British Gas: AOL partnership
Partnering with AOL to create a media first
A STEAK planned British Gas takeover of the AOL homepage
delivers impressive results through an innovative new
format
Background
British Gas is the UK's largest gas and electricity
supplier, servicing millions of homes across the country. In
November 2009, British Gas launched its new EnergySmart™ product
and tariff, a revolutionary new way to control and pay for energy
used in the home. By managing energy usage online, customers can
see exactly what they're using and paying for each month, helping
them cut back and save money.
STEAK was tasked with launching this new product through
online advertising, in order to deliver mass-market reach and
achieve set sales targets. The challenge was to create a 'wow'
factor, deserved of such an innovative product offering, whilst
being informative and conveying multiple product messages within a
limited dimension and space of time. STEAK was provided with the
above-the-line brand creative but realised that it wouldn't work
effectively online. Instead, STEAK created new digital formats
which complemented the offline messaging.
Work
STEAK reviewed a range of sites and placement
opportunities and put together a campaign that included a media
first - a bespoke homepage takeover by British Gas on the AOL site.
STEAK's creative design incorporated the standard leaderboard, MPU
and mantle formats and urged the user to interact with a light
switch within the design, which, when clicked, turned into a full
page takeover, increasing the MPU format's dimensions and
interacting with the rest of the page to alter the colour
dramatically, from white to black. The placement then animated to
show product details and a call to action.
Results
- Click through rate of 0.35% (against the industry
standard of 0.15% for non-expanding MPUs)
- Exceeded estimated click through level by
400%
- Exceeded estimated sales by 22%, and at 21% under the
cost per acquisition target
- AOL is now offering this format to other advertisers
based on this success