4-page Case Study - Posted 1/14/2008
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Microsoft Online Services Customer Story: NBC Universal
“I know size matters.”
Every day people are bombarded with big ad campaigns across television, radio, print, and the Web. With a little luck, those different pieces create a single brand presence in people’s minds and, of course, convert to sales. But sometimes there’s just no time for cross-channel marketing or brand buildup. Sometimes businesses just need to get their message out, and they need to do it right now. So in an age of instant downloads, instant replays, and instant messaging, can businesses get instant gratification from their messaging?
These days, people don’t have to look too far to find entertainment. Whether they’re planning a big night out on the town or a cozy night in front of the television, the options are endless. And because the Internet provides a vehicle for so many of those options, businesses are beginning to test the boundaries—and the payoffs—of quick-turnaround Internet advertising as an alternative to big-budget multimedia campaigns.
For NBC, the time to test those boundaries was just before the live season finale of The Biggest Loser. Although there was no time for a drawn-out campaign, NBC needed mass reach and high impact—right away. That’s why it decided to collaborate with Microsoft® Digital Advertising Solutions and research firm Dynamic Logic to test a hard-hitting, one-day “roadblock” of Windows Live™ Hotmail®.
On the day of the finale, NBC reserved all advertising on the Hotmail home page, the sent mail page, and the inbox page in hopes of reaching a broad target audience of women age 18 to 44. These pages provide access to a huge average audience of more than 10.8 million people, all reading and writing e-mails to millions of other e-mail users. According to NBC, “This is where people are discussing their entertainment choices, and we wanted our messaging next to those conversations.”
The quick campaign had just the impact NBC had hoped for. In one day of intensive Hotmail advertising, NBC captured the awareness of a mass audience and saw strong increases in key branding metrics that were at or above the average for entire campaigns, according to Dynamic Logic. In fact, frequent reality TV viewers who were exposed to the campaign four or more times showed an 8.2 percent increase in intent to watch The Biggest Loser finale.
The messaging also engaged the audience NBC was hoping to reach. Of the respondents, 42 percent watch reality TV shows once a week or more, and 43 percent watch 17 or more hours of television in an average week. Studies also showed that The Biggest Loser campaign widely outperformed similar efforts at increasing nearly all TV show brand awareness metrics among women in the target age range.
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Windows Live Hotmail was an important vehicle to spread the word about The Biggest Loser finale. We needed mass reach and an ability to gain mindshare in a very short period of time. |
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Why was the roadblock so successful? Because Hotmail is a place where people make plans and influence one another’s decisions. In fact, 80 percent of Hotmail users discuss their social arrangements in e-mail—so NBC was able to put its message right where (and when) people were planning their night.
NBC’s advertising partners reaped the benefits as well. In the audience of women age 18 to 44, message association with The Biggest Loser advertising increased 13.8 percentage points—earning an “Excellent” rating by Dynamic Logic.
Says NBC of the test campaign, “Windows Live Hotmail was an important vehicle to spread the word about The Biggest Loser finale. We needed mass reach and an ability to gain mindshare in a very short period of time.” Judging by the results, one day really can make a difference.
For more information, go to www.microsoft.com.
