Bronze

Vanguard, "Revolutionizing Campaign Performance," Media Kitchen (Local)

In 2011 in an ever crowded financial services category Vanguard faced a period of declining acquisition, turning it around successfully to become the world’s largest mutual fund company. To further these great results in 2013 Vanguard continued to optimize their plans and ensure every dollar spent on advertising was the most cost effective. Fueled by Vanguard’s mission to keep operating expenses as low as possible so more returns go back to the clients, the strategy was to push digital thinking to the limits. Using Fractional Contribution, they saw both Site Direct and Optimized Display play a more significant role. This led to a shift in dollars previously allocated towards Search toward display, resulting in a 16% higher conversion rate with an 11% lower cost per acquisition. In closely looking at ways to optimize campaign performance and retooling what was in place, Vanguard immediately saw a 17% lift in over target projections. Recognized by AdAge as a 2012 A-List Marketer, former head of retail advertising Mike Ma, states, “We can prove the value, we can add to growth. We can support it with data. In a firm full of highly quantitative, financial executives, they get it.”