Digital analytics have come a long way in the past couple years. More reliable tracking mechanisms, advanced software, and broader understanding of how to measure the impact of channels has made us all smarter.  However, we’ve also become guilty of occasionally jumping to conclusions too quickly now that we can see performance by channel on a minute to minute basis.  We may inject spend into test cells that appear to be performing well only to find what appeared to be a great pocket of performance was actually a statistical blip.  Or, we may pull money out of seemingly under-performing channels and discover overall program results plummet because cause and effect correlations were not taken into consideration.  There are many victims of overzealous budget re-allocation but Display Prospecting tends to be one of the most popular.

Recommendation

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing the high ROIs from dynamic remarketing and the low CPAs from advanced search strategies boost overall results.  But, I try not to forget where the qualified volume came from to support a successful remarketing program or where the awareness came from to deliver branded search results.

We recently ran a series of controlled tests within the retail space to quantify the impact channels have on one another.  One of the most interesting results emerged when we looked at how display prospecting affects remarketing and paid search.

The Experiment

We funneled 3x more spend into Display Prospecting for three weeks in a targeted DMA while keeping remarketing and search budgets constant.  We then compared KPIs in the DMA against total campaign benchmarks pre and post-test.

The Results

After three weeks, an injection of spend in Display Prospecting led to:

-          70-90% increase in remarketing and search conversion rates (see figure below  for pre-test and post-test index comparisons against a campaign baseline of 100)

-          25-30% decrease in CPAs

The Bottom Line

These kinds of experiments are easy to conduct (and should be conducted) in your own marketing campaigns.  The results can then be incorporated into cross-channel planning models to fully harvest the effects each channel has on one another.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There was that 3D projection mapping experience on an LA Hotel a while back. And in October, the brand brought a print ad to life with the help of a handy iPad.

This time out, Lexus is going a bit simpler, keying into QR codes - the scanning of which reveals models kinda-sorta hidden in SI print ads for the new IS.

Still, the pursuit of perfection could have added a little more punch to the reveals than just having the models strut toward us. Integrating with the car in some fashion - or really just doing anything a little more interesting - would have been a better pay off for going to all the trouble.

Okay, it's still pretty cool. And it's apparently just the opening act. According to ADWEEK, the Lexus IS is also included in Sport Illustrated's first-ever 3D projection mapping experience on the facade at Caesar's Las Vegas.

Get the full scoop here.