Thanks to the fact that its new site is built on the principles of responsive web design (RWD), Plusnet has made serious gains in both usability and performance.  The provider of broadband and phone services has doubled traffic and boosted sales tenfold on smartphones and tablets. On these devices, visit duration and the number of pages viewed per visit have increased, while the time to complete a conversion has dropped 40%. Impressively, the new site is converting at a higher rate than the previous site converted on all devices.

Plusnet’s multi-screen strategy started to take shape back when the company saw that the number of users accessing its website through smartphones and tablets was growing significantly – by a percentage point every six months. The team’s decision to build a new site using RWD was based on the aim of improving user experience in a world where screens come in all shapes, sizes and contexts.

A device-independent solution that caters for all, RWD uses HTML5 and CSS3 features to optimise site experience. The creation of Plusnet’s new site entailed a complete overhaul of content. The team streamlined the customer sign-up journey so it now entails considerably fewer steps than before. Navigation and key offers move depending on screen size, while navigation collapses to ensure the most important content always takes priority. As a result, a customer can complete the entire purchase of an ISP or phone package on the site with ease, no matter the size of his or her screen.

Before the release of the RWD site, Plusnet didn’t have a mobile optimised site or strategy, and consequently had invested only minimally in mobile marketing. But with newfound confidence that smartphone users would get a great experience, Plusnet has turned its attention to the platform’s opportunities in paid search. The company has increased its mobile AdWords spend since launch and has used sitelinks and click-to-call functionality in ads too. 

All this adds up to a bright future for Plusnet – and one in which multi-device marketing plays a key role. Ideas currently on the drawing board include researching how to link multi-device users, an app to provide troubleshooting for broadband customers, and the implementation of AdWords enhanced campaigns, all supported by A/B and multi-variate testing to pave the way for further optimisations.

Read the full case study on Plusnet’s successful use of responsive web design here.

Posted by Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Manager, Google

The Top 10 YouTube Ads for April have been published on MarketingWeek.co.uk.
This month's Leaderboard shows us how brands can engage a global audience from both sides of the atlantic. 

The Evian Babies ad is a huge hit at number 1 on our leaderboards in the UK, France, Germany, Italy & Spain and has also ranked highly in the US. Carrying on the trend is the internationally successful Dove Sketches ad, which has captured the imagination of the UK audience and comes in at number 2.

Irn Bru ranks well for the second month in a row and is a great example of how a brand is building episodic content, delighting impassioned fans despite geographical borders. Similarly, KLM's ad takes advantage of YouTube's global reach to launch their worldwide competition. 

Check out the full list here. 

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

What makes an ad great?  Simple: when people “choose” to watch it. On YouTube, we see this more and more - fans are opting to view and share content they’re passionate about, be it a music video, a favorite show, or an ad. 

In order to celebrate great ads that people love to watch, we are launching a monthly YouTube UK Ads Leaderboard to showcase the top 10 ads that most moved audiences and had the highest number of views through a winning combination of promotion (paid ads) and popularity (organic views).

The top ten ads leaderboard list for March is:

1. Fiat - The Fatherhood - Fiat 500L 12" Remix (Fiat UK) 

2. IRN BRU - New Fella | New IRN-BRU advert 2013

3. Pepsi - Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon Present: "Test Drive"

4. Adidas - adidas Originals | unite all Originals

5. Samsung - Introducing Samsung GALAXY S4

6. Save the Children UK - What Has Aid Ever Done For Anyone? Apart from...

7. Volvo - Volvo Commuter Hijack #2 - Cardiff

8. Foot Locker - adidas "Never Stop" with ClimaCool at Foot Locker

9. Volvo - Volvo Commuter Hijack #1 - London

10. O2 - Mother's Day Apps For Kids: O2 Guru TV App Lab

‘The clear trend this month is how big brand advertisers are using video to deliver unique original content made specifically for their YouTube fans - whether chart topping music videos such as Fiat’s The Fatherhood, app reviews like O2’s App Lab, or enlisting the help of Monty Python comedic geniuses for Save the Children. It’s no longer only about sticking your TV ad on the web and waiting for views, true success is thinking about how to entertain and interact with the online community to build a loyal audience of brand fans. A look through the Fiat’s comments demonstrates the connection that can be built through this sort of creative outreach and the value that represents for a brand.’ 

