Rakuten is an online shopping platform that partners with thousands of merchants across all categories, offering members discounts and cash back on their purchases.
Rakuten
Industry
E-commerce and online retail
Amplifying Rakuten's Reach and Impact During Q4 Peak Seasonality with A Custom-Targeted Audio Campaign
Services Provided
- Channel Measurement
- Cross Channel Media Planning and Buying
- On-demand Performance Dashboard
- Advanced Customer Segmentation Targeting
01 Challenges
Q4 is peak seasonality for Rakuten due to holiday gift-giving and Cyber 5 deals. With virtually every retailer offering their best sales of the year, Rakuten’s main objective was to boost sign-ups by stacking cash back on top of the excellent deals provided by their partners, allowing their members maximum savings.
While Rakuten targets diverse audiences, its key audience is young millennial women. Ocean Media was tasked to reach young millennial women who may not be familiar with the brand and drive them to Rakuten’s site.
02 Approach
Needing to stand out against the competition and their holiday deals, Ocean Media capitalized on the effectiveness of podcasts in reaching the young millennial woman demographic. A targeted audio campaign was launched and spanned 64 podcasts and six addressable buys. Twenty-four new shows were introduced, aligning with the crucial holiday cyber period.
Podcasts were strategically chosen due to their 1-to-1 targeting, efficient copy testing, robust tracking capabilities, and alignment with where the audience is spending their time.
What we did
- Collaboration with six of the hosts went a step further, resulting in a total of eight unique custom segments.
- Each segment lasted 3-7 minutes and was tailored to the individual preferences of the hosts while incorporating essential Cyber 5 messaging in an authentic voice, ultimately aiding in brand education.
- The custom segments were executed in a variety of styles, such as games, holiday gifting guides, an audio soap opera, and conversational education pieces.
- Rakuten collaborated with each show to communicate brand messages, establishing connections with the majority of them.
- As 24 of the shows were new to Rakuten, the Q4 campaign provided a springboard for new partnerships with these shows / addressable targeted Podcast buys.