MediaMind is pleased to share a conversation we recently had with Jan Bikkembergs, Digital Production Director at TBWA/Agency.com about inspiration in digital advertising and some of his favorite campaigns.

When does your muse visit you?
I get inspired every single day. That can happen in coffee corner chats with my colleagues, reading the newspaper, watching television or during walks with my dog and girlfriend. When playing soccer and of course by doing my job. 

As we work in digital advertising, we are in touch with a lot of creative people, innovative projects and in our business you have such a wide range of different touchpoints. 

Our clients are active in automotive, sports, FMCG,B2B,NGO’s and Governmental oriented organisations, so every aspect of working for this wide range of brands can be interesting and inspiring. And it can be very cool to apply the experiences you had for one brand into inspiration for another brand or product.

What is your favorite brand experience?

First of all I want to explain my favorite experiences with MediaMind. In Belgium, we work together with the Dutch easyconcepts /MediaMind team. Working with them is a real pleasure. They are very well experienced in the MediaMind platform and they are always available for help , feedback or pushing publishers to the limit whenever we need to go live with new campaigns.  That’s where I became a fan of MediaMind and even more. I became a brand advocate for the MediaMind tool.
The tool works like a charm and possibilities are endless. 

My favorite brand experience is the launch campaign of the Belgian national lottery online. 2 years ago we were responsible for the launch campaign for e-lotto.be , a platform that allows you to play online Lotto and Euromillions. We needed to collaborate with a lot of different publishers, the client and the media agency. We were building non-standard takeover events with real time screen grabs and dynamic ads because the amounts of the jackpot are dynamic. Every draw is a new jackpot. We had to make sure that the draws were updated immediately after the jackpot. A hell of a job but it was fun working on that campaign. Because of the difficult ad build-up at that point we had to cooperate very closely with the MediaMind team and the client but due to the MediaMind technology we completed the project and it was a great success.

Other cool projects we did with MediaMind are the following ones : 

Playstation Takeover for the Lauch of  GT5 : https://vimeo.com/26065416
BMW Mini Takeover for the launch of the Mini Countryman : https://vimeo.com/25767930
Bpost : Change brand identity from De post to Bpost : https://vimeo.com/26066074
National Lotery : Second draw for EUM : https://vimeo.com/26065871
National Lotery : Duobranding Campaign EUM/SuperLotto : https://vimeo.com/26063692

…And many many more cool campaigns with MediaMind.

How did you start working in digital advertising?

I started working in digital advertising in 2004 due to a friend. He was working for this company and I was looking for a job and he said, “I think advertising is right for you. Why don’t you come over and talk to the management because we’re hiring new people?”  SoI did.  But I have to admit that advertising was my first love during my studies. The only class I liked to go to. So I can definitely can say: Like! It’s just about fun, passion and brand love.

CBS Volvo S60 In-Stream Video Advertiser: Volvo Media Agency: Media Contacts Creative Agency: Euro RSCG 4D Format: In StreamVertical: Auto Country: United States View demo Volvo’s All-New S60 is racier and more powerful than any Volvo before. We like to say it’s up for some fun. That’s where the idea of ‘Naughty Volvo’ came from. The term was purposefully provocative and polarizing, forcing people to think of Volvo in unexpected ways. This ad unit was the perfect extension to the Naughty campaign giving users the chance to be naughty themselves. They could drive the car over the banner leaving behind a pattern of tire marks as well as kick up dirt, gravel and oil across the screen. John Steward – Creative Director at Euro RSCG 4D

Movistar Galaxi Mini Synchronized BannerAdvertiser: MovistarMedia: Arena Creative: Tribal DDB Format: Wallpaper MSN Vertical: Telecommunication Country: Spain View demo Uncover what’s behind MSN’s homepage by hovering over the fishing rod and hooking down the page.   Cuisine IKEA Homepage TakeoverCreative: KR Media Format: Sidekick Vertical: Retail Country: France View demo See how IKEA can reorganize your kitchen with this sidekick banner that includes brief video spots showcasing the latest in kitchen design. Chemie im Dialog Homepage TakeoverAdvertiser: Verband Chemischer Industrie Media: MEC Global Format: Homepage TakeoverFeature: Interactive Game Vertical: Services Country: Germany View demo This ad is for an association that tries to show how chemistry affects our daily life (past, present and future). The ad itself uses a screengrab to show day-to-day objects(screen, chair, smartphone, shoes), that include chemical properties.   Malaysia Airlines Interactive BannerAdvertiser: Malaysia Airlines Media: StarComIP Malaysia Format: WallpaperVertical: Travel Country: Malaysia View demo The background of the skinner changes as you choose different locations to visit (Los Angeles, Chennai or Hong Kong). To book your ideal vacation and find exclusive offers access Malaysia Airlines’ microsite by clicking the “find out more” button on the MPU.   Norwegian AirlinesAdvertiser: Norwegian Airlines Media: MSN DK Format: Expandable Banner Vertical: Travel Country:  DenmarkView demo Rollover “se mere her” to activate the pushdown banner with a video player with ads for top travel destinations

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A newly released MediaMind analysis looks at how rich media and standard banners affect site visits. The study analyzed 24,000 creatives with more than 12 billion impressions served in North America between July and December, 2011. Site visits were measured using landing page conversion tags.

