MediaPost Publications - The MediaPost Cases

What worked? How did it work? What did we learn?

The MediaPost Cases focus these three key questions on some of the best examples of successful marketing across channels and segment. These cases explore how brands defined their marketing challenge, conceived, executed and course corrected their solution, and measured results.

Drawing from MediaPost’s live events, awards programs and reporting, MediaPost Cases cut across all of the channels and industry segments we cover. Whether you are looking for what the auto sector is doing in ecommerce or how DTC brands make digital video accountable or other fresh insights, you will find lessons and inspiration from this library of more than 250 cases.

You can search the library by keyword or via the filtering tools here. Paid members of the Center for Marketing and Media Research (CMMR) get access to the full library, which is refreshed weekly with new case studies. Select cases are available for individual purchase as well.

44 Case(s) matching "content" (Show Featured Cases)

Building Brand Relevance via Brand Truths & Organic Consumer Behavior on Social

A campaign grounded in organic social behavior enables customers to easily connect with the content while being inspired to try something new. With thousands of drink combinations, SONIC(R) is the Ultimate Drink Stop(R), and customers love to talk about their latest drink hacks on social media. Sr. Director of IMC for Sonic, Tamara Stanley, shares how Sonic used insights from TikTok to partner with Paramount+ and build an influencer led campaign teaching consumers how to build "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies" inspired drinks. The campaign not only taught customers how to make craveable creations using the SONIC App, but …
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Tags: beverages, campaigns, content, fast food, influencer marketing, new products, paramount+, qsr, social media, tiktok
The New Content+Commerce Equation: Full-Funnel Performance In marrying the CNET brand with its performance marketing platform two years ago, Red Ventures started building a full-funnel approach to the content+commerce equation. Kerri Mason, SVP of Marketing at Red Ventures, explains what the company has learned about the new arts of audience priming, using content to drive upper-funnel discovery, and creating a holistic marketing environment that serves a range of KPIs for both ad clients and affiliate revenue.
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Tags: ad platform, content, discovery, marketing, marketing funnel, media, performance marketing, publishing, revenue
Driving Cross-Channel Collaboration with Data + Data-Driven Content In 2023, Search needs to be a company-wide effort, not a siloed activity for just one team. Stephen Spiewak, Manager of Digital Content at Vivid Seats, will share how data insights and data-driven content can help facilitate collaboration across teams, and why it's never been easier to tell stories with data.
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Tags: content, data, digital, performance marketing, search
Life Hacks: How 5-Minute Crafts Became An Omnimedia Brand Since it launched in 2016, DIY brand 5-minute Crafts has consistently been a top channel on YouTube and Facebook. But with the rise of short-form video and the growing importance of long-form CTV distribution, the brand found itself having to evolve its video formats in opposite directions. theSoul Publishing's Senior Director of Content Partnership, Michael Boccacino, shares how the company is adapting both the content and the business models for its key video franchises into the Omni-Media world.
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Tags: brand marketing, content, content marketing, ctv, facebook, omni-channel marketing, video, youtube
Rethinking The Programming Stack for Our Inevitable Metaverse Overlords Media companies are told that their future audience is, well, everywhere. Content needs to flow into everything from 2D forever scrolls to Metaverses, CTV episodes to TikTok/YT/IG "shorts," game worlds to gas station pumps. IGN Entertainment's VP, Publisher, John Davison, explains how one of the largest, and oldest, digital entertainment sources is rebuilding both their programming and monetization strategy around fluid audience media behaviors. How can publishers future-proof a foundation that adapts to the next TikTok, the next rideshare media network, the next ultraverse?
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Tags: affiliate marketing, behavioral targeting, buddy media, content, content marketing, marketing, media, strategy
When Tiny Is Big: NPR Sponsorship Leverages a Creator Squad Sometimes bigger is not better, especially when making smarter use of social amplification. For its Tiny Desk Contest, a small cadre of content creators was recruited to drive views and engagement for the NPR Music project on behalf of a major corporate sponsor. NPR's VP of Sponsorship Marketing, Lamar Johnson, explores the ROI for this use of content creators vs. paid amplification and the tactics for sponsor integration and amplification that helped the program perform far beyond projections.
