Knowing that the majority of today's auto shoppers start their car search online, Land Rover wanted to reach these shoppers on all their devices at every point in the purchasing funnel. To do so, it used cross-channel marketing to engage consumers at scale, running a homepage masthead takeover on YouTube and Masthead in Lightbox ads across the Google Display Network. The campaign also maximized visibility with mobile, search and Google+. As a result, Land Rover garnered more than 100M impressions, and 15% of its total sales now come from online leads.
Goals
Reach consumers at all points of the purchase journey
Create memorable interactions with the Land Rover brand
Convert shoppers into sales
Approach
Created a continuous brand experience with cross-channel marketing
Engaged consumers at scale on the Google Display Network
Ran homepage masthead and Masthead in Lightbox ads on YouTube
Maximized visibility with mobile, search and Google+
Results
100M impressions and 12% engagement rate on YouTube homepage masthead
11M more impressions and 3.85% engagement rate on Masthead in Lightbox
Online leads now responsible for nearly 15% of Land Rover's total sales
10% rise in search ad CTR with addition of social annotations
For more than 65 years, Land Rover has been building the durable luxury SUVs that bear its name. In 2013, looking for new ways to create awareness for its Range Rover model among car buyers, Land Rover partnered with Google on a cross-channel strategy that would engage shoppers at every touchpoint of their buying journey.
Capturing consumers at all stages
Ninety-five percent of vehicle shoppers use digital channels to research,1 and Land Rover wanted to reach those shoppers on all their devices at every point in the funnel. To do that, the brand turned to Google to run cross-channel Range Rover campaigns on search, display, social and YouTube. "Digital is one of the only mediums where you can reach everybody, from upper-funnel awareness down to people ready to buy right now," says Kim Kyaw, Land Rover's digital marketing and social media manager.
Creating memorable brand experiences
Land Rover used the Google Display Network and YouTube to create lasting brand connections with consumers. "YouTube opens up new ways for us to tell our story," says Kyaw. "We want people to feel exhilaration, and what better way to do that than with assets that really hit all of the senses?" For instance, Land Rover ran a YouTube homepage takeover, with an expandable Range Rover masthead ad that played a video when clicked by viewers. The ad received tens of millions of impressions across all devices and had an interaction rate of 12%.
To extend that impact across the Google Display Network, Land Rover used a new Engagement Ad format: the Masthead in Lightbox. This ad helped the Range Rover story reach millions more users with a sizable engagement rate of 3.85%. "The great thing with Engagement Ads is that people can interact with your creative and choose what videos they want to watch," says Kyaw.
Land Rover then used remarketing to continue the conversation with people who had expressed interest in the Range Rover, either by visiting LandRover.com or by watching one of the special Engagement Ads the company ran on AdWords. Engagement Ads expand to play video or other bonus content when a user is curious enough to hover over them for two seconds or more. The remarketing ads also were designed to fit the customer, says Kyaw: "If somebody built and priced a Range Rover Evoque on our website but didn't submit a lead, we would show them a Range Rover Evoque rather than a generic ad and say, 'Find a retailer in your area.'"
Maximizing visibility with mobile, search and social
Masthead ads do more than drive clicks; they create an average 3.8x one-day lift in branded searches as well,2 which was good for Land Rover because strong search marketing is one of the keys to driving traffic to its website. "Search directs about 30% of total in-market shopping traffic to our properties," says Kyaw.
A major mobile presence helps them capture users at all those moments, as do social channels such as Google+. "When someone searches for us, in many cases they'll see in the organic results what we've published recently on Google+," Kyaw notes. "And adding social annotations gave us a 10% lift in click-through rate to LandRoverUSA.com."
New roads ahead
Since 2011, Land Rover has increased the digital share of its marketing budget from 15% to 37%, and watched sales rise by double digits each year. Today, an impressive 15% of Land Rover's sales come from digital—and cross-channel marketing is taking a growing role. "Cross-channel digital marketing has become a cornerstone of our growth as a brand," says Kyaw.
As Land Rover moves forward, it sees its partnership with Google evolving. "It's always fun to work with a partner who's going to push you and bring you new ideas," says Kyaw. "With Google, we work together to find the best solution for Land Rover's needs. It's a true partnership."
