Interesting Advertising Experiments HubSpot Tried in 2020 [+ Takeaways for Marketers]

I was on the run the other day and checked out my trusted Spotify playlist. Lo and behold, between two of my favorite pump-up jams, I hear a HubSpot audio commercial on my headphones.

It’s not uncommon to see HubSpot ads on social media or on Google, but Spotify was new.

This experience made me curious about what other types of advertising our HubSpot team tested this year. So I sat down with a few people on our advertising and editorial teams.

Below, they share some interesting lessons and insights about the different platforms and audiences they tested in 2020.

Tried advertising experiments HubSpot in 2020

“While HubSpot has traditionally been relatively straightforward to respond (with software signups being the primary target of the acquisition), one of the biggest takeaways from our advertising in 2020 actually revolves around building brand awareness,” said Rex Gelb, Director , Acquisition Analytics & Paid Advertising at HubSpot.

In early 2020, the team found that many of their existing advertising channels, namely search and social ads, were seeing declining returns and saw this as an opportunity to branch out.

They led this effort based on the guiding principle that the HubSpot audience is made up of people with different media habits.

“What works for one person may not work for everyone, so we’ve probably only reached a small fraction of them [direct response ads]”Said Jillian Hope, Senior Brand Promotion Marketing Manager at HubSpot.” But the reality is that our viewers are listening to podcasts, reading articles in the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, watching Hulu, and doing all these different activities all day . “

By expanding the displays of HubSpot ads, the team hypothesized that they could reach a much larger segment of their target audience and bring HubSpot to new consumers.

While chatting with these experts, a few key platforms stood out.

1. Audio advertising

“In 2020 we started to double up [podcasts]. It started out more as an awareness game, but we invested in this really nice tool called Podsights, ”said Jillian. Podsights is a podcast attribution tool that the team uses to measure when someone hears a podcast ad, returns to the website, and becomes a lead.

(Can I embed an audio file in COS? Https://wiki.hubspotcentral.net/display/marketing/2020+Year+in+Review%3A+HubSpot%27s+First+Brand+Advertising+Push)

The team tested some direct purchases with certain podcasts like NPRs How I built this and Masters of Scale. They have also made some national radio purchases on NPR and some Spotify Audio Everywhere ads (for Spotify users who don’t pay for rewards).

2. Hulu advertising

“[In addition to podcast advertising,] We’re diversifying into new channels and looking for ways to really measure and improve what works from a direct response perspective, including Hulu, ”shared Jillian.

That’s right – this year consumers turned on their TVs to see some of HubSpot’s first ads on streaming channels. The team found that Hulu had a high completion rate (around 99%) because it couldn’t skip the network’s ads. “This made it a great tactic for testing more creative news and execution as our audience was tuned for full ad,” said Alicia Collins, Copywriting & Brand Strategy at HubSpot.

Alicia worked on many HubSpot branded ad campaigns for 2020, including the Hulu push.

3. YouTube advertising

The entire video gave the team more space to add value through education, entertainment, and inspiration, especially when compared to a display or static social advertisement.

“Because YouTube is owned by Google,” said Jillian, “we were able to target people who are actively looking for content related to our products, so our ads are relevant to their work.”

In fact, Rex shared one of the most successful tests they’ve run: YouTube’s “Affinity Audiences”. Affinity audiences are audiences that the Google algorithm identifies as likely to be interested in your products.

“While the algorithm is kind of a black box, trusting their data ultimately paid off for us, generating some of the most affordable, high-quality impressions and video views, which in turn resulted in a huge brand boom (as reported by surveys) and a measurable one Increase in incremental Google searches, ”reported Rex.

How does the development of this creative campaign for brand advertising look like?

Alicia: “When you think about branding promotion, you have to think about who you come into contact with With. ”

Most of the people who interact with HubSpot’s brand awareness advertisements have never heard of HubSpot – compared to those who see the typical direct mail. “There’s a reason people are targeted [direct response] Show; They saw our content, were on our website and interacted with our posts. “

The same doesn’t apply to this new brand boost. Alicia and her team are trying to reach a whole new audience, which means they need to create clear, direct ads that communicate what HubSpot is and who it is for.

“[We’re aiming for] Flashy and engaging, so that people are either enticed to click their way through to find out more or just stop and take a second look, ”Alicia shared.

Speaking of a second look, Alicia has just learned As the brand advertising strategy can be different. “[It’s a] slightly different because again people don’t see a social ad and instantly remember your brand. It takes about seven or eight impressions for someone to remember. “

In her opinion, brand awareness work is different from a lot of other work at the bottom of the funnel. “It’s not that there’s just a science, it’s also a kind of art,” she shared. “It is [all about] try to strike the right balance between solving the data and the short term results and thinking about where you want to be long term. “

She encourages those who want to invest in brand awareness games to be patient. “It can be a long time before we move [brand awareness] Metrics; Building brand awareness can take years and millions of dollars, “said Alicia.

In their experience, people looking to invest in new channels and audiences tend to put their money in one place. But Alicia and her teammates have found that no one spends all of their time on a channel.

For example, you might want to start your day with a podcast, read some articles over lunch, and watch your favorite Hulu show to relax after work. However, your employee may want to start the day watching cable news, scrolling through social media during lunch, and heading to the gym (past several billboards) after work. “You just get multiple touchpoints throughout the day and share your stories in new, unique ways,” Alicia said.

Jillian agreed, “What works for some doesn’t work for all. If we restrict the channels, we risk not reaching a large part of our audience. “

And the more channels consumers can watch HubSpot, the more likely they are to remember and come back.

For more information on developing your own cross-channel or omnichannel advertising strategy, please visit the HubSpot blog.