How Kiehl’s and Google achieved reliable measurement of the impact of digital media on traffic and sales in their physical stores

Kiehl’s is a brand, part of the L’Oréal group with more than 160 years of history, specialising in products and treatments for the care of the skin of the face, body and hair. The firm, which has physical stores around the world, wanted to measure the ROI of digital campaigns in the offline world.   The objectives

• Measure the impact and value of GDN and SEARCH Display on store sales.
• Optimise the effectiveness of the brand’s media mix.
• Digitise the last phase of the funnel.

  Focus

• Digital strategy that attributes value to the offline return of digital media.
• Implementation of a solution based on NFC technology in the locators of the brand’s physical stores.
• Parallel Search Campaign and Contextual Display.

  The results

• More than 1,500 cash interactions associated with an online purchase.
• About 30% of sales directly influenced by the digital campaign were made in the physical store.
• 13% of physical point buyers directly impacted by a digital campaign focused on eCommerce.

  The conclusions

• The omnichannel consumer is a measured and measurable reality.
• Adapting the media and data strategy to the omnichannel consumer helps maximise ROI by impacts.
• The store is a key touchpoint when it comes to extracting insights from the audience and adapting strategies.

 

The objective

The pilot, which was launched jointly with Google in Spain, intended to cover two main objectives for the brand. Firstly, we wanted to measure the impact of Display GDN and SEARCH on sales in the store and, therefore, attribute the full value to digital (on and off), facilitating better decisions in the media mix. Secondly, we wanted to carry out the digitalisation of the last phase of the funnel: the store, where more than 90% of the purchases continue to occur. By including that important offline step to the entire process, we would have a unique opportunity to get to know consumers better and to attract or reactivate them online throughout the funnel.

Focus

In collaboration with Walmeric and Ddibi, a solution called chypeo, based on NFC (Near Field Communication), a wireless technology based on the creation of an electromagnetic field for the exchange of information between two devices, which is already used in transport tickets or even in security systems of physical stores. This technology enabled the collection of data regarding interactions in the store in three different phases: entrance, treatment and purchase service. In parallel, a mid-funnel campaign covering searches and contextual display was launched with the agency Making Science, bringing traffic to the stores PLV. This locator contained a tag that intercepted the interactions in the store to confirm if the user had physically gone to it and check if he had made a purchase  

The results

After measuring the results of the campaign, more than 1,500 cash interactions associated with an online purchase were collected. An audience that the brand can reactivate at any time or use to find new related consumers. On the other hand, 30% of sales directly influenced by the digital campaign were made in the physical store (sales not traditionally attributed to digital). Additionally, 13% of physical point buyers were directly impacted by the campaign, despite the fact that the SEM campaign had been focused on online sales.  

The conclusions 

The results show that the omnichannel consumer is a measured and measurable reality, with a clear online impact on real sales in the physical store. It is more necessary than ever to adapt the media and data strategy to this consumer, in order to maximise the ROI by impacts and not by means or distribution channels. The store strengthens itself as well as a key touchpoint and very rich in audience insights, allowing consumers to better understand and adapt strategies to increase their lifetime value.