How Parex used geolocation and device data to drive DOOH performance

The brief

As lockdown orders began to lift – but travel restrictions remained in place – Parex saw the perfect opportunity to capture consumer dollars. It felt it could tap into the rising rate of home renovation projects by encouraging consumers to consider its InSinkerator - Multitap brand, a modern mixer tap that promises chilled water or near-boiling water on the spot.

Though consumers could buy the mixer tap online, such a product is normally sold in-store or recommended by plumbers. Parex felt that it could drive wider awareness, earlier purchase consideration and ultimately, sales, by investing in a strong DOOH campaign.

And while Parex and been investing in DOOH fairly consistently, the brand was ill-equipped to optimize its spending and measure the performance of these media buys. With a humble budget of just $15,000 and access to 1,300 screens to target audiences across New Zealand, the company tapped programmatic firm Acquire to help allocate DOOH ad spending more effectively and to quantify the effectiveness of its investments.

The idea

Acquire sought to help Parex realize the benefits of buying outdoor media programmatically – benefits that include flexibility, minimum screen commitments, tactical buys and better tracking and media measurement.

The team partnered with Foursquare to create custom location-based segments based on data about consumers’ store visitations. Foursquare geo-fenced all boutique kitchen design and interior stores across New Zealand. From there, it was possible to optimize DOOH media so as to only activate ads at times when there is a high likelihood that captured user devices will be near relevant screens. Paired with audience data about demographics and geolocation provided by Blis, this approach would help ensure Parex was reaching the right consumers at the right time.

Additionally, the team tapped into Vistar’s Device ID (DID) Passbook, a targeting tool that pinpoints devices exposed to a DOOH ad and shares this data with given providers. It enabled the team to remarket from offline to online channels, reaching target audiences across mobile, display, CTV, social, streamed audio and more. It made the DOOH campaign work harder on other channels.

Historical data revealed that retailer Harvey Norman was the biggest driver of sales for the InSinkerator - Multitap. Armed with this information, the team constructed geofences around Harvey Norman stores and deployed DOOH ads in the area, then measured hourly affinity scores for each screen. The team then created a lift study with the help of Hivestack, which measured device IDs observed at the selected stores and DOOH screens. By evaluating this data, Acquire was able to attribute foot traffic increases by comparing the exposed group’s Harvey Norman visitation rates with that of the control group.

The results

With access to device-level data, Parex and the team were able to remarket to audiences who had already been exposed to the DOOH campaign, reaching them via Meta platforms and Google display and video ads. This approach significantly improved engagement compared to traditional prospecting, delivering a 23% lift in click-through rate and an 18% jump in time on-site.

At the same time, geofencing enabled by Foursquare vastly reduced wasted ad spending.

Further, through its footfall attribution study conducted in partnership with Hivestack, Parex saw a 37% increase in store visitations and a 25% spike in sales of the InSinkerator - Multitap in Harvey Norman stores.

The campaign marked the first time that mobile device ID data had been used in such a way in New Zealand. The approach enabled Parex to compete more aggressively within its category with a smaller budget than many of its competitors – while driving up consideration and sales rates.

This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for Digital Advertising APAC 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.