Mercari

Success Story

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Our Approach

The most successful buying and selling app for used goods in Japan, already conquering big parts of the US market in this segment, Mercari recently arrived on the European market with a UK version of their app. Facing stiff competitors, they came to us needing eye-catching and engaging video ad, subsequently adapted into over 20 variations to test on different channels and targets, to maximize the ROI of their UA campaigns through perfecting their creatives.

App: iOS & Android
Channels: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat
Length: 15s & 30s
Style: Live action
Account Manager: Elia

Video ad ideal length is a hot topic and depends on which channel we’re talking about, but especially on Facebook and other social media, 30s is definitely the upper limit. To be able to put forward all the most important value propositions of the app (free – secure – fast way to make money), it was decided to make three different videos to start with, one focusing on buyers, the other on sellers and then another one showing both buyers & sellers. Focusing on ease of use, with actors having the right looks and age for the target audience, acquiring or selling a variation of objects, we then completed the video with animated text screens against a parallax background to really drive home the commercial messages of the client. With these first videos finished, it was time to start working on variations.

The following elements are possible to change in post-production (although we do need to know beforehand if it’s a live action video) and can make a big difference in the video’s results as an ad:

On-screen texts, even small changes in wording
Video duration, depending on channel and drop-off rate, a very important characteristic to optimise
Video format, as most video ads on social media are today seen on mobile devices, focusing only on landscape videos on a phone held in portrait mode means you lose over two thirds of that phone screen, reducing drastically the impact of your video. Hence the need to diversify with square and vertical formats as well.

We like to work in close cooperation with our clients, letting them test different variations of one video and see which performs best, to then create that video in different formats with different timings. It is a very cost efficient way for the client to optimize their UA creatives and campaigns. The big plus for our company is that with each video ad we produce and get the results for, we are able to create even better performing videos in the future!