As smartphones proliferate and more consumers flock to the internet, a statistic known as Digital Share of Voice (DSOV) is becoming more important to brands. While many of top brands spend hundreds of millions on TV advertising to reach mass audiences, a key component of their marketing success today depends on how much additional attention and interaction their TV spots generate online.
DSOV is the percentage of digital activity a brand earns compared to other brands. It is not correlated to how much money a brand spends on advertising; a TV commercial also needs to be creative enough to catch the eyes and minds of consumers to get them to view it additional times online, comment on it, share it socially and do searches for more information about the spot or brand. Studies have found that brands that increase their DSOV are more likely to boost their market share over time.
Real-time TV ad data and insights company iSpot.tv, which measures how much and where brands are advertising, also compiles a ranking of DSOV, based on digital data related to TV ads.
Based on iSpot data, B&C has compiled the following list of the top 10 DSOV brands for the first half of 2016. For the purpose of the list, movie studios that ran TV campaigns for specific film launches were not included. Each top 10 brand aired between nine and 67 different spots, with total airings across all dayparts ranging from 798 to 140,312.
DSOV is not determined by how much money is spent on TV advertising or how many times a brand’s commercials air on TV. The list is based on the digital activity generated by those TV ads, with each type of activity being assigned varying degrees of importance. Here’s a look at the top 10 brands based on their percentage of total DSOV for the first six months.
1. NIKE
DSOV: 3.49%
AT THE HELM: Greg Hoffman, chief marketing officer
KEY CREATIVE: Nike used NBA stars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, along with soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. After James’ Cavaliers won the NBA title for Cleveland’s first major sports championship in 52 years , Nike ran a tribute spot titled “Worth the Wait.”
GAME PLAN: Nike spent only $10.7 million on TV, with 15 different spots airing a total of 798 times. However, the spots generated 115.3 million online views, 1.9 million social actions and 317,879 internet searches. A spot titled “The Conductor” featuring Bryant was the most popular Nike spot online, drawing a 44.8% DSOV among all Nike commercials. “The Switch” featuring Ronaldo had a DSOV of 33.2%. The “Worth the Wait” spot averaged only a 6.9% DSOV. Nike aired the spots heavily on The BET Awards ($2.4 million), along with NFL and NBA telecasts.
2. SAMSUNG MOBILE
DSOV: 2.83%
AT THE HELM: Christine Amirian, VP, corporate marketing, Samsung Electronics North America
KEY CREATIVE: Samsung Mobile promoted its Galaxy S7 Edge phone, Galaxy S7 Virtual Reality unit and Samsung Pay feature. It enlisted Lil Wayne and Wesley Snipes for spots promoting the virtual reality product.
GAME PLAN: Samsung Mobile spent $209 million on TV, with 25 different spots airing a total of 27,639 times. The spots resulted in 104 million online views, 1 million social actions and 1.3 million internet searches. The Lil Wayne/Snipes spot was the brand’s most-searched on the internet at 185,915; the ad earned an 11% DSOV. Samsung’s highest DSOV, at 62.9%, was from its “Champagne Calls” spots, in which its Galaxy waterproof smartphone has champagne poured on it and keeps working. Samsung spent $20.2 million during NBA games, $17.7 million on NFL games, $16.9 million on the NBA Finals, $16.8 million on the NCAA college basketball championship and $16.5 million on the Oscars.
3. APPLE iPHONE
DSOV: 2.79%
AT THE HELM: Phil Schiller, senior VP, worldwide marketing
KEY CREATIVE: Apple enlisted Cookie Monster and Neil Patrick Harris to help promote its iPhone 6s. The Cookie Monster spot had the Sesame Street character touting the iPhone timer alarm feature. Harris appeared in spots promoting Siri and the iPhone6s’s video recording features.
