Disney x SmileDirectClub

Client: SmileDirectClub

SmileDirectClub has been a key collaborator for Disney over the last 4 years, growing its investment year over year since 2017. This past summer, Disney’s Advertising Sales Research team scoped out a first-to-market measurement opportunity for SmileDirectClub to connect how upper funnel metrics influence lower funnel action. 

Disney and SmileDirectClub built a campaign to drive consumer action through increased brand favorability. By taking an upper funnel approach, SmileDirectClub sought to differentiate itself from competitors, increasing brand favorability, and driving consumer clicks to the website. To capitalize on the vast scale of fully addressable audiences at Disney, the team utilized Hulu and Disney XP, a unified ad product offering which seamlessly leverages Disney brands, to reach consumers across all content and all devices throughout the day.

The research, conducted in collaboration with Lucid & Disqo, measured the effectiveness of the digital campaign in driving brand preference, awareness, and improved perceptions for SmileDirectClub; and there was an overwhelming increase across every KPI. The creative moved the needle for brand favorability and consideration, as well as key brand perceptions. It took only one exposure for consumers to recognize SmileDirectClub as an affordable option for clear aligners. More specifically, the campaign was the most effective among the key demographic of millennials (ages 25-44), especially when looking at consumer behavior; both the A25-34 and A35-44 audiences saw significant increases in website visits. Disney and SmileDirectClub strategically built a direct-to-consumer campaign, and successfully driving engagements through building awareness and brand perception.