Sprite x Gan.AI: Contextually personalized YouTube ads

The Customer

Sprite, the iconic lemon and lime-flavored beverage from the Coca-Cola Company, is known for its refreshing taste and clever advertising campaigns that resonate with younger audiences. Sprite’s branding often revolves around themes of relaxation and unwinding, making it a go-to choice for teens and young adults looking to take a break from their hectic lives.

Industry: Beverages (FMCG)

Founded: 1961, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Website: https://www.sprite.com/

Key Results

• Hyper-Personalized Engagement: Over 200 unique videos were generated to align with viewers' activities and timing, resulting in highly relevant ad experiences.
  
  
• Long-Form Personalization: Each ad featured a personalized sentence, not just a simple name drop, enhancing the sense of connection with the viewer.
  
  
• Context-Aware Targeting: The ads were dynamically delivered based on the user's search behavior and the time of day, making them contextually aware and uniquely engaging.
  
  
• Extended Brand Lore: Sprite expanded the creative elements of their existing TV campaign into a dynamic format, creating a cohesive and immersive brand experience

The Challenge

Sprite aimed to build upon its existing TV campaign featuring Vedang Raina by creating a more immersive and engaging digital experience. The goal was to connect with teens in a way that felt personal and timely, aligning Sprite’s message with the moments when the audience was most likely to resonate with the idea of chilling out.

The Solution

To bring this vision to life, Sprite collaborated with Studio by Gan.AI to develop personalized YouTube pre-roll ads. The campaign involved creating a hyper-realistic digital AI avatar of Vedang Raina, which allowed Sprite to deliver end-to-end personalized messages. These messages were tailored based on two key long-form variables: the viewer’s activity (derived from their YouTube search behavior) and the specific time of day.

The Campaign

Sprite’s campaign was a unique blend of creativity and technology, expanding the narrative of their existing TV ad into a personalized digital ad. Here’s how the personalization worked:

Each ad was crafted to match the viewer's most recent search queries, making it contextually aware and relevant. For example, if a user searched for gaming content at 10 PM, they would receive a tailored message like, "It’s 10 o'clock, time to start your gaming session. Chill with Sprite," seamlessly aligning Sprite’s brand message with the viewer’s mindset

1. Avatar and Personalization Development: Sprite recorded over 10 minutes of footage to create a hyper-realistic digital avatar of Vedang Raina. This AI-driven avatar allowed the brand to deliver consistent, high-quality messages that appeared natural and engaging.
   
   
2. Dynamic Long-Form Personalization: The ads featured long-form personalization in their messaging, with entire sentences tailored to the user's context rather than simply inserting a name or a word. Each of the 200+ unique videos combined a specific phrase and time-of-day reference to directly relate to the recipient's current activity.
   
   
3. Activity-Based Personalization: The ads were meticulously designed to reflect nine different activity categories based on the user's YouTube search behavior:‍
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   • Game: "Time to start your gaming session."
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   • ‍Social: "Time to finally post your vacation pics."
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   • ‍Music: "Time to vibe to your music."
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   • ‍Movie: "Time to host a movie night."‍
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   • Food: "Time to grab a bite."
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   • Travel: "Time to book your next holiday."
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   • Tech: "Time to update your tech skills."
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   • Comedy: "Time to scroll through funny videos."‍
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   • TV: "Time to catch the latest series."
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4. ‍Timed Personalization: Sprite’s ads were not just activity-specific but also adapted to the exact time of day, making the content feel more immediate and personalized. This context-aware strategy helped reinforce the idea of Sprite as the perfect companion for unwinding at any moment.
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5. Extensive Variation in Messaging: With over 200 unique video combinations generated, each ad delivered a distinct phrase and time combo that kept the content fresh and personalized for the viewer, maximizing engagement and preventing repetition fatigue.

Production

Studio by Gan.AI generated over 200 unique video ads, each with varying phrases to reflect the viewer’s time and activity combination. The use of the hyper-realistic avatar ensured that the personalization was seamless, with Vedang Raina delivering each message in his natural voice and with lip-sync.

How It Works

1. Generated Ads: a library of over 200 personalized video ads was generated. Each about 5 seconds long and included a specific combination of time and activity, ensuring that every possible scenario was covered.
   
   
2. Contextual Ad Delivery: The ads were then matched to the viewer based on their YouTube search behavior and the current time of day, providing a highly relevant and engaging experience.
   
   
3. Hyper-Realistic Avatar: The digital avatar of Vedang Raina played a crucial role in delivering these personalized messages, with precise lip-syncing and voice cloning that made each interaction feel genuine and direct.
   
   
4. Strategic Ad Placement: These personalized videos were served as pre-roll ads on YouTube, ensuring that the viewer encountered content that directly spoke to their current interest, increasing engagement rates.

Delivery Method

The personalized YouTube ads were strategically delivered as pre-roll videos:

• Timing Relevance: By synchronizing the ads with the specific time of day, Sprite made sure the message was contextually aligned with the viewer’s routine.
  
  
• Activity-Based Targeting: Ads were tailored to match the viewer's specific interests, based on their search history, ensuring that the content was always engaging and relevant.

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