Some telling stats:
* Rich media boosts site visits three-fold
* Rich media PLUS video boosts site visits six-fold



The Bottom Line?
Rich media clearly works on many levels for many campaign objectives. More visible and engaging, rich media ads add value to both brand advertising and direct response advertising. MediaMind’s analysis shows that rich media and specifically rich media with video is a worthwhile investment for directly generating site traffic and sales.

Want the full story?
Click here to download the Research.

MediaMind worked together with media agency OMD and creative agency Plan Comunicación, to enable the launch of Nissan’s interactive campaign that connects the user’s PC and smartphone. The interaction lets the audience experience the technical innovations of Nissan’s Qashqai 360. While marketers are interested in implementing multi-screen strategies, they are concerned about the technical complexity involved in connecting with users who jump from one screen to another. Nissan overcame this challenge and launched a digital campaign unprecedented in Spain using MediaMind technology and connecting with its audience by simulating the experience of driving the new Qashqai 360.





Nissan wanted to take another step forward in its constant search for creative innovation and user impact, through an interactive spot that connected mobile and PC screens to demonstrate the technical innovations of the Qashqai 360.


The campaign launched by OMD is the result of the long-term relationship between the creative teams of MediaMind and Plan Comunicación, who were tasked with turning a smartphone into a remote control that demonstrates to the user how easy it is to park the new Nissan Qashqai 360. The spot transmits an experience that is sophisticated yet simple, at the same time as giving the feeling of being behind the wheel of this new model of Nissan.


“Via a game in a push-down banner that synchronises with a mobile, users can enjoy a realistic experience of parking a Nissan Qashqai in extreme conditions, activating the camera, moving the steering wheel and using the four cameras. All of this with their own hands!” explains Guillermo Irure, Digital Accounts Manager at Plan Comunicación.


View Demo:



“By monitoring the technological innovations of the Qashqai’s new 360º camera, we developed a strategy that combines the innovative spirit of the brand with the search for new emotions. The campaign tries to pique the user’s interest so that they can experience the new challenges that the brand offers them, through designs that combine the use of PC and mobile, demonstrating that Nissan is a brand committed to innovation and technological progress”, says Mireia Vila, Digital Planner at OMD.

“Mobile is becoming a primary device for connecting with consumers,” said Pedro Travesedo, Country Manager, MediaMind Spain. “We are committed to developing innovative ways to increase its impact on audiences.”

MediaMind revealed today the results of a new case study for ZUJI Travel, a Travelocity company, showing that with optimized re-targeting, display is now profitable.

“With this latest solution, display is for the first time is an ROI-positive channel, and we are generating actual business profit for ZUJI from display advertising.” Marc Lomas, commercial director of Cadreon Australia.

Part of the global Travelocity group, ZUJI offers consumers travel deals from more than 400 airlines, 60,000 hotels and thousands of car hire, activity leisure providers and travel insurers. ZUJI needed a way to strengthen the connection between traffic to its sites and actual conversions, engaging consumers even after they left ZUJI’s website.

ZUJI’s vision was to create a personalized display campaign that would serve up the latest and best ZUJI deals relevant to each consumer’s travel intent – anywhere they browsed on the web. ZUJI engaged Cadreon and MediaMind to develop a data-driven digital remarketing campaign.

The MediaMind platform was synced with ZUJI’s live travel database so it could automatically search and pull new travel deals into the display ads. These personalized ads would then feed into Cadreon’s vast network to be served to individuals wherever they were. The system also had to be time sensitive, dropping targeted ads after an appropriate time period or after the individual registered new site behavior on ZUJI, such as booking a flight.

“We might not be able to afford prime time advertising in Western Australia, for example, but we know we can target Perth users with special deals with online geo-targeting using MediaMind. It gives us deep reach that we couldn’t otherwise afford.” – James Gaskell, managing director of ZUJI Australia

Using the solution, ZUJI could successfully identify an individual’s flight or holiday intent and retarget them with relevant advertising almost anywhere they went on the web. MediaMind technology also enabled ZUJI to track orders or basket value in order to optimize marketing spend on sites that generated higher-value travel purchases.


Results
Six months after launch, the campaign hit or exceeded all its KPIs for CPA, reach and frequency. In fact, it is the first time in ZUJI’s history that a display campaign has been profitable.
• CTR +300%: Display CTR went from 0.04% (July 2011) to just under 0.12% (December 2011)
• Basket value +25%: Order value is approximately 25% higher than the average for display
• Low CPA: The campaign maintains a low CPA thanks to its lower burn rate in terms of overall impressions served.
• A better customer experience: ZUJI customers are served relevant, intent-based creative that is actually helpful in travel planning.

Click here to download the ZUJI Travelocity Case Study.