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Tags: content, content creators, content marketing, contest, corporate ethics, engagement, integrated marketing, marketing, roi, sponsorship
Connecting with Consumers via Digital Content Evolving from a product to a brand at speed through digital content. Super Coffee's Senior Manager of Content and Influencer Marketing, Hilary Lemonick, shares how the healthy coffee brand doubled its email and social media engagement rate in less than 6 months.
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Tags: brand marketing, coffee, content, digital, digital content, email, engagement, influencer marketing, social media
Meta-Publishing: How I Brought My Brand to Life Through a Big-Budget Amazon Prime Simulated Reality Show Ok, so you landed a deal to extend your media brand into an OTT streaming series on Amazon Prime. Now what? AstroStyle's CEO, Ophira Edut, shares her experience creating and filming "Cosmic Love," a Bachelor-meets-astrology reality dating show debuting on Amazon Prime in August 2022. How can publishers monetize these deals most effectively and even transform their content from informational to experiential media in newer Web3 formats?
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Tags: branded content, content, experiential marketing, media, streaming
Krystal Goes to College: Engaging Local Influencers As the 90-year-old Krystal restaurant brand looked to appeal to younger demos, the marketing team focused on college towns and some of their strongest influencers - star athletes. Executing on this smart plan took more than posing Quarterbacks with store owners. Krystal Restaurants' Director of Marketing, Kaitlin Stoehr, shares what the company learned about crafting local campaigns around recruiting this special class of social influencers, creating authentic live engagements, and then amplifying this content effectively in the community.
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Tags: brand marketing, branded content, campaigns, content, content creators, content marketing, engagement, fast food, food, influencer marketing, local media, marketing, marketingqsr, qsr, social networking
Social Video vs. CTV While Gen Z spends more time on social media than ever before (51% on IG weekly, 48% on TikTok, 37% on Snapchat) and less (15%) watching cable weekly or more, marketers need to rethink their video ad dollars. Meanwhile, Millennials are still more likely to say they've watched a TV series (69%) and movies (70%) in the last week than social media videos (58%). At MediaPost's TV & Video Insider Summit, media agency Good Apple's VP, Media, Hyun Lee-Mill, shares their recent tests that identified the most effective ways to balance social media video and CTV spend. How do we …
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Tags: budgets, cable tv, connected tv, content, content marketing, ctv, digital content, media, media buying, media measurement, media planning, social media, video
Spotify Brand Playlists: Sweet Music to Millennial-Seeking Ears What do you do if your company is being described as "stodgy" by Millennials? How do you attract a younger audience without alienating your Gen X and successful Boomer clients? That's what Windermere Real Estate was facing. With a nearly 50 year legacy and flashy brands like Zillow and Redfin invading their space, Windermere needed to step up their game. Easier said than done when your budget is limited, and you're up against VC-backed and publicly traded companies with plenty of money to spend. So they needed to get creative and find a space where they could stand out. That …
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Tags: baby boomers, brand marketing, branded content, content, content marketing, digital, digital content, digital marketing, engagemillennials, gen x, integrated marketing, marketing, marketing/branding/advertising, millennials, music, out-of-home, playlist, qr codes, real estate, television, tv
From Influencers to Hashtag Campaigns: White Castle Deepens Engagement with CPG Shoppers Thanks to White Castle's QSR roots, social media has long been a significant part of their grocery division's marketing mix. CMO Lynn Blashford talks strategy, and how not only the channel, but the content, plays a crucial role in expanding audience reach to younger consumers. She also shares how embracing the fight against social injustice opened doors for the family-owned brand.
