The Weather Channel is
pitching advertisers on a type of bed-to-bed exposure. With a four-platform campaign, advertisers would reach consumers turning on the TV in the morning, visiting weather.com at work and using a tablet while watching TV in prime time. Add to that checking forecasts during the day on mobile.
The network has released
a study showing that a four-screen campaign for Hallmark cards led to a 97% lift in a combined metric incorporating brand favorability and purchase intent. A three-screen effort yielded a 53% lift.
The weather.com aspect of the Hallmark “Family Time Focus” campaign was geotargeted and used a Hallmark-branded microsite with recommendations for moms and kids on what
to do and what to cook based on the local weather.
The research was conducted from late November to late February, when Hallmark looked to increase interest in both holiday and
Valentine’s Day cards.
The research used iPads for its tablet portion, although Indira Venkat, a Weather Channel senior vice president in research, said Kindle Fire use will be
measured going forward.
She added that quad-screen campaigns are most effective when “common imagery and messaging” are employed, but in an organic fashion. The Weather Channel
is delving further into what drives effectiveness on different platforms and “beginning to gain insights on what works best along that spectrum," Venkat noted.
The study stretched
across two quarters; the Weather Channel began to find that awareness and purchase intent rose as the campaign moved ahead, suggesting that duration has an effect. However, the second quarter did
include Valentine’s Day and interest could have intensified as the day approached.