The Arkenaut’s Assignment

As of the summer of 2025, 20.6 million UK households were subscribed to at least one paid video streaming service. In this crowded market, our long-term client, the British Film Institute (BFI), asked us to help BFI Player broaden its audience and stand out among streaming giants.

The Arkenauts jumped into the director’s seat, crafting a full-funnel digital strategy to drive free trials through a full-funnel digital strategy, nurturing users from awareness to conversion.

With a comprehensive marketing strategy spanning paid media and creative implementation, we combined targeted video and static ad campaigns featuring BFI branding, optimised search advertising, and robust retargeting, enhancing BFI Player’s brand awareness as a streaming service.

Utilising an “always-on” approach for paid search and paid socials, we divided the media plan into priority releases, back-catalogue, and brand-supported campaigns with flighted campaigns during key periods.

Our targets were:

• • Increase average free trialists per month.
  • Increase free trials during the peak January/February period by 100% YoY.
  • Trial to paid conversion rate of 50%.
  • Keep paid subscribers churn in line with -/+ of platform average.

Audience in Focus

BFI Player’s core audience was UK adults aged 25 to 54, interested in independent film and Video on Demand (VoD). Arke’s challenge was to reach a broader UK audience, especially at a time when many people were facing reduced disposable income due to the cost of living crisis.

Our goal was to position BFI Player as a serious competitor to the streaming giants, while growing and diversifying its subscriber base.

To target audiences more effectively throughout the year, we introduced a seasonal strategy shift. With BFI Player typically seeing a spike in January and February, we focused on conversion efforts during this period. In summer, we pivoted to a search-led approach, with plans to scale media spend again in winter when VoD interest naturally increases.

Churn was another key challenge. As is common with subscription models, drop-off rates were expected, so we built in regular promotions to reduce this. An always-on campaign was supported by tactical bursts around key retail moments such as Prime Day and discounted subscription offers, all designed to keep churn low and conversions high.

The Drawing Board – Creative Asset Development

Before we began, Arke’s Head of Creative and Head of Strategy facilitated a Creative Workshop, with the aim, to identify the opportunities available to evolve creative assets, whilst aligned with the eventual evolution of the BFI Player brand. This enabled us to create eye-catching graphics with a clear CTA.

Replacing some of BFI’s creatives would also future-proof the BFI by providing them with innovative tools and templates for sustainable, in-house asset production.

Our creative team changed the previous creatives from a 9:16 to 1:1 dimensions, as previous campaigns showed that 9:16s typically see higher CTR’s and lower CPCs at the video viewer retargeting level.

Clear branding allowed with brand recognition, and a linkable and clickable CTA allowed for trackable and reportable results.

Working with BFI’s creative department, 14-day free trial messaging was split-tested amongst audiences within the creatives to understand if this or the price point led to more trialists becoming long-term subscribers and which message should dominate on landing pages.

Messaging was regularly reviewed and iterated, with pricing transparency emerging as a key conversion driver amongst mid and bottom-funnel segments. Arke then created and templated optimised assets for BFI teams to utilise for the subsequent releases.

Ads needed to work across 12 different formats, requiring significant design flexibility while ensuring consistent branding, messaging and promotions.

The core messages were: “Stream hand-picked cinema” and  “Immerse yourself in indie film“.

The final product: a unified visual identity that enhanced campaign cohesion. Engaging video and static ads effectively communicated subscription benefits, capturing audience attention across segments.

Funnel Stages

The first step was to increase awareness. Arke launched campaigns using YouTube, SkyAdSmart, and Meta, building awareness among targeted audiences and creating high-quality retargeting pools.

Since BFI Player is now available via Amazon, Amazon DSP Ads were our programmatic provider, with exclusive access to IMDB. Arke extended the use of Amazon DSP, TikTok, and Meta to drive engagement and traffic to BFI Player via Amazon Prime, optimising for maximum volume with a target CPA.

We didn’t simply target the core audience: using additional audience segmentation, we were able to customise the strategy based on film-genre interests and mosaic groups through Experian.

At the top of the funnel, we targeted users with a broad interest in indie film, layered with VoD consumption behaviours across Meta and YouTube. We also added title-specific targeting, building custom audiences around film titles.

Mid-funnel, we leveraged rich BFI first-party data to build high-intent lookalikes and niche interest segments, and at the bottom of the funnel, we used highly segmented campaigns targeting high-intent queries, retargeting users who visited the site and didn’t subscribe, or watched <75% of video content.

Performance activity across decision-stage platforms focused on cost-effective trial starts and subscriptions, optimising to a target CPA. Finally, we activated a hyper-targeted Google Search strategy, reaching high-intent users through genre-specific and title-led targeting.

We developed a comprehensive full-funnel strategy to nurture users throughout the customer journey.

• • Prospecting focused on interest and behaviour-based targeting, with creative assets optimised for awareness and discovery.
  • Mid-funnel audiences were reached with engagement-focused creatives, informed by tested audience data (e.g. lookalikes, layered interests).
  • Retargeting was segmented to reflect intent signals, with messaging focused on price and exclusivity of content.

Arke’s Integrated Approach

We understood that the new, broader target audience we wanted to reach spent their time in various communities on the internet, so we placed BFI Player there as well.

We used Reddit to interest groups and subreddits targeting niche audience engagement in specific threads like r/A24 or r/ObscureFilmClub. We used Spotify‘s genre targeting of indie film enthusiasts, and Sky AdSmart for geographic/demographic targeting with viewing passions overlaid.

Results: A Standing Ovation

Despite the complexities of modernising an established brand like BFI Player, Arke successfully revamped assets across six channels to attract a diverse audience and achieved incredible results

Primary Objectives: Increase Free Trials

• Target for the campaign: Increase of free trials per month
• Result: 33% above target achieved
• Target for peak period: During the peak January–February window, we achieved a 20% increase on target and 729% YoY increase

Secondary Objective: Trial-to-Paid 

• Target Conversion Rate: 50%
• Result: Achieved a 52% trial-to-paid conversion rate, a 4% increase on target

Retention Objective: Churn

• Target: Maintain churn in line with the +/- of platform average
• Result: Achieved churn within range

European Agency Awards 2025

The Niche to Known campaign won the European Agency Award for Campaign Effectiveness. Judges noted the campaign’s impressive results achieved through purposeful audience planning and refined delivery.

Feedback received from the judges:

UK Agency Awards 2025

The Niche to Known campaign also won the UK Agency Award for Best Integrated Campaign. It was celebrated as an example of strategic marketing, highlighting its sophisticated grasp of lifecycle management and well-structured use of multiple channels, demonstrating both range and accuracy.

Feedback received from the judges:

Your Audience Is Waiting

As a performance-driven marketing agency, we help platforms like BFI Player grow audiences and drive conversions in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.

From shifting consumer behaviours to evolving media habits, we build scalable, full-funnel strategies that turn interest into sign-ups, and sign-ups into loyal subscribers. Whether you’re aiming to boost trials, reduce churn, or cut through the noise, we help you make every impression count.

Got a challenge on your hands? Let’s talk through it.

In the post-pandemic world, on-demand video reigns king with 19.8 million UK households reporting to have at least one paid video streaming subscription, and this number continues to grow. When the British Film Institute (BFI) approached Arke with the task of expanding audiences for its own streaming service, BFI Player, beyond its current demographic, we were ready to get the cameras rolling. Our objective? To bring hand-picked cinema to untapped markets, leveraging the growing demand for quality streaming content, particularly cult, classic and independent cinema.

