Selfie Portrait: Instagram and Family Brands

Ad campaigns on Instagram can generate significant lift in ad recall and direct response engagement. With 80 million photos posted a day, the popular app attracts many audiences. One key audience on the platform is Millennials, which includes many subgroups such as young, maturing, multicultural affinities, parents, and others. These and other proprietary insights into Millennial behavior on the platform were part of an exclusive webinar yesterday afternoon for members of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Alliance for Family Entertainment (AFE), presented by Instagram’s Head of Audience Insights and Measurement Christine Turner.

The presentation was hosted by AFE Chair and Walmart Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Quinn for the coalition’s members, which include more than 400 of the largest family brands in the U.S. It provided data on Millennial behavior, proprietary research results, and case studies showcasing how brands have unlocked the elusive Millennial audience with creativity, which has resulted in increased ad recall, message association, and uplift in app installs. It also offered actionable recommendations to ensure family marketers are equipped to activate their own businesses’ visual content.

Instagram is a global community that consumers engage with to connect with friends and family, while fueling their interests with inspiring visuals of relevant content. It is a community embraced by both consumers and businesses alike. The growth and engagement are incredible with 3.5 billion photos liked across mobile devices. With 400 million global monthly actives across many audiences — from moms to travel enthusiasts — Millennials remain the key dominant audience today. According to the “Coming of Age on Screens” study by Crowd DNA (a study commissioned by Facebook), Millennials turn to Instagram throughout the day – 67 percent use Instagram at home, 50 percent when on vacation, 53 percent while watching TV, 47 percent when going to sleep, and 42 percent right when they wake up.

“Millennials engage with Instagram for many reasons and two themes stand out: visual connection and passion,” Turner said. “Millennials are passionate about their inner circle of friends and family, but they also want to be inspired by the community, whether it’s a business or things they care about in a visual way.”

“Because the shape and form of content online is virtual, developing relevant offerings for families may be even more difficult on digital platforms than it is on conventional television,” added Quinn. “With the ever-changing nature of our digital ecosystem, presentations like these are critical for our members, to assist them in making smart decisions about when, where, and how to effectively utilize platforms like Instagram for their brands.”

The webinar stressed that marketers must develop relevant, creative content. They shared guidance and examples on what makes content “on brand” while also driving consumers to take action as Instagram is quickly becoming a full-funnel solution for businesses. One brand that has seen recent success is Gilt Groupe. Gilt Groupe turned to Instagram to win new customers and ran a campaign that led to an 85 percent lift in app installs.

The presentation is the latest in a series of initiatives from AFE to expand its efforts to develop more family content on digital platforms, including supporting original content and reaching out to major digital players for insights and potential partnerships. Past webinar presentations have included Yahoo!, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.

“Constant learning and continual experimentation are essential ingredients for marketers today, especially those whose audience is the ever-evolving American family,” concluded Bob Liodice, ANA president and chief executive officer. “The AFE is a critical source of tools and insights for family brands to succeed in a complex and often-bewildering marketplace. Today’s Instagram webinar is a great example of how the AFE is providing competitive advantage and tools for stretching members’ marketing dollars.”