Digital marketing industry case study library

You can do this online through our online submission form or by email. If you'd like to submit examples of your work then email them into CaseStudies@DigitalTrainingAcademy.com and after an initial review we'll be in touch if we feel they can be used to support learning goals.

There is also an online submission tool, here: http://www.digitaltrainingacademy.com/submit. By sending us a case study you agree we can use it in training, conference speeches, book chapters and reports and other media. You need to be confident you have the necessary rights and permissions from partners or clients to be able to do this. Case studies cannot be restricted to one particular course so we can only accept material which can be used in any aspect of our training. However, if youd like us to withdraw a case study at any point, then we can do this within two weeks.

How do you go about promoting a horror movie about a devil child? There are all the usual routes--TV ads, billboards, websites, trailers--but perhaps the best way to convey the spirit of the film is to actually scare the living hell out of people with an actual devil baby. Following on from the success of Carrie’s YouTube prank last year, the makers of 20th Century Fox’s latest horror movie ‘Devil’s Due’ have used a similar tactic to great effect- getting over 36m views in the process.

Brand: 20th Century Fox| Sector: Film | Country: US | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, Viral, Social

Continue reading "Devil Baby stunt terrorises New Yorkers to get 36m views" »

In a surprise move, Axe has ditched its playboy image with a serious message for this year’s Super Bowl commercial slot to push its new ‘Peace’ fragrance.The brand, often known for inciting controversy in the gender wars, has issued a new 30-second Super Bowl spot—using the old 60s slogan "Make love. Not war" to push its latest product range. The "Make love. Not war" slogan appears at the end, along with the logo of the Peace One Day organization, which is a partner of the campaign. (Axe is giving $250,000 to the group and promoting it on its website and Facebook.) The hashtag is #KissForPeace.

Watch the extended ‘Call to Arms’ ad below:

Brand: Axe/ Lynx/Unilever | Sector: FMCG, Healthcare | Country: Global | Agency/Partner: BBH London / Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube, Viral

Continue reading "Axe gets serious with ‘Make Love Not War’ video" »

Back in 2013, luxury online fashion retailer, Avenue 32, launched a multi-channel strategy, supporting young designers that are unable to invest in their own online presence to showcase their collections and expand their audience. This case study looks at how the firm managed to double mobile traffic with the average transaction value increasing by 270 per cent.

Brand: Avenue | Sector: Reatail, Clothing, ecommerce | Country: Global | Agency/Partner: Usablenet / Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Mobile marketing

Continue reading "Luxury retailer Avenue mobile strategy boosts transaction value 270%" »

Baby Supermall recently worked with Google to run a targeted AdWords paid search campaign, targeting mothers. This video case study outlines how the baby retailer linked analytics to search with attribution modelling to generate tens of thousands of dollars in additional sales every week."

View the video case study below:

Brand: Baby Supermall | Sector: Ecommerce | Country: US | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Search, Analytics

Continue reading "Search case study: How attribution modelling increased profit for Baby Supermall" »

Suttons Seeds worked with SLI to implement learning site search technology to help visitors find products they wanted. This case study looks at how the garden equipment and seeds supplier got a 112% higher conversion rate for site search users with learning search.

Brand: Suttons Seeds | Sector: FMCG, Household and Gardening | Country: UK | Agency/Partner: SLI | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Search, Design

Continue reading "Suttons Seeds boosts conversions by 112% via ‘learning’ search technology" »

It’s true that a life without mistakes is a life not truly lived- but we can be sure the Kellogg’s marketing department could have lived without promising to feed hungry children in exchange for retweets. As 2013 draws to a close, we look as some of the biggest digital marketing fails of the year, from the horsemeat scandal and HMV’s live-blogged mass sackings to Facebook’s ‘Home’ flop and the Xbox ‘deal with it’ Twitter outburst. Read on, learn from the mistakes and hope your team doesn’t make the list in 2014….

Country: Global | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube, Viral, social, Mobile, search

Continue reading "The fail trail: 15 worst digital marketing blunders of 2013 " »

During 2013, Aviva overhauled its email marketing strategy with the help of Alchemy Worx. This case study looks at how the car insurance firm’s counter intuitive 'send more email' approach generated a 48 per cent rise in the number of quotes requested, as well as seeing a 4-fold increase in click-throughs.

Brand: Aviva | Sector: Financial/ Insurance | Country: UK | Agency/Partner: Alchemy Worx | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Email

Continue reading "Email marketing case study: Aviva gets 48% rise in quotes after ‘send more mail’ strategy" »

Lay’s is running a second campaign for its crowdsourced “Do Us A Flavour” ads, this time incorporating Instagram and Twitter, as Pepsico’s crisp brand looks to boost its reach on smartphones and tablets.

