Mass media public service announcement (PSA) campaigns on print, billboard, and linear TV have been the status quo for years. But we can do better. Digital media is transforming what’s possible for public health marketing, allowing brands to raise awareness in a much more efficient, measurable way.
Here are five actionable digital tactics you can use to engage audiences and elicit the behavioral changes needed to support important public health initiatives.
Read more in PM360:
A luxury home ice maker brand partnered with Coegi to create a B2B2C strategy that would establish relationships with custom builders, designers, and homeowners, driving in-store visits to authorized brand dealers and growing their sales pipeline.
12,000
Leads Generated
68%
Lift in Dealer Visits
Consumers who were in-market for home appliances were easy to reach and wanted the client’s products. However, they could not buy directly from the brand. We needed to reach kitchen designers and renovators to close the awareness gap between consumers and professionals.
Our team had three key questions:
This home designer and builder audience had proven difficult to reach online. So, we needed to expand beyond traditional B2B channels, such as LinkedIn, to drive lead generation and build a long-term CRM growth strategy for the brand.
Digital media platforms offered limited reach to build awareness among our very niche group of trade professionals. Instead, we partnered with key trade publications to leverage their email syndication lists.
Prior to activating any digital media, Coegi worked with three leading industry publications for a three week email-blast campaign prompting website visitation. This allowed us to build a fresh, highly-qualified audience list primed through sequential messaging.
We took an audience-first approach focusing on consumers already in the consideration stage for relevant products, and drove three core audience segments to find the brand’s B2B dealers:
Coegi used Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to reach users actively searching for home renovation ideas and products. This was accomplished using a blend of contextual, interest, lookalike and retargeting audiences. We also used display retargeting and a paid search strategy to own branded search terms and secure top-of-page placement at final stages of the consumer journey.
With email serving as the awareness driver, we were able to focus on measuring core actions, such as “Dealer Locator” button clicks and contact form submissions on their website. These actions helped us evaluate if we had reached the B2B audience and then implement sequential messaging and flighting to drive conversions.
By combining the audience quality of industry publications with digital reach and measurement, this B2B2C marketing campaign drove outstanding results. It generated 68% growth of in-person dealership visits and 12,000 B2B leads to establish a first-party CRM database.
How can your wine brand stand out among thousands of competitors? It’s about more than having the most eye-catching packaging or best shelf spot — although these are important factors. To get people to reach for your product repeatedly, learn how to stand out across the customer journey using a digital-first media strategy.
To accomplish this effectively, wine brands need to:
Read more about how to drive wine sales through digital marketing on Retail Touchpoints:
Businesses are facing a familiar problem: economic uncertainty. This time, the coalescing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, record-low unemployment rate, and a newsworthy-high inflation rate have created a unique challenge for businesses and their marketing teams. What do we do when the population theoretically has money to spend, but the high cost of basic necessities makes them cautious to buy?
In this whitepaper, Coegi researchers provide an overview of the recent North American economy as of Q1 2023 and the corresponding consumer behavior changes, acknowledging the current challenges and opportunities for businesses and marketers.
Importantly, we acknowledge that each business’s target audience is made up of real, living people, and thus there is no one-size fits all approach to marketing during times of economic volatility.
However, using a data-driven approach to understanding outcomes of previous economic strife, we provide evidence-supported recommendations. In short: fully pausing your marketing communications rarely yields future dividends.
Coegi partnered with a high-growth wine brand to launch a full-funnel digital campaign to quantify the impact on both brand and performance goals using advanced measurement studies.
10.6%
Ad Recall Lift
9.1%
Purchase Intent Lift
621%
Site Traffic Lift
Bread & Butter Wines came to Coegi in 2020 seeking a stronger marketing strategy to stand apart from the crowd of wine brands. Coegi was asked to provide a holistic, integrated marketing strategy that could reach their full-funnel goals:
Our targeting strategy reached consumers based on multiple data signals such as demographics, interests, and competitor affinity. This data indicated what was going to drive brand trial. Initially, we created six audience personas to focus on niche competitive opportunities and product use cases. Going into 2023, this was narrowed down to two core personas using purchase behavior data.
