Measure year-to-year success of Black Friday advertising campaigns on social media with Crimson Hexagon's ForSight platform. This case study of Target's ads appraises the success of the 2011 compared to the 2012 campaign in generating social conversation and consumer engagement.

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COMPANY & TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
AGENCIES

2. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CASE STUDY: ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
BUSINESS
QUESTION: Did our new creative agency’s holiday campaign generate more
brand affinity than last year’s campaign?
METHOD: Develop a framework for measuring advertising effectiveness by
analyzing the online conversations surrounding Target’s major
Black Friday ad campaigns in 2011 and 2012:
RETAILER: Target
1
AD APPRAISAL:
WIEDEN + KENNEDY
AD APPRAISAL:
72ANDSUNNY
2

3. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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AD APPRAISAL: TARGET HOLIDAY 2011

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Target:“ChristmasChamp”(CrazyTargetLady)Campaign
Agency:Wieden+Kennedy
Description:SeriesofTVspotspromotingBlackFridaysale,which
featuredMariaBamfordasafanaticalshopper
CreativeTactic:Brandpersonification
Volume:29,513RelevantPosts
FINDINGS:
A. Reactions were very positive, driven by
praise of Maria Bamford’s zany character
(33%)
B. In addition, the ads’ appeal to humor
strongly resonated with consumers (26%)
C. Though 21% of conversation disapproved
of character choice, this sentiment did not
lead to a desire to disengage from Target
AD APPRAISAL: TARGET HOLIDAY 2011
Target’sNov. 2011same-storesalesrose by 1.8%
A
B
C

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AD APPRAISAL: TARGET HOLIDAY 2012

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Target:“DealsDuet”Campaign
Agency:72andSunny
Description:SeriesofTVspotspromotingBlackFridaysale,which
featuredaquirkysinging-and-savingduo
CreativeTactic:Brandpersonification
Volume:12,652RelevantPosts
FINDINGS:
A. Reactions to “Duels Duet” were fewer in
numberand considerably more
unfavorable; campaign achieved only 36%
acclaim among consumers
B. New campaign also failed to elicit strong,
positive emotional response; specifically,
responses resulting from the ads’ appeal
to humor
C. Compared to 33% for the “Crazy Target
Lady”, only 4% praised new characters in
the ads
AD APPRAISAL: TARGET HOLIDAY 2012
A
B
C

7. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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AD APPRAISAL: TARGET HOLIDAY 2012
Target’sNov. 2012same-storesalesfellby 1%
A
C
B
FINDINGS:
A. Negative conversation was underscored
by loud, unfavorable emotional response
to ads (14%)
B. In weeks leading up to Black Friday,
consumers clamored for the return of the
“Crazy Target Lady,” peaking to 51% on
Nov. 13
C. This caused a revolt: on Nov. 22, 24% of
the conversation expressed a desire to
disengage from Target—one day before
Black Friday

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• Deep understanding of how consumers reacted to a brand’s past holiday campaigns
can be a powerful tool for winning new client business
• Target split from its long-time agency, Wieden + Kennedy, retiring the “Crazy Target
Lady” in favor of a new creative strategy
• Wieden + Kennedy’s 2011 “Christmas Champ” drew significant praise (72%),and
did not produce a desire to disengage with Target
• Incomparison,72andSunny’s “Deals Duet”in2012didnot inspireconsumerstoidentifywiththe ads’
characterchoice,nordidittriggera strong, positiveemotionalresponse
• Asa result,consumersbecameless engaged withadvertising, activelyreminiscingaboutthe previous
campaignaroundBlackFriday;manyeven expressed adesiretodisengagefromTarget (24%)
AD APPRAISAL: KEY TAKEAWAYS

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AGENCIES HAVE A POWERFUL WAY TO
DEMONSTRATE TO NEW CLIENTS THAT CAMPAIGNS
RESONATE WITH CONSUMERS: IT’S EASI.

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SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE VALUE MODELS

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Crimson Hexagon, founded in 2007, is the leading provider of analysis
software that delivers business intelligence from social media data for global
corporations. Powered by patented technology developed at Harvard
University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, the Crimson Hexagon
ForSight™ platform delivers the industry’s most comprehensive Big Data
analysis capabilities for a variety of large-scale data sources. Clients include
leading global organizations such as: Microsoft, Ogilvy, Paramount Pictures,
Edelman, Starbucks, Simon & Schuster, MRM Worldwide, Twitter, and many
more. For more information go to: http://www.crimsonhexagon.com.
CRIMSON HEXAGON

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