TDA’s Top 15 Case Studies Share: TDA Date Published 23 December 2020 Categories Blog Reading Time 18-Minute Read We recently reached a huge milestone — our members published 2,000 case studies on our site. With that in mind, we at TDA thought it would be the ideal time to share 15 of our favorites with you. Below you’ll find some of the best case studies from digital agencies around the world showcasing their talents in a range of expertise including web design and development, digital marketing, and branding. Jump to: Gohan Concepts Point Jupiter Ace Infoway Tátil Design DMFusion Critical Mass HireInfluence Tulumi Digital Marketing Consagous Technologies Appetite Creative Chimera Prime Album Agency Async Labs Pace Social Media Complex Creative 1. Gohan Concepts Case Study: The New Manila Bay City of Pearl About the Client The New Manila Bay City of Pearl, located in the heart of Manila, Philippines is the world’s largest, and first, “Smart City” to be built in South East Asia. It is one of the biggest projects resulting from the Belt & Road Initiative, which aims to reinforce Manila’s economy. At 407 hectares, this futuristic city is planned to host more than 500,000 people and create more than 100,000 new jobs. About the Project Gohan Concepts is a Philippine-based agency specialized in branding and design strategy. The agency was asked tasked with logo design and the development of the brand identity. Having to design a logo that will symbolize the whole city and will be displayed on highway exits, is not an easy job which is why UAA Kinming hired an expert. Firstly, Gohan Concepts highlighted some of the main features that the city offers and selected 12 essential elements: infrastructure, traffic system, recycling, economy, security, healthcare, self-sustainability, electric energy, solar power, electric parking system, smart city and city app. After brainstorming and creating symbols and shapes that represent the City of Pearl, they chose the final version: The final logo is the combination of letters “C” & ”P” connected by a shell that symbolizes the protection of skyscrapers that are soon to be built. The wing styled shape was inspired by the 7 islands that represent the architecture. The water drop symbolizes the city’s nature while the leaf shape icon marks the City of Pearl’s environment-friendly and self-sustainable energy sources. Results 90% of comments on social media were positive and people have accepted the project. In addition, after creating investment decks, educational videos and presentations for the Philippines government, many parties started believing in the futuristic development of the country. 2. Point Jupiter Case Study: McDonald’s Brave New IoT & Face-Recognition Efforts Ever wondered how cool would it be to walk into McDonald’s and have the staff already know your order? Well, McDonald’s made it happen. Of course, they’re not making their staff memorize their customers’ orders – since there are more than 62 million customers served daily. Instead, they came up with an IoT and Face-Recognition solution – a system that analyzes customer information and recommends a meal based on past purchases. To implement the system into their digital kiosks, McDonald’s hired Point Jupiter, a Croatian software product development digital agency. About the Project The goal of the project was to display the AI technology in 3 steps at a McDonald’s conference: Firstly, using the mobile app and an onsite tablet, users were invited to leave personal information such as their name, a selfie and meal preference. Secondly, the customer was placed in front of an order booth. The booth had an integrated camera that recognized their face, and accordingly displayed the user’s information, as well as a meal recommendation. At the same time, a nearby big screen was showing what happens when the recognition software begins operating. Results The face recognition was successfully set up and had attracted lots of people at the conference. Everyone had a lot of fun experimenting with the technology that was even able to guess people’s age and mood they were in. We look forward to seeing the AI being implemented in McDonald’s user experience and are hoping to be able to use it in the future. 3. Ace Infoway Case Study: Smartphone Bluetooth App to Control LED Lights About the Project The car industry is constantly evolving. The US-based agency, Ace Infoway, jumped on the recent trend for neon and LED underbody lights by developing an app to control such lights. Features The XKchrome mobile application which is connected by the Bluetooth low energy integration and a Bluetooth device attached to a vehicle completely changes the look of night rides and makes it more interesting for drivers and passers-by alike. There is even an option to sync the app with a mobile camera and music, as well as choosing from 16 million bright colors. Also, the whole system can be programmed to turn red when you break to increase the safety of night driving. XKchrome can even remember your parking spot and provide you with directions back to it. 4. Tátil Design Case Study: Rio 2016 Olympic Brand About the Project Tatil Design, is a Brazilian digital agency with offices in Brazil and the US that specializes in branding, design strategy and graphic design. They received a huge challenge: to design a brand for 7.5 billion people. One symbol that will encounter the Carioca soul with the Olympic Games. A symbol that should express unity, optimism, and encompass 12 of the following attributes: • Innovation • Local culture • Non-cliché • Olympic values • Inspiration for multiple audiences • Dynamic • Joy • Brazilian passion • Carioca way of living • Universalism • Value • Trends Results A group of more than 100 strategists and designers created a brand that encloses a mixture of ethnicities, cultures, as well as athletes, a brand that embraces celebration and passion. It was the first-ever three-dimensional brand of the Olympic Games. There were over 25,000 mentions on social media and television broadcasts to more than 50 countries, the first day that the brand launched. 