We also used advanced research to understand wine buyers aged 25-54 and living in their top 8 sales states. Using an omni-channel digital strategy, our initial goal was to increase reach and frequency against key audiences. We selected channels offering efficiency and effectiveness, while also balancing lower-funnel ROAS goals.
Key channels we are prioritizing include:
Additionally, we used advanced measurement through Upwave, Facebook, and Nielsen Catalina to understand the full-funnel impact on the brand – from ad recall to purchase intent.
Throughout our multi-year partnership, we have served billions of cross-channel impressions. In the first three months, we saw a 621% increase in website visitors period over period and 27,000 site actions.
The first Instacart campaign was especially successful in driving trial, with a nearly 3X ROAS, increasing attributable sales across all varietals. Instacart has continued to have a strong impact. The most recent campaign touts a 4X ROAS, 32% increase in YoY Instacart sales, and an average cost of conversion of $3.73.
Our campaigns run with Nielsen Catalina were successful at driving incremental value for the brand. The display campaigns helped reclaim former customers with especially strong performance from lost/lapsed customers. The CTV campaign boosted exposure among key audiences and generated $230,101 in sales value of products transferred to their e-commerce cart after seeing an ad.
The Bread & Butter team continues to be pleased with the Coegi partnership.
Looking for a way to stand out among the sea of colleges and universities competing for the attention of potential students?
Paid social media marketing is one of the most effective tactics you can use for your higher education institute.
Most higher education marketing plans under-utilize paid social media in favor of more traditional advertising tactics. While these channels can be effective, there is a major opportunity cost in omitting social media channels where potential students are most engaged.
Social media is a must-have tactic to reach student audiences and revitalize education brands’ market positioning. In this article, you’ll learn Coegi’s key best practices to optimize social media marketing for higher education so you can drive results – from awareness to enrollment.
Higher education audience targeting strategies can feel fairly prescriptive. Colleges and universities want to reach and engage with prospective students, whether undergraduates, masters, or professional students. This might seem pretty straightforward; however, reaching undergraduate students in a data-driven way is becoming increasingly challenging due privacy laws restricting advertising to minors.
But, not all hope is lost. The data clearly shows that young adults are highly active on social media. So, while perhaps less frequently targetable by demographics, higher education brands can and should use social platforms to reach these individuals from a contextual standpoint in a compliant and authentic way.
While paid social media is an excellent tool for reaching young students, focusing solely on students can limit your education campaign’s full potential. Nearly everyone is on social media – not just teens and young adults. Incorporating parents into your audience mix can vastly increase higher education campaign reach and efficacy, whether they are looking into colleges and universities for themselves or on behalf of their children.
Social media encapsulates a wide demographic range, though the preferred social channel may vary. For example, Facebook and Instagram remain very popular with older generations. Consider leaning into these channels to capture more of your parent and professional student audience.
On the other hand, Snapchat and TikTok have higher usage among younger audiences. By creating a cohesive strategy across multiple social media platforms, you can ensure you’re reaching every potential decision-maker in the school selection process.
Leaning into social media opens the door for innovation within higher education marketing. Young audiences are on the forefront of changes to the social media landscape. This gives higher education advertisers the unique opportunity to test out new tactics and be early movers in the space. Your brand can increase credibility and favorability amongst your key audiences by creating social moments that surprise and engage these individuals.
This also applies to the types of creative you use. Students want to see something engaging and on-trend. TikTok, in particular, is a space to experiment with creative short-form video formats and explore innovative ways to drive leads. Check out these universities who are using TikTok to engage with students: 5 Universities and Colleges Winning on TikTok
Education brands face a unique challenge with social media marketing because their most critical action, submitted applications, is often not directly measurable. Obstacles, including third-party website domains and pixel data limitations, can complicate attribution. However, there are a number of high-intent actions users can take on your website that are worth measuring in paid social media campaigns.
First, determine which lower-funnel actions are most important and measurable. Two such examples are clicks to start the application process or clicks to sign up for a campus tour. After determining these KPIs, optimize your social media campaigns for them.
