Because rich media usually exists only in expanded experiences that require user activation, even when supported with paid media, the odds are against the rich media ad ever being seen. Studies show it’s common for only one in a hundred ad impressions to activate the rich media. However, in this campaign, we removed the need for activation, transforming standard mobile ad impressions into boldly-sized, attention-grabbing rich media executions optimized for mobile.

Additionally, we applied creative science and had the assets intended for use within the most successful formats evaluated to determine what maximized efficacy. A leading research company ran focus groups that evaluated several different ad versions and the responses provided insights and optimizations that were implemented prior to launching the campaign in market.

Lastly, a sales measurement study was conducted to determine whether creative designed and optimized specifically for mobile, could significantly outperform sales benchmarks.

There were three unique aspects to the idea:

Before the campaign began, three different mobile advertising formats were evaluated for their ability to attract the user’s attention while registering a positive experience. The two highest-scoring advertising formats were then used for the campaign.

The creative assets used within the formats were optimized for greatest brand awareness.

These enhanced ads were placed within premium journalistic content on the mobile web instead of the more commonly used social media or mobile app placements.

Timeline: The campaign ran from April 10, 2017 to May 9, 2017

Placements: Two unique rich media mobile formats:

Sidekick - a square ad that sits at the bottom right of the mobile screen within premium journalistic content

Venti - a large format ad format that is unmissable, yet doesn't obscure the content on the screen

Scale: 68 Million impressions delivered

Creative:

Venti format achieved 78% Likeability, 89% Brand Fit, 95% Understandability and was top 20% in unaided brand recall, message recall, and ad recognition.

27 seconds average in view time (61% longer than industry benchmark)

1.3% Click Through Rate (116% over industry benchmark)

Reach:

3.8 million unique households were reached. 95% of households reached were new or lapsed brand users, 25% of those households were category buyers, but not previous brand buyers

Sales:

Households exposed to the campaign purchased 21% more of the product than households that were not exposed.

The campaign was successful in gaining market share from Glade, the category leader.

Achievement:

Ultimately, the campaign achieved a mobile Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of $1.66

The campaign shattered the break-even threshold by 66% and even exceeded the client’s ROAS benchmark by 10%

The results proved that optimizing creative assets for mobile can yield exceptional sales results and ROAS