Brief:
- Baskin-Robbins saw a 12% lift in store visits — 4.3-times industry benchmarks — from an ad campaign on music streaming service Spotify, according to data verified by Placed. The offline attribution firm joined Spotify as a measurement partner in the United States, per an announcement.
- Baskin-Robbins attributed 430,000 U.S. store visits to people who heard the "Baskin-Robbins Got Me Like" ad last summer. The campaign also drove 47,000 incremental store visits and a positive return on investment. Each ad urged listeners to "Find A Shop" and directed them to click and see the nearest Baskin-Robbins store, per a Spotify case study.
- Dave Nagel, senior director of consumer engagement at Baskin Robbins, said Placed helped the ice-cream chain to make more efficient decisions about its media spend on platforms such as Spotify. Placed joins Comscore, Digitalist LeanLab, Foursquare, Integral Ad Science, Moat, Nielsen and Nielsen Catalina Solutions as a Spotify measurement partner.
Insight:
Offline attribution for digital ads is one of the most promising uses of mobile technology, with location data that marketers can use to improve their ad targeting to reach consumers when they're more likely to act. Baskin-Robbins, which has more than 2,500 locations in the United States, wanted to reach mobile users as they streamed music from Spotify to promote its new Sundae Shakes and Ice Cream Lattes. The ice cream chain used Spotify's Audio Everywhere format for its "Baskin-Robbins Got Me Like" campaign.
Spotify's partnership with Placed likely could help the platform boost its budding advertising business. Although Spotify urges listeners to subscribe to its ad-free version, the company's ad revenue rose 34% to $199 million in Q4 2018 from a year earlier. Ad-supported listenership grew 24% to 116 million users worldwide during the period. Spotify had 207 million monthly active users (MAUs), including 96 million premium subscribers, by the end of last year.
Baskin-Robbins, which is owned by Dunkin Brands, reported a same-store sales decline of 0.6% last year, including a 3.7% drop in the fourth quarter partly blamed on adverse weather. The chain is very active with campaigns for special occasions and promotions for new flavors every month. Baskin-Robbins in 2017 began offering food delivery from DoorDash, and has mentioned the app in several promotions such as its Hershey's Kisses-inspired menu for February and its "Polar Pizza" for National Pizza Day on Feb. 9. The brand introduced its mobile app in August 2016.
