Australian-based Mexican fast-food chain, Mad Mex has engaged programmatic technology provider for digital out-of-home (DOOH), Vistar Media and marketing agency, Hearts & Science, to deliver an ANZ-first campaign utilising near real-time store data.
Mad Mex, in partnership with Vistar Media and Hearts & Science, activated a tactical programmatic DOOH campaign to increase footfall and drive an uplift in sales by reaching consumers at the point of purchase.
Vistar Media managing director for APAC, Ben Baker said, “DOOH has evolved to become a channel offering flexibility and agility to brands and marketers alike, and this campaign is a great example of how it can be used.
“This technology solution enabled Mad Mex to have a significantly longer retail media presence as sites were activated programmatically only when required, ensuring the limited media budget wasn’t chewed through, minimising wastage and maximising effectiveness.”
The marketing strategy relied on the flexibility of programmatic DOOH – leveraging daily store-level sales data to position and activate proximity-focused messaging to drive visitation when and where it was needed.
Proximity targeting combined with a DOOH venue mix of Vistar’s supply footprint ensured the campaign utilised POI targeting within 1km of select restaurants, informing contextually relevant media placements. The creative message deployed at each digital panel was informed by the store’s monthly performance data, and whether taste, health or value would be the most influential driver.
According to Mad Mex general manager, Nick Cook, sales performance increases have been so well-received, that the strategy is being further refined.
“We’re working to increase the complexity of sales data used significantly, to not only factor overall store sales but product sales too, increasing store footfall and product sales along the way. We are excited to see how the solution will evolve and how this use of tech delivers for Mad Mex in the future,” he said.
During the campaign period, nearly 2.9 million Australians saw programmatic OOH panels activated by daily sales performance. Mad Mex saw a 9% overall sales uplift in the stores where in-proximity programmatic OOH was activated, with a transaction uplift of 7%. These increases have not been achieved using previous retail media activation strategies.
Hearts & Science head of client service Sydney, Gail Halbert explained, “Hearts & Science has always looked to provide the most innovative ideas to our clients and Mad Mex gave us the opportunity to prove this. The campaign successfully addressed footfall challenges within 24 hours, cutting down sales-to-media-activation lag time, leading to phenomenal results which were previously unachievable through traditional channels.”