From there, establish a conversion rate between “clicks to apply” and completed applications, for instance. By taking this analysis a step further, education brands can work to create a more complete picture of social media campaign attribution.
Social media marketing for higher education brands offers fresh and engaging opportunities to reach the full spectrum of your target audiences. Think outside the box and explore how your institution can creatively show up on social platforms to drive high-intent actions, while also building greater brand awareness.
To see some of these strategies in action, view our case study on Using TikTok to Reach College Students.
If you’re looking for a higher education marketing agency partner, contact Coegi today to learn more.
Bread & Butter Wines uses the online grocery delivery app, Instacart, as a central tactic in their e-commerce strategy. Because of this, our account team was eager to try a new optimized bidding tool offered by the platform. Our goals were threefold: to keep the client’s strategy in stride with a rapidly evolving platform, test AI’s ability to directly impact ROI, and reduce operational lift.
4X
ROAS
32%
YoY Sales
$3.73
Cost per Conversion
Coegi runs an evergreen campaign on Instacart for Bread & Butter, which has consistently delivered at or above a 2x ROAS benchmark. However, achieving these results required time-consuming manual optimizations based on cost-per-click metrics. While this approach was effective in driving results, we sought a more efficient and profitable bidding process.
Instacart’s new optimized bidding tool uses AI to automate bidding and maximize ad spend. Staying up-to-date with innovative platform updates is a priority for Coegi, and we knew this tool had the potential to significantly increase campaign performance and efficiency. Within a month of the Instacart release, our team implemented the new capability.
After a brief learning period, the AI algorithm began pushing ROAS into the 3x range. As the campaign progressed, this figure steadily increased to an average of over 4x, with peaks for individual products hitting up to 10x ROAS. As a result, the campaign generated a 32% YoY increase in Instacart revenue and decreased the average cost-per-conversion by 53%.
In the age of Web3 and AI advances, a seemingly small platform update can have a significant impact on your results. Our team’s enthusiasm for testing and learning allowed this campaign to double its impact on Bread & Butter Wines’ ROI.
A successful ecommerce strategy requires an omnichannel presence. It is the new norm for shopping and will continue its upward trajectory. Brands are following suit, investing more than ever in ecommerce advertising.
To build consumer relationships and establish brand loyalty, marketers must create a robust online presence that aligns with where their consumers are spending time online. It is critical to show up in multiple digital marketplaces, for product discovery as well as purchase.
Today’s ecommerce model expands beyond traditional commerce channels. Brands can’t rely on just having a Shopify or Amazon storefront anymore. You can place your product in front of engaged users on social media through social commerce, influencer marketing, social search, and many other paid advertising placements. However, even social is just one piece of the puzzle.
To learn how to craft the optimal omnichannel ecommerce strategy for your brand, download the guide below:
The digital world is far more crowded than any physical retail destination. eCommerce is multi-channel, bridging the gap between in-store and online experiences. Over 73% of consumers use multiple channels to make purchasing decisions. And because shoppers are multichannel, brands must be too.
The modern consumer is their own salesperson. They are better informed, armed with reviews, and company and product information. In fact, 97% of consumers check online reviews before buying a product to get additional insight.
eCommerce has skyrocketed in popularity. As this medium grows, consumer expectations and shopping behaviors are also changing.
Customer experience is the ultimate differentiator. Consumers seek quality experiences, with 36% rating experience as critical for them, just behind price and convenience. Positive, personalized brand experiences are what ultimately drive conversions.
eCommerce is social commerce, marketplaces, delivery providers, D2C, retail media, and more – all wrapped into one connected commerce experience. Skai coined the term “connected commerce”, which simply refers to connecting all points of the customer commerce journey together. It’s important to also connect all digital media tactics with commerce channels to ensure they are synchronously supporting the customer journey to drive optimal return on investment.
You can achieve ecommerce success using three key components:
Coegi can help set up a data-driven strategy to maximize your ecommerce success. Contact us today to learn more.
