How video ads raised interest in an SUV model by 205%

Our GAZ automotive plant, located in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), faced the challenge of raising brand awareness, and in particular about the 4WD GAZ Sobol model. To attract a larger audience to our site, we decided to use video ads. We targeted our video ad campaign at men aged 18-54 interested in SUVs, pickup trucks or vans. The campaign brought us 3.4M impressions, resulting in a remarkable increase of 205.5% for search interest in the Sobol 4WD and 69.7% increase in overall brand awareness.

GAZ

Case results

3.4M

impressions

1.9M

reach

+69.7%

Search Lift for GAZ

+205.5%

Search Lift for Sobol 4WD

Client

GAZ automotive plant, https://gazglobal.com/azgaz/gazelle_next/

Figures

Founded in 1932, GAZ sells vehicles in 40 countries and owns 50% of the light commercial vehicle market in Russia

Goal

Support brand awareness of the Sobol 4WD

Tools used

Yandex.Direct / Display ads
Yandex.Metrica
PowerBI

Period: 01.08.2019 — 30.09.2019

Step 1. We prepared a video for the campaign

Prior to launching the campaign, we had to choose the best out of two ad clips. We showed both videos to our target audience and analyzed:

Impressions
Clicks on the ad
Time spent on site
Number of pages viewed
Post-click conversions

We selected the most effective video based on the results of our analysis.

Step 2. We gathered our audience

In the beginning, we assumed that Sobol 4WD was going to be more popular among fishers and hunters likely to appreciate its cross-country capabilities. However, as we began to gather the audience, we realized that we couldn’t use all the interest-based targeting types at once, so we chose the ones that best matched our goals and showed our ad to men aged 18-54 interested in cars, SUVs, pickups or trucks.

Step 3. We optimized our sites and adjusted bids

To optimize the campaign, we focused on ad sites that proved to be more effective in the context of clicks and user behavior.

Then we adjusted our bids, giving a higher priority to desktop users. Although CPM is higher on desktops compared to mobile devices, full views are 80% more frequent on desktops. Desktops also brought us more clicks and conversions.

Results

Search Lift measurement and increase in brand queries

Users who saw the ad searched the GAZ brand and Sobol 4WD more often on Yandex: post-view search interest in the brand increased by 69.7% and interest in the model grew by 205.5%.
The post-view audience used the car configurator tool on the site more often.

The best Search Lift was demonstrated by users aged 25-34 and higher than average income.

Search Lift among demographic groups for GAZ

Search Lift among demographic groups for Sobol 4WD

The maximum number of post-view queries for GAZ and Sobol 4WD was observed at the end of the campaign.

Branded post-view queries for GAZ

Branded post-view queries for Sobol 4WD

Users from Russia’s Central and South Federal Districts demonstrated the highest interest in Sobol 4WD, and the users from the Central and Siberian Federal District demonstrated the highest interest in the GAZ brand.

Search Lift by federal districts for GAZ