Marketing VOX
Marketing VOX
Apple probably doesn’t need the publicity, which is why they don’t bother to generate it. Ace Metrix has announced the top tablet ads year-to-date, dominated by Samsung, which has introduced two new ads in the last two weeks that both achieved Ace Metrix “Ad of the Week” status, cementing Samsung’s hold with six of the top 10 spots. Google’s Nexus 7 holds two such spots, Kindle holds two. And the iPad? Absent. Which is either a show of contempt for the competition, or a show of weakness.
The Ace Score is the measure of an ad’s creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. viewing audience. Results are presented on a scale of 1-950, representing attributes like relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.
Ace’s CEO Peter Daboll acknowledges a tablet war. “The category is still growing rapidly, unlike smartphones, and is fueled by upgrades from first generation tablets—a new crop of lower-priced options that sport similar functionality to the market-leading iPad.”
Still, Apple is faced with a real challenge in how to differentiate and articulate its benefits (e.g., retina display and the voice-command Siri which seems to struggle with the English language).
Google, Kindle Muscle In
Also putting marketing muscle behind their tablets: Google, which aired four new ads for the Nexus 7 in the last 30 days, and Kindle which has broken five new ads this year, the most recent of which broke on September 17 and ranked among the top 10 for the year along with another Kindle ad that broke in April.
Notably absent from the top tablet ads? iPad, which aired its last ad at the beginning of August.
Apple’s most effective ad so far this year (entitled “Do it More Beautifully”) achieved an Ace Score of 627 and a Change score of 670, 26 points lower than the lowest Change score on the Top 10 list. The highest Change score (which is associated with the highest scoring ad) is 68 points higher than the same Apple iPad Change score.
“The key to the success of these ads is the demonstration of new, exciting features that consumers have never seen before. For example, Samsung demonstrates multi-tasking, use of a stylus, etc.—all contributors to big ‘Change’ scores, a critical Ace Metrix indicator that consumers’ opinions are changing about a brand,” Daboll commented.
Also absent from the rankings: Nook, despite six new ads in 2012, the most effective of which broke in May with an Ace Score of just 582.
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