at SDCC… then drove almost the same EMV again at the premiere (~0.8–1.0×). Same object — second monetization cycle. That’s not a “stunt.” That’s a performance asset class. And there’s another layer the industry is only now internalizing: The Chaos Multiplier. The most amplified piece of content in an activation is increasingly not the official capture. It’s the unplanned POV. The unexpected creator collision. The moment nobody scripted — but the physical build enabled. Chaos feels random in feed… but it is architected in real life. The build is the legitimacy layer that makes chaos credible, indexable, and safe to share at scale. The next wave of experiential success isn’t just the build or the beat — it’s how well the environment is engineered to invite, enable and reward chaos at the edges. Because that’s where the outlier EMV lives. The future of experiential: Not bigger. Not louder. More intelligently designed to travel. Build type aligned to KPI. Distribution designed at the same fidelity as fabrication. Assets engineered to compound — not expire. 💡 And this is where Night x Experiential Supply Co. matters. They aren’t just building the physical moment — they’re building the distribution layer that converts that moment into velocity multiple times — across fan events, cons, premieres, even retail contexts. The category is evolving past spectacle. It’s moving toward performance experiential. And Night x ESC is one of the first players truly building for that new reality. I am excited to see Reed, Jasen raising the bar. ⚠️ Interested in unpacking this more? Send me a DM — and check the detailed report 👉 https://lnkd.in/emrsweZW #Media #BoxOffice #Streaming

I'm calling it now: we'll see a resurgence of embedded, host read ads in podcast advertising this year, as more publishers explore how to most effectively monetize their content with the increase in consumption on closed platforms like Spotify & YouTube. I saved this from James Cridland's contribution to Quill's 2025 predictions: “As more than 50% of total podcast plays move to these proprietary, closed ecosystems - which don’t support DAI or programmatic advertising - then what does that mean for our industry? And when “podcasting” becomes synonymous with “video”, does that raise barriers to entry while removing the unique benefit that podcasts have: that you can listen while your eyes are busy doing something else?“ 50%+ is even conservative -- there are many (top performing) shows we buy that already see between 70% and 80% of their impressions come from YouTube alone. Programmatic advertising is already a challenge in a medium where so much of the inventory available that you actually *want* to buy is sold out in first run buys with premium networks and publishers. When you add that closed platform consumption angle to the mix, and the fact that podcast is a maturing medium that is no longer seeing exponential listener growth year-on-year, it doesn't look great for the overall inventory -- volume OR quality -- being sold programmatically.

Adelaide Attentiveness Measurement: $1,000 Of AM/FM Radio Ads Require $2,635 Worth Of Facebook Ads To Achieve The Same Level Of Attention; Audio Platforms Generate Nearly The Same Attentiveness As TV * Traditional media impressions are worth more than digital impressions. Linear TV, print, and audio enjoy much stronger attentiveness than digital platforms. Consumers notice ads in traditional media more and skip ads less. * AM/FM radio CPMs should be a premium to Pandora and Spotify. Pandora/Spotify audio impressions are not the same as AM/FM radio impressions since AM/FM radio is a more lean in experience. * The greater proportion of spoken word content on podcasts and AM/FM radio generates much higher levels of concentration and attentiveness. The information and personalities of podcasts and AM/FM radio satisfy consumer need states for information and learning. * High CPMs for podcasts are warranted. Podcasts generate high attentiveness levels as they satisfy multiple “lean in” consumer need states: learning and entertainment. Via the link below, the executive summary, deck, and explainer video.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 I just finished a session in #Oslo on the #neuroscience of audio advertising — radio, podcasts, sonic branding, product sounds — and the evidence is piling up from studies around the world. The simple truth is this: 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁! 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥) 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. Across international neuromarketing datasets — including the 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗛𝘂𝗯 project with over 7,500 participants — we keep seeing the same patterns emerge. Here are 𝟱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 that stood out today: 1. 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘀 | Across EEG, implicit tests, and memory tasks, audio consistently delivers 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆. It doesn’t compete with the visual overload on screens, which gives it a clean channel straight into long-term memory systems. 2. 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 | Emotional curves in audio tend to swing more strongly — higher highs, lower lows. This is exactly what you want when the creative works, and exactly what you need to diagnose when it doesn’t. 3. 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 “𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲” | Most marketing lives in the visual lane. But the auditory lane is wide open — less crowded, less fatigued, and more neurologically accessible. This makes it one of the most efficient ways to cut through. 4. 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 | With moment-by-moment emotional and cognitive tracking, we can identify the spikes, dips, and turning points in an audio ad. This lets teams fix pacing, structure, and sound design with surgical precision. 5. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 | The strongest brands don’t just 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 up, they 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. From simple product sounds (a chips bag, a car door, a signature click) to consistent sonic logos and well-designed audio identities — sound creates immediate recognition shortcuts that visuals often struggle to match. When you step back, the pattern is clear: 𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲. Smart brands will use it not as an add-on, but as a core asset. #audioadvertising #advertising #neuromarketing #sensorymarketing

Gamification changes the way young audiences interact with brands. It shifts marketing from something people consume to something they do. We’ve seen this firsthand.  When points, challenges, and rewards are built into campaigns, engagement rates don’t just rise, they multiply.  Youth audiences aren’t looking for passive ads; they want participation. The key is designing mechanics that feel natural, not forced: - Progression systems that reward consistency - Challenges that create friendly competition - Digital badges or collectibles that build status inside communities - Rewards that tie directly back to brand value, not random giveaways Done well, gamification transforms a brand touchpoint into an experience worth repeating.  It builds anticipation, conversation, and loyalty in a way static content never could. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, interaction is the expectation.  Gamification is one of the most powerful ways to meet it.