We’ve said it before and we’ll continue to say it: testing and exploring are the ideal ways to find the tactics that will best fulfill your online advertising needs. We have so many tools at our disposal, and trends that keep changing, that it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint how to build a successful marketing campaign. Well, there’s a great tool you can use to see the advertising trends that marketers in different industries are using. 

Now that a lot of us are staying home, protecting ourselves from the COVID-19 pandemic, certain companies are thriving because of the stay at home situation. These include streaming and entertainment services, as well as software that facilitates virtual communication. Today, we will be looking at some of the advertising styles these top companies have been using. 

First, let’s take a look at the beloved music streaming service, Spotify. Spotify’s main feature is that it runs on a “freemium” model, so users have the option of listening to free music. However, they can decide to pay a monthly subscription to avoid ads and download music to listen to it offline. Even though they make money off of advertising, most of their revenue comes from subscriptions. They use their ads to focus on their premium feature in an attempt to convert users. 

Their ads for June 2020 have focused on “Try Premium, free for 3 months” an offer that will expire on June 30th. Knowing that a large portion of users will be listening to music at home, offering free service for a longer period will likely convert some users when the period is over. 

What’s interesting about their advertising is that they’re not using their typical dark, modern tones of dark green and black. These ads make use of colorful pastel shades. Perhaps trying to give off summer vibes even if people are locked up in their rooms. Additionally, the ads include mundane objects that have nothing to do with music, such as a dumbbell, a clock, and a dining table. But they become animated and emit musical notes. This seems to be an attempt to tell users that any time is the best time to listen to music. Now that they’re at home, any boring task can be improved with some ad-free streaming. 

Next, we will take a look at Facebook, the company that’s dominating the social media space. People staying at home means that more users will be scrolling through social media. But now it’s not only teenagers and millennials who are glued to their phones. Everyone wants to use their device to connect with people they can only see virtually. 

Facebook’s advertising is a reflection of these new trends. The brand has managed to stick to ads with a simple design, a straightforward visual, and minimal text. The social media platform is now introducing features that will be helpful for users who want to connect with others. These include messenger rooms, a drop-in video chat feature; workplace, which connects teams working in different companies; and Facebook gaming, which allows for an interactive gaming experience. 

The ads have maintained a sleek look, directing attention to the written content and the product. Instead of focusing on other tactics such as emotionality. 

Finally, we will look at Zoom, the communications platform that is thriving off of people’s work from home situations. Zoom’s ad design also manages to stay minimal, making use of light or neutral colors. The ads seem modern and professional, which is probably the image the company is looking for. Instead of advertising it as a friendly way to catch up with friends they stick to the image of being a professional platform. 

A notable feature of the ads is that most of them don’t focus on the benefits that Zoom can deliver. Such as “unify your phone calls, video, and messaging with Zoom” that is written across one of the ads. Most of the other advertising focuses on presenting an experience. Zoom is no longer a place where you go to chat with friends and family. It is the new classroom for “modern students” and the new doctor’s office for patient care. 

These are only a couple of companies that we looked into, but it’s always worth it to take a look into what other advertisers are doing. We’re not saying to go in and model your campaign exactly after a similar product—please don’t do that. But it’s always great to take a look at the different ad styles that companies are using and figure out the trends that are developing. Remember that online advertising is always changing, especially in times like these, so make sure to always test, test, test! 

Thanks to Moat for allowing us to take a look at these great ads!