Avon paints a pretty picture with native ad engagement from Google Display & Video 360

The Goals

Increase Avon’s presence online in support of its shift to ecommerce
Complement display campaign with new innovative formats
Reach mobile-first women in Brazil for Black Friday promotion

The Approach

Use Display & Video 360 with third-party segments to reach audience
Implement native ads alongside display campaign to run on all devices

The Results

More than 434% clickthrough rate
88% lower cost per click
37% lower CPM

Adapting to a mobile-first world

When bookseller David H. McConnell founded the cosmetics company Avon in 1886, he immediately noticed the passion women had for his products and how much they loved talking about them with other women. This inspired David to recruit his customers as sales representatives, which marked the beginning of Avon’s long history of empowering women around the globe.

Avon has had a direct selling model since that time, which has been successful in leading to a high brand recognition. But as consumer preferences around the world changed, the company needed to grow online.

For a Black Friday campaign in Brazil, Avon decided to go beyond standard display banners. The company wanted to connect with its mobile-first audience in a less disruptive way that allowed the cosmetics maker to promote products within relevant content.

Innovating with native ads

Avon’s agency i-Cherry saw this as an opportunity to test native ads in Google Display & Video 360, part of Google Marketing Platform. This would allow the i-Cherry team to test an innovative format without compromising scale or performance. Native ads in Display & Video 360 gave Avon access to a number of exchanges and publishers in one platform.

Native is an excellent solution for everyone involved: The creative seamlessly blends with the content, so the user’s experience isn’t interrupted. This allows advertisers to add more value to their brand through storytelling at any scale. Native gives creative teams the chance to innovate and develop custom creatives that resonate with the user’s experience.

Mellina Azevedo, Specialists Manager, i-Cherry

The i-Cherry team ran the native campaign on mobile web, mobile app, and desktop, ensuring a wide reach within the primary audience. They were able to reach women 18 and over across Brazil by combining Google and third-party segments and deploying different creatives for each of the various product categories. The campaign ran for one week alongside standard display initiatives.

Reaching results with native ads on mobile

Standard display ads accounted for nearly 86% of overall Black Friday impressions, but only 53% of overall clicks. By comparison, the native ad campaign executed through Display & Video 360 delivered impact and efficiency, driving a 434% higher clickthrough rate (CTR) versus standard display ads. The highest CTR came from native ads on mobile apps, which had a 132% higher CTR than native overall. The cost per click for native was also 88% lower than standard display ads.

Go implement native. It's a unique ad format that impacts the user in a more natural and less invasive way. It helps to engage the user more with this native content in the environment, and this improves the audience’s experience.

Mellina Azevedo, Specialists Manager, i-Cherry

Based on the success of its Black Friday campaign, i-Cherry has incorporated native into Avon’s ongoing digital strategy. Avon and i-Cherry recognize the importance of apps for a mobile-first audience. In future campaigns, they plan to use the flexibility of native ads to customize the creative by audience and environment. They expect this content-driven approach will lead to even better results.