Yodel Mobile is a full service mobile marketing agency, and we have worked with The Economist since 2010 on all their mobile marketing activity. The Economist has a circulation of 1.5 million+ readers worldwide and asked Yodel Mobile to work on the launch of The World in 2015 following the success of the launch for The World in 2014. ‘The World in’ series is an annual supplement setting out global predictions for the following year from prominent figures in politics, economics, science, the arts and journalism. The campaign ran for two months, from mid December to mid February 2015. Expenditure was increased across the most successful channels throughout the campaign and continually optimised on a daily basis.
The Objectives
Reading has rapidly moved into the mobile space and it was very important to The Economist to utilise all aspects of mobile advertising to drive installs and purchase of The World in 2015 app. The team also needed to:
– drive free install and purchase of The World in 2015 app
– cause an uplift in organic activity through App Store Optimisation to create greater visibility and rankings in the app store
– increase awareness of The World in 2015 and the broader Economist brand
The campaign utilised multiple formats to engage users, in particular rich media and video to align The Economist with innovative mobile advertising and forward thinking creative.
The Strategy
Our strategy was to build a multi-layered and complex campaign which would really showcase the latest mobile marketing tools to achieve our client’s objectives. We ran a blended iOS media campaign across multiple networks, comprising of rich media, video (incentivised, broad-framed and premium), App Store Optimization, innovative and layered retargeting, multiple banner creative, non-incentivised cost per download and cost per acquisition offerwall activity. This campaign ran across eight key countries and iOS devices. The rich media unit was an impressive, high-concept, 3D interactive globe which, when swiped, revealed predictions for the coming year over certain geographical regions. The magazine cover appeared mid-way through the rotating globe and a large call to action clicked straight through to the App Store. The highly attractive, slick design drove brand awareness, highlighting The Economist’s global authority as a news source. Similarly the video also highlighted the key features of The World in 2015 and featured a magazine description by the Editor Daniel Franklin, finishing with a full screen interstitial end-card. It ran across a large variety of publishers and networks for optimal exposure.
The Results
The campaign generated 124k new installs over the two month period with download figures almost 100% better than The World in 2014. The cost per install for The World in 2015 campaign was half the CPI for the previous year and well below target.
The app ranked in the top 10 ten for all key markets and increased in line with paid for activity and installs. There was a large drop-off after the campaign ended, showing the effect of paid-for installs on the UK app store. Rich media delivered over 10 million impressions, with just under 47k engagements and our highest converting installs to purchases rate was 30%.
The campaign was a huge success for The Economist and Yodel Mobile achieving the objectives set to drive awareness and downloads of the app and has already been shortlisted for the MOMA awards.
“This year’s World in 2015 campaign has been a huge success. Yodel Mobile worked very hard to provide The Economist with a strong blended media plan that spanned rich media, video, mobile display and retargeting, all built on a base of carefully considered ASO. The creative work they delivered for rich media and video was outstanding and innovative. It was interactive and fitted in well with the other creative campaign components.”
Tom McCave, Audience Development Director, The Economist
