This case study explains how Precis Digital and Matsmart have taken a strategic approach to YouTube to drive value on par with Search.
Introduction
Matsmart is a Swedish online ‘supermarket’ for surplus food with the goal of eliminating food waste. The urgency to establish Matsmart came when the founders discovered that one-third of all food produced in the world was being thrown away. The webshop offers customers surplus food and cosmetic products at extreme discounts. It also positions itself as an essential part of other companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility strategies.
Challenge
Matsmart wanted to expand its customer base by venturing further into the world of online marketing, especially in regards to branding and prospecting, while maintaining efficiency by operating with a strict CPA (Cost Per Action) target. To help achieve this goal, Precis suggested using Youtube to increase brand awareness among potential consumers.
Youtube is often perceived as an upper-funnel channel with the objective of making the consumer aware of the advertiser’s services. The true conversion value of Youtube can be difficult to prove as video ads promote but don’t necessarily achieve Matsmart’s sustainable vision and strict targets.
Precis’ Solution
With many years of deep expertise in leveraging YouTube as a performance channel for clients, Precis suggested that Matsmart test some of YouTube’s specialized formats for online purchase/conversion as part of their digital marketing strategy. Even though YouTube is often considered an upper-funnel channel, it can be deployed as a conversion driving channel for advertisers who are interested in seeing a direct return on investment. Regular Trueview, Trueview for Action and Trueview for Shopping were tested against each other to find the best format meet the CPA target and drive performance for Matsmart.
Along with format selection, Precis Digital applied a granular audience strategy for both prospecting and remarketing to maximise performance and reach the right potential customers. This was combined with best-practice weekly optimisations of the campaign to ensure that the CPA stayed below the intended target. Precis Digital’s advice for advertising on YouTube helped Matsmart solve two challenges: expanding their reach and awareness while keeping overall CPA below target.
Results
Precis Digital set up a new structure that accomplished the dual goal of achieving a CPA target while expanding the reach of Matsmart’s digital presence. The setup was structured to take advantage of the audience sharing capabilities between Google Search and YouTube.
The traditional Trueview format had a two-fold purpose. The first was as a benchmark for performance, and the second was as a foundation to collect audience data for those viewing ads, allowing for retargeting later on which would take advantage of the two other formats: Trueview for Action and Trueview for Shopping.
The results were exceptionally strong. Not only was Matsmart getting its brand message through to thousands of users via Rich Media, but Precis Digital’s audience and format strategy also made it possible for Matsmart to operate within the target CPA set for the campaigns.
Format comparison to the Trueview benchmark:
Trueview for Action increased conversions by 261% while decreasing CPA by 67%
Trueview for Shopping increase conversions by 642% while decreasing CPA by 84%
Furthermore, Matsmart and Precis Digital wanted to know just how good Trueview for Shopping really is. The results spoke for themselves: the conversion rate was 122% higher than for Matsmart’s generic search campaigns, using all the same audiences. In running these campaigns, Precis Digital demonstrated the effect YouTube can have not only as an upper-funnel platform but also one to drive value (revenue/conversions) when there are strict KPI targets to meet.
If you have any questions concerning YouTube, the available formats, strategy or audiences, get in touch with us!
