Verizon Targets ‘Techknowledgeables’ with Hyperlocal FiOS Ad Campaign
Verizon FiOS services aren’t just for families anymore. After the success of a Washington, D.C., area pilot campaign, Verizon launched an ad campaign for its FiOS services that targets tech savvy 25-39 year old singles living in apartments and condos. The campaign will focus on metropolitan areas in the New York, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles markets. “Some people think they have to live in a single family home to get the very best broadband and video entertainment services, but that’s not true,” said Pedro Correa, vice president of Verizon Enhanced Communities.
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The individuals, called “techknowledgeables,” tend to use technology more for social and digital media compared to other parts of the population. For example, the group is 45 percent more likely than the average adult to rely on the Internet as their main source of entertainment, the company said.
The campaign’s main focus is to increase awareness about FiOS availability through ads that pose the question, “Do you live in a FiOS building?” Some ads feature a variety of individuals who treat FiOS availability as a deciding factor in their search for an apartment. The ads direct consumers to musthavefios.com where they can find apartments with FiOS access. FiOS is available in more than 2 million units of multi-family buildings in D.C. and parts of 12 states, and about half of all FiOS lines opened for sale this year will be in apartments and condos, the company said.
Verizon will focus on social media and “out of home immersion,” said Chris Anderson, a director for consumer marketing at Verizon. The company will place ads in places that are common hangouts among these “techknowledgeables,” such as bars, gyms and movie theaters. It will also try to reach them through social and digital media, which they rely on more than other groups do, Anderson told us.
Digital advertising will play a huge role in targeting a “different audience than we've gone after in the past in our mass-marketing efforts,” Anderson said. The company had successful penetration when it marketed to families, he said: “But we've got these pockets that haven’t been reached. We want to go into more strategic areas and convince those narrow markets.” Verizon will continue marketing in Washington, D.C., where it had success before, and it will improve upon the tactics used there to reach these new targeted markets, Anderson said.
"Verizon’s hyperlocal approach makes a ton of sense,” said Craig Moffett of Sanford Bernstein research. “They're targeting a demographic that lives its life online, and their product’s best feature is its broadband advantage, which is most valuable to younger demos.” Social media is also an attractive method for advertisers because it is much cheaper, he said.
Verizon hasn’t seen its competitors try similar market campaigns, Anderson said. Competing companies in the areas the campaign targets include Time Warner Communications in New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas; Cablevision in New York; Comcast in Philadelphia and Washington; Charter in Los Angeles and Dallas; and Cox in Washington, Anderson said. Those companies declined to comment or failed to respond.