bathstore.com synchronizes online and TV ads to maximize impact

As the largest specialist bathroom retailer in the UK, bathstore is constantly looking for ways to widen its audience and to maximize the value that it gets from advertising. In order to develop a better understanding of how TV and online advertising work together, a strategy was formed around synchronizing online display ads with TV advertising spots.

NMPi, bathstore’s digital agency, suggested a trial using technology from TVTY, a moment marketing company. TVTY’s integration with DoubleClick Bid Manager allowed individual line items inside a display campaign to be turned on or off depending upon whether a TV ad for bathstore has been shown on TV. A time window was established to keep the online and offline ad formats closely linked.

Once the TV ad was detected, TVTY turned on the appropriate line within DoubleClick Bid Manager. Targeting was also applied to ensure that only the audience of new users was reached. Key targeting criteria included the connectivity of the user: In order to increase the likelihood that the user was in her or his home, the display ads were only shown to those connected via WiFi and within certain postcodes close to a bathstore location. Previous visitors to bathstore.com were excluded in order to ensure that only new users were shown the display ads.

The reporting integration between DoubleClick Bid Manager and TVTY allowed the team to receive all reports in one place, saving time and allowing the team to implement optimization changes rapidly. Both impressions and visits increased by 40% month over month, while overlaying store location data alongside TV ad syncing increased the click-through rate by 400%. Overall, the introduction of TV ad syncing boosted return on investment by 18%. Going forward, NMPi and bathstore are now working on ways to understand the customer journey, from initial awareness through to conversion, as a way to further optimize media planning.