Two weeks ago, an e-mail landed in the inbox of Ben Stiller, the Hollywood actor. With the release of Tropic Thunder, an upcoming action comedy, would he allow his image to be used in a computer game to be distributed on Facebook?

The social networking site is well-known as a way for its 80 million members to keep in touch, but it is only beginning to assume a new guise as a gigantic viral marketing platform. And companies are lining up.

The Tropic Thunder game, designed by Techlightenment, a London-based digital agency, is a “shoot-em up” that taps into the Paramount film’s mock-heroic strain of humour - players are rewarded for overly dramatic acting.

If this sounds frivolous, consider the companies that are spending a part of their marketing budget on applications, or “apps” - small computer programs that can be downloaded and shared between friends.

Disney has commissioned a Facebook app for Wall-E, the Pixar film about a rubbish-collecting robot (there are ten levels; players collect trash). For the release of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros commissioned an application that lets users give their photos a Batman-esque flavour.

For Juno - whose plot centres on an unplanned pregnancy - Fox Entertainment created an app that allowed users to send virtual pregnancy tests. In the three weeks of the campaign, Facebook users sent more than three million virtual tests, according to Slide, the app’s creator.

According to a report by Forrester, the total spend on “interactive marketing” is predicted to more than triple from $18 billion (£9.1 billion) to $61 billion by 2012.

Of the $61 billion, by far the largest chunk will be spent on search and online display advertisements, which between them will account for $40 billion, yet social media apps are expected to grow from $1 billion to $11 billion in that period.

Many remain sceptical about the earnings potential of sites such as Facebook. When Microsoft bought a $240 million stake that led to the site being valued at $15 billion, Kara Swisher, the influential Wall Street Journal columnist, wrote that Facebook was like a “lemonade stand” in comparison with Google, to which it is sometimes compared.

The move to new approaches is driven in part by a realisation that banner adverts across the tops of web pages have fared poorly on social networking sites.

Sonya Chawla, managing director of advertising at Slide, said: “If you look at click-through rates on traditional ads in social media environments, they’re extremely low. Users just don’t respond well to ads pushed into their [personal] environments.”

Simon Mansell, managing director of TBG, a London-based digital agency, said: “It’s the equivalent of having an nPower ad thrust at you while you’re in the pub.”

By comparison, click-through rates on ads that accompany, or are part of, a game are, by one estimate, 20 times higher at 1 per cent, rather than 0.05 per cent. Advertisers are also enticed by the prospect that campaigns on social networking sites can be tracked more easily.

It is not just social networks that have attracted marketers. Last month Apple unveiled its “App Store” - an online catalogue of apps for its portable devices. One early success has been the iPint, a Carling-themed game developed by Coors, the brewer.

Not to be outdone, Google will reveal its Android mobile phone operating system this summer. It will mean that millions more mobile customers, who buy handsets made by the likes of HTC, Motorola, and Samsung, will be able to download apps to their phone, and make themselves available to marketers.

Stiller, by the way, writer, director and star of Tropic Thunder, a war movie spoof, answered the Facebook question with a “yes”.

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For years now, the mobile internet has been in the telecoms equivalent of the horse and cart era. Constrained by obscure pricing and the unwillingness of operators to open their platforms to third parties, the mobile internet portal has sat largely unloved on the home screen of most handsets.

A recent survey by TBG, a digital advertising agency, suggests that only 13 per cent of mobile owners use the internet on their phones - and that for 53 per cent, the ability to browse the web would be unimportant in the choice of their next handset. This is despite the roll-out of so-called super-fast 3G networks that, according to O2, cover 80 per cent of the country.

A number of factors suggest that the mobile web may be opening a new page, however. First, the increased availability of flat-rate plans that allow unlimited web access as part of the phone contract means that fewer consumers will be frightened off by the thought of a huge bill at the end of the month.

Secondly, the arrival of Apple’s iPhone has set a benchmark for other handset manufacturers that are trying to make it easier to navigate on a small screen.

Thirdly, Apple’s App Store - a website that allows iPhone owners to download all manner of small, web-based applications and install them on their device - has given a taste of what mobile phones could become if operators are willing to open up their portals.

Furthermore, before the end of the summer, manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung are due to release the first phones that run on the Google-backed operating system Android. The roll-out of Android, which will offer a vast online store of web-based applications for phone owners to download, will dramatically increase the number of people who can access web-based content on the move.

Finally, the number of “smartphones”, which offer better browsing, continues to increase. According to Canalys, a research firm, global shipments of high-end devices such as BlackBerrys and Nokia’s 95, which run on more complex software, rose by 60 per cent to 115 million last year.

