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Key lessons from the winners of Think Search 2021 about driving results on search

Key lessons from the winners of Think Search 2021 about driving results on search

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This post was done in partnership with Google Malaysia.

Consumers now expect brands to be there for them with helpful and relevant information. Along with how the consumer journey has changed, plus the recent advancements in AI and machine learning, Think Search 2021 showed how businesses can use search as a key value-driver today. 

Recognised for their amazing works, these winners have not only shown us how search plays an essential role in guiding consumers online, but they have also exceeded expectations in terms of creativity while driving outstanding business results.

A little creativity goes a long way

Best Use of Google Search: Reach your audience

McDonald’s – OMD Malaysia

One of the largest consumers of chicken globally, fried chicken is a staple in the homes of many Malaysians – with McDonald’s fried chicken being no exception. While popular, McDonald’s wanted to further increase sales of its chicken, but was concerned over potential ad fatigue, especially with the large number of fried chicken videos/ads circulating online.

Through a little creative thinking, McDonald’s collaborated with various partners, and hosted an unbranded video called “Jangan Search Ayam Goreng Viral” on YouTube and told Malaysians not to search for its video – predicting they would do just the opposite.

By targeting relevant search keywords and having a strong search ad quality score, it ensured its ads would always appear on the top slot of the result page.

McDonald’s successfully created the buzz it needed and achieved a brilliant 97% impression share on category keywords, with interest in its fried chicken soaring by more than 200% above its initial target of 12,000 searches a day. This resulted in a 15% spike in launch day sales with a 40% boost in McDelivery transactions.

Showcase your best features

Best Use of Google Search: Deliver creative engagement

Samsung Malaysia – Starcom and Leo Burnett

Capturing attention that is engaged in a sea of online information is no easy feat, especially when faced with significant competition. Samsung Malaysia wanted a way to sustain attention and remain top-of-mind for its key product launch of the year – the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 – while capitalising on a competitor’s highly anticipated launch.

Knowing that search interest for its competitor’s new product would increase pre-launch, Samsung decided to directly hijack their pre-launch with highly relevant and creative ad copies. Using deep customer insights and trends to predict its competition’s most searched-for features, Samsung responded with up to 73 quirky headlines that referenced its own Note 20’s features while cheekily driving urgency.

In other words, what the competitor’s users wanted, Samsung already had. 

Its witty approach paid off as Samsung not only successfully extended the hype for the Note 20, it achieved a 30% impression share of its competitor’s keywords – more than double the industry standard, and a whopping 17% more than its own target. It also managed to drive almost 60% more unique site visits versus its target at a 40% lower cost per qualified landing versus benchmark.

The sweet spot in personalisation

Best Use of Google Search: Drive business results

CakeRush

Launched in March 2020, CakeRush began with a mission to spread sweetness with cakes for all occasions. Despite the start of the pandemic in Malaysia, and a highly saturated and competitive baked goods market, CakeRush remained positive and aspired to achieve growth and sustainability, as well as profitability within the year.

Its approach was simple – to capture the online market to position itself as Malaysia’s next household cake delivery brand. 

Using search query reports to better understand the market and consumer behaviour, CakeRush noticed a significant keyword interest relating to cakes, and cake delivery services.

Armed with this knowledge, CakeRush combined smart shopping campaigns using its online product catalogue and dynamic search ads to serve up highly personalised ads to target consumers. To further optimise ad effectiveness and targeting, it also fully leveraged automation strategies to save time on campaign management.

Its strategy paid off with a bang, producing phenomenal results far beyond its targets, at a 137% return on ad spend. Effectively hitting its profitability goals and doubling its growth target, CakeRush achieved a 44% quarter-on-quarter growth rate and an exponential conversion growth rate of 240% while successfully scaling upwards.

It even managed to expand its market coverage beyond just Klang Valley, and into Penang.

Want to learn how search can help you grow your business? Learn more about Think Search 2021 here at g.co/thinksearchmy. 

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