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15 Marketing Case Study Examples With Standout Success Stories

Some marketing campaigns leave a lasting impression. We’ve gathered insights from CEOs and marketing leaders to share one standout marketing case study that resonates with them.

Tomas Laurinavicius

Table of Contents

Dove’s real beauty campaign impact, oatly’s bold brand strategy, rockervox’s tax credit success, local bookstore’s community engagement, coca-cola’s personalized brand experience, dropbox’s viral referral program, authentic influencer marketing for cpg brand, airbnb’s “we accept” social impact, amul’s topical and humorous campaigns, axe’s “find your magic” brand refresh, squatty potty’s humorous viral video, old spice’s viral humor campaign, red bull stratos’s high-flying publicity, maple dental’s seo success story, dollar shave club’s viral launch video.

Some marketing campaigns leave a lasting impression.

We’ve gathered insights from CEOs and marketing leaders to share one standout marketing case study that resonates with them.

From Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign’s impact to Dollar Shave Club’s viral launch video, explore fifteen memorable marketing triumphs that these experts can’t forget.

• AXE’s ‘Find Your Magic’ Brand Refresh

One marketing case study that has always stayed with me is the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. It really struck a chord when it launched in 2004, challenging the beauty standards and celebrating women’s diversity. What made it stand out was the “Real Beauty Sketches” video, where women described themselves to a sketch artist. Seeing the stark contrast between their self-perceptions and how others saw them was incredibly eye-opening and touching.

What I found so compelling about this campaign was its message of self-acceptance and empowerment. Dove didn’t just try to sell products; they took a stand for something much bigger, and it resonated deeply with people. Using video storytelling was a genius move as it made the message more impactful and shareable. I believe Dove showed how brands can make a real difference by addressing important social issues in an authentic and meaningful way.

Nicole Dunn , CEO, PR and Marketing Expert, Dunn Pellier Media

As a content and brand marketer, Oatly’s brand strategy always inspires me. They are a textbook example of comprehensive brand-building.

Their visual style is instantly recognizable—bold, disruptive, and often filled with humor, making oat milk a statement and something you’d be proud to display on your shelves or socials.

Their tone of voice is witty, sometimes cheeky. They’ve even printed negative feedback on their packaging, which really just shows how they court controversy to spark conversations and enhance their brand’s visibility.

And there’s a strong story behind Oatly, too. They promote sustainability and aren’t shy about their environmental impact, which has simply helped them grow an enthusiastic community of environmental advocates. Clever in endless ways, such that tons of oat milk brands have followed suit.

Wisia Neo , Content Marketing Manager, ViB

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the implementation of our RockerVox Restaurant Bundle, aimed at optimizing cash flow through targeted use of employer-based tax credits. The power of this case study lies in its immediate financial impact on the client, a local restaurant chain that was struggling to keep its doors open in the wake of the pandemic.

By integrating the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and other relevant tax schemes into their payroll setup, we enabled the restaurant to reclaim a significant amount in tax credits. The real game-changer was not just the financial relief but also how it was achieved. We combined this with StaffedUp’s Applicant Tracking System, which improved their hiring processes and decreased employee turnover. This holistic approach led to a sustainable improvement in their operations and cash flow.

What made this case study so great was its tangible results. The restaurant saw a cash flow improvement of over 100%. This wasn’t just a number on a report—it meant being able to invest back into the business, enhance their services, and ultimately, keep their community fed and employed. This approach of integrating technology with financial strategy can be adapted by other businesses striving for similar resilience and growth, especially in times of economic difficulty.

Philip Wentworth, Jr , Co-Founder and CEO, Rockerbox

Certainly, one particularly impactful marketing strategy I led at FireRock Marketing involved a small local bookstore that was facing steep competition from online retailers. Our challenge was to increase foot traffic and reinforce the store’s brand presence in a highly digitalized market.

We initiated a campaign called “Local Pages, Local Stages,” where we leveraged digital marketing alongside community engagement. The bookstore held monthly events featuring local authors and artists, which we promoted heavily through targeted social media ads, email marketing, and local influencer partnerships. This multifaceted approach tapped into the community’s growing interest in supporting local ventures, enhancing visibility significantly.

The outcomes were remarkable. Over the campaign’s six-month duration, in-store sales increased by 40%, and the bookstore saw a 65% rise in attendance at events, which also boosted ancillary revenue from merchandise and cafe sales. Additionally, social media engagement metrics increased by over 150%, reflecting greater brand awareness.

This case study sticks with me because it exemplifies the power of combining digital strategies with community-based marketing to create a sustainable growth model. It shows how businesses can use holistic, integrated approaches to effectively adapt to new consumer behaviors and competitive landscapes.

Ryan Esco , Chief Marketing Officer, FireRock Marketing

A memorable marketing case study is the “Share a Coke” campaign by Coca-Cola. Initially launched in Australia in 2011, this campaign personalized the Coke experience by replacing the iconic Coca-Cola logo on bottles with common first names.

The idea was to encourage people to find bottles with their names or those of their friends and family, creating a more personal connection to the brand. The campaign was an enormous hit and was quickly rolled out worldwide, incorporating more names and even terms of endearment in different languages.

The brilliance of this campaign lay in its use of personalization, which tapped directly into the social media trend of sharing personal moments. People enthusiastically shared their personalized Coke bottles on various social media platforms, significantly amplifying the campaign’s reach beyond traditional advertising media.

This strategy boosted sales and reinforced Coca-Cola’s position as a fun and innovative brand. The “Share a Coke” campaign is a powerful example of how traditional products can be revitalized through creative marketing strategies that engage consumers personally.

Sahil Kakkar , CEO and Founder, RankWatch

For me, a standout marketing case study that really sticks with me is Dropbox’s referral program strategy back in their early days. By offering free storage space for every successful referral, they incentivized existing users to spread the word organically, resulting in exponential growth at virtually no acquisition cost.

What made this case study so brilliant was how elegantly it aligned product experience with viral sharing. Users had a vested interest in sharing Dropbox since it directly expanded their own cloud storage. This created a self-perpetuating cycle where better product engagement fueled more referrals, which then improved engagement further.

It was an ingenious lever that capitalized on the inherent sharing dynamics of their service to ignite explosive growth. The simplicity and potency of this growth hack is what truly resonates as a paragon of effective guerrilla marketing.

Ben Walker , Founder and CEO, Ditto Transcripts

One marketing case study that has always stuck with me was a campaign I led for a major CPG brand a few years back. The goal was to increase awareness and trial of their new line of organic snacks among millennial moms in a crowded market.

We developed an influencer seeding strategy focused on relatable mom micro-influencers on Instagram. Instead of just sending products, we worked with the influencers to develop authentic content that told real stories about the role of snacking and nutrition in busy family life. The photos and videos felt genuine, not overly polished or promotional.

Engagement was through the roof—the content resonated so strongly with the target audience. By the end of the 3-month campaign, we increased awareness by 45% and trial by over 20%. The CPG brand was thrilled, and the case study became an example we still reference today of the power of influencer marketing done right. Authenticity wins.

Gert Kulla , CEO, RedBat.Agency

One marketing case study that stuck with me was the Airbnb “We Accept” campaign, launched in 2017, focusing on social impact. This response to the global refugee crisis aimed to promote inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance within communities worldwide.

What made this case study remarkable was its ability to leverage the Airbnb platform to facilitate connections between hosts and displaced persons, providing them with temporary housing and support.

Airbnb demonstrated its commitment to using its platform for social good and making a tangible difference in the lives of those in need. This aligned with its mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.

At the end of the day, Airbnb’s “We Accept” campaign was a compelling case study showing brands how to address social issues, promote inclusivity, and drive positive change in communities worldwide.

Peter Bryla , Community Manager, ResumeLab

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the “Amul” marketing campaigns by Amul, the iconic Indian dairy cooperative, make for excellent and impactful case studies as well. Here’s why Amul’s marketing stands out:

The Amul Girl – The mascot of a mischievous, friendly butter girl has become one of India’s most recognizable brand icons since her inception in 1966. Her presence on topical ads commenting on the latest news and pop culture trends has made Amul’s billboards a long-standing source of joy and relevance.

Topicality – Amul’s billboards and newspaper ads are renowned for their topicality and ability to humorously comment on major events, celebrity happenings, and political developments within hours. This real-time marketing has kept the brand part of daily conversations for decades.

Humor – The not-so-secret sauce is the brilliant use of puns, wordplay, and satirical humor that Amul consistently delivers through the eyes of the Amul Girl. The healthy, inoffensive jokes have earned a cult following.

Longevity – Very few brands can boast an equally iconic and successful campaign running for over 50 years, still keeping audiences engaged across multiple generations. The long-running property itself has become a case study in sustaining relevance.

Local Connect – While achieving pan-India recognition, the puns often play on regional language nuances, striking a chord with Amul’s Gujarati roots and building a personal connection with local consumers.

The impact of Amul’s long-running topical billboard campaign is unmatched—it has not only strengthened brand recognition and loyalty but has also made the cooperative a beloved part of India’s popular culture and daily life. Creativity, agility, and contextual marketing at its best!

Yash Gangwal , Founder, Urban Monkey

Axe (Lynx in the UK) had created a problematic brand image from past marketing efforts. Their focus on ‘attraction is connected to conquest’ hadn’t dissuaded men from buying their deodorants, but had a toxic effect on perceptions of women. Research conducted on brand equity showed that brand equity was declining, with this perception of the brand aging poorly and desperately needing a refresh to continue allowing the brand to be relevant for the future.

That led to a superb partnership with creative agency 72andSunny Amsterdam. Unilever was able to tap into an entirely new philosophy for its brand:

Empower men to be the most attractive man they could be – themselves.

With that idea in mind, 2016 saw the launch of the AXE ‘Find Your Magic’ commercial, a stunning celebration of the diversity of modern masculinity. The campaign also saw the release of a new range of premium grooming products and a supporting influencer marketing campaign featuring brand ambassadors, including John Legend.

While not all parts of the creative were successful, the campaign drove more than 39 million views and 4 billion media impressions in the first quarter after the launch. But most critically, AXE saw a 30+% increase in positive perception of their brand.

This campaign will stand the test of time because it combines several important and brave initiatives:

• A forward-thinking mentality that the brand image you have today may not be suited for a future world
• A broader understanding of what your customer base looks like – women also play a big role in men’s choice of deodorant
• A big and bold attempt to change the way your brand is perceived – and succeeding with flying colors.

Yannis Dimitroulas , SEO and Digital Marketing Specialist, Front & Centre

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the campaign for Squatty Potty. The brand created a humorous video featuring a unicorn pooping rainbow ice cream to demonstrate the benefits of using their product. This unconventional approach garnered widespread attention and went viral, generating millions of views and shares on social media platforms.

The success of this campaign can be attributed to its creative storytelling, humor, and shock value, which made it memorable and engaging for viewers. By thinking outside the box and taking a risk with their messaging, Squatty Potty was able to create a unique and effective marketing strategy that resonated with consumers.

This case study serves as a reminder that creativity and originality can set a brand apart in a crowded marketplace, ultimately leading to increased brand awareness and customer engagement.

Carly Hill , Operations Manager, Virtual Holiday Party

The Old Spice ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ campaign remains etched in my memory. Its brilliance lies in its humor and creativity. By featuring a charismatic spokesperson and employing absurd scenarios, it captured viewers’ attention and went viral.

The campaign seamlessly integrated across platforms, from TV to social media, maximizing its reach. Its cleverness and entertainment value made it unforgettable, setting a benchmark for engaging marketing strategies. The case study showcases the importance of storytelling and humor in capturing audience interest and driving brand awareness.

Dan Ponomarenko , CEO, Webvizio

A marketing case study that has made a lasting impression on me is the Red Bull Stratos Jump. This campaign was for Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump from the edge of space, sponsored by Red Bull. The goal of this campaign was to create buzz and generate brand awareness through this extreme event.

The reason why this case study stands out to me is because of its successful execution in capturing the attention and interest of not just extreme sports enthusiasts, but also the general public.

The live broadcast of Baumgartner’s jump on various channels and social media platforms garnered over 52 million views, making it one of the most-watched live events ever. Red Bull’s strategic use of real-time marketing, storytelling, and high-quality visuals made this campaign a huge success, resulting in a significant increase in sales and brand recognition for the company.

This case study serves as a great example of how a well-planned and executed marketing campaign can effectively reach and engage with a wide audience.

Brian Hemmerle , Founder and CEO, Kentucky Sell Now

One standout marketing case study that resonates with me is the SEO transformation for Maple Dental. This campaign dramatically improved their local online visibility, leading to a substantial increase in new patient appointments. The integration of Google Maps SEO proved to be a game-changer, emphasizing the power of local search optimization in attracting nearby clients.

What made this case study exceptional was the measurable impact on the clinic’s business. For instance, the campaign led to a 230% increase in phone calls and a 223% increase in website visits. Such clear, quantifiable results showcased a direct contribution to business growth. These metrics are vital for demonstrating the return on investment in digital marketing efforts.

Additionally, the use of a targeted approach to enhance Google Maps visibility was particularly compelling. By optimizing their presence on Google Maps, Maple Dental saw a 250% increase in monthly maps impressions, which directly correlated with increased patient inquiries and visits.

Ihor Lavrenenko , CEO, Dental SEO Expert

One case study that always comes to mind is Dollar Shave Club’s launch video in 2012. It was called “Our Blades Are F*cking Great,” and let’s just say it got people talking! This video was hilarious and totally different from those fancy shaving commercials we were used to seeing. It spoke directly to guys, poked fun at expensive razor prices, and offered a way to get awesome blades for much less.

Additionally, it told everyone to check out their website. It was short, catchy, and made a huge impact. This is a perfect example of how a creative and funny video can grab attention, make people remember your brand, and get them to become customers.

Perry Zheng , Founder and CEO, Pallas

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50+ Best Viral Marketing Campaign Examples & Case Studies To Get You Inspired (2024)

In this guide, I’ve curated some of the best viral marketing examples and campaigns that I’ve saved on my own personal swipe file over the years, and did some further research on others that are so good to learn from. Regardless of the growth stage of your business (large brand or small), you’re going to pick up some epic takeaways and learnings that you may be able to apply to your own campaigns for growth. Either way, they’re just fun to read, watch and go through! And you never know, you may have the next best viral campaign that gets millions of eyeballs (just let me know and I’ll add you to this guide ;).

If you’ve been on this site and read my articles before, you know I love a good case study (haha). I always enjoy coming across new ones as there’s always new things you can pick up that you can add to your marketing ideas bank or your own swipe file. 

Now for this particular guide, this was really fun to create and analyse/summarise.

I’m excited to introduce you to some of the top viral marketing examples and campaigns that truly went viral (some of the numbers these campaigns have achieved are insane). 

You would have seen many of these campaigns over the years play out in real-time, and whilst there’s always good analysis at the time of people sharing their thoughts/ideas (you know, over LinkedIn and the Twittersphere in particular), it’s actually awesome to look back and see what the end results were, and how it impacted the business in terms of awareness, acquisition, sales, and overall business growth. 

So, what makes these case studies and examples worth reading further into?

There are lots of ‘viral’ studies and examples out there, but I picked a good balance between those businesses who experienced insane viral numbers, to then those who achieved impressive results based on the budget/resources they had available at their disposal. 

What can you can learn from going through the summaries and reading the dedicated studies? Also, what makes these case studies good quality?

Here’s what I kept in mind when going through these case studies (and a small checklist of what to analyse/pick up as ‘golden nuggets’ that you can learn from and potentially incorporate into your marketing strategy):

• Strategies/tactics they used - Is there a good analysis and why campaigns were successful? (some do a really good job at this, whilst others brush over it a bit. However, they were still good to include). 

Note: In many of the summaries, I shared my own thoughts/takeaways.

• Data/stats performance - Do they share a good breakdown in terms of numbers? 
• Budgets - some of the studies share budgets, but most of the time, you can tell whether or not serious investment went into it due to the nature of the campaign.
• Uniqueness of campaign - what made the campaign stand out in their industry, and why were audiences drawn into engaging/sharing?
• What made the campaign perform? - what were the psychological/emotional triggers that sparked people to share?
• When it comes to the content, what’s the nature of it? Do you think it involve numerous resources to achieve the outcome? Was the content entertaining in nature? Or was is thought-provoking, problem-focused content that sparked further thoughts and actions from audiences?

Depending on your context and the industry/role you’re in, you’ll naturally have some other attributes and criteria that you’re looking to get out of those studies.

So, can you replicate similar success like these example viral campaigns? 

This is obviously down to the business you’re involved in, but this should be a criteria you should think about (I mean, that’s the primary reason you’re probably here, right?). 

Some of the video campaigns are hard to replicate due to the nature of the videos, and keeping in mind how big the brands are. Unless you’re someone from a bigger brand reading this with a big customer and subscriber base across your channels, it can be hard to replicate success if you’re a smaller startup or eCommerce brand on a lean budget. 

However, there are always (yes, always) key takeaways that you can cherry pick from and formulate into your own strategy.

Without further ado everyone, I hope you enjoy this guide I put together. 

Oh, and feel free to share with other marketing friends, founders, colleagues (or even family members) that you think will enjoy this. :) 

Related reading: In this guide, I talk about social media, UGC and viral competition campaigns that brands utilised to generate some epic results. Some of those platforms/tools that these brands have used (and that I have used as well) are in this pre-launch waitlist and viral competition platforms guide I put together. The good news is that there is a plethora of software solutions that are cost-effective and accessible to any brand, regardless of their size. So, it’s worth the read if you’re serious about viral growth.

Video Viral Campaigns

1. this video campaign reached the youtube top 100 charts in over a hundred countries.

Watch the video here (over 270+ million views).

• Created to inform the public about rail safety, Dumb Ways to Die has over 270 million views on Youtube.
• When ideating, the team emphasised the thought process of the audience .
• They produced a relevant video with a catchy song, appealing to a wide market.
• This turned into karaoke versions, posters, books, and more.
• After the campaign was released, there was a 21% decrease in railway accidents and near misses.

2. This campaign incited engagement, generating over 338,000 UGC photos in two weeks

Watch the video here (over 42k+ views). 

• TOMS’ One Day Without Shoes Campaign promised that for every photo without shoes posted on Instagram with their hashtag, they will sponsor a pair of shoes for a child in need.
• The premise is simple, easy to do, and builds towards a greater purpose.
• By participating in the campaign, people feel like they contributed to a good cause.
• This resulted in more brand exposure for TOMS’.
• The participation of big stars and brands also helped spread the word.

3. This challenge-based campaign took a viral trend and turned it into something better

Watch the video here of the Ice bucket challenge with Bill Gates - you’ll find plenty of others with a simple search on YouTube (over 37+ million views). 

• Good chance you won’t forget how big the ice bucket challenge was (and the amazing viral success and eyeballs it gained).
• The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge took the existing ice bucket challenge and made it into a fundraising tool .
• People who did the challenge were tasked to nominate others to help raise money for research towards ALS.
• The ice bucket challenge campaign was literally shared everywhere (like you couldn’t stop seeing it at the time), across different social media channels, gaining impressive traction.
• The campaign made waves in over 150 countries, raising $220 million.
• Hashtags and celebrity endorsements propelled the growth of the campaign.

4. Volvo launched a video that gained over 90 million views

Watch the video here (over 116+ million views).

• Volvo Trucks decided to make an ad that would appeal beyond their usual audience, and it worked.
• They used to focus primarily on physical marketing materials, and this was their way of making a name in the digital space.
• The video included a stunt done by a famous action star, sparking spoofs and challenges.
• Themes in the video were 100% relevant to their target market and were designed to be entertaining for others.

5. This Dove video ad hit over 100 million views a month after it was released

Watch the video here (over 70+ million views).

• Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” experienced insane view counts across multiple platforms and media outlets, and even became one of the most-watched video ads of all time .
• The video was made available in over 30 languages and sparked a series on Youtube.
• By appealing to the beauty pain points that women may experience, the campaign became an encouraging and empowering tool.
• Because of its messaging, women naturally shared it with other women, inciting virality.
• To maintain the distribution, Dove did a seeding strategy by launching in key markets before releasing the video worldwide.

6. The Range Rover video which has managed to gain over 100 million views

Watch the video here (over 100+ million views).

• The Range Rover Evoque's marketing campaign in London successfully tackled a notorious speed bump by showcasing the car's capabilities. 
• It went viral on social media platforms, resulting in millions of views, which increased brand awareness.
• The team behind the campaign addressed a common problem faced by drivers and connected with the audience emotionally, which made the campaign effective.

7. This campaign was the most popular ad in 2015

Watch the video here (credit: Droga5)

• Google’s Furever Friends campaign was shared over 6 million times across different social media channels.
• These numbers actually make it the most shared video ad of all time.
• The ad tapped into the affection and nostalgia people would generally feel for pets.
• This incited strong feelings of warmth and investment from the viewers, leading to them sharing the video.

8. The Old Spice deodorant commercial which drove an increase of over 100% in sales

Watch the video here (over 60+ million views)

• Ah yes, who could forget the infamous Old Spice ad which was seen all over the net back in 2010 - "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign. - it was designed to be multi-platform, incorporating TV ads, social media, and a dedicated website. Almost like I couldn't escape seeing it everywhere at one stage.
• The company established a unique brand voice by creating a humorous and irreverent character that connected with their market.
• They had a team respond to comments and create personalised videos during the campaign to increase user engagement.
• When the video went viral, followers were further encouraged to participate in user-generated content and social sharing.
• Overall, the strategies leaned into the importance of data-driven marketing.

9. The "Love Has No Labels" video focused on breaking biases and promoting gender acceptance

Watch the video here (over 60+ million views).

• The "Love Has No Labels" campaign celebrates diversity and inclusion, highlighting the beauty and uniqueness of all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, age, religion, or sexuality.
• Upworthy leveraged social media to reach a wider audience, using hashtags and images to encourage user engagement and sharing.
• The video fostered an emotional connection with the audience, showing people and their loved ones embracing each other in public, which elicits feelings of love, acceptance, and unity.
• This drove millions of people to the campaign website, increasing the reach across all channels.
• Media support eventually resulted in over $6 million in coverage.

10. The "World's Toughest Job" campaign got over 6 million views within two days

Watch the video here (credit: Mullenlowe)

• The "World's Toughest Job" campaign featured a fake job interview for a position that requires standing for 135 hours straight, working on holidays, and having no breaks.
• There was then a revelation that this job perfectly fit mothers everywhere.
• They utilised a hashtag, #worldstoughestjob, encouraging people to share their stories and appreciation for their moms.
• Measuring the success of the campaign as two-fold: it positively impacted the brand's perception and sales, as well as the cultural conversation around Mother's Day and motherhood.
• In the end, the campaign generated over 25 million views, millions of social media engagements, and significant media coverage and awards.

11. This toilet deodorant campaign went viral with over 40 million views and counting

Watch the video here (over 44+ million views)

• Poo Pouri released a video advertisement titled "Girls Don't Poop", which quickly gained the attention of people on the internet.
• It features a woman in a fancy bathroom explaining the benefits of using Poo-Pourri - hilarious yet relatable.
• The campaign’s humour and real messaging helped it gain widespread popularity.
• Its approach departed from traditional advertising techniques and relied on social media for attention.

12. Budweiser promoted responsible drinking and went viral because of it

Watch the video here (over 2+ million views).

• The Budweiser "Don't Drink and Drive" ad featured an emotional storyline that resonated with viewers and encouraged them to make safer choices.
• It established the heartfelt relationship between pet and owner and used this relatability to convey their message effectively.
• The ad received widespread recognition and has won multiple awards with the fact is resonated with large audiences (and a super important message to push).
• Its messaging also helped Budweiser establish be seen in the market as a socially responsible brand, helping reinforce strong brand credibility.
• This shows us how effective marketing can be used to promote social responsibility and make a positive impact on society, all while scaling the brand name.

13. This Super Bowl ad helped boost a cat food brand

Watch the video here (over 4+ million views).

• "Dear Kitten" is a video ad campaign created by Friskies to promote their cat food products, which they released during the Super Bowl.
• It features a series of videos with an older cat giving advice to a new kitten in the house, using humour and relatable situations to engage its audience.
• Beyond the Super Bowl, the ad was promoted through social media and online advertising, making it accessible to a wide audience.
• This helped Friskies establish a strong brand identity and increase sales of their cat food products.
• The success of the campaign shows the importance of understanding the target market and using creative and innovative marketing techniques to connect with them.

14. Volkswagen's "The Force" ad banked on pop culture to gain traction

Watch the video in link below (credit: Time.com)

• Volkswagen's "The Force" ad, which also aired during the Super Bowl, is widely considered one of the most successful ads in Super Bowl history.
• With almost 100 million views, it’s also the most shared Super Bowl ad to this day.
• The ad's use of nostalgia and pop culture references helped it connect with its target audience on a deeper level.
• As released during a time when Volkswagen was facing controversy, the ad helped improve its image and restore positive marketing.

Social Media & Hashtag Campaigns - TikTok, Facebook & Instagram 

15. this campaign by coca-cola helped pull in millions of dollars over the past decade.

(image credit: Coca-Cola Company )

• One of my personal favourite campaigns from Coca-Cola, which anyone reading this would know quite well, is the "Share a coke" campaign .
• It was certainly one of the more highly successful marketing campaigns Coca-Cola has run (and they've done plenty of them over the years) that aimed to make the brand more relatable and shareable - which ultimately helped them to an increase in sales.
• It used personalisation to engage its audience at scale, which is great for audiences to feel connected more with Coca-Cola.
• The team behind the campaign had to run through thousands of ideas in order to come to their catchphrase, “Share a Coke with…”
• This happened during a time when most other brands were still banking on traditional marketing.
• The campaign encouraged user-generated content and social sharing, which helped it go viral and reach a wider audience.

16. The “Do Us a Flavor” campaign in just 10 months saw over 20 million page visits per week

( image credit )

• Frito-Lay Lay’s was an already popular brand, but they wanted to create buzz about their flavour line-up.
• They came up with a campaign, “Do Us a Flavor”, which is a contest primarily targeting millennials.
• The goal is to have contestants submit ideas for new Lay’s flavours.
• An app was created to increase access to interested participants, where they could also see mock-ups of their proposed flavour.
• In the end, almost 4 million flavours were submitted, and enthusiasm for the brand was reignited.

17. Purina, a pet food company, used a hashtag to reach almost 40 million people on Twitter

(Image credit: Shorty Awards )

• The Purina #PetsAtWork campaign won the Best in Pets Social Media Campaign at the 6th Shorty Awards.
• The program aims to encourage companies to allow pets in the workplace, based on the idea that pets in the workplace can improve employee well-being and productivity.
• Purina conducted research to support this claim and created a toolkit for companies to help them implement a pets-at-work policy.
• User-generated content ran this campaign, including photos and stories of pets in the workplace.
• As a result, the Purina Pets at Work program has been adopted by many companies worldwide, with over 5,000 companies participating.

18. An organic interaction inspired this hashtag campaign crafted by Audi

( Image credit )

• Audi's hashtag campaign on Twitter, called #WantAnR8, started when a user wouldn’t stop tweeting about wanting an R8.
• After a while, Audi decided to give her a chance to drive an R8 for one weekend, then went on to use the hashtag she started as an entire campaign.
• The hashtag quickly became popular on Twitter, with celebrities and influencers joining in on the conversation.
• It generated over 75,000 tweets and over 100 million impressions, and Audi's Twitter following grew by over 700% during the campaign.
• This ended up birthing a sequel campaign, #WantAnRS5

19. This UGC campaign by Red Bull is 100% organic and drew up thousands of posts - one of the first UGC successes

(Image credit: Redbull )

• The Red Bull #PutACanonOnIt campaign won the Best Use of Instagram at the 7th Shorty Awards.
• It encouraged users to share creative photos featuring their Red Bull on top of vehicles.
• This spiralled and drew users to put cans on top of places, people, and even pets.
• Overall, the #PutACanonOnIt campaign is an example of how a brand can use social media to engage with its audience and increase brand awareness through user-generated content.

