Boots takes social commerce to new heights with innovative Meta and TikTok campaigns

Boots has introduced its largest-ever value campaign, aiming to highlight the advantages of its Advantage card. The campaign's main focus is to encourage customers to join the loyalty program, while it also showcases the brand's ongoing use of shoppable ads.

The 'Best for Less' campaign showcases the three primary ways that customers can save money. It aims to reach 51 million adults in the UK through various paid media channels. The advertisements provide a direct link to the product page on Meta and TikTok, enabling users to easily access the desired items. According to Boots's CMO Pete Markey, social commerce is experiencing steady growth and the company has dedicated significant effort to exploring shoppable ads in collaboration with social partners. The initial outcomes have been highly favorable.

Our focus now is on experimenting with different types of ads – testing and learning to find out how to optimise our performance through these formats.

Pete Markey, CMO, Boots

Boots, the pioneering beauty retailer in Europe, became the first to trial TikTok's Video Shopping Ads (VSA). In the ongoing trial, Boots will continue using this format alongside Meta's Advantage Placements.

Shoppable ads have often been seen as a vital link between television content and the world of ecommerce. However, Boots emphasizes that their latest experimentation with shoppable ads, which are entirely digital, should prioritize being engaging and entertaining pieces of content.

Our utmost priority is ensuring that these ads captivate our audience as compelling content. While our goal is to drive direct sales, we also aim to enhance overall brand awareness. These ads should be distinctive, engaging our customers and seamlessly integrated into the platforms.

Although shoppable ads have been available on social platforms for some time, they have mainly been utilized by digital-first retailers. Markey explains that, following an initial 18-month experiment with TikTok, Boots now focuses on optimizing the use of this format. The retailer's main objective is to increase conversion, while also monitoring the level of awareness and engagement our content generates on these platforms.

Boots, the retailer, saw a significant increase in sales this year, particularly in the UK where sales grew by 10.2% compared to last year. The pharmacy business also experienced a boost of 5.7%. While discounting was a major part of their strategy, they are also currently implementing a brand extension strategy. As part of this strategy, the Best For Less campaign and its digital aspect play a crucial role.

Recognizing the preference of younger consumers to shop on social platforms, it is a logical move for Boots to further invest in shoppable ads. By aligning this experiment with the Best For Less campaign, the brand can effectively promote its Advantage card while also targeting the next generation of consumers.