The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. Within the flooring industry, Quick-Step designs and manufactures a wide range of laminate and parquet flooring. Quick-Step is a proud member of the UNILIN Group: a company with roots in West-Flanders, built in 1960 by a few families joining forces. 

Quick-Step organization is challenged by a rather siloed marketing and sales structure. The king of flooring brings its developed products into the market via independent retailers. The local stores represent Quick-Step and sell the product line. Whereas the central marketing team is responsible for marketing the brand and pushing forward to reach the business goals. The dealers are crucial in the sales cycle, yet it is tricky, as the marketing team of Quick-Step is blind to the actual sales happening at the dealers’ side. 

Moving data into a central role of our media strategies

Our marketing plans were becoming outdated. In recent years, data has taken a central role in marketing, but data hasn’t necessarily moved to the center of many marketing plans. Climbing the data maturity matrix does not happen overnight, and needs a long-term strategy, starting from ensuring the team stays on a pointed trajectories that focuses on metrics first. Back in 2017 we worked out the “Find a dealer” conversion (referred to as FAD in this document)  in order to navigate marketing tactics and budgets more accurately. FAD conversions are measured when a user is looking for the closest dealer in their area on the website. Until 2019, the focus was around online efficiency metrics, such as cost per finding a dealer. However, the team felt the emphasis on keeping that cost low could potentially slow down overall revenue growth, so they wanted to correct any mismatch between internal omni-channel growth ambitions and online KPIs. When Google rolled out Store Visit (referred to as SV) measurement, it meant that Quick-Step could precisely count how many store visits digital ads were driving. Quick-Step was one of the first Belgian advertisers to adopt the new measurement methodology. SV conversions are measured when a user interacts with an ad prior to visiting a dealer. 

Fast forward to the peak pandemic month of April 2020, home improvement smashed new records. Pre-pandemic, shoppers were of course already using digital touchpoints, such as mobile apps, social media and videos, along the path to purchase, but the COVID-19 crisis was an inflection point for digital adoption. It was clear we had to transition towards ROPO (research online, purchase offline). We established one unified target to measure the effect from advertising on both online and offline activities, meaning including both FAD and SV. The unified KPI is used as a compass to test and learn new channels and add them progressively to the media mix. The first step was to make sure that ROPO metric was well implemented and integrated within the different platforms (Google Ads & Google Analytics). Next, we adapted our Smart Bidding strategy to an omnichannel strategy including both FAD and SV.

Identifying new opportunities to increase awareness and brand desirability

Despite the meteoric rise in popularity of home improvement during the pandemic back in 2020, Quick-Step needed to keep pace with expectations for new customer recruitment. We realized that focusing on mid- to lower-funnel media meant we would not meet target consumers where they were spending the most time. We created a full-funnel strategy to increase awareness and brand desirability among key segments and, ultimately, win new customers. We created target personas through a mix of third and first-party audiences. The latter was mapped out using the FAD and SV signals to quantify and segment audiences. We then mapped the creative and audiences to the right tactical mix of channels and ad formats. Secondly, we wanted to explore options in using online marketing to drive more people into stores. 

Concretely, we built a consistent long term media plan articulated around different objectives and different types of campaigns to support these objectives:

• Awareness: The objective was to make people aware of the brand Quick-Step when building or renovating their home. “Home” is a term that is strongly highlighted in the branding video, it is a claim that Quick-Step makes in their communication. This was done through different campaigns: YouTube, Discovery, Facebook, Quantum, Product placements (Huis Gemaakt), Addressable TV via DPG and Online video via Auvio. These channels were selected based on the targeting criteria of recently moved or in-market from home-improvement. 
• Conversion: The objective was to bring users to dealers to buy a Quick-Step floor. In order to do that, we used the following campaigns: Local campaigns, Performance Max, DV360, Facebook (Smartly), Waze, S4M, Admoove. The USP in the ads was focussed on the wide network of local dealers Quick-Step has. Using location data, we could infuse the nearest dealer location in every ad, highlighting our local presence and availability. This allowed us to personalize every message with a local dimension, and in turn improving our relevancy.  These channels were selected based on the targeting criteria of (1) leveraging our first-party data segments. Audience lists were automatically created based on FAD and SV. Next, we used Machine Learning algorithms to expand targeting using the first-party data. Secondly, (2) narrowing down the audiences by targeting users in a certain radius around the dealers and displaying in the ad the closest dealer to the user (for example “Ontdek Quick-Step by Carpet 2000 in Meise”).