20. This campaign by Chipotle was a huge hit among the Gen Z market

( Image credit & video ) 

• Chipotle’s "Lid Flip Challenge” encouraged users to upload videos of themselves flipping their Chipotle bowl lids onto their bowls.
• The challenge was started by a Chipotle employee, who was really good at assembling the bowls.
• This helped increase sales, as participants had to use an actual Chipotle bowl.
• TikTok saw over 100,000 videos use the hashtag within one week.
• Engagement with younger customers and positive brand recall were boosted after the campaign.

21. Peloton leaned on social impact to gain greater brand awareness

(image credit: Pelobuddy )

• Peloton’s marketing approach focuses on building a strong community of users who feel connected to each other and the company's values.
• They promote their products as a way to achieve fitness and health goals, while emphasising the social and emotional benefits of working out with others.
• The company has also launched various social impact initiatives, such as “The Comeback ,” where people can nominate someone they think deserves a free bike.
• Partnerships with charitable organisations and fundraising events also helped further these initiatives.
• This approach helped Peloton build a loyal customer base and establish a strong brand identity as a responsible and community-oriented company.

22. This hashtag campaign by Apple ended up on over 10,000 billboards across the world

(image credit: Adweek )

• The #ShotOniPhone campaign was released by Apple to showcase the iPhone's camera capabilities.
• Apple selected the best photos and videos from the hashtag and featured them on their website, billboards, and even in-store displays.
• This led to a huge success, with millions of people using the hashtag to showcase their photography skills.
• In the process, Apple was able to establish a reputation for producing high-quality cameras on their iPhones.
• The campaign also helped create a community of iPhone users, further building their brand loyalty.

23. The e.l.f Cosmetics hashtag challenge got over 9 billion views on videos in 6 days

(Image credit: TikTok)

• e.l.f. Cosmetics partnered with TikTok creators to create a successful marketing campaign, #TikTokGGT.
• It aimed to build brand awareness and reach a younger demographic, featuring music, dancing, and creative use of e.l.f. Cosmetics products.
• Their videos went viral, and the company gained millions of views and new followers on TikTok.
• It was a big success in terms of view counts due to the authenticity and creativity of the TikTok creators, who were able to showcase the products in a fun and engaging way.

Related reading: I talk about the effectiveness of creators as part of your TikTok growth strategy when it comes to accelerating growth.

24. ASUS saw over 80,000 UGC submissions through their TikTok hashtag

(Image source: TikTok)

• ASUS came out with a targeted TikTok campaign to reach gamers and promote their ROG gaming laptop, called #CreateWithASUS.
• The videos were created by TikTok creators who were gamers themselves and had large followings within the gaming community, amassing over 220 million views.
• Delivery was highly targeted, with the company using data analysis to identify potential customers and deliver the videos to them.
• The authenticity and expertise of the creators made this ASUS campaign a success, as they were able to showcase the features of the laptop in a way that resonated with gamers.
• This helped ASUS establish a reputation for producing high-quality gaming laptops.

25. Grammarly reached over 5 million people on Facebook and Youtube

Watch video here .

• Grammarly’s “Write the Future” campaign used a storytelling approach to generate brand awareness.
• The videos are designed to appeal to a large audience, showcasing customer archetypes and the impact Grammarly had on their lives.
• It was successful, reaching over 5 million people and achieving a lower CPM and higher engagement rate than direct response campaigns.
• Video-view rate increased by 33%, and cost-wise, they landed on $0.02 video views, and $0.59 video completes, with a reasonable CPC of $1.87.

26. This campaign saw over 4 billion image impressions within the first three months

(Image credit: Effie )

• Always came up with the #LikeAGirl campaign to challenge gender stereotypes and inspire girls to stay confident.
• It started with an ad that highlighted the negative stereotypes associated with doing something "like a girl" and how these stereotypes can affect a girl's self-esteem.
• This went viral, sparking a global conversation about gender stereotypes.
• The company expanded the campaign with the social media hashtag #LikeAGirl and encouraged people to share their stories and pictures using the hashtag.
• They also partnered with organisations like TED and Girls Scouts of the USA to amplify the message of the campaign.

27. Under Armour saw over 4 million views in 8 days

(Image credit: from article)

• Under Armour launched its #IWillWhatIWant campaign , which targeted women and aimed to challenge traditional notions of femininity and beauty in sports.
• The campaign showcased female athletes who had overcome obstacles to achieve success in their respective fields, such as Misty Copeland and Lindsey Vonn.
• They also had a digital component with a website that allowed users to create inspirational messages using the hashtag.
• Their sales increased by 28% in the quarter following the campaign's launch, leading to an increase in brand awareness and affinity.
• As a plus, its success led to the expansion of Under Armour's product line for women and the inclusion of more female athletes in its marketing campaigns.

28. KFC’s campaign was released across multiple channels, resulting in an almost 20% increase in sales

• The #UnboringMorning campaign of KFC came out in Singapore, aiming to promote its breakfast offerings and attract a younger audience.
• While the ad was released in traditional media like television, the brand leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to reach its target audience and encourage engagement with the campaign.
• The campaign also included interactive elements such as a social media contest that encouraged users to share their own "unboring" morning routines for a chance to win prizes.
• They partnered with local influencers to create buzz around the campaign and generate more attention.
• Search activity increased by 18% in the first month of the campaign, significantly increasing brand awareness and affinity.

29. Calvin Klein, the clothing giant, became even more iconic after it launched its social media campaign

• Calvin Klein had the #mycalvins campaign , featuring celebrities Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and other young stars, to target millennials.
• The ads featured the stars and other well-known internet personalities in their underwear, using their massive social media following to drive engagement and shares.
• This helped the company increase their followers by millions across all social media channels.
• The brand used the campaign to move away from its previous branding, which was seen as too conservative and not targeting younger consumers.
• Through this move, Calvin Klein became a brand perceived as current and cool.

30. Adidas, the footwear and sportswear clothing behemoth, made personalised videos for over 30,000 athletes 

• Adidas' "Here to Create Legend" campaign utilised cutting-edge technology to personalise content for each runner joining the Boston Marathon.
• It was based on the idea that young people want to create their own legacies rather than just follow in the footsteps of others.
• The company used data to understand the interests and preferences of its target audience and created content that resonated with them.
• This meant utilising a mix of content formats, including video, social media, and experiential activations.
• Personalised efforts made the athletes feel seen and important, which led to a sales spike of over 1,000% post-marathon season.

31. This Disney campaign raised millions of dollars for charity

(Image credit: Disney )

• The #ShareYourEars campaign was run by Disney and involved asking people to take photos of themselves wearing Mickey Mouse ears and sharing them on social media.
• Disney committed to donating $5 to Make-A-Wish Foundation for every photo shared, up to a total of $2 million.
• It was timed to coincide with the holiday season. Good timing for a campaign like this when audiences/people in general are in a ‘giving’/charitable state of mind.
• Use of user-generated content (UGC) also helped to build a sense of ‘momentum’, inclusiveness and community, which in turn helped encourage more every day people to get involved in some way.
• In the end, so many people joined in that Disney saw itself making a profit of $150,000 because of how many ears were sold during the campaign.

32. Zoom banked on community to build its audience (and paid off big time)

(image credit: from article)

• Zoom's success during the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to its leveraging user-generated content to build engagement and credibility with its audience.
• They used humour and light-hearted content to connect with their audience and show they understood the challenges of working from home.
• The company also responded to customer feedback and complaints on social media, demonstrating its commitment to customer service.
• This social media strategy helped to drive brand awareness and adoption.
• Zoom's success on social media shows the importance of staying agile and responsive during times of crisis and how providing value to customers can help build brand loyalty and trust.

Viral & UGC Competitions 

33. gopro, an established action camera brand, launched a contest with a million-dollar prize.

• GoPro came out with the Million Dollar Challenge , which asked users of the new HERO8 Black + MAX to come out with highlight reels of their shots.
• The contest was promoted primarily through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with the use of influencers helping to increase reach and engagement.
• There was a big focus on UGC, which in turn helped build a thriving and engaging community for GoPro.
• In total, the company got over 40,000 videos amounting to over 350 hours of reel time.
• As a plus, the contest provided valuable insights into consumer behaviour and preferences by analysing the data collected.

34. This viral contest leaderboard generated over 7,000 leads

(Image credit: Vyper)

• Vyper's viral leaderboard contest is an effective marketing tool for increasing engagement and driving user-generated content.
• It incentivised participants to share the contest with their friends and followers, which helped increase the reach and impact of the campaign.
• The company platform makes it easy to track and measure the results of the contest, which helped their marketers understand what was working and make adjustments as needed.
• The turnout also saw 8,000 new email sign-ups as new people became interested in the brand through their campaign.

35. IKEA used targeted UGC to increase conversion by 3x

Watch video here . 

• IKEA invited customers to submit photos of their homes , and the company selected some of the best ones to feature in a print advertisement. 
• As a result, the campaign captured IKEA's products in real-life situations and helped build a sense of community and connection with its customers.
• It also helped create a more diverse and inclusive representation of IKEA's customer base.
• The UGC element helped drive social media engagement, as people shared their photos and encouraged others to participate.
• Overall they got an epic result where they saw a 27% increase in reach and 3x increase in conversion.

36. FlySafair went from inception to a famous carrier in four years

(Image credit: Viral Sweep)

• FlySafair, a low-cost South African airline , used a social media contest to make a name for itself.
• They created a contest that asked people to submit photos of their pets, and the winner received a free flight for themselves and their pets. 
• Along the way, FlySafair was responsive to customer feedback and complaints on social media, which helped demonstrate its commitment to customer service.
• The prize was attractive and aligned with the airline's brand personality, which helped to strengthen its overall image.
• Further, the contest fostered a sense of community among participants who shared their photos and engaged with the airline on social media.

37. Adore Me, a lingerie company, ran a contest to gain market share

(Image credit: Gleam.io)

• Adore Me created a giveaway that asked people to follow them on social media and share the contest with their friends for a chance to win a year's worth of free lingerie. 
• Leaning into the sharing aspect of the contest helped increase the brand's reach and exposure.
• The prize promoted the brand's product offerings, which added to the contest's appeal - they’re offering things customers won’t get anywhere else.
• Propping up the brand’s items helped increase sales by driving traffic to the website and encouraging people to purchase.
• Their social media strategy also utilised Pinterest, with product images as the focal point.

38. 40,000+ followers were added to this eCommerce store’s audience after they ran a giveaway (one of my favs)

• The Instagram giveaway of Coconut Bowls was also used to collect over 40,000 email addresses and drive sales -  and guess what!? It only cost them $1,000 to run the campaign (wow!)
• They capitalised on FOMO messaging, partnering with influencers to get the word out.
• Because the campaign was set up to generate UGC, they saw over 15,000 posts come up promoting their brand within 4 weeks.

39. This music producer capitalised on his connections to run a viral campaign

(Image credit: Upviral)

• Gabe Schillinger is a hip-hop engineer who has worked with Snoop Dogg.
• By banking on this connection to promote his campaign, he was able to set up a collaboration with Snoop Dogg as a prize.
• He ran a referral program to incentivise customers with a chance to win this on top of other rewards.
• Gamifying the program, people understood that they could win more if they did more - so they did.
• Along the way, he was even able to sell out a product he had propped up within minutes, just from the traction he got through this contest.

40. Mailchimp used company swag to increase brand recognition

(Image credit: Viral Loops)

• Mailchimp launched a series of giveaways , each with a unique theme and a grand prize of company merch.
• They used a variety of promotional channels, including social media, email, and influencer partnerships, to reach a wider audience.
• The company created a sense of urgency by limiting the time frame for entering the giveaways and promoting them heavily in the days leading up to the deadline.
• Centering on swag helped to create a sense of community among Mailchimp's customers and incentivised them to engage with the brand on a deeper level.
• It came to the point where the merch became collectibles, driving up value.

Marketing Focused 

41. this bank used social media influencers to help them gain over 3,000 new twitter followers.

(Image credit: article below)

• Axis Bank's marketing strategy focuses on "The Thought Factory, " which is a platform for innovation and creative thinking.
• They launched an event to which influencers were invited, which had a huge pool in their local market.
• Further, the messaging is centred around the idea of "Progress," which resonates with its target audience.
• The company backed this up with visual branding.
• Making sure that their action follows the message, they leaned hard on customer service, which has helped to build trust and loyalty among users.

42. Netflix used a TikTok filter to promote a new show

(Image credit: Neo Reach)

• Netflix came out with its own creative filter and hashtag to promote Cobra Kai.
• They identified and partnered with influencers who had a significant following and who would resonate with the show's target market.
• Going with a mix of macro and micro-influencers helped them reach a wider audience and create more engagement.
• This was a massive success, with #CobraKaiChop gaining over 4 billion views.
• As a plus, they helped foster a sense of community among show fans, which helped build loyalty and excitement.

43. American Standard, a bathroom brand, created a renovation campaign to promote their products

(Image credit: The Shelf)

• American Standard collaborated with micro-influencers who had a strong following in the DIY and home improvement niche, as well as home design and lifestyle bloggers.
• The campaign was centred around #MyAmericanStandardJourney, which aimed to emphasise the role of the brand in their home living.
• Before and after images and videos helped drive the hype and interest of the general public.
• They were allowed to experiment with various content formats, including blog posts, Instagram stories, and YouTube videos.
• This resulted in positive sentiment towards the brand, with many consumers expressing interest in purchasing the product after seeing the influencers' content.

44. Bacardi, a mojito company, used UGC to improve sales by 14%

(Image credit: Tribe Group)

• Bacardi, the spirits brand, leveraged organic marketing to promote their drinks as the product of choice.
• First, they teamed up with several influencers to create content promoting the #MojitoMoment.
• Then, they took the content tagged with the hashtag and scattered them across digital panels, which were located 15 minutes away from bars where their products were sold.
• This allowed them to subconsciously incite desire among passers-by and old consumers alike to participate AND get the drink.
• Overall, they generated over 1.5 million social media impressions and over 25,000 engagements.

45. This computer company partnered with influencers across Twitch, Youtube, and Twitter

• Nvidia made sure they were visible on the platforms where their target market was present.
• The influencers were chosen for their expertise in PC gaming and their influence over their respective gaming communities.
• Content included product reviews, gameplay footage, and live streams showcasing the company’s new graphics cards in action - things that their audience would want to watch in their free time.
• This helped Nvidia increase brand awareness and reach new audiences, particularly among PC gamers.
• From just partnering with 11 creators, they saw over 40 million impressions.

Referral Marketing

Related reading: if you’re looking to replicate similar success to these studies below from some of these household names, then make sure to check out my ultimate guide to the best referral marketing platforms that you need to look into. 

46. Tesla hit $1 trillion in value without spending a dollar on advertising

(Image credit: Referral Factory)

• Tesla's referral program shows the importance of creating a straightforward yet rewarding program.
• It was designed to incentivise customers to spread the word about Tesla and help the company grow its customer base.
• They kept rewards attractive, like free $1,000 credits, limited edition merchandise, and even a free Tesla Roadster for those who referred the most number of new customers.
• Customers loved the rewards, which caused them to share their experiences with their followers, increasing brand affinity even more.
• Though it cost the company a bit, it helped them achieve significant growth without spending money on traditional advertising.

47. Harry’s had over 100,000 interested customers before it even launched

(Image credit: harrysprelaunchreferral.com )

• Harry's ran its referral program using a viral loop pre-launch to get the word out.
• They gave out a free shave kit for every 5 referrals to keep the program attractive to customers.
• A lot of teasers were involved in solidifying the interest in the product.
• The referral program resulted in a significant increase in customer acquisition and sales for Harry's.
• Overall, participants had a higher customer lifetime value than non-participants.

Related reading: if you’re in eCommerce, you will like these eCommerce referral marketing examples from top brands, where you can get inspiration on how they communicate and grow their referral strategy. 

48. Dropbox saw almost 4,000% in growth in just over a year

(Image credit: Growsurf)

• Dropbox's referral program offered users free extra storage space in exchange for inviting their friends to join.
• Both the referrer and the referred user were incentivised, which helped encourage participation.
• They made it easy for users to track their referrals and see how much storage space they earned.
• It was largely because of this campaign that the company reached 100 million users in just five years.
• The success of Dropbox's referral program shows the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

49. PayPal literally gave out money (one of the first ever successful referral campaigns)

(Image credit: Flyy)

• PayPal’s referral program is considered as the first ‘famous’ (well-known within the tech startup scene) viral growth marketing campaign.
• Dropbox’s campaign was actually inspired by the success of PayPal in this case.
• The premise was simple: Give $20, get $20 - and the rest is history (as we all know, so many SaaS and eCommerce companies have double-sided referral programs).
• Because of the nature of the company, they utilised social proof to encourage people to join by highlighting the success of others who had already referred friends.
• The company’s focus on creating a positive user experience helped to retain users and drive repeat referrals.

50. Robinhood used referrals to hit 1 million users before it even launched

• Robinhood offered a referral program where customers get others to join the platform and receive a free share of stock.
• This was integrated into the onboarding process, making it easy for new users to invite their friends.
• They also kept the signup process short and simple to fit the short attention span of its market.
• Unlike others, Robinhood set a limit on the number of free shares each user could receive, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency.
• The referral program's success helped Robinhood establish itself as a disruptor in the financial industry.

51. Uber gave free rides and bonuses for successful referrals

(Image credit: Smile.io)

• Uber’s referral program gave riders free rides in exchange for referring friends to the service, and it also gave drivers bonuses for referring new drivers.
• It was easy to use and promoted heavily within the app , making it simple for everyone involved.
• To make it more fun and engaging, users were able to personalise their referral code.
• The company ​​also used social proof, displaying the number of successful referrals in the app to encourage others to participate.
• This allowed Uber to acquire new customers at a low cost, which helped them grow rapidly.

⚡Frequently Asked Questions ⚡

Which are your favourite viral marketing case studies that are really worth reading and sharing with colleagues.

Well, as you can see, there are so many epic case studies and examples of brands that have achieved incredible results with virality. Some of the numbers are truly staggering. Pretty much all of them are worth reading and watching (I mean, that’s why I included them in this guide), but if I had to pick seven (7) of my favourites, they would have to be - Old Spice, Volvo Trucks (so good), Red Bull #putacanonit, Go Pro “Million Dollar Challenge”, Coconut Bowls, Harry’s, and of course, one of my favourite platforms and tools I love, Dropbox’s referral program (one of the most famous in the tech startup scene). If you can, try read/watch all these studies and take notes because there are a lot of learnings you’ll be able to pick out.

What are some of the key attributes and elements that go into a viral marketing campaign?

There are lots of advice out there around key elements that goes into making a viral campaign, and it’s also just as important to define what ‘viral’ is (expectation management is important here). The reality is, going viral into the millions is really tough (chances are really low), but you can still spark a level of virality that generates a good ROI and reach for your brand. Having worked on a few campaigns which haven’t gone ‘super viral’ (like the videos you see on YouTube like Volvo Trucks and Old Spice), you can still give yourself the best chance when going into campaign creation. So, whatever channel you’re working on or type of campaign, these are some of the key elements I believe that matter to focus on - First, follow a particular trend that’s happening (i.e. TikTok trends is a great example). Second, use your existing audience and relationship with influencers to generate that initial spark (i.e. a UGC social media comp and they engage/share with others to get involved who may not already be following you). Third, related to the above, ensure you have distribution channels in place, whether it be PR or larger influencers ready to share (again, need to create some sort of groundswell at the start). Fourth, have a great hook (e.g. maybe be somewhat controversial or have a reason for people wanting to read/engage/join the conversation - anything that taps into the emotional triggers of your target audience), and finally, make it super easy to share whatever it is you’re working on (i.e. if you’re driving people to a landing page, social share buttons should be obvious). There are plenty of other elements/variables that go into campaigns like this, but the above strategies/tactics I’ve seen work really well through clients/projects I’ve worked on and what I’ve seen/analysed from top brands.

What’s one of the top strategies you recommend for startups and eCommerce brands to consider to ‘go viral’?

One of my favourite strategies and initiatives I’ve done a few times now is by running viral competitions. You’ll see some of the examples I’ve mentioned above and the results some of them have achieved. Yes, even on a tighter budget, you can achieve pretty epic results similar to the brands/companies that ran great comps. You’ll see what I mean when you take a read through the studies. Although when you do read them, you’ll see the importance of having a good prize (which requires a budget) and using a platform like Gleam Viral Loops or Vyper (there are a few others as well). Additionally, depending on where you live/are located, you also do need to check jurisdiction laws around competitions. I’ve seen brands myself generate thousands of leads and even a decent number of customers (revenue) through these viral competitions. Highly recommend you check the studies out (and others you can find across the net) to get some inspiration that you can consider for your business/team.

For brands on a budget, what do you recommend are ‘viral’ based marketing initiatives that can generate sales and referrals?

In the above question, I mentioned that viral competitions are a great strategy for building up a huge list, awareness and drive sales, but there are some other low-cost initiatives that you should incorporate into your overall marketing strategy. First, make sure you have a referral program in place. The number of brands that I come across with no referral program in place astounds me, as there are plenty of cost-effective tools/solutions on the market. Even if it’s not performing, there’s always room for making optimisations and improvements. Second, in relation to competitions, is UGC social comps (which I mention more below in the next question). Third, do partner/collab campaigns with other related brands (that aren’t direct competitors). For example, you can do email campaigns through both your audiences to get exposure to new subscribers, as well as do social media collabs. Fourth, this strategy can add up if not careful, but I personally believe micro-influencers are really good for smaller brands on a budget. However, it can only work if you effectively measure the ROI from the engagement (i.e. use coupon codes, tracking links, etc.). Working with numerous brands, I’ve seen first-hand it can still work incredibly well, especially at scale when you grow. Plus, the benefits of awareness and sales is one thing, but it’s the accelerated trust building and content that can really pay off dividends for your business. Fifth and final strategy suggestion is getting good at creating engaging content, and then focus on building relationships for distribution. If you get good at this (and stay consistent), in no time, you’ll get the awareness and viral exposure you’re looking for. I’ve suggested five strong strategies here that have worked time and time again for myself and various clients I’ve worked with over the years. However, there are naturally plenty of others you’ll get exposed to - it all comes down to testing and experimenting but ensuring you measure it effectively to track ROI.

Do UGC campaigns on social platforms still work effectively for brands on a leaner budget?

The short answer is yes, UGC social comps and posts are a great way to build awareness as well as followers and, ultimately, drive sales of new customers. However, it’s becoming more of a challenge as social media platforms reduce/tighten their organic reach. A great strategy actually I’ve started to see a lot of brands do is co-branded/collab UGC competitions with other related (non-direct competitor) brands. It’s a win-win by cross-promoting audiences and getting that initial ‘boost’ of organic reach. Naturally, though, you’re always going to need some sort of budget (not just for the prize) to really get the wheels turning when it comes to getting awesome engagement that can increase your chances of getting huge numbers of entries. So for those on a budget, definitely look into UGC comp collabs on Instagram.

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10 Marketing Case Study Examples: Learn How to Master Them in Your Campaigns

There are millions of blog posts, articles, and videos across the internet that try to give you advice about marketing. According to Google, at least 7,050,000 unique content pieces include the phrase “marketing tips.”

But with plenty of outdated and filler content creation to just build out a website, it’s hard to find applicable advice that actually works online.

In this article, you’ll learn from marketing case study examples that demonstrate what it takes to master channels like social media, email marketing , and PPC, as well as how to use case studies in your own campaigns.

Don’t rely on empty words. Learn powerful marketing best practices that are backed up with examples and data.

What is a marketing case study?

In marketing, a case study is an in-depth study of the effectiveness of a certain tool, tactic, or strategy. It focuses on measurable outcomes, like an increase in sales, visitors, or production hours.

Typically, it includes a few key elements:

• Introduction to the customer/client
• The problem the client needed to solve (should align with problems prospective clients also need to solve)
• The solution (and context of why your company/software was the right fit)
• Data from before and after implementing the solution

In a sense, a case study documents the journey of working with your company. And it gives potential future customers a reason to trust your company.

What are the different types of case studies in marketing?

In marketing, three main types of case studies are commonly used:

1. Third-person or client case studies: These highlight the experience of a specific client working with your company or using your product.

2. Explanatory case studies: These case studies explore the impact of a phenomenon or tactic, such as the company’s marketing strategy, and how it impacted its growth. In this case, it’s not based on first-hand experience, but rather observation and inference.

3. Implementation case studies: An implementation case study takes the average client case study a bit further, focusing on the actual implementation and covering it in detail.

You can also divide the case studies further by the type of medium they use — video or text.

And in 2024, video case studies are becoming more and more popular. Many companies even use them as remarketing ads to address potential objections.

Why should you use case studies?

Case studies are a powerful way to prove that your products or services work, showcase your expertise, and build trust with potential customers.

It’s a way to transition away from just “telling” your customers and instead start “showing” them through examples. There’s a reason the old copywriting maxim goes, “Show, don’t tell.”

Consumers’ trust in companies to tell the truth in advertising materials is lower than ever. In 2020, only 14% of consumers said they trust advertising to be honest about a product or service.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t generate trust with your company’s website.

Consumers trust third-party reviews, testimonials, and data. In fact, 91% of 18–34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

So you need social proof. And client case studies — especially those that interview the current clients — are the best of both worlds. You get to highlight data while getting powerful social proof that shows that your product works.

When just adding a simple customer testimonial to your website can increase conversion rates by up to 34% , imagine what a detailed, compelling case study can do.

1. Email marketing case study: Your Therapy Source

If you think that email is a marketing medium of the past, think again. At ActiveCampaign, we have hundreds of recent case studies that prove the opposite.

For example, Your Therapy Source receives a 2000% return on investment (ROI) from our campaigns simply by taking advantage of basic marketing automation .

In particular, a basic abandoned cart email represents around 30% of all revenue generated by automations.

With ActiveCampaign, that’s incredibly easy to set up. You can take advantage of our integrations with key e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce , Shopify , and more.

Because the case study goes into detail about exactly how the company achieved the results, it’s a combination of an implementation case study and a regular third-person case study.

2. Instagram marketing case study: Converse

If you look at all the top Instagram accounts in clothing, Converse has a much higher engagement rate than its competitors.

At 1.79%, their social media posts have an organic engagement rate over 15 times higher than Nike.

Why is that?

Let’s take a closer look at how they achieve these numbers:

When looking at Converse’s top Instagram posts, you quickly notice a trend. Collaborations with influential creators and artists — lately Tyler, the Creator — get a different level of engagement.

The post promoting their new collaboration shoe got over 183,000 likes in a few weeks. Converse even took it a step further and produced a short film with Tyler.

If you want to reach a wider number of people, combining audiences is a great strategy.

This is an example of an explanatory case study.

First, we worked backward from Converse’s powerful Instagram results. Then, we identified tactics that contribute to their high levels of engagement.

Because we didn’t work directly with Converse, and we’re only observing as an outsider, this is an explanatory case study.

3. Content marketing case study: porch.com

Fractl is a content marketing agency that worked with porch.com for over a year to earn 931 unique domain links, 23,000 monthly organic visits, and more.

The case study focuses on results over method — that means it’s a typical third-person case study.

They’re showcasing the results the company generated for a specific outside client without getting into the how-to.

These types of case studies are most useful for persuading hesitant potential customers to get on board. Showing that you’ve generated results for similar companies or people in the past is the best way to prove your skill set.