Watch this case study from last year’s US campaign:

Brand: Lays/ Walkers/ PepsiCo | Sector: FMCG, Food | Country: US and UK | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube, Viral, social, Mobile

Continue reading "Social case study: Lays expands ‘Do Us A Flavour’ into year-long social media campaign" »

Hermès launched a new Facebook video campaign to promote its winter catalogue. This case study highlights how the luxury clothing retailer used an engaging story told through social media to boost sales.

Brand: Axe/ Lynx/Unilever | Sector: FMCG, Healthcare | Country: Global | Agency/Partner: BBH London / Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube, Viral

Continue reading "Case study: Hermes tells social story to promote winter catalogue" »

This case study highlights how confectionery firm Jelly Belly used SLI Systems to improve its user experience and profitability. By optimising site search and SEO, SLI helped Jelly Belly see a 33% increase in site conversions and a 10% increase in average order value. By using SLI’s customised search results pages and adding those links to email campaigns, Jelly Belly realised an 85% better open rate for emails.

Brand: Jelly Belly | Sector: FMCG, Food | Country: Global | Agency/Partner: SLI Systems | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Search

Continue reading "Case study: Jelly Belly boosts conversions 33% with site search" »

Personalising and testing the online customer experience can have lasting effects on customer engagement, conversion funnels and revenue. Moreover, in the competitive online travel sector, the effective marriage of a data-rich environment and powerful customer experience optimisation tools is helping travel companies provide customers with more personalised online journeys. This case study shows how airline Easyjet optimised its web presence in partnership with Maxymiyser attracting over 370 million visits in 2012.

Brand: EasyJet | Sector: Travel | Country: Global | Agency/Partner: Maxymiser | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Web design

Continue reading "Case study: Landing page optimisation drives commercial value at easyJet" »

Samsung has been named as the social brand of the year according to Unruly after amassing 7.3 million shares of its videos. The brand rose seven places from last year to take the top spot, while Geico came in second with 4.9 million shares, ahead of Dove at 4.5 million and Pepsi at four million. This case study looks at how Samsung made smart use of its video assets across YouTube and beyond.

Brand: Samsung | Sector: Electronics | Country: Global| Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Social, Video, Vine, YouTube

Continue reading "How Samsung used video to become ‘social brand of the year’ " »

Amid the Harlem Shakes, singing astronauts and twerking fails, 2013 was another bumper year for viral video marketing case studies.

From the emotionally powerful (Dove’s ‘Sketches’ and Skype’s ‘Born Friends’ ) to the downright dirty (Durex’s ‘Fundawear’ and Kmart’s ‘Ship My Pants’) there’s been a wealth of great online marketing ads that got people sharing in droves.

This year also saw the debut of Twitter’s Vine videos - with Lowes and Tide pioneering the 6-second format with smart and economical executions.

To round off the year, we’ve assembled our 25 favourite virals for your viewing pleasure…

Continue reading "Top 25 virals of 2013: Dove, Lowes and Durex lead the way" »

With the help of an innovative laser-print technique, Fyffes managed to print six different comics on banana skins. This case study looks at how the fruit brand managed to get kids to ditch sweets for bananas.

Brand: Ffyfes | Sector: Food | Country: Global | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube

Continue reading "Video case study: Fyffes turns bananas into comic strips" »

With the latest John Lewis' Christmas ad hitting both TV and YouTube over the weekend, just how did the retailer manage to achieve such high-profile anticipation and social media comment for a seasonal campaign? This case study from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) interviews some to the people behind the previous festive campaigns to see how the department store chain managed to eclipse rivals such as Marks and Spencer and Debenhams to position itself as the premier shopping destination for Christmas in the UK.

Brand: John Lewis | Sector: Retail | Country: UK | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube

Continue reading "Video case study: How John Lewis learned to make the nation cry… and buy" »

The third annual Debenhams Beauty Club Awards received a 2,370% increase in traffic due to a mobile-optimised campaign, resulting in a record 5,000 new signups the retailer’s loyalty card. This case study looks into how the retail, working with agency Steel London, made smart use of mobile to get people clicking.

Brand: Debenhams | Sector: Retail, Clothing | Country: UK | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Design, Mobile

Continue reading "Mobile-optimised campaign drives 2,370% increase in traffic to Debenhams ‘Beauty Club Awards’" »

T.M.Lewin, the apparel brand, has seen a dramatic increase in revenue in its men’s suit category following a website revamp by eCommera, the decision intelligent commerce company. The focus of the revamp was influenced by eCommera’s online decision intelligence tool DynamicAction.