BODYARMOR was a new entrant into a well-defined CPG category: sports energy drinks.
With a product containing less than half the sugar in Gatorade, but only 2% of overall category market share, BODYARMOR was looking to disrupt the paradigm.
16%
Lift in Brand Awareness
25M
Video Views in 2 Months
23%
Lift in Purchase Intent
The media challenge was to break through the clutter in a crowded space and ensure BODYARMOR’s message of superior hydration was reaching the most relevant audience – ultimately increasing awareness and market share.
Logistically, they secured significant investment with grocery store and gas station distribution networks. The brand also had endorsements across all major sports leagues, plus significant involvement from investor, Kobe Bryant. But, to increase market share and sales, they needed to establish brand awareness with the right customers.
We used industry research to select the optimal digital media channels, as well as our own planning and channel mix software, to develop the optimal “go-to-market” plan. Using BODYARMOR’s first-party data collected from web engagements and promotional eblast sign-ups, we created targeted media plans for key niche audiences and engaged media partners to further invest in BODYARMOR’s success and growth.
Our team performed look-alike modeling and statistical analysis to create microtargeted audiences, including: Blue Collar Workers, Grocery Gatekeepers, Veterans, Teenage Athletes, and Health-Focused Adults.
Each audience had its own media plan and messaging strategy, for example:
To maximize campaign efficacy, we enabled multiple layers of targeting. This included layering our media with the national distribution footprint, to ensure the campaign was reaching the right people at the right time in the right place. We customized sequential messaging based on customer engagement level and continually made real-time adjustments to optimize performance.
We also engaged our Google reps to ensure alignment and efficiency across the board. These partnerships allowed access to Google Beta products, as well as brand lift and purchase intent studies to evaluate campaign success.
By all measures, this campaign delivered superior performance. Aggressive optimization throughout the campaign resulted in 55% over-delivery and engagement rates much higher than initially outlined. Through Google Site Link extensions, we were able to drive and measure a significant amount of in-store sales volume.
In year one, the audience-first strategy produced strong brand recall lift amongst four of the five target groups. In year two, the strategy shifted to only include the top four performing audience groups.
More importantly, sales increased nearly 300% YoY, with 6% category market share; leading to the brand being acquired by Coca-Cola.
If your search marketing strategy stops at basic Google SEM, you’re missing out on a wealth of opportunity. Paid search is no longer just a straightforward marketing tactic in your media playbook. New technological advancements and shifting consumer behavior are changing the user journey for search.
Sure, Google is a continuously evolving target that requires marketers to dedicate time and energy to evolve with it. But it’s also important to understand the value of leaning into search algorithms on social and e-commerce platforms to promote product discovery.
So, as search marketing becomes both more multidimensional and omnichannel, how can you use it to your brand’s competitive advantage?
If your goal is to reach new audiences in the Gen Z or Millennial demographics, social media is a must-have component of your search strategy. Social media is Gen Z’s favorite channel to learn about new products, per Semrush survey data. In fact, 28% of Gen Z say the primary way they discover new brands and products is through social media ads versus the 27% who do so through search engines. Even after initial discovery, social media remains the top channel for additional product/service research among both Gen-Z and Millennials.
Any social platform with a search bar can be a tool for brand discovery. Tap into the search engine optimization elements of social media by implementing a well-researched keyword strategy on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Develop keywords to promote product discovery and increase conversions, and play to each platform’s unique algorithms. Explore ways to optimize your content – paid or organic – to match what your consumers are looking for.
Optimize everything – your profile description, shopping pages, captions, closed captioning, hashtags, and location – for key search terms.
Although search engine marketing is traditionally viewed as a bottom-funnel, conversion-driving tactic, it’s also an excellent tool for initial discovery. What better way to tap into this potential than optimizing for search on e-commerce and retail sites where there is a shorter purchase cycle?
A MediaPost article reports that, “Amazon, Google, and eBay have become the top three destinations to search for products in the United States.” In fact, 60% of online product searches start on Amazon alone – more than the total of all search engines. Plus, another 35% of consumers start their searches directly on retailer websites.
