Background and Challenges
One of our British education clients approached us with several pressing challenges they were facing in their digital marketing efforts in China:
- Insufficient Lead Generation: Despite investing in pay-per-click (PPC) ads, the client did not see the desired results in terms of lead generation.
- Technical Barriers: Their website’s lead generation form page was not loading in China, a key market for them, hindering potential conversions.
- Website Limitations: While the website was a good informational hub, it was not optimised for lead generation form collection, particularly on mobile devices prevalent in today’s digital landscape.
- Interest in Social Ads: The client was eager to explore the potential of paid social ads but was unsure how to begin this venture.
- Regulatory Hurdles: Increased regulations and the associated paperwork created additional barriers to entry.
- Limited Budget: With a constrained budget, the client found it difficult to allocate sufficient funds to test and run paid social ads effectively.
Crafting the Solution
Faced with these challenges, we adopted a strategic approach that integrated programmatic advertising to address the client’s needs:
- Programmatic Advertising Adoption: We shifted the focus towards programmatic advertising, which allowed for more precise targeting and optimisation of ad spend.
- Social Media Targeting: Recognising the power of social media platforms, we targeted these channels to reach the client’s audience where they were most active.
- Third-Party CRM Integration: To overcome the website’s limitations, we implemented dedicated form pages hosted by a third-party CRM system. This solution ensured that lead generation forms were accessible, functional, and compliant with local regulations in China.
By addressing these pain points with tailored solutions, we transformed the client’s digital marketing strategy and set the stage for a successful programmatic advertising campaign.
Results and Impact
The results of our programmatic campaign were impressive and tangible.
During the first 10 weeks of the trial, the click-through rate (CTR) increased by an impressive 346% compared to the overall CTR from other channels in China, all achieved at half the budget. Additionally, the number of completed lead forms during this period accounted for 59% of the forms received from other channels over the past 6 months, representing 37% of the total forms collected from all channels. This underscores the programmatic network as the most impactful channel for lead generation.
What Makes Us Successful in Programmatic Campaigns?
Understanding the Brand and Audience
The foundation of any successful programmatic campaign begins with a deep understanding of the business and its audience. We extensively researched the client’s target audience, drives for engaging with similar services, and pain points, then portraited their personas and created localised content for the landing pages.
Engaging Content and Creatives
We crafted advertising copy and landing page content tailored to the audience’s concerns. Additionally, we incorporated visuals in our ad creatives that accurately depict their personas.
Strategic Targeting and Segmentation
We segmented the targeting by various dimensions such as demographics, interests, search terms, online behaviours, household income, spending level, and competition data. This granular segmentation allowed us to deliver highly relevant ads to users most likely interested in our client’s offerings.
Cross-Channel Synergy
Our programmatic campaign extends beyond social media to include search engines and other channels to reach audiences at multiple touchpoints throughout the day. Additionally, integrating a versatile CRM enhances our seamless lead-generation process.
In conclusion, this case study underscores the effectiveness of programmatic advertising in China. Brands can achieve significant, measurable results by deeply understanding the audience, creating compelling content, and leveraging precise targeting and technology. While search ads are commonly favoured for online advertising in China, programmatic offers a more potent alternative.
Relevant Content:
China Programmatic Advertising
Contact us for further insights on how programmatic ads can elevate your business strategy.