At GIPHY, we’re acutely aware of the power of GIFs as a marketing tool. Not only are GIFs an engaging way for brands to reach users in typically ad-free, closed-off chats, but they’re also, as a recent GIPHY case study with MUG Root Beer found, a proven way to drive up sales.
In 2024, MUG teamed up with GIPHY Ads to drive sales for their iconic root beer. Working with the brand’s mascot, Dog, MUG built a breadth of content through a custom in-studio shoot, bringing the brand into evergreen and tentpole moments, creating a MUG moment for every conversation. MUG’s campaign delivered the best-performing takeover in GIPHY history, resulting in a double-digit engagement rate and a 4.1% lift in sales.
Want to know the nuts-and-bolts of creating ads that people share? Here’s a breakdown of our Mug Root Beer case study.
The Goal
With their campaign, MUG sought to increase sales of their root beer by extending its playful tone from owned social to the center of conversations through a partnership with GIPHY. Leveraging the brand’s authentic voice and engaged audience was key in creating a series of GIFs that was sure to resonate with the MUG community.
The GIPHY Ads Solution
By leaning heavily into MUG’s unhinged personality, paired with first-party insights around our audience, GIPHY developed a creative approach that turned MUG’s brand message into a shareable message.
We brought their mascot, Dog, into our studio to capture a plethora of GIF and Sticker content, aligning with popular culture, audience interests, MUG vernacular, and more.
Leaning heavily into key takeovers of the GIPHY Trending Feed through the campaign, there was a MUG Moment for every conversation.
Here’s what PepsiCo Manager Terrence McLaughlin had to say about the campaign:
“Mug’s unique personality and tone shined through on GIPHY. This authentic integration into the platform helped deliver strong results.”
Results
MUG and GIPHY inspired bold and spirited conversations leading up to the end of the year through more than 60+ custom creatives. Not only was the Thanksgiving Takeover the best-performing takeover in GIPHY history with 13.5 times the engagement rate of the benchmark, but we also ran our first-ever sales lift study with MUG in partnership with Adrsta AI.
With a 4.1% increase in sales and a significant lift in brand awareness, we not only created a positive association with the brand but ultimately drove an uptick in sales of MUG. Our sales lift case study also found that 66% of takeovers drove a lift in sales within 1–3 days.
Want to create ads that people love to share? Get started at ads.giphy.com.