Ready to take on the challenge, we outlined the following goals for the campaign:

• • Increase in new users by 10% compared to previous period

• • Increase in average monthly trialist by 10%

• • Trial to paid conversion rate of 50%

• • Paid subscribers churn below 7%

The Challenge

BFI Player was competing in a saturated on-demand streaming space and despite the complexities of modernising an esteemed brand, Arke quickly raised the creative limitations of existing BFI Player assets and recommended a revamp of assets across six channels, using unified messaging to attract a diverse audience.

As diverse as the audiences, the films available on BFI Player have an immense range: dramatic, cinematic, cult, independent, and classic. Arke worked to capture these qualities through brand-new creative materials, ensuring they reflected BFI’s evolving brand identity, enabling us to use them strategically and cohesively through a multi-channel approach.

The mission was to develop a strong brand presence across various ad formats and platforms, especially with frequent new releases and updates to BFI’s homepage and Player design, drawing in a more diverse range of users.

The Strategy

Our critical focus was enhancing BFI Player’s brand awareness as a streaming service. To do this, we combined targeted video and static ad campaigns that featured BFI Player branding, optimised search advertising and rounded off with robust retargeting to reach our target audience effectively.

Our sights were set on 25 – 55-year-olds of all genders, namely, those interested in non-mainstream films and TV, including international and indie films. We aimed to broaden BFI Player’s audience beyond its core demographic, targeting younger viewers, film enthusiasts, and diverse audiences across the UK including the LGBTQ+ audience.

A key focus point for us was BFI Player’s 14-day free trial. Working closely with BFI’s creative department, the 14-day free trial messaging was split-tested amongst audiences within the creative to understand if this versus the £4.99 per month price point led to more trialists becoming long-term subscribers and which message should dominate on the landing pages. Using this data, Arke created and templated optimised assets for the BFI team to utilise for the subsequent releases based on the top-performing formats, messages and pricing strategies.

The extensive media plan encompassed an “Always-on” approach for search and socials, splitting into priority releases, back-catalogue, and brand-supported campaigns with flighted campaigns at key periods across the year. Due to the streaming service now available via Amazon, Amazon DSP Ads was our chosen programmatic provider.

Then, we took the creative assets to the next level. Not only did we design brand new creatives for the many different films BFI Player was featuring, we also created templates utilising Smart Objects designed to vastly improve the efficiency of asset creation for the BFI Creative Studio team, aimed at increasing their capacity to work on other projects. Additionally, we used Smart Objects and fine-tuned templates to automate the scaling and positioning of film stills, enabling quick and consistent rollouts across platforms.

Our approach consisted of using 12 different tactics across three different mediums and our ads needed to work across all of these. This required significant flexibility in design while ensuring consistent branding and messaging. The final product had it all: it was a unified visual identity that enhanced campaign cohesion. By combining a new BFI Showreel and static ads effectively, the subscription benefits were clearly conveyed, capturing audience attention across every segment.

Implementation

With our extensive and exciting creative collection in hand, it was time to say ‘action’! We began by prospecting where lookalike audiences were activated, based on current long-term subscribers of their safe audiences. Focusing on the younger age range with further layered targeting, we created three new segments: the “cult film lovers”, streamers and streams and finally, parents.

By utilising the power of YouTube, SkyAdSmart, and Meta, we began increasing awareness of BFI within targeted audiences. Once a targeting pool was collected, we expanded our efforts by building qualified video-viewer retargeting pools.

It was then time to drive new customer engagement and direct traffic to BFI Player via Amazon Prime, so we extended our use of Amazon DSP, TikTok and Meta. As a multi-pronged approach, we then used Google Search, Google PMax, Google Display, Google Demand Gen, and Meta to cost-effectively drive trial starts and subscriptions. We optimised this by engaging a maximum volume of audiences with a target CPA while employing retargeting strategies.

Once we had eyes on, we deployed a granular Google Search campaign targeting high-intent audiences actively seeking similar streaming services, using specific genres, nations, and popular film titles, solidifying those most interested audience members.

The Results

Our campaign was Oscar-worthy – all results surpassed campaign targets! Free trials exceeded the monthly goal by 25%, and paid subscribers churn achieved target of <7%. We also unlocked more web traffic from new segments, including a 32% increase in users aged 25-34. Existing segments also grew, with users aged 55-64 up by 21% by Q1’s end.

Achieved:

• • Paid Search resulted in a 22.11% increase in new users and 20.99% increase in sessions

• • Paid Social resulted in a 45.54% increase in both new users and sessions

• • An increase of 20.19% in average trialists per month (10% over target)

• • Trial to Paid conversion rate of 60% (10% over target)

• • Paid churn remained below 7% target

New markets:

• • UK 25-34 increase in users by 31.61%

• • UK 45-54 increase in users by 12.46%

• • UK 18-24 increase in users by 11.47%

Existing markets:

• • UK 55-64 increase in users by 21.03%

A Standing Ovation

In a crowded streaming market dominated by streaming giants such as Netflix, MUBI and Amazon Prime, we faced the challenge of reaching a UK audience with diminished disposable income due to the cost of living crisis. However, our strategic integrated campaigns and collaboration saw the BFI Player campaign excel through strong relationship-building, adaptability, and a deep understanding of our client’s needs. This collaboration modernised creatives, evolved brand positioning, attracted new audiences, and increased trial subscriptions, showcasing our ability to thrive in a competitive landscape. We also helped to future-proof the BFI with innovative tools and templates for sustainable, in-house asset production.

Our hard work and detailed strategy are being recognised: we are proud that this campaign is a finalist in the UK Agency Awards for the Best Integrated Campaign category! Check back later this year to find out if Arke and BFI take the title home!

THE CHALLENGE

Once every ten years, the residents of Brighton and Hove are called on to fill out an important community health and wellness survey, the results of which help to inform vital decisions about future health and well-being services that may be required to meet residents’ needs.

Having previously worked with the University of Brighton, the lead stakeholder for the survey, we were entrusted with ensuring that as many residents took part in the survey as possible.

The Health Counts 2024 survey was a quick survey with the potential to make a massive impact by shaping the services Brighton & Hove residents receive. Without it, their voices might go unheard, leaving their needs unmet by decision and policymakers.

As a local, independent agency, it was our duty to lend our expertise to this once-in-a-decade survey.

The main players

The survey was a collaboration of several agencies. The University of Brighton were commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council to develop and promote the survey, and analyse the findings. In addition, the following organisations were key stakeholders in the campaign, and representatives were involved at each stage:

• • NHS Sussex

• • Healthwatch Brighton & Hove

• • Brighton and Sussex Medical School

• • Brighton & Hove Foundation

• • Brighton & Hove City Council

Our goals started with building awareness through a creative branding project, with the final goal to be survey completions with the following KPI’s:

• • Effectively reach our target segments at scale

• • Achieve 10,000 survey completions

• • Reach our goals within four short weeks

Building the Health Counts brand

The first mission was to create a strong identity for the 2024 survey to ensure it caught the attention of residents. Our Head of Creative met this challenge head-on by meeting with all the involved stakeholders across the campaign landscape in a creative ideation workshop.

Ideas began to come to life in the form of mood boards, which helped us determine an understanding of which illustration-led approach would be best for this campaign. We kept an open line of communication with our clients, constantly getting insightful feedback that allowed us to create assets that had a clear feeling of being for residents and not tourists, so that our campaign was not mistaken for promotional materials aimed at visitors.

