MiO surpasses all expectations by engaging their male millennial audience using YouTube technology in a whole new way

Case Study | YouTube

In 2012 Kraft Canada launched MiO, the revolutionary liquid water enhancer, with a fun and quirky campaign that appealed to their male millennial target. When challenged to top that success the following year, the MiO team launched a YouTube campaign unlike anything seen before.

By leveraging YouTube’s annotation technology, the team was able to add a layer of interactivity and engagement to the campaign that allowed the brand to continue to tell their brand story. The result of the campaign changed the trajectory of a declining category. MiO delivered 111% growth and captured 77% share of market (Nielsen MarketTrack).

“The challenge the team faced was shifting the consumer target and introducing a new consumer (male millennials) to the water enhancer category.”- Joseph Mele – Brand Manager, MiO Canada

The ChallengeIn early 2013, the team was facing a big challenge: the beverage mix category was in decline and the liquid water enhancer space was going to become very competitive. They needed to stand out among the crowd and to establish a strong connection with a consumer who had little interest in the category: millennial males.

The IdeaThe team leveraged an entertaining, yet product focused video across tradi -tional media as well as YouTube. They knew their target seeks out the most entertaining videos on YouTube and like to share it with their friends. YouTube was the partner of choice since it is the platform where consumers find and share the best videos. Using YouTube’s annotation technology, the team was able to tell a richer, deeper product story beyond 30 seconds.

About MiO• Part of Kraft Canada Corp.• www.kraftcanada.com• Toronto, Ontario, Canada• MiO channel: www.youtube.com/MiOSquirtSome

Goals• Successfully launch MiO, a new category innovation, into a cluttered and struggling beverage category• Establish a strong connection with the male millennial consumer

Approach• Developed a magnetic, quirky and highly entertaining online video that would capture the attention of the discerning male millennial audience• Leveraged YouTube annotations to encourage the consumer to find all the “hidden” videos and drive deeper engagement with the brand• Ran YouTube homepage takeovers and Trueview ads on YouTube, as well as Google Engagement ads to reach male millennials

Results• 3.1 million views May-Sep 2013, across the campaign’s main video, doubling the number of expected video views• 50% of users clicked back to the main film to find the other hidden videos• delivered sales growth of +111% and captured 77% share of the market (Nielson MarketTrack, Latest 52 Weeks, All Sales Ending September 28, 2013)

Using YouTube annotations to drive deeper engagementThe team leveraged YouTube’s annotation technology to drive audience engagement. The annotations allowed the team to insert hidden videos. The videos encouraged viewers to watch the funny and quirky ad carefully to see if they could find the 6 hidden videos and click-through to view them. To keep the audience engaged and entertained each of the 6 pieces of content continued the conversation by placing the hero in absurd situations utilizing MiO in the most overt, over the top product placement possible.

“The annotations allowed our audience to feel as if they were uncovering something unique and different, and that nobody had seen before.”- Jeff MacEachern – Executive Creative Director, Taxi2

Driving mass awareness among the target consumerTo distribute their content, the MiO team knew it needed to go where consumers were already gathering. YouTube and Google ad solutions were key to achieving significant scale.• YouTube’s TrueView ads efficiently targeted MiO’s male 18-34 year old audience. What’s more, each TrueView ad engagement counted towards the video’s viewcount, driving their social currency.• YouTube homepage and mobile site takeovers helped launch the videos to drive significant awareness and traffic spikes on key campaign dates.• Remarketing reengaged past audiences by serving them new content, leading to higher video viewing and engagement rates amongst these users.• The YouTube channel provided the campaign with a mobile-optimized destination, ensuring the best user experience across devices.• Google engagement ads also drove additional reach for the videos beyond YouTube

The ResultsYouTube’s reach as well as its annotation technology allowed the team to build the next level engagement with their male millennial target.The campaign exceeded expectations in terms of generating awareness, extending the brand story, and building their community on YouTube. The MiO team delivered 111% sales growth and captured 77% share of market (NielsenMark et Track ).

“In order to be able to engage with our target and expand the brand narrative, we felt that YouTube offered the technol-ogy behind that as well as the audience we needed.”- Amanda DeFields – Digital Supervisor, Mediavest

About YouTube AnnotationsWith annotations you can layer text, links, and hotspots over your video. They help you enrich the video experience by adding information, interactivity and engagement.