Audio is an extremely powerful piece of the marketing mix, with brands achieving massive results over and over again. Most recently, SXM Media worked with economy-lodging leader Motel 6 to deliver an over 2,000% return on ad spend (ROAS). Here are three key steps to take to deliver impressive ROAS on your next campaign.
Get clear on your goals
When SXM Media first sat down to discuss the company’s goals for their ad campaign, it was clear that brand awareness wasn’t at the top of the list. After all, budget-conscious travelers already know the iconic light that Motel 6 leaves on every day, as well as its offering of clean, comfortable rooms at an affordable rate, making travel accessible for all.
But in 2021, Motel 6 wanted to stand for more than a low-price lodging option, instead shifting perception and driving direct bookings. The motel chain wanted to develop a campaign that gave budget-conscious travelers an emotional connection to Motel 6—a place they would drive the extra mile to stay.
Once those details were hammered out, the next step was to find out who its audience was and what it would take to make an impact on them. Interestingly, for Motel 6, this meant shifting perception with a more diverse audience, as a majority of its guests identify as multicultural—a unique characteristic when compared to the category.
More specifically, Motel 6 wanted to reach the Hispanic segment of its multicultural guests, as well as those looking to get out and explore the open road, from family travelers to winter sports enthusiasts. It was also crucial that the motel chain focus on income level and, of course, pet owners, as pets stay free at Motel 6.
Finding the right audience was key. Here’s how:
- To connect with Hispanic travelers, SXM Media used its 1P MC Affinity segment to connect with Latin Enthusiasts.
- SXM Media also went after adults who were actively using travel booking sites to lock in their trips.
- SXM Media tapped into its 1P Pet Owner targeting to ensure it connected with all those listeners who adore their furry friends.
Develop creative that appeals to your core audience
Once SXM Media knew who it was talking to and how to connect with them, it was time to focus on getting the Motel 6 message heard. The brand came to SXM Media wanting creative in the form of audio, as Motel 6 has an iconic, 35-year-old iconic audio campaign and tagline. It was time to bring that iconic audio to life in digital. By leveraging SXM Media’s first-party data layers, the Motel 6 core audiences could be reached. And remember, good creative makes all the difference.
For those traveling with their pets, the team got in the ears of listeners and enticed them to hit the road with the offer that “pets stay free” at Motel 6. It was critical to ensure the creative matched the audience being targeted with both Spanish- and English-speaking ads. All further proving that Motel 6 is committed to knowing, helping and celebrating their guests and how they travel.
Prioritize and strategize to hit your KPIs
Measurement is one of the first things marketers need to consider. Without measurement, marketers wouldn’t have a clear picture of what worked, what didn’t and why—all necessary answers needed to optimize for better results.
Even in a consideration campaign like this one, the brand still needed to prove that audio was driving people to book a hotel room with Motel 6, and standard ways of measurement don’t always work. To show that audio is an impactful channel in the consumer journey, SXM Media used Artsai—Pandora’s third-party tracking vendor, which enabled Motel 6 to see beyond clicks and impressions. This tracking pixel is a piece of code placed directly on mobile web and desktop landing pages, providing visibility about where the Pandora listener went on Motel6.com and measure “hear-through” conversions.
“Traditional measurement technologies won’t work for digital audio as there are no cookies,” said Erik Lundberg, CRO, Artsai. “Artsai’s predictive personalization unlocks the power of Pandora’s robust data, uncovering the optimal ad creative and audience targeting to maximize ROAS for each marketer’s campaign.”
When people are listening to music or podcasts, they’re typically doing things that make it challenging to visit a website at that given moment, like driving, working out, cooking or cleaning. But with the Artsai Pixel, if a listener took action later in the day, it’s still possible to track the conversion to Pandora and SoundCloud.
The results you’ve been waiting for
With a measurement solution in place, Motel 6 was ready to see results—and the results certainly speak for themselves.
“Audio is a tried-and-true tactic for Motel 6, so expanding into Pandora just made sense,” explained Jenna Berg, VP brand marketing at Motel 6. “However, it exceeded expectations with the three-month campaign reaching over 2,000% ROAS.”
If these numbers seem insane, you’re right—they are. The ROAS Motel 6 enjoyed from their audio campaign was phenomenal, showcasing refreshed creative that seamlessly transitioned from traditional to digital and further proved their commitment to their guests. And now, thanks to these key secrets, your next campaign can do just as well.