Secondly, timing was a key element in the long-term strategy. Whereas in previous media plans the focus was solely on seasonal peaks such as Batibouw and Fall promotions. We used the downtime to see which areas are in need of improvement by testing and learning. After every seasonal peak we conducted research and learned about our customers. Downtown periods were used to innovate and test out new formats with little risks. For example we learned that more than half of customers come via mobile devices. We found ways to get closer to the mobile users, leveraging the S4M mobile geolocation features, so we were geared up for the next peak season. 

Semetis helped Quick-Step achieve their objectives by coming up with a step-by-step plan based on our expertise, the insights from other clients' campaigns and the learnings from previous Quick-Step campaigns. 

A sustainable growth strategy with proven results

In today's constantly evolving world of marketing tech and platforms, you might wonder if it is even possible to have a sustainable growth strategy? Change is inevitable so how do you build something that is always constantly changing and evolving? This case clearly shows that it is about (1) putting data at the center, (2) testing and experimenting , (3) being patient. 

The results were stunning. 

• 2021 was by far the best performing year with a strong increase in terms of volume of SV (+157%) and SV rate (+189%) across all channels. When looking at the cost per SV, we managed to decrease it both on all sources included (-17%) and on Google SEA campaigns (-42%).
• In terms of FAD, we maintained a rather stable volume of FAD (-4%) across all channels, at an improved FAD rate (+12%). 

By looking at the results, we can conclude that our long term strategy has shown the real power of data consolidation, personalization and continuous optimization. Having all the teams operating towards a unified objective allowed us to generate the right business impact. More importantly, we have proven the independent retail owners that this successful strategy has a significant positive impact on their bottom line. We believe that this case demonstrates how one consolidated KPI can compass a long-term strategy that generates business value for Quick-Step and the independent retailer. 

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Daring to join a conversation that was turning sour requires guts

More than five years after being acquired by French group Total, energy supplier Lampiris is changing its name to TotalEnergies in 2022. Being a game changer is rooted in Lampiris’ DNA. They were the first energy supplier going for Green Energy in Belgium, and they were not going to deny their origins. It was important to reassure the loyal Lampiris clients on their green roots and their commitment.

How? By thanking its loyal customers for their individual contribution to a greener planet. Celebrating the joint commitment and support of Lampiris’ green mission over the years. Because choosing Lampiris as their energy supplier meant contributing to spare tons of CO2 emissions. They are the Green Heroes!

And that is what Lampiris wanted its customers to realise. The “Green Heroes” campaign was born.

But how do you make clients aware of their individual impact? Moreover, do people actually know what a ton of CO2 represents?

Lampiris, Semetis and BBDO joined forces to put the “Green Heroes” in the spotlight. Together, they put in place a campaign that will reach  400k+ customers in a smart and creative way.

Layering up the campaign smartly to magnify Heroism

The “Green Heroes” campaign was made up of three levels: the city, street and individual level. The city-level aimed to reach as many Lampiris’ customers as possible across the 30 Belgian cities with the most Lampiris’ customers. The second level aimed to go a step further in the local approach by targeting specific key target zones (streets) in Belgium. It was not enough, we had to be more intimate. We went one step further by creating an in-person experience.  The latter is referred to the individual-level in our creative media approach. 

How did we make these city, street and individual levels come to live?

We started by informing the Lampiris customers on the local impact they had in their city, and helping them realise what it actually represents. This by using real live examples in our creatives. The video messages ran on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and were customised for every city to create a closer thank you experience. The 30 cities with the most Lampiris’ customers were targeted. 

Moving from the city-level, the creative media usage became slightly more granular by bringing our unique messages to the streets. We opted for display bannering that dynamically adapts the message based on the user geolocation. Our partner Admoove made it possible to complement the OOH presence with mobile banner ads in a radius around key target zones. As such we could thank our loyal customers for their environmental impact as a local community.  40 locations in total were configured! 