Mood boards progressed into Stylescapes and soon, campaign illustration-led visuals were solidified. We landed on a graphic hand-drawn by our Head of Creative which resonated with Brighton & Hove’s bohemian culture whilst giving a nod to well-recognised colours in Brighton, like the blue railings along the seafront.

The Strategy

With an eye-catching creative in hand, we had limited time to make a huge impact. Having only four weeks to run our campaign, we hit the ground running by focusing on reaching our target segments via Facebook, Instagram, and Google Display. We devised a targeting strategy for our audience through interest-based communities, contextual, demographic, lookalike and geographic targeting.

To build up awareness, we utilised the vast targeting power of Google Display and Meta, focusing on interest-based targeting such as; local community news, different social causes, and health and wellness.

However, when we saw that this was restricting potential numbers, we quickly adapted and prioritised the budget to be more in favour of demographic targeting, opening up our search to the wider public.

Driving Survey Completions

Staying constantly in communication with our clients, we were able to share and receive real-time, data-driven result updates. Midway through the campaign, we were informed that the survey completions were heavily skewed towards older residents, not reflecting Brighton & Hove’s median age of 38.

We quickly pivoted to target 18-25-year-olds, using demographic targeting on Google Display and Meta. We also weighed budgets towards mobile devices for better conversion with younger users.

In addition, we optimised the messaging to appeal more to the younger generation and added a raffle for a £100 voucher as a monetary incentive, knowing that this would entice younger residents to participate.

Optimisation

As we continued to track the number of surveys completed, we noticed that certain postcode areas in the city had low survey submission rates. We couldn’t allow this as it was crucial to receive information from every postcode in Brighton & Hove to get an accurate representation of the needs of the cities’ residents. So, we got to work, building a new campaign to target residents within a 1km radius of these high-priority postcodes. Overlaying the map with the postcodes, we ensured our targeting was spot on, and felt confident that our campaign would now be effectively targeting each unique postcode of the city.

But we didn’t stope there. With the mission to get eyes on our creative, we devised a media plan that allowed for further impactful tactics within the community it is based. Therefore, we also devised a local media plan, creating portal pull-up banners, leaflets, posters, landscape plasma, and large OOH vertical ads. These were strategically placed around central Brighton, each with a unique QR code directing visitors to Health Counts’ landing page so we could track results.

Results

Through our multichannel approach, the Health Counts Survey 2024 achieved over 26,014 survey completions – that is over a 940% increase in survey completions compared to the previous survey results.

Via paid media alone we also achieved:

1. 1. Over 1.06 million impressions

1. 1. 4.4k clicks

1. 1. 361 survey competitions

1. 1. A strong conversion rate of 8.21%

1. 1. CPA of £10.52

These 26k survey submissions will allow Brighton & Hove to make informed decisions through data-driven policy-making, improving the overall well-being of residents with long-term benefits, which will continue to be felt by future generations.

Despite a tight budget and just four weeks, we are proud to have contributed to making Brighton & Hove a place where all residents’ needs are addressed, including mental health services and support networks. Through Arke’s diligent and thorough approach, the Health Counts Survey 2024 stakeholders can now make data-driven decisions that will impact residents and future generations.

We were thrilled to be a part of a critical campaign that may influence the well-being of Brighton & Hove residents, and look forward to the potential to bring positive change to our local community.

The Challenge

Kicking off the summer in May, Brighton comes alive with mesmerising art and entertainment around every corner thanks to Brighton Festival; an event that attracts thousands of visitors from across the UK and world to see world class acts in action.

In anticipation of Brighton’s most spectacular summer to date, we received an exciting invitation from the esteemed Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival. Their mission: reignite the fire of festivals to create brand engagement after the challenging years of Covid and sell out more shows than ever before.

Challenge accepted! We executed a comprehensive and impactful campaign, achieving resounding success in hitting our targets and delivering exceptional results, supporting Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival’s efforts to keep the spirit of Brighton alive and transforming the city into a vibrant hub of unforgettable events that ignited the summer in a true essence of what Brighton talent has to offer.

Our goals started with growing brand awareness and using the excitement around Brighton Festival we created to drive ticket sales for the Festival with the following KPIs:

1. Deliver 2.5M impressions, up 17% more from the previous year
2. 26,000 clicks to the website, 187% more from the previous year
3. A click through rate of 1.04%, 147% more from previous year
4. Sell 917 tickets to events within the festival, 627% more from previous year

The Strategy: how we began

Starting with spreading the word of Brighton Festival and all it had to offer, we began at the top of the marketing funnel with a brand level approach.This kicked off with a briefing call with Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival where we collaborated on all the eye catching graphics we could use to entice audiences and generate excitement for the event. The client took the brief by the horns, generating engaging creative we could leverage in our campaigns.

To begin this approach, we outlined the audiences to support the bespoke media plan our expert team had created, concentrating on people interested in events across Brighton and surrounding areas. To go alongside this, we strategically matched which platforms would engage this audience best, and where would be most beneficial to get the most out of the budget. We created a personalised data visualisation dashboard for Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, allowing them to track campaign performance live throughout the campaign and for us to demonstrate our tactics as we redistributed budgets reactively. Then, it was time for a three-pronged brand awareness strategy to be launched.

In the first of our platform tactics, we utilised Youtube, serving 15 and 30 second ads using captivating videos teasing the different events and shows, leveraging targeting on the south of England and 10km of Brighton in order to attract those most likely to be able to commute to Brighton for the shows. Initially on Facebook and Instagram, we used a wider brand level targeting approach to target people who were interested in events and going to shows allowing the platforms to gather data and learn from the engaged audiences.

The Making of a Month to Remember

Due to Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival holding a not-for profit charity status, we were able to secure a Google Grant to utilise some free search advertising. We leveraged this to promote the festival at a brand level approach, as well as particular events and shows. We used generic keywords like ‘things to do in Brighton’, ‘events around Brighton’, ‘summer activities’ and ‘family days out’ alongside event specific keywords. Through Google Grants, we were able to secure just over £10,000 of free advertising to generate over 6k clicks, greatly contributing as a driver of revenue for the campaign.

Having the brand awareness side conquered, we moved into consideration tactics. Using Google, we delivered search and display ads across our target audience of event fanatics and general fans of each of the acts. Google Search campaigns were split based upon both event-specific and more generic event keywords.

Keyword targeting was our superpower, which looked to reach and engage those who were actively searching for Brighton Festival terms or more broader ‘Events in Brighton’ terms. Also consistent with Google Display, Google Discovery was optimised heavily towards users on mobile devices, as this is where we saw the highest volume of clicks at the highest CTRs. We also noticed competitors bidding on our brand terms, so got into action early to compete with this.

Implementation

Moving onto high-intent tactics down the funnel to drive ticket sales and fill seats through Brighton Festival’s busy line-up, we took advantage of Meta’s detailed targeting capabilities, employing geo-based targeting tactics.

We used data from our previous brand level campaigns to develop a range of audiences to target, including those interested in events, look-alike audiences to ticket buyers and people with access to easy transport links into Brighton. Hyperfocusing on contextual targeting, we built out audiences to ensure we were only reaching high intent people. We targeted people who had been to an event or a band similar to acts within Brighton Festival, adding a kilometre radius on the time the gigs were happening, filling feeds with the creative and eye-catching graphics. In partnership with the client’s graphics, our creative team produced engaging and interactive copy to accompany ads, enticing prospects to Brighton.

