Impact of Creativity on Performance

The Challenge

Virgin Active, a global health club chain, operates several gyms across Thailand. To drive new memberships and sign-ups, the company set high monthly targets across all digital marketing channels. While the campaigns were generally hitting their targets, a deep dive into the creative analysis over the past 6 months revealed critical insights that significantly influenced campaign performance.

Comparative Analysis of Campaigns

Cultural and Holiday-themed Messaging vs. Standard BAU Campaigns

A stark contrast was observed in the efficacy of cultural and holiday-themed messaging compared to standard Business-As-Usual (BAU) creative campaigns. This analysis indicated a clear strategic advantage in utilising specialised messaging for campaigns.

• Campaigns with cultural and holiday themes showed massive spikes in lead volumes during their respective phases.
• These campaigns achieved higher lead volumes while spending less year-over-year (YoY)

Thailand's Unique Market Behaviour

Through extensive experience across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, it was found that Thailand, with its strong cultural identity, responds particularly well to tailored and culturally relevant messaging. This makes the emphasis on specialised campaigns even more critical for driving engagement and achieving marketing goals.

Strategy Implementation

With these insights, Virgin Active Thailand revised their "always-on" performance strategy to incorporate tactical moments through cultural and holiday-themed messaging continuously optimising performance through improved and tailored messaging and creatives.

Results Achieved:

• 117% increase in lead volumes through strategic creative messaging
• -61% reduction in cost per lead
• Cultural relevance as a key performance driver in Thailand's market
• Continuous optimisation through tailored creative approaches
• Exceeded monthly targets consistently through strategic messaging alignment