Client Overview
Our client, PlayStar (playstar.com), is an emerging online casino based in New Jersey. As a challenger brand looking to make a significant impact in the state, PlayStar sought to enhance their presence and build brand recognition. For their first major brand awareness campaign, they turned to TBD.Media to develop and execute an effective digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising strategy.
Campaign Objectives
The primary objective was to reach the right audience, at the right time, and in the right place. PlayStar aimed to achieve a higher presence in one or two key cities in New Jersey rather than a diluted presence across multiple cities. This focused approach was designed to maximise visibility and engagement in critical areas.
To measure the campaign’s success, PlayStar looked for improvements in several key metrics:
- Organic search presence increase
- An increase in overall visitors to the site, and an increase in engagement metrics
- A natural increase in registrations and first-time depositing customers
Campaign Strategy
Our strategy was to create a campaign that maximised the number of views specifically for the target audience and to reach as many people as possible in a given area. This meant exploring two options for the type of outdoor placement:
Bars and Entertainment Venues: These locations allowed us to promote the brand in front of a captive audience with a high dwell time. By placing ads in bars and entertainment venues, we could engage viewers in an environment where they were likely to spend a significant amount of time, increasing the chances of message retention.
Transit Locations: To reach people on the move with the potential for large audiences, we targeted major transit hubs such as train stations and bus shelters, as well as ride-share options. This approach ensured that PlayStar’s message was seen by a broad and diverse audience, reinforcing brand awareness through repeated exposure. This also aimed to target users on the move, who would potentially use PlayStar Casino on their mobile devices.
Execution
Working with the key supply vendors in our chosen venue locations, we could now lay the groundwork for our ad structure with our demand-side platform in the chosen cities in New Jersey which were Jersey City and Hoboken.
The first step was to implement tracking on the PlayStar website, to not only see whether users visit the site post viewing a DOOH ad, but also to build an audience similar to existing PlayStar customers whom we would be able to target when in range of a digital panel.
Secondly, we wanted to bid more aggressively on times when more users are likely to see an ad, which meant splitting out not only into the two chosen cities in question, but also by peak and off-peak times, which was particularly important for transit and entertainment locations.
Results
Along with advertising the brand to a mass audience, and towards the key demographic, we were also able to assess key results in the 3-month campaign compared to the 3 months prior. The results were impressive and exceeded the initial ‘general’ uplift in key metrics:
- Organic Search Presence: Google Search Console data showed that search queries for the core brand terms “PlayStar” and “Play Star” increased by 32% and 211%, respectively, in the areas of Jersey City and Hoboken
- Overall Website Users: Overall website users increased by 16%, with new users increasing by 11%, and engaged sessions increasing by 19%
- User Sign-ups: Data from Google Analytics indicated that users who signed up on the site increased by 54% when comparing the same data range and geo location
In addition to this data, through mobile device tracking, and using data from our DSP, we also found a direct correlation between users who had actively seen a PlayStar ad and subsequently engaged with the brand, either through visiting the website, signing up, or returning as existing customers. These results were staggering, and comparable to traditional performance-based channels when tying back to a cost per click or even cost per sign-up in a highly competitive and regulated market.
Key Takeaways
Focusing on entertainment venues clearly has an impact on both targeting the natural audience fit for this brand, and the high dwell time means we’re able to capture device information post being exposed to a campaign.
“Considering the low opt-in rates for iOS devices, the fact that we were able to track a significant amount of new and existing users back to the PlayStar brand, shows how our team were able to pinpoint the correct audience, and adjust the bids where necessary over the lifetime of the campaign,” Mike Dodgson, Director at Digital Marketing Agency TBD.Media explains. “We’re certainly not comparing this type of activity to more performance-based channels, but the power of programmatic digital outdoor, device ID capturing, the increase in digital panels available to buy, coupled with a concise targeting strategy, moves this type of advertising to another level, which doesn’t need to break the bank.”
Additionally, we found that video creative produced a lower CPM and a higher response rate than single-frame images, which naturally suggests that moving ads are more likely to be seen and responded to. One of the most interesting takeaways from the campaign is the high percentage of users who, after seeing an ad, visited the site on a desktop PC, rather than assuming users instantly visit a site on an outdoor billboard on their mobile phone device. This level of engagement tells us a high level of brand recall post-viewing an ad whilst on the move during the busy commute, or during downtime in a bar or restaurant.
Recommendations For The Future
It’s pretty clear that utilising a mix of tactical digital placements where users are more likely to interact or view an ad, along with high-impact billboards around key locations where there is high footfall, proved to be a successful strategy which we would look to implement on a similar campaign. Depending on the brand, budget, and required outcomes, we would also consider making use of other placements in the future such as roadside billboards, which allows for higher campaign impact, increased brand legitimacy, and brand recall.
Client Feedback
Jon Bowden, Chief Marketing Officer at PlayStar, said, “As a first foray into a major digital outdoor branding campaign, we saw a natural uplift in traffic, existing customers, and from internal data, we can see an improvement in all of the key brand measurement metrics. We were really impressed with the level of detail that TBD.Media provided, as it gave us a great insight into how tactical these campaigns can be. They really thought about our audience, budget, and overall brand awareness objectives.”