Continue reading "Web design case study: T.M. Lewin mens suit sales jump 70% after site revamp" »

In September 2013, Persil worked with TMW to support the launch of its new ‘Small and Mighty’ range. To support the launch of the new Persil created ‘Be Mighty’, a digital campaign featuring a series of animated and interactive online story books for children. This case study looks at how the detergent brand made smart use of its brand image and target audience to come up with a cutting edge digital campaign that delivered a lasting impact on consumers.

Brand: Persil | Sector: FMCG, Household, Electronics | Country: UK | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Social, Mobile, Video, Content

Continue reading "Persil targets digital mums with ‘mighty’ personalised stories for kids" »

As part of its hugely successful ‘Volvo Trucks’ stunt series on YouTube, the Swedish auto maker hired the ‘Muscles from Brussels’ himself- Jean Claude Van Damme- to perform an eye-watering stunt between two moving heavy vehicles. The new advert, which aims to promote Volvo Trucks’ new dynamic steering system and has become a YouTube hit, garnering over 25m views since its launch.

Brand: Volvo | Sector: Automotive | Country: Globa l| Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, YouTube

Continue reading "Van Damme gets 25m views in 1 week with Volvo trucks stunt" »

As part of its ‘Stay Together’ series, this video from Skype tugs at the heart strings, telling the story of a long-distance friendship between two teenage girls, from the US and New Zealand, who were both born with one arm. The emotional impact of the ad has led to over 2 million views so far.

Brand: Microsoft, Skype | Sector: Digital | Country: Global | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: Video, Social

Continue reading "Skype tear-jerker chronicles unique friendship forged by video chat" »

In its most ambitious campaign yet, Samsung’s latest Galaxy viral video pitches football star Lionel Messi against a horde of invading aliens. The campaign is only just kicking off, with more big players set to join the ‘Galaxy 11’ in what looks like a big budget sci-fi version of ‘Escape to Victory’.

Continue reading "Video case study: Lionel Messi takes on aliens in Samsung's intergalactic soccer match" »

Twitter’s new 6-second Vine video platform proved a big hit this year .If used correctly, Vine offers a quick yet extremely effective way for brands to reach wider, socially engaged audiences. And as one of the fastest growing mobile apps in the world, this means enormous potential for marketers. We look back at some of the best, starting with Lowes' ingenious visual tips that make DIY seem fun (well…almost).

Continue reading "Best Vines of the year: Lowes 'lifehacks' tops 6-second video ads" »

To keep up with the US tradition of toilet papering your house on Halloween, snack brand Cheetos teamed with Google maps and Street View to recreate the experience online (without risking vandalism charges). The app works by letting users enter a chosen address and creating a toilet paper "bombing" experience using Google Earth and Google Streetview. Users can then share the results via social media. Of course, the site has to come with a warning that Cheetos doesn't condone actual toilet-papering... only the digital kind.

Brand: Cheetos, Frito-Lays | Sector: FMCG, Food and Beverages | Country: US | Partner/agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: YouTube, Social Media, Video, Google Maps

Continue reading "Cheetos teams with Google Street View for virtual Halloween ‘tricks’" »

Pepsi is running a YouTube series capturing the life of an old man with seemingly supernatural basketball skills, attracting nearly 40 million views with brand engagement that extends far beyond a 30-second TV commercial.

Brand: Pepsi Max | Sector: FMCG, Food and Beverages | Country: US | Partner/agency: The Marketing Arm | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: YouTube, Social Media, Video

Continue reading "Video case study: Pepsi Max gets 40m YouTube views with ‘Uncle Drew’ basketball star" »

US snack brand Diamond has launched an engaging (but also bizarre) campaign "Diamond Nut Fantasies". Recognizing that the average cook rarely get the praise and appreciation they deserve, this series of YouTube spots plays with the idea that baking them a treat with Diamond Nuts could help people transform to be the husband, neighbour, child and boyfriend of their dreams. This series of YouTube spots were based on research that showed that Diamond Nut customers--two-thirds of whom were women--bake in large part not just because they care, but for the praise and compliments they get. So the agency imagined what it would be like if everyday people gushed with appreciation for the food they make.

Brand: Diamond | Sector: FMCG, Food and Beverages | Country: US | Partner/agency: Deutsch LA, Biscuit Filmworks | Objective: brand awareness, consideration and purchase | Format: YouTube, Social Media

Continue reading "Video case study: Diamond Nut ‘Fantasies’ series focuses on bakers' rewards" »