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Using innovative digital communications to help a brand engage with a new audience

Background

In common with other major department stores, Harrods has an annual promotional plan which seeks to draw together the diverse threads of its offer into a series of compelling propositions.  The theme for Spring 2008 was Design Icons, a six week initiative which allowed Harrods to position itself as a leader in the area of design.

The programme had several strands which included the visual merchandising of 50 design icons across the store and six lectures - in partnership with the Design Museum - by prominent figures such as Vivienne Westwood and Alistair Lansley.

Goal

To engage with a new audience of younger, design–conscious, London-based opinion formers whose view of Harrods was perhaps rather out-of-date, and encourage them to participate in the Design Icons season of promotional activity.

Solution

TBG established that the audience looked to be leading edge in terms of media consumption and interactivity, and that the internet played an integral part in their lives.  The campaign aimed to reach this audience via previously unexplored channels for Harrods whilst reaffirming the brand as a thought leader with more of a ‘cult’ edge than its current perception.

One aim of TBG’s approach was to increase the immediacy and responsiveness of the outdoor and print activity.  In particular, TBG recommended the use of QR (quick response) codes, the first time these had been used by any British retailer. These ‘mobile barcodes’ were published on websites, promotional flyers, newspaper advertisements and e-mails and, when photographed, customers were taken directly to a mobile version of the Design Icons microsite, developed by TBG.  The microsite and its mobile version offered information about the season as well as a chance to win tickets to the lecture series.
 
TBG also engaged users via a number of social networks, developing a ‘hacked’ Myspace page as well as creating and moderating a Facebook group.  Design Icons administrators communicated with the audience directly offering news, insight, opinion and discussion on a series of topics.

Twitter, a micro-blogging service and social network was also incorporated into the campaign to support the mobile medium. Users were prompted to ‘follow’ the campaign via print ads and could subscribe to receive free Design Icons SMS updates detailing forthcoming lectures and updated content, which also provided hyperlinks for those with suitable phones.

A dedicated YouTube channel was also created where footage of each lecture was posted within 24 hours of being given.  These were then seeded and embedded across various social networking sites and influential blogs.

This activity was supported by a more traditional display and e-mail campaign encouraging users to visit the season in-store as well as to download the videos, hosted on the dedicated You Tube channel.  The creative work featured design icons such as the Rubik Cube and the Etch-a-Sketch.

Results

Given the cutting edge nature of the digital campaign, Harrods gained excellent PR coverage across sites such as the Times Online and Washington Post.  Bloggers, digital and mobile enthusiasts also contributed to the buzz of the event, increasing the viral nature of the campaign.

TBG’s social network seeding resulted in a reach of over 161,000 influencers in the design and fashion worlds.

The campaign also drove over 126,000 people to view the Design Icons lectures online and attendance of lectures themselves were oversubscribed by 100% following this innovative integrated digital and offline campaign.

Goal

Prior to working with TBG London, GE Money had done very little in the way of digital advertising, focusing predominantly on CRM and onsite acquisition activity.

Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, TBG’s challenge was to introduce a number of online channels to GE Money to increase the volume of accepted applications to the ASDA credit card whilst ensuring these acquisitions were profitable for the business.

Solution

With little historical information available to determine the profitable cost per acquisition (CPA) rate and most responsive consumer profile, TBG recommended launching a Pay Per Click (PPC) search programme which would be used to deliver learnings and develop the rest of the acquisition strategy.  Initially, the campaign launched on branded ASDA key terms, enabling TBG to establish likely conversion rates, best performing copy and also allowed GE to get an understanding of a profitable CPA based on the behaviour of the card holders. This was followed by a launch on generic terms.

A test and learn strategy was implemented which allowed TBG to determine the highest conversion rates based on time of day and month, search engine and keyword group conversion. The results of these tests were then combined with user profiles which split keywords into 3 areas based on buying behaviour: research, comparison or purchasing. The results of these tests enabled TBG to build GE and ASDA a business model which predicted likely CPA and therefore profitability based on different levels of monthly spend.

This search strategy provided TBG with some excellent learnings which were used to develop the next stage of the acquisition strategy.  These insights helped refine the creative brief, with keyword analysis and results from the highest converting ad copy informing straplines, call to actions and landing page copy - all designed in-house by TBG’s creative team.

Search learnings were also used to inform sections of the display media plan.  Placements were geographically and demographically targeted where appropriate and delivery was weighted according to best performing time of day and day of week.  For example, demographic analysis of customers acquired during the search phase was used for email segmentation purposes whereby customers who matched this demographic were targeted within a given radius of ASDA stores.