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Tags: audience targeting, branded content, content, content marketing, cpg, marketingcpg, marketingqsr, qsr, social media
ShopRite's Paperbird Soars When Wakefern Food Corp. set out to redefine their Own Brands, they went to their consumer - and let insights drive every step of the process. From brand positioning to packaging design to brand activation, Wakefern treated the launch of Paperbird with the same respect as a best in class CPG brand. Laura Kind, VP of Brand Strategy, shares how her team translated the consumer emotion around messes into highly relatable Paperbird brand work.
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Tags: activations, brand image, brand marketing, branded content, branding, content, content marketing, cpg, data, design, marketingcpg, packaging, research, retail, strategy
Keeping it Real: Connecting Authentically with Multicultural Consumers Cadillac skews more heavy to multicultural buyers than other brands, so a lot of its overall marketing plan has that emphasis. The brand's partnership with Regina King, Diddy and Spike Lee give a clear indication of how important it is for the brand to connect authentically with multicultural customers. Not everyone can hire a-list stars and give Diddy a car but there are key takeaways that Alexis Kerr, head of multicultural marketing at Cadillac, shares to help other brands activate on a smaller scale.
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Tags: brand image, brand marketing, branded content, cable tv, cars, celebrity, connected tv, content, content marketing, ctv, digital content, multicultural, strategy, tv
Hubble Tests TikTok & the "EYES" Have It! The sheltering-at-home lifestyle saw consumers watching more video than ever before, including expanding their viewing habits to new platforms like TikTok. Direct-to-consumer contact lens brand, Hubble Contacts, decided they didn't want to be beholding to just FaceBook and took advantage of the new trend. Hubble's Senior Marketing & Creative Director, Dan Rosen, shares how he tested the short-form mobile video platform and discovered a new audience, success and scale.
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Tags: brand marketing, branded content, consumer, consumer experience, content, content marketing, covid-19, digital, digital content, paid content, social media, tiktok, trends, video
From Influencers to Hashtag Campaigns: White Castle Deepens Engagement with CPG Shoppers As a QSR brand, White Castle was at the forefront of using social media to promote their restaurants, but they didn't stop there. The family owned company also extended its social prowess to their CPG side of business. So when COVID hit, White Castle was well positioned to ride out the storm. Selecting influencers, creative concepts, personas, PR- - its marketing team flipped the traditional media mix to elevate and leverage their message well beyond social.
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Tags: ad campaign, brand marketing, branded content, content, content creators, content marketing, cpg, creative, digital marketing, events, influencer marketing, marketingcpg, mixed media, promotion, public relations, restaurants, social media, strategy
Beardbrand Finds Winning Formula With YouTube Soft Sell With so many options, do consumers still fall in love with their brands? Is there loyalty or are people just looking for the next best deal? Beardbrand founder, Eric Bandholz's, believes it's the former. His plan was to build a brand that his target market identified with right away. So staying true to his commitment to making men "awesome" and a prolific YouTube strategy, Beardbrand quickly became the go-to source for the underserved bearded community.
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Tags: awareness, content, content marketing, engagement, health and beauty aids, loyalty, men, paid media, paid search, photography, retail, social media, subscriptions, video, web sites, youtube
Salvation Army Donations Spike Upon New Email Strategy Travis McCan, email strategist for The Salvation Army account, says DEG learned how different audience segments engage with the brand. "We were able to see how much they gave, the frequency, and differences from other groups."
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Tags: audience targeting, awards, awareness, campaigns, charity, content, contest, data, data-targeting, email, engagement, events, personalization, sales, strategy
Bloomscape Creates Two-way Conversations With Content "Put yourself in the customer's shoes and consider the roadblocks, pain points, and motivations at each stage of the journey -- paying close attention to the transitions between each stage."
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Tags: awareness, content, content creators, content marketing, digital content, dtc, mapping/navigation, strategy
Sleep Number Content Draws Customers In Sleep Number, which produces adjustable and smart beds, was creating short-form videos that were getting -- at the most -- 2,000 organic views. It needed to ramp up awareness.