Depending on your target audience, going into detail with an implementation case study may be a better option.

4. SEO case study: Zapier study by Ryan Berg

This in-depth case study by Ryan Berg is a perfect example of how you can use explanatory case studies in your marketing.

It breaks down Zapier’s SEO strategy and how they created over 25,000 unique landing pages to improve their search rankings for different search terms.

Zapier’s main strategy revolves around targeting relevant long-tail keywords like “app A + app B integration.” That’s the key they used to generate serious organic traffic over the long term.

By breaking down industry leaders and how they rose to success, you can borrow some of their brand power and credibility.

You can use these kinds of case studies if your current clients don’t allow you to go into detail about the tactics you use to grow their online presence.

These case studies demonstrate to potential clients that you know what you’re talking about and have the expertise needed to help them succeed in their industry.

5. PPC case study: Google Ads and Saraf Furniture

When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, Google was one of the earliest innovators. And in 2021, it’s still the largest digital advertiser globally, with $146.92 billion in ad revenue in 2020.

You might not think they need any more credibility, but Google still uses case studies, especially in emerging markets like India.

This case study shows how Google Ads helped Saraf Furniture generate 10 times more inbound leads each month and hire 1,500 new carpenters as a result.

Without going into details about the methods, it’s another typical third-person case study designed to build trust.

6. Video marketing case study: L’Oréal and YouTube

In this case study, various members of L’Oréal’s global marketing team break down exactly how they used YouTube ads to launch a new product.

As a result of the campaign, they were able to establish their new product as the No. 2 in its category and earn 34% of all mass sales across a network of online retailers.

The case study breaks down how they used YouTube for different stages — from awareness to loyalty. It’s another example of a third-person implementation case study.

7. Remarketing case study: AdRoll and Yoga Democracy

AdRoll is a remarketing platform that tracks your visitors and lets you show them targeted ads across the internet.

Their case study with Yoga Democracy perfectly showcases the power of the platform.

Look at these highlights:

• 200% increase in conversions
• 50% reduction in CPA
• 19% of total revenue attributed to AdRoll

These are metrics you’d love to show any potential customer. The case study goes into detail about how they built an effective remarketing campaign, including cart recovery emails and ads.

Because of the detail, you can classify this as an implementation case study.

8. Influencer marketing case study: Trend and WarbyParker

This influencer marketing case study from Warby Parker and Trend showcases how you can use influencer marketing even with a limited budget.

The “Wearing Warby” campaign was centered around showcasing influencers wearing Warby Parker glasses in their everyday life.

From mundane tasks like eating breakfast to artists creating a new masterpiece — it showcased Warby Parker’s products in use and made the brand more approachable for influencers’ followers.

This is another third-person case study, as it doesn’t go into much detail beyond the results.

9. Customer experience case study: App Annie and Coca-Cola

In this case study, Greg Chambers, the director of innovation for Coca-Cola, explains what App Annie brings to the table.

Instead of specific numbers and metrics, it focuses on the big-picture benefits that App Annie has on Coca-Cola’s customer experience.

The video interview format is also perfect for driving trust with potential customers.

Again, this is a typical third-person case study that you see a lot in the marketing world.

10. SaaS case study: Asana and Carta

Of course, it’s not just agencies and advertising platforms that need to master the use of case studies in digital marketing.

Let’s explore an example of a case study outside the marketing industry, in this case specifically for B2B marketers.

Asana is a project management platform that helps companies make their workflows more efficient.

It’s a good example of a case study that focuses more on the lived experience and less on the metrics.

This is a third-person case study that is closer to a client interview or testimonial, which is a good option if it’s hard to quantify improvements with metrics.

Best practices: How to use case studies in your own marketing campaigns

In this section, you’ll learn best practices to help you maximize the value of case studies in your own marketing campaigns.

Let’s look at four steps you can take to effectively use case studies.

Include a dedicated case study/customer stories page on your website

Most companies with a successful online presence have one of these pages. Emulate the top competitors in your industry by creating an improved version of their pages.

You can also add a case studies section to your resources page or blog.

Build CTAs into your case study pages

The chances are low that a random Googler will make it to your case studies. Most likely, it’s someone who thinks they might need your product.

So don’t be afraid to include calls to action throughout your case study pages.

Share case studies as part of your email marketing campaigns

Email marketing is hands-down the best channel for nurturing potential needs . That means you should always use case studies and customer success stories in your campaigns.

But it’s important that it doesn’t feel too promotional. Instead, share the unique steps they took to ensure success to deliver value, not just pitch.

Use case study video ads to overcome objections

When you’re thinking about buying a product, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it.

“It’s too expensive.” “It won’t work for me.” There are a lot of excuses and objections out there.

A case study video can be a powerful tool to overcome these objections in potential buyers.

Don’t overlook case studies when you’re planning your next marketing campaign. Towards the bottom end of the funnel, in stages like decision and action, they’re a powerful marketing tool.

When used right, case studies will help you fill your sales pipeline and provide your sales team with qualified leads.

Hopefully, the examples in this article taught you how you can use case studies in social media, email, and content marketing strategy to further your business goals.

You should also have learned how to use case studies to sell your company’s expertise.

If you want to grow your business, it’s crucial to learn from the people who have gone before you. In marketing, trying to learn all principles from scratch through trial and error would be a costly mistake.

If you’re ready to take advantage of marketing automation and email marketing tools that help similar businesses generate ROIs of 20x or higher, start your ActiveCampaign trial today .

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5 Case Studies of Successful Digital Marketing Campaigns

Hold onto your hats, marketers!

Did you know digital marketing spending is set to explode, reaching a mind-boggling $ 786 billion by 2026 ? And with social media ad spend hitting over $70 billion in the US alone , there’s no denying the power of a killer online campaign.

But here’s the thing: it’s not just about throwing money at ads. Successful campaigns in 2024 are a strategic dance – they blend social media with a whole symphony of channels for a knockout customer experience.

Think of it like this: Personalizing your message? That’s the move that turns casual shoppers into loyal fans.

Ready to see how top brands are doing a successful digital marketing campaign? I’m dissecting 5 real-world campaigns that nailed this formula and reaped the rewards. Get ready for digital marketing strategies – inspiration and a blueprint for your own marketing success await.

• Beyond the Love Fest: Slack's Winning Formula

Ideas to Adapt This Digital Advertising Strategy

Tips to steal for your business, ideas for your business, lessons for your business, case study #1. slack.

Slack’s meteoric rise in the competitive business communication space can be largely attributed to their genius understanding of a simple concept: customers love to talk about products they adore. Here’s how they turned this digital marketing campaign into marketing gold:

• The “Wall of Love” Campaign: This brilliant tactic involved a dedicated Twitter account (@SlackLoveTweets) that amplified positive user testimonials. This effortless social proof machine did wonders for brand reputation and encouraged even more glowing commentary.
• Easy Sharing = Participation: Using X (formerly Twitter), a platform already beloved by users, removed any participation hurdles.
• Feedback Loop: Praise wasn’t just for show – the team used those rave reviews to refine their product and deliver what users really needed.
• The Power of Visuals: Tweets with included images got more traction and showcased how Slack integrates into people’s work lives.

Beyond the Love Fest: Slack’s Winning Formula

Slack’s success goes beyond a single campaign. Here’s why they continue to compete with giants like Microsoft Teams:

• Relentless Focus on User Experience: From its inception, Slack was built with the user in mind. Easy setup, intuitive design…it removes the tech friction that bogs down other platforms.
• Real-Time = Real Connection: In a world demanding instant communication, Slack delivers. This keeps teams on the same page and fosters a sense of camaraderie.
• Customizable and Integrations-Friendly: Slack’s open approach lets it play nicely with countless other tools, creating a tailored work hub. This flexibility is invaluable to businesses.

The Bottom Line: Slack proved that listening to customers and showing that they matter is the recipe for building not just a loyal user base, but passionate brand advocates.

Want to implement aspects of this for your own business? Here are some ideas:

• Run a testimonial campaign: It doesn’t need to be as fancy as “The Wall of Love.” A simple social media hashtag or even a dedicated landing page can get people talking.
• Turn glowing testimonials into visuals: Tweets, infographics…make that praise eye-catching.
• Pay attention to even the smallest bits of feedback. That’s where your next big feature idea might be hiding.

Case Study #2. UNIQLO

UNIQLO knew that to get people excited about their HEATTECH line, they needed to go beyond standard ads. Hence, an ingenious omnichannel experience was born:

• The Hook: Eye-catching digital billboards across Australia, plus videos online, dared people to snap photos of unique codes. This gamified the promotion, making it fun.
• The Reward: Codes unlocked either free t-shirts (who doesn’t love free stuff?) or tempting e-commerce discounts. Plus, a gentle push toward signing up for the newsletter for future deals.
• The Viral Touch: The experience was shareable on social media, letting satisfied customers spread the word and get their friends involved.

Why This Was Marketing Magic

• The Power of “Free”: Giveaways always pique interest, and those t-shirts were a brilliant way to get people to try the product.
• Bridging Online and Offline: The billboards drove people to the digital campaign, and the campaign funneled real-world shoppers into their online ecosystem.
• Beyond Just a Sale: While the initial goal was sales, UNIQLO also used this to build their email list, ensuring those new customers could be nurtured later.

The Impressive Results: 1.3 million video views, 25K new email subscribers, and a whopping 35K new customers speak for themselves.

• Gamifying the experience: Can you add a code-finding element, or a contest, to your campaigns?
• Freebies are your friend: It doesn’t have to be t-shirts; a free sample or exclusive content could work just as well.
• Think about the share factor: How can you encourage participants to organically spread the word?

Case Study #3. Airbnb

Airbnb understood that to stand out, they couldn’t just offer rooms – they had to sell the feeling of travel. Here’s how they did it:

“Made Possible By Hosts” Campaign: This heartwarming video used real guest photos and a nostalgic soundtrack to evoke that “remember that epic trip?” sensation. It subtly showcased great properties while focusing on the emotional benefits of those getaways. ( Watch Here )

“Belong Anywhere” Campaign: This was about ditching the cookie-cutter hotel experience and immersing yourself in a destination. Airbnb positioned itself as the key to local adventures, belonging, and transformation through travel. ( Watch Here )

Key Takeaways

• Video is KING: They invested in both short, shareable how-to videos and longer, emotionally impactful ones.
• UGC is Your Goldmine: User photos and stories provided powerful, free content while also building that vital trust factor.
• Sentiment Sells: Airbnb didn’t bog down ads with facts; they used music, imagery, and storytelling to tap into that wanderlust in viewers.

The Success: These campaigns weren’t just pretty to look at; those 17M views for “Made Possible by Hosts” and the global reach of “Belong Anywhere” translated into real bookings.

Why It Matters: Airbnb disrupted an entire industry by understanding that:

• Experience Matters More Than Specs: They sell adventures, memories, and that feeling of connection, not just a place to crash.
• Authenticity Wins: User-generated content is relatable and trustworthy, which is key in the travel industry.
• Don’t just show the product, show the FEELING: How will your product or service transform a customer’s life?
• Run Contests for UGC: Get those customer photos rolling in. Offer a prize for the most “adventurous” or “heartwarming” shot.
• Showcase Your Brand Personality: Was Airbnb’s tone all serious? Nope. They were fun, sentimental, and a little cheeky, which fit their brand image.

Could You Partner with Airbnb? This case study also begs the question: for businesses in the travel or hospitality space, an Airbnb collaboration could be marketing magic.

Case Study #4. Lyft

Lyft realized they already had a killer product – their challenge was getting MORE people to try it. Enter the power of referrals:

• The Hook: Simple referral codes were sharable via the app, email, or even text. This made it a snap for riders to spread the word.
• The Reward: Free or discounted rides. This wasn’t a measly $5 off; it was significant enough to make riders really want to tell their friends.
• The Viral Loop: Refer a friend, get a discount. Friend uses Lyft, they get a discount…you see where this is going.

Why This Was Smart

• Low-Cost, High-Yield: Traditional advertising is pricey. Referrals are fueled by happy customers, which is way cheaper.
• The Trust Factor: People trust recommendations from people they know infinitely more than some billboard.
• Scalability: This successful digital marketing strategy grows with their user base – the more satisfied riders, the more potential advocates.

The Bottom Line: Lyft didn’t just make a clever campaign; they built a referral system into the core of their app, ensuring growth wouldn’t be a one-time thing.

• What’s Your Incentive?: Freebies, discounts, exclusive content – what will actually make your customers want to share?
• Make It EASY: Don’t make them jump through hoops. One-click sharing options are essential.
• Track and Reward: Who are your top referrers? They deserve some extra love (maybe even a tiered rewards program).

Case Study #5. Sephora

Sephora understood a key weakness of e-commerce: you can’t try on a lipstick through a screen. That’s why they went all-in on innovative tech:

• The App as a Virtual Dressing Room: AI and AR are game-changers. Their app lets customers try on makeup from anywhere, boosting confidence in online purchases.
• Closing the Loop: Smart, eh? The app connects right to their e-store; a few taps and that virtual lipstick is in your real-world cart.
• Personalized to the Max: Using shopper data, the app tailors the experience, offering tailored recommendations that increase the chance of buying.

Why This Isn’t Just Cool, It’s Genius

• Overcoming Obstacles: They addressed a key pain point of buying cosmetics online. Less hesitation = more sales.
• Omnichannel FTW: They don’t just exist online; there’s an in-store connection too. That app? It helps you there as well.
• It’s about the EXPERIENCE: Sephora knows beauty is fun, and their digital strategy reflects that with virtual try-ons, quizzes, etc.
• Solve a problem: Don’t just add tech for the sake of it. Find a pain point in your customer journey and see if there’s a tech solution.
• The “Experience” Factor: Can you add interactive elements, gamification, or a personalized touch to your digital presence?
• Data Is Your Friend: If you’re collecting it, USE it. Tailored offers, recommendations…these keep customers coming back for more.

Final Thought on These Successful Digital Marketing Campaigns

These case studies showcase the importance of being adaptable, customer-focused, and not afraid to try new things. The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, but by understanding the core principles of what makes people tick, your business can craft truly impactful online marketing campaigns.

The Power of Emotion & Experience

• Best marketing campaigns aren’t just about features; they tap into feelings . Airbnb evokes the thrill of travel, Slack reminds us of the joy of smooth team communication, and Sephora makes buying makeup playful.
• Ask yourself: What does my product/service let customers feel and how can my content marketing capture that?

User-Generated Content is Marketing Gold

• The campaign featured like Slack’s “Wall of Love” and Airbnb’s focus on guest photos prove that real-world stories beat slick ads every time.
• This builds trust and provides endless free content.
• How to get started? Contests, easy-to-use “review” features on your site, and incentivizing social media platforms’ shares.

Omnichannel is the Future

• Both Sephora and UNIQLO masterfully blurred the lines between online and offline experiences.
• The target audience wants to engage with brands on their terms . Be present on social, have a mobile-friendly site, and if possible, find ways to integrate the in-store experience.

Word-of-Mouth Still Reigns Supreme

• Lyft’s referral program is a reminder that happy customers are your best salespeople.
• Don’t focus solely on gaining new customers; ensure your current ones feel so valued they can’t help but spread the word.
• Tips: Loyalty programs, excellent customer service that goes the extra mile, referral incentives

Tech is Your Tool, Not Your Master

• Sephora’s AI and AR try-ons are impressive, but the core goal is solving a problem for customers.
• Avoid using tech just to be trendy. Focus on how it can truly enhance your customer’s journey.

Related Content:

• Niche Website Builder: Your Profitable Niche Site From Scratch
• The Dark Side of Digital: 6 Worst Social Media Platforms In 2024 [Exposed]
• 10 Best Digital Marketing Niches in 2024 & 100 Profitable Sub-Niche Ideas
• How to Grow Your Business Online in 2024 (Entrepreneur Guide)
• 10 Best Facebook Niches: Goldmines for Unmatched ROI and Growth

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33+ Best Digital Marketing Case Studies [2021 Update]

• June 16, 2020

Looking for some inspiration for your digital marketing?

The best thing you can do is read up some real-life, practical digital marketing case studies.

But see, good case studies are few and far in-between…

...Which is why we compiled this mega-list of the BEST digital marketing case studies in 2021.

Whether you’re looking for SEO, Content Marketing, PPC, or whatever else, we included it in this guide.

So, let’s dive right into it.

Ready, set, go!

33+ Digital Marketing Case Studies [All Channels]

Looking for a specific digital marketing channel you want to read up on?

Feel free to skip ahead:

SEO Case Studies

Content marketing case studies, facebook ads case studies, google ads case studies, influencer marketing case studies, other digital marketing case studies, 1. apollo digital - 0 to 200k monthly organic traffic.

• 0 to 200,000 monthly organic traffic in 2 years.
• Ranked #1-3 for extremely high CPC keywords (20$ CPC+).

Case Study Summary:

Apollo Digital helped set up an SEO strategy for a client (business process management software) that brought in 200K+ monthly organic traffic in just 2 years.

• Apollo Digital (that’s us!) completely revamped a SaaS company’s content strategy.
• We pin-pointed issues with existing blog posts (mainly, keyword cannibalization ), and proposed improvements
• Did keyword research to identify and prioritize top keywords for the company.
• Implemented content outlines to make sure the content that writers were writing was on-point for SEO.
• Used superior content UX to make the blog extremely easy to read.

You can find the full SEO case study here.

2. Backlinko - 652% Organic Traffic Increase in 7 days

• Increased organic traffic to one of their webpages by 652% in 7 days.
• Ranking went from the middle of the second page on Google to #5.

Backlinko implemented the Skyscraper Technique 2.0. Here’s what they did...

• Created a mobile SEO checklist blog post which cracked the top 10 results for the target keyword, got a huge spike in traffic in its first week, but soon dropped to the middle of the second page.
• Realized the post was getting buried because it didn’t satisfy user intent for that keyword.
• Analyzed first page results to figure out user search intent for extremely competitive keywords (“mobile SEO”).
• Changed blog post format from case study to an actual checklist to satisfy the intent, and optimized for user experience by making the text easier to read.

Check out the detailed steps for the Skyscraper Technique 2.0 here.

3. Ahrefs - Using the Skyscraper Technique to Obtain 15 Links With a 6.5% Success Rate

• Sent out 232 emails and obtained 15 backlinks, at a 6.5% success rate.

Dale Cudmore tested the SEO skyscraper technique for his brand new site (an online cv builder).

• Picked a topic that was very relevant to his niche. Since he was trying to build a resume builder, the topic was “how to write a resume.”
• Followed the skyscraper technique and created even better content than what was ranking at the time.
• Then, he reached out to people who had already linked to the specific content he was improving upon. Since they had already linked to a similar article, they were more likely to link to content that’s better.
• Dale sent out 232 emails and obtained 15 links to his article. Though his rankings didn’t change significantly (extremely competitive niche), the technique proved to be a success for generating backlinks.

Want to learn more about the technique Dale used? Check out Backlinko’s write-up on the skyscraper technique here.

Looking to read the complete case study? Go here .

4. GotchSEO - Squeeze Page That Converts at 74.5%

• Set up a squeeze page that converted at 74.5%.

Natchan Gotch set up a high-converting squeeze page that used a lot of trust signals to get the visitors to opt-in for the content.

• Created a well-structured landing page & ran retargeting ads to it.
• Presented his offer through a benefit-driven headline.
• He used distinct trust signals (a recognizable logo, GDPR compliance, copyright notice) to mitigate any trust risks and maximize the chances of the prospect taking action.

You can check out the complete case study here .

5. Online Ownership - Winning in Local SEO for a Competitive Industry

• Ranked #1 for competitive taxi-related keywords ($1.38 CPC+) with local SEO .

Online Ownership, an SEO agency, helped a taxi company dominate local search rankings.

• Created in-city location guide on how to get to/from the local airports which has been viewed over 170,000 times by now. ..
• Mentioned info on long-term airport parking companies, got them to share the content once it was live.
• The company was at the end of one county, and the beginning of another, which hurt their location-based search queries when the county was specified. So he changed the local NAP (name, address, phone number), and corrected the PIN marker to correctly account for the business location.
• The business started appearing within the local pack for almost all main search queries within the city.

Check out the full case study here.

6. Kaiserthesage - The Definitive Guide to Enterprise Link Building

• Drove almost 5 million organic visits in 2 years through authority content. Focused 80% of the campaign promotion on acquiring high-quality backlinks.

Jason of Kaiserthesage wanted to create a process for generating high-quality backlinks. In this case study, he details his process outreach process:

• Identified tactics they could effectively use for link acquisition campaigns (broken/resource link building and link reclamation).
• Compiled list of high-authority brands that were likely to link back to them.
• Conducted large-scale outreach campaigns, and followed up at least 3 times per prospect.
• Tried out different content types for link building, including practical guides/tutorials, original research studies, case studies, infographics, and more.
• Tracked results every step of the way, optimized relevant site pages (write for us, recommended list pages, etc.), and tested more outreach tactics.

You can find the full enterprise link building case study here.

7. Growth Machine - 0 to 150,000 Monthly Organic Visitors in 8 Months

• Generated 150,000 monthly organic visitors in 8 months for a brand new blog project.
• The site grew from a tiny blog to one of the most popular tea blogs on the internet.

Nat Eliason (founder of Growth Machine), grew a tea blog to 150,000 monthly searches in order to use it as a case study for his agency.

• Nat chose a topic area he knew a lot about (tea) and knew there was an audience for.
• Researched keywords with the perfect mix of low difficulty and high volume and arranged everything in a spreadsheet.
• Started publishing high quality content surrounding the topic at a rate of four blog posts per week, every week, for 8 months.
• Used Reddit, Facebook groups, and Pinterest to promote the content and drive traffic. inked back to the new content from owned websites, and mentioned it in interviews and guest posts.

You can find the full case study here.

8. Robbie Richards - 6-Step SEO Process That Generated 150,732 Visits

• Increased organic traffic by 11,065% in just 6 months and generated 20,314 organic pageviews with a single post.
• Captured 2,335 emails.

Robbie Richards details the 6-step SEO process he used to grow his client’s drone site:

• Found a topic (drones) with solid monthly search volume and a lot of secondary keyword targets.
• Created the best online guide on how to fly a quadcopter - more in-depth and high-quality than other articles at the time.
• Optimized the blog post for on-page SEO, included plenty of external/internal links, improved page speed, and made the content more UX friendly.
• Inserted a pop-up and lead-box to start generating subscribers from the blog post.
• Promoted content on Quora and relevant online forums.
• Set up social automation to share content automatically
• Submitted content on to relevant scoop.it pages.
• Used 4 different outreach strategies to build high-quality backlinks.

Need help with your SEO?

Let's skyrocket your traffic together.

9. Apollo Digital - $25,000+ From A Single Blog Post

• Content piece went viral, generating $25,000 revenue in business from a single blog post.
• 20+ leads, and over 11,000+ in page views over the first month.

Apollo Digital created and promoted epic content, which went viral and brought in over $25K in revenue (and growing).

• Researched a topic that dealt with major pain points for SaaS founders.
• Created a super in-depth 14,000+ words blog post full of actionable tips and tactics on SaaS marketing , all based on their unique perspective and experience.
• Provided better content UX, used a ton of on-page visual elements, and a Smart Content Filter plugin to make the guide easier to digest.
• Promoted on 12 different marketing channels, including Reddit, Hacker News, and Facebook groups
• Ran ads on Quora, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.

Check out the full content marketing case study here.

10. Content Mavericks - This Content Distribution Strategy Got 87,591 Visits To One Blog Post

• Used a content distribution strategy to get 87,591 visits to one blog post in 60 days.

Chris Von Wilpert of Content Mavericks created a giant article that completely breaks down HubSpot’s marketing strategy. In this case study, he talks about the content promotion strategy he used to get the article to go viral.

• Created keystone content on HubSpot’s growth strategy.
• Promoted it to his fans: inner circle, social circle, and outer circle.
• Used free traffic multipliers: email, push notification, Facebook messenger, and outreach lists to distribute content.
• Used paid traffic multipliers to manufacture virality. Reached thousands of new fans by running retargeting ads on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Outbrain

Check out the full content distribution strategy case study here.

11. OptiMonk - How iSpionage Increased Blog Referral Traffic by 58% in 1 Month Using Onsite Retargeting

• Increased blog referral traffic by 58.09%.
• Achieved a 5.47% CTR for blog redirect popup.

iSpionage was publishing new blog posts regularly, but their blog wasn’t redirecting a whole lot of referral traffic to their product page. Here’s what they did to fix that....

• They used an OptiMonk exit-intent popup to entice users to check out their main homepage.
• To redirect only interested visitors,the popup would only appear for readers who had spent a minimum of 10 seconds on the blog. And for better visitor experience, they set up the popup to appear a maximum number of 5 times per visitor, with at least 1 day between appearances.

Check out the full iSpionage case study by OptiMonk here.

12. SEO Travel UK - 11K Website Views in 2 Weeks From Infographic Marketing

• 11,304 website visits in 2 weeks.
• 245% increased in referral traffic compared to the same period of last year.
• More than 100 new high-quality domains linking to the site.

During the peak Game of Thrones popularity, SEO Travel UK went viral by creating infographic based on the popular show.

• Researched the best/most popular Game of Thrones content on the web to make sure that their project was worth pursuing.
• Created an infographic of all the real-life locations where the TV show was filmed.
• Reached out to people who had shared similar content in the past and asked if they’d like to feature the infographic as an exclusive.
• Promoted infographic on GoT fandom and other ‘geek’ sites and forums.

Check out the full content marketing strategy used and the case study here.

13. YesOptimist - Scaled a Startup From 0 to 100K Visitors/Mo In About One Year

• Scaled College Raptor from 0 to 100K organic sessions per month in about one year.
• Generated 1M+ visitors to the website.

YesOptimist used a content marketing strategy that combined evergreen, social/viral and link-earning content.

• Used public data and visualcontent (infographics, maps, rankings, etc.) to score early wins and backlinks from high-quality domain websites.
• Created a giant resource with rankings for overlooked colleges. Then, they reached out to the said colleges, and asked for a share. Overall, just this netted them around 250,000+ visitors in just one week.
• Published 200+ articles over a few months to achieve explosive growth.

14. CanIRank - How Fieldwire Scaled Marketing Without Losing Their Focus on Product

• Achieved top 3 rankings for nearly all of their primary keywords in 6 months.
• The traffic (if they’d advertised on the keywords) would cost them more than $10,000 a year.

CanIRank helped Fieldwire (web and mobile collaboration platform) boost their rankings for all primary keywords in their domain, beating out larger and more established companies.

• Used CanIRank’s “Improve My Ranking” tool to identify high potential pages with keywords that were ranking, but too low to get much traffic.
• Used data-driven on-page optimization for high potential pages.
• Revised content strategy and identified additional content topics that offered a good balance of value and ranking difficulty.
• Reached out to relevant media outlets and pitched founder interviews and other relevant stories.

You can see the full Fieldwire content marketing case study here.

15. BuzzSumo - How BuzzSumo Achieved $2.5m Annual Revenue in its First Year: Case Study in SaaS Growth

• Gained over 160K freemium subscribers and more than 2K paying customers in their first year.
• Gained 2.5M annual revenue total.

In 2014, as the use of AdBlock was growing, businesses were starting to rely on content more than ever. Here’s how BuzzSumo capitalized on the content marketing frenzy.

• Spent most of their budget on their content marketing tool, which generated more awareness, sharing, and advocacy than any marketing expenditures.
• Gained the support of important influencers (Larry Kim, Rand Fishkin, Neil Patel, etc.).
• Focused on making the product sticky and reducing churn rate.
• Created unique content based on data, gave away everything they knew, and started growing steadily over the year.