As our event-specific ads were fueled by particularly granular layered interest and geo-based targeting, ad relevance was maximised amongst our target segments, allowing a smooth transition from initial engagement through to conversion with ease. With so many acts, shows and events within the Brighton Festival, matching all of these to audiences was no small task and required hands-on work by the team in order to make sure each event was reaching potentially interested parties.

As we began to implement campaigns, we were met with promising results, and the client wanted to push more shows and utilise the budget. Due to showing how we could be reactive with budget, reallocating depending on popularity and seats sold, we were granted additional cash to push our results even further.

We were as agile as possible, keeping in constant communication with the client to recognise which shows were priorities for them and where we needed to push focus with high intent recall. Being reactive allowed us to take advantage of high-intent audiences, elevating the talent of Brighton Festival through engaging copywriting and striking graphics paired with targeting tactics to upscale campaigns.

Results

In only a short burst, we smashed targets, excelling even further with the additional budget granted to us, as well as utilising our Google Grant. Raising awareness early was a hugely important part of campaign success, and allowed us to create a foundation for conversion, skyrocketing numbers out of this world.

Through our ability to create precision targeting with flexible re-distribution across tactics we achieved:

1.  3,982,619 impressions, up 58% from our target
2. 42,439 clicks to the website, up 62.7% from target
3. 1.07% click-through rate, up 3% from target
4. 1,523 ticket sales, a 66% increase from our original target
5. 1095% more tracked purchases than previous years results

More importantly, due to our reactive decisions and optimisation, the client was super pleased with our work, and we are over the moon to continue our relationship with Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival going forward to implement GA4. As a Brighton based agency, it is invaluable to us to support our local community. We are incredibly proud to have had the chance to enjoy many of the shows ourselves and recognise all the effort Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival put into each event.

The Challenge

We love working with local businesses, so when Brighton i360, a tourist attraction with the best views in Brighton, got in touch to elevate their brand within and beyond the city, we jumped at the chance. With a mission to enhance brand awareness and drive ticket sales within their key target audience segments, we had just the plan to push targets to new heights.

We devised extensive audience research with creative approaches paired with a killer strategy to achieve the following goals:

1.Increase online ticket sales to 50% of total sales
2.Develop a distinctive creative concept with strong visual identity amongst key target audience segments

Approach

Brighton i360 wanted to primarily focus on driving ticket sales around young families, couples, and avid sightseers within Brighton and the surrounding areas. Our goal was to spotlight the attraction’s tailored experience, and we had just the strategy to realise this vision.

We delved into audience exploration, researching their pain points, desires and needs. Our copywriter ventured out into the city to gauge the communal sentiments towards the i360. His one-on-one interactions with local individuals, tourists and day-trippers on the vibrant streets of Brighton provided invaluable insights – a snapshot of public opinion that was essential to our strategy.

Using our expert experience in the attraction industry, we suggested a creative approach using paid media to reach potential adventure seekers and skyrocket i360 to success.

Creative Conceptualisation

Through collaborative ideation, crafting creative concepts and moodboards, three distinct ideas emerged. The chosen concept reimagined the city’s essence from a new vantage point – ‘A Different Perspective’, encapsulating Brighton’s unique charm. Using the sky and clouds, playing on the fact that the i360 takes passengers on a journey 450ft into the clouds, morphed into different shapes that resonated with that audience, we captured the breathtaking views of Brighton and its wonderful, lifeful moments from an elevated standpoint. We focused concepts around each audience, such as, engagements for couples, a day out for families and an immersive experience with memories and unforgettable experiences for sightseers.

We also explored other ideas, including two based around augmented reality. Playing around with AR app possibilities and Snap’s AR glasses, we developed interactive ideas that would consume the customer with a fully integrated digital experience.

After presenting the concepts, the client agreed that  ‘A Different Perspective’ hit their brief and wanted to explore this further for the paid media campaign.

Making the Media Mix

Recognising i360’s core identity and wide audience appeal, we proposed a video-focused strategy for maximum brand impact. We kicked off by storyboarding ads aligned with our creative concept, tailoring segments for each audience.

Working with a local production company, Be The Fox, we wasted no time in starting to shoot content for our campaign. Our conviction in the potency of video ads was strong, and a pivotal element of our creative direction was the film shoot itself. We hired actors and got into action, focusing on the themes of a magical day out for you and your family and tailored this to each audience within the film.

Using different actors for each audience segment, we highlighted the essence of each of their desires we found within our research, showcasing the i360 and the sights of Brighton it has to offer. With us as directors, their cameras rolled as we unveiled the story’s essence, optimising for various platforms by shooting in square and portrait formats. We highlighted classic Brighton themes that resonated with our audience during the research phase, such as ice creams and the beach, showcasing all the i360 had to offer. The result was a captivating two-minute advertisement, a fusion of imagination and possibility, family appeal, and the i360’s charm as a tourist attraction.

From this, the next step was the creation of the adverts to showcase the video. The messaging framework emerged, and we specifically focused on paid copy. Playfully centred on elevation, our language was vibrant, invoking sunsets and breath-taking views. The tagline “Wonder of the World” encapsulated our strategy, adapted for each audience segment.

Launch and Measure

For the launch of our media campaign, the first step was to raise awareness of i360 among the target audience. For this, we led a video-first approach, using Snapchat and TikTok as our amplifiers. The campaign primarily targeted three distinct, non-overlapping audiences, ranging from a hyper-local demographic to those on the outskirts of North London. For engagement, we devised concise Snap and TikTok clips extracted from the initial video. These snippets captured the excitement of couples, families, and sightseers as they anticipated their i360 experience. The initial emphasis was on video for heightened awareness, allowing us to establish video viewer retargeting audiences without relying on third-party cookies.

Moving down the funnel, we generated intent with search and meta. Navigating search proved to be a highly competitive space, contending with formidable local attractions and third-party ticket vendors for i360, including large companies with substantial budgets. However, we identified a strategic gap – our competitors focused heavily on bidding for their own brand terms. To ensure conversions were truly incremental, we orchestrated a significant shift in spending. Our approach pivoted toward broader, generic terms such as “experiences in Brighton,” “family days out,” and “things to do,” thereby enhancing our conversion tactics.

To amplify our efforts, we implemented retargeting strategies across Facebook, Instagram, and Google Display. This involved honing in on individuals who had exhibited high engagement with our videos during the awareness phase. Additionally, we targeted site visitors who hadn’t made a purchase within the preceding 90 days, ensuring a focused re-engagement approach. We also set our sights on those who initiated the checkout process but didn’t complete their purchase, aiming to rekindle their interest and steer them toward conversion.

Seeing the initial success of the campaign, Brighton i360 allowed us to expand its scope, focusing on the ‘adventurer sightseers’ audience. Originally launched as an awareness campaign, the campaign’s impressive performance indicated the opportunity for growth and led us to further enhance and develop the “Extreme 360” attraction within i360 when it first launched.

Results

With our boundless creative energy and elevating strategy, we propelled i360 to unprecedented heights of success with a +603% ROAS – a great result for a short campaign in a competitive industry. The campaign yielded remarkable results, culminating in revenue reaching almost a quarter of a million (£225,992.07) – with an impressive average order value of £46.53. This was complemented by a total of 4,857 transactions, a testament to the campaign’s efficacy in driving engagement and conversions.