5. DMFusion Case Study: Wendy’s: Wenday in Chile Did you know that Americans eat 50 million hamburgers each year? On average, that’s 3 burgers per person, per week. It’s no wonder that every May 28 they celebrate National Hamburger Day – the day when every burger fan heads to the closest fast-food restaurant and has a bite of this delicious meal. It’s a trend so popular that almost every restaurant has special deals to help its customers celebrate the day. Burger King, McDonald’s, Chilli’s, Steak n’ Shake and even Domino’s – who launched a special cheeseburger pizza – all offer great deals and coupons for their customers on this special day. But did you know that Wendy’s was the first restaurant to ever talk about Hamburger Day? About the Project However, Wendy’s Chile didn’t have a special day as its competitors did. That’s why DMFusion, a digital agency based in Chile with expertise in digital strategy and social media advertising decided to help create one. Therefore, the team came up with WENDAY – a day of happiness and joy. Here you can watch the “Si hay alegría, hay” #Wenday video, meaning – “If there is joy, there is #Wenday”: Results The campaign resulted in a 278% increase in sales compared to the previous year and 181% more transactions. 6. Critical Mass Case Study: Nissan Tech Drive VR While a usual test drive enables you to evaluate a car’s performance and assess its drivability, it doesn’t let you test safety technologies because it is simply too dangerous. However, by introducing a VR test drive, Nissan helps you experience these technologies in no way other car companies have ever done. If you ever wondered what it feels like to almost crash while changing lanes or avoid hitting a pedestrian that suddenly came out of nowhere, the 360˚ VR test drive will help you see and feel how Nissan safety technology works. About the Project Nissan chose Critical Mass, a digital agency specializing in user experience and interface design in the automotive industry for their project. They wanted to way to place customers in the middle of the action without any real danger. The result was Tech Drive VR – a virtual reality program that puts you in a simulation and interact with a three-dimensional environment. The 360˚ experience puts you in the virtual driver’s seat of a Nissan Altima to evaluate the car’s capabilities. To enhance authenticity, Tech Drive was shot live in a real car on real streets. This way, users can experience potential threats as as they would appear in real life. Results Tech Drive VR was accessible at more than 300 Nissan dealerships and events, as well as on Microsoft Xboxes. The VR experience also launched at a variety of dealerships and Auto Shows across the US and Canada, including LA, Detroit, Chicago, New York and. In the first 30 days, Tech Drive VR video reached 100 million impressions with thousands of test drives being taken around the world. 7. HireInfluence Case Study: MTV x Walmart #MTVMyStyle MTV came to HireInfluence, a US-based agency that specializes in content marketing and digital strategy, to launch the new #MyMTVStyle campaign. The objective of the campaign was to promote the newest capsule collection being sold in Walmart. The choice of launch platform was based on two things: MTV’s branding, which focuses on creativity, and the Gen Z demographic – since the primary target market was 14-25 years old. As it perfectly aligns with both strategies, TikTok was the obvious choice. About the Project HireInfluence engaged 9 TikTok and Instagram influencers who specialize in fashion & style to share a variety of capsule collection outfits. Each influencer styled three different outfits completing them with hairstyles, accessories and make-up. The audience was very responsive many sharing their opinion on their favorite outfits. Influencers promoted the campaign on Instagram and TikTok with a swipe-up link that took the audience directly to MTVxWalmart page. Results The campaign performed extremely well since it positioned the capsule collection as a top trending fashion staple at Walmart. The whole campaign received a total of 16.1M impressions and 216.6K engagements. 