Money portals and aggregator sites proved an effective channel, used at the comparison stage of the buying cycle and display and exit traffic were also used to target consumers at other stages.

TBG also recommended the use of multi-variant testing technology which allowed elements of the landing page to be tested, from copy to placement of buttons and colour schemes.  By monitoring the best performing and highest converting elements, TBG were able to roll out landing pages that maximised acquisition rates. 

Results

In week 1 of the search campaign, TBG delivered traffic 20% under CPA target, dropping to 48% under CPA as the campaign was optimised in the following weeks.  Accepted applications increased by 60% over this same time period, demonstrating the continued improvement in quality of leads generated via PPC.

Learnings generated as a result of search activity meant that display and email activity delivered exactly on target from week 1.  As a result of ongoing optimisation, CPA fell to 21% under target in 1 month with individual placements delivering applications at 52% under target CPA.

The continued success of the campaign also meant that TBG were asked to work on ASDA’s personal loans product, to be rolled out later this year.

Goal

To drive new customers to First Direct’s 1st account within a profitable cost per acquisition rate.

Solution

Previously, First Direct’s incumbent agency had been delivering customers at a price 400% over what was profitable.  TBG were so confident they could out-perform them and deliver within target that they agreed to run the campaign and guarantee a cost per application, meaning the only risk to First Direct was the conversion rate between application and signed customer.

• Planning

Using planning tools including TGI and Hitwise as well as First Direct’s internal research, TBG identified the primary target demographic and sites they were likely to visit.  The audience was profiled according to their behavioural tendencies ie. ‘passive’ (not actively searching for financial services products) or ‘active’ (currently searching for financial services products, specifically bank accounts).  This segmentation helped TBG to create a media plan which included detailed forecasting, used to determine the campaign’s likely cost per acquisition.

The media plan was split into ‘passive’ and ‘active’ placements to increase awareness and then conversion. Passive placements included demographically targeted portals and other lifestyle sites which matched the profile of the target customers.  Ad networks (3rd party suppliers who sell inventory across a range of sites) were avoided to allow for better optimisation and lower rates.  Active placements included behavioural and contextual targeting as well as other money portal placements which had proved effective for other TBG financial services clientele.

TBG also worked closely with First Direct’s lead creative agency to ensure creative was developed with placements in mind and that copy / offer routes could be tested and the most effective rolled out.

First Direct’s PPC activity was also reviewed by TBG to ensure display messaging was aligned with top performing terms and ad copy.

• Execution

Firstly, TBG recommended a series of tests, used to gather learnings and improve overall results.  This ranged from multi variance testing such as email subject lines, and time of day delivery to more sophisticated post-impression or optimal frequency testing.

Once the campaign was live, TBG optimised the campaign based on best performing creative, placement and time of day/week.  This resulted in a reduction of the weekly CPA by over 50% between the launch and final week as a result of optimising per placement.

Results

The campaign was run on a cost per application basis and based on the conversion rate to new customer.  TBG achieved a cost per customer that was 400% less than what was being delivered by the previous agency and 30% under the agreed target CPA.

Successful campaign optimisation in the first few weeks of the campaign meant the CPA during the last 2 weeks of the campaign delivered at 72% below target.  TBG’s media profiling approach also proved effective with 73% of placements on the media plan performing under the CPA target from week 1.

Customer profiling conversions from Business & Finance channels received high approval rates of over 50%. This had a positive effect on the overall cost per account and demonstrated the high quality of the leads generated.

TBG London has won a major brief from npower for two of its online products. npower will be the first utility company that TBG has worked with, as it expands its expertise into new sectors.

TBG has been given specific briefs for npower’s standard ‘Online Tariff’ product as well as ‘Juice’, an eco-friendly electricity product. The campaigns will use display, email and some search advertising on a CPA basis to encourage users to switch to npower.

Contextual display ads will run on various portals, as well as on niche sites such as UpMySteet.com to target specific areas of the country.  Online creative will be produced by TBG and will use characters used in offline activity to encourage consumers to switch energy providers to npower.

Simon Mansell, TBG’s managing director, said: “npower is a great household name to add to our roster. Attracting a utilities brand demonstrates the success of our strategy of entering new markets this year. We believe our campaigns for npower’s products will prove that our CPA model is the most successful and cost-effective way for brands, regardless of sector, to get the best from their digital advertising spend.”

David Bond, Head of Campaign Management at npower, said: “Increasingly consumers are turning online to compare utilities prices and find new deals from providers, so it makes commercial sense for us to invest more of our resources in online advertising, particularly for growth areas such as environmentally-friendly energy packages. TBG’s performance-based model was a compelling proposition for us and they impressed us with their hunger and enthusiasm.”

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