Due to the success of the campaign, we were also tasked with amplifying its brand further. We crafted a campaign to ensure its appeal as a summer attraction extended seamlessly into the winter months through a captivating Christmas Santa campaign.

By adeptly tailoring our strategy to the changing seasons, we continued to draw in visitors during the festive season. The Santa campaign proved to be a resounding success, achieving an exceptional Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of +994%. This accomplishment underscored our ability to pivot and engage audiences across different contexts, further solidifying i360’s position as a dynamic and year-round destination.

The Challenge

In the face of fierce competition from market giants, Joint, provider of premium student accommodation, entrusted us with an exhilarating mission: to amplify their brand presence in newly entered cities following a rebrand. With unwavering determination, we defied all odds and triumphed within a mere three months, not only surpassing brand awareness targets but also unleashing an unparalleled wave of conversions that shattered records.

With the beginning objective to grow brand awareness, we were set the following targets:

Earn 3.2 million impressions across target locations
Generate 1,394 enquiries from students looking to book rooms
Produce a 2000% ROAS
Attribute 60% of leads to our paid media strategy

The Strategy: where we began

Did you know that 60% of the student accommodation industry is dominated by only ten operators? For a young, emerging student accommodation provider looking to offer something new to the market in the form of luxury living and a focus on student support, it was time to break the mould in order to stand out.

With 2.2 million UK full-time university students and anticipating 17k new beds in 2023, it was time for us to disrupt the market to get Joints name out there following its rebrand.

Previously Big Student House, Joint needed a new website to match their rebrand and to showcase their unique offering. So, we developed a shiny new website, prioritising the user experience (UX) journey, combating previously complex updates to make it an easy and smooth process to make changes. As well as this, we introduced a ‘tenant tab’ section on the website to accurately represent Joint’s core values, optimising the overall site experience and to help improve ad quality score for the next step of the project. Not only this, but the new section also enabled Joint to be able to really connect with their tenants, providing a wide breadth of support from mental health to even meal plans!

Once the brand spanking new website was live and showcasing Joint’s exceptional portfolio of rooms, we started to map out individual student journeys and customised landing pages with precise tracking mechanisms. This seamless connection of ads, landing pages, and property information catered tospecific needs.

But we knew it was super important for us to make Joint stand out from the crowd. To do this, we took a research-led approach and found through cross-city analysis of the housing market that ads took a uniform approach that are lifeless, uninspiring and not personalised. Using our power as a full service agency, we wanted to turn advertising on its head – and did just that.

We used Joints previously created characters and gave them life with carefully curated messaging frameworks. Injecting the personalities into properties, we evolved characters into a story within the journey. Once clicking on an ad, the respective character would take the student on a journey through the website, honing in on Joint’s presence for their tenants in all aspects of student life.

The Strategy: in action

Once we had foundation in the website and creative assets, it was time to launch our strategy across advertising real estate. Utilising TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, we found students amongst their favourite platforms, effectively reaching Joint’s operating cities, engaging precise audiences. As paid media experts, we strategically set ourselves apart from the crowd, tactically bidding to enhance our presence near campuses, connecting with first and second-year students through Display and Search ads.

But we didn’t stop there, we wanted to level up even further. In a novel approach, our broader UK strategy engaged individuals who were in, regularly in, or who’ve shown interest in the target locations. Utilising one of the Google Ads location targeting options with people in or regularly in Joint’s target locations. Diving into the luxury of layered interest targeting, we focussed on identifying students who were in their first or second years of university who were actively in the market for student accommodation or researching suitable places to live. Not only this but we targeted people actively searching for Joints target city locations.

We retargeted people who browsed property page views but had not yet submitted booking with evergreen content highlighting our freshly created tenant tab. We flourished the content with local tenant discounts, tenant well being support and living tips, keeping students actively engaged throughout their entire journey with us.

Always staying ahead of the curve, we simultaneously used radius targeting of each city to ensure a broad geographical reach with the caveat that prospects around the country will have also been researching each of these cities, in addition to the highly segmented search queries that qualified them for student accommodation.

We added all countries apart from the UK as negative geographical targets to ensure that, whilst prospects are interested in The Joint’s operating locations, they were always UK-based. This allows us to reach students who were already studying in our target locations, but also further afield who were planning a move and looking for student accommodation.

Implementation

In just three months, we sky-rocketed our expectations and hit our targets early! Experts in optimising budget, we shifted our main objectives to a conversion led approach, always aiming to get the most for our clients with the money they have. With brand awareness conquered, we were ready to smash the campaign out of the park, focusing on optimising conversion rates and increasing revenue from bookings.

To further engage students we went beyond visuals, using the characters to reflect student lifestyle around seasonality and relevancy. For example, in winter, we honed in ‘staying snug’ and well-being due to depression levels being higher in winter. Keeping the key focus on properties, we overlaid characters within the houses, showcasing the high quality rooms whilst bringing personality throughout.

With our strategic hats on, we optimised cost per enquiry and revenue through data-driven lower-funnel tactics, reducing social media budgets where we had already mastered our audience. To compete with the bulky competition in the housing market, we increased search ad budgets to revolutionise our approach.

How you ask? Data driven thinking. Integrating HubSpot for real time data sharing, our expert team informed business strategies and optimised bids to students most likely to take action. Understanding the importance of using data to inform decision making, our team was incredibly reactive, allocating budget as and when rooms were booked. This meant we never missed a step, ensuring we were consistently ahead of the curve to get the most out of Joint’s budget.

However the journey wasn’t over just yet. Budget allocation considered available properties, rooms, and competitor activity, meaning we were always on the ball for what we had to prioritise next. Constant communication between our teams and the client allowed us to influence the student journey to be as seamless as possible, capturing high intent audiences right where we needed them.

Results

Using just 61% of our media budget to date, we have shattered expectations, with a mind-blowing 3,875% return on ad spend (ROAS) for the campaign. With bookings soaring 40% YoY, the client is now poised to launch 12 new properties across 2 additional cities, 4 months ahead of schedule.

We achieved:

4.9 million impressions (exceeded target by 8%)
18.2k clicks
£0.34 CPC
0.37% CTR
82% of leads attributed to Paid Media in Q1 (22% above target)
40% up YOY on booking targets
3875% ROAS using only 61% of the paid media budget

The agile budget redistribution across channels enabled us to maximise conversion outcomes and exceed all expectations. More than this, our relationship with Joint has never been stronger, and future plans together never brighter – taking on fun, new advertising initiatives – so watch this space.

At Arke, our clients are at the centre of everything we do, so when BlippAR got in touch with the need for an agency that would be able to deliver a breadth of targets in just 3-4 months, we jumped into action.

BlippAR, which was one of the UK’s first tech unicorns, specialises in augmented reality, and came to Arke with the goal of promoting themselves to creative agencies, brands and universities to generate sign-ups as a free access service. With the AR / VR industry on the rise, and many competitors offering a paid for service, BlippAR needed to position themselves as a market leader and Arke was ready to help make that happen.

The Challenge

We turned around a full service integrated approach in a short timeframe that allowed us to smash their business objective and campaign targets in just 4 months, helping BlippAR effectively reach new audiences and increase retention of new users across both national and international markets.

With a KPI of 15,000 sign ups by the end of 2022, BlippAR tasked us to:

1. Develop additional paid media strategies to expand existing markets, and test new markets
2. To A/B Test campaign copy and imagery for a variety of industries
3. To contribute to their annual target of 15,000 subscribers goal -with Arke specifically tasked with generating 15% of their whole business target in just 4 months
4. A goal of £9.34 cost-per-conversion (sign-up)

The Strategy

To deliver such high results in a short timeframe, we honed in on our key strength as a full service agency and adapted an integrated approach to optimise campaigns.

