How We Used Narrative to Increase Audience Reach by 40%: An IAC Case Study

For each of the 10+ branded content series, we developed a core narrative concept. But we didn't go all-in on production right away. Instead, we created a "pilot episode"—a single, powerful video that established the series' tone, characters, and core value proposition.

As Creative Director, I led the strategy from ideation through production. This involved creating treatments and lookbooks, crafting campaign narratives, and ensuring every "pilot" was aligned with the specific brand's goals.

Instead of ending our pilot with a hard "Buy Now," we ended it with a narrative hook, teasing what was coming next in the series. The call-to-action was softer: "Follow along for the next episode." This was designed to convert a viewer into a subscriber, not just a one-time clicker.

This is where our narrative approach integrated with performance marketing. We used paid social and video platforms not to blast a single message, but to run a sequential, episodic ad campaign.

• Audience Targeting: We would start by targeting a broad, top-of-funnel audience with our "pilot episode."‍
• Sequential Retargeting: This was the core of the strategy. Anyone who watched 50% or more of the "pilot" was then automatically added to a retargeting pool. This pool was then served "Episode 2" a few days later. Those who watched Episode 2 were served Episode 3, and so on.

• The "Conversion" Episode: The final episode in the sequence was the one that contained the stronger, bottom-of-funnel call-to-action (e.g., "Download the app," "Start your free trial").

This model transformed our ad campaign from a series of interruptions into a welcome, serialized story. Our audience wasn't being targeted; they were being treated to the next chapter of a story they had already opted into.

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We used the performance data from our "pilot episodes" to make smart, strategic decisions about the rest of the series.

• We didn't just look at Click-Through Rate (CTR). We obsessed over Video Completion Rate (VCR) and Audience Retention Graphs. These metrics told us if the story was working.

• A pilot with a high VCR got the greenlight for a full "season" of episodes. A pilot with a significant audience drop-off at the 15-second mark was a signal that our hook was wrong.
• This data-informed creative process allowed us to de-risk our investment. We stopped guessing what our audience wanted to watch and started listening to what their viewing habits were telling us. We only doubled down on the stories that had already proven their ability to hold attention.

By treating our performance marketing as a storytelling platform, we achieved a powerful synthesis of brand-building and direct-response. The results demonstrated that an engaging narrative is the most effective way to drive measurable action.

• Audience Reach Increased by 40%: The episodic model proved to be a powerful engine for growth. By focusing on retaining viewers from one episode to the next, our campaigns built a cumulative audience over time. This approach dramatically outperformed previous, disconnected "one-off" video ads, leading to a portfolio-wide 40% increase in audience reach.

• The sequential retargeting strategy was incredibly effective. By the time a viewer saw the final "conversion" episode, they weren't a cold lead; they were a warm, engaged fan. They understood the brand's value proposition because they had been on a journey with us. This deep engagement led to a 35% improvement in conversion rates compared to campaigns that used a single, hard-sell video.

• The high quality of the creative and the impressive results of the campaigns earned recognition from respected outlets like Bon Appétit. This provided valuable third-party validation that further boosted the credibility and reach of our work.

The most significant outcome was the creation of a scalable and repeatable playbook for launching and growing new content brands. We moved away from a high-risk, project-by-project approach and developed a data-informed system for building loyal audiences. This model proved to the organization that investing in high-quality, narrative-driven content was not a luxury; it was the most effective and efficient path to sustainable growth. We didn't just make ads; we built an audience asset.

In video marketing, the click is a false god. The most valuable metric in the early stages of a campaign is attention. A high Video Completion Rate is a far better indicator of a story's resonance than a high Click-Through Rate on a deceptive thumbnail. If you can hold their attention, you will eventually earn their click.

A great narrative campaign is not about slapping a story on top of a pre-existing marketing funnel. The funnel itself must be architected with a narrative structure. The top-of-funnel ad is your "inciting incident." The mid-funnel retargeting is your "rising action." The bottom-of-funnel conversion is your "climax." When you map the user journey to a story structure, your marketing becomes exponentially more effective.

The best creative leaders don't see data as a report card from another department. They see it as a collaborative partner in the creative process. The data tells you where your story is dragging, where your audience is confused, and where your message is truly landing. Learning to listen to that data is like learning to take notes from the world's most honest and insightful producer.

This project was a definitive proof point in my career. It showed that the perceived conflict between the storytellers and the quants is a myth. The most powerful marketing isn't born from choosing one over the other, but from creating a seamless fusion of the two.