GAME PLAN: Apple iPhone spent $142.9 million on TV, with 27 different spots airing a total of 8,500 times. The spots resulted in 41 million online views, 817,189 social actions and 1 million searches. The Cookie Monster spot was the most searched, at 373,580 times. It also dominated DSOV for all the iPhone spots, garnering 54.4%. Apple iPhone spent $12.6 million on NFL telecasts, $9.2 million on the NCAA basketball championship, $4.7 million on The Walking Dead, $4.4 million on the NBA Finals and $4.3 million on other NBA games.
4. ESURANCE
DSOV: 2.61%
AT THE HELM: Alan Gellman, chief marketing officer
KEY CREATIVE: Esurance aired a Super Bowl spot promoting its Pass It On Sweepstakes. It also featured San Francisco Giants’ All-Star catcher Buster Posey in several commercials. Other spots talked about the money consumers could save by switching to Esurance plans.
GAME PLAN: Esurance spent north of $5 million on the Super Bowl spot and continued to advertise through the first half of the year, totaling $55.3 million on TV with 16 different spots that aired a total of 41,030 times. The spots resulted in 2.67 million online views, 1.76 million social actions and 150,000 searches. The Super Bowl spot scored a 55.8% DSOV. Esurance spent $1.2 million on E! network’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians, $909,000 on ESPN’s SportsCenter, $871,832 on sitcom Two Broke Girls and $824,707 on The Big Bang Theory. The brand also spent $2.9 million on Discovery and $2.7 million on Comedy Central.
5. MOUNTAIN DEW
DSOV: 2.21%
AT THE HELM: Greg Lyons, senior VP, marketing
KEY CREATIVE: Mountain Dew spent $5 million-plus on Super Bowl ads for its attention-grabbing PuppyMonkeyBaby spot promoting energy drink Kickstart. The brand also aired spots for Kickstart and Mountain Dew featuring NBA star Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
GAME PLAN: Following up its Super Bowl ad, Mountain Dew continued to advertise over the first six months, topping out at $42.4 million on TV ads with 13 different spots airing 12,323 times. The spots generated 71.1 million online views, 1 million social actions and 1.17 million searches. Mountain Dew spent some $13.7 million to air its PuppyMonkeyBaby spots both in and after the Super Bowl; that spot drew an 87% DSOV of all Mountain Dew ads and 378,828 searches. In addition to the Super Bowl, Mountain Dew spent heavily in NBA regular-season and early playoffs telecasts ($6.2 million), MTV Movie Awards ($2.8 million), NBA Finals ($2.5 million) and NHL hockey ($1.5 million). The brand also spent $3.2 million on Comedy Central.
6. T-MOBILE
DSOV: 1.54%
AT THE HELM: Mike Katz, VP, marketing, T-Mobile
USA KEY CREATIVE: T-Mobile enlisted Steve Harvey to star in a Super Bowl spot saying the carrier had doubled its 4G LTE coverage and had more LTE towers than Verizon. The spot drew a 78.6% DSOV among all TMobile commercials aired. Singer Drake appeared in a spot promoting smartphone calling plans featuring the lyrics to his song “Hotline Bling.”
GAME PLAN: T-Mobile spent $242.5 million on TV advertising, with 46 different spots that aired a total of 36,466 times. The spots generated 72 million online views, 1.18 social media actions and 263,167 searches. The wireless carrier spent $49.6 million promoting a family data plan; $40.2 million touting its unlimited streaming service; and $25.9 million supporting its Binge On unlimited data service. T-Mobile spent some $14.1 million on the Super Bowl, $15.6 million on NFL playoffs, $8.5 million on NCAA March Madness, $5.5 million on NBC’s The Voice and $4.9 million on the NBA. T-Mobile also spent $12.9 million on Univision.
7. COCA-COLA
DSOV: 1.50%
AT THE HELM: David Goerke, director, global marketing
KEY CREATIVE: Coca-Cola ran a Super Bowl spot for Coke Mini featuring animated superhero characters Ant Man and the Hulk. It also ran Super Bowl spots featuring a “Coke Anthem,” a “Share a Coke and a Dance” spot, a commercial featuring people performing under pressure (backed the Queen/David Bowie song of the same name) and relaxing with a Coke, along with a spot promoting 75 different lyrics on Coke bottles.