Using these platforms, consumers are more likely than ever to discover a product for the first time and immediately purchase it. That’s the beauty of the speed and convenience of e-commerce today. You can tailor your content on shopping channels to rank for product-focused, transactional search queries and drive quick conversions.
Use the space available on product and brand pages to include a blend of relevant branded and unbranded keywords. This will defend your footprint against competitors and introduce your brand to in-market consumers.
Zero-click search refers to search engine queries that do not result in any clicks to other links. Instead, the user is able to find the information they need in the snippets at the top of the search engine results pages. Zero-click search accounts for 25.6% of mobile search queries, per Semrush research. From Google My Business to Rich Answers, brands can provide a wealth of information to consumers without the need for a click, simplifying the user experience.
Let’s address the elephant in the room – losing website traffic sounds like a detriment for brands. So, how do you flip zero-click search to your advantage? Forrester’s 2022 report by Nikhil Lai, Implement Holistic Search Marketing To Win The Search Engine Results Page, states that zero-click search, “challenges marketers who ‘have measured success purely through clicks’ to accurately measure search’s impact, according to Ryan Green, VP of marketing and innovation at Coegi. Without relying on clicks, search practitioners become more like PR directors focused on awareness, visibility, and top-of-funnel strategies.”
So, lean into your content quality. Make sure your technical SEO is optimizing for transactional search queries, and your content and website schema are structured for rich results. If you’re selling a product, you want it to rank in the top Google Shopping results for relevant keywords. Likewise, if you’re trying to rank for informational queries, make sure you have highly useful content on those topics written according to SEO best practices. This will increase your authority and improve your chances of gaining featured snippets.
Add FAQs on key topics to your website to boost your chances of showing up in Google Rich Answers.
Google voice search became available to Android users back in 2012. By 2020, 63% of Americans began using voice assistants in their daily lives – whether it was Siri on iPhones, Cortana on Microsoft devices, Alexa on Amazon Echos, or others (National Public Media, 2020). Today, we are seeing an even greater consumer adoption of connected devices for voice search. This includes hands-free devices like connected cars, voice-activated CTV remotes, and, of course, smart speakers.
Currently, local search is a leading driver for voice searches beyond basic weather, music, and news queries commonly used with voice assistants. However, the growth of mobile commerce and hands-free search is making voice search a more important player in the search and e-commerce ecosystem. As the technology becomes more responsive and user-friendly, the Internet of Things will help create a wealth of opportunity for more voice search and voice shopping applications. So prepare now – start exploring how to make your content adaptable for voice search and explore connected device integrations.
The average voice search is 29 words long. Write content in a conversational tone and lean into Q&A formats targeting long-tail keywords. Also lean into broad match terms to allow your keywords to evolve with user queries.
Multisearch is a new tool from Google allowing mobile app users to search using a combination of text and image. Using this AI-driven technology, users can upload an image and then type an accompanying query into the search bar. A multisearch example Google shares is uploading a picture of a houseplant plus the query “care instructions’.”
Similarly, you can snap a photo of an item, such as a rug or a sweater, and find it or similar options for sale online. ‘Multisearch near me’ even allows users to snap a photo of an item and then find where it is available nearby. This provides a unique way for local restaurants and brick and mortar retailers to reach new customers via search. Think of the beautiful food pictures you see on Pinterest or Instagram. With multisearch near me, you can upload one of those images and see if a local restaurant has a similar dish to try.
By layering text and image, multisearch responses can be more relevant to the user, personalized to their wants and needs. Although still a new and evolving tool, it’s clear to see the discovery and commerce potential multisearch offers for brands.
Develop search content, whether written, video, or image, for humans – not just to appeal to the Google bots. The goal of multisearch is to be as relevant and useful as possible – ensure your content matches these needs.
Search engines, social media platforms, and e-commerce sites are collectively enhancing what’s possible for search. This means you need to extend both your SEO and SEM strategies to all possible channels in the media mix. To succeed with your search marketing strategy, focus on your audiences’ user journeys and discovery experiences first and foremost, rather than gamification of the SEO system.
