Wunderman Thompson created a video series in which they answered Saudi’s top 10 searched queries for 5G for Saudi Telecom Company (stc) as it was planning to launch their 5G services in the region.
“5G became one of the very strategic pillars in any proposition that we offer our audiences with. We needed to show the customer the benefits that 5G can bring to their lives,” said Faisal Al Saad, marketing communications GM at STC.
By analysing Google Search queries, it was clear that many local consumers weren’t familiar with 5G’s uses and value yet. The top trending questions users were asking about 5G in Saudi Arabia were under two buckets: the What, and the How. This includes questions like; what is 5G? What is the difference between 5G and the Internet of Things? How does 5G impact my life, shopping or gaming?
Based on these insights, the creative team at Wunderman Thompson created a video series with popular Saudi YouTube creator ”Sohayb Quds” in which they answered Saudi’s top 10 searched queries for 5G with a generous dose of Saudi humour. The explainer videos were served to the same people that were typing the exact questions into Google Search through ‘custom Intent audience targeting’. Given the videos were well-perceived, the team extended the campaign to a wider audience using the ‘affinity targeting’ approach – reaching those who might be interested in 5G generally, whether they are gamers or even tech enthusiasts.
The campaign reached 3 million unique users with more than 6 million total views across 10 produced videos. On the engagement front, the video series achieved around 22 per cent view-through rate, with 94 per cent of viewability. Most importantly, there was a jump of 150 per cent in branded search queries related to stc’s 5G network.
Commenting on the campaign, Ali Cheikhali, Creative Strategy Lead at Google MENA, said: “The way we worked on this campaign with our partners, from user insight to creative execution and media targeting, proves that Google Search not only delivers the required results but also can be fun.”
Key takeaways by ‘Think with Google’:
For marketers, understanding consumer interest can provide real-time insight into audience needs and sentiment. Here are three key takeaways from this campaign.
1 Stay on top of consumer trends and interests
Having a finger on the pulse can help brands connect with audience passions and pain points. To promote its 5G services, stc’s discovery of the basic search questions around 5G led to a data-driven campaign that was light and informative. Free tools such as Google Trends provide real-time search data that can be useful to capture these user insights when developing a campaign.
2 Collaborate with a partner that suits your audience
Once you understand your audience segments, you can consider collaborating with an online creator that fits your brand and audience. stc’s use of humour, driven by Saudi YouTube creator Sohayb Quds, offered a light-hearted way of engaging audiences despite the technical nature of the topic.
3 Test and optimise
The pandemic is causing a digital surge as people go online more than ever to stay connected. Use first-party data to discern audience interests and pain points in their interactions with your brand. You can then perform A/B tests to adapt messaging and evaluate performance to constantly optimise your campaigns.
