Facebook launches new shopping format

Global brands Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger are among the first names to use Facebook’s newly launched shopping ad format, which incorporates creative media into product pages when selling.

The social media giant said the new platform, dubbed ‘collection’, increases the “likelihood of discovery and a purchase” by featuring a primary creative video or image above relevant product images.

Global sports brand, Adidas, said it used the platform to drive sales for its a new garment and complementary products, and saw a 5.3x return on ad spend

“We used collection to showcase a video highlighting the technical features of the Z.N.E. Road Trip Hoodie,” said Rebecca Watts, performance marketing senior specialist, Adidas.

“People who tapped on the ad were instantly taken to a full-screen shopping experience that included complementary Adidas products to complete the look.

Meanwhile, American fashion brand, Tommy Hilfiger, said the platform creates a consumer experience that reflects how current generations of digital natives interact with their favorite brands. The fashion brand said it used the platform to for a marketing campaign targeting smartphones and saw a 2.2x higher return on ad spend.

“Our mission was to democratise the runway and make every look immediately available to all consumers worldwide,” said Avery Baker, chief brand officer, Tommy Hilfiger.

“We took our video assets to the next level, through integrating shopping functionality. The results exceeded expectations, generating an ROI increase of over 200 per cent.”

Facebook said the platform was spurred by research that showed three in four consumers say that watching videos on social media influences their purchasing decisions and that 45 per cent of all shopping journeys now contain a mobile action,

The US corp also said it will start a test of a new outbound clicks metric over the coming weeks, which will show the number of clicks leading people off of Facebook. Marketers with ads that appear on Instagram will also see outbound clicks reported.