Discovery India’s ‘River Monsters’ achieved 7x Organic reach on Facebook

About Discovery Channel

Discovery channel has always been one of those TV channel networks, that can captivate audience irrespective of the generations. Whether you are part of the millennial’s or the Z generation, there’s a good chance that you would have dedicated a portion of your TV viewership till date, to this particular network. Be it wildlife documentaries, technological innovations or history and being able to broadcast in a variety of regional languages, this network as been a predominant portion of many lives throughout the country.

 Proudly on their ‘About Us’ section Discovery Channel states

“Discovery Channel gets you closer to the answers that matter. Through a line-up of high-quality non-fiction entertainment of science-tech, blue-chip, historical, adventure, and cultural themes, the flagship network of Discovery Communications now reaches out to more than 180 million subscribers in the Asia Pacific. And it remains one of the most dynamic networks on TV.”

And they have consistently delivered so, but while trying to boost their organic reach for the latest show ‘River monsters’ in India, they hit a bit of a snag into introducing the show and its main character in a new captivating format that would attract larger audiences than before.

Problem statement and Goals

As evident on their website, this show always managed to achieve good CTR with their audience by their daring images and captivating CTA’s

 There is a  >30 second clip of a man confidently entering a pool filled with hungry Piranha’s, Aren’t you curious?

However, it was not enough to increase their viewership to the new benchmark they were aiming for, in India exclusively.

On social media, their usual post on upcoming shows would feature an image with a tune. Although that received good amount of likes, it was not performing well in terms of engagement and shares which was important for improving organic reach.

About FoxyMoron Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

It is one of the largest digital marketing agencies in the country. Foxymoron has an employee strength over 200+ in the key regions of India being Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai.

They prize themselves in combining creative media technologies such as 360-degree videos, dyno-cubes, augmented/ virtual reality, interactive and shoppable videos/post etc with effective design, targeted marketing, media buying, SEM, SEO and to create a truly 360 approach to brands presence online.

Identified Objectives to improve organic reach

• Introduce the show and its lead character in a new captivating format
• Use new media technologies like 360 degree video’s and posts in their creatives
• Make the sure relatable to the Indian audience
• Make sure the information was crisp and not overloading the audience
• Improve the shares and engagement on their posts, while ultimately improving their organic reach with the Indian audience

Digital Marketing Strategy adopted by Discovery Channel

• Microsite

A microsite was created to allow users to see short previews of the show, as well as register their mobile numbers for reminder notifications on upcoming show times.

• Using the new age of media technology

On social media, To increase engagement and to give new audience an idea of what the show was about. The 360-degree technology creative’s were broken down into 2 main segments, to boost organic reach.

Wall of extinction & Deceptive River fish

It was important that show didn’t just give the perception of a man who just puts himself in harm’s way and dangerous aquatic creatures. But an adventurist, who did the research and understood the marine life he was dealing with. Before jumping in.

 It was important for the viewership to get the perception that ‘River Monsters’ was an informative visual journey with dangerous creatures starring the lead character Jeremy Wild.

Wall of extinction – In this 360-degree post, the main focus was to creative an informative experience, where Jeremy would tell the viewers on the various pre historic aquatic life that used to rule the oceans and rivers.

Deceptive Fish

This 360-degree post was focused on creating a more visual experience for the viewers. Jeremy would show the users on how simple and almost cute looking fish, sometimes hide very vicious and dangerous sides.

The Dyno-Cube

This was the ultimate technology creative combining information and visual outputs to both sects of the audience, ie those who wanted to learn more and those who wanted to see the ‘River Monsters’ in action

Being one of the world’s first ever Dyno-Cube creative. It was made up of trailers of the various sub categories under the main river monster shows. All visually stitched together to creative an interactive 360 degree video.

Viewers could literally look in any direction of the post and by the end, have a thorough understanding of what the show was all about. This was by far the best way of introducing a new show to audience. Without having to create multiple trailers and posts. In a sense a single creative, captured every aspect of the show in a short video as well as being interactive it increased the engagement.

Results – The 7x organic reach boost

The 360-degree creatives and associated post were a massive hit. Being one of the first few in the space to use this media methodology, The Discovery network successfully managed to land a new show in the hearts of Indians as well as gain massive amounts of engagement and viewership for it.

