In this deck, we break down what 9 brands do to gain their fans' attention and drive them to action. Download a high-res version here: forms.insidesocial.com/anatomy-of-a-great-social-ad

1. The Anatomy of
9Great Social Ads
?
A breakdown of what makes a great social ad

2. As social ads are an increasingly important
ingredient in the marketing mix, it’s important that
brands get them right.
Here’s how 9 brands are killing it.
Current Next 12
Months
Next 5
Years
Social Media Spend as a % of Marketing Budgets
(Duke University CMO Survey 2015)
9.9%
13.5%
22.4%

3. Target (Twitter)
This is not your typical standalone social ad. For
the 2015 GRAMMY Awards, Target bought a
4-minute ad spot with social and native in mind
— a truly cross-media experience. Rather than
playing a bunch of commercials, they aired a
live Imagine Dragon’s concert that they were
hosting in Las Vegas (native) and timed this
promoted tweet to show up on GRAMMY
viewers’ Twitter feeds at the same time (social).
Because social is such a big part of major live
events, they incorporated social media to extend
the conversation, engage with viewers, and drive
audience participation. With the hashtag
#MoreMusic, Target’s “commercial” generated
buzz around the brand on Twitter, allowing them
to get more value out of the big media spend.
Overview

4. Target (Twitter)
More than your
average hashtag,
#MoreMusic was a
CTA that unlocked
more content (Target
then sent tweeters the
unreleased track)
Exclusivity
The next morning,
they kept the buzz
going with a
follow-up tweet
Timed the tweet to
the live performance
Using both hashtags
ensured that they
were in both the
larger conversation
and the conversation
unique to them
Target’s Twitter campaign
tied to their Grammys TV
ad, a truly “native” TV
effort. Social is most
powerful when it is
integrated with the larger
marketing effort.
Breakdown

5. Ben & Jerry’s asked their Instagram fans to
capture their happiest moments and tag them
with #CaptureEuphoria. Ben & Jerry’s then
selected their favorite instagrams, reached out
to their takers for permission, and repurposed
them with local ad buys, ranging from print
ads to bus shelter boards to full-sized
billboards.
The campaign leveraged their large and active
Instagram following to spread their whimsical,
fun-loving brand. By promoting the featured
images and Instagram handles with physical
media (cross-media campaign!), it gives their
fans the fun reward of momentary hometown
fame (which then gets instagrammed and
spread some more).
Overview
Ben & Jerry’s (Instagram)

6. Ben & Jerry’s (Instagram)
The image is
beautiful, fun,
and looks
effortless —
classic
Instagram
Includes the campaign hashtag
to give curious viewers context
and encourages them to
contribute, too
Breakdown
Prominent Instagram handle
placement both rewards the fan
and lets other people know that
it was user-submitted
The fan-generated image also has
life online, with the hashtag being
viewed by all of the fans’ followers

7. Kate Spade (YouTube Pre-Roll)
Over the holiday season, Kate Spade
released the first episode of their
#Missadventure series — this one titled,
“The Waiting Game”, a 2-minute video
featuring Anna Kendrick and a holiday
shopping mishap. They cut the video into 4
parts to run as pre-roll video ads on
YouTube. This cut featured
behind-the-scenes footage as well as an
unscripted Q&A with the star.
This pre-roll ad, in particular, was successful
because it had the look and feel of a
non-branded user-submitted YouTube
video. While staying in tune with the Kate
Spade brand, the content is quick,
entertaining, and not overproduced, relying
mostly on Anna Kendrick’s charisma.
Overview

8. Kate Spade (YouTube Pre-Roll)
This YouTube pre-roll ad was the last snippet of Kate
Spade’s holiday video, “The Waiting Game”. Unlike the
others, this was a behind-the-scenes look. According to
Kate Spade CMO, Mary Beech, this ad performed the best.
It looks and sounds
like a YouTube
video, not a TV ad
like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtw1bbYwHko
She talks to the
audience, making it
feel more human
and personal
The Q&A questions (”Are you
a party goer, thrower, or
avoider?”) don’t feel salesy; it
is legitimately entertaining
and on-brand content
Breakdown

9. President Obama (Buzzfeed/Facebook)
Prior to the enrollment deadline for the
Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, President
Obama wanted to make sure Millennials
knew about the upcoming deadline.
Rather than trying to reach them through
traditional channels, he partnered with
Buzzfeed to reach them where they already
are. Through a video that included selfies,
funny faces, imagining buzzer-beating
shots, and...reciting the date of the deadline
in the mirror, President Obama was able to
deliver an important message that
Millennials would choose to watch and
share with friends.
Overview

10. President Obama (Buzzfeed/Facebook)
Gets in the video’s
ultimate message
(February 15th
deadline to sign up
for health insurance)
without being
obnoxious about it
Self-deprecating
humor
Thanks,
Obama
Thanks,
Obama
Distribution — as
Buzzfeed’s top
referrer, they
published the video
directly on
Facebook, allowing
for faster viewing
and easier sharing
(compared to
YouTube)
Highly relatable topic for
the headline/title — a
big part of Buzzfeed’s
social-driven strategy
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1631492713658271
Breakdown

11. Taco Bell (Social Influencer)
What’s better than talking about your brand
on social media? Having a major influencer
talking about your brand on social media.
In 2013, Taco Bell sent several hand-written
notes and custom (branded) rings to select
models and actresses. While we’re not sure
if the models/actresses were in on it from
the start, the brilliance is in the “not-an-ad”
ad strategy. It gives the brand message
more of an authentic feel because it seems
fun, spontaneous, and non-corporate.
With a little bit of fun, personalization, and
ingenuity, Taco Bell was able to get a ton of
exposure and a lot of cool cred on social
media.
Overview

