Analysis of advertising in the education and training industry from March to May

Due to the impact of delayed resumption of work, some small and medium-sized enterprises have resorted to layoffs, salary cuts, and transformation to cope with the high operating costs, which has brought about a wave of unemployment. Many unemployed people have chosen to postpone their job hunting and improve their workplace competitiveness through learning, recharging, and taking exams. This phenomenon can also be seen in the advertising in the education industry. Adult education advertisers such as vocational skills training and academic qualifications examinations have seized the opportunity to increase their investment.

Recently, NetEase CEO Ding Lei's suggestion to include children's programming in academic proficiency tests has aroused heated discussion among netizens, once again pushing online education to the forefront of public opinion. In the post-epidemic era, how should education advertisers plan ahead to stand out from the crowd of highly homogenized materials, highlight brand characteristics and stimulate user conversions?

01. Overview of Education and Training Advertising

1-1 Academic examinations and vocational skills training account for the majority

After sorting out advertisements of various sub-categories of education and training, it is found that the proportion of K12 education advertisements has been on a downward trend in the past three months, while the proportion of academic examination and vocational skills training advertisements has increased . As the domestic epidemic situation improves, the proportion of interest-based tutoring advertisements has increased slightly. But in contrast, due to the spread of the epidemic abroad, language training and studying abroad have shown a clear downward trend , shrinking related advertising budgets.

1-2 Academic exams prefer Tencent advertising, while vocational skills training tends to be Baidu-based

The following is a summary of the share of each sub-industry of education and training on the five major traffic platforms (TOP5 platforms with the most education and training advertisements) in the past three months. From the perspective of overall industry distribution, vocational skills training and academic qualification examinations account for a relatively high proportion in the five platforms , especially the three leading platforms of Tencent Advertising, Bytedance, and Baidu Information Flow .

From the perspective of various sub-industries, vocational skills training tends to be invested in the two major Baidu platforms: Baidu Information Flow and Baidu Baiqingteng.

1-3 Proportion of academic examinations, vocational training, K12, and interest-based tutoring materials

From the distribution of the four major types of materials, it can be seen that the education industry as a whole still mainly uses advertising materials in the form of pictures , and the proportion of picture materials for academic examinations, interest tutoring, and vocational skills training exceeds 70% . The proportion of picture sets in vocational skill training is the highest , about twice that of the other three; the proportion of video and vertical video formats in interest tutoring and K12 education is relatively high .

02. Overview of Brand Advertisers & App Delivery

2-1 K12 education reduces investment, while adult education increases efforts

From the changes in the top 5 advertisers in terms of the number of education brand advertisements in the past three months, it can be seen that the ranking of K12 education brand advertisements has dropped significantly, and adult education brands such as vocational skills training and academic examinations have replaced them and occupied the front row .

As the epidemic situation improves, schools across the country have opened one after another, and K12 education is bound to lose some traffic. The epidemic has also had an impact on the economy that cannot be ignored. Some companies have laid off employees, the employment threshold has been raised, and adult education advertisers have also increased their investment.

2-2 Strong growth in adult education brands

Further analysis of the top 5 educational brand advertisers in terms of advertising volume in May revealed that the number of advertisements by the three major adult education advertisers , Temple Education, Shengshi Mingde Education, and Shengxue Education, have all been on an upward trend in the past three months . Among K12 advertisers, Gaotu Education's investment is relatively stable, while Youdao Premium Courses shows a clear downward trend .

2-3 May Education App Promotion Ranking

The top 10 education and training app advertisement rankings in May are as follows.

03. Inventory of popular advertising ideas

3-1 Analysis of creative ideas for vocational skills training advertisements

1) Inventory of popular advertising copy

2) Analysis of popular video advertising routines

Vocational skill training advertisements are mostly presented in situational drama format, mainly including elements such as multi-person dialogues, single-person broadcasts, advantages display, comparison between having and not having certificates, etc., and they embed selling points such as the benefits that certificates bring to life/work, the high value of certificates, the large talent gap, and the low entry threshold.

① Situational dramas that improve the quality of life

This type of sitcom usually shows the difference in living standards of colleagues before and after they pass the exam. For example, they can afford to drive a car and buy bags. Other colleagues who have not passed the exam will "envy" them and then confess that the high income is brought by the exam. Then, they insert selling points such as the high income, short time spent and large talent gap of the certificate to induce them to sign up.

② Situational dramas to enhance work competitiveness

The material shows that in the era of artificial intelligence, learning Python can highlight one's advantage in efficient data processing in an interview, and can outperform students with a degree from Tsinghua University or returned overseas students in the same interview. Finally, those who passed the interview orally cited selling points such as Python's ability to efficiently analyze information, crawl files, being suitable for newcomers in the workplace, and low course prices to guide registration.

③ Advantages of oral examination

This type of material is relatively monotonous compared to others. It consists of a single person orally narrating the current social situation and the various advantages of taking the test in a fixed scene. The user's impression is deepened by switching the camera's distance, making it easier to get directly into the selling points . It emphasizes key points such as high monthly salary for those with a certificate and simple exam questions to attract applicants.

