Four campaigns, measured against a control
Run the campaign in some stores, leave others untouched, report the difference. Every figure below is the company's own.
New Amsterdam Vodka
E.J. Gallo Wine · Phoenix, Arizona · December 2017 – January 2018
The company: stores advertising on the walls “outer performed the rest of stores throughout the campaign.”
| Period | With screens | Without | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2017 | +14% | +6% | 8 pts |
| January 2018 — with in-store promotion | +43% | +31% | 12 pts |
| February 2018 — campaign ended | +20% | not published | — |
- Baseline setNovember 2017
- Creative:15 spot
- FrequencyAverage 21 airings per hour
- Retail supportIn-store promotion, final 4 weeks
- Not publishedImpressions, screen count, creative
12%
“12% Additional Sales Lift”. Its own body text says 14% for the first month. Both are shown.
The lift more than tripled when a physical in-store promotion was paired with the screens in month two. The company read that as screens creating awareness and the promotion converting it.
The Arizona Lottery
98 Circle K stores · 4 weeks · no promotion attached
The company: “an average weekly sales increase of 18% in these stores compared to a 9.8% increase in the stores without screens.”
| Measure | With screens | Without |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly sales increase | +18% | +9.8% |
| Additional lift | +8.2% | |
The company drew a conclusion about when the network works: the results show “the significant impact of the screens for a campaign advertising an already established brand, and not offering a special promotion.” It also noted the lottery came back: “Since this initial test, the Arizona Lottery has utilized our screens for a variety of branding and promotional campaigns.”
- PromotionNone — explicitly noted
- Repeat businessYes, per the company
- Not publishedMarkets, baseline period, creative
8.2%
The difference between the two columns — and the one figure in the archive where the arithmetic reconciles exactly.
With no promotion running and 98 stores in the control group, this is the strongest of the four tests.
Joker Mad Energy
Circle K, launching its own product on the network it hosts
The company: “Stores advertising Joker Mad Energy on The Circle K Digital Network saw an average of 177% weekly sales increase compared to 140% in stores without screens.”
| Measure | With screens | Without |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly sales increase | +177% | +140% |
| Additional lift | +37% | |
- DurationNot published
- Store countNot published
- Market and dateNot published
37%
“37% Additional Sales Lift”
A 177% rise is a launch effect — a new product going onto a shelf from near zero — not a mature product growing. With no date, store count or duration published, this is the thinnest of the four.
Tempe Tanning Co.
3 Circle K stores · 52 weeks · no other marketing running
The company: the business “displayed their business on the video walls in 3 Circle K stores for 52 weeks. Their campaign resulted in a 44% increase in direct navigation traffic to their website.”
| Measure | Change | Compared with |
|---|---|---|
| Direct navigation to the website | +44% | The period before the campaign |
| Sales | +21% | The previous year |
“Direct navigation” means people typing the business name into a browser rather than arriving from a search or an ad — the behaviour a screen in a store should produce.
- Other marketingNone running
- MarketNot published
- Control groupNone — before-and-after only
44%
“44% Website Traffic Increase & 21% Sales Increase”
The weakest method of the four: no control stores, and a comparison against the previous year. The owner's testimonial is on this page.
Side by side
All four at a glance
| Campaign | Stores | Length | Headline lift | Control group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Amsterdam Vodka | 41 | 8 weeks | 12% | Yes — 6% / 31% |
| The Arizona Lottery | 98 | 4 weeks | 8.2% | Yes — 9.8% |
| Joker Mad Energy | Not published | Not published | 37% | Yes — 140% |
| Tempe Tanning Co. | 3 | 52 weeks | 44% / 21% | No |
What buyers said
Four testimonials — and one empty slot
“The Circle K Digital Network provides an innovative opportunity to extend The Advertising Council's critical public service advertising. We are pleased to partner with 33 Degrees to make a difference and help change behavior for the common good in hundreds of local communities.”
“We have been in business for 4 years. Our new customer counts, web traffic and sales have dramatically increased since we joined the Circle K program. It's the only form of marketing we're doing, so we know it's working!”
“The 33 Degrees Digital Network has made a significant impact to branding our business in our local market. It has helped us reach customers we previously struggled to get in front of, and now they are knocking on our door.”
“We found the 33 Degrees Digital Network effective, engaging, and the perfect target for our audience — right down to the zip code.”
“GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT… TESTIMONIAL COMING SOON”
Three of the four carry a name or an organisation; the fourth is attributed only to a role. Two concern the same business, so the set is three advertisers plus one media partner.
Caveats
Where the numbers do not hold up
12% or 14%
The New Amsterdam case study's headline says “12% Additional Sales Lift”. Two lines later its own body text reports “an immediate 14% lift” in the first month, and the newsletter gives the same 14%. Nothing explains where 12% comes from. Both are shown.
What was never published
No impressions, no screen counts, no redemption data, no return on ad spend, and no quote attributed to any advertiser's marketing team. Every number here is the network's own measurement of its own product.
The method, stated plainly. Set a baseline before the campaign, run screens in some stores, leave others alone over the same weeks, publish both. That is a sound design — and it is incomplete: the company never published how control stores were matched to test stores, or whether the lift persisted.
The market argument behind it
Why liquor, why convenience stores, and what the data said.