Our expert Paid Media team developed a well rounded strategy that would allow BlippAR exposure, engagement, and maximum conversion over a breadth of channels across a range of markets.

1. To boost awareness across the UK and US market we utilised Responsive Ads across YouTube and Google Display
2. To elevate consideration across the UK and US market we utilised static and moving image ads across hyper-targeted Linkedin audience segments
3. To bolster intent/decision across the UK, US Mexico and Columbia markets, we utilised Google Search, capitalising on the differing search behaviours and intents between markets to maximise relevance and conversion rates.
4. We made sure our strategy showcases the visual and creative software BlippAR offers.

Carrying out competitor audits to identify organic content strategy across industry and geographical elements, our Creative Team produced a suite of static assets that would grab attention and drive clicks on the ads. The creatives oozed the eye-catching world of AR and all that BlippAR had to offer. Our talented copywriter conjured captivating ad copy that emphasised BlippAR’s USP of being a free access service, differentiating from competitors in the AR/VR market.

However, the teamwork did not stop there. To ensure all of our ads had consistency against each market and region they were entering, our copywriter ensured each ad was tailored to suit each audience retrospectively, optimising click through and deepening time spent with the brand. Not only this, our lovely bilingual Arkenauts translated our ads and search keywords into Spanish, ensuring the language flowed concisely in each deliverable dialect. This enabled us to test and learn in foreign markets across our Colombian and Mexican segments to optimise Spanish copy and keywords.

The Strategy Continued

To engage high intent audiences, we drove traffic to the sign up form where users had to fill in details to qualify for an account. Optimising campaigns every 48 hrs, we provided strategic recommendations on where to focus and allocate budgets to optimise towards maximum ROAS and increase dwell time on the page across markets.

Working on an international campaign from our uk seaside town offices, our team worked simultaneously as one to provide a full service approach in actioning targets. We worked together to drive BlippAR to the next level and bring the brand to new heights in new markets.

Implementation

With brand awareness ready to be tackled, our eye-catching assets from our creative team debuted across Linkedin, preceded by an A/B test to find out which messages resonated best between audiences, allowing us to scale campaigns based on data. We found that, overwhelmingly, the ad variants that emphasised the ‘free’ aspect of BlippAR’s, as well as being a ‘no-code’ platform, performed particularly well, ultimately setting the client apart from many services in the AR/VR industry that rely heavily on technical user ability.

Our Paid media team split budgets across highly segmented audiences to maximise exposure of BlippAR across a range of target groups and personalise our approach, ultimately decreasing our CPMs, increasing CTRs, and getting the most out of available budgets.

To ensure all progress was constantly tracked against BlippAR’s KPI’s, our Digital Team was tasked with implementing granular tracking across all channels. We also supplied the client with a bespoke, custom-built dashboard for key metric and KPI tracking, alongside expertly written campaign commentary to explain the stories behind the data, detailed optimisations throughout the week, and actionable insights and recommendations to achieve even stronger performance.

Results

To ensure success, we introduced a full service approach from the start, utilising our strengths in each stage of the campaign. In just four months we reached audiences at scale, increased and improved the quality of the traffic generated from campaigns and achieved the following results:

• • 2,625 sign ups vs 2,200 target

• • 9.85% conversion rate (19.32% above target)

• • £8.95 Cost per conversion, down 53% from £19

• • 1.2M impressions globally

• • 27k clicks and growth in session dwell time and depth of visit

Alongside our activity, BlippAR was able to exceed their overall target of 15,000 subscribers, with Arke contributing 17.5% of this in a short burst, concluding the power of a full service agency.

THE CHALLENGE

As an e-commerce brand, luxury fragrance company Shay & Blue’s goal was to build a new engaged audience for their email marketing activity over the key sales period, Black Friday. But, as a strategic agency, we wanted to elevate this – building up everlasting data-driven targeting lists.

We devised objectives to boost their mailing list, while making Black Friday their best sales period ever:

1. 1. Increase new customer visits by 30% YoY
   2. Increase ROAS by 100% YoY
   3. Decrease cost per acquisition by 50% YoY
   4. Increase number of transactions by 150% YoY
   5. Increase revenue by 150% YoY

THE STRATEGY

The award-winning strategy was possible through the collaboration of each team member bringing their expertise together. A fully integrated campaign through the power of teamwork.

Our approach was two-pronged: lead generation and conversion. With a robust understanding of the market, and Shay & Blue’s wider business goals, our strategy was to:

1. 1. Build up quality data, preparing for high levels of competition
   2. Build trust with the brand, boosting awareness in a saturated market
   3. Amplify branding, increasing recall while bringing something fresh to market
   4. Test and learn to understand the consumer’s appetite

LEAD GENERATION

Shay & Blue pioneer accessibility and individuality. Their 18-26-year-old target audience is ‘rebellious in nature, wanting more fun, more choice and more conscious.’ Award-winning work is built with the audience in mind, and that’s exactly what we did. It was important we elected the rebellious nature throughout the ad, appealing to Shay and Blue’s consumers.

The first tactic was lead generation. After careful consideration and collaboration, the team wanted to convey a playful and exciting campaign that would generate exceptional results, and we had just the idea. We pitched that Shay & Blue offer a free 10ml Blood Oranges fragrance around Halloween to build trust between brand and audience. As 68% of Shay & Blue’s sales come from repeat business, getting the product into the consumer’s hands was vital.

Broad targeting and layered interest tactics maximised budget while attracting those with an affinity with the brand’s promises. From this, we built up Shay & Blue’s data and mailing list, facilitating precise targeting through lookalike audiences.

PAID MEDIA

In the spirit of joint team effort, our Paid Media team crafted a paid media plan for maximum flexibility before Black Friday, testing and focusing budget on historically best-performing channels, using prior campaign and audience learnings into overdrive to maximise sales. We focused on small budgets on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, utilising a range of creative static image ads, lightweight motion ads, video ads, and dynamic product ads to showcase the product and offer.

We activated a second burst of lead generation in the week before Black Friday. We built upon the data already collected, gaining foresight into the thirst for the products before Black Friday.

On Black Friday, we targeted lookalike audiences using data collected through lead generation and the client’s CRM data, alongside layered interest audiences to drill down into niche beauty and fragrance audiences with an affinity for affordable and ethical, yet luxury products.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our messaging framework played on horror movie tropes, combining engaging copywriting, emphasising deals and price-slashing. This helped us to contend with the rising cost of living and competition.

Shay & Blue refresh their aesthetic seasonally, and the brand evolves accordingly. We produced a creative that screamed Shay & Blue from the rooftops, with the design complimenting their autumn aesthetic, ‘Own The Night’.

Our fantastic creative team embodied Halloween and turned their Blood Oranges fragrance into Bloody Oranges; they loved it – they even decided to use it across their web campaign!

We split-tested creative and pushed the boundaries of the brand to stand out on social, where we knew competition would be fierce. Our abundance of creative distinguished us; we retargeted people with fresh ads, increasing brand awareness whilst avoiding ad fatigue.

The Black Friday adverts emphasised the urgency with our copy – “Going, going, gone!”. Copy is limited on social, so we spearheaded creative design to convey the extent of the deal alongside urgency.

