Meet Pablo Sánchez Benavides, Interactive Director at DDB in Barcelona.  He discusses the Golf GTI Experiment, which used neuromarketing to analyze consumer response to the latest car model.


What was the brief for the Golf GTI campaign?
The Golf GTI Experiment is a campaign developed at my current agency (DDB Spain) for Volkswagen. Basically, it is an experiment about how the human brain reacts to a Golf GTI. For 10 days, a total of 100 individuals, selected with a statistical approach, were part of this experiment (held in Madrid and Barcelona). Each subject completed various bio-sensory tests with a GFK patented technique (Emo Sensor ®) and Eyetracking to measure their response when exposed to a Golf GTI. The experiment has been rigorously conducted and certified by GFK, an independent company that specializes in neuromarketing.


How was this particular online ad format chosen?
The main goal was to maximize the area where the users are looking/interacting over the page, so I think the best choice was to use a SingleExpandable of 1000×1000. The main engine of the piece is only 67Kb. Once loaded, the piece reads and processes the data on the fly to determine the user interaction. At the beginning, I thought to use the new capabilities of Adobe Cyrrus to cross data between flash players, but Cyrrus is still in its beta version and there was concern that it wouldn’t support all the requests. So we asked Mediamind to inform us about the number of ads served. It is also important to keep in mind the MediaMind MouseTracker component, which can communicate the position of the mouse to the piece in real time.

How did you come up with the creative idea?
Given that the Golf GTI Experiment is an innovative project, we thought we had to create something spectacular yet consistent with the expectations of the project. After a few weeks of working on the microsite, we came up with this idea pretty quickly. It is just an analysis of the user’s attention over a webpage. Volkswagen thought it was a good idea, so we put ourselves to work! The piece works as a huge Bitmap that is updated every frame, redrawing the data in terms of interaction over time and position.


What feedback/results have you received?
It is too early to evaluate results since the campaign is still active, but everyone has been really impressed with the look of having hot areas over the screen indicating the most interesting areas for the users.


What is your idea about the perfect working day?
My perfect working day starts with: “Today you can do whatever you want…” Then my mind opens up and I start to investigate the latest technologies and how to apply them in a creative way to create a “never seen before user experience.” Then I like to share with the creative teams what it’s possible to do with a few lines of code.


When does your muse visit you?
Fortunately, my muse is working in the same agency, so she visits me often. Also I work with really good creative teams which helps keep the muse always close by.


What is your favourite brand experience?
I remember fondly the Audi website – Vorsprung duch Technik (2008) because it was sophisticated, simple and neat. I also remember especially, Vodafone Future Vision (2004) , perhaps marked the turning point in the narrative through web video experiences.

MediaMind recently released 5 new MediaMind Blocks.  As we always do when releasing Blocks, we try to keep a healthy mix of advanced vs. simple blocks and features vs. formats blocks.  So, please welcome the newcomers and take them out for a spin (that’s the beauty of code-ready!):


 Slider


Award-winning format block features an overlay unit at the bottom of the page that enables a user to slide the entire page to the side, unveiling a large ad canvas.  This is an IAB rising star winner developed by MediaMind.


 


 Skype Interact


The Skype Interact application block places Skype interaction within your ad, so users can initiate a call, launch chat dialog and change their status


 


 Viral Video Booster


The Viral Video Booster enables a background dimmer on expansion and social features to facilitate sharing.


 


 Save Ad to Favorites


This block enables users to save ads to their browser favorites. Ideal for coupons and direct-response promotions


 


Send Ad by Email Block


Embeds email functionality in your ad, so that users can instantly email the ad to friends, family and colleagues and expand ad reach on a viral scale


 



 Got Ideas for new blocks?  Comments? Questions?  Please don’t hesitate to email us at: BlocksFeedback@mediamind.com



Boaz Ram | Product Planning Senior Manager, Rich Media

The Illusion Factory Team – Zachary Sriro, James Pascual, Janelle Okamoto and the Mering Carson team – brought a whole new dimension – 3D in fact – to San Diego golf with results that were above par for the course.

 What was the brief of the San Diego Golf campaign?

To concept and produce online display ads promoting San Diego as a premier golf destination. Ads should grow awareness of the significant golf and resort offerings in San Diego’s North County.

 How was this particular game format chosen?

We wanted to give users an opportunity to engage with real golf courses in a fun and interactive way, while showcasing the beauty of each course. The game gives us this opportunity with lively game play that uses 3D renderings of actual San Diego courses: Torrey Pines Golf Course, Rancho Bernardo Inn Golf Resort & Spa and Maderas Golf Club. It allows users to experience the golf destinations through the sunny outlook that encompasses San Diego.

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How did you come up with the creative idea?

The gameplay was designed to be familiar and easy to learn so that users could interact with the ad immediately. For “replayability”, we included three levels with increasing difficulty and leaderboards for top scores. Depending upon which video is loaded, the key icons fall faster or slower, and are varied across the levels.  We were able to accomplish the additional levels with very little increase in filesize by dynamically loading videos and using cue points to carry- gameplay data. The leaderboards give a competitive purpose to the ad, making the game more fun and more likely to be shared amongst friends (or rivals).

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What was the best part about working on this campaign?

Rich Media ads are powerful because of the ways you can use video to communicate the ad’s message. Instead of just playing a video highlighting each course, the user actually gets to see the course first-hand in a more entertaining way. The video not only acts as a vessel for the message, but is the message itself: playing the game is fun and you also learn what those courses look like. Finding new, creative ways to use video to execute engaging ads is always the best part about working on Rich Media ads.

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How is this campaign different than other campaigns you’ve worked on?

We have made games before using video as complimentary or supporting content, but this was the first time that video drove the gameplay itself. The ad required synching of dynamic elements, like the golf cart animation, score, keyboard cues, and gauges, with the video playback. Combining all of the elements was definitely challenging, but very rewarding.

Inspector Gadget would have been dazzled to see that what was once only a part of his unique arsenal of gadgets is now widely available in every smartphone. Advertisers must have been surprised too, which may explain why many of them are just taking the first baby steps in mobile advertising, even though mobile ads reach one of every three consumers with smartphones. Nowadays, mobile is moving from the fringe to the mainstream, helped by the tailwind of higher performance and better ROI. According to eMarketer, mobile advertising spending is expected to double by 2014.


As in the early days of browser-based display, the innovation of mobile advertising elicits higher response from users. Mobile achieves the highest performance out of display ad formats for CTR, leaving Standard Banners in the dust. Mobile also outperforms browser based banners in branding performance.


In a new report on mobile advertising, MediaMind uncovers some of the best practices to help advertisers get the most value out of their mobile campaigns. These insights include:

• Which operating systems deliver the highest click through rate?
• Who clicks more: iPhone techies or BlackBerry executives?
• Is advertising in the evening better than at noon?




These and many other questions are answered in the full mobile research. With ever-expanding reach, higher performance, and evidence of solid ROI, mobile advertising can complement any display campaign.


To download the full research, click here.