Lead Forensics

New normal, new business: analysing our own TV campaign

15 February 2021

 

Back in May 2020, Guerillascope found itself in a position shared by many companies: faced with a global pandemic and nationwide lockdown, business had stalled.

Unwavering in our belief that the best way to deal with a crisis is to be proactive and invest in your brand, we made the decision to advertise our media planning and buying services on TV.

Here are a few insights into how that went…

The creative process

Though we knew we needed to reach out to business owners and reassure a concerned target audience that opportunities to build their companies remained plentiful, we also had a responsibility to ensure our staff were shielded from furlough or redundancy in these uncertain times.

Thankfully, our partners at HotWolf, a branded content and production agency, had a cost-effective solution for how to create an impactful ad: base the creative on home footage featuring the producer and their family.

Working closely with them, we developed a storyboard and script that acknowledged the anxiety, boredom and stress felt by the UK public in a sensitive-yet-relatable way. The message was positive and compassionate. Take a look…

The strategy

With lockdown driving a surge in viewing figures and airtime rates plummeting, we decided to run an all-time campaign that would reach as much of the UK population as possible whilst particularly targeting an affluent B2B audience.

With this in mind, we selected a roster of TV channels that included Sky News, Channel 5, Pick TV, Comedy Central and Quest.

The result

May’s activity delivered a 63% rise in brand search and a 248% increase in homepage web visits, with an average uplift in unique users of 72% compared against baseline traffic. The average session duration rose by 297%.

But wait a minute…

As with any TV advertising campaign, context is key. Situations develop, and advertisers have to keep up. With the nation emerging from one lockdown only to be placed in another, sentiment began to change. Frustration entered the arena, and with it a greater appetite among businesses to fight back.

This shift in public attitude required a new creative that carried a more bullish tone. Working this time with Arch, we developed an animated commercial that encouraged businesses to “think big in a changing world,” all the while respecting the stature of the crisis and the need to stay safe. This ensured the message remained relevant.

After a month off air – a period in which web visits fell but remained above the baseline – August’s burst triggered a further increase of 52% in new visitors to the website.

In total, the TV campaign generated over 8,000 site visits and upwards of 70 direct enquiries.

Want to learn more about the process of getting your business on TV? Talk to our experts today.

Let's get social