RESULTS

With a 1009% ROAS, the campaign resulted in a record-breaking period of online trading for Shay & Blue, revenue attributed to Paid Media increased by 244.59%, generating their biggest month in online revenue in a single week – a huge impact for a small, niche brand.

We also saw high levels of engagement among younger audiences, who left comments on social media. New customer site visits increased by 49.23% and revenue from all sources increased by 159% YoY.

Vital to success, we integrated the campaign into all owned media; first touchpoint to website. Our foreplanning, strategy and execution increased awareness of the niche brand, while competing with major labels and retailers.

The Challenge

We’ve worked with Staffordshire-based institution Keele for three years now, helping them to increase their student intake and build awareness of Britain’s best university, as ranked by students (Student Crowd University Awards 2022). One of the biggest days in the student recruitment calendar is Clearing – the process after Results Day when students are able to apply to different universities. Keele asked us to support them with their Clearing, having been pleased with the results we achieved for them in their previous Clearing campaigns. This year, Keele University tasked us with:

Building awareness of their brand and their courses among prospective undergraduate students
Leveraging their data to drive conversions, making use of Google Analytics 4 and conversion funnel tracking
Increasing the number of students applying through Clearing versus 2021 figures

While we have experience working with over 120 education institutions and creating Clearing campaigns, this year was a bit of an unknown as it was the first year following the Covid-19 crisis that was unaffected by the pandemic. Being aware of the landscape was key to our strategy. For example, as exam results were not impacted this year, we expected demand and competition levels to be high, which helped to inform our foreplanning.

The Strategy

Having a wealth of experience in the education sector, our team knows that the key to a successful Clearing is planning. We devised a series of campaigns, flighted between three distinct stages in the conversion funnel; Learn More & Register for Clearing Updates, Request a Callback, and Apply. These were chosen to reflect key dates throughout the Clearing cycle.

We devised a multi-channel approach, as we know it to be the most effective at engaging prospects at multiple stages of the funnel to build up awareness. Therefore, we chose Google Search, Google Display, Google Discovery, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Sky AdSmart to advertise the university.

Once we had decided on channels, we built out prospect data at scale ahead of key recruitment periods, allowing us to maximise Keele University’s budget and use it at the most effective periods for the lowest costs, rather than funnelling it into periods when CPMs and CPCs were their highest.

Our experts also devised multiple tactics within each channel to target prospects at different stages in the conversion funnel. Each tactic used different bidding strategies, from brand terms to generic terms. This also leant into our overall full-funnel targeting strategy, with the objective of reaching those students in the research phase and those further down in the funnel.

The Strategy Continued

Throughout the three months leading up to Clearing, we used a test-and-learn approach, refining our strategy regarding ad types, our approach to bidding and testing keyword lists. This allowed us to build up a winning combination in time for the busiest time of the Clearing period: Results Day.

Our agility and diversity within this campaign were essential to its success. Throughout, we monitored performance across the various channels and weighted budget towards the best-performing platforms. In particular, we were attentive to trends on the day, monitoring peaks in search activity and optimising the campaign according to that data.

Recent changes to the advertising landscape highlighted the necessity of agility to succeed in this campaign. For example, we were cautious of using Meta due to the reduction in targeting capabilities. As such, we split budgets among the channels with such considerations in mind, reallocating resources into other platforms more likely to achieve the desired outcomes.

This year, we surpassed many of the successes achieved in 2021, with a lifetime CPC 87% lower in 2022 (£0.83 vs. £6.60), and a conversion rate 43% higher (5.35% vs. 3.75%). As a result, we achieved a 260% increase in Apply Now clicks than in 2021 (6,617 vs. 1,837).

What made this year’s campaign more successful than ever was a result of early planning and campaign activation. This enabled us to establish Keele University’s brand ahead of their competition and activate robust retargeting and lookalike segments ahead of Clearing. This allowed us to build up historical data, allowing us to analyse the results and use this to guide smart bid strategies.

Results

1.16% CTR
£0.83 CPC
123,673 link clicks
6,617 apply clicks
164% increase in phone calls
5.37% conversion rate

See Your Success

Want to find out how the right higher education marketing partner can help you surpass your goals? Let’s have a chat.

The Challenge

We were tasked by London-based film distributor Kaleidoscope to increase awareness of their children’s film Mia & Me: The Hero of Centopia, the hit television series watched by millions of children globally.

Kaleidoscope required an agency that could provide fast turnaround times, navigate short advertising windows, and be well-versed in increasing ticket sales through paid media. Due to our experience working within the film and entertainment industry; and our multi-award-winning paid media campaigns, they decided that we were the right agency to deliver the results they needed.

In particular, they wanted us to:

Build up awareness of the film in the week prior to the launch of the film, subsequently increasing ticket sales

Retarget their current YouTube audience on multiple digital platforms

Increase awareness of the film among their target audience’s influencers – their parents and guardians

Our Approach

Our Paid Media and Creative teams worked together to devise a campaign that would successfully drive views within the two-week advertising window. In order to do this, we required agility, robust strategic planning and close collaboration among our teams.

As Kaleidoscope’s target audience was children, we had to devise a strategy that would allow us to target their biggest influencers – their parents and guardians. Once we understood their motivations and built out an audience persona, we set about creating a targeting strategy that would engage this group.

Based on our expert’s experience and research, we knew that the best advertising platforms to achieve the brief’s goals were YouTube and Google Display. We identified that these would be the best platforms to retarget Kaleidoscope’s current audience (those engaged with the ongoing YouTube series) while also engaging their parents and guardians – this is where Google Display came in particularly useful.

The Strategy

The timing of this campaign was also important. It ran throughout half-term, a key period for parents and children to spend time together. This solidified our decision regarding advertising channels, as we knew that parents would be looking for activities to do to occupy their children – and watching YouTube or heading to the cinema was perfect for just that. For this reason, we weighted the advertising budget more towards YouTube, channelling 66% of Kaleidoscope’s media budget into YouTube versus 34% on Google Display.

As this campaign ran for just two weeks, we had to carefully prepare and plan our optimisation strategy to allow reactivity to trends. To further increase our agility, we created adverts of two different lengths with different placements in mind. To adhere to tight turnaround deadlines, we produced animated banners for Google Display, allowing us to provide that video feel while saving time creating numerous video ads.

We also knew we wanted ads to only be shown against relevant content and on devices where users were most likely to view-through and engage. We did this to increase the campaign’s impact within the short advertising window while ensuring that Kaleidoscope’s paid media budget was used effectively and channelled into the best-performing advert variants.

The Strategy Continued

We manually optimised the campaign every 48 hours, reacting to performance metrics  that we could harness to increase performance. For example, we found that 15-second video ads performed best, generating the highest view rate. Having identified this, we pulled the longer format and pushed the 15-second version instead.

We also noticed that placement targeting was the most effective method, so we pulled budget from other targeting options to drive more conversions through this targeting tactic.

Aside from this, we adjusted our bidding strategies in accordance with the best conversion results. For example, when we noticed that the number of conversions via computers increased, we favoured computers in our strategy and channelled budget towards those devices to drive results.

Keeping a close eye on the campaign and being flexible to optimise towards best performance allowed us to achieve above and beyond our initial predictions for our client.

Results

We’re proud to say that Mia & Me: The Hero of Centopia ranked 16th in Box Office sales in its first week. Over the short lifetime of the advert, we served 6,751,540 impressions (+295% above target), which resulted in a whopping CPM of £1.10 – almost half what we had expected!

