KOSE is thrilled to announce it has received a Bronze Shorty Award for its groundbreaking campaign for the Minnesota Department of Health, designed to inspire Minnesotans to get updated COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. This campaign addressed the urgent need for public health action amidst COVID fatigue and vaccine hesitancy, resulting in a 28% statewide increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates and national recognition for its creative strategy and impact.

“We are incredibly proud of this achievement and the impact of this campaign,” said Nicole Newville, KOSE Founder and CEO. “Winning a Shorty Award underscores the power of creative, data-driven public health messaging. By listening to the needs of Minnesotans and crafting messages that were simple, optimistic, and culturally relevant, we were able to turn what seemed like an overwhelming challenge into an opportunity to make a real difference.”

KOSE partnered with Friends & Neighbors and Red Comma on these key strategies:

• High-impact placements on TV, radio, Connected TV, and social media.
• Tailored messaging for older adults, children, and multicultural communities.
• Engaging, text-driven video animations with a 60% video completion rate.

The winning entry can be viewed here.

If you’re interested in learning more about KOSE and how our media experts can drive your business objectives, we’re here to help. Complete this form today. 

With an increased focus on growth as well as a continued emphasis on exceptional client relations, KOSE , an award-winning, Minneapolis-based, digital-first media agency, announces the promotion of Joe King to the role of President.

King is an agency veteran who has spent his career in integrated ad agencies successfully leading teams on an impressive range of brands. He has led work for iconic brands such as Google, Molson Coors, Alfa Romeo, the NHL, Loews Hotel Group, Advance Auto Parts, BlueCross BlueShield, Harvard Business School, and Sam’s Club, amongst several others. Earlier in his career, King lived in Amsterdam and worked at the agency 180 where he led the global adidas account including their massive digitally-led World Cup campaign. He also spent several years working on General Motors and Harley-Davidson.

As President, King will oversee business development and client relationship management. In addition, he will work closely with the executive team to implement strategic initiatives that drive growth and ensure agency profitability, while also helping to ensure the success and growth of the agency team.

King joined KOSE in 2022. “I was drawn to the agency for its data-driven approach paired with an appreciation for creativity. When these two powers come together, they become a true differentiator in marketing.” King said. Since then, he has built account management functions and systems, improving communication between marketing, creative, and media teams. These systems support large and small campaigns, as well as train staff, and effectively leverage project management software. King has successfully managed this process, all while keeping in mind the agency goal of delivering value at every turn by unleashing the power of integrated marketing for our clients.

“The time is right for this organizational change and Joe has the experience in developing growth action plans and an understanding of our clients’ needs to lead this effort,” said Nicole Newville, Founder and CEO. “With him taking on the responsibilities of the business, I can focus on the next phase for KOSE. That includes leading and strengthening the agency’s strategic and analytical offerings as well as staying ahead of market advancements and industry trends.”

“I’m honored to step into this role at KOSE and am looking forward to building on the success that Nicole and our talented team have already accomplished,” said King.

If you’re interested in learning more about KOSE and how our media experts can drive your business objectives, we’re here to help. Complete this form today. 

Key Takeaways:

• Human creativity and expertise remain valuable.
• AI-modified ads resonate with younger generations.
• Different strategies are needed for different audiences.

Earlier this year, Meta introduced its’ Advantage+ creative feature. Meta describes it as a feature that can help organizations reach people with the right ad at the right time. According to Meta’s Business Help Center, “Different ad variations are automatically created based on creative inputs, ad setup, and placement selections. Meta then makes adjustments to increase the quality and appeal of the image or video provided. Creative enhancements may include modifying brightness or contrast as well varying the aspect ratios or applying artistic filters.”

Well, we wanted to see what would happen when we ran our own test campaign using the Advantage+ creative features. The objective of the test was to determine the impact of Advantage+ optimizations on Cost-per-Click (CPC), as well as to identify which creative – human-created or Advantage+ optimized, would better engage our audience. 

We developed two static ads, and a video for creative assets, and used the following approach: We ran a Meta A/B test with two different ad sets, and kept all other settings like audience, budget, and placements, etc. identical between the ad sets.

• Ad Set 1; Advantage+ optimizations were disabled (human-created control group)
• Ad Set 2: Advantage+ optimizations were enabled (test group)

Advantage+ Examples

In the ads below, Advantage+ uses features like the Overlay and Varying Aspect Ratio to highlight various parts of the ad and adjust focal points. However, these adjustments can lead to issues such as loss of context, distorted images, and repetitive headlines. See how Advantage+ rendered new ads here.

What we found

We were surprised by some of our findings.  Initially it appeared that our human-designed control ads generally outperformed the AI-powered Advantage+ ads.  

• 11% higher click-through rate (CTR)
• 12% lower cost per link click (CPLC)
• 22% lower cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

But when we dug into the data and looked at performance by age we saw a very different story emerge. 

• Younger adults (25-34) were more likely to respond to the Advantage+ ads
  • 58% higher click-thru rate CTR 
  • 25% lower CPLC with Adults 25-34 
• Among all Adults 35+, the control ads produced a lower CPLC, and a 25% higher CTR among Adults 35-64. This indicates a preference for more traditional, polished advertising messages among older audiences.

If you’re curious about how new developments and platform changes affect your marketing strategies, we’re here to help. Complete this form today to connect with our experts.