8. Tulumi Digital Marketing Case Study: Transforming a Food Truck into a Restaurant Bem Bom that served gourmet tacos and pastries Chef Chico Mendonça, started as a food truck in 2012. Because of its unique flavors and characteristic textures on simple dishes, it was pronounced as the Best Food Truck in 2013. Because of its great record as Orlando’s tastiest food on wheels, management decided it would be good to build a restaurant in 2018 and encourage more people to dine-in, instead of just stopping by the truck. About the Project Bem Bom hired Tulumi Digital Marketing, a digital agency with expertise in web development and social media advertising, based in Orlando, Florida. The goal was not only to redesign Bem Bom’s website but make it rank higher in Google search results. To introduce the customers to the whole ambiance of the restaurant, as well as the cooking process, the website shows a video clip of their interior, servings, Chef Chico on the duty, and satisfied customers. Aside from offering necessary pages such as About Us, Menu, Gallery and Contact, the website also offers features such as reservation booking, order placing and eGift card purchasing. As part of the marketing strategy, Bem Bom offers Happy Hour and Sunday Brunch events through social media, email and SMS campaigns. In addition, with a large customer database, the restaurant launched birthday campaigns as a part of customer retention strategy. The Results After implementing these marketing strategies, the project resulted in: Growing the customer base from zero to 4000 in 6 months Increasing foot traffic by 126% Increasing organic reach by 524% A 48% increase in online orders Appearing as Google’s number one search result for the “Best Food Truck in Orlando”, “Mexican and Portuguese Restaurant in Orlando” and “Best Restaurant in Orlando”. 9. Consagous Technologies Case Study: ProDaddy – Pregnancy Guide App for the Daddy to Be The client wanted to create an app for daddies-to-be. An app that would help fathers by offering daily or weekly tips, product recommendations and pregnancy news. The client wanted a unique design but simple and smooth navigation through the app so users can find what they need easily. About the Project The client approached Consagous Technologies, a digital agency with headquarters in India and international offices in the US, Mexico, Australia, and UAE which specializes in app design and development. Consagous Technologies developed ProDaddy – an app that will make pregnancy less daunting and stress-free for all first-time daddies. To make the first user experience as simple as possible, they developed an interactive onboarding tutorial that visually describes the basic app functions. What is more, they integrated Google ads, push notifications and analytics, as well as creating an Apple store icon based on the brand logo. Features Weekly pregnancy tips Baby care products Doctor-approved tips and health information Weight and blood pressure tracker Diet, exercise and labor information Details on insurance and medication 10. Appetite Creative Case Study: Ben and Jerry’s Web App Ben and Jerry’s wanted to create a campaign for their new product – chewy cookies with vanilla ice cream & chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough. The challenge was not only to promote the launch but encourage users to claim their £2 vouchers and be able to identify who downloaded them. About the Project To gather as much information by creating something that users would actually use, Ben and Jerry’s hired Appetite Creative – an expert in app development, 3D production and animation with international offices in Spain, UK and UAE. They created a fun animated web app where uses could claim their coupons by signing up with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or email. In addition, to help Ben and Jerry’s to get the needed data, Appetite Creative created a database that could be downloaded either as a CSV or a Google document. Results As a result, a record number of users downloaded the app and the company was finally able to tell who redeemed the coupons, as well as received the user engagement data. 11. Chimera Prime Case Study: Crowdsourcing Data to Fight Air Pollution With a Mobile App Poland has is fighting against one of the most harmful phenomena of modern civilization – air pollution. According to the WHO, 33 of the 50 most polluted cities in the European Union are in Poland and almost 50,000 people die prematurely because of it. The main reasons behind the high level of air pollutions are: Transport – a common problem in large cities Coal-based energy economy – Poland is one of the few EU countries that still invest in this source of energy Heating houses – 50% of air pollution is caused by heating the houses with low quality of fuel used by homeowners who often utilize poisonous materials About the Project There are several services and apps on the market that aggregate data from air sensors such as Airly – a company that measures the air quality based on a network of sensors. However, Chimera Prime, a Norwegian agency with offices in Norway and Poland that specializes in app design and 3D animation, decided to take a different approach and find a solution using crowdsourcing. They built Kopci – an app that collects user reports and labels the places with the highest emission of pollutants. With this data, they could create a map of areas that needed immediate support so people who live there are aware of how harmful their actions can be. The technical challenge that the team from Chimera Prime faced was the quality of data collected. Considering that anyone could report smog in a certain area, there is a possibility of misinformation. To deal with this issue, they developed algorithms to give weight to particular reports, and