12. Taco Bell (Social Influencer)
The exclusive, tangible
gifts (handwritten letter
and rings) make them
easy to photograph —
a.k.a. valuable social
currency to post on
social media
Model Chrissy Teigen is a great influencer for
Taco Bell. She has a big following that overlaps
with Taco Bells’ desired demographic
Influencer marketing
works well on social
because brands can
reach different
followers, and benefit
from the influencer’s
credibility with their
following
Has the look and feel of
her regular posts, rather
than a brand message.
It’s genuine.
Relevance: Taco Bell
sent the gift shortly
after her engagement
to John Legend,
making rings
top-of-mind.
(Note: she has since changed her handle to @ChrissyTeigen)
Breakdown

13. Gap (Instagram)
To introduce their new spring line, Gap
created a 12-part microseries featuring
Jenny Slate and Paul Dano in bite-sized
spring romance stories.
Rather than doing a standard YouTube video
series, Gap leveraged Instagram, which has
a very high engagement rate, to reach their
mobile, content-snacking audience. Doing a
series of 15-second videos allowed Gap to
feature many more products than a single
longer video, without it feeling forced.
Overview

14. Gap (Instagram)
https://instagram.com/p/ysJHTgj9mC/?taken-by=gap
Informing the
audience that it’s a
multi-part series
gets people to
follow the brand so
that they don’t miss
future videos
Because
Instagram doesn’t
allow links in
posts, Gap sends
people to their
profile page,
where they can
use links
Seasonally relevant
(videos were posted
February-May)
15 second videos that tell a
springtime love story. Each video
tells a plot point and a joke.
Breakdown

15. Munchery (Facebook)
Munchery’s Facebook ad success is rooted
in a smart targeting strategy. Because food
delivery is very location-specific, geographic
targeting is important. Rather than using
traditional DMAs or metropolitan areas, they
are able to leverage Facebook’s zip code
targeting and custom audience targeting to
hit just the right people.
With the right targeting (including interests,
income, etc.), they’re able to narrow down
prospective customer personas and create
powerful copy and imagery.
Overview

16. Munchery (Facebook)
Since their business
plan is so
location-driven,
Munchery takes
adavantage of
Facebook’s zip code
targeting to only serve
ads to qualified
potential customers
Copy specifically
addresses
non-customers —
Munchery leverages
Facebook’s custom
audiences to block
current customers from
receiving customer
acquisition ads
During Munchery’s Seattle launch period, 70% of their
site referrals came from this Facebook campaign
Imagery looks
restaurant quality
Breakdown
The location targeting also
informs the imagery. Asian
food is hugely popular in
Seattle, but they would
use something different in
a Nashville ad.

17. Ex Machina (Tinder)
The marketers of Ex Machina (film)
programmed a bot to match with male
Tinder swipers at SXSW. After a few
messages, the bot (Ava) would direct them
to “her” Instagram page, which revealed that
it was a marketing stunt for the film.
While many accused the stunt of being
deceptive (people allow themselves to be
vulnerable on dating sites and apps, such as
Tinder), it successfully accomplished two
things:
1) It got a TON of press at SXSW. Just about
every tech blog and news outlet had a story
on Ava (and thus, the movie)
2) It got people thinking about the use of
bots and human interaction, which is a major
theme in Ex Machina
Overview

18. Ex Machina (Tinder)
The character,
Ava, is a perfect
fit for Tinder’s
demographic
Kept the profile copy
natural, rather than
overplayed with
marketing-speak
Upon chatting with
Ava, Tinder matches
were directed to Ex
Machina’s Instagram
page, the CTA
The stunt was executed
during SXSW, ensuring tons
of press and social media
coverage
It was relevant to the
film -- the concept of
Tinder bots acting
“human” captures the
same themes as the
film
Breakdown

19. Casper (Facebook)
Casper, the mattress startup, relies heavily
on social and other digital media to
compete with established mattress brands
that have a massive infrastructure and
resource advantage. Through Facebook ad
partner, Criteo, they retarget website visitors
on social to re-engage people that have
already demonstrated interest.
Through smart and friendly copy, Casper
reassures customers that their next-gen
mattress company is as trustworthy, if not
more, than the companies that customers
are already familiar with. After all, a mattress
purchase is a very personal decision, as well
as a significant investment.
Overview

20. Casper (Facebook)
Including the pricepoint
helps the audience
self-select whether they
are Casper’s target
audience, which
reduces costly bad
clicksLinked image — clicking
anywhere on the image or
caption will take the user
to Casper’s website
Language that
implies innovation
Retargeted via Criteo
Friendly, relatable
image that includes
the product
Confidence-instilling
language makes
Casper feel
trustworthy
Breakdown

21. Inside Social is a social marketing platform that helps companies
measure and increase their social ROI by focusing on the metrics that
matter — conversions and revenue, not the vanity metrics you’re used
to on social.
We built a share tracking technology that connects social sharing to
downstream conversions, such as a download, subscription, or
purchase. By measuring, attributing, and optimizing social based on
conversions, we help companies do more effective social marketing.
We are based in Seattle, WA.
About Inside Social
Jordan Con, Marketing Manager jordan@insidesocial.com
Joey Kotkins, CMO and Co-Founder joey@insidesocial.com
Brewster Stanislaw, CEO and Co-Founder brewster@insidesocial.com
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