The YouTube strategy behind Samsung’s Sound Experiment campaign and how it boosted brand metrics.
THE CLIENT
Samsung AV
THE MEDIA AGENCY
Starcom
THE PRODUCT
Samsung Audio 360° Omnidirectional Speaker
THE GOAL
To establish a credible new product in the wireless audio multi-room (WAM) market.
THE STRATEGY
Six Week YouTube Campaign, using YouTube’s TrueView In-Stream Ad format.
Brand Lift Tracking to measure brand impact of campaign.
THE RESULTS
More than 2M views.
108% uplift in advertising awareness among viewers.
50% increase in searches for Samsung and related brand terms.
Contribution towards 14% increase in conversions on site.
Samsung AV saw an opportunity to position as a challenger brand in the growing wireless audio multi-room (WAM) market with an innovative speaker product.
The marketing team faced the challenge that Samsung’s key rivals deployed either large television budgets or were legacy audio brands with a strong heritage to draw upon. Samsung believed its range of Audio 360° Omnidirectional Speakers offered a unique proposition and the right media strategy would boost awareness and sales.
Google together with Starcom’s planning team identified YouTube’s TrueView In-streamadvertising format as ideal for the first phase of a digital campaign to promote the speakers. The format allows for flexibility in the ad’s length, so a brand can choose how to best tell its story and Samsung produced short and long versions of its 360° Sound Experiment ad. The format is also cost effective – the client only pays when a viewer watches 30 seconds of the ad or all of the ad if it's shorter than 30 seconds/engages with the video.
Samsung developed a stunning creative that painted a picture of the capability of the speaker to deliver omni-directional sound via synchronised lighting effects.
Then to make sure that activity reached the relevant audience with no wastage, Starcom’s search team analysed remarketing lists and identified prospects aligned to affinity segments based on lifestyle and interests.
The Results
The ad ran on YouTube for six weeks and as it was the only campaign activity implemented in the period any lift in key performance indicators could be attributed to this activity alone. The impact of the Sound Experiment ad was tracked using Google’s Brand Lift Studies, which measures the effect of YouTube ad on perceptions and behaviours throughout the consumer journey, including brand awareness, ad recall, consideration, brand interest and purchase intent.
The Brand Lift results showed that awareness of Samsung speakers jumped 25% among consumers exposed to the ad versus a control group who did not see the ad. Awareness tracked highest among consumers who watched the ad for longer than 30 seconds – with 30% awareness versus 14.5% for the control group.
The campaign delivered more than 2 million views and recorded strong metrics for the crucial points along the customer journey towards conversion. A 50% increase in searches for the brand showed potential customers were sending strong intent signals, while the TrueView In-Stream activity influenced their consideration and helped to increase conversion on site by 14%. The conversion rate dropped back to normal levels after the campaign, underlining the campaign’s effectiveness.
The campaign demonstrated the ability of TrueView to deliver credible metrics throughout the consumer purchase process and paved the way for Samsung to move on to preparing the next phase of campaign activity with confidence.