④ A drama about moving teaching materials in a warehouse

The last type of material shows a scene of people moving teaching materials. The conversation emphasizes that a large stack of materials are for students. Finally, users are guided to click the link below to receive them, using teaching materials to increase user conversion rate.

3-2 Creative analysis of academic examination videos

1) Inventory of popular advertising copy

2) Analysis of popular video advertising routines

The overall emphasis of academic exam video ads is on the changes that a higher education brings to work and life. The promotional points are similar to those of vocational skills exams, but the advertising ideas for academic exams are more likely to feature personal counterattacks.

① Situational dramas about improving academic qualifications and making a comeback in life

The first half of the material shows the heroine's work and life status after her success, and the second half describes her hard and frugal life three years ago before she took the self-examination. The two parts form a sharp contrast, and finally an encouraging message is inserted: "This city will recognize every one of you who works hard to study" to attract users to stay.

② Situational dramas comparing life stages

The material shows the different life experiences of two girls who initially had the same low level of education, and compares the different development paths of those who have participated in self-study examinations and those who have not. The girl with low education has a difficult life and it even affects the next generation, while the girl with improved education gradually becomes more prosperous, guiding users to change their lives by taking academic examinations.

③ Situational dramas about experts giving guidance

Most of this type of material will first show the protagonist's hard and frugal life experience, and he will feel helpless about his low education and low income. On the way, he will meet a good person who will guide him to take the self-study exam for an undergraduate degree in a prestigious university. The selling points such as being able to apply for the exam even with a poor foundation, the teacher summarizing the knowledge points, 30 minutes a day, and mobile phone learning are implanted, and finally the protagonist will be guided to click on the bottom of the screen to learn more.

A collection of the above-mentioned vocational skills training and academic examination advertisements:

3-3 Inventory of creative ideas for interest-based tutoring advertisements

1) Inventory of popular advertising copy

2) Analysis of popular video advertising routines

Advertising materials for interest-based tutoring are generally focused on displaying students’ works, while pastry baking, art painting, and musical instrument playing prefer video advertising materials.

① Baking Works Display

The material begins with a soul-searching question based on the current social situation, and then focuses on displaying a variety of cakes, biscuits, and beverages. At the same time, it highlights the school's rich experience in running schools, diverse courses, establishment of scholarships and other selling points to attract students to sign up for study.

② Parents’ distress sitcoms

The material first shows the pain points of children not wanting to practice the piano alone, parents being unable to provide guidance and having difficulty understanding their children's learning situation, etc. It then introduces the selling points of VIP accompaniment, such as customized accompaniment courses based on children's characteristics and progress, and 1-on-1 accompaniment by teachers, to solve parents' problems and attract downloads.

③ Recommended by mothers

This type of material often appears in online interest classes or subject tutoring classes related to young children. It has the characteristics of strong sense of substitution and high degree of conviction. The material is recommended orally by mothers, who show their children's works or achievements, and then use selling points such as children can learn happily and parents don't have to worry to dispel parents' concerns.

Collection of the above interest-based tutoring ads:

3-4 K12 Education

1) Inventory of popular advertising copy

3) Analysis of popular video advertising routines

Due to the recent popularity of children’s programming courses, the following focuses on analyzing popular video advertising ideas for children’s programming .

① Analysis of educational misunderstandings and solutions

At the beginning, the age group under 12 years old is clearly mentioned to attract parents' attention, and then the statement "it will be difficult to improve grades in the future if this ability is not cultivated" is thrown out to create a sense of tension. Then 3 common misunderstandings of parents in educating their children are explained to enhance the user's sense of involvement, and the root of the problem is explained to be "the underlying logic of the child". Finally, the selling point of the programming course is implanted and 5 introductory courses are highlighted to improve children's logical thinking, using key points such as short term and low price to attract parents to click to sign up.

② A situational drama comparing before and after learning programming

The material intuitively demonstrates the benefits of learning programming for children through the changes in children's attitudes towards mobile phones and homework before and after they learn programming. The landing page is embedded in the video for scrolling playback, while activities such as free 388 courses and free learning gift packs are highlighted on the right screen to attract users to fill out the form.

③ Introduction of celebrity endorsement promotional clips

Brands with celebrity endorsements usually start with a celebrity endorsement clip to attract users to click and build trust, increasing users’ impression of the brand. They then showcase the children’s enthusiastic learning atmosphere, high-end teaching environment and equipment, and pleasant interaction with teachers to attract parents to learn more about the course.

Judging from the popular advertising materials in the above four sub-industries, it is not uncommon for the education and training industry to use situational drama- style advertising, and this type of advertising is more popular. Situational drama materials have the characteristics of strong storytelling and great appeal. They are relatively more advantageous in restoring scenes and enhancing the sense of immersion. They can directly reach or even solve user pain points and increase users' reading time for video ads . However, when using sitcom materials , you should pay attention to the rhythm of the story to avoid losing users due to too much initial preparation .

Author: App Growing

Source: App Growing