Rising to the special occasion

Seasonal occasions and events present an opportunity and a challenge for brands. They can build personalised and localised relationships with their consumers, but it's often a competitive and cluttered landscape. Creative storytelling and execution across platforms is the key. Brands that do this succeed in breaking through the clutter, building relevance and driving growth during these seasonal occasions.

Maybelline India

GOAL: Maybelline wanted to leverage its partnership with Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) to promote key products to Indian women who were interested in beauty, shopping and fashion. 

SOLUTION: Maybelline produced a creative-driven campaign which ran simultaneously across Facebook and Instagram. They shared visually interesting content on the Fashion Week experience with women aged 15–34 across both platforms. The creative resonated with their target audience as they helped inspire and demystify makeup looks suitable for Indian consumers. Photo ads and carousel ads on Facebook were also used for its makeup promotions. Video ads showcasing DIY tutorials of runway looks encourage people to try them at home. They promoted new products on Instagram using link ads, showcasing face charts and pack shots designed to inspire the audience and guide them through the path to purchase.

RESULTS: Maybelline’s multi-platform approach used ad formats and targeting to promote the brand’s partnership with AIFW, as well as its own products and promotions. The five-week campaign achieved:

• 18-point lift in ad recall
• 6-point lift in campaign awareness
• 5-point lift in message association

Lazada Indonesia

GOAL: Lazada wanted to get a head start on the busy and competitive Ramadan shopping season. As trust is one of the biggest barriers for online shopping in Indonesia, Lazada wanted to build customer confidence and improve the perception of its unique selling points. 

SOLUTION: To stand out from the clutter of Ramadan ads, Lazada created creative and entertaining stories to reach to a wider audience base, and attract new customers. The campaign focused on increasing awareness about its main value propositions – cash on delivery, genuine products and free shipping – to build consumer confidence and trust among online shoppers. Lazada’s creative concept revolved around a shopper’s desire to try on new clothing, and featured him in humorous scenarios trying on various outfits. They optimised their TV ads for mobile by shortening the video to feature key visuals, front-loading it with Lazada branding and running an end visual with Ramadan messaging. Captions and graphics were also included to attract viewers in a sound-off environment. The campaign ran across Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network, and also used carousel ads, slideshow ads and photo ads for people with low bandwidth. 

RESULTS: The four-week campaign contributed to stronger sales through lifting trust and brand perception. The results of Facebook brand lift and conversion lift studies reported: 

• 59% more orders (compared to solely running dynamic ads without a brand campaign using mobile-optimised creative)
• 15% increase in ad awareness
• 12% increase in “cash on delivery” message association
• 13% increase in “free shipping” message association

Nestle Vietnam

GOAL: Nestle wanted to build a stronger association with Tet New Year, the most culturally important festive season in Vietnam, to boost sales using a combination of Facebook and TV together. 

SOLUTION: For their first campaign on Facebook and Instagram, Nestle wanted to increase brand awareness by engaging Vietnamese people on mobile. They modified and restructured their existing TV ads for mobile viewing to capture their attention quickly and make a lasting impression. The key messages focused on uplifting family values, the importance of spending time with family and the need for mutual respect. The video ads kicked off with eye-catching festival greetings and Nestle branding upfront, and took viewers into a Vietnamese family’s home for a celebratory New Year meal, along with animated Vietnamese characters who spread festive cheer. They also paired its video ads with slideshow ads and photo ads to reach low-bandwidth audiences and targeted the core audience aged 25-40.

RESULTS: By optimising its TV commercial for mobile, Nestle grabbed a significant chunk of consumers’ mind share during the competitive festive season. Apart from achieving a double-digit increase in sales, they have also achieved:

• 11-point lift in ad awareness among target audience of 25- to 40-year-olds
• 6-point lift in message association with Tet values
• 18.8 million people in Vietnam reached (69% of target audience)

Nespresso Taiwan

GOAL: Nespresso wanted to raise awareness of its newly launched coffee machine, Prodigio, and educate people about its unique functionality of setting the brewing time using their smartphones. They also timed their campaign with Father’s Day offers to boost sales. 

SOLUTION:  They ran a three-part campaign to guide people along the purchasing journey from discovery to checkout. It kicked off with a video showcasing the Prodigio’s functionality while walking people through their app. They wanted to generate awareness among Taiwanese coffee and technology enthusiasts aged 25–50. The campaign then retargeted people who watched the video with a carousel ad that highlighted the app-controlled feature, and linked to more product information. Nespresso also timed their campaign with Father’s Day to entice people to purchase the machine as a gift for dads. The included promotions with the “Shop Now” call-to-action button embedded for easy purchase. They tracked conversions on their website and retargeted people who didn’t make a purchase.

RESULTS: By guiding people through the purchase journey from discovery to checkout, Nespresso sustained its audience during the 6-week campaign. From July–August 2016, they achieved:

• 2.1x increase in online sales of all Nespresso coffee machines (year over year)
• 2.8x higher online coffee machine sales than their sales target (for July–August 2016)
• 21-point lift in ad recall
• 8-point increase in brand awareness 
• 9-point increase in product familiarity