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Tags: branded content, branded entertainment, content, content creators, content marketing, education, engagement, entertainment, facebook, football, instagram, licensing, mptvis, retail, sponsored content, sports, technology, tv, video, youtube
Sleep Number Uses Content To Draw Customers In I t developed longer-form branded content with a three-part series about player Josh Jacobs and his road to becoming a running back for the Oakland Raiders in 2019.
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Tags: awareness, branded entertainment, content, content creators, content marketing, content sharing, digital, entertainment, football, retail, social media, social networks, sports, technology, tv, video
TBS' 'Miracle Workers' Pulls Out The Stops On Social It spread heavenly love across all of its social channels with thoughtful community management and a custom Daniel Radcliffe angel emoji on Twitter, where it saw over 20,000 mentions across its campaign.
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Tags: cable tv, content, cross-platform, social media, social networks
MillerCoors Sought -- And Found -- Millennial Explorers The visually compelling content was created to appeal to outdoor enthusiasts ages 21 to 27 who embraced new experiences and were forward thinking.
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Tags: beer, beverages, branded content, content, content creators, microsites, millennials, native advertising, ott, sponsored content, streaming
Xfinity's 'Project Dead Zone' Takes Best In Show A paranormal investigation powered by Xfinity xFi Pods on Twitter Live was staged at the Winchester Mystery House, a haunted house in San Jose, Calif., known for its crazy number of rooms and stairways.
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Tags: awards, awareness, content, live streaming, millennials, online, social media, social networking, social networks, social vibe, streaming, technology, twitter
Rust-Oleum 'Lets Go,' Wins Higher Brand Lift, Longer Life "We weren't talking like a brand. We wanted to make it simple." By featuring people, the videos gained wider currency because those people shared it with friends. "We had never focused on the smiles before."
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Tags: content, creative, crowd sourcing, millennials, social media, social networks, video
AWeber Gives Entrepreneurs Leg-up With Curate Users can leave their laptop at home, easily write emails, and follow up with customers between bites of pizza, yoga poses, or errands.
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Tags: applications, awards, content, content creators, content sharing, digital content, email, events, mobile, social media, social networking, social networks
Bloomberg Hikes Engagement With Innovation, Audio The Bulletin leverages machine learning and AI technology to generate a single-sentence summary of a story's most salient details at a glance, giving busy professionals a pulse on the stories of the moment.
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Tags: apps, artificial intelligence, audio, awards, content, engagement, innovation, mobile, news, redesign, web sites
KEEN's Monumental Effort Steps Up Land Protection The brand saw an opportunity to shine a spotlight on grass roots issues; specifically, the protection of public lands and encouraging President Obama to grant monument status to specific areas of public lands.
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Tags: awareness, content, content creators, content sharing, csr, earned media, events, film, paid media, politics, retail, social media
Beardbrand Hits Million Mark In YouTube Subscribers When Eric Bandholz started Beardbrand in 2013, his goal was to provide tools for men to feel confident about growing their beards.
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Tags: awareness, blogging, content, d2c, design, email, health and beauty aids, mpbisd2c, photography, social media, subscriptions, web sites, youtube
'Black-ish' Star Takes On Health Issue That's In His Blood "The sugars" is a well-known enemy, with African Americans almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. An issue of this nature was a clear target for Anthony Anderson, star of the ABC sitcom "Black-ish" and a diabetic himself.
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Tags: branded entertainment, campaigns, content, crm, health, health care, influencer marketing, pharma
James Franco Answers The Phone For 'Disaster Artist' Fans who called James Franco had their phone numbers captured and matched for targeting on Facebook and Adwords. Throughout the remainder of the film campaign, A24 messaged them with customized content.
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Tags: ad campaign, content, movies, outdoor, social media, targeting
Viacom's 'Culture Of Proximity' Provides Map For Marketers Research revealed the many nuanced ways that today's youth understand fame, the value they place on honest influencers, and the lessons brands can borrow to create influence on their own.
