3 things to know when

preparing your Spring

Carnival campaigns

MICROSOFT ADVERTISING

Microsoft Advertising. Intelligent connections.

There's more to Spring Carnival than

Melbourne Cup day.

61% of horse racing related searches happened before

Melbourne Cup day

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices.

61%

22%17%

“Horse racing” related search volume %

Don’t miss out on the opportunities other key racing

days offer

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

1-Sep 8-Sep 15-Sep 22-Sep 29-Sep 6-Oct 13-Oct 20-Oct 27-Oct 3-Nov 10-Nov 17-Nov 24-Nov

“Horse racing” related search terms volume index

Makybe Diva

Stakes Day

(15 Sep)

Flemington

Turnbull

Stakes Day

(6 Oct)

Caulfield

Guineas Day

(13 Oct)

Cox Plate Day

(27 Oct)

Victoria

Derby Day

(3 Nov)

Sandown

Classic Day

(17 Nov)

Align your campaign strategy with audience

search behaviour

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

1-Sep 8-Sep 15-Sep 22-Sep 29-Sep 6-Oct 13-Oct 20-Oct 27-Oct 3-Nov 10-Nov 17-Nov 24-Nov

“Horse racing” related search terms volume index

Branded index

Generic Index

Horse racing

enthusiasts search

for brands on major

Spring Carnival

event days.

Occasional punters are likely to search for

generic terms as Melbourne Cup

anticipation kicks in.

Think you already have good keyword coverage?

Think again.

With over 20K unique terms appearing during Spring

Carnival, it's challenging to keep a strong keyword coverage

unique branded terms unique generic terms

are used to search for Spring Carnival events

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

2K+ 17K+

Leverage Microsoft Advertising features to maximise

your coverage when demand is highest

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

• Broad match and broad match

modified keywords capture

variants of high-volume terms.

• Dynamic Search Ads campaigns

should be used to target certain

Melbourne Cup related pages

starting mid-October.*

Top categories you need to cover

• Competitor terms

• Horse racing terms

• Melbourne Cup (tips, results, horses,

fields, trivia/quizzes, etc.)

• Racing streaming terms

• Melbourne Cup fashion terms

Pro tip

Use broad match and

Dynamic Search Ads

to increase your

search term coverage.

*Please make sure your landing page information follow

the NSW gambling advertising restriction

Campaign features to use

Are males more likely to bet on sports?

Yes, however, on Melbourne Cup day, 50% of searchers are female.

Females become more engaged as Melbourne Cup

anticipation builds up

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

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Daily search by gender

Avg. ratio

Daily searches by gender

Female punters are more likely to research using

generic search terms

70%

SOURCE:

Microsoft, Internal data analysis, Sept– Nov 2018, horse racing related searches, all devices

% who use generic search terms

Females are:

95% more likely to search for fashion related terms.

70% more likely to have [year] in their terms.

61% more likely to use “when,” ”how,” and ”what”.

53%

Pro tip

Leverage age and

gender targeting and

adjust your ad copy to

meet different

expectations of

Melbourne Cup day

punters.

Three quick wins

Don’t forget the key racing events

Have a robust online presence Make your campaigns inclusive

Have sufficient budget

throughout Sep.-Nov., and

align it to all key events.

Shared Budget helps to

redistribute unused budget to

top campaigns.

Build campaigns based on top

search patterns and terms.

Broad match and Dynamic Search

Ads can increase your search term

coverage.

Adjust your keywords and ad copy to reflect your audience and the expectations of Melbourne Cup day punters.

Ad targeting allows you focus on

potential customers who meet specific

criteria.

Microsoft Advertising. Intelligent connections.