See the full case study of how BuzzSumo achieved 2.5M in annual revenue here.

16. GrooveHQ - Behind the Scenes: How We’ve Built a $5M/Year Business in 3 Years With Content Marketing

• Achieved $5M/Year in annual recurring revenue and gained over 250,000 readers each month in over 3 years.

GrooveHQ wanted to rebuild their content marketing strategy with a focus on their target market's challenges and goals. Here’s how they accomplished that:.

• Redesigned their content marketing strategy to be more transparent and focus on their own business challenges and goals.
• Asked new email subscribers about their business struggles, and answered those questions in the form of blog posts.
• Reached out to influencers, and asked for their thoughts and feedback on blog posts (Instead of begging them for shares).
• Ran A/B tests on narrative-based storytelling blog posts to see which ones performed better.

Find the full GrooveHQ $5M content marketing case study here.

17. Zest - Generate MQLs for 15x less? Yes, please. How Whatagraph crushed it

• Lowered Whatagraph’s cost per marketing qualified lead (MQL) by 15x - from $60 to just $4.
• Of all the users who signed up for a free trial as a result of the campaign, 9% were sales qualified leads (SQLs) that converted at a cost 4x less than Whatagraph’s usual paid advertising per-lead cost.

Whatagraph wanted to promote their annual marketing report template to the right audience without breaking their budget. Here’s how they did this:

• Whatagraph partnered with Zest to extend their web presence and promote their marketing annual report template.
• Paid $400 for a content boost strategy to promote their template on the Zest Content Stream and in their newsletter.
• The campaign started just before Christmas and continued through January 23, 2020, which lowered Whatagraph’s cost per MQL by 15x.

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18. AdEspresso - Facebook Ads Case Study: The Million Dollar Indiegogo Campaign

• Secured pre-orders from over 76 countries, with over 2,000 backers on Indiegogo.
• Achieved over $900K in funding.

BionicGym wanted to promote their Indiegogo page for an increase in sales and site visits. Here’s how they did this:

• Set up one campaign per country ads and set the objective to ‘Conversions’.
• Split-tested up to 252 ads and used the auto-optimization feature to relocate funding across the different ads, depending on how they performed.
• Set up retargeting campaigns and split test to everyone who visited the Indiegogo page and watched the Facebook video ad.
• Created lookalike audiences for the best-performing audiences.
• Reached a 9x ROI for some of the campaigns.

Check out the full Facebook Ads million-dollar Indiegogo campaign case study here.

19. Andrew Hubbard - $36,449 In Revenue From a $4,159 Ad Spend

• Generated $36,449 in revenue from $4,159 ad spend,
• Gained 769 new email subscribers and 128 new Facebook page likes.

Andrew Hubbard helped the client (Navid Moazzez) advertise his flagship course through Facebook ads.

• Ran ads a week before the course opened to get email newsletter opt-ins.
• Targeted warm traffic (Facebook fans, email list) first to an opt-in page.
• Ran ads for cold traffic, directing them to an un-gated (no-opt in) blog post. Once people had read the blog post, they were retargeted with ads promoting a relevant lead magnet.
• Created ads focusing on urgency and scarcity when bonus packages were starting to expire.

You can see the full Facebook Ads case study here.

19. Sugatan - Step-by-step Ecommerce Scaling from 50k/Mo to 520k/Mo with Facebook Ads

• $520K+ in monthly sales with 3.79x ROAS through the funnel.
• 2.35x ROAS at top-of-funnel, spending $100k+/monthly.

Sugatan (eCommerce growth-hacking agency) scaled their client using Facebook Ads and by testing different kinds of creatives. Here’s what, exactly, they did:

• Installed HotJar on the client’s eCommerce site to get insights on how customers behaved. Tested different video creative types, different ad ratio sizes, copy, thumbnails, and buttons to see what converted best.
• Killed off smaller ad-sets with the same audiences to prepare for scaling. Increased budget 20-30% twice per day for 2-3 days.
• Increased budget 1 month before Christmas and Black Friday sales, and launched a Facebook Messenger & email collection campaign 1 week before the sale started. Created VIP discounts for people who gave them their email addresses or subscribed to their messenger list.
• Starting running ads for the whole week before Black Friday - giving 10% off to everyone tracked via Facebook Pixel and 20% for VIP sales which were on for 24h.

Check out the full agency eCommerce business Facebook ad case study here.

20. Mark Brinker - How I Improved My Facebook Advertising By 400% In Just 4 Weeks

• Decreased cost per subscriber from $11.43 to $2.40 (79% reduction) in 4 weeks.
• Increased number of weekly subscribers from 10 to 51 (400% increase).

Mark Brinker (consultant) increased his weekly subscribers at a cheaper cost through Facebook Ads by promoting his e-book.

• Tested 6 different ad headlines and 3 ad images.
• Let all the 18 variations of the ads run for 1 week, and then eliminated the ones that were performing poorly.
• Deleted 3 more ads with headlines that were not resonating with the audience after that week.
• Found the winning combination by end of week 4 and continued running that ad.

You can see the full Facebook advertising case study here.

21. Leadpages - From 4% to 40% conversion

• Conversion rate shot up from 4% to 40% - a 10x increase from similar campaigns in the past.

Jenny Berk used Leadpage’s ad builder to promote her coaching services and optimize her micro funnel.

• Queued up $50 budget, created a custom audience from her email database (.CSV file), and layered a lookalike audience on top of that.
• Sent traffic to a targeted landing page, and created consistent ad copy and images throughout the whole funnel.
• Ran Facebook Ads for her warm leads and lookalike audiences, based on her email subscribers.

Check out Jenny’s full Facebook ads case study here.

22. Brian Downard - $194 in Facebook Ads into $100K in Sales

• Generated $106,496 in patio furniture sales from $194 in Facebook ads.

Brian Downard helped high-end patio furniture store client drive more sales and bring in more people into their local store;

• Built a warm audience using the content the furniture store had been previously sharing (blog posts, eBooks, infographics, guides, and more).
• Incentivized people to go visit the showroom in person by offering a 50% discount in the ads.
• Redirected people to a landing page from the ad, which showed a variety of products to appeal to different target audiences.
• Included a clear CTA for them to get in touch with the sales team.

You can find the full Facebook ad case study here.

23. Reinis Fischer - Spending $4 Per Day On Facebook Ads - Case Study

• Top ads gathered 1,000+ likes and shares for a budget of $8.
• Gained 50-200+ clicks per day back to the website and acquired 600+ new followers on Facebook.

Reinis Fischer grew his Facebook page about his tourism services through Facebook Ad campaigns promoting his article:

• Targeted other countries for his blog articles about tourism activities in Georgia to build brand recognition and grow his Facebook page.
• Spent $4 per day on Facebook ads and promoted only the best possible articles related to his audience.
• Promoted 1 article for 2 days with an 8$ budget for 30 days.
• Once each campaign was over, manually invited everyone who liked the posts to follow the Facebook page as well.

Check out the full spending $4 per day on Facebook ads case study here.

22. Paid Insights - AdWords Case Study: How $520 Turned Into $6,120

• Spent $520 and acquired 6 new clients for local mental health counselors.
• Gained $6,120 in revenue over 3 months.

Ross Kaplan of Paid Insights helped mental health counselor client gain new clients by running a local AdWords campaign:

• Built a new website for the client & optimized it for conversions.
• Used modified broad match keywords so that people would still get the ad even if they searched for it in a different order.
• Targeted only local zip codes surrounding the client’s office so the drive time for her customers would be under 10 minutes

Check out the full AdWords case study here.

23. Daisy-ree Quaker - PPC Case Study: How We Cut AdWords Costs by 67% With a Simple Tweak

• Costs dropped by $10,000 while conversions remained the same.
• The cost per conversion dropped from $87 to $16.
• Impressions dropped by 72% while CTR went up 103%.
• The conversion rate rose from 6% to 18%.

Daisy (online marketer) helped her SaaS client rethink their ad bidding strategy.

• SaaS company client wanted to cut back on ad spend because constantly bidding for first place was becoming too expensive.
• Realized most web users are trained to scroll past ads and decided to start bidding on 3rd position on Google as a test.
• Saw campaign results start increasing over the course of 3 months. Lowering AdWords rank helped get more views on their ads, and widened the pool of people that could see the ads because of a closer association with natural listings.

You can find the full PPC case study here.

24. Exposure Ninja - How We Increased PPC Leads by 325% in 60 Days for a Dental Clinic

• Increased conversions by 252.94% (from 17 to 60).
• Decreased cost per conversion from £154.28 to just £34.37.

Exposure Ninja helped a dental clinic, based in a competitive area for PPC ads, generate more customers.

• Installed Hotjar to understand where users were dropping off on the landing page and which areas were acting as conversion blockers. Found that visitors weren’t able to find the information they needed about the client's top service.
• Created a new landing page focusing on their priority, high-profit services.
• Because the client was running a Google Ads campaign before, they could use historical data to experiment with advanced bidding strategies.
• Introduced the new landing pages and tweaked the campaigns to maximize the client’s budget.

You can find the full increased dental PPC leads case study here.

25. ColaDigital - How We Increased Sales by 30% in 30-days Using Optimized Google Ads For a Local Business

• Increased year over year sales for local business by 30% in 30-days

ColaDigital helped a client set up their Google Ads account campaign from the ground up after they had an unpleasant experience with another agency.

• Created unique ad groups and ads for the client's most profitable keywords.
• Set up a hyper-targeted campaign using 1 unique ad group and 3 different match types for each ad group keyword.
• Set up negative keywords and turned on audience demographics in Google Analytics

You can find the full google ads local business case study here.

26. BoxCrush - AdWords Success Story

Helped an industrial client who had a lot of impressions but very little clicks:

• Increase CTR from 2.41% to 3.89%
• Decrease CPC from $2.24 to $2.17 in 1 month.

BoxCrush helped an industrial client improve their AdWords campaign when their click-through rate had fallen.

• Rebuilt customer’s AdWords account from the ground up, splitting it into meaningful campaigns that targeted specific demographics.
• Built Ad Groups within each campaign and created ads targeting audiences with each group.
• Once they saw an increase in performance, they expanded the client’s campaign from three Ad groups to six.
• Made the ads relate more to specific keywords, which caused the clickthrough rate to increase.
• Refined and re-optimized the process over time, causing the results to grow even further after the 1st month.

27. Sumo - How Noah Kagan Grew A Website To 10K Visitors In A Month

• Grew website from 0 to 10K visitors in a month.
• Grew email list from 173 to 2,322 in 3 days.

Noah Kagan took on an apprentice (Julien Marion) and helped him grow his brand new blog about sleep from scratch, with no prior connections or budget.

• Created a simple landing page to capture emails before the site was live.
• Set realistic and SMART traffic goals of 10,000 visitors in 30 days.
• Created a quant-based marketing approach strategy to build the plan, thus working backward from the 10K visitors goal.
• Reached out to relevant companies to participate in a viral giveaway that he would then promote to the site’s audience through their newsletter.
• Reached out to niche influencers for interviews to drive referral traffic.
• Tracked daily results and goals to stay accountable.

See the full marketing plan and the whole growing website case study here.

28. HubSpot - How PureVPN Increased Website Traffic by 289% Through Storytelling

• Gained a 289% increase in new visitors’ traffic site year over year.
• Helped raise awareness on cyberstalking and attracted people who wanted to add to the conversation.

PureVPN wanted to tell the stories of cyberstalking victims and raise awareness on the subject. Here's how they did it:

• Designed a buyer’s journey centered around raising awareness on cyberstalking and its effects on society.
• Researched reading habits of their buyer persona, used keyword research tools for idea generation, and searched for topics on Quora based on questions real people were asking.Gathered statistical data of past and recent cyberstalking incidents. Identified and reached out to influencers who were associated with cyberstalking awareness campaigns and victims or people who could tell their stories.
• Interviewed influencers and turned the interviews into blog posts. Experienced a significant spike in website traffic through influencers sharing the content.

See how PureVPN increased website traffic through storytelling and influencer marketing tactics here.

29. Beeketing - How Gymshark Grew by 200%+ Year On Year and Hit £41M in Sales

• Grew by 200% year on year and hit £41M in sales in nearly 7 years.
• Achieved a cult-like following.

Ben Francis (founder of GymShark) disrupted the gym apparels market using social media and influencer marketing.

• Only selected specific influencers with strong Instagram engagement and following to gain credibility.
• Sponsored various fitness Instagrammers, YouTubers, and bloggers and organized meet-ups.
• Partnered with fitness and lifestyle influencers on TikTok.
• Announced the "66 Days" fitness challenge on their site and other social media platforms to drive user-generated content.
• Built long-lasting relationships with fans on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Spotify, and other social media channels.

Check out the full Gymshark influencer growth story here.

30. Leadfeeder - How ConvertKit Grew from $98k to $625k MRR by Doing 150 Webinars in 1 Year

• Grew monthly revenue from $98K to $625K in 12 months.
• Hosted more than 150 webinars in the first year, saw a 637% growth in monthly revenue.

Founders of ConvertKit (email marketing platform) wanted to grow their brand and generate revenue with a low budget. They decided to focus on webinars.

• Focused on one marketing strategy (webinars) that didn’t require a lot of money and they could use to build a community around a relatively new product.
• Maintained a wide-open affiliate program and started doing webinars with any affiliate partner, no matter how small their audience was.
• Gave away tons of free information in 20-30 webinars per month, while asking for nothing in return.
• Maintained a narrow target audience (blogging community), and kept the technology simple (minimal tech issues).

You can find the full webinar marketing case study by ConvertKit here.

31. Buffer - The Simple Facebook Posting Strategy That Helped us 3x Our Reach and Engagement

• Tripled reach from 44,000 to 150,000+ people per week on Facebook.
• Increased average daily engagement from ~500 to 1,000+.
• Posts started reaching between 5,000-20,000 people

Buffer noticed their Facebook reach and engagement were decreasing for their posts over time. Here's what they did:

• Noticed that the more they posted on Facebook, the less reach they received with each post.
• Started posting only entertaining and educational content.
• Posted only once or twice on Facebook and curated content to increase engagement.
• Created a few brand awareness and engagement-focused posts to build an active Facebook audience.
• Boosted posts that were already performing well to amplify the reach.

You can find Buffer’s complete Facebook posting strategy here.

32. SEMRush - Raise Your Game: A Step-By-Step Guide To Gamification Marketing

• More than 9,300 users took part in their game.
• Received 8+ million impressions on Twitter.

SEMRush wanted to educate their users on their different product features and stand out while doing so. For this, they used gamification marketing..

• Customers were finding it hard to stay up to date with all the novelties the SEMRush tool offered. SEMRush wanted to increase their awareness of their platform’s wide functionality and increase the number of tools people used.
• Aligned campaign with a global event (Easter).
• Made it so that the Egg Hunt game looked good and felt satisfying from a gamification perspective. Those who found all 15 eggs were awarded a list of the 10,000 most searched keywords for 10 countries.
• Created a special hashtag for Twitter (#semrushegghunt), which picked up and went viral, and made sure the customer support and social media teams were ready in case users needed any help.

Check out the full step-by-step guide to gamification marketing case study here.

33. Hootsuite - How the British Museum Increased Social Media Engagement by 126%

• Gained 2M+ new followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Gained 126% more tweet responses, increasing customer engagement.
• Over 1,300 tweets tagged and analyzed to uncover actionable insights.

The British Museum turned to Hootsuite to set up a better social media campaign strategy and engage more frequently and more effectively with its audience.

• Set a three key goal strategy to increase online reach and engagement, deliver digital-first customer service, and identify opportunities for income and revenue generation.
• Identified opportunities to develop channel-specific content to make the best of each social media channel.
• Used Hootsuite to adapt to the new social media strategy and to track and analyze results.

See the full British Museum social media case study here.

34. Saashacker - 19 SaaS Marketing Strategies That Bootstrapped Ahrefs To $40m ARR

• Grew from 15 to 50 employees and over $40M in annual recurring revenue while being 100% bootstrapped.

Ahrefs used a mix of different SaaS marketing strategies to grow their brand.

• Rejected conventional SaaS marketing wisdom, focused on product quality driving word of mouth marketing and boosted their exposure at the world’s biggest SEO event. Went semi-viral on Twitter by adding nerdy SEO data to the coffee cups at the conference and giving them away to attendees..
• Produced a lot of content on how their SEO tool solved specific problems and used blog posts as ads.
• Created and gave away courses on blogging for businesses for free, used word of mouth marketing to promote it, and pushed employee images to the front to gain readers’ trust.
• Did 20 podcasts in 4 months, posted content a lot on Reddit, YouTube, their own blog, and other channels.
• ...And a LOT more.

See the full case study here.

And that’s a wrap!

Ready to 10x your business through digital marketing now?

We hope the above case studies were helpful and you can use them as inspiration to drive amazing results.

For more industry-leading digital marketing content and tips, be sure to check out our blog .

Did we miss a case study? Have YOU done something interesting that deserves a mention in this list?

Let us know down in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

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Blog Graphic Design 15+ Case Study Examples for Business, Marketing & Sales

15+ Case Study Examples for Business, Marketing & Sales

Written by: Alice Corner Jan 12, 2023

Have you ever bought something — within the last 10 years or so — without reading its reviews or without a recommendation or prior experience of using it?

If the answer is no — or at least, rarely — you get my point.

Positive reviews matter for selling to regular customers, and for B2B or SaaS businesses, detailed case studies are important too.

Wondering how to craft a compelling case study ? No worries—I’ve got you covered with 15 marketing case study templates , helpful tips, and examples to ensure your case study converts effectively.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a case study?

What to include in a professional case study, business case study examples, simple case study examples, marketing case study examples, sales case study examples.

• Case study FAQs

A case study is an in-depth, detailed analysis of a specific real-world situation. For example, a case study can be about an individual, group, event, organization, or phenomenon. The purpose of a case study is to understand its complexities and gain insights into a particular instance or situation.

In the context of a business, however, case studies take customer success stories and explore how they use your product to help them achieve their business goals.

As well as being valuable marketing tools , case studies are a good way to evaluate your product as it allows you to objectively examine how others are using it.

It’s also a good way to interview your customers about why they work with you.

Related: What is a Case Study? [+6 Types of Case Studies]

A professional case study showcases how your product or services helped potential clients achieve their business goals. You can also create case studies of internal, successful marketing projects. A professional case study typically includes:

• Company background and history
• The challenge
• How you helped
• Specific actions taken
• Visuals or Data
• Client testimonials

Here’s an example of a case study template:

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, business case studies can be a powerful resource to help with your sales, marketing, and even internal departmental awareness.

Business and business management case studies should encompass strategic insights alongside anecdotal and qualitative findings, like in the business case study examples below.

Conduct a B2B case study by researching the company holistically

When it comes to writing a case study, make sure you approach the company holistically and analyze everything from their social media to their sales.

Think about every avenue your product or service has been of use to your case study company, and ask them about the impact this has had on their wider company goals.

In business case study examples like the one above, we can see that the company has been thought about holistically simply by the use of icons.

By combining social media icons with icons that show in-person communication we know that this is a well-researched and thorough case study.

This case study report example could also be used within an annual or end-of-year report.

Highlight the key takeaway from your marketing case study

To create a compelling case study, identify the key takeaways from your research. Use catchy language to sum up this information in a sentence, and present this sentence at the top of your page.

This is “at a glance” information and it allows people to gain a top-level understanding of the content immediately. 

You can use a large, bold, contrasting font to help this information stand out from the page and provide interest.

Learn  how to choose fonts  effectively with our Venngage guide and once you’ve done that.

Upload your fonts and  brand colors  to Venngage using the  My Brand Kit  tool and see them automatically applied to your designs.

The heading is the ideal place to put the most impactful information, as this is the first thing that people will read.

In this example, the stat of “Increase[d] lead quality by 90%” is used as the header. It makes customers want to read more to find out how exactly lead quality was increased by such a massive amount.

If you’re conducting an in-person interview, you could highlight a direct quote or insight provided by your interview subject.

Pick out a catchy sentence or phrase, or the key piece of information your interview subject provided and use that as a way to draw a potential customer in.

Use charts to visualize data in your business case studies

Charts are an excellent way to visualize data and to bring statistics and information to life. Charts make information easier to understand and to illustrate trends or patterns.

Making charts is even easier with Venngage.

In this consulting case study example, we can see that a chart has been used to demonstrate the difference in lead value within the Lead Elves case study.

Adding a chart here helps break up the information and add visual value to the case study. 

Using charts in your case study can also be useful if you’re creating a project management case study.

You could use a Gantt chart or a project timeline to show how you have managed the project successfully.

Use direct quotes to build trust in your marketing case study

To add an extra layer of authenticity you can include a direct quote from your customer within your case study.

According to research from Nielsen , 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% trust recommendations even if they’re from somebody they don’t know.

So if you have a customer or client who can’t stop singing your praises, make sure you get a direct quote from them and include it in your case study.

You can either lift part of the conversation or interview, or you can specifically request a quote. Make sure to ask for permission before using the quote.

This design uses a bright contrasting speech bubble to show that it includes a direct quote, and helps the quote stand out from the rest of the text.

This will help draw the customer’s attention directly to the quote, in turn influencing them to use your product or service.

Less is often more, and this is especially true when it comes to creating designs. Whilst you want to create a professional-looking, well-written and design case study – there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

These simple case study examples show that smart clean designs and informative content can be an effective way to showcase your successes.

Use colors and fonts to create a professional-looking case study

Business case studies shouldn’t be boring. In fact, they should be beautifully and professionally designed.

This means the normal rules of design apply. Use fonts, colors, and icons to create an interesting and visually appealing case study.

In this case study example, we can see how multiple fonts have been used to help differentiate between the headers and content, as well as complementary colors and eye-catching icons.

Marketing case studies are incredibly useful for showing your marketing successes. Every successful marketing campaign relies on influencing a consumer’s behavior, and a great case study can be a great way to spotlight your biggest wins.

In the marketing case study examples below, a variety of designs and techniques to create impactful and effective case studies.

Show off impressive results with a bold marketing case study

Case studies are meant to show off your successes, so make sure you feature your positive results prominently. Using bold and bright colors as well as contrasting shapes, large bold fonts, and simple icons is a great way to highlight your wins.

In well-written case study examples like the one below, the big wins are highlighted on the second page with a bright orange color and are highlighted in circles.

Making the important data stand out is especially important when attracting a prospective customer with marketing case studies.

Use a simple but clear layout in your case study

Using a simple layout in your case study can be incredibly effective, like in the example of a case study below.

Keeping a clean white background, and using slim lines to help separate the sections is an easy way to format your case study.

Making the information clear helps draw attention to the important results, and it helps improve the  accessibility of the design .

Business case study examples like this would sit nicely within a larger report, with a consistent layout throughout.

Use visuals and icons to create an engaging and branded business case study

Nobody wants to read pages and pages of text — and that’s why Venngage wants to help you communicate your ideas visually.

Using icons, graphics, photos, or patterns helps create a much more engaging design. 

With this Blue Cap case study icons, colors, and impactful pattern designs have been used to create an engaging design that catches your eye.

Use a monochromatic color palette to create a professional and clean case study

Let your research shine by using a monochromatic and minimalistic color palette.

By sticking to one color, and leaving lots of blank space you can ensure your design doesn’t distract a potential customer from your case study content.

In this case study on Polygon Media, the design is simple and professional, and the layout allows the prospective customer to follow the flow of information.

The gradient effect on the left-hand column helps break up the white background and adds an interesting visual effect.

Did you know you can generate an accessible color palette with Venngage? Try our free accessible color palette generator today and create a case study that delivers and looks pleasant to the eye:

Add long term goals in your case study

When creating a case study it’s a great idea to look at both the short term and the long term goals of the company to gain the best understanding possible of the insights they provide.

Short-term goals will be what the company or person hopes to achieve in the next few months, and long-term goals are what the company hopes to achieve in the next few years.

Check out this modern pattern design example of a case study below:

In this case study example, the short and long-term goals are clearly distinguished by light blue boxes and placed side by side so that they are easy to compare.

Use a strong introductory paragraph to outline the overall strategy and goals before outlining the specific short-term and long-term goals to help with clarity.

This strategy can also be handy when creating a consulting case study.

Use data to make concrete points about your sales and successes

When conducting any sort of research stats, facts, and figures are like gold dust (aka, really valuable).

Being able to quantify your findings is important to help understand the information fully. Saying sales increased 10% is much more effective than saying sales increased.

While sales dashboards generally tend it make it all about the numbers and charts, in sales case study examples, like this one, the key data and findings can be presented with icons. This contributes to the potential customer’s better understanding of the report.

They can clearly comprehend the information and it shows that the case study has been well researched.

Use emotive, persuasive, or action based language in your marketing case study

Create a compelling case study by using emotive, persuasive and action-based language when customizing your case study template.

In this well-written case study example, we can see that phrases such as “Results that Speak Volumes” and “Drive Sales” have been used.

Using persuasive language like you would in a blog post. It helps inspire potential customers to take action now.

Keep your potential customers in mind when creating a customer case study for marketing

82% of marketers use case studies in their marketing  because it’s such an effective tool to help quickly gain customers’ trust and to showcase the potential of your product.

Why are case studies such an important tool in content marketing?

By writing a case study you’re telling potential customers that they can trust you because you’re showing them that other people do.

Not only that, but if you have a SaaS product, business case studies are a great way to show how other people are effectively using your product in their company.

In this case study, Network is demonstrating how their product has been used by Vortex Co. with great success; instantly showing other potential customers that their tool works and is worth using.

Related: 10+ Case Study Infographic Templates That Convert

Case studies are particularly effective as a sales technique.

A sales case study is like an extended customer testimonial, not only sharing opinions of your product – but showcasing the results you helped your customer achieve.

Make impactful statistics pop in your sales case study

Writing a case study doesn’t mean using text as the only medium for sharing results.

You should use icons to highlight areas of your research that are particularly interesting or relevant, like in this example of a case study:

Icons are a great way to help summarize information quickly and can act as visual cues to help draw the customer’s attention to certain areas of the page.

In some of the business case study examples above, icons are used to represent the impressive areas of growth and are presented in a way that grabs your attention.

Use high contrast shapes and colors to draw attention to key information in your sales case study

Help the key information stand out within your case study by using high contrast shapes and colors.

Use a complementary or contrasting color, or use a shape such as a rectangle or a circle for maximum impact.

This design has used dark blue rectangles to help separate the information and make it easier to read.

Coupled with icons and strong statistics, this information stands out on the page and is easily digestible and retainable for a potential customer.

Case study examples summary

Once you have created your case study, it’s best practice to update your examples on a regular basis to include up-to-date statistics, data, and information.

You should update your business case study examples often if you are sharing them on your website .

It’s also important that your case study sits within your brand guidelines – find out how Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool can help you create consistently branded case study templates.

Case studies are important marketing tools – but they shouldn’t be the only tool in your toolbox. Content marketing is also a valuable way to earn consumer trust.

Case study FAQ s

Why should you write a case study.

Case studies are an effective marketing technique to engage potential customers and help build trust.

By producing case studies featuring your current clients or customers, you are showcasing how your tool or product can be used. You’re also showing that other people endorse your product.

In addition to being a good way to gather positive testimonials from existing customers, business case studies are good educational resources and can be shared amongst your company or team, and used as a reference for future projects.

How should you write a case study?

To create a great case study, you should think strategically. The first step, before starting your case study research, is to think about what you aim to learn or what you aim to prove.

You might be aiming to learn how a company makes sales or develops a new product. If this is the case, base your questions around this.

You can learn more about writing a case study  from our extensive guide.

Related: How to Present a Case Study like a Pro (With Examples)

Some good questions you could ask would be:

• Why do you use our tool or service?
• How often do you use our tool or service?
• What does the process of using our product look like to you?
• If our product didn’t exist, what would you be doing instead?
• What is the number one benefit you’ve found from using our tool?

