Inside Moët & Chandon’s World-First Shoppable Ad: Driving Performance Across the Entire Funnel
Case Study: How News Corp Australia and Moët & Chandon turn premium content into shoppable experiences
Finding innovative approaches to attract advertising investment through brand-safe, commerce-ready ad formats could be the key for publishers struggling to monetise their video and display inventory.
News Corp Australia was looking for solutions that could enable it to turn its precise audience segments, built from fully consented first-party data, into tangible outcomes for its advertiser clients. With a highly engaged audience across its stable of digital brands – including Taste.com.au, Vogue Australia, GQ Australia, Body+Soul, Kidspot.com.au – News Corp Australia wanted to transform this engagement into opportunities for advertisers to drive results throughout the entire sales funnel.
Vudoo's technology offered News Corp Australia the ability to build a platform to host interactive, branching ads with in-stream checkout functionality that would enable a single piece of advertising creative to deliver a host of outcomes, including boosting awareness and driving conversions.
Pippa Leary, then MD Client Product for News Corp Australia, says: "Once we'd happened upon this idea, we hadn't seen another solution that could make that happen in articles, text, images, photographs, and video. Video was really the killer. And for us, it was a no-brainer. This was going to be our partner."
The initial project involved luxury champagne brand Moët & Chandon and resulted in the world’s first shoppable ad in Vogue Australia. Using a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' format, consumers were able to explore different sections of the video and interact with products – celebration-themed gift sets and personalised bottles – with clickable buttons. Viewers could add personalised bottles and celebration sets to their cart and finalise their purchases without leaving the video.
Overcoming uncharted challenges
As this campaign was a world-first, there were complex challenges to overcome. “This was the first time we had integrated our Shopify checkout within a third-party platform using a custom API, which posed some pressure points around launch timings," says Scott Bowie, then Marketing and Consumer Engagement Director for Moët Hennessy Australia & New Zealand.
The brand, publisher, and technology provider were under considerable pressure, with doubts around system compatibility and tight deadlines looming. To counter this, they adopted a collective, agile philosophy based on a test-and-learn approach and a shared commitment to innovation.
Another challenge was audience education. Video ads are typically a passive experience for the viewer; with this campaign, the project teams quickly found that they needed to make it clear to consumers that there were interactive elements within the ad. Again, through a process of test-and-learn, they found that using watermark prompts and ensuring products remained visible on screen for at least two to four seconds significantly improved interaction rates.
From viewer journeys to purchase paths
Vudoo's video tech was a vital component in enabling News Corp Australia's and Moët & Chandon’s first move into direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Vudoo's solution allows viewers to interact with elements within the video, choose their own unique pathways, and directly purchase products without having to leave the video content.
The interactive format also means it's possible to track metrics such as clicks, content paths, product selection, and total purchases. With both top-of-the-funnel and bottom-of-the-funnel metrics being monitored, Moët & Chandon could access closed-loop attribution and clear insights into which content and ad creatives were most effective. This granular data revealed how viewers engaged with the content and reached their purchasing decisions, showing patterns in consumer behaviour and content consumption.
Now listed on the Amazon Publisher Services Connections Marketplace, Vudoo’s tech can connect with publishers’ existing APS integration without any extra development work, giving them access to new monetisation opportunities. This means that, like News Corp Australia, other publishers can utilise Vudoo's tech to help advertising partners create interactive ads that drive awareness and enable direct purchasing, and access analytics that enable targeting to be refined and creatives to be optimised.
Unlocking full-funnel performance
The results were striking. "There was a 38% increase in unaided brand awareness, and a 6% increase in aided brand awareness,” says Paul Blackburn, then Director of Commercial Data News Corp Australia. “Moët & Chandon was already at 92% brand awareness, so that's a significant shift in aided brand awareness.”
“This is a very unusual example of something that has created extreme results the entire way down the funnel," — Pippa Leary, then MD Client Product for News Corp Australia.
While brand preference increased by 4.3%, there was another remarkable outcome—a 37% lift in footfall to Moët & Chandon's retail stores. There was also a 10% increase in purchase intent. Over half – 52.7% – of viewers initiated the checkout process, and the basket size was twice as big as the typical Moët & Chandon online basket size. The overall conversion rate was 8.27%.
Proving performance and storytelling can coexist
One of the most unexpected wins was just how much consumers embraced interactive, commerce-enabled formats.
"Not only did viewers click to shop, but many explored multiple paths in the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' video, navigating between celebration sets and personalised gifting options. This revealed a deeper level of product interest.”
“Even in the luxury space, audiences are ready for more than passive viewing—they want to interact, explore and transact within content," — Nick Morgan, founder and CEO, Vudoo.
“It also offered valuable insight into how tailored, immersive experiences can significantly boost engagement and product discovery, even for premium, high-consideration purchases."
There's a long-held belief in the ad industry that a single creative execution can’t deliver both upper-funnel awareness and bottom-funnel conversion. Moët & Chandon’s campaign with News Corp Australia proves that it's not an either/or scenario. The funnel can be collapsed with interactive, transactable content with built-in checkout features. In verticals like beauty, fashion, and CPG, where impulse and intent collide in a matter of seconds, creating a seamless journey from viewing to purchase is essential.
