YouTube Lets Marketers Think Global or Act Local at WaWa Hoagiefest

Last week, I mentioned that Americans watch more YouTube videos than they conduct Google searches. Well, Americans aren’t alone.

It turns out that 420 million unique visitors every month watch YouTube somewhere around the globe. If YouTube were a nation, it would rank #3 in population — behind China and India, but ahead of the United States and Indonesia.

The YouTube community has its own quaint expressions, such as “Charlie bit my finger – again!” YouTubers also have their own culture and customs. For example, they share funny views of the “Evolution of Dance.”

But I can’t tell you how many marketers say, “Yes, yes, that’s entertaining. But, how do I harness YouTube to promote my small or medium business?”

So, let me share a case study that show how Wawa’s sandwich promotion reached hungry audiences with YouTube marketing.

With 570 stores throughout the mid-Atlantic region, Wawa makes hoagies, which are called subs, heroes, bombers, poor boys, grinders, or rockets in other parts of the country. During the summer of 2009, Wawa decided to kick off its second annual Hoagiefest campaign.

In partnership with their digital agency The Archer Group, Wawa launched Hoagiefest.com, a fully interactive site that combines music, video, and details regarding the summer promotions.

Once the site was up and running, the marketing challenge was raising awareness of Hoagiefest.com and driving engaged users to it efficiently.

To reach this marketing objectives, Wawa and The Archer Group used Google’s Content Network. One of the site’s in the network is YouTube. Yep, YouTube.

Wawa tested YouTube InVideo ads, which are animated overlays that appear on the bottom 20 percent of a YouTube video. Selecting video content that their target audience would likely watch, Wawa ran InVideo ads along with standard display placements on YouTube.

What were the results? Their campaign:
— Generated interest and awareness of the Hoagiefest 2009 promotion;
— Drove over 500,000 unique visitors to the campaign microsite;
— Received CTRs 500% higher than typical rates from other placements; and
— Achieved a cost of $7 per hour of site interaction time.

If you are interested in learning more, attend either the YouTube & Video Optimization session at SES Chicago 2009 or the YouTube & Video Optimization session at the Online Marketing Summit.