Kevin Mathers, Managing Director, YouTube UK

Stay tuned throughout the year as we recognize the new ads you love each month!

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

Gen C is a powerful new force in consumer culture. It's a term we use to describe people who care deeply about creation, curation, connection and community. It's not an age group; it's an attitude and mindset defined by 8 key characteristics.

Gen C:

1. Is a state of mind - 80%* of Gen C is made up of millennials. YouTube's core (though by no means only) audience 
2. Strives for expression - 67%* of Gen C uploads their own photos to social networks   
3. Is a taste maker - 85%* of Gen C relies on peer approvals for buying decisions 
4. Defines the social network - 88%* of Gen C has a social profile, with 65%* updating it daily
5. Uses YouTube as a habitat for entertainment - Gen C is 2X* more likely to be a YouTube viewer than the general population and 40%* more likely to be only a light TV viewer
6. Is constantly connected - 91%* of Gen C sleeps next to a smartphone
7. Connects on YouTube on all screens - 80%* of Gen C with a smartphone watch YouTube
8. Values relevance and originality - 39%* aren't opposed to ads when they are relevant. 

*For further information click here. 

Download Infographic below

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

There was a time when only editors of the world’s style bibles got the chance to sit on the front row of a fashion show, when the catwalk was the exclusive domain of top models, and when stylists and makeup artists were the only ones lucky enough to join in the backstage excitement of London Fashion Week.

But this February Topshop reinvented its fashion show and simultaneously democratised the thrill of London Fashion Week. How? By partnering with Google+ in a groundbreaking series of inventive online happenings. The programme not only grabbed headlines – a key goal of every brand’s fashion week involvement – but also stimulated deep engagement with the Topshop audience. The programme had four components – Be the Model, Be Part of the Team, Be the Front Row Fashionista and Be The Buyer.

Be The Model afforded a rare opportunity for fans to get a model’s-eye view of fashion week. Top models Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Rosie Tapner and Ashleigh Good wore HD micro cameras – “model cams” – so online viewers could see and feel what models experience as they stride down the runway. And at Topshop’s Oxford Street flagship fans could enter a special Google+ booth and try on their favourite outfits. From the booth, an animated picture was instantly uploaded to the Topshop’s Be the Model Google+ event page.

Be Part of the Team included an exclusive hangout on air behind the scenes at Topshop’s headquarters with a host of fashion insiders, such as Kate Phelan (Topshop Creative Director), Emma Farrow (Topshop Head of Design), Hannah Murray (international make-up artist) and Beth Fenton (show stylist). Two lucky Topshop fans were allowed to post questions just before the start of the show.

Be the Front Row Fashionista featured a red carpet hangout on air on the day of the show and allowed viewers to get a unique perspective from the front row. After the arrival of leading celebrities like Kate Bosworth, One Direction star Louis Tomlinson and Pixie Geldolf, the hotly anticipated show was streamed on Topshop.com, in Topshop’s Oxford Circus store and on all of Google’s platforms through a special customised YouTube gadget.

Be The Buyer saw the launch of a hangout app that enabled users to pick and choose their favourite items to share with friends on Google+. Topshop chose the best fashion collection from among these and awarded one stylish winner a free shopping spree. The app was promoted on Topshop’s homepage through a leaderboard that dynamically ranked the most popular of all the shared items.

The programme delivered fantastic results:

• 4 million views across all platforms
• 2.5 million views from YouTube
• G+ posts viewed over 400,000 times, a +400% increase
• Comments increased by 340% per day
• Reshares increased by 275% per day
• +1s increased by over 400% per day
• 7,500 live views of red carpet hangout
• 600 animated photos posted from in-store booth
• Average 11-minute engagement with hangout app, 52% reshares
• 300,000 new G+ followers in two weeks
• 2 million views from TrueView ads
• 400+ press mentions (inc. Guardian, Vogue, CNN video, FastCompany, Vogue IT & FR)

To learn more about the future of fashion, read the full case study here. 