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Top 3 Social Media Case Studies to Inspire You in 2024

Discover three successful case studies on social media marketing from top brands and learn how to create one. Benefit from their strategies and mistakes to ensure the success of your next campaign.

Social media is every marketer’s safe haven for branding and marketing.

And why not?

More than 50% of the population is active on social media, and more are signing up with every passing second.

In a recent poll by HubSpot, 79% of the respondents have made a purchase after seeing a paid advertisement on social media .

This isn’t just a happenstance.

It’s the constant efforts that these brands put behind their dynamic presence on social media, that counts.

But how do they captivate their customers’ attention for this long despite the budding competitors?

Well, that’s something that we’ll reveal in this blog.

We shall assess 3 different case studies on social media marketing by top brands who are best in their niches. Their game is simple yet effective.

How effective? Let’s take a look.

Social Media Case Study 1: Starbucks

Starbucks and social media are a match made in heaven. Being one of the sensational brands online, they are stirring the social media world with their strong presence.

They brew the right content to elevate the experiences of their coffee lovers. But how do they nail marketing with perfection every single time? Let’s find out.

Starbucks in Numbers

Starbucks mastered the advertising transition from offline fame to online undertaking. They use each social media with a varied goal to target pitch-perfect reach. Drawing in more customers than ever before, they strike the right balance in content across multiple platforms.

Key Takeaways

Though not every company has a Starbucks budget to promote and spend lavishly on social media marketing, here are some quick takeaways that will undoubtedly help.

1. Chasing Trends

Be it any event, brands must take the advantage to showcase their viewpoints and opinions. Successful brands like Starbucks jump into the bandwagon and leave no stone unturned to make their voice count in the trending list.

Here’s one such social media campaign example from Starbucks.

Starbucks is a firm believer in LGBTQ+ rights. When the pride wave surged, Starbucks came forward and reinstated its belief through the #ExtraShotOfPride campaign.

Starbucks joined hands with the Born This Way Foundation to raise $250K to support the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout the social media campaign, they shared quotes and stories of various Starbucks employees cherishing the pride spirit.

2. Less is More

Social media is not about quantity but quality. Starbucks follows the “less is more” principle to maintain the quality standards, even in the caption. Spamming followers’ feeds with constant posting is a big no-no. Starbucks shares 5-6 posts per week on Instagram and 3-4 weekly posts on Facebook .

Creative and crisp! That’s what defines a Starbucks caption. This post with 111+k likes is no exception. Nothing is better than a minimalist post with a strong caption.

3. User Generated Content is the King

Ditch the worry of creating content every day when you can make use of user generated content. Starbucks makes sure to retweet or post its loyal customers’ content. User generated content postings starkly improve brand credibility.

Look at this Facebook post made out of customers’ tweets. The new Oatmilk drink got the appreciation shower by some, and Starbucks couldn’t resist but share it with others. It saved them efforts on content brainstorming, plus they got free PR.

4. Building Rapport

Building rapport with the audience is an unsaid rule to brand fame. Social media has now taken the onus of dispensing quality service by aiding brands in prompting faster replies .

Starbucks is always on its toe to respond to customers actively solving concerns, expressing gratitude, or reposting. That kind of proactive service definitely deserves love and adoration.

5. Loads of campaigns

Starbucks is known for its innovative social media campaigns. Be it a new product launch or any festivity around the corner, Starbucks always turns up with a rewarding campaign.

In this social media campaign example, Starbucks introduced #RedCupContest with prizes worth $4500 during Christmas of 2016. A new entry came every 14 seconds.

The grand total of entries was a whopping 40,000 in just two days. Indeed Starbucks knows how to get the most out of the festive fever.

6. Content mix

Last but not least, the content mix of Starbucks is inspiring. They create tailored content for every platform.

The official youtube channel of Starbucks comprises content in varied hues. From recipes to even series, Starbucks is the ultimate pioneer of experimenting.

Even on Instagram, they use all the features like Guides, Reels, and IGTV without affecting their eye-popping feed. Starbucks also follows the design consistency for its aesthetic content mix.

Starbucks has proved time and again to be a customer-centric brand with their unrelenting efforts.

Social Media Case Study 2: Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather needs no introduction. Founded by David Ogilvy, the ‘Father of Advertising’ in 1948, the agency continues the legacy of revolutionizing marketing long before the advent of social media.

The iconic agency helps several Fortune 500 companies and more make a massive impact on their audiences worldwide.

Ogilvy & Mather knows its game too well and never fails to astonish. Not just high-profile clients, Ogilvy nails its marketing with perfection every single time.

Keep on reading.

Ogilvy & Mather in Numbers

They use social media to target pitch-perfect reach. Drawing in more hype than ever before, they know how to strike the right balance and bring out emotions with their heart-warming campaigns.

Not every company has David Ogilvy’s legacy or even affluent clients to boast of, but here are some quick takeaways that will undoubtedly help you become a pro marketer.

1. Integrating Values

Ogilvy stands apart from the crowd, creating trends. They leave no stone unturned to communicate values.

Proud Whopper is one such social media campaign by Ogilvy that was an instant hit on the internet. People were offered whoppers in rainbow-colored wrappers, with a note that said, “Everyone’s the same on the inside.” This was to reinstate the importance of LGTQ+ rights.

The campaign got 1.1 billion impressions, $21 million of earned media, 450,000 blog mentions, 7 million views, and became the #1 trending topic on Facebook and Twitter.

Ogilvy made a remarkable #Tbt video to honor this momentous event showcasing their supremacy in creating impactful campaigns.

2. Quality over Quantity

Ogilvy believes in the “ Quality supremacy ” to maintain their high standards, even in post captions.

Arbitrary posting isn’t a part of their agenda. They share 5-7 posts on Instagram and Facebook weekly.

Direct and very precise. That’s what defines an Ogilvy caption. This post is no exception. They have exhibited the success of their client work by describing the motive behind the campaign and sharing the ad they created for raising awareness.

3. Adding Credibility

Won awards? It’s time to boast! Because that’s the most authentic way of establishing trust among your clients. It bears proof of your excellence.

Look at this pinned Twitter post. Ogilvy won the Global Network of the Year by the very prestigious London International Awards. It also earned Regional Network of the year for Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

What better than this to give its audience an idea about Ogilvy’s roaring success and undoubted potential?

4. Being Innovative

Building rapport with the audience is an unsaid rule to brand fame. And that’s why you need to tell stories. Social media has become an indispensable medium to spread your stories far and wide.

Ogilvy shares its historical tale of existence and how it has adapted to the challenges of the changing world. The team extensively talks about their adaptation to the latest trends to stay on top always.

5. Brainstorming Uniqueness

Being unique is what propels you on social media. People are always looking for brands that do something different from the herd. So your task each day is undeniably brainstorming unique content.

KFC wanted more of its customers to use its app. Well, Ogilvy and KFC decided to hide a secret menu in the app, which was a mass invitation for the download without being salesy at all. Results? Downloads up by 111% at launch!

6. Inspire Your Peeps

Inspiration is everywhere. But how do you channelize and mold it as per your brand guidelines? The renowned brands move their audience, filling them with a sense of realization. Who doesn’t seek validation? We all need quotes and inspiration to live by.

Ogilvy has dedicated its entire Pinterest profile to inspiration. The profile has numerous insightful infographics that encourage you to pursue marketing when your spirits run low. And that’s how it brings out the very essence of being the marketing leader: by inspiring its followers.

Got some good ideas for your branding? We have created templates and tools to help you execute them hassle-free. Tread on further and download the Trending Hashtag Kit for 2024 to get into action.

Social Media Case Study 3: PewDiePie

YouTube king with 111 Million subscribers on PewDiePie Channel, Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has defied all norms. One of the most prolific content creators of the decade, Felix was on the list of World’s 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine in 2016.

Needless to say, he is still relevant to this day and has a massive following on social media. Not just for branding, the Swedish YouTuber leveraged social media to give himself a new identity and opened doors to fame and a successful career.

What was the cause of this extraordinary trajectory?

Let’s find out.

PewDiePie in Numbers

PewDiePie likes to keep his social media raw and unfiltered. That’s why subscribers love to have a glimpse of his everyday life and follow him on other social media platforms as well. Here’s a quick snapshot of that.

Felix took the early bird advantage and started creating content when it wasn’t even popular practice. We can’t go back in time, but we can definitely learn a lot from his social media success.

1. Start Now

If you are still skeptical about making the first move, then don’t. Stop waiting and experiment. It’s better late than never.

Social media is in favor of those who start early because then you create surplus content to hold your audience . You quench their thirst for more quality content.

PewDiePie started creating videos in 2011 and live-streamed his gaming sessions with commentaries. It was something new and completely original. Ever since, he has continued to make thousands of videos that entertain his audience.

2. Gather Your Tribe

Being a content creator, PewDiePie knows his act of engaging his audience very well. He strives to build lasting connections and encourages two-way communication. As a result, his followers like to jump onto his exciting challenges.

Felix treasures his gaming community. He frequently asks his followers to take screenshots and turn them into funny memes . He gives them tasks to keep them engaged and amused .

3. Collaboration and Fundraising

Once you reach the stage and gain popularity, people want to see more of you with their favorite personalities. That’s what Felix does.

He collaborates with multiple YouTubers and brands and puts out exclusive content for his followers. He also goes for multiple fundraising campaigns to support vital causes and social wellbeing.

Here’s one such social media campaign example. PewDiePie supported the CRY foundation and raised $239000 in just one day to bring a positive impact for children in India. He thanked all for their contribution and taking active participation towards a noble cause.

4. Keep it Real

Felix likes to keep his content fluff-free. You get to witness raw emotions from an unfiltered life. This instantly appeals to the audience and makes the posts more relatable .

Apart from that, he also uses storytelling techniques to narrate his experiences, adding a very personalized touch to each of the videos.

Here’s a video of Felix where he and Ken from CinnamonToastKen discuss what can be possibly done with a million dollars around the world. The topic is quite intriguing.

More than 3.8M people have watched it and 216K of them liked it as well, proving that you need not always sweat to create complex content. Even the simplest ones can make the cut.

How to Write a Social Media Marketing Case Study

Many small businesses struggle when it comes to social media marketing. But guess what? Small businesses can slay the competition with a powerful tool: A case study on social media.

These social media case studies are success stories that prove your hustle is paying off. Here’s how to weave a case study that showcases your small business wins:

Building Your Brag Book

• Pick Your Perfect Project:  Did a specific social media campaign drive a surge in sales? Highlight a product launch that went viral. Choose a project with impressive results you can showcase.
• DIY Interview:  Don’t have a fancy marketing team? No worries! Record yourself talking about your challenges, goals, and the strategies that made a difference.
• Data Dive:  Track down social media analytics! Look for growth in followers, website traffic driven by social media, or engagement metrics that show your efforts are working.

Now that you have all the ingredients, it’s time to cook a brilliant case study

Crafting Your Case Study

• Headline Hunt:  Grab attention with a clear and concise headline. Mention your business name and a key achievement (e.g., “From 100 to 10,000 Followers: How We Grew Our Bakery’s Social Buzz”).
• Subheading Scoop:  Briefly summarize your success story in a subheading, piquing the reader’s interest and highlighting key takeaways.
• The Business Struggle:  Be honest about the challenges you faced before tackling social media. This will build trust and allow other small businesses to connect.
• DIY Social Strategies:  Share the social media tactics you used, such as engaging content formats, community-building strategies, or influencer collaborations.
• Numbers Don’t Lie:  Integrate data and visuals to support your story. Include charts showcasing follower growth or screenshots of top-performing posts.
• Simple & Straightforward:  Use clear, concise language that’s easy to understand. Bullet points and short paragraphs make your case study digestible and showcase your professionalism.

Remember: Your social media marketing case studies are a chance to celebrate your achievements and build businesses. So, tell your story with pride, showcase your data-driven results, and watch your brand recognition soar

Social media campaigns are winning hearts on every platform. However, their success rates largely depend on your year-round presence. That’s why being consistent really does the trick.

To excel further at your social media marketing, use our FREE Trending Hashtag Kit and fill your calendar with everyday content ideas.

On downloading, you get 3000+ hashtags based on each day’s theme or occasion. You also get editable design templates for hassle-free social media posting.

What are you waiting for? Download now.

Frequently Asked Questions

🌟 How do I start a social media campaign idea?

Here’s how you can start a social media campaign:

• Finalize your campaign goals
• Brainstorm personas
• Pick a social media channel
• Research your competitors and audience
• Finalize an idea that’s in trend
• Promote the campaign
• Start the campaign
• Track the performance

🌟 What are the different types of social media campaigns?

Different types of social media campaigns are:

• Influencer Campaigns
• Hashtag Challenges

🌟 Why is social media campaign important?

Social media campaigns have various benefits:

• Boost traffic
• Better Conversions
• Cost-effective Marketing
• Lead Generation
• PR & Branding
• Loyal Followers

🌟 What are some of the best social media campaign tools?

Some of the best social media campaign tools are:

• SocialPilot

🌟 What are the top social media sites?

The top social media sites are:

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Digital Marketing Case Studies: 35 Examples for Online Success

How would you like to read the best digital marketing case studies ever published?

More importantly, how would you like to copy the best practices for online marketing that are based on real-world examples and not just theory.

If that sounds, good then you’ll get a lot of value out of this post.

By studying these Internet marketing case study examples and applying the lessons learned in your own digital campaigns, you can hopefully achieve similar results to speed up your online success.

Digital Marketing Case Studies

Content marketing case studies, appsumo grew organic traffic 843% & revenue 340%  – omniscient digital marketing case study.

In this digital marketing case study, you’ll find out how Omniscient Digital used a four-part approach to grow AppSumo’s organic website traffic by 843% and the revenue from that traffic by 340$. Includes details on the research process, strategy development, content production, and building links to those web pages.

From 0 to 100,000 Visitors Per Month  – Optimist Digital Marketing Case Study

This online marketing case study example shows you how Optimist took a startup called College Raptor from 0 to 100,000 organic sessions per month. It focuses on the big-picture strategy that was used to achieve that result and explains why it worked. This is a good case study example that demonstrates what successful content creation and promotion look like for startup businesses.

American Kennel Club Increased Online Traffic by 30%  – Contently Digital Marketing Case Study

If you’re in the animal niche and looking for good Internet marketing case studies that can help you grow your website with content creation, then this article by Contently can help. Inside, you’ll learn how the company used a digital content strategy to increase website traffic by 30% for the American Kennel Club. This method attracted both new puppy owners and seasoned dog lovers and resulted in $26.6 million in content value.

3,532 New Beta Users for alwaysAI  – Beacons Point Digital Marketing Case Study

Beacons Point is a digital marketing agency that partners with B2B companies in software and technology to execute results-driven online campaigns. In this case study example, you’ll learn how Beacons Point discerned the right market for alwaysAI, a software company, to target prospects with the content they wanted, and transform the audience into an avid user base using a well-researched Internet strategy and content planning process. As a result, alwaysAI gained 3,532 new beta users, 20,000 monthly website sessions, and a 2,021% increase in traffic within just 10 months.

Online Marketing Strategy Drives 452% Increase In Organic Traffic  – Top Rank Digital Marketing Case Study

Check out the full list of 15+ Content Marketing Case Studies here .

SEO Marketing Case Studies

How i increased my organic traffic 652% in 7 days  – backlinko digital marketing case study.

Learn how Brian Dean from Backlinko used the “Skyscraper Technique 2.0” to increase his organic SEO traffic to one of his web pages by 652%. It’s also the same approach that helped a brand new post hit the #1 spot on Google within a few weeks. This online marketing case study example is full of screenshots, key findings, and guided steps for you to follow.

From 126 to 121,883 Unique Visitors In Under 6 Months  – Ahrefs Digital Marketing Case Study

This digital marketing case study example focuses on Northmill, a Fintech company founded in Stockholm. It reveals how you can analyze your top business competitors to develop higher-quality SEO content that can gain a large amount of traffic and convert those readers into customers. Read this case study to find out exactly what Northmill did during the search engine optimization campaign to go from 126 unique visitors to 121,883 in under 6 months.

From 0 to 75,000 Visits A Year  – Ryan Darani Digital Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll get complete details on the challenges, limits, budgets, and timeframes for a client in the property industry that went from 0 clicks per day to 300-400 on average with only 60 pieces of content on the website. This is a good SEO marketing case study for any business that’s on a tight budget.

How We 4x’d Traffic and Doubled Revenue in E-Commerce  – Diggity Marketing Case Study

This is one of the best digital marketing case studies for e-commerce using SEO. Inside, you’ll learn how an e-commerce client grew its traffic by 417% in 8 months. You’ll get the exact SEO strategies deployed, content improvements, and backlink marketing tactics. The results speak for themselves: an extra $48,000 in additional monthly revenue was achieved for a total of 112% increase in overall revenue using a strategic online marketing strategy.

6-Step Process That Generated 150,732 Visits  – Robbie Richards Digital Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn a repeatable 6-step process that one digital marketer used to get his client to #1 in Google using SEO. This strategy helped him outrank major digital media brands like Mashable, and increase organic website traffic by 11,065% in just 6 months.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing Case Studies

32% increase in return on internet marketing ad spend  – adshark case study.

Learn how Adshark helped dogIDS, an e-commerce manufacturer and retailer of personalized dog collars and tags, achieve a high return on investment (ROI) for their pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns by analyzing historical search terms, categories, and product performance. This case study example demonstrates how Adshark segmented dogIDs Google Shopping campaigns in a way that allowed for better online bid and budget management.

49% Decrease In CPA  – Captivate Search Digital Marketing Case Study

20% increase in subscribers for forbes  – adventure media digital marketing case study.

Forbes Magazine has been in circulation for over 100 years; however, with print subscriptions on the decline, the company had to get strategic about bringing in new digital customers. The top goals for this online marketing case study were to increase the number of paid subscriptions. In addition to PPC optimization to attract a broad range of ages, income levels, and genders, Adventure Media also used a strategic video marketing campaign to bring in a new wave of college graduates.

139% ROI for a UK Clothing Brand  – Click Consult Digital Marketing Case Study

Roas up 3,197% for natural nutrients  – ppc geeks digital marketing case study.

Discover how PPC Geeks improved the Google Ads campaigns for Natural Nutrients and achieved a dramatic increase in revenue (5,789%) and ROAS (3,197%) year over year. Example paid marketing strategies include granular campaign extension, single keyword ad groups, ad copy A/B testing, KPI-focused ROAS, conversion rate optimization, and more.

Check out the full list of 20+ PPC Case Studies here .

Social Media Marketing Case Studies

793,500+ impressions for semrush on twitter – walker sands digital marketing case study, viral oreo super bowl tweet – digiday digital marketing case study.

During Super Bowl XLVII, the lights went out in the stadium and the Oreo brand went viral with a single tweet that said “Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” Read the historical account of that famous digital marketing moment from the people who lived through it so you can gather insights on how to be better prepared for your future online marketing campaigns that you can take advantage of in real-time.

Facebook Posting Strategy That Lead to 3X Reach & Engagement – Buffer Digital Marketing Case Study

Achieving a 9 million audience by automating pinterest seo – digital marketing case study.

This is a good digital marketing case study example for marketers who use Pinterest. Discover how Chillital went from 0 to 9 million engaged audience members and 268 million impressions. You’ll learn about the step-by-step research process of finding where your audience lives and breathes content, get a detailed analysis of how the author used Pinterest to generate brand awareness, and learn about using community-driven content promotion to scale online results.

5X Increase In App Installs – Bumble Digital Marketing Case Study

Find out how Bumble, a dating app, used TikTok more effectively for social media marketing by following the mantra, “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks”. This case study in digital marketing resulted in a 5X increase in app installs and a 64% decrease in cost-per-registration.

Email Marketing Case Studies

Collecting 100,000 emails in one week  – tim ferris show digital marketing case study.

This digital marketing case study on email has it all: tips, templates, and code to create a successful email campaign. Discover how Harry’s, a men’s grooming brand, launched its brand online and how it collected nearly 100,000 email addresses in one week. You’ll learn everything they did using the marketing power of the Internet and email so you can try to replicate the results.

The Science Behind Obama’s Campaign Emails  – Bloomberg Digital Marketing Case Study

Increasing open rates from 20% to 29%  – pipedrive digital marketing case study.

This is one of the best digital marketing case studies on email that any business can learn from no matter the size of the email list. Inside, you’ll find out how Pipedrive used one simple tactic to increase open rates from 20% to 29% that can work with any email software.

25% Reduction In Churn for Peacock  – Braze Digital Marketing Case Study

The amazon email experience  – vero digital marketing case study.

In this case study example by Vero, you’ll get a complete analysis of Amazon’s email experience for the user. It takes you from the initial subscriber welcome message to email receipts, shipping updates, thank you content, invites, Black Friday deals, the review email, and more. There are loads of data in this case study and useful tips you can gain and use for your own email campaigns to have better success.

Check out the full list of 15+ Email Marketing Case Studies here .

Video Marketing Case Studies

8,000 video views on linkedin – biteable digital marketing case study.

During the rise of #OpenToWork movement that hit the world during the COVID layoff, one digital marketer named Katie got creative to make herself stand out from the crowd for potential employers. Find out how Katie approached video in digital marketing to amass 800 video views, 54 comments, and 100 new connections. This case study includes simple tips you can also use to get noticed on LinkedIn with the power of video.

163 Million Views On YouTube – Dove Digital Marketing Case Study

Dove launched an online marketing campaign called “Dove Real Beauty Sketches”, which was a three-minute YouTube film about how women view themselves. The goal was to ignite a global conversation about the definition of beauty, and this case study proves how video in Internet marketing helped Dove reach their goal. During its launch, the video received 163 million global views, topped the Cannes YouTube Ads Leaderboard, and won the Titanium Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Find out how a combination of great content, YouTube Brand Channels, YouTube Ads, and Google Ads led to this beautiful success.

Dollar Shave Club Viral Video – Making a Video Marketer Case Study

How artists and songs go viral – edmprod digital marketing case study.

Although it’s impossible to guarantee that a musical artist or song will go viral, there is a lot to be learned from examples that have gone viral. In this case study, you’ll discover the common threads in every viral music marketing campaign so you can try to use the same strategies for your own music or apply them to an online business.

10X Increase In Video Views – Vireo Video Digital Marketing Case Study

In this example, you’ll find out how Vireo Video helped the “We Are The Davises” YouTube channel 10X its video views. The digital marketing strategy and execution succeeded in driving over 1.2 million subscribers and over 60 million monthly views within 4 months. Inside, you’ll learn about the initial challenges, strategy solutions, and results.

Affiliate Marketing Case Studies

Going from zero to $10k in monthly revenue  – contentellect digital marketing case study.

Follow the steps Contentellect has taken to grow an affiliate marketing website from $0 to $10k a month in under 24 months. Includes a breakdown of the monthly costs, income, and traffic.

Zero to $20k/month In a Year  – Side Hustle Nation Digital Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how the owners of Finvsfin.com scaled their affiliate website from $0 to $20,0000 per month in one year. Includes strategies on keyword research, how to structure content, ways to attract backlinks, optimization tactics to grow traffic, and more.

How I Made $16,433 With One Product  – BloggersPassion Digital Marketing Case Study

Amazon site earns $2,000/month with 100 articles  – fat stacks digital marketing case study.

This is one of the best online marketing case studies for affiliate marketers. Dom Wells from Human Proof Designs posted complete details on the Fat Stacks Blog with example content types, content timelines, link types, and link timelines to help other affiliates improve their sites to make more money on the Internet.

Amazon Site Grows from $0 to $4500+ In 4 Months  – NichePie Digital Marketing Case Study

In this case study, you’ll learn how NichePie took a famous affiliate marketing website called 10Beasts to $4,500 in monthly earnings in just 4 months. The site then went on to make $40,000 by month 8 and kept growing. Luqman Khan, the owner, eventually sold the affiliate site for over half-a-million dollars. Inside this Internet marketing case study example, you’ll get important insights into the keyword research process, site structure, content setup, SEO, and link building process. This article also includes a lot of screenshots to help you follow along with the online journey to success.

Check out the full list of 10+ Affiliate Marketing Case Studies here .

What Is a Digital Marketing Case Study?

Are case studies good for digital marketing.

Case studies are good for digital marketing because you can learn about how to do digital marketing in an effective way. Instead of just studying the theory of digital marketing, you can learn from real examples that applied online methods to achieve success.

Digital Marketing Case Study Examples Summary

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best digital marketing case studies that are based on real-world results and not just theory.

New online marketing case studies are being published every month and I’ll continue to update this list as they become available. So keep checking back to read the current sources of information on digital marketing.

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Boost Amazon ROI

The Power of Amazon Advertising for E-commerce Growth

The benefits of studying amazon advertising case studies.

• Roomify: Sponsored Products
• Polar: Machine Learning
• Elevate Brands: Ad Data Organization
• Ultra: High-Converting Products Targeting
• Fliegende-Pillen.de: Ad Automation
• Stur Drinks: Ad Campaign Structuring
• Baby Sweets: Automated Keyword Management

Ready to Elevate Your Own Amazon Advertising Campaigns?

7 in-depth amazon advertising case studies to inspire your e-commerce brand.

Amazon offers a myriad of strategies for e-commerce brands to boost sales and brand visibility. Through detailed Amazon advertising case studies of brands like Roomify, Polar and Elevate Brands, this blog post delves into the unique challenges each faced and the innovative solutions they employed.

From automating massive product catalogs to leveraging machine learning for PPC optimization, these insights will give you a comprehensive view of what your e-commerce brand can do on Amazon’s advertising platform, too.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Roomify : sponsored products, polar : machine learning, elevate brands : ad data organization, fliegende-pillen.de : ad automation, stur drinks : ad campaign structuring, baby sweets : automated keyword management.

Amazon advertising is a powerful marketing option for e-commerce brands because of its ability to reach a highly targeted audience. People who are searching on this marketplace are ready to buy.

The platform’s vast data pool allows advertisers to target their ads towards consumers who are actively searching for products similar to what they offer. This precision targeting increases the likelihood of conversions, ensuring that your ad spend is allocated efficiently.

Moreover, Amazon advertising offers multiple ad formats, including sponsored products, sponsored brands and sponsored display ads, allowing e-commerce businesses to tailor their advertising strategies to their specific goals:

Whether you aim to increase product visibility, drive brand awareness or maximize sales, Amazon’s advertising tools can be customized to suit your objectives.

Additionally, the platform provides valuable performance metrics and analytics, enabling marketers to continually refine and optimize their campaigns for better results.

Examining case studies offers a detailed understanding of tactics that have proven successful for various brands, allowing businesses with similar goals learn from others. By analyzing these real-world examples, companies can refine their own strategies and harness the full potential of the Amazon marketplace.

