STIHL Inc. recognizes the role weather plays in consumers’ lives and developed a targeted weather-driven paid social strategy. The campaign leveraged artificial intelligence to deploy targeted social ads to inform consumers on the best time to maximize their outdoor projects and prepare their yards for different types of weather.
According to the Fall 2022 Behavior Survey from The Weather Company, eight-in-10 people say summer and fall weather impacts their lawn and garden projects. To support communities impacted by extreme seasonal weather, STIHL aimed to serve up relevant pre-storm prep reminders and post-storm cleanup tips and the campaign was born.
The goals of the campaign were to:
The campaign activated video ads during current and forecasted “Clear Skies,” “Warm & Sunny,” “No Precipitation” and “Inclement” weather conditions. Using the Weather Targeting AI solution from The Weather Company, STIHL delivered videos based on the weather, at a zip-code level, providing relevant and timely advice and tutorials that supported consumers and local communities during key weather moments. STIHL shared these videos beginning in May 2023 and ran them through the end of November 2023, a time when weather seriously impacts lawn and garden maintenance.
The campaign provided planting tips during ideal weather, advice on keeping trees healthy during a drought or reminders to check for cracks in tree trunks and limbs when a storm was in the forecast. The content also suggested specific types of STIHL equipment for different jobs, explained how to use the tools properly and helped consumers determine when they should call a professional.
While we experienced no major hurdles or challenges along the way, we did need to navigate working with two different parties to bring this campaign to fruition - The Weather Company and Meta. It was important we collaborated closely, especially when troubleshooting issues within the Meta Ads Manager platform.
We also identified areas of opportunity to improve future campaigns:
By activating video assets via both current and forecasted “Clear Skies,” “Warm & Sunny” and “No Precipitation” weather triggers across Meta, STIHL saw improved ad performance year over year. Most significant were video completion rates, which increased by 113%. Reach increased by 61%, link clicks increased by 3%, and traffic increased to the company’s website, www.stihlusa.com, with visitors spending more than a minute on-site for additional inspiration and tips (a whopping 320% increase YoY via pre-storm weather triggers). The stats indicate that this content deeply resonated with the STIHL audience, as they spent above-average time viewing and engaging with it.