GAME PLAN: Coke spent $17.1 million on its Super Bowl advertising as part of its $76.6 million first-half TV ad spend. The marketer ran 31 different spots that aired 9,615 times. The spots generated 49 million online views, 977,642 social actions and 504,387 searches. The Ant Man/Hulk Super Bowl spot also recorded a 48.9% DSOV among all the Coke spots that aired.
8. GEICO
DSOV: 1.48%
AT THE HELM: Ted Ward, chief marketing officer
KEY CREATIVE: The famous Geico Gecko appeared in some of the insurer’s TV first-half commercials but took a back seat to three other spots. They included “Tarzan Fights Over Directions,” “Alligator Arms” and “Spy,” in which a mom calls her son who is battling bad guys but she thinks he’s at a Zumba class. All three featured the Geico phrase “It’s What You Do.”
GAME PLAN: Geico spent $384.9 million on TV advertising in the first half, with 67 different spots that aired 140,312 times. The insurer’s spots generated 18.8 million online views, 436,359 social actions and a whopping 3.76 million searches. Geico spent $64.9 million on ad time for the “Spy” spot, $37.8 million for “Alligator Arms” and $24.3 million for “Tarzan.” Geico spent its largest chunk of ad dollars in sports—$22.7 million on NFL telecasts, $17.2 million during the March Madness, $14.1 million on the NBA, $12 million on the NHL, and $10.2 million on NASCAR.
9. MAZDA
DSOV: 1.30%
AT THE HELM: Don Romano, chief marketing officer, Mazda North American operations
KEY CREATIVE: Mazda did not use any celebrities in its spots, which focused on promoting the brand to families. One of the more popular spots, “The Proposal,” featured a guy who drives to the top of a snow-capped mountain to propose to his girlfriend. “A Driver’s Life” followed a Mazda loyalist from his first car after getting his license through adulthood, driving various models.
GAME PLAN: Mazda spent $72.9 million on TV advertising in the first half with 11 different spots running 10,817 times. Those spots led to 73.6 million online views, 45,425 social actions and 448,591 searches. Most of the spots were based on the “Driving Matters” theme. “The Proposal” spot generated an 18.4% DSOV among all the Mazda commercials. Mazda advertised heavily on sports, The Big Bang Theory ($3.7 million) and The Voice ($2.2 million). The auto brand’s biggest expenditure was on NBA telecasts ($3.9 million); it also spent $3.3 million on ESPN’s SportsCenter and $1.9 million on college basketball.
10. DORITOS
DSOV: 1.22%
AT THE HELM: Jennifer Saenz, senior VP/chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay
KEY CREATIVE: Doritos again staged its Crash the Super Bowl contest, in which fans can enter self-produced Doritos-related commercials with the best one airing during the Big Game. This year the company ran two winners: In “Ultrasound,” a baby reaches for Doritos inside the mother’s womb as her husband munches on them during an ultrasound. In the other, three dogs find a way to get into a store to buy some Doritos. Both comedic spots drew positive responses during the Super Bowl telecast.
GAME PLAN: Doritos spent $27.5 million on TV advertising in the first six months, of which $9.4 million was spent on the Super Bowl spots. Overall it aired nine different spots with 133,780 total airings. The spots generated 37.3 million online views, 882,896 social actions and 489,565 searches. The “Ultrasound” Super Bowl spot generated the largest DSOV percentage among all Doritos ads at 76.2%. Doritos also went after younger viewers, spending $2.1 million with MTV for ads on shows including Ridiculousness and $1.9 million with Comedy Central for shows including South Park. Doritos also spent $586,854 advertising on reality series Cops. The brand spent $1.25 million on BET and $1.1 million on AMC.