less to others, and avoids the usage of poor-quality data. Results So far, Kopci is the only platform of this kind operating in Poland. Users have already sent many emails and reported areas that consist of high levels of smog and polluted air. 12. Album Agency Case Study: Too Faced + Album Branding Partnership With its challenging four-season release schedule, the beauty industry demands lots of creativity and originality. Therefore, Too Faced hired Album Agency, a US-based digital agency with expertise in branding and content marketing, to help meet those criteria and develop a marketing strategy for their business. About the Project To help Too Faced with their creative process, Album Agency designed over 200 unique product packages, in-store displays, promotional posters, email blasts and magazine ads. They even designed and built the toofaced.com website with a custom e-commerce engine. In addition, they did seasonal promotions, integrated email campaigns, as well as quarterly updates. Results When Album Agency first teamed up with Too Faced, their annual sales were close to $2 million. In 5 years, sales hit $80 million and Too Faced created a cosmetic empire. “We don’t take all the credit for it, but we guarantee the image-driven cosmetic industry hinges heavily on successful branding” – says Album Agency. 13. Async-labs Case Study: Guide and Results of Testing Images with Facebook’s Dynamic Creative! About the Project Considering the importance of advertising business on social media, Async Labs, a Croatian digital agency that specializes in social media advertising, branding and content marketing, decided to use its knowledge and test Facebook ads. They wanted to test the amount of text and title on a single photo so they took the same photo and created three versions. The first picture didn’t have any content, the second one had one sentence and the third one had text that contained more than 20% of the whole picture (Facebook had restrictions on ads that included more than 20% text in the main image. Choosing the right approach to advertising is crucial as it will bring the best results for the business, so Async Labs used Facebook Dynamic Creative to find out which version will be the most efficient. Results Async Labs gathered the results and revealed which ad was the best option for advertising on Facebook. The picture with more than 20% of text performed the worst, although the cost was lowest ($0.12 to reach 1,000 people). Overall reach was 2,299 while impressions were 5,296. The picture without text reached 4,672 people and had 22,455 impressions. The cost was $0.24 to reach 1,000 people. The picture with one sentence reached 9,371 people and had 102,017 impressions. Although it had the highest cost ($0.65 to reach 1,000 people) it still had the best results and was certainly a winning choice. 14. Pace Social Media Case Study: Fashion Nova Brand Analysis Considering Fashion Nova is one of the most popular companies in the fashion industry and has millions of followers on social media, you as well might be one of them. The reason is the number of effective influencer marketing campaigns that Fashion Nova runs on Instagram. Pace Social Media, a US-based digital agency that specializes in branding and e-commerce, decided to analyze their success. Cardi B, Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, Amber Rose, Blac Chyna and Tana Mongeau are just some of the influencers that have taken part in a campaign for the brand. In addition, Fashion Nova’s founder and CEO, Richard Saghian revealed that they work with 3,000 – 5,000 influencers in total. What is more, Richard Saghian claimed that even three-quarters of customers return to the site within 90 days. To meet the high demand, the company adds 400 or 500 new items to the site weekly. Three years after launching the online store, Fashion Nova reached 6 million Instagram followers. In addition, its followers constantly tag the company in their selfies and outfit pictures while the brand reposts about 30 customers’ pictures per week. Conclusions As a marketing agency, Pace Social Media knows that it’s very important to keep up with demand and create new content. Moreover, if a brand is based on quality, that brand should have customer reviews that will confirm that same quality. It is crucial to build trust between the brand and its customers. In the end, that is how they helped their client gain close to $12M in revenue. 15. Complex Creative Case Study: Britain’s Next Top Model Digital Campaign Britain’s Next Top Model is a British reality show where a group of women competes for the title of a Top Model and a chance to start their career in the fashion and modeling industry. It is based on the American television reality show American Top Model and part of the Top Model franchise. About the Project Complex Creative, a UK-based digital agency that specializes in branding and content marketing, was asked to be a huge part of this project. They produced the whole digital campaign and ensured that the show’s website had the best UI/UX (User experience and interface design) for thousands of daily users engaged with a show. What is more, they managed the show’s social media and created email marketing campaigns. In addition, Complex Creative edited video clips for social media and provided live commentary for the live show.