In the build up to Black Friday, leading luxury fragrance company Shay and Blue wanted to increase their mailing list to enhance their targeting pool (and capabilities) in the lead up to the big day.

Shay and Blue have a loyal customer base with high retention rates, as a result of their excellent customer service and their eclectic mix of fabulous, planet friendly fragrances. As such, they required a campaign that would encourage new customers to sign up to their mailing list so they could build up their invaluable database for retargeting in subsequent campaigns.

To help Shay and Blue with their marketing and sales strategy amid this crucial period in the e-commerce calendar, our Paid Media and Creative teams came together to strategise an innovative campaign that would:

1. 1. Attract and engage new customers to build their database

1. 1. Remind existing customers of their brand and their products

1. 1. Increase brand awareness and sales around this key sales period

THE STRATEGY

Our Paid Media and Creative teams devised a full-service approach that would connect the dots and create a seamless experience between Shay and Blue’s adverts and their website; while creating something that caught their audience’s attention. We took advantage of the season – Halloween – to add a spooky spin on Shay and Blue’s pre-existing adverts.

We developed an awareness campaign across Google Display, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok that would turn Shay and Blue’s signature Blood Oranges fragrance into a seasonal version perfect for the time of year, resulting in ‘Bloody Oranges’!

The campaign saw Shay and Blue offer a free 10ml version of their scent (typically £25) – customers just had to pay for shipping.

Shay and Blue’s target audience were served the ads on social media. Once clicked, they were taken to a Halloween landing page on Shay and Blue’s website where they would complete their transaction.

THE STRATEGY CONTINUED

Our copywriting team worked closely alongside our designers and paid media experts to craft copy that was topical, playful and enticing both within the design of the ad, the headline and the supporting copy. ‘Slash through the sales’, ‘A devilish deal, just for you’ and ‘Frighteningly free fragrance’ are examples of these.

‘At Arke, we take the time to research our client and the strategic aims of the campaign that feed into their wider goals. As such, we aligned the copy with Shay and Blue’s value proposition from product family, to product, to emotional value. This was evident throughout the campaign, from initial response to the advert to their experience when on the website.’

– Jacob Lowery, Copy and Content Executive at Arke

Our creative process was no different; we leaned into Shay and Blue’s branding – crisp, clean lines and their signature colours. However, we were given the creative license to intensify their branding for the season. We used bright, impactful colours to transform their always-on ads into refreshed Halloween versions. This helped to create excitement around the product.

In order to increase the number of contacts and customer data for Shay and Blue, customers were asked to submit their phone numbers and email address when checking out. After this, they were sent a Whatsapp message and email confirming their purchase.

The purpose of this was to keep Shay and Blue top-of-mind among their target audience as they moved towards Black Friday. It would also provide multiple platforms of targeting to feed into the cross-channel approach we have planned, as well as a direct channel for customer service, improving the overall buyer experience.

THE STRATEGY CONTINUED

This provided Shay and Blue with an opportunity to follow up with customers and their orders via email and text, enhancing the customer service experience.

Having worked with Shay and Blue on various campaigns throughout the year, we understood their audience, their aims and how to achieve them. As such, our team pulled together a short-burst strategic campaign for Halloween, aware of the challenges that a tight turnaround, a change of creative, and the duration of the campaign (just three days long) would present. However, we planned this campaign with Shay and Blue’s wider objectives in mind.

Despite these factors, we turned around the adverts within two weeks and adapted Shay and Blue’s current creative to reflect seasonal trends. We directed customers to bespoke forms on the brand’s website to ensure Shay and Blue were able to accurately capture user information once people moved from advert to website.

RESULTS

This campaign was highly effective, and the offer was popular among Shay and Blue’s target consumer, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. It also had a wider impact, positively affecting overall sales on the website.

From this campaign alone, Shay and Blue increased their conversions by 470%, leading to a total of 585 product sales during this campaign. They also experienced a 470% increase in transactions – providing a larger customer database for subsequent retargeting campaigns, such as during Black Friday.

The Challenge

London-based performing arts theatre Soho Theatre tasked Arke with delivering an integrated digital media campaign to effectively raise awareness and drive qualified traffic to the Soho Theatre On Demand Film Festival film pages. This followed the success of our work on their always-on campaign in 2021, which achieved a ROAS of 1,252.50%.

To promote the Festival Show, we were tasked to:

1. Construct and deliver an integrated digital media campaign
2. Drive qualified traffic to the Soho Theatre On Demand Film Festival pages
3. Generate ticket bookings

The Strategy

We devised a media plan across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google. We implemented Facebook, Instagram and TikTok at the awareness, consideration and intent phase and reinforced messages at the consideration, intent and decision phases with Google Discovery, Google Display and Google Search.

The Strategy Continued

We optimised the ads every 48 hours to outbid competing film houses and against keywords. TikTok proved to be the most effective platform for driving awareness throughout the duration of the campaign, with an average CTR of 0.98% and an average CPC of £0.21. But we didn’t stop there!

To drive sales, we needed to be clever with our use of channels following on from top of the funnel conversion. That’s where Google Discovery, Display and Search came into play, helping to drive sales. In particular, Google Display was incredibly effective in generating impressions. We then utilised Google Search for bottom-of-the-funnel conversion. The results speak for themselves, generating a total of 9,245,348 impressions.

We served a total of 9,245,348 impressions, generating 39,712 clicks at a CTR of 0.42% and a low CPC of £0.46 overall for both the Awareness campaign and the films. The highest Clicked ads were from Shuck ‘n’ Jive, with 10,638 clicks across all platforms.

Results

With 9.2M impressions and a 0.42% CTR, this campaign brought 39,712 clicks to Soho Theatre

The Challenge

Soho Theatre is a central London venue, producing and offering new theatre, comedy and cabaret.

Following successful campaigns for their on-demand streaming service and shows during the height of the Covid-19 crisis, where Soho Theatre had to diversify their offering to navigate an uncertain and unpredictable market, Arke were enlisted to continue driving sales in an always on capacity. Following the relaxing of COVID restrictions, we needed to mobilise live event goers to book and return to in-person shows through Paid Media.

We were tasked with:

• Developing awareness and reach among Soho Theatre’s target audiences
• Increasing ticket sales for a new season of in-person live shows
• Maximising ROAS and increase conversion rates over time

The Strategy

We planned and delivered a full-funnel campaign across Facebook & Instagram and Google Search, promoting the Soho Theatre brand, services (in-person & on demand), and a constantly updating roster of upcoming shows.

Supporting wider brand activity, upcoming show promotion utilised static image and lightweight motion carousel ads across Facebook & Instagram feeds and stories, aided by show-specific sitelinks on Google Search.

We leveraged Spektrix CRM data to fuel campaign success, identifying new high-intent users through lookalikes of past and repeat ticket purchasers. We guided conversion-led bid strategies with data in order to fuel platform machine learning which enabled us to automatically respond to real-time user signals, serving the right ads, at the right time, to the right people.

The Strategy Continued

Arke conducted competitor, keyword, and audience research which informed our approach ahead of breaking into a highly competitive market alongside the many venues and big players within London’s West End. We targeted ABC1 Young Adults (16 – 45) of different audience segments/personas, interested in Theatre, Comedy, Cabaret, Emerging Talent, Fringe Comedy, Stand Up, Live Events, LGBTQ+ Theatre, etc. in key cities around the UK with a