RMIT Online partnered with Bench Media to amplify brand awareness for their online tertiary education platform across Australia, with a particular focus on strategic areas in Melbourne and professionals seeking career advancement.
Utilising a multi-channel approach, including Digital out-of-home, Audio, Online Video, and BVOD, they conducted a brand lift study to gauge the effectiveness of these channels in elevating key brand metrics. These channels ran in tandem with RMIT Online’s in-house channels, Social and SEM, to provide a full-funnel activation.
Ori Gold, CEO & co-founder of Bench, argues that “the age of untargeted advertising is over. Digital TV and video, with platforms like Connected TV (CTV) and bite-sized social media content, offer advertisers a laser-focused approach to connect with their audience directly. Imagine scrolling through TikTok, captivated by a funny skit about a new product. Minutes later, a compelling video ad seamlessly appears on your streaming service, just before you dive into a documentary, providing more details about the same product. Meanwhile, subtle display and audio ads on your favourite news site and podcasts keep the momentum going in the days after. This cross-channel journey, which blends control over ad frequency and storytelling, allows advertisers to truly resonate with their audience across every touchpoint. It’s the difference between shouting into the void and having a captivating conversation – an unparalleled communication outcome.”
Key findings for RMIT Online revealed a significant increase in brand favorability among the 18-34 age group, expanding the brand’s reach to a younger demographic while maintaining relevance among the 25-50 age range. Brand recall and likelihood of recommendation also saw notable improvements within their target demographic.
BVOD proved to be the standout performer, exceeding the initial expectations as a standalone channel. Notably, individuals exposed to BVOD and later retargeted on Online Video showed impressive engagement metrics, including a Click-Through Rate (CTR) of 0.33% and completion rates surpassing 60%. These findings highlight BVOD’s effectiveness in capturing audience attention and driving significant brand impact.
Furthermore, the results of retargeting audio, digital out-of-home (DOOH), and online video (OLV) audiences to BVOD were equally promising. Despite BVOD’s traditional role as a prospecting channel, each audience segment exhibited completion rates of over 97% when retargeted on BVOD, alongside competitive Cost Per Mille (CPM) achievements.
“These outcomes validate our targeting strategy and underscore BVOD’s importance in reaching and resonating with the target demographics. In the realm of brand awareness initiatives, where quantifiable results can be challenging, BVOD’s performance in RMIT Online’s case stands as a testament to its effectiveness in driving meaningful connections and delivering tangible results,” continues Ori Gold.
In reflecting on the activation, Marc Charlery, RMIT Online’s Head of Acquisition, underscores the strategic synergy achieved in partnership with Bench. “Our collaboration showcased a strategic blend of innovation and effectiveness,” notes Charlery. “Through their multi-channel approach and emphasis on BVOD, we witnessed a distinct uplift in brand awareness, and this campaign worked as the perfect complement to our existing performance activity. The campaign not only served to drive consideration earlier with our existing target segments but also expanded our reach to new demographics. Our collaboration with Bench Media helped solidify RMIT Online’s position as a leader in online tertiary education.”
