How this DR SMILE Black Friday Campaign with DCMN Doubled Their Bookings
Despite current turbulence in the world affecting consumer behaviour and business confidence, Black Friday is undeniably still a must-participate retail event. And in 2022, you can expect the marketing space around Black Friday to get even more crowded than the queue outside your favourite chain-stores. The noise of competition has risen to new heights and getting your brand heard requires expertise and creativity — plus a knack for learning through data. For invisible aligner brand DR SMILE Black Friday was just as important, and with this in mind they decided to strengthen their partnership with DCMN around Black Friday in 2021.
We went from spot adaptations to full consultation, conception and creation of materials for their campaign. Black Friday campaigns might be all about price reductions, but for us it was clear — moving away from a typical discount-driven approach to take a more strategic one was key to our joint accomplishments, resulting in the most successful Black Friday campaign that DR SMILE ever had.
DR SMILE is a German brand specialising in modern tooth aligner therapy with over 250 partner practices in Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.
Objectives
- Run a performance-driven campaign for Black Friday across DR SMILE’s paid digital channels
- Produce creatives that stand out from the Black Friday clutter
- Increase website visits and boost sales
Approach
- Our creation and production team collaborated with DR SMILE to analyse the learnings and data from previous campaigns to assess what worked (and what didn’t)
- Since Black Friday is a busy time for promotions with a huge number of brands offering discounts, we decided to produce creatives that stood out from the clutter but could also be easily adapted to include any new discounts or promo in the future.
- The campaign was live on DR SMILE’s social media channels throughout the entirety of November 2021, across Germany, Austria, Poland, Spain and France
- The results were impressive: DR SMILE witnessed 210% (2.1x) sales growth in November 2021, as compared to the previous month, plus a 13% increase in sessions across all markets and a 20% decrease in CPA
DCMN and DR SMILE have worked together since 2020, with our creation and production department producing new social media creatives on a monthly basis. Depending on the focus of the campaign, we used their existing content to create social media ads tailored to the focus, channel, and goals for each campaign. For their Black Friday campaign, we went further and were involved in the strategic creation of the ads right from the start. And that wasn’t the only first with this campaign — one which saw us break a number of norms for DR SMILE.
Creative first!
While performance-oriented Black Friday campaigns usually focus on discounts, our creation and production team recognised the importance of standing out from the clutter and thus took a different approach towards the creative.
But before we got on with the creative process, it was crucial to look back. An audit of DR SMILE’s previous campaigns was an essential part of the process in order to understand what was working and what could be improved. We reviewed the analysis of creatives in detail – looking at design layouts, messaging and ad duration – to see how these had driven performance. For example, the data showed that using a minus in the discount badge would significantly reduce conversions, meaning it’s better to say ‘30% off’ than ‘-30%’. Best to focus on the positive! Female talent in video and image assets also out-performed both male/female combinations and male alone. It was these insights that fueled our process going forward, resulting in a set of strategic, eye-catching ads ready to perform.
This campaign was a great opportunity to evolve our partnership with DR SMILE and to exhibit a strategic creative approach. By analysing previous campaigns, compiling learnings and using these findings to create a well-rounded strategy, we have been able to bring this campaign to life with fantastic results. Working on this campaign has been a rewarding experience for everyone involved. – Anke Heyser, Head of Creation & Production at DCMN
Optimise your performance TV marketing
TV marketing is a tried and tested way to send your reach to the stars. But you want more than just eyeballs. You want campaigns that drive traction to your website or app – with measurable results.
It’s not just how you say it, it’s where you say it
To speak effectively to the DR SMILE audience we also needed the right channels for the creative. The campaign focused on their core channels (Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Youtube and Google) and main markets (Germany, Austria, Poland, Spain, and France).
And the results speak for themselves! By combining high-impact creatives and the right channel strategy, we exceeded both sales and efficiency goals. November 2021 turned out to be DR SMILE’s best-performing month last year in terms of impact on their social channels, with a 13% increase in sessions across all markets and a 20% decrease in CPA.
Campaign photo credits: Cem Guenes
With DCMN we were able to coordinate the production of standout performance assets to achieve the most successful Black Friday campaign we have ever had at DR SMILE. We successfully scaled campaigns to new heights and have exceeded our performance goals across all markets. – Leah Bell, Marketing Campaign Manager at DR SMILE
