By Senior Kite Studio Executive, Thivyan Kowridas and Kite Studio Executive, Aron Vicencio
Barely a few weeks into 2024 and 2023 seems like a distant memory. Amidst the challenges marked by the cost-of-living crisis, global tensions, and the rise of AI, navigating the world of marketing for our clients proved to be an intriguing journey. However, by adding Kite Studio’s creative versioning services to our TKF armoury, we helped more clients than ever to develop, improve, and evolve their creatives to get ahead. Below, we revisit some standout creatives by interaction for our clients at The Kite Factory in 2023.
WaterAid – ‘First Cup’ (YouTube + Display Creative)
‘First Cup’ is a film from WaterAid, produced by creative agency Don’t Panic. Transporting audiences to Malawi, the narrative unfolds around Lucia, a young girl experiencing the transformative impact of clean water for the first time. The emotionally charged film was a compelling YouTube ad that delivered an on-target CTR but drew a 51% higher VTR than planned. To further its reach, Kite Studio created display ads featuring pivotal shots from the film, placing them on The Guardian’s website, which performed impressively with a 0.19% overall CTR, well above the industry average. This approach aimed to pique users’ curiosity, encouraging them to click and watch the full-length film. ‘First Cup’ not only captured hearts and exceeded campaign KPIs but was a key entry point for users into WaterAid’s engagement strategy.
Brooke – ‘Break the Cycle’ (Social Creative)
‘Break the Cycle’ is a compelling series of social creatives brought to life by Kite Studio for Brooke. These creatives shed light on the silent suffering of working equines, evoking empathy and compassion from viewers. The emotional resonance of these creatives spurred action, with hundreds of users expressing their heartfelt sentiments in the comments section. ‘Break the Cycle’ not only delivered an exceptional performance with a 23% higher CTR than planned but also generated awareness, prompting viewers to take a stand against the inhumane conditions endured by these animals.
In 2023, we embraced AI with creativity, utilising Neurons, a tool that allows you to measure predictive attention on creative assets. The video below uses its heatmap feature to display where eyeballs focus in each area of the video. Throughout this video, we can see a consistent focus on the distressed animal. This attention persists until the moment the copy reads, “Break the cycle of suffering,” at which point the audience’s attention is divided between the compelling copy and the visual portrayal of the distressed donkey, ultimately prompting action from the audience.
David Lloyd – ‘The High of Starting Something Good’ (Display Creative)
‘The High of Starting Something Good’ is a series of David Lloyd display creatives. They showcase the effectiveness of a simple yet effective creative designed by David Lloyd’s in-house creatives but built and animated by Kite Studio. The simplicity of the message and fun edit to font help to make it stand out amongst static, traditional advertisements.
The image below shows the father and son enjoying the pool, sharing a similar level of attention with the copy. This balance ensures audiences see both elements simultaneously rather than focusing solely on one or the other. This visual synergy between the elements in the creative ensures that all audiences grasp the essence intended by both the copy and the image, creating a cohesive and comprehensive message. This resulted in a CTR that was 125% above our planned targets, which were already ahead of the industry benchmark based on prior activity.
Crisis – ‘Christmas Stocking Initiative’ (HPTO + Display Creative)
This year, Crisis set out to raise as much money as possible over the Christmas season. With over a quarter of a million people facing homelessness in the UK, Crisis provides a much-needed lifeline for those impacted.
One of the ways Crisis aimed to make a difference was through their Crisis Christmas stocking initiative. Here, donors can create a virtual stocking filled with items ranging from toiletries and warm essentials to entertainment packs filled with art materials to help improve guests’ well-being.
What we appreciate about this campaign is that it brings a personal touch to the giving process but also allows donors to witness the concrete ways their contributions make a difference in the lives of those struggling with homelessness. We also like how they have added an element of interactivity rather than simply driving people towards the donation page, encouraging donors to actively participate in the initiative. A huge CTR of 1.43% was a testament to the engaging format and was a contributing factor to the overall strong performance of Crisis at Christmas, raising over £1m in donations:
In contrast to their other creatives, which often depict the bleak reality of the struggles that the homeless face, Crisis’ internal creative team decided to focus on positive imagery and messaging that aligns with the spirit of giving for the Christmas season. With charities, it is often a balancing act between using positive or negative images for campaign creatives. Here, Crisis has successfully woven an initiative that empowers individuals to take meaningful action in assisting those on their journey out of homelessness.
In revisiting these stand-out creatives from our clients in 2023, we find a common thread of impactful storytelling, empathy and innovation that captured attention and inspired action, which is crucial across the varying demands of our client set. As we navigate the ever-evolving media landscape, these campaigns serve as an inspiration and a basis for The Kite Factory and Kite Studio to continue evolving our creative outputs to enhance our clients’ media activity. Additionally, with Neurons’ AI support, we can now, more than ever, provide data-backed creative decisions and recommendations. This robustness and objectivity in a typically subjective area of media means we can add quantitative expertise to our qualitative insights to continue to progress the quality of our creatives, whether the aim be to grow brand affinity or drive direct response.
To learn more about our Kite Studio offering and how we can assist with your creatives, please get in touch.