Overview
Many brands treat creative and media buying as two separate disciplines, owned by two different teams, and measured by two different scorecards. That split is often where performance quietly breaks down. An ad doesn’t solely fail because of poor creative; it can also fail because it reaches the wrong audience or runs on inventory nobody was really looking at.
A recent MAGNA report found that creative drives up to 56% of purchase intent, while media placement and targeting account for the remaining 44%, meaning both are essential levers for breaking through the noise and driving results.
That alignment matters even more as 83% of digital media experts say brand safety will be an increasing concern as digital video ad volume grows. Bold creative can earn attention, but if it runs on the wrong inventory, that moment can just as easily undercut the brand it was meant to build.
That’s why Big Happy and Index Exchange partnered with a major beverage brand on the launch of a new product for convenience store shoppers. The goal was to increase awareness, excitement, and purchase intent with creative bold enough to earn a second look. To do that, the creative needed to run on high-quality supply, curated to maximize attention and protect the brand behind it.
Solution
Big Happy builds bold creative and tap-to-explore experiences designed to earn more than a glance. For this launch, it developed creative that showcased the product and directed shoppers to nearby participating stores. The tap-to-expand mobile experience then delivered a direct path to purchase.
Big Happy activated the campaign through Index Marketplaces, combining immersive creative with curated, signal-rich supply selected to drive performance.
With direct access to premium inventory free of made-for-advertising (MFA) sites, Big Happy had confidence in the quality of every impression while retaining the flexibility to curate supply aligned to the campaign’s goals.
Powered by Index’s sell-side decisioning capabilities, Index Marketplaces helps surface high-value opportunities upstream, before they reach the buy side. This allows marketers to evaluate more signals closer to the impression and prioritize impressions with the greatest potential to turn attention into action.
Results
By pairing bespoke 3D creative built for attention with quality, curated inventory built for performance, the campaign gave every impression a real chance to convert interest into real-world outcomes. The results included:
- 31.5 Seconds spent with the creative unit on average, 26% above Big Happy benchmarks
- 0.49% Tap-to-map expansion rate
- 91% Video completion rate
It’s proof that eye-catching, bespoke creative and premium supply aren’t separate ingredients. Together, they compound to drive lasting success.
“While partnering with Index Exchange, we’ve consistently seen high-quality traffic, strong engagement, and solid conversion performance. Index Marketplaces gives us the control and flexibility to curate premium, signal-rich inventory that we know can scale. On top of that, the partnership helps us maximize the value of our media investment, creating positive outcomes for both Big Happy and our clients.”
Leo Kwan, Director of Programmatic
Big Happy
See how you can ensure quality while driving real-world outcomes with sell-side decisioning. Explore Index Marketplaces today.
