What we set out to test

Can YouTube video ads at scale continue to unlock efficient nationwide reach and brand impact in addition to TV campaigns?

The background

Coca-Cola, one of the world’s leading beverage brands, has long been leveraging TV and YouTube as a key channel to reach mass audiences. However, for its Vietnamese audience, Coca-Cola wanted to shake things up by finding ways to connect with its audience more effectively, particularly younger consumers.

As more Vietnamese consumers are turning to YouTube to shop, browse, and buy, Coca-Cola decided to explore if increasing investment in YouTube could still unlock incremental reach and impact efficiently, particularly in helping the brand reach younger audiences nationwide.

How we set the experiment up

The team set up 2 separate TV and YouTube campaigns for its target audience of consumers aged 18 to 34 years old.

• TV: TV campaign (comprising 70% of media budget)
• YouTube: TrueView for Reach and Bumper Ads campaigns (comprising 30% of media budget)

The experiment ran in Vietnam for a period of 1 month. In addition, Coca-Cola utilized cross-media reach reporting to measure the probability of reaching a unique user at least once across their TV and YouTube campaigns. This allowed Coca-Cola to observe the unique increase in reach that YouTube campaigns add to TV campaigns, showing the true impact of YouTube.

Solutions we used

• TrueView for Reach
• Bumper ads
• Cross-Media Reach report (Available in select markets. Reach out to your sales representative for more information)

What we learned

Overall the campaign delivered 67% nationwide reach across both TV and YouTube campaigns for audiences aged 18 to 34.

When comparing the impact of TV and YouTube across the country, Coca-Cola found that the YouTube campaign connected with more consumers and delivered the following results:

All in all, a TV-plus-YouTube combined media approach continues to unlock incremental nationwide reach and brand impact. Coca-Cola’s research also further proved that YouTube helps advertisers reach their core audience at a significantly lower cost per reach in comparison to TV.

This experiment proved to Coca-Cola that YouTube is a key resource to invest in, particularly when looking to connect with younger audiences who are spending more time online. With these insights, Coca-Cola Vietnam has since implemented this strategy as a mainstay for all future campaigns.

“Through this experiment, we’ve been able to see and measure how YouTube can deliver not just 28% incremental reach but also efficiently reach one-third the cost per reach of what we’re seeing for TV. This has proven to us that YouTube is a crucial platform for cross-screen planning to help Coca-Cola reach our target audiences nationwide effectively.”