MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

MGM Resorts ran video ads on Instagram Reels to see if this placement could help boost awareness of the new MGM Rewards loyalty program, and saw a 6.7X lift in standard brand awareness.

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THE STORY
More than just hospitality

MGM Resorts International is a global entertainment company featuring hotels and casinos, meetings and conference spaces, live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 30 unique destinations in the US and internationally.

6.7X

lift in standard brand awareness

8.1-point

lift in standard ad recall

Leveraging creator content in Reels allows us to showcase MGM Resorts experiences to a fully engaged audience that’s excited about what we have to offer. Compelling, authentic content, along with Meta’s ability to reach the right audience at the right time, make Reels an ongoing and expanding part of our overall media strategy. We are entering a new era of storytelling and it’s exciting to see what comes next.
DEREK SCHOEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF MEDIA INVESTMENT & SOCIAL STRATEGY, MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
THE GOAL
Showcasing the launch of a loyalty program

MGM Resorts wanted to raise awareness about the launch of its new loyalty program, MGM Rewards, and show all the ways people can earn credits through the program while visiting Las Vegas.

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THE SOLUTION

Betting on a new ad placement

MGM Resorts partnered with its agency CitizenNet—a Premium Meta Business Partner—to setup and run its first ad campaign in the vertical, full-screen Reels placement on Instagram. Ads in this placement appear in between regular individual Reels content, will play in a loop and can be up to thirty seconds long. People can comment, like, view, save and share ads in Reels.

To ensure that the ad content felt authentic and informative, MGM Resorts enlisted three creators to make Reels videos that organically showed viewers how and where they can earn credits with the MGM Rewards loyalty program.

In one example, a creator filmed the highlights of his trip to Las Vegas with friends, including checking into an MGM Resorts property and enjoying convenient underground parking, shopping and spa services, video gambling, and cocktails and food offerings. The ad included a text overlay that revealed: “BEST PART!!! MGM Rewards will match your VIP status!” as well as a Learn More button that linked to the Rewards loyalty program’s webpage on the company’s website where people could sign up.

MGM Resorts showed the ad to a broad audience of US adults aged 21 and over, including those with an interest in luxury travel, Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Grand Las Vegas, Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Mandalay Bay, Luxor Las Vegas or Bellagio (resort). The team also opted into using Meta Advantage detailed targeting. This feature improves campaign performance by using Meta’s machine learning capabilities to automatically identify additional target audiences based on whether doing so would generate better or cheaper results against the campaign’s optimization goals.

MGM Resorts determined the results of its February 23‒March 11, 2022 campaign using a Meta brand lift study, which revealed:

  • 6.7X lift in standard brand awareness
  • 8.1-point lift in standard ad recall
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Meta is one of the primary drivers of incremental business within our paid media campaigns. Its continuing diversification of ad placements and targeting enable us to meet our customers where they are with the right messaging. The recent addition of ads in Reels proved beneficial in this recent campaign, and we plan to continue and expand our partnership with Meta.
AMY MERK, DIRECTOR OF GROWTH MEDIA INVESTMENT STRATEGY, MGM