Sifting Through Data is Like Finding a Needle in a Haystack!
Look Beyond the Obvious Data to Select the Right Medium for Your Audience
“The company established a steep sales lift goal of 10% on all markets combined. Even with the markets that under- performed the sales lift far exceeded our aggressive expectations by an additional 12.5%.”
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Ed Haubrick
Brand Sales V.P., Fuhrer Company
Executive Summary
A large retail client was interested in experimenting with one of their lesser-known products to see if they could boost sales at a local level over a 90-day period. They wanted to see the advertising and sales results for this product in six markets prior to planning a larger, company-wide campaign in the next year that would expand to 175 markets.
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The client had not produced any video creative for this specific product, so television, OTT and any form of video advertising were not an option. The client’s request was for a combination of radio, out of home and programmatic digital display.
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Goals
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Test media mix for a future larger long-term campaign
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Test statistical data and agency analyzation
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Track sales to determine results in the six test markets
Obstacles
The client had already predetermined and mandated specific direction to A3 Media. This media direction was to be duplicated in all six markets. After a thorough analysis of each market, A3 Media found that the individual demographics were significantly different in each market and that the identical media plan across all would not be beneficial to overall sales lift.
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A3 Media’s research and analysis showed that the campaign would be more successful if an alternative media mix was deployed and one market was replaced. The client was hesitant, however, allowed A3 to implement three different campaign approaches in order to determine which combination of media would produce the greatest sales results.
Approach
An in-depth research and data analysis investigation of the six markets by A3 Media uncovered three key factors that would yield the greatest probability for success;
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The brand’s product would be most attractive to adults (primarily men 40+ years of age) and was expected to perform better in markets with a larger, older adult population than younger population. (Gen X and Boomers vs. Millennials and Gen Z).
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The ethnicity of individuals in each of the markets would affect the success of the campaign.
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In order to appeal to the proper local market audience, a different mix of media options would be best in each market.
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Campaign A – ran in two markets with the combination of OOH and digital advertising, as originally instructed by the client.
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Campaign B – ran in one market, as instructed by the client, with OOH only. The client made this decision against the advice of A3 Media. The demographics within this targeted market did not lend itself well to the campaign and A3 believed this type of advertising would prove unsuccessful.
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Campaign C – ran in three markets with a combination of OOH and radio advertising and was based on the overall recommendations provided by A3 Media.
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To fairly assess the results of each plan, impression levels and budgets were evenly allocated.
Results
Sales results were evaluated against the same time frame from the preceding year and against the current year’s ongoing negative trends.
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Campaign A: Resulted in sales lift with increase of +1.2% and +2.1%.
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Campaign B: Resulted in negative sales of -1.2%.
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Campaign C: Resulted in sales lift with increases of +14.2, +24.1 and +50.2%.
Summary
It takes time and effort to properly investigate individual market nuances or mediums with respect to target audiences. Valuable marketing dollars can be wasted on media buys that are based
on incomplete facts, faulty data or improper analysis of that data. Partnering with an agency that understands a client’s brand, audience and needs is crucial. Media isn’t just about buying placements, it’s understanding an audience so well that every
dollar spent delivers more.