Media Broadcaster use conversational ads to drive audiences to their video on demand service

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW

Havas Media Group partnered with MediaMath to run a campaign using bespoke custom ad formats engaging with our core audience groups, driving video on demand consumption for a Media Broadcaster. In a first for Havas and the Media Broadcaster, the campaign used tailored creative matched to specific audience personas, leading directly to tailored show recommendations based on user interaction as opposed to generic landing pages.

Objective was to drive people to the video on demand service to watch selected shows of the Media Broadcaster. The primary KPI was Click Through Rate as a proxy of awareness, followed by driving visits to the video on demand service. Users aged 18-44 were made up of the Media Broadcaster’s own bespoke audiences, ‘Heads’ and ‘Hearts’ that are prevalent across all our show-led campaigns.

Cavai, experts in conversational ads, and GumGum, who specialize in cookieless ads, were core campaign partners, accessed via the MediaMath platform to deliver customized user experiences gaining an understanding of users viewing habits

Campaign KPIs:

• Cavai: VTR as a proxy for awareness, and engagement rate.
• GumGum: CTR and engagement rate.

SOLUTION

Havas used the MediaMath platform to deliver high engagement conversational ads through Cavai, and cookieless advertising through GumGum showcasing a variety of shows available via the video on demand service. In addition, the campaign also had Social, DOOH and Digital Audio support.

The campaign was designed to provide a custom user journey, exposing users to the custom-built ads, clicking, then landing on the video on demand service and finally watching content based on their viewing preferences. Both Cavai and GumGum operate their own inventory, so Havas set up specific PMP deals to be able to activate those partners through MediaMath self-serve, giving us full control over campaign delivery.

Cavai designed a highly engaging conversational messaging outlining which show users should watched, based on a series of multiple-choice questions. Later in the campaign this was upgraded to a “conversational bubble” enticing users through chat format, which matched people to boxsets via a decision tree logic, to help drive incremental scale. This not only ensured users were seeing content that was the most relevant, but directly engaged them with the brand and the video on demand offering. GumGum utilized a UK first custom In-Screen Animated format which expanded with user initiation (hover) which included multiple click points depending on which show-led image the user engaged with, directing to a specific show landing page on the video on demand site.

In terms of targeting and data solutions used for GumGum’s share of the campaign, Havas employed two different tactics. The first was run of network from the GumGum platform which tapped into the contextual element, targeting pages which indexed highly towards TV Series and Streaming. Audience segments were applied to maximize scale through the MediaMath platform to ensure we were engaging with our core Heads and Hearts audience which are custom to campaigns of the Media Broadcaster. Audience and brand safety settings were provided by Eyeota, Oracle and IAS.

RESULTS

Upwards of 5.7 million users were reached in three weeks generating high awareness for the video on demand service. This was 78% greater than initially planned because of the tight frequency caps in place to maximize reach amongst unique users. Cavai delivered an ER at 0.25% (vs 0.15% benchmark), CTR came in 30% higher than initially planned at 0.13%. 64% of users continued the conversation following initial interaction, with 41% of users completing, double Cavai’s average performance. Understanding audience viewing preferences, we found that 58% of users who initiated conversation wanted ‘A Good Laugh’, over 59% of people described themselves as ‘Night Owls’ vs ‘Daytime Dwellers’. These questions were fundamental in determining which shows were the best fit for our target audience.

GumGum also delivered high levels of engagement, CTR came in at 0.88% which is comfortably above the 0.20% benchmark with upwards of 20k unique users clicking through to the video on demand service, demonstrating effectiveness from a traffic driving perspective.

The activity was an innovative way to engage with our core audience groups, not only exceeding campaign’s primary KPI, but also providing deeper understanding on our core audience groups resonance with the video on demand offering.