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Tags: awards, celebrity, communication, content, influencer marketing, research
Synchrony State Of Pay Celebrates Industry Trends While there's plenty of news about the future of retail and payments, there wasn't a place for business leaders to find the "so what?" perspective on these topics.
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Tags: awareness, big data, cable tv, content, customer experience, data, data management, ecommerce, experiential marketing, innovation, mobile payments, multichannel, online, retail, social media, technology, video, web sites
Monthly Newsletter Doubles Marriott's Audience It highlights top content for the month as one's own personalized reading list and leverages data to dynamically include relevant content for upcoming trip if a rewards member has a reservation.
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Tags: content, content marketing, hospitality, hotels, online publishing, tourism, travel
Fender: Leveraging What You Already Have Fender made a list of things it wanted to test and then evaluated the value of items on that list based on how they change the customer experience or impact their journey.
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Tags: branded content, content, content creators, customer experience, deals, email, music, partnership, retail, video
Ulta Beauty, NBCUniversal In Multicultural Campaign To bring the survey to life, the TODAY Brand Studio filmed a series of poignant interviews where women discussed what beauty means to them.
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Tags: branded content, content, health and beauty aids, media, multicultural, online, partnership, social media, video, web sites, women
Amex: Holding A Mirror Up To Customer Action "One datapoint I find interesting is how often people go back to the email; 51% come back three or more times. We see this in real time."
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Tags: b2b, big data, content, customer service, data, email, financial services, personalization, privacy
Honda Civic Type R: Social + VR + AR = Success for AHM Honda was looking for a unique way to showcase its racing chops through a campaign that would resonate with its enthusiasts as well as a gaming audience.
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Tags: ad campaign, audience targeting, augmented reality, automotive, awareness, content, earned media, gaming, live streaming, social media, social networks, sports, targeting, technology, video, virtual reality
Georgia-Pacific Goes From Product-centered To Providing Better Experience "Give a customer a solution that reduces their consumption, give them a better hygienic solution and help solve for labor. There's no better trifecta."
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Tags: brand marketing, content, content creators, cpg, customer experience, digital content, earned media, online, video
End-to-End Is The Real Holy Grail: A Dell Use Study The team created end-to-end automation in paid media by building an ad tech stack designed as an orchestration and activation layer that sits atop a content and delivery system.
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Tags: ad optimization, ad technology, apps, automation, brand image, content, customer experience, data, direct marketing, display, ecommerce, email, laptops, management, native advertising, omni-channel marketing, paid content, paid media, programmatic, search, technology, video
Once Upon A Mattress: Telling Purple's Story The videos that get the attention of consumers all leverage humor and feature a series of rotating characters from Goldilocks to Sasquatch to sumo wrestlers.
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Tags: content, content creators, content marketing, cpg, crm, customer experience, email, paid search, social media, video
Best Buy's Customer Experience And The Art & Science Equation In real time, still so much of what the company can do is trigger based and often creates an opportunity but then the actual message is highly personalized based on that audience.
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Tags: behavioral targeting, content, content creators, creative, customer experience, customer service, data, digital content, email, geotargeting, influencer marketing, loyalty, media buying, millennials, personalization, real-time, retail, social media, social networks
Chobani Shows How To D2C When You're Not D2C Chobani works with one partner very closely. By doing so, it mitigated the complexity of a partner like Facebook or Google, allowing the team to focus on getting the job done.
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Tags: behavioral targeting, content, cpg, customer experience, data, data management, digital, direct response, food, packaging, partnership, performance marketing, sales, technology
Spartan Race Keeps Enthusiasts Engaged, Encourages Newcomers In a fast-moving industry that is growing quickly, Spartan needed more than a good email system. It got one.
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Tags: acquisition, awards, communications, content, email, engagement, multichannel, omma, personalization, retail, social media, sports

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