PROSE
When the custom haircare brand tested its usual video ad creative delivered across multiple Meta placements against a campaign that added specially designed ad creative for Instagram Reels to the same setup, it saw a 23% lower cost per acquisition when using both types of ad creative together.
Prose is a direct-to-consumer haircare brand. Products are made to order based on an individual's answers to the brand's online consultation. The Prose product line includes hair and scalp masks, shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, dry shampoo, curl cream and leave-in conditioner, hair growth supplements and hair brushes.
lower cost per acquisition from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
lower cost per impression from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
higher unique audience reach from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
higher impression delivery to audiences aged 18–34 from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
Prose wanted to understand whether using video ad creative specifically built for the Instagram Reels placement could help improve campaign performance and increase purchases of its custom haircare products.
THE SOLUTION
Creative that captures attention
Prose ran an A/B test to determine if adding the new Instagram Reels placement—and special ad creative tailored for it—to its campaign strategy could help reach new audiences, drive memberships, increase product purchases and improve campaign performance.
The test compared:
- a “control” campaign of the brand’s business-as-usual video creative variations delivered across six or more Meta placements
- a test campaign consisting of one ad set with its business-as-usual video creative delivered in the same placements as the control campaign, and another ad set with special creative designed for, and delivered in, the Reels placement.
The business-as-usual video creative followed best practices for mobile-first viewing, such as using vertical video ads that included text overlays and captions for sound-off play. The brand built the Reels video creative in the full screen 9:16 aspect ratio, and used fast-cut motion and fun transitions to capture attention, keep the experience interesting and inspire action.
The Reels ads used people-first narration styles, inluding showing a woman complaining that her hair looks greasy and dull, despite having just washed it. Her “twin” advises using Prose shampoo, and playfully tosses a shampoo bottle to her. The twin then explains how the online consultation and ordering process works to receive personalized, custom haircare products. Text overlays provided captions for sound-off viewing. All ads included a Shop Now button.
The team showed the ads to a broad audience of US men and women aged 18 and over, excluding existing members and recent purchasers, and it also used the automatic advanced matching feature to accurately attribute online sales back to specific purchasers.
Prose determined the results of its February 2‒20, 2022 campaign using reporting data from an A/B test in Meta Ads Manager, which revealed:
- 23% lower cost per acquisition from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
- 43% lower cost per impression from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
- 52% higher unique audience reach from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
- 20% higher impression delivery to audiences aged 18‒34 from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together
- 3X higher completed video views from cell using business-as-usual placements and Reels together