Win with InMobi: HDFC Life optimises branding with search during IPL

Over the last 15 years, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been regarded as a phenomenon by people and brands alike. The T20 tournament has become the biggest advertising opportunity, garnering high reach, viewership and ROI on ad spends. Multi-screening rises during this time of the year, with IPL enthusiasts keeping track of the score online or searching for facts about their favourite players. This is an opportunity that brands recognize as they increasingly capitalise on search during the IPL season. But with this rise in the volume of keywords, we also see a definitive surge in cost. At such a time, brands must tread carefully and make smart and cost-efficient choices. Here’s a story of how a brand achieved just that.

Life insurance brand HDFC Life partnered with InMobi and Microsoft Advertising to run a brand campaign to increase consideration among IPL viewers. With the combined power of two features, Automated Bidding and In-market Audiences, great results were but natural!

With In-market Audiences, HDFC Life had access high-intent, ready-to-buy users. This drove great click-through rates and conversion ratios. Such success arose from the fact that the brand could focus on the bottom of the buying funnel.

The automated bid strategy helped the brand optimise the bids for higher efficiency by maximising the number of clicks and enhancing the cost per click (CPC). It thus enabled more and better conversions and resulted in a significant return on ad spends (RoAS).

With the audience and automated bid strategy in place, the brand’s next move was to capture people’s attention. By showcasing only one brand ad per page through Multimedia Ads, HDFC Life amplified visibility and secured the top spot on the search engine results page (SERP).

Even in a highly competitive playing field where multiple brands try to engage viewers, HDFC Life saw high conversions.

The brand created further efficiencies with Microsoft Advertising’s Responsive Search Ads (RSA). The platform’s automated optimisation ensured that the target audience was reached effectively with the right message.

The campaign delivered 850,000 impressions with an impressive 10% higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to the benchmark for IPL campaigns in India. No wonder HDFC Life saw a 30% lower CPC despite the seasonal surge with Microsoft Advertising and InMobi!