Legacy Toyota drives seven hours of video views a week with premium ads

When visitors hover over the top right banner, it drops down over the site and plays a 30 second video.

At Gray Television's WCTV.TV, the local Toyota dealership (Legacy Toyota) is a key account that is always interested in being in the forefront of new digital opportunities such as online video pre-rolls that are click-to-play.

In mid-2013, the dealership was running on-air advertising with the station, but had discontinued digital efforts.

But Digital Sales Manager, Ryan Barber, working as a team with station’s General Manager, Heather Peeples and newly appointed General Sales Manager, Tony Kahl,  continued to stay in touch. 

Knowing the dealer was interested in new mobile ideas, Barber made it a habit to introduce new digital solutions whenever possible.

“If we come up with a new unique way to reach consumers, they want to hear about it."

Concept:  One day, Barber heard the Legacy Toyota music themed broadcast ads, and got the idea of translating the creative to digital, but not just in video, also in a premium online ad format.

“I really liked the Hip Hop vibe of the on-air creative. Recording music is a hobby of mine outside of media sales, so when their (Legacy’s television) commercials came on at home, I’d be walking around... feeling the beat.”

Barber used Mixpo's platform to recreate the on-air creative into an online video. Then the station incorporated the video into a full  premium ad unit, built in flash. The unit starts as a rotating banner ad next to the WCTV.TV logo, both online and on  mobile  devices (and featured static in the top right position).

Here's how the ad starts in the top right of the home page: 

When users hover over the ad, it starts a countdown and then turns into a drop down that takes over the page with the video that plays for 30 seconds. Try it out at this link.

The landing page literally drops over the site portraying the dealers showrooms, videos, and interactive links for Facebook, Twitter, New and Used vehicle inventory, an interactive map, and secondary video - all things that television can't supply.  The mobile versions work the same way, just on a smaller screen.

Results: 

In all, the embedded video was watched for a total of 433 minutes – more than 7 hours - during the first week. Viewers watched an average of 36% of the advertisement overall - considered high for an on demand format - and traffic to the dealer site doubled from March to April. The dealer is primarily interested in seeing additional traffic to the website, and engagement on the site. the agency of record, MJS Advertising, gives the high marks for click through.

Judges take: This campaign shows how to enable television advertisers to expand into reaching audiences with premium formats that look and feel like television but also have the  interactivity to drive brand engagement and website traffic. Judges were impressed by Barber's initiative and how the team worked together to create a high impact ad which clearly had the most sophisticated creative of the contest entrees.

Ryan Barber, Digital Sales Manager, WCTV-TV, Gray Television

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