Here are the top benefits of studying Amazon marketing strategy case studies:

• Real-World Insights : The best Amazon advertising campaigns case studies offer valuable real-world examples of successful campaigns, showcasing how businesses leveraged the platform to achieve their goals. Studying an Amazon ads case study provides a deeper understanding of the strategies and tactics that work, offering actionable insights that can be applied to your own advertising efforts.
• Benchmarking : By examining an Amazon PPC case study, you can benchmark your own campaigns against industry standards and best practices. This helps you assess your performance, identify areas for improvement and set realistic goals for your e-commerce business.
• Get Inspiration : E-commerce advertising success stories often feature innovative and creative approaches to Amazon advertising. They can inspire new ideas and strategies for your own campaigns, helping you stand out in a competitive marketplace.
• Avoid Pitfalls : Learning from the mistakes and challenges faced by other businesses in Amazon advertising case studies can help you avoid common pitfalls. This can save you time and resources by steering clear of strategies that may not be effective or cost-efficient.
• Understand Trends : Amazon’s advertising platform is continually evolving, with new features and trends emerging regularly. Real-world Amazon advertising results keep you up to date with the latest tactics in Amazon advertising so that your campaigns remain relevant and effective.
• ROI Assessment : An Amazon advertising case study often includes data on return on investment (ROI) and performance metrics. This information can assist you in evaluating the potential ROI of your own Amazon advertising campaigns, making it easier to allocate your budget effectively.
• Audience Targeting Strategies : Amazon PPC success stories frequently highlight successful Amazon advertising strategies . Understanding how businesses segment and reach their target audiences can improve your own targeting efforts, resulting in more effective Amazon ad campaign ROI.
• Competitive Analysis : By studying how your competitors have utilized Amazon advertising, you can gain insights into their strategies and positioning. This knowledge can inform your own advertising approach.
• Optimize Ad Formats : Different ad formats are available on Amazon, such as sponsored products, sponsored brands and sponsored display ads. Case studies can provide guidance on which ad formats are most effective for different goals and industries.
• Measure Success : Case studies often outline key performance indicators (KPIs) and how they were tracked. This can help you establish clear KPIs for your own campaigns and learn how to effectively measure success on the Amazon advertising platform.

Nearly half the sellers on Amazon earn between $1,000 and $2,500 monthly :

But if your business is already at that point, you’re probably ready to optimize your current Amazon promotion strategy.

This is where Amazon advertising can help. This platform offers different advertising tools to bring more leads down the sales funnel while providing customization, increasing sales, saving on ad spend and staying on brand.

Creating an Amazon ad strategy to appeal to your customer base can be difficult. That’s why it’s a great idea for businesses to examine case studies to see which tactics worked for similar stores.

Here are 7 successful Amazon advertising case studies and what these companies did to experience revenue growth .

Buying furniture takes a toll on one’s financial health, especially for college students and anyone renting their first apartment. But Roomify offers an alternative to furniture shopping on a budget. From functional furniture items such as desks, to decorative pieces such as headboards, they provide an affordable way to furnish any living space.

However, Roomify’s Amazon page is up against other better-known competitors that generate traffic from Millennials and Gen Zs, which make up most of their market share. That’s why they decided to increase ad spending to drive traffic and increase sales, specifically on Amazon.

The Challenge: Creating a Budget-Friendly Advertising Plan

Even though Roomify is rapidly growing, they’re still in the start-up phase. This means they only have limited resources for each advertising channel. To gain more customers, they knew they needed a full-service advertising team to optimize all of Amazon’s tools, especially during their peak sales season.

Strategies: Leveraging Sponsored Products and Product Listing Optimizations

The advertising team created an ad strategy consisting of sponsored product ads and optimizing their product listings to make them one of the top sellers. Sponsored ads were placed at the top of Amazon’s SERPs to increase conversions and CTRs.

The Amazon marketing team also made some changes to Roomify’s current optimizations. They improved product listings with optimized product descriptions  and high-quality images. Furthermore, they targeted each listing with ranking keywords, so a potential customer could easily find the brand’s Amazon page in organic search.

In addition to these strategies, the advertising team created an email drip campaign to optimize positive reviews  and feedback while staying compliant with communication  policies for Amazon customers.

Results: Significant Increase in Amazon Sales and ROI

Roomify’s comprehensive strategy resulted in a 273% increase in revenue , 80% of that from the sponsored products:

Into the third month of the campaign, the brand experienced half of their sales from their Amazon page. Since the ads brought in more clicks and new customers, their seller rank increased, generating more sales from organic search results.

The resulting return on ad spend  was double that of Google and Bing, and over double the projected goal. The brand still made a positive ROI and was able to 2X their ad spend to attract more potential customers.

Dive Deeper: * PPC for E-commerce: 8 Effective Best Practices * E-commerce SEO for Product Pages: 15-Point Checklist to Boost Traffic and Sales * E-commerce Advertising Strategy: How We Doubled PPC Sales for ThinSlim Foods (with a 3X+ ROAS)

Polar is a sports technology company that creates innovative products for customers such as athletes and coaches.

The brand first emerged in the market with fitness technology, such as their digital heart rate monitors, and have expanded their catalog to include watches and other wearables that track activity levels. Their wearables sync with the brand’s app, so athletes and fitness enthusiasts can always stay on top of their exercise goals.

Despite their massive fitness market share, Polar needed to fight the competition and capture leads through Amazon ads.

The Challenge: Enhancing Amazon Ad Performance and Efficiency

Polar’s Amazon ads  weren’t performing up to the level they needed to fight other fitness wearable and technology giants.

Though enhancing brand visibility was crucial, they wanted to approach Amazon ads in a smart way to cut costs and generate a better conversion rate while maintaining an impressive ROAS. They specifically needed to target the European market based on their demographics, analytics and the brand’s location in Germany.

Strategies: Harnessing Machine Learning for Amazon PPC

Polar collaborated with a paid ad company that uses machine learning to create and manage Amazon PPC ads . The advertisers did this by streamlining and automating many aspects of the PPC process, such as adding new keywords and tracking relevant KPIs.

The paid ad brand originally only worked on Amazon ads for the Europe market, but quickly expanded to their U.S. market to generate leads for new customers internationally .

Results: Boosted Conversion Rate and Customer Engagement

With this machine learning approach, the advertisers generated 1,982 new conversions . These conversions were applied to more than 118 products in over six countries. They optimized 2,200,000 bids while reducing the previous workload Polar devoted toward their Amazon ads.

Dive Deeper: * Beginner’s Guide to Amazon PPC Ad Campaigns * Amazon Advertising: A Beginner’s Guide to Maximizing Sales * How to Use Amazon Reviews for Content and Product Development

Elevate Brands is one of the most unique e-commerce companies. They purchase brands on the Amazon marketplace and elevate them using various scalable techniques that align with business goals. This may include offering partnerships or buying out businesses entirely.

The company offers transparency throughout the entire process, making this an excellent solution for small businesses struggling to take their brand to the next level. Even though they provide many resources to small business owners, creating ads for numerous companies proved to be a serious challenge.

The Challenge: Streamlining Data Analysis Across Multiple Amazon Stores

Elevate Brands tried to pull data from 35 different companies when they started their advertising strategy on the Amazon marketplace. They were waiting weeks to receive insight and needed a solution that tracked the right metrics on one platform. They also wanted this data to be available immediately, so they could adjust their campaign when required.

Strategies: Migrating all Advertising Data to Cloud Solutions

The brand contacted an ad and analytics company operating on the cloud. The cloud company could take data from all 35 companies and place it on a single dashboard, which allowed Elevate Brands to see how many ad impressions each company generated.

They pulled and organized all advertising data on their cloud platform, updating all metrics automatically. The platform offered a very visual dashboard that was easy to read, ideal for the advertising team to change their bid strategy when needed.

Results:  Integration of 500+ Data Sources for Holistic Analysis

Elevate Brands had a combined total of over 500 data sources  from over 35 companies:

The cloud company combined all this data on one platform, and they were able to make changes and experiment with different advertising strategies while receiving timely updates.

Dive Deeper: 10 Easy Product Page Design Strategies That Will Boost Your Conversions

Ultra*: High-Converting Products Targeting

Though not their real name, Ultra is an e-commerce company specializing in home goods with outdoor furniture being one of their biggest customer favorites. They wanted to increase their revenue and knew they could do that with the best Amazon PPC strategy. The problem was that their PPC management  needed a complete overhaul.

The Challenge: Achieving a 7-Figure Revenue Milestone

Ultra was sitting at a 6-figure revenue with a 7-figure goal in mind. However, the overall performance of their Amazon PPC management was less than perfect. Their bidding strategy, search results and keyword  management, and overall campaign structure all needed to change.

The specific campaign challenges that they faced were:

• Poor search engine term management
• No bid optimization
• Poor campaign structure

Strategy: Innovative PPC Techniques and Campaigns

Ultra contacted an Amazon PPC management company to improve their advertising strategy. The strategy was simple: apply new PPC techniques and tools while keeping advertising cost of sales (ACoS) at a single digit.

First, the advertisers invested in various types of ads, including:

• Headline search engine ads
• Seller Central sponsored products campaigns
• Vendor Central sponsored product listing
• Display ads

To target the pain points, the PPC management company increased bids on high-converting items and decreased bids on low-converting products, turned keywords with high ACoS into negative keywords, and completely reorganized their campaign.

The company also split the campaign into auto and manual targeting , adding the negative keywords to the auto campaign while adding the best customer-converting keywords to the manual campaign.

Results: Hit  7-Figure Revenue Target

In this Amazon marketing strategy case study, Ultra achieved 7-figure revenue and enhanced visibility. The successful Amazon PPC search engine strategy yielded 561,215,398 impressions and 2,898,012 clicks , with a 0.52% CTR:

Not only that, but the PPC management company saved Ultra lots of money on their campaign. The spend-to-sales ratio was 1/14 and their ACoS was 7.14%.

Just want someone to do the work for you? Single Grain’s Amazon Ads experts  can help!👇

Fliegende-Pillen.de is the online mail-order service for Birken Pharmacy. They wanted to switch to Amazon to promote their brand, using their impressive search and advertising capabilities. But there was one issue – they offer customers over 70,000 pharmaceuticals. From their research, using Amazon PPC for all these medications would be a problem.

The Challenge: Streamlining Ad Creation for Extensive Product Catalog

If the company was going to invest in an Amazon search and advertising strategy, they couldn’t achieve this manually. With over 70,000 pharmaceuticals, the mail-order pharmacy needed to scale its process to research and promote its massive product catalog and implement ads for its inventory.

Fliegende-Pillen.de specifically needed an Amazon advertising partner to manage large volumes of data, monitor bids and make adjustments several times daily, taking action when required.

Strategy: Automation and Data-Driven Decisions

With their unique challenges, the mail-order pharmacy store needed an advertisement and search company with expertise and empowered by automation. They hired an Amazon advertising company to optimize their ads on the e-commerce giant.

The Amazon ads company automatically adjusted thousands of bids, saving the company hundreds of hours.

Results: Maximized Efficiency, Cost Savings and Ad Performance

By automatically adjusting bids, the Amazon ad company was able to use its automation expertise to scale 74,000 bids and deliver over 900 keyword suggestions, all while achieving a -33% ACoS . This saved Fliegende-Pillen.de 246 hours in three months.

Dive Deeper: * 7 Pro Tips for Retailers to Capitalize on Amazon’s Prime Day * How to Set Up Your E-commerce Product Page for Maximum Conversions

Stur Drinks proves that a family-owned store focused on healthy living can develop a devoted customer base and earn serious sales.

Formed by Neel Premkumar, this company makes naturally flavored water enhancers. His goal initially was to encourage his wife to drink more water while she was pregnant with their twins.

Premhumar made the water enhancers in his own kitchen, but then he realized he had made a hit product. Even in the early stages of his company’s development, he started selling his water enhancers on Amazon, where he began seeing actual product sales.

With the right Amazon marketing strategy , his company took off. So what else did this small business success story need?

The Challenge: Optimizing Ad Campaigns for Higher ROI

As a small store, Stur Drinks was handling a large part of its advertising and search campaigns themselves. They spent hours working on their Amazon ads and weren’t getting the needed return.

When they realized that Amazon ads weren’t meant to be a one-person show, they onboarded an advertising company to fine-tune their campaign.

In addition to these challenges, the company also wanted a sales increase from their ads and a better ACoS. They wanted to put their focus on creating the product rather than using technology to find customers.

Strategy: Intelligent Ad Campaign Structuring and Targeting

The advertising agency noticed a significant issue during their audit on Spur Drinks – their campaign lacked structure. That’s why the agency created a cost-saving smart ad campaign that focused on auto and manual structures.

The company automatically handled keywords, ad search and product listings and took a manual approach to fine-tune the best-converting keywords.

The specific strategies the advertising company applied include:

• Expanding advertising campaigns in Seller Central
• Optimized bids that hit the target
• Rolled out Amazon Marketing Service campaigns
• Optimizing keywords with a high ACoS
• Pulled out negative keywords
• Worked on Amazon Sponsored Products account structure
• Improved the reporting structure

Results: 50% Increase in Revenue and Brand Visibility

The results were more than what Spur Drinks had requested. Their revenue grew by 50%  while the advertising agency cut their ACoS by half. They also experienced a 9% increase in reviews, many of which were five-star reviews.

Dive Deeper: How to Improve Your Amazon Ads to Increase Sales

Baby Sweets is a company that sells clothing for babies and toddlers, with a customer base consisting of parents who want stylish and safe clothes for their children. Founded in 2016, they are a rapidly growing company, selling over 700 products.

The Challenge: Navigating Amazon Advertising with Limited Experience

Even though Baby Sweets is popular among its stylish parent customer base, they’re still a startup. They lacked the experience to create effective advertising and search campaigns with their enormous catalog. The team also went back and forth between automatic and manual campaigns, wasting many hours and not achieving their ACoS.

The ads also weren’t leading to the desired increase in sales, so the hours spent on their campaign were largely wasted.

Strategy: Leveraging  Automation and Expert Insights

The company quickly realized they needed a fully automated solution to Amazon advertising and search, but required professional help to make this happen. They found one Amazon ad company that fully automated the addition and exclusion of keywords and completed thousands of bid adjustments.

Results:  Improved Conversion Rates and Optimized ROI

The Amazon ad company increased their daily conversions by 223%, resulting in an 11% increase in ROI  and additional cost savings:

Since Baby Sweets switched to an automated solution, they saved 167 hours. Automation also helped them add and exclude over 2,000 keywords for search advertising.

Dive Deeper: * 4 Amazon Ads Trends You Can’t Ignore * Amazon Basics: Why You Need Automatic and Manual Campaigns * What Amazon’s Marketing Strategy Can Teach SMB Owners

What do these Amazon advertising case studies prove? All store owners on Amazon should invest in an advertising campaign for explosive growth. But with so many sellers on the e-commerce platform, advertising competition can be very challenging.

By looking at advertising case studies like those described above, businesses can see which tactics worked for other brands in their niche. From automation to optimizing product listings, there are plenty of ways to dominate the competition and direct leads quicker down the sales funnel on Amazon.

If you’re ready to generate maximum ROI for your product ads, Single Grain’s Amazon Ads experts  can help!👇

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[Updated] 8 Best marketing case study examples

Social listening and consumer intelligence will knock your marketing campaigns out of the park. No question.

Don’t believe me?

The following types of case studies speak for themselves about why you should… listen. Show me the success stories!

Table of content

• Grubhub | Consumer insights feed the soul
• UNICEF | Fighting misleading information with conversational insights
• University of Sydney | Proves the value of social media
• Bella&Brava | Image recognition sees all 
• HelloFresh | Social listening is the secret ingredient 
• Hong Kong Airlines | How to turn a crisis into a soaring success
• Bonduelle | Breaking down data silos to make critical business decisions
• Lion & Lion and Rimmel | Changing the face of Malaysian makeup

Grubhub marketing case study | Consumer insights feed the soul

When the world went into lockdown, food delivery services became an essential part of all our lives. But how to do it safely?

Based in the US, Grubhub is a food ordering and delivery platform that connects consumers with local restaurants and takeaways. To understand what people wanted and meet their new demands, the brand turned to consumer insights.

COVID-19 brought the world to its knees. People feared for their health and for their income. The challenge for Grubhub was how to address consumer concerns with regard to a restricted household budget, disinfection protocols, the mechanics of safe food delivery, and more.

Using our consumer intelligence platform, the Grubhub team monitored for diners' negative experiences, and countered with positive experiences.

When Grubhub's Belly Dance ad first aired on TV, it fell below expectations, receiving low engagement. Suddenly, in January 2021, the commercial became a viral meme, receiving over 40K mentions on social media in one month.

Working with Talkwalker, the brand created a strategy as to how to join this growing conversation .

Think you can make a commercial better than us? Prove it. Add your own music to it or suggest a song, then tweet it with #DeliverTheRemix . You could have your song featured in our commercial and win a YEAR of free food. Ends 1/19. No purch nec. 50 US/DC, 18+. Rules in bio. pic.twitter.com/cRxIFKAji9 — Grubhub (@Grubhub) January 16, 2021

As the campaign became more successful, the team launched the #DeliverTheRemix contest, asking followers to help choose the next song in the “Belly Dance” ad. Consumers loved it, creating a ton of fun and creative pieces of content.

To understand how Grubhub was able to turn negative community sentiment and drive a brand-amplifying strategy , read the Grubhub marketing case study.

Download the Grubhub marketing case study

UNICEF marketing case study | Fighting misleading information with conversational insights

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we've been bombarded with misinformation about the virus and the various vaccines. As this case study shows, we look at how UNICEF MENARO developed a communication strategy to battle the fake news that threatened to undermine the vaccine program in the Middle East and North Africa.

The pandemic caught us by surprise, and we lacked a reliable source of truth. This issue was exacerbated with the release of the vaccine, when we suffered a further deluge of fake news that fed the rising anti-vaccine mood.

It became critical for organizations promoting the vaccine to understand the concerns of the public , enabling them to put peoples' fears to rest. And build trust in vaccines.

For UNICEF MENARO this meant using Talkwalker's consumer intelligence platform to track misinformation keywords , along with mentions of COVID-19 in online conversations in the MENA region to see just how serious the situation was.

Sentiment analysis was used to find the overall sentiment around vaccines, with results showing that net sentiment was low, proving vaccine hesitancy.

The net sentiment around vaccines from December 2020 - April 2021 demonstrated the overall negative view of vaccines.

To shift the sentiment, UNICEF in MENA activated the voices of community members to engage with people and allay their vaccine fears.

UNICEF'S communication strategy delivered a data-driven narrative using strategic partnerships, influencer marketing, and real-life testimonies. Short-form videos that were a strong part of the strategy, with the video for the #MaskUp campaign receiving over 136K mentions between April 2020 and May 2021.

Number of mentions of #MaskUp in the MENA region during the past 13 months.

UNICEF continues to play a key role in monitoring conversation around the pandemic, whether it's positive or negative. 

To understand more about how UNICEF used consumer intelligence to battle fake news , and the successful campaigns it launched, check out our UNICEF marketing case study.

Download the UNICEF marketing case study

University of Sydney marketing case study | Proves the value of social media

The secret to a successful social media strategy is ensuring it's aligned with your business goals.

This marketing case study explores how the University of Sydney used a combination of Hootsuite and Talkwalker and increased sentiment, engagement, and video views.

The university was looking to boost its reputation for research, entice a more diverse range of top-level students, and build a brand that would stand out in a crowd. A forward thinking university, social media would inevitably play a big part, so much so, it already had a Social Squad using Hootsuite, Talkwalker, and Adobe.

What did the squad do? Bringing the various faculty teams together, it created a social media strategy that aligned content, goals, and reporting across it's 36 official social channels.

Sentiment analysis and social media listening enabled the university to measure and manage its brand reputation . Collecting insights that informed the campaign strategy and boosted sentiment through social media communication.

When sentiment turned negative during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Stay Strong India campaign brought about a 30% increase in net sentiment score.

“The insights that Talkwalker provides us have been incredible and have really informed our campaign strategy. Providing these insights to our stakeholders demonstrates what social media can do for our brand and helps us secure investment to increase our budgets and grow our team.” Liz Grey | Social Media | University of Sydney

In the past, when content was shared across multiple channels without a plan, reporting results was hard. The introduction of Hootsuite Impact meant that the team could efficiently report on engagement, campaign performance, and ROI.

A year into its successful social media strategy, the university continues to collect student insights, and is looking to recruit influencers to meet new goals.

For more details on how the university used social media to improve its reputation, download our University of Sydney marketing case study.

Download the University of Sydney marketing case study

Bella&Brava marketing case study | Image recognition sees all

I love pizza, you love pizza. 

With a whopping 106.2K mentions on July 9th, 2019 on Twitter alone, it’s clear that everyone loves posting about pizza.

Data found using Talkwalker’s QuickSearch .

The most popular emojis used when it comes to discussing pizza.

When Venice-based pizzeria Bella&Brava wanted to open restaurants in new locations, it partnered with digital consultancy company OpenKnowledge to harness the power of social media.

Using Talkwalker’s proprietary image recognition technology , OpenKnowledge analyzed data from user-generated content - UGC - created by the consumers Bella&Brava were looking to feed. Their hip, young target audience.

Using image recognition, photos of pizzas posted on social media platforms - Instagram, Facebook, Twitter - were identified, along with background scenes and objects. 

The consumer insights collected from social networks helped Bella&Brava make critical business decisions . Which cities to open in? Which brand partnerships to explore? How will cultural differences influence the design of each new menu?

Read Bella&Brava’s marketing case study to see how social listening and consumer insights will put your brand ahead of your competitors, purely by listening to consumers and meeting their demands .

Download the Bella&Brava marketing case study

“In the digital age, there are two types of organisations: those that collect data and those that transform it into opportunities” Ilaria Baietti, Director - Brand Interaction, OpenKnowledge

Speed up the growth of your business by closing the gap between your brand and consumers. Boom!

HelloFresh marketing case study | When social listening is the secret ingredient 

When HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit company, was struggling with social media data, it was time to call Talkwalker. .

Previously, the brand had been manually collecting social media data. This was not only  time consuming, but vital information was being missed .

Humans are great, but when you consider the amount of social data out there…

It was time to freshen up HelloFresh’s marketing strategy with social listening.

“At HelloFresh, data is at the center of everything we do. It was only natural for us to turn to social listening to improve the performance and efficiency of our marketing and communications teams. Talkwalker has allowed us to unlock access to a much larger conversation around our brand than ever before.” Jordan Schultz, Social Media Manager, HelloFresh

Talkwalker’s consumer intelligence platform was able to identify consumer insights , then translate into meaningful data. Moving forward, HelloFresh identified more than 400% more mentions per month.

With all these new insights to hand, HelloFresh began to develop a crisis management plan.

Take a look at our HelloFresh marketing case study, for more details

Download the HelloFresh marketing case study

Hong Kong Airlines marketing case study | How to turn a crisis into a soaring success

This is a case study from a few years back, so pre pandemic. But it remains a landing page that converts, bigly.

What’s every traveler’s dream and every airline’s nightmare?

When a Hong Kong Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai was mispriced at $561, consumers rushed to make the most of this mistake, with the Hong Kong Airline marketing team scrabbling for their oxygen masks.

The buzz from the mispriced tickets caused a huge increase in mentions, engagement and reach.

What were their options in the face of this PR crisis ? Search for the nearest exit? Or, buckle up and go along for what was sure to be a bumpy ride? 

Hong Kong Airlines decided to take another route. They chose to breeze right through it.

Luckily, they were prepared because of social listening and consumer intelligence. By using the insights from Talkwalker’s social media data and sentiment analysis , they were able to plan accordingly and protect their brand reputation .

“When we see what is happening in “real time” on social media we are better prepared to make timely and informed decisions and communicate those decisions well. Social listening and analytics tools are critical to success. In this case, we managed to turn what could have been a damaging issue, into a fantastic PR opportunity. With 4,900% more engagements created in a one week period.” Dennis Owen, General Manager of Branding and Social Media, Hong Kong Airlines

Read the Hong Kong Airlines case study to learn how they used social media data from competitors, and sentiment analysis to inform their strategic decisions. All while keeping long term customers and potential customers happy.

Download the Hong Kong Airlines marketing case study

Bonduelle marketing case study | Breaking down data silos to make critical business decisions

Bonduelle, a major French brand in the FMCG/CPG industry, was in the grips of optimizing its online brand strategy. The company that specializes in providing frozen and canned vegetables daily to over 100 countries, wanted to ensure that all its consumer data was readily available across its entire company.

The problem?

Data silos in Bonduelle.

Each department was collecting its own data and interpreting it, without a platform from which to share the information with other teams. This is a common issue. The State of Social Intelligence Report points out that 31% of organizations offer their teams limited access to social data.

The crucial information was hidden away in the dark depths of the team’s computer folder – unable to be used across departments to identify added benefits.

Social listening held the key to knocking down these data walls. It brought together information from online, social media, and traditional press all on one platform . Allowing Bonduelle to find the topics that were being discussed alongside their products or services, images associated with the brand, their high-performing influencers, and how to protect their brand reputation from negative comments.

Talkwalker offered the perfect solution, giving the brand the opportunity to build their own dashboard and choose who would have access to the data.

Read Bonduelle’s marketing case study to learn more about how it...

• Determined positioning based on data maturity scale in report
• Identified its progress in terms of data maturity
• Created necessary systems and teams for scalable processing of data
• Introduced the chief data officer role to maximize the value of data as it progresses

Download the Bonduelle marketing case study

Lion & Lion and Rimmel marketing case study ­| Changing the face of Malaysian makeup

When faced with the relaunch of the British cosmetics brand Rimmel in Malaysia, the brand’s digital marketing agency, Lion & Lion, turned to social media.

With the increasing demand for authenticity and inclusivity, the beauty industry has been opting for social media and specifically, influencer marketing instead of traditional advertising methods. 

Makes sense!

It’s a trend that resonates with Gen Z . Econsultancy states that 65% of this group rely on social media to find and choose beauty products. 

Rather than listening to marketers telling you what to buy, social media, blog posts and influencers become the cool friend with the inside scoop on the latest makeup trend. So, it’s no surprise that cosmetics brands are turning to social media marketing and social listening for consumer insights into what people really want.

In a country where the k-beauty brands dominate the shelves, the first step was to make Rimmel stand out in the crowd. 

The data showed that consumers trust that beauty is more than skin deep. It’s all about being confident. It’s all about being confident. They want bold, experimental makeup to create distinctive looks.

Rimmel then launched the #MakeUpYourOwnRules marketing campaign which championed self-expression and all-inclusive beauty that radiates confidence.

“As a result, we saw an increase in branded search and share-of-voice, and gained around 3x of our initial market share target within the first year of launch” Cheska Teresa, Managing Director, Lion & Lion in Malaysia  

For more details on how Lion & Lion took full advantage of social listening and consumer intelligence for Rimmel, read Lion & Lion’s marketing case study.

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Brand Marketing Case Studies

This collection features brands and content creators that used video and other digital tactics to drive innovation, connect with their consumers, and drive brand and business metrics. Learn about best practices, creative executions, and how brands achieved success through digital.

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Comedy central’s innovative search/youtube strategy sends fans on an internet-wide easter egg hunt, fiat's 500x crossover ad drives audience engagement on youtube, how orkin's youtube content strategy exterminated the 'ew'-factor and boosted brand awareness, gillette wins with a digital-first approach for gillette body, how maybelline new york’s eye-catching youtube campaign dared consumers to 'go nude', driving sales for retailers with youtube's trueview for shopping, l'oréal canada finds beauty in programmatic buying, rosetta stone embraces mobile video to generate 10x increase in site traffic, new balance races past pre-order goal with youtube trueview and google lightbox ads, how budweiser won the big game with "puppy love", jcpenney optical boosts in-store traffic and brand exposure with google advertising, how activision reached over 2m subscribers on youtube, aéropostale partners with youtube star bethany mota to drive leads, sales and fans, mondelēz international improves campaign effectiveness with google’s brand lift solution, visit california lifts intent to travel to california with a unique experience on youtube, toyota drives engagement with first +post ads campaign, brand usa boosts travel intent 22% with 'discover america' campaign, kraft serves up a fresh take on food with a side of google, hyatt brings its brand experience to life with google solutions, ehealth boosts brand awareness with google display ads, sunrun uses google's brand lift solution to measure campaign recall, topshop reinvents its london fashion week show on google+ and engagement triples, chevrolet drives brand awareness for its new traverse, unilever's 'project sunlight' shines with 77 million youtube views, mercedes-benz france's immersive youtube experience fuels shift in brand perception, youtube and broadway: a cinderella story, chef jamie oliver's food tube: a recipe for youtube success, the record breaking love affair between evian® and youtube, nextiva attracts new customers with youtube trueview ads, vice's youtube success: growing sustained viewership through breakout videos, land rover finds success with engagement ads.