We were not satisfied just yet. It was not enough. We had to create a tremendous in-person experience. If we want our customers to actually realise that they are Heroes, you have to tell them in-person. We decided to talk to them directly. We leveraged Cavai technology, to implement conversational banners in programmatic display advertising. As such we could turn banners into chat bots. The strategy was extended to Social networks using Story Polls Ads.

The full campaign was oriented solely to Lampiris customers. To ensure we could reach a maximum of Lampiris customers, Advanced Customer Match solutions by EDM were used in Google Ads and Facebook. EDM uses advanced (cookieless) technologies to increase the match rate for our YouTube and Facebook campaigns. We even reached a 100% match rate on Google Ads! 

And it was important for Lampiris to be as authentic as possible. This is why all people  used in our creatives, from video to bannering, were actual Lampiris customers. 

The results: being grateful helps you through hard times

Heroes touch our hearts, fill us with admiration, and make us reconsider our view of the world. Just look at the plethore of any superhero movie and you can see how much our society values and loves heroes. This campaign wasn’t at all about client acquisition. It was about being grateful towards our customers by naming them Green Heroes. Thanks to Advanced Customer Match solutions by EDM, we were able to reach 40% and 30% of Lampiris’ customers on YouTube and Facebook. The creative media usage was directly and intrinsically linked to the concept of the message, resulting in a churn rate decrease of 12%. 

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1. TOO LITTLE DIVERSITY IN THE NEWS THAT PEOPLE ACCESS VIA ADVERTISING 

Journalism is about getting it first and getting it right. The news flashes are obsolete in no time, challenging marketers to continuously adapt their messaging at the speed of light. Information is part of the most volatile product that we have to master. 

Users spend 31 minutes each day consuming news digitally, and Google Search is their number one choice. Yet, it has been postulated that search engines have a negative impact on the diversity of news that people access. This is attributed to the algorithmic filtering used by tech giants. 

An in-depth analysis using Google Analytics and Google Ads performance data of the news websites, La Libre and La DH, owned by Groupe IPM, confirmed the assumption. Only 29% of the most recent articles were accessed in our advertising campaigns. This is in complete contradiction with the business objective of IPM. Their goal is to bring the newest information to their readers. Within the world of journalism qualitative traffic is not enough. Generating added value to our readers is about bringing the most recent news first. 

These insights made it clear that IPM was in need of an innovative solution that could bring the latest and most accurate news to all different readers. Semetis brought the solution of algorithmic manipulation using multi-source data points in real-time.

2. PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN AUTOMATION & CONTROL TO LEVERAGE DATA AT EVERY STEP OF OUR APPROACH 

Step 1 - The set-up: From an advertising point of view, targeting is crucial. In the case of IPM, it is clear that the target groups are very dependent on what the news is about. Our personae are evolving constantly along with the information. The common denominator is to target these curious readers that actively search for the most recent information. 

A second complexity is that geolocalisation targeting is tricky and cannot be a criteria. At the first sight, it sounds logical that a region would be interested in local information. But in reality, they are also interested in national,  international or even local information from other regions. 

In a nutshell, our only targeting criteria from a business point of view is to target readers searching for the most recent news and absolutely avoid bringing them outdated information. 

Next to targeting, Messaging is decisive. Readers have high expectations and once they are hunting for precise information we cannot attract them with a generic message such as “ Discover the news on La Libre”. You need to get the message in order to entice the reader to read your article. Competition in the search engine results list is fierce. IPM needs to stand out by delivering the adequate message to the right audience. To overcome this hurdle, we investigated several options available on the market, among which Google News. A product developed to bring the newest information high-up in the search results ranking. Unfortunately, the algorithm behind this product is not available to advertisers. Given the multitude of dimensions to be taken into account to serve the proper message to the different audiences, automation was our way of moving forward. Automation seems extremely appealing but it needs to make sense from a business point of view.

To leverage the best of both worlds into our data mechanism approach, our strategy was based on 2 axes - automation and control:  

1. Automation to respond to a massive volume of searches that differ every day. We decided to leverage the Dynamic Search Ads format from Google. This solution enables you to target searched keywords on Google based on the content available on your website. Data is required to automatically adapt the advertising message to the keywords being bought. Sadly there is a “but”.This solution cannot satisfy our expectations, as it takes the full content of your website into account, this includes articles from 5 years ago. This is where our script enters the game. 
2. Control a very accurate response. Data is required to automatically serve the most recent news to our readers. This control is required to guarantee to stay in line with IPM objectives. 