Post by Natalia Cano, Product Marketing Manager, Google+

Suppose that we could have hopped onto a flying sleigh for a quick trip around the world during Christmas. What would we have seen from up high? The twinkling lights of millions of multi-screen homes. This was a multi-screen Christmas season. People shopped online at all times, from everywhere, on all kinds of devices.

Cyber Monday, the first Monday after the Thanks­giv­ing hol­i­day in the US and the busiest online shopping day of the year, provided people with limitless opportunities to shop and save while being constantly connected. Thanksgiving may not be a European holiday and Cyber Monday may not be a well used term on the streets of Paris, Madrid and Milan, but our research proves that Europeans are just as likely to begin their shopping sprees in the week after Thanksgiving as their American counterparts. What's even more interesting - in Europe - is that shoppers were getting a head start with their mobile devices the Sunday before Cyber Monday.

We looked at several popular Christmas present search queries across the US and Europe, and discovered a surge of mobile queries on Sunday 25th November. In the United Kingdom, for example, mobile queries for electronics surged 103% YoY on the 25th when people were using their phones while out shopping. The following day, people turned to their PCs and tablets to take advantage of Cyber Monday deals while at work and we saw PC and Tablet (where we see similar search behaviour) queries grow by 105% YoY for top electronic gifts.

               

These same multi-screen trends carried us into 2013 as people researched how to shed those extra Christmas pounds and get healthier in the new year. On New Year's Eve, people did their research on smartphones while shopping for last minute outfits or getting their hair done. In the United Kingdom, mobile search queries rose 288% YoY on New Year’s Eve for gyms, cleanses and diets. And on New Year's Day, as people sat on their sofas at home recuperating, search queries on PCs and tablets rose 128% YoY for gyms, cleanses and diets.

Advertising implications for businesses
So we know that today's shoppers are constantly connected. We know they move seamlessly between many screens, in the moment, without second thoughts. And on all screens, they search. Now that we know that, what do we do?

One good answer is to think about context. All these new search patterns have created a world of new context-based marketing opportunities. When you know the time of day, a shopper's general location and the kind of device that they’re using, you can guess quite a lot about what they may be looking for and where they are in the buying cycle.

Need help? Upgrade to enhanced campaigns in AdWords to make your cross-device advertising smarter, more powerful and more measurable. Enhanced campaigns can help:

1. Manage your bids across devices, locations and time.

2. Show the right ad creative, sitelink, app or extension based on user context and what the device can handle.

3. Track conversions like calls. And soon, you will be able to track digital downloads, in-store purchases and other cross-device conversions.

Get the context right on the next day of note, say Mother’s Day or Easter. To learn more about AdWords enhanced campaigns click here.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager - Mobile Ads

Source: Google Internal Data. Growth based on YoY data.
*Top electronic gifts defined as smartphones, tablets, ereaders, mp3 players.

Gumtree a network of online classifieds and community websites, wanted to extend the reach of their TV advertising on YouTube using TrueView ads. To achieve this, Gumtree harnessed the power of Google data to get the right ads in front of the right searchers.

Using TrueView ads Gumtree achieved a 26% view rate (45% above the benchmark), whilst maintaining a low cost per view at 2p (75% below the benchmark). Gumtree were also able to attract new visitors to their website with 59% of visitors from YouTube new to Gumtree.

Sam Diamond, Head of Brand and Communications at Gumtree highlighted the importance of YouTube in their media strategy by saying 'We found TrueView easy to use, and an effective way of extending the reach of our TV advertising. We gained lots of interesting insight from our trial, and will now always consider YouTube as part of our media strategy'.

You can find the full Gumtree YouTube channel here.

For further details on YouTube TrueView ads click here or watch the short video below.

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy