Media Goal

An emerging startup in the financial tech space was eager to make a splash during a peak seasonal moment. The client wanted to leverage its existing tried-and-true media channels, including TikTok, Meta and Pinterest, and drive maximum website traffic at the most efficient cost per click (CPC).

Recommendation

I recommended expanding their media buy beyond paid social to include Microsoft Native Ads. Like paid social, Microsoft Native Ads offers precise audience targeting, accommodates the same creative as the paid social campaign, and supports a CPC bid strategy. Unlike paid social, Microsoft Native ads appear on Microsoft owned-and-operated placements like Microsoft Edge, MSN, Bing, and Microsoft 365 apps. My hypothesis was that this client could mitigate some of the heightened advertising costs that they were expected to incur on social media due to the peak seasonal moment while still driving meaningful impact. With this recommendation, the client could show up on its preferred paid social platforms and achieve cost-efficiency.

Results

The campaign results exceeded expectations.
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• CPC was 57% less expensive than the client’s most efficient paid social platform and 122% less expensive than the channel’s industry-vertical average.
• Clicks exceeded channel projections by 22%.‍
  
• Microsoft Native Ads contributed to 70% of the total Click volume across all channels.

Summary

By strategically diversifying their campaign to include paid social and display, this emerging startup was able to successfully achieve its goal. This client also unlocked a new channel that they can leverage for future campaigns to drive meaningful impact.