Semetis wrote a customized script to implement this dual strategy using multi-source data points: 

1. The news article's publication date guarantees the recency of the information. The data was pulled from the dataLayer. The rule was set to a maximum of 48 hours old information. 
2. The website sitemap that is summarizing the website structure from an SEO point of view. This data point is necessary to target all available articles within the IPM website ecosystem
3. The popularity of the news topic to take into account the interest of readers. The data is pulled from Google Trends to measure the hotness of a topic and the relative volume. 

Next,  automated ad texts were created using the content of the recent website articles and customized for every search. This automated and innovative script was our path to success. 

Step 2 - The optimization: Our usage of data is not stopping here. A data infrastructure was implemented and linked to our advertising and analytics platforms to measure our results. A new data point was created being “publish date”.  This enabled the media buying teams to evaluate the recentness of the content consumed through our advertising and optimize the campaigns directly. 

Secondly, we used data to evaluate and improve our script. Daily we were monitoring the landing pages of our advertising campaign to validate the relevance of automation. Initially, the script was only taking into account the articles published within the last 48 hours. After 2 weeks we realized that the volume of requests covered was too low. We decided to enhance our definition of recent articles and took a slightly longer time lapse 

3. DIVERSITY IN RECENTNESS BLOW UP FROM 29% to 81%

The results were incredible. We succeeded in bringing the proportion of recent article reads from 29% to 81%. More concretely this means that 81% of our automated ads were directed to articles that have been published within the last 2 months. 

Extra bonus:

• The cost per click of our campaigns decreased by 38% allowing us to target more qualitative search requests with the same budgets
• The consideration of newspaper subscriptions increased by 622%. This could be measured through button clicks from the article to the newspaper subscription e-commerce. This is an ultimate proof that bringing qualitative content to the fingertips of readers, convinces them to become a customer. Together with IPM, we succeeded in turning the audience of readers into action-able media audiences that are interested in becoming subscribers. 

IPM Group's usage of data allowed them to be first and right, something that readers highly appreciate.

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Leveraging Teads’ buying platform with inRead Social format, Semetis has been able to easily extend social assets on premium media environment, achieving outstanding results to increase awareness on Atol’s innovative glasses that facilitates reading for some dyslexic people. 

(Brussels, October 08th 2021) – Today, Teads, The Global Media Platform, Semetis and Atol share their experience of extending social formats on premium belgian media using Teads Ad Manager proprietary end-to end platform and inRead Social format. 

The purpose of this campaign was to increase the awareness around Atol as a brand but also around its Lexilens new innovative glasses that facilitate reading for some dyslexic people. Reaching 7.3 million people each month, representing 92% of Belgian Internet users aged 12+ according to CIM, Teads has been seen as the perfect partner to extend existing social media campaigns in a premium media environment. 

Having benefited from extensive training sessions over the past months, Semetis has become an official and certified partner of the Teads Ad Manager platform, and was thus able to efficiently answer Atol’s needs, in perfect autonomy. With priority access to Teads inventory, the performance-based and end-to-end platform eliminates complexity and technology friction. 

Moreover, the inRead Social format appeared as a perfect complement to social media activations, allowing Atol and Semetis to seamlessly repurpose its existing assets to extend the reach of the campaign within premium belgian media. While ensuring better attention in this professionally produced content, the brand also benefited from unparalleled brand safety, as well as a higher engagement from consumers. In this way, combining Teads Ad Manager and inRead Social appeared as the most effective way to launch the campaign in a few clicks only. 

With creatives displayed in more effective environments and with stronger attention than social feeds, Atol and Semetis reached higher results than benchmark, with 70% of viewable impressions, 8.3 seconds of In-View Time and 24% of Viewable Completion Rate, for a 0.026€ Cost Per Completed View (CPCV). 

« The main benefit of Teads Ad Manager is the user-friendliness of the platform which makes it so easy to use and master. It’s extremely easy to navigate in the platform and makes it very efficient to set-up campaigns. This helped us achieving great results in terms of CPV and absolute numbers of views and thus helped us to spread the word around Lexilens greatly!  "

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