The Task

The Isle of Man TT is one of the most famous road racing events in the world, taking place annually
on the Isle of Man. Held since 1907, the TT has a rich legacy which is supported by motorcycle fans
across the globe.

Launched in 2022 following research into the Isle of Man TT audience, TT+ is a free-to-subscribe
platform which provides access to a host of content including podcasts, interview series, and
exclusive videos. In addition, the platform also hosts the first ever and only live broadcast of the
races. Fans around the world are now able to watch every qualifying session and race through TT+
by purchasing a TT+ Live Pass.

Our Approach

Using Programmatic to Get Results

The campaign was split into three phases utilising the following channel mix: META, Google Search,
YouTube, and Programmatic Display. Some of these channels were chosen based on data from the
previous years campaign, whilst programmatic display was selected due to the scale of high-quality
audiences we can reach through global data providers.

Our primary locations were the UK and Ireland, our secondary locations were Australia, New Zealand, and the US (which we grouped together), and European countries France, Germany, Italy, and Spain
(also grouped together).

Phase 1 – Programmatic Retargeting and Reengage

The focus on phase 1 was reengaging with our ‘hot’ audiences; those who purchased and subscribed to the TT+ pass last year, users who are free subscribers that have yet to convert, and individuals who have engaged with the website and social channels.

On META we created a number of retargeting audiences utilising CRM data, social engagement,
website visitors, along with lookalike audiences. Due to their effectiveness at driving awareness
through the power of movement, sound, and visual, we ran with video ads customised for each
format (in-stream, reels, stories, and feed placements). Similar to META, programmatic focused on
retargeting. We used a blend of CRM data and pixel-based data to give us a greater user match, allowing us to target a higher volume of relevant users who were more likely to end up subscribing than traditional pixel-based retargeting alone.

Phase 2 – Widen our Targeting with Prospecting Campaigns.

As we got closer to the event, we increased our media spend and introduced new targeting and
channels, including Google Search.

On META, we expanded our audience to our two defined groups which we called ‘Sports Addicts’ and
‘Petrol Heads’, utilising the interest targeting capabilities of the platform. We implemented single-
image ads for our retargeting campaigns and a content-led ad for our European audiences based on
data from the previous year.

As increasing reach was an important factor during this phase, we utilised several third-party data
segments and activated prospecting across multiple environments and devices to help push for those all-important subscriptions.

Phase 3 – Optimise and Drive Final Conversions.

Our third and final phase began just before the event kicked-off. We took our learnings from
previous phases in terms of channel performance, audience engagement, effectiveness of formats
and applied this to our campaigns in order to drive final conversions at a cost-effective result. We
adapted our copy across all channels to incorporate a sense of urgency, with an automated
countdown implemented on Google search.

To optimise our programmatic activity, we analysed a number of key data points to include creative
sizes, domains, and inventory supply sources, which was successful in helping us further decrease our
campaign CPA.

See our Programmatic Advertising Superpower.

The Results

Utilising our multi-channel approach, we were able to hit our campaign subscription target for the volume of TT+ paid live passes sold, and at an impressive overall cost per result, which was below our CPA target.

In addition, we successfully promoted the TT+ platform and contributed to the goal of growing its global fan base by achieving over 45,000 TT+ free subscribers.

The campaign produced strong results and through analysis of the data we have produced some key
learnings which we hope will drive further success and higher subscription levels for the client in the future.