6 Twitter Marketing Case Studies To Inspire Your Brand

Last Updated: Jan 4th, 2023

Twitter is one of the most popular social media channels for marketing your business. And that’s for some good reasons:

• High Virality & Reach Potential
• The short-form content is relatively easy to create
• You can include links in the content

But how do YOU make the most of it?

In this article, we’ll look at six successful examples of Twitter marketing from companies such as Wendy’s, Sony PlayStation, McDonald’s, and more so you can replicate their success.

Through these case studies, you will gain insights into how each company used creative strategies to increase engagement on the platform and maximize its impact on users. So let’s get started!

You can go through the entire article or you’d jump directly to sections if you prefer.

• Using Humor to Connect with Customers
• Taking Advantage of Influencer Marketing
• Leveraging User-Generated Content
• Creating Custom Hashtags
• Fostering Brand Advocacy
• Aldi vs. Marks and Spencer’s

Twitter Marketing FAQs

Final thoughts, twitter marketing case studies.

Here are 6 Twitter marketing case studies to inspire your Twitter marketing strategy.

1. Wendy’s: Using Humor to Connect with Customers

Wendy’s Twitter Humor is basically the godfather of all funny brand social media campaigns.

Almost every single fast-food chain started doing it now. But Wendy’s is by far the most memorable and the funniest.

Their unique and often edgy jokes help engage followers, gain recognition and foster customer loyalty.

They use their platform to make people laugh while taking digs at their competitors like McDonald’s or Burger King.

In addition, their lighthearted approach to content can make a lasting impression on consumers, putting them at the forefront of the competition.

Here are just some of the funny tweets we found from Wendy’s:

2. Sony PlayStation: Taking Advantage of Influencer Marketing

To promote the launch of its new PS4 Slim console, Sony PlayStation turned to influencers for help.

By partnering with social media personalities and creating engaging content, they were able to reach a broader audience and increase engagement during the product launch.

This strategy was an effective way for the company to showcase the console and generate excitement around it.

Plus, as all the influencers created discussions around the launch, Twitter picked up terms like “PS4”, “PS4 sold out, and tons of others into the trending section.

This gave PlayStation a ton of more visibility as a promoted hashtag costs $200,000 per day, but Sony did it organically through influencers.

3. McDonald’s: Leveraging User-Generated Content

McDonald’s ran a campaign that encouraged customers to submit pictures of themselves at one of its restaurants in exchange for a chance to win free food.

By asking users to share actual photos of themselves enjoying McDonald’s meals, they were able to create an authentic connection between consumers and their brand, which ultimately drove more engagement and loyalty towards their products.

4. Coca-Cola: Creating Custom Hashtags

Coca-Cola developed custom hashtags like #ShareACoke and #TasteTheFeeling, which have been used worldwide by millions of people who enjoy their beverages or want to express support for the company through these designated terms.

The hashtags helped build recognizable brands that increased awareness among potential customers, making them more likely to pick Coca-Cola over other beverage options when shopping.

They also paired this with the names on the bottles, which made it even more likely for users to upload a pic to show off their name on the coke bottle.

5. Nike: Fostering Brand Advocacy

Nike has used Twitter to foster brand advocacy among its active customers by encouraging them to share stories about how they embody the “Just Do It” spirit through running or other physical activities.

This helps create an online community filled with loyal Nike fans eager to spread positive messages about the company on social media channels such as Twitter, helping boost its reputation further within this space.

It also creates a sense of community.

6. Aldi vs. Marks and Spencers

This case study is from the UK grocery store Aldi, but it’s pretty cool…

Backstory : Marks and Spencers (M&S) decided to sue Aldi because their caterpillar cake design was similar.

Aldi took it to social media to “troll” M & S, which led to the crazy engagement, and even influencers picking up the topic organically.

Oh, and the entire public was on Aldi’s side.

These posts reached millions across Facebook and Twitter and made the public feel more positively toward Aldi.

We’re not sure what the lawsuit’s outcome was, as the two stores reached a “Confidential agreement”, but from a PR perspective, Aldi clearly won.

Is Twitter still good for marketing?

Yes, Twitter is still a powerful platform for marketing. With its large user base and focus on real-time content sharing, it offers many opportunities for brands to connect with customers and build their presence in the digital landscape.

What makes Twitter unique for marketing?

One of the key benefits of Twitter for marketing is its real-time nature and the short attention spans that it caters to. This makes it an ideal platform for sharing news, promotions, and other time-sensitive content in a way that grabs the attention of users and drives engagement.

How has Twitter changed the marketing industry?

Here are three ways Twitter has changed the marketing industry:

• Twitter has made it easier for brands to go viral
• Twitter has made it easier for customers to reach brands
• Twitter has made it easy to have real-time discussions around trending topics

Why is Twitter good for advertising?

Advertising on Twitter is effective because the ad placements are easily visible, and the platform has excellent targeting tools. In addition, it can sometimes be cheaper than Facebook & Instagram ads because it’s slightly less popular.

Overall, Twitter is a powerful and unique platform for marketing that has changed the industry by making it easier for brands to go viral, connect with customers, and take advantage of real-time opportunities.

As we have seen throughout this article, brands can benefit from the following:

• Showing Humor on Twitter
• Leveraging UGC
• Working with Influencers
• Building Community
• Coming up with custom hashtags

We hope you have enjoyed this article on Twitter Marketing Case studies.

If you would like us to help you with your social media marketing strategy, book a free consultation with us here .

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5 outstanding social media marketing case studies

Do you read social media marketing case studies for inspiration? It’s always a good idea to benchmark against your competitors or pinch ideas from them, but it’s also worth looking at success stories from the biggest brands out there. You might not have their budget, but you can always gain inspiration from their campaigns.

Here are five of the best brands on social and what I think you can learn from them:

1.Mercedes Benz – Repeated, successful social media marketing campaigns

Mercedes Benz seem to win every time with their social media campaigns.  The one that stands out to me was back in 2013 when they created what I still believe to be one of the best Instagram marketing campaigns to date. Mercedes wanted to reach out to the younger audience so they hired five top Instagram photographers to each take the wheel of a new Mercedes CLA. Whoever got the most likes got to keep the car – so they all really worked at it!

By the end of the campaign, Mercedes has received:

• 87,000,000 organic Instagram impressions
• 2,000,000 Instagram likes
• 150 new marketing assets (stunning photos)

What lessons can you learn from this? Could you put your followers up for a challenge and make it into a competition or campaign?

• Can you do a competition that gets people trying out your product first?
• Think about your target audience. What is a prize they would value?
• Like Mercedes you could recruit bloggers/influencers via social media and get them blogging about your service or product. Whoever receives the most engagement wins .

2. Dove – Connecting with their target audience

Is it just me or do all the Dove marketing campaigns make you cry? If you’ve seen their Real Beauty sketches campaign, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Dove’s goal is to make women feel good about themselves. They know their target market and create content that tells a story that women can relate to.

Today I am… pic.twitter.com/VoAf2wRdwa — Dove UK & Ireland (@DoveUK) February 19, 2016

Dove did some research and found that 80 percent of women came across negative chatter on social media. Dove’s goal was to change that and make social media a more positive experience. As a result, Dove teamed up with Twitter and built a tool to launch the #SpeakBeautiful Effect, that breaks down which body- related words people use the most and when negative chatter appears during the day.

According to Dove, women were inspired by their message.

• #SpeakBeautiful was used more than 168,000 times
• Drove 800 million social media impressions of the campaign

Dove know their audience. Knowing your audience is the only way you will engage with them. The best way for this is creating personas. Knowing what life stage they are in, if they’re employed, what their interests are etc. will certainly help you when creating content. Then think about linking your audience to your brand values in order to create something just as successful as Dove’s campaign.

3. Nutella – Incredible content that makes you salivate

Each post makes you want to eat Nutella. There are a lot of people (including me) who take photos of their food before they eat it. Nutella does the same and it works. Nutella isn’t afraid to be fun and creative with different ingredients. Nutella is just a chocolate spread yet they manage to have fun with it. Do you, or could you, have a bit more fun with your brand?

Here are some ideas for having fun with your brand:

• Are you on different social media channels? If you’re B2B you might not think that Instagram is for you, but it can be a great way to demonstrate your brand values by telling a story. Fedex is a great example of this, showing images of their trucks always on the move. This tells a story that they are always delivering and that is the key message we take away.
• Key influencers/bloggers can be a great way to  different types of content and to see how they have fun with your brand (if this is new to you, read our post on the rise of the social media influencer ).
• Instead of posting behind-the-scenes photos at your head office, can you encourage your followers to share their experiences with your brand? Maybe host an event or go out and meet them.

Take your #breakfast bread pudding to the next level with #Nutella ! 😉 pic.twitter.com/k0ko5Nm9iX — Nutella (@NutellaGlobal) May 5, 2016

4. Oreo – Smart content planning and timely delivery

Oreo is another brand that is known for their creative social media marketing. They must have a big design team to produce their content, but it works! They are consistent with their branding and manage to catch onto real time events. We all remember when the lights went out at the Super Bowl and during the half hour blackout Oreo tweeted out:

Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC — OREO Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

This was retweeted over 15,000 times.  Are you thinking outside the box about your brand? Plan ahead for events coming up that you might be able to jump on to.

Do you plan your social media content out? If you’re in B2B and don’t currently create content read here for some B2B content marketing tips to help you get started, or check out our B2B marketing strategy tips ebook for 2021.

It’s always a good idea to prepare content ahead of time. If you can schedule content on a monthly basis – perfect, but if not bi-weekly is great. That way you can check what events are coming up and plan content around them. This gives you time for any ad hoc creative to be done, such as jumping on real-time events like the Oreo blackout example above.

5. Airbnb – Stunning imagery and UGC

What might look like a visual travel blog,  Airbnb ’ s content attracts fans with their visually compelling posts. On Instagram, they post user-generated photos from its hosts and guests. The content embraces their new campaign of ‘Don’t just go there, Live there’ which is captured through real photography. Each post receives high engagement, between 3,000 and 14,000 Instagram likes.

This is a great example of thinking slightly outside the box. Airbnb is all about accommodation. They don’t just post images of the inside of people’s homes. Seeing the culture and images of places all over the world comes with the experience of where you stay and that’s what connects with people. Think about your brand: are you just posting about the product/ service itself? Why not tell your followers a story instead?

Thanks for reading. I hope by reading these five social media marketing case studies it has spiked some inspiration! If you need any help with your social media advertising , influencer marketing , or other aspects of your social media strategy, feel free to contact us .

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The Ultimate List of Facebook Ads Case Studies (+ 38 lessons you can’t ignore)

by: 6 Comments

Without a doubt, Facebook is THE place to be to build audiences and generate revenue.

You know it, I know it… Every single marketer knows it.

But with it’s decreasing organic reach, you’ll need to rely on Facebook Ads more than ever.

That means your money is on the line, which is why you’ll want to know  what REALLY works and what doesn’t work  before you even get started.

So, to bust all the myths and speculations, we’ve been analyzing 13 Facebook Ads case studies from various well-known experts.

From campaigns spending $1/day to millions a year. Campaigns focused on bringing in hundreds of thousands in revenue as well as bringing in low-cost leads.

You’ll get to see it all in the following 13 Facebook Ads case-studies.

Case Study # 1 – What Noah Kagan Learned Spending $2 Million on Facebook Ads

This is the case study and key insights from Noah Kogan who has spent millions on Facebook Ads so far.

The advice and lessons learned from this case study will be far more insightful than people that have to spend some hundred or thousands of dollar on Facebook Ads.

Noah Kagan of AppSumo and SumoMe shared his experience spending $2 million on Facebook Ads across his different products.

Apart from promoting his key products ( AppSumo and SumoMe ), he showed how he earned $267 in profit from each Monthly1k course he sells.

He used Facebook Advertising to bring traffic to his website, increase his email subscription and later sell them the course.

Each email lead would cost him $3, and every 89th email lead went on to buy the course giving him $267 in net profit (after all deductions, cancellations, etc.effectively).

This is a classical example of how to best leverage Facebook Ads. People browse Facebook for casual fun, catching up with friends and family – but not to being sold.

It is best to use Facebook to drive them to opt-in to your lead magnet before pushing them your product.

They will be more inclined to engage with your Facebook Ads if it’s not asking for their credit card but rather giving some value without any cost to them.

Although, he provided a lot of insight from his million dollar spending on Facebook Ads, here are some of the key takeaways and lessons learned.

Lesson Learned # 1 –  Use data at hand effectively to target your Facebook ads strategically. Such as copying the success of your competitors , targeting the fans of your competitors and creating lookalike audience from existing customers and email subscribers.

Lesson Learned # 2 – Start with a small budget and capitalize on the ads targeting which is giving you the best ROI.

Lesson Learned # 3 – Keep your targeting narrow than being broad. Narrower audiences not only is easier to reach on a limited budget but are highly likely to convert. But narrow audience doesn’t mean it has to be small, rather an ideal size ( in between narrow and broad)

Case Study # 2 – $5800 Monthly Recurring Revenue Using Facebook Ads Retargeting

Design Pickle is a design-as-a-service that provides unlimited graphics designing services under a monthly retainer fee. Being a newer concept and a service that requires a direct interaction of humans ( as in passing design briefs and requirements), it is hard to promote the service using standard means.

Following the footsteps of how most SaaS businesses generate leads, they  ran a Facebook Ad Campaign in which they offered a Free Custom Design without the need for any credit card ( an equivalent to Free Trial)

They directed the Facebook Ads traffic to a long-form signup form so they would weed out potential customers from onlookers. This was deliberately done as people that go on to filling the long form were most likely to be interested in the services.

Although they were able to capture some leads, the best part came when they started using retargeting.

Want to get more results from Facebook Ads? Check out our free targeting training here.

Design Pickle identified that they could use retargeting with better effect. So they implemented a retargeting campaign on the sales page visitors which accounted for 17 of the 30 new customers.

More than 50% of their new customers just came from the retargeting marketing campaign, which justifies the fact that converting a retargeted visitor is much easier and efficient than converting a new one.

Lesson Learned # 4 – No matter how complex, unique or new (business model) type of business you have, Facebook Ads can still work for you.

Lesson Learned # 5 – Use the magnetic power of retargeting to bring back customers that already have shown interest in your products.

Lesson Learned # 6 – Build a sales funnel along with your Facebook Ads. Such as in this case, people that initially saw the ad but didn’t go on to fill up the form were retargeted again.

Case Study # 3 – What Will  $5/day on Facebook Get You?

With the tremendous growth of businesses interest in advertising and marketing their product on Facebook,   Buffer did a small experiment to see how a minimal investment of $5 on Facebook Ads can give them.

The $5 ad spend was tested for different objectives such as page likes, clicks to website and effects on boosted post.

And here are the results they achieved for every $5 spend on each of the activity below;

Page Likes – 9 Likes per day

Clicks to the homepage / landing page – 1 per day

Boosted post – 787 new people reached

So there is something for business seen on a small budget.

Here is the audience targeting they set;

As you can see, they’re targeting people who are interested in social media, excluding their fans.

Furthermore, just to give you an example of creating a Killer Facebook Ad, see this the ad buffer created for the Page Likes campaign.

Apparently, this ad comes across as very social/human (since it’s showing the team) – which is why it’s been working well for a “like” campaign.

So to get the best bang out of your Facebook Ads even on a small budget, try zooming in your target audience and create ads copy that reflect or resonate with them.

Lesson Learned # 7 – If you want to test the Facebook Ads waters or generate buzz for your product, a small budget can also do good for you. Not only it creates awareness for your business, but you might also score a handy traffic and some sales too in the process.

Lesson Learned # 8 – You don’t need a large budget to succeed with Facebook Ads. If you target and optimize the ads well, you still can get a good traction regardless of your objective.

Lesson Learned # 9 – When targeting for page likes, always make sure that you Exclude your current page followers.

Lesson Learned # 10 – Make sure the ad image / creative you select, must match with the objective of the ad.

Case Study # 4 – Facebook Ads Success with just $1 per Day

Similar to the Buffer experiment, this case study by Brian Carter , a prominent Facebook Marketing and Advertising Expert and Bestselling author of the book “ The Like Economy”  showed that even investing a minimum of $1/day on Facebook Ads  can give you a significant reach.

By consistently investing $1/day for 30 days, he was able to reach 120,000 people or 4000 people every day.

He in an active user of most advertising platforms and this is what he found as the cost to reach 1000 people using popular advertising channels.

Facebook Ads are far cheaper than the legacy advertising solutions (newspaper, tv, etc.), but also left behind its online competitors (Adwords and LinkedIn).

The objective of this case study or experiment was to show that even if you start with a minimal budget, Facebook Ads can still prove beneficial.

Most businesses can afford to spend $1/day on Facebook, can’t they?

Lesson Learned  # 11 – Budget is or should not be a roadblock for virtually any business. $1/day or $30/month is not a big deal for most businesses.

Lesson Learned # 12 – Even if you are investing more on other channels for traffic or lead generation successfully, it doesn’t hurt to spend a small proportion on Facebook Ads. You might get the same number of traffic, but the overall cost will be much cheaper than all other alternatives.

Check out more details about this case study here.

Case Study # 5 – $14,114 in revenue from $8,240.17 spent in Facebook Ads

This case study is purely about generating leads than anything else.

Brian Moran , the founder of SamCart , used  Facebook As to sell his courses and training products .

He tested three different targeting groups where;

• One group was his existing email list.
• The 2nd group was the lookalike version of his email list.
• And the third was custom audience he created using the native+ advanced targeting features of Facebook.

And after spending $8240 on the ads on these groups, he was able to get;

• $3496 in Sales from $1800 in ad spend from group 1
• $1546 in Sales from $895 in ad spend from group 2
• $9039 in Sales from $5153 in ad spend from group 3

Although all of the ads returned an ROI of 2:1, the 3rd group clearly outperformed the others.

So as seen, changing and testing around with your targeting can give you better results than standard targeting.

Typically existing subscribers are considered a gold mine to be reaped over and over but Brian proved that you can still succeed with Facebook Ads if you just get you targeting right.

Even if you don’t have a big list of subscribers, using native targeting features of Facebook can bring you in front of the right viewers.

Lesson Learned # 13 – Retarget or advertise your offer to existing subscribers as well. This is particularly helpful if you want to convert your blog subscribers into warm leads or paying customers .

Lesson Learned # 14 – Use lookalike audience effectively. Brian created a lookalike audience from his existing email subscribers that brought in $1546 in revenue from $895 in ad spend.

Lesson Learned # 15 – Fine tune your advertising to narrow down to your targeted audience as much as possible. Brian got the best response from the custom targeting he set up.

Lesson Learned # 16 – Just beside A/B testing your Facebook ad copy , split test between your targeting groups too. When seeing results from the third group, Brian invested more in it, and the results were equally rewarding.

Case Study # 6 – How an Advertising “FAIL” Can Actually Turn Into a “WIN”

This case study is rather interesting as it started off from a failure before they got their winning aha-moment.

Angela Ponsford started a Facebook Ad campaign for her client who wanted to sell a high-priced $990 home renovation program to women’s in 30-40 age range across the USA.

The idea was to build an email list via Facebook Ads and later show them ads for Free Webinar that will lead to the program she wants to sell.

When they run the ads, they performed well, but most of the people that were engaging with it were not the actual audience perceived.

She thought women in the 30-40 age group would take more interest in her program, but women above 45+ were engaging most with her ad and content.

The first few days just yielded in 2 sign ups at the cost of nearly $27 each. So she optimized the ad targeting and the ad copy in line with the results they achieved earlier.

The second run significantly improved the cost/lead, dragging it down to 4 leads at $5.43 each.

After several rounds of testing and tuning with targeting and ad copies, she was able to bag in 400 leads at a cost $507 and some happy customers that went on buying the program.

One of their best performing ads was shared 14 times which indicated that the ad copy was talking to the customer and performed well.

It is essential that you keep on monitoring and optimizing your campaign- especially at the start. Angela was able to reduce the cost/lead from $27 to just $1.27 in the end by continually improving the campaign in the line of results she was getting.

Unless you have a large budget to spend, test your campaign in small budget / test runs until you find what’s working or you might end up spending a lot of money with little results.

Lesson Learned # 17 – There is no barrier to the type and cost of the product you are selling – you can even sell a high priced product using Facebook Ads .

Lesson Learned # 18 – Do some preliminary ad test to fine tune on the audience and then invest more budget where you get the most gold.

Lesson Learned # 19 – The ideal audience perceived by you might not always be correct.

Lesson Learned # 20 – Sometimes the simplest of thing are most effective. By changing the word “Webinar” to “Workshop” on the ad copy, the CTR and leads doubled.

Case Study # 7 – 89% cheaper cost / lead with Facebook Ads

Google Adwords in arguably the most used platform when it comes to online advertising. Hundreds of thousands of businesses use its daily traffic and leads.

But, it’s still expensive to reach for some.

Dave Rogenmoser of The Market Results, identified that cost/lead for a high-end app and web development company ranges between $250 – $1000 / lead on Adwords.

Although $250/lead was a good deal for a $80,000 contract, they wanted more.

Fast forward, they leveraged the narrow-down targeting capabilities of Facebook to target startups that might be in need of app development .

Dave mentioned that the hardest part of the campaign for them was to set targeting for their audience. As we saw from earlier case studies, narrowing down on your target audience is much more beneficial than broadening it.

And he did exactly just that- zoomed in on funded startups that might be in need of app development.

With a spend of $993 across a week, they were able to score 34 leads which was far much quicker and cheaper than Google Adwords.

From the first week of the run, they were able to decrease their cost/lead to $28 a piece, 89% cheaper than what it takes from Adwords.

Want similar results? Check out our free targeting training here.

This goes to show you that how cost effective leads from Facebook can turn out to be when compared with other options.

Lesson Learned # 21 – Facebook Ads are cost effective as compared to Google Adwords when it comes to B2B leads generation.

Lesson Learned # 22 – Facebook ads provide narrower targeting which helps you to laser in on your ideal audience. Setting up the correct targeting is one of the essential parts of your campaign.

Case Study # 8 – 7 Mistakes Made While Spending $234.07 on Facebook Ads

At Connectio we often hear customers saying that they have none or very limited success via Facebook Ads. Either it was not giving the desired results or is turning out to be expensive for them.

This case study is especially useful for such Facebook Ad starter business that is struggling to find their way.

Philip Kleudgen, a web development, and marketing specialist for restaurant owners, shares his experience of how he started off with Facebook Ads- with no prior experience .

As like more people starting off with Facebook Ads, he made some classic mistakes such as;

• Targeting was not set correctly.  He was targeting a very little set of individuals.
• Used only one image and didn’t A/B test between different images or ad copies.
• Wasn’t tracking conversions correctly due to missing or improper configuration
• Keep running ads that were unprofitable.

After running the ad for week or so, he spent $234 on Facebook Ads with a meager CTR and earned less than the actual ad spend.

Although, he was at a loss at this campaign some valuable lessons learned.

But at such stage, most businesses give up rather than realizing their mistakes and optimizing their campaign accordingly.

So it’s important to review and analyze performance and mistakes in your Facebook Ads campaign before ruling the platform as a failure.

Lesson Learned # 23 – Take some pre-campaign time to research and identify your targeted audience. Ideally, have a separate ad set for each unique audience you are targeting.

Lesson Learned # 24 – If your objective is lead generation or sales, you need to set your conversion tracking and do it right. If you aren’t tracking your conversions correctly how would you analyze performance?

Lesson Learned # 25 – Have multiple images and copies of your ad in hand before starting a campaign.

Lesson Learned # 26 – Don’t spend that much money on ads or campaigns that are not giving any result.

Case Study # 9 – How Veeroll Sold 122 Subscriptions with $2.5k Spend on Facebook Ads in 2 Weeks

This case study is another classical example that Facebook can be effectively used to generate leads for B2B businesses. B2B businesses. It also shows how businesses can gain better results by using video ads and continually optimizing the campaign to improve performance. Veeroll along with other places started off their campaign on Facebook and sent all traffic to a webinar funnel . They were also tracking website conversions to know how many people referred from Facebook were converting on that landing page.

They set their targeting and created the ads. Initially, they were getting a higher CPC.

Although their primary objective was to show the video ads, they also tested the text ad along with it and they saw a huge difference between both.

This the stats on their text ad;

And compare that to the video ad;

They spent a little more on the video ads, but have 18X more engagement and were 3.5X more than the text ads.

So seeing the video ads were proving better, they went on creating multiple video ads.

This is one of the video ads they were using.

Specifically, implementing retargeting on the website helped them lower their CPC and improve their conversions.

At the end of 2 weeks campaign, they were able to have 122 signups that resulted in $11,000 of monthly revenue that too just from a $2500 in ad spend.

That is almost 400% is profit against the cost of Facebook Ads, not to mention that the lifetime value of these customers will be way much than this.

Lesson Learned # 27 – Don’t get faltered from initial road bumps. Review the performance and capitalize where most performance is achieved. Such as mobile users were engaging far more than desktop users in this case so apparently it makes sense to pour more budget here.

Lesson Learned # 28 –  Retargeted traffic gave better conversion then the cold traffic. Veeroll has the lowest CPC and conversion from retargeted ads.

Lesson Learned # 29 – Don’t just stick to conventional ad styles. Try video ads too. They have incredible engagement and lets you communicate more message than what it takes from text and image ads.

Case Study # 10 – Reaping $163,969 in revenue from $5989 of ad spend in just 34 days

This is an absorbing Facebook Ad Case Study as it not only achieved a remarkable result but worked on an approach that will work in any niche – yes any niche. It is also very helpful for startup businesses that have none or small following and email list.

Paul Romando’s  Facebook Ad’s campaign for his client returned a staggering $163,969 in revenue from a mere $5989 in ad investment.

That’s an insane 2737.80% of return in just 34 days of the campaign.

Paul’s success formula was simple.

Rather than going for the hard sell, he created a Facebook funnel, where leads first opted in on content ( lead magnet) around a product.

And later, for all those that opted in, Paul would show a different ad set that directly takes them to the sale page.

He calls this is the Elope Approach.

His multi-step Facebook Ad Strategy builds up a connection with your targeted audience before going for the sale. This helps in nurturing leads and segmenting people that are most likely to convert.

Particularly important was the Facebook Ad relevance score. A high Facebook Ad relevance score helped your ad not being flagged by Facebook and delivered to your targeted audience.

So when he showed the sales ads to his existing audience, a high relevance score for imminent as these people already knew him.

For most B2B businesses having a Facebook Sales Funnel is crucial. It might sound a lot of work but gains are immense, and you can use it over and over again.

Lessons Learned # 30 – Rather than going straight for sales, develop a Facebook funnel through a lead magnet. Once you have subscribers in your funnel, nurture them with you offer ads.

Lessons Learned # 31 – Use different ads / ad sets for the retargeted audience / warm leads. Since they already know about your product, take them straight to your money page.

For example, create a different ads / ad set for cold and warm leads and make sure that you exclude each one of them in the targeting set.

Case Study # 11 – How Wahida Generated High-Quality Leads With Just $10/Day

Sending people straight to a sales page might work in commodity niches such as online stores, but for B2B services it’s essential to capture the leads first.

This case study came from Wahida Lakhani, one of the students of Claire Pelletreau from her Ad Consultant Incubator program. She was able to manage a very low cost / lead for a client in health and fitness niche.

