Unveiling the Genius: CB2's Game-changer in Utilizing Social Content for Irresistible CTV Ads
CB2, the offshoot of Crate & Barrel, is revolutionizing its advertising strategy by repurposing engaging social content into video ads for CTV As viewing time becomes more fragmented, this innovative marketer is testing new ways to captivate audiences and deliver seamless living-room ready advertisements
Earlier this year, CB2, a retailer targeting young, urban consumers and a subsidiary of Crate & Barrel, launched a successful social marketing campaign to promote its new "Best of" collection. The campaign featured a video showcasing the products, set to a techno soundtrack, and included a shoppable QR link. Posted on the company's Instagram account, the video garnered over 81,000 views and received more than 200 likes.
Impressed by the positive results and the ease of creating content for social media, CB2's vice president of marketing, Tobin Schiller, now contemplates repurposing the content for display ads. However, with the increasing fragmentation of consumer viewing time, Schiller wonders if CB2 should also explore the rapidly growing connected TV (CTV) space.
We are committed to ensuring a varied range of media platforms to back our brand," asserted Schiller. "Constantly seeking novel methods to generate curiosity and enhance brand recognition, we were keen on examining this."
Living-room ready
The brand agreed to test a new product from Spaceback, one of its vendors. Spaceback had been working with CB2 to automatically convert their social media content into display advertising. The creative automation platform was preparing to launch an extension that would transform social media videos into ads for digital video channels.
According to Casey Saran, co-founder and CEO of Spaceback, "The cost of entering the CTV market has decreased on the media side, but the production of 15-second, 30-second 4K television commercials is still quite expensive. Brands are generating compelling social media content that shouldn't be limited to just social media; it deserves a place in the living room."
Spaceback has developed an innovative product called Social CTV that can transform well-liked social media posts into suitable video advertisements for connected TV. Apart from the video content itself, these ads have the capability to showcase a brand's social media messaging and provide near real-time updates on post engagement. As an example, the video ad for CB2 featured animated hearts to effectively convey people's adoration for the brand.
Saran explained, "The format of these ads resembles a social post displayed on a television screen, complete with relevant social data. It truly captures the essence of an authentic Instagram post and transforms it into a compelling 15-second television ad for CTV."
A different relationship with ads
While it may not appear as a significant transition, social media and television offer contrasting experiences for consumers. Branded content on social platforms is often perceived more as relatable posts from friends that users choose to follow and interact with, explained Saran.
Saran explained that the goal is to change people's relationship with advertising by incorporating elements that resemble content and creating engagement with brands. The aim is to move away from the confinement of social media and bring the voice, tone, and unique content to a different channel. The objective is not to make social media more like advertisements, but rather to make advertisements more like social media content.
Spaceback's process is completely automated and follows a CPM-based pricing model. This allows brands to run multiple messages simultaneously and take advantage of viral posts and trending content. Saran mentioned that this approach can help marketers avoid content fatigue and frequency challenges, a sentiment that was agreed upon by CB2's Schiller.
“It enables us to be agile and incorporate additional creative aspects that can be brought to the market quickly,” stated Schiller. “We have the ability to leverage successful content from our social channels and effortlessly enter new channels.”
Although Schiller chose not to disclose exact metrics for the "Best of" campaign, the outcomes were impressive enough to persuade the marketer to initiate another trial in the autumn and potentially explore other opportunities in the future.
According to Schiller, people nowadays spend a majority of their time on social media. Any content that is interesting and represents our brand well is likely to be suitable for CTV. We will likely continue to experiment and determine which format yields the best results.