• Nearly 2x jump cause by their normal 360 degree creatives and a massive 7x jump because of the Dyno-cube
• Around 3800+ shares for the ‘Deceptive Fish’ 360 post
• Over 1900 text notifications to register for upcoming shows
• Industry average engagement rate for posts was around 1.5%, Discovery channel achieved around 11%

By deciding to invest a bit of their marketing spend in new media technologies, Discovery Channel achieve an unprecedented organic reach bump to their average viewership numbers.

Learnings

Effectively Using 360 degree videos with your digital marketing strategy

Nowdays, with the competition to capture consumer attention being high and consumers demanding more immersive experiences with the brand at the top of the marketing funnel ie the ‘Awareness’ stage before deciding to go to the next stage.

 It is important for brands to now invest in the current new technologies and providing an experience at an early stage, instead of just providing access to it with consumers already familiar with your brand. People like brands that take the next step. Something new,  always buys any brand a few seconds extra with the consumer at the ‘Awareness’ and succeeding stages. These extra seconds can sometimes be all your brand needs to leave a strong impression in their minds and hook them to be your new prospective leads.

Why 360-degree videos? – Facts behind the Idea

A study by thinkwithgoogle.com found the following metrics while comparing the results of a standard video vs a 360 one.

• While the 360 version had a lower view-through rate, it had a higher click-through rate, along with more views, shares and subscribers.
• 46 percent higher view count of the full-length 360 video than on the standard full-length version
• The 360 ad was more cost-efficient as its cost-per-view was lower when organic and paid views were added together.
• People who viewed the 360 video were more likely to share it copying the URL into messaging apps

360-degree videos can be controlled with your mouse, with your finger on mobile or by turning your head in a headset.

Industry examples

Ive decided to target 3 industry sectors to showcase the potential of 360 video marketing.

Retail – Use 360-degree videos to Showcase your products

Your brand can use 360 videos to provide my trust by letting them have a 360 view of your inventory or its origins. By being able to have a virtual walkthough to what your brand is offering , you are able to ensure that users deeply connect with your products before making decisions.

Take Nescafe for example, by being able to show the audience the freshness of their coffee beans,straight from their plantation, they achieved great branding and generated more leads.

Travel & Tourism – Drive in the most prospective buyer/renters

Lets say you are running targeted ads on FB to get more people to come into a new location your brand is sponsoring. Why stick to the normal, and spend time and money to send pictures  videos and positive reviews?

Like discovery channel, you can create an ‘Dyno-Cube’ incorporating everything. Let the audience have an virtual experience of your location, and have all their questions answered simultaneously.

Even providing the same 360 video experience, for showcasing something simple like an apartment you’d like to rent out. You will be able to drive in only the most potential renters and remarket to them accordingly. Saving costs and driving in leads with less questions and more purchasing intent.

Health & Fitness – Drive in more potential customers to your gym

Personally working in this industry before, I can confidently say one of the most common social media creative used by health&fitness clubs or gyms for advertising, would consist of a motivational video or the following parts in a 2d format

• An athletic looking man/woman or alternatively an obese version
• An inspirational quote
• A weight reduction or body goal promise/testimonial
• An offer

Unfortunately nearly 9/10 companies in this industry, would also be doing this.

With millions of the same creative type being thrown about, its no wonder that emerging clubs/gyms are finding it hard to stand out and drive in potential leads. Even if your company genuinely assures higher quality services over the rest.

So Stand Out!

By providing a 360-degree experience, you drive in only your most potential leads by letting them have a virtual walkthrough of your facilities and trainers, health and fitness products you are promoting and even the uniqueness angle you have over your competitors.

Audience that have thoroughly gone through this interactive immersive experience of your services and still sign up or fill up a contact form at the end, have much higher chances of conversion.

As compared to the indecisive ones, obtained through the ‘average’ health&fitness advertising strategy.

At the end of it, Let your brand stay ahead of the marketing curve by giving audiences a better interactive and immersive experience, who in turn can potentially boost your organic reach tenfold.

Learn how you can also upload 360 videos on your Facebook timeline.

Image Credits: 

facebook.com/DiscoveryChannelIndiaOfficial

fbookmedia.files.wordpress.com

contetnmarketinginstitute.com

digitalera360.com/virtual-tours-airbnb