The idea was same as Paul Romano – generate leads using a lead magnet and then move on for the sale.

But she tweaked it a bit.

Rather than sending them to a lead magnet straight away, she added another layer. She sent the traffic from Facebook ad to a high-quality article on the blog and added a lead magnet as the content upgrade.

The original article was on creating “Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars” but she added the details of the lead magnet “6 Vegan and Gluten-Free Recipes.”

This is uber awesome, provided you have an ultra high-quality article that drives CTR from Facebook and an equally irresistible lead magnet.To ensure they provided the detail of valuable content in the ad, she also added the lead magnet detailed information in the FB ad.

The results were 10/10 relevance score from Facebook, high CTR ( 5%)  and lead cost at just $0.65.

Want 10/10 relevance scores also? Check out our free targeting training here.

This was far less than the industry standard in health and wellness. So regardless of how competitive your niche is, there is still an opportunity for to score dirt-cheap leads.

Lesson Learned # 32 – Having a high-quality content helps in generating high CTR, better engagement, and lead generation.

Lesson Learned # 33 – Use your Facebook Ad effectively to list all the value you are providing. This will make your case stronger and gives the reader more reason to interact with your ad.

Lesson Learned # 34 – With a well thought out plan / funnel / strategy, you can shatter any industry benchmarks no matter how competitive your niche is.

Case Study # 12 –  How Mary Got 532 Subscribers in 43 days Using Facebook Ads

For startup businesses and bloggers, getting new subscribers for their blog is often challenging. They might end up producing high-quality content but fail to attract the subscribers/ optins they would expect.

This case study will help you understand that how can you use Facebook Ads to generate more subscribers for your blog.

Mary Fernandez shows how she gained new blog subscribers for just $0.43 each using video ads.

One common thing that she experienced in building blog subscribers for her clients was that personalizing the ad gave better results than a stock-photo ad.

Such as these are some examples of a personalized ad.

And this too;

Why these ads?

View the Facebook from the standpoint of a potential subscriber.

They are probably surfing Facebook to see what their friends are doing, following up with family and socializing but not to view ads.

If your ad looks like a traditional ad, there is a high chance that they will ignore it. But if they see something relevant or something which might not be another ad from the laundry, they are more likely to engage.

So where possible try to use a personal looking photo of you or your employees, instead of stock photos.

Lessons Learned # 35 – Facebook Ads can be used for any objective – even if its finding or increasing new subscribers for your blog.

Lesson Learned # 36 – Keep your ads as personal as possible. Your audience will be more likely to interact with your ad if it has a human effect / touch.

Case Study # 13 – How Servando got 500% ROI from a $20 Facebook Ad budget

This case study is especially useful for people and businesses that don’t have a product of their own but are promoting affiliate products.

We have often seen our customers using Facebook Ads for promoting affiliate offers, but they seem to struggle in creating an effective strategy.

One of the biggest mistakes they make is not using the landing page effectively.

It’s not difficult or impossible to send traffic from Facebook. If you set your targeting right, you will still be able to get the required traffic.

However, if you are promoting affiliate products on Facebook , don’t send them straight to a sales page but to a “bridge” page first.

This is what Servando Silva of Stream-Seo did. For the affiliate offer, he was promoting using two landing pages.

1 – One page that had a description of the offer and a Free Trial button that took them straight to the sales page.

2 – One that has an opt-in form ( just for email) and after submitting will lead to the sales page.

He spent overall $20 on ads on both the ads pages and was able to earn $100 in commission and 60 valuable leads.

Though the sales came from the first page, he was able to score valuable leads via the second ad and landing page.

Not only did he earn $80 over his $20 spend, but he also grew his list which he can leverage in the future.

From the 198 people that clicked on from his Facebook Ads , almost 119 clicked on to the affiliate link. So this shows that bringing quality traffic certainly works in your favor.

Lesson Learned # 37 – If you want the best ROI from your campaigns, don’t just focus on the Facebook Ad part – plan ahead where you will send the traffic and how will you capitalize on them.

Lesson Learned # 38 – Create multiple funnels and objectives from different ad sets and landing pages. Such as in this case he tested two ads on two different landing pages giving him multiple segmented audiences.

So there you have it – an in-depth review of the best handpicked Facebook Ads Case studies from nearly all types of businesses with variable objectives.

By reviewing the above case studies, it is evident that the success of Facebook Ads lies in multiple things. But it’s also clear that budget is not a primary factor, and you can succeed with even minimal of the budget.

What’s your favorite case study?

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• Marketing Case Study: 3 Famous Coca-Cola Marketing Campaigns

Case Study: 3 Famous Coca-Cola Marketing Campaigns

• The WebFX team is made up of more than 500 subject matter experts in digital marketing, SEO, web design and web development, social media, and more. Together, they’ve helped WebFX’s clients earn more than $6 billion in revenue from the web — and that’s just in the past five years. @webfx

If you’re going to spotlight a historic company with tons of great marketing to learn from, who better than Coca-Cola? This classic brand has been reminding us to “Drink Coca-Cola” since 1886 and now encourages millions around the world to “Open Happiness” every day. One thing that has remained constant throughout the history of Coke is the innovative marketing campaigns that have launched and re-launched the brand and its product to the world.

Coca-Cola advertising history is filled with famous marketing campaigns that rank among some of the most effective in the world. Here are just a few of my favorite Coca-Cola campaigns that both capture the essence of Coke’s brand and provide great content marketing strategies  for the rest of us to emulate.

1. The “Share A Coke” Campaign

Last June, Coke launched its “Share A Coke” campaign in the U.S., using 250 of the most common U.S. millennial names to market its product to individual consumers. The campaign seems to have been a huge success with U.S.

audiences, gaining significant traction in the short amount of time the ad has been running here. According to the Wall Street Journal , more than 125,000 social media posts referenced the “Share A Coke” campaign between June and July of 2014, and 12% of online conversations about Coca-Cola in that time can be attributed to the campaign. What’s more, over 353,000 virtual bottles of coke have been shared via Coke’s campaign-specific website.

We can also see the success of this campaign when we look at data for the Coca-Cola brand in Google Trends. After being launched in the U.S., the campaign earned an increasing amount of attention. The search term “share a coke” saw a significant increase in U.S.-based Google searches in the short, three-month time lapse from June to August.

Sharing around the world

Of course, the “Share A Coke” campaign was not launched exclusively in the U.S. The campaign, one of the most famous ad campaigns in recent history, began in late 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, the success of which convinced the brand that the ad was worth replicating in other parts of the world. During the trial period in Australia, there was a 7% increase in consumption of Coca-Cola products by Australian young adults, and the ad campaign earned well over 18 million impressions via social media .

In terms of Facebook specifically, Coke’s page earned 39% more followers and visitors to the page shot up by 870%. The “Share A Coke” campaign was expanded across 20 global markets, including those in the U.K., China, and Brazil.

What we can learn from this campaign:

One of the reasons this campaign was so successful is because it directly appeals to individual consumers. What better way to grab someone’s attention than by putting his or her name directly on your product?

Of course, this isn’t a realistic strategy – or even a good strategy – for many companies, but it’s important that you always consider how your campaign will be perceived at the individual level. Another aspect of this ad that makes it so memorable and effective is its ability to adapt to narrative structures. That is to say, this campaign offers endless possibilities for storytelling in its advertising.

And since ads that tell some kind of story are likely to be more effective, that’s a big plus for Coca-Cola. When designing your next ad campaign, think about the storytelling potential of the campaign early on.

2. The “Always Coca-Cola” Campaign

This is probably one of the most well-known marketing campaigns of all time. Responsible for the permanent branding of polar bears into Coke’s company image, the “Always Coca-Cola” campaign began in 1993 when the company decided to experiment with a recent technological development: computer animation. Of the 27 commercials created for the “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, one in particular stood out: the “Northern Lights” commercial, which would go on to immortalize the heartwarming connection between Coca-Cola and polar bears.

Would the “Northern Lights” commercial have made as big of an impact if Coke had avoided the hassles of using computer-animated images in favor of hand-drawn animation? I can’t say. But I do think that the company’s decision to go with a new technology helped its campaign to reach new heights and make a more definitive impact on the people who saw it.

Keep your eyes open for new opportunities to market your brand , even if it involves trying something much different from the norm.

3. “The World’s Cup” Campaign

As an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Coca-Cola had a prime opportunity to market itself to the hundreds of millions of soccer and football fans who would follow the lead-up to the event. “The World’s Cup” campaign was created to celebrate the unifying good that can come of many people’s love for a single sport. Coke did an excellent job of tapping into a realistic and captivating story with this campaign, especially when compared to Pepsi’s ad for the 2014 World Cup .

Don’t just tell a story,  be a story.

If you want to create an inspirational ad campaign that truly moves people, you need to also find a way to make that story happen in real life . Get involved with your community or find ways to show how your clients give back to theirs. Certainly, not all of us have the reach or budget that Coke is working with, but by learning from some really amazing marketing campaigns they’ve created, we can learn how to be even better marketers and advertisers than we are now. In fact, even Coke realizes the value of learning from others and being open to new ideas.

On March 23, 2015, the brand asked 10 different agencies from around the world to pitch ideas for its next global campaign. Despite the fact that their current campaign, “Open Happiness,” is still doing well, they are always looking to improve and drive growth. This is undoubtedly a contributing factor to the company’s many advertising successes, and is a great goal for any business.

Although most companies do not have the budget or the reach to get ideas from 10 different agencies, most have the ability to ask at least 10 different employees. If your marketing efforts are usually confined to one department, consider getting some fresh perspectives on your company’s image and strategy. Not all of your employees will have the skills to fully develop and launch a campaign, but they certainly know what your company is like and what its values are.

This could be as simple as asking one or two people for suggestions, or as complex as a company-wide contest for who can come up with the best new campaign idea. Either way, as these famous advertising campaigns have shown us, it can’t hurt to get those who know your brand best involved in informing others about it. If there are any remarkable Coke campaigns I’ve left out, or ones you’ve personally taken advertising lessons from, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Photo credit: Nik Voon , hyku, jfingas , ShareACoke.com

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Table of Contents

• 1. the “Share a Coke” Campaign
• 2. the “Always Coca-Cola” Campaign
• 3. “The World’s Cup” Campaign

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Five great advertising case study videos, or how to wow awards juries  /

Here's our collection and analysis of some of the best case study videos we've seen to date

James Swift

Case studies are advertising’s advertising. Some think they are a distraction, or even worse, a distortion. Good campaigns shouldn’t need slick videos to sell them to juries, they argue, and bad campaigns shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind them.

And to be fair, a lot of case study films, padded with tiresome clichés and propped up by results as robust as smoke, deserve criticism. Agency John St created a perfect parody of the genre in 2011, which is well  worth watching .

But just like advertising itself, case study films are going nowhere. Campaigns have become too complex for agencies to simply send juries the work and assume that all will be clear.

So, for as long as case study films are necessary, agencies may as well strive to get them right. Done well, case study videos can convey the disparate parts of a campaign as a cohesive whole, and do it with feeling.

We at Contagious watch a lot case study videos, and have become reluctant connoisseurs of the art form. Drawing on our collective experience, we have put together a collection of some of the best examples as inspiration (in no particular order).

Old Spice Responses (2011) by Wieden & Kennedy Portland:

Wieden & Kennedy does such a good job with its Responses case study, we’re willing to forgive the video for being almost five minutes long. The agency clearly sets out the brand’s challenge and then explains its strategy for overcoming it in terms of using persuasive and targeted advertising. At a time when so many brands seem to avoid discussing advertising honestly for fear of being regarded as manipulative, the Old Spice narrative is all the more compelling. Side note: any opportunity you get to use footage of Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres talking about your ad, you should take.

REI #OPTOUTSIDE (2016) by Venables Bell & Partners: 

It’s especially tough to separate the merits of REI’s case study from the campaign itself. But the film is proof positive that, with the right campaign, there’s no need to shy away from being earnest and unashamedly bombastic in a case study. The #OPTOUTSIDE awards film is a joy to watch. Slick and uplifting, the film borrows well-worn techniques from the movies to recreate the sense of scale and grandeur that surrounded the campaign -- not to mention the scale and grandeur of the great American Outdoors it celebrates. It’s an obvious appeal to emotion but never once slides into being saccharine.  Boost Mobile  also does this brilliantly.

Dove Real Beauty Sketches (2013) By Ogilvy & Mather Brasil:

The success of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign has been its ruin, in some respects. The flood of copycats and parodies (as well as Dove’s inferior follow-up ads) makes it almost impossible to view with fresh eyes. But try and you’ll see that this particular version of the Sketches case study film (made to promote YouTube) is restrained and effective. It uses high production-value interviews with Dove’s (former) global VP for skin to explain the campaign, and this technique pays dividends, coming across as intimate and sincere.

Ikea Great Home Studies (2015) by Instinct:

Gimmicks are risky. They can come across as tacky, but they can also be charming and engaging. This case study for Ikea falls into the latter category. The campaign was about a book, so the agency framed the case study as a book, explaining each step with the turn of a page. Modestly delightful.

DB Export Brewtroleum (2015) by Colenso BBDO:

Andrew Teagle, the SVP of strategy and insights at GSD&M, provided Contagious with one of its favourite quotes of 2017 when he said: ‘People have a limited tolerance for you talking about your purpose, but they have an extraordinary appetite for you operating from a place of purpose.’ We think the same can apply to case study videos. Good work can be undermined by an inflated sense of self-importance. DB Export’s Brewtroleum case study video tells a story of a brand acting to help the environment, but balances it with humour and some self-deprecation. It makes the whole thing easier to swallow.

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Read case studies on the best advertising, successful marketing and award winning commercial creativity. Learn how other award winning creatives think, get inspired and make it into your own thing.

70+ award winning case studies to inspire great creative work

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Conduct a Capital Campaign Feasibility Study: 5-Step Guide

• May 18, 2024
• Fundraising Best Practices

A capital campaign feasibility study, also called a campaign planning study , helps nonprofits prepare for major fundraising campaigns. By analyzing your fundraising infrastructure and potential for financial support, an effective study helps you lay the groundwork for a bold, ambitious, and successful campaign.

If you’re planning your nonprofit’s first capital campaign or working on one for the first time, you likely have a few questions. This guide will cover all the essentials:

• Understanding the basics
• Why nonprofits hire consultants for feasibility studies
• 5 steps of conducting a feasibility study
• The outcomes of an effective study
• Graham-Pelton’s approach

Understanding the what, why, and how of campaign planning studies will allow your nonprofit to navigate this crucial early step of your campaign with confidence. Let’s get started with some essential background information.

Understanding the Basics of Capital Campaign Feasibility Studies

What is a campaign feasibility study.

A capital campaign feasibility study or planning study consists of research, interviews, and analyses that seek to measure a nonprofit’s preparedness to undertake a proposed capital campaign. An effective planning study results in a set of recommended adjustments to the campaign plan to maximize the chances of success.

What’s the purpose of a fundraising feasibility study?

A feasibility study does not flatly tell you whether or not you can conduct a capital campaign.

The purpose is instead to gauge your readiness to reach your working campaign goal. A study will give you a clearer sense of your current fundraising capacity, your prospect pipeline, and what adjustments you may need to make to your plan and goal to succeed. Note that this process requires already having a preliminary plan and fundraising goal in mind.

Important context: We at Graham-Pelton prefer the more holistic term “planning study” over “feasibility study,” which can incorrectly imply a basic yes-or-no outcome. A study should show you how you can effectively move forward with the campaign, rather than simply if you can.

Truly helpful campaign planning studies go beyond industry standards, offering a roadmap to achieving ambitious goals and transformational giving for your nonprofit. Jump ahead to learn more about our methodology and team of fundraising experts.

What does a feasibility study entail?

When you undertake a feasibility or planning study, expect to encounter these activities and steps:

• Researching your current major donor prospect pipeline
• Assessing your organization’s fundraising capacity and preliminary campaign plan
• Interviewing various stakeholders to discuss their impressions of your organization and the need for a major campaign
• Analyzing all findings to compare readiness and perception to the campaign plan
• Developing recommended next steps and strategic adjustments

This process will give you an accurate picture of your organization’s strengths and abilities, as well as measure the likelihood of support from key stakeholders and the broader community.

Because a feasibility study touches on so many aspects of your organization and requires impartial analysis, most nonprofits traditionally work with third-party experts to conduct their feasibility studies.

Who should be interviewed in a campaign planning study?

Stakeholder interviews are a key part of a planning study, and they’re extremely helpful. These interviews typically include:

• Major donors and prospects
• Board members
• Key leaders, staff members, and volunteers
• Other community partners, sponsors, and funders

Remember, the success of a major fundraising campaign hinges on both financial support from your nonprofit’s stakeholders and their general buy-in on the need for the campaign at all. These are all-hands-on-deck undertakings. You need to be sure that your community understands and is energized by your nonprofit’s vision for growth.

Why Nonprofits Hire Fundraising Consultants to Conduct Feasibility Studies

Nonprofits traditionally hire third-party fundraising consultants to conduct campaign feasibility studies . This tried-and-true approach brings a few key benefits:

• First, and most importantly, consultants bring expertise from years of planning nonprofit capital campaigns of all shapes and sizes. They’ll analyze the study’s findings, recall past insights from similar situations, and develop thoughtful, custom recommendations for your unique nonprofit.
• As third parties, consultants provide an impartial perspective to the process. Stakeholders may be willing to offer more candid thoughts to a consultant than they would if you conduct interviews yourself. A consultant can also take an objective view of your full capacity and readiness, giving you invaluable insights you might not have gleaned yourself.
• Consultants also greatly simplify the process of conducting a study. After all, planning studies compile insights from diverse sources. Gathering this information, coordinating and conducting interviews, and acting on all this information will eat up your team’s energy during a time when there are many other important priorities.

Whether you partner with a consultant for just their planning study services or choose to continue your partnership for ongoing campaign support, securing professional guidance is a smart choice. Capital campaigns are major investments of your nonprofit’s time and resources—outside expertise, perspectives, and logistical help will safeguard that investment.

Initial Steps Before Working with a Consultant

There are a few important first steps you must complete before soliciting support from a fundraising consultant for your feasibility study. Answer these questions before researching potential partners for your study:

• Why are we planning a campaign? What are its specific objectives?
• What’s the financial goal that will accomplish those objectives?
• What positive impacts will success have on our ability to serve constituents?
• What’s the current state of our major donor prospect pipeline?
• What is our current mix of revenue sources?
• Who are our key external partners and funders that we’ll rely on during the campaign?

Having an initial vision for your campaign and its success is essential before working with a consultant. You can hire a third party to help you plan the preliminaries, conduct the feasibility study, and lay out a finalized strategy, but you have to take the first step.

Remember, successful campaigns are led with vision. Concrete, impactful reasons for conducting a campaign are prerequisites for success. A consultant’s recommendations serve to help you improve and flesh out that vision.

5 Steps of Conducting a Campaign Feasibility Study

Once you determine that it’s time to conduct a planning study and contract a fundraising consultant to help, what next? What specific steps can you expect from the process? Let’s take a look:

1. Get clear on your messaging

To convince donors to offer their support, every fundraising campaign, regardless of its size, must tell a compelling story. Why should donors care about supporting your mission or your vision? What problem will your organization solve? How will their philanthropy drive real-world impact?

You’ll answer these questions and tell your unique story in your case for support , the seeds of which take root during your planning study.

Start with a preliminary case for support that you’ll test with stakeholders and potential donors to gauge the feasibility of your campaign plan. This guiding set of ideas should include a few key points:

• Your vision for where your organization is headed
• Your priorities and goals for the campaign
• How accomplishing the campaign goals will push your vision forward
• The impact your organization has had in the past
• The tangible impacts that donations to your campaign will have on constituents and the community
• The problem that your organization works to solve and why it’s urgent
• The reasons why your organization is best positioned to solve this problem

Aim for impactful and focused messaging at this early stage, but remember that the overarching purpose of the campaign planning study is to reveal ways that your approach can be refined and adjusted. Cases for support are living documents that can evolve as your campaign plan comes into focus.

2. Engage internal and external stakeholders

Once you have a case for support to test, begin assessing varied perspectives from key supporters. This stage of feedback collection will often consist of a mix of two approaches:

• One-on-one discussions with key leaders, potential major donors, and other stakeholders to collect qualitative thoughts and input on the campaign plan.
• Surveys that are distributed among broader segments of the community to test the impact of your messaging as distilled in your case for support.

In both cases, the point is to collect unbiased feedback on your campaign plans and generate buy-in along the way. What do your various audiences think about your goal, plans, and message? Their answers will help you shape your messaging and approach for maximum impact.

This is the stage where an unbiased third party is most helpful for facilitating open, candid discussions. Consultants also bring the expertise and broader industry perspective that your team may lack, resulting in more comprehensive and enlightening survey results.

3. Perform in-depth prospect research and data analysis

Next, dig deeper into your prospect and fundraising data to guide refinements to your plans and goals. This involves studying your existing pool of major and mid-level donors, measuring their potential support, and identifying new prospects as needed.

This step will influence your campaign goal more than any other, so it is critical to have confidence that the findings from your research are accurate and vetted. It is at this time that you’ll determine if you have the necessary financial support for your campaign’s current goals and get a head start on developing an engagement and solicitation playbook for later in the campaign.

Outside counsel can play an important role here by providing data that’s not publicly available. Instead, organized prospect research during a study can include prospect tiering, data modeling, and predictive analytics. New technology is constantly emerging, like AI , and the right partner will connect you with these tools in support of your campaign planning.

4. Get your house in order

Once you understand how stakeholders view your organization and the financial capacity that exists within your database, it is time to examine your existing development operations.

An internal readiness assessment will review your staff and volunteer resources, existing fundraising capacity and capital, and the philanthropic landscape.

This in-depth look at your organization’s current abilities will reveal gaps that should be addressed to set your campaign up for success. For example, you may find that staff retention , training, technology, or other investments will be important for reaching your campaign goals and should be taken into account in your strategy.

If you seek outside support for this step, it’s important to consider your sector. Consultants experienced in your sector will bring the most relevant insights to the table. For instance, a hospital planning a major campaign would most benefit from support from a partner well-versed in grateful patient fundraising best practices .

By the end of this step, you’ll have a 360-degree view that allows you to approach your campaign as well-informed as possible.

5. Report the findings and make a plan of action

The findings of your study will identify how your organization can move forward to successfully execute your fundraising campaign in one of several ways—we’ll discuss possible outcomes below.

When working with professional counsel, the study’s findings will be clearly presented to you, with your next steps identified.

Whether or not you immediately move forward with your campaign, this last step in your study is a crucial part of ensuring success. Use this report to proceed to the next steps in campaign planning or address the concerns highlighted in the findings before moving forward.

The Outcomes of an Effective Campaign Feasibility Study

The final report from your consultant is the ultimate deliverable for your planning study, but what does this report help you actually accomplish? What are its potential recommendations and implications for your capital campaign?

An effective campaign study gives you a refined plan for your campaign and a better understanding of your organization’s readiness, stakeholder relationships, and any points of feedback. The specific recommendations you receive may fall into one of these rough categories:

• Move ahead with your plan as-is without major changes to its goals
• Adjust the campaign’s financial goal up, if the study revealed a surprising buzz of excitement and buy-in among prospects
• Adjust the campaign’s financial goal down, if the study revealed fundraising, relationship, or logistical constraints that would make reaching your initial goal unlikely or greatly inflate the campaign’s overhead

Your consultant’s recommendations should pinpoint specific adjustments to make to your plan to support any changes to the campaign’s goal. In cases where a decrease to the campaign’s scope is recommended, your fundraising consultant will likely outline ways to further enhance your fundraising capacity before proceeding with the campaign.

Ideally, the outcome of a feasibility study is never to cancel the campaign outright.

Pre-planning considerations, the process of defining your objectives, calculating a working goal, and taking stock of your current capacity, should give you an immediate sense of whether any campaign is possible right now. If you’re at this stage of the process, remember that capital campaigns should be planned with real, current needs in mind, not just to celebrate occasions.

Graham-Pelton’s Approach to Campaign Planning Studies

Our goal is to equip your nonprofit with the insights and 360-degree view it needs to plan a truly transformative campaign , whatever that means for your unique mission.

We take the five basic steps outlined above and elevate them through tailored recommendations, insightful deliverables, and a superior experience. Our team of nonprofit experts can help with every facet of the process, including:

• Internal readiness assessments
• Case for support development
• Prospect research, wealth screenings, and data analytics
• Stakeholder interviews and donor relations support
• Actionable, expert-produced campaign recommendations

Halfway through your campaign planning study, you’ll also receive an Interim Report of progress and emerging themes. This gives you early insights into the interests and motivations of your stakeholders for immediate next steps and cultivation calls before your study is even complete.

After delivering your Final Report, Graham-Pelton can continue to support your campaign by implementing the next steps and taking advantage of the study’s momentum.

The fundraising experts at Graham-Pelton can give your nonprofit everything it needs to succeed with its next capital campaign.

Learn more about our planning studies , and please get in touch if you have any questions.

Want to discover more capital campaign and development best practices? Check out these recommended resources from the Graham-Pelton team:

• How to Write a Case for Support: Pro Tips for Driving Impact
• Why Donor Qualification Is Key to Fundraising Success
• Prospect Portfolio Management: The 3-Step Strategy You Need
• Employee Retention Strategies for Nonprofits: Complete Guide

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techUK: new AI adoption case study collection - call for case studies!

As part of techUK’s 2024 AI Campaign Week, we are launching a call for techUK member case studies, to demonstrate how organisations are tackling the barriers to AI adoption to maximise AI's potential. These case studies will be showcased to UK organisations that are also embarking on their AI adoption journeys, providing them with practical examples and insights to guide their Putting AI into Action efforts. 

Our AI Adoption collection of case studies will provide a comprehensive look at how organisations are effectively integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations. These case studies highlight a diverse range of examples where AI is being put into action, either through the internal adoption of AI models to enhance organisational capabilities or by developing innovative AI tools and solutions that can be utilised by others. 

Through these real-world examples, our collection aims to shed light on how AI is transforming various industries, from health and social care and cybersecurity to transportation and central government, among others. By presenting these practical use cases, we hope to illustrate best practices for AI implementation, demonstrating how organisations—whether large organisations, or SMEs, are successfully leveraging AI to drive efficiency, innovation, and competitiveness.  

These case studies are valuable for numerous audiences, including businesses looking to optimise their processes and explore new AI-driven opportunities, public sector organisations seeking to enhance service delivery and operational efficiency, and government bodies and policymakers aiming to understand how best to support UK businesses who are playing their part to drive UK innovation and economic growth.  

Each case study not only provides an in-depth analysis of the specific AI strategies employed but also offers insights into the challenges faced, the solutions implemented, and the measurable impacts achieved. The goal is to empower these varied stakeholders with valuable lessons and actionable insights, helping them navigate their own AI journeys with greater confidence and clarity. 

Ultimately, by sharing these examples, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of AI's potential across sectors in the UK and to encourage more organisations, whether in the private or public sectors, to explore and adopt AI-driven solutions tailored to their unique needs and objectives. 

Please fill out this form with the details of your case study .

Once you you have completed the form please submit it to/contact for further queries, techUK’s Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence, Usman Ikhlaq: [email protected]  

Usman Ikhlaq

Programme Manager - Artificial Intelligence, techUK

Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.

His role is to help techUK members of all sizes and across all sectors to adopt AI at scale. This includes identifying the barriers to adoption, considering solutions and how best to maximise AI's potential.

Prior to joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, government affairs and public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales and marketing and FinTech.

Usman is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science (MSc), BPP Law School (GDL and LLB) and Queen Mary University of London (BA). 

When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.

Programme Manager, Artificial Intelligence, techUK