Hilton wanted to be known as a brand with purpose and to create emotional connections with their consumers in a positive and actionable way. They came to Merkle with the objectives of increasing brand consideration and improving ad engagement among their audience. Merkle’s strategy exceeded targets, driving 84% VTR and 4% uplift in brand consideration.
Through audience insights, we learned that the core audience are ethically focused with 48% stating they feel more favourably towards a company when it’s involved with a charity. Therefore, we wanted to create an emotional connection with the audience and showcase the brand’s CSR credentials through an ad format that would drive engagement and positive brand sentiment. We utilised programmatic video with the ethical advertising company GoodLoop, who serve ads whilst raising money for charity. Skippable video creatives allow a user to unlock an advertiser-funded donation through ad engagement. Ads were distributed across premium placements and publisher sites, ensuring quality environments aligned to the business’ target market.
Not only did the activity exceed all media KPI targets but it also drove real life impact for our partner charities, with $46k raised in donations for the chosen charities, funding 351 safe nights of accommodations for women and children in Refuge and 325 personal care kits for the homeless.
