GS SHOP: MOLOCO Dynamic Creative Optimization Helps GS SHOP

 

Campaign Summary

GS SHOP leveraged MOLOCO's mobile programmatic advertising platform in a retargeting mobile campaign.

Strategy

Objective:

GS SHOP is Korea's first-ever TV home shopping company — comparable to Amazon in the US — and recognized as an industry pioneer for the past 20 years. MOLOCO first helped the brand enter the mobile shopping market in 2019, driving installations and building a valuable customer base in two short months. In 2020, GS SHOP wanted to add to this success. MOLOCO began work on a new campaign targeting high-value customers and driving repeat purchases. Along with building on UA and retention goals, MOLOCO and GS SHOP wanted to surpass the return on ad spend (ROAS) of their previous campaign.

Target Audience:

GS SHOP's existing business relied on TV home shopping and website market revenue. The goal of this campaign was to increase active app users and the ratio of in-app revenue over total revenue. The company understood that its core demographic was comprised of Korean females between the ages of 30-50. However, the UA team also sensed opportunity among younger shoppers — consumers aged 18-29 also show a proclivity for in-app shopping. GS SHOP opted to target these two demographics within Korea, relying on MOLOCO's machine learning technology to identify app users with the potential to drive ROI.

Creative Strategy:

MOLOCO analyzed GS SHOP's 2019 performance using its sophisticated machine learning technology. These results determined that a retargeting campaign that identified and displayed products reflecting customer purchases and browsing history would drive the highest returns.

Two primary challenges lay before the retargeting campaign. First, MOLOCO needed to identify which products returning customers wanted to purchase. Second, it needed to produce enough ad creative to meet the needs of GS SHOP's mobile audience. The traditional static banner ads from the original campaign were time-consuming to create. Designing multiple variants that aligned with each possible deal and promotion would be an overwhelming task.

MOLOCO's performance test results highlighted another solution — dynamic creative (DCR) generated by machine learning algorithms engaged customers just as effectively as static banners. By reallocating ad spend to favor DCR, GS SHOP could reach more customers at scale for a lower cost while reducing the risk of human error. GS SHOP approved the new budget, and MOLOCO directed its algorithms to optimize for repeat customers.

Context:

MOLOCO and GS SHOP previously developed a mobile ad campaign that launched in September 2019. The initiative was a resounding success, driving both a high conversion rate and a 2,000 percent return on ad spend in its first two months.

Execution

Overall Campaign Execution:

MOLOCO's programmatic ad platform manages billions of impressions each month, delivering millions of conversions to mobile devices worldwide. These capabilities were vital for GS SHOP's campaign, but MOLOCO also leveraged retargeting and e-commerce campaign features to maximize sales. Its proprietary machine learning algorithms allow for self-optimizing ad campaigns that identify the most valuable prospects through real-time feedback.

The campaign budget steadily increased as GS SHOP witnessed ROI. In September 2019, the campaign kicked off with a budget of $10,000, all of which was dedicated to mobile via MOLOCO's programmatic ad platform. In October, they scaled to $35,000, then to $60,000 in November. By December the budget had increased to $65,000. The budget increased throughout 2020, peaking at $211,000 in September. The campaign continues to run today.

Mobile Execution:

GS SHOP engaged MOLOCO with the primary goal of growing its in-app shopping revenue. Attracting high-value, high-retention users was integral to ensuring ROI. The entire campaign leveraged MOLOCO's mobile programmatic advertising platform, using the platform's finely tuned machine learning algorithms to analyze data from millions of impressions.

MOLOCO's algorithms zeroed-in on GS SHOP's target demographics: Females ages 30-50, and young consumers ages 18-29. Targeting was also bound by geography to attract Korean users exclusively. The platform adjusted bids in real-time to entice high-value users and maximize ROAS.

Creative also played a significant role in the success of the campaign. GS SHOP and MOLOCO synchronized product advertisements through mobile and live television simultaneously, ensuring that potential customers were more likely to spot branding and promotions. Depending on the placement, MOLOCO's dynamic creative would either highlight a single high-value promotion or a gallery of products of interest to customers.

Business Impact (including context, evaluation, and market impact)

GS SHOP was founded in 1994 as South Korea's first TV home shopping company. The brand is No. 1 in sales and market share in the region. Its reach now extends to China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, and Russia.

MOLOCO's retargeting campaign quickly surpassed the benchmarks established by GS SHOP's 2019 campaign. MOLOCO maximized the number of products displayed in-app while synchronizing promotions with GS SHOP's televised broadcast ads. GS SHOP reached its cost-per-install target in less than three days, eventually decreasing costs to 30 percent below expectations. Most importantly, this approach increased conversions and e-commerce sales while increasing weekly ROAS by 4000 percent.

As a result of the MOLOCO campaign, GS SHOP became the No 1. Korean home shopping app in 2021 in terms of active users. It achieved this milestone, in part, because it was faster than other home shopping competitors in securing app users with the proper marketing strategies.

This campaign was also uniquely successful within the Korean home shopping market because it emphasized user quality in addition to quantity. Now GS SHOP's users record 50 percent longer sessions compared to the closest home shopping competitor app.

Synchronizing mobile ads with the products promoted on the TV broadcast through dynamic creative also gave GS SHOP an edge against competitors.


Categories: | Industries: | Objectives: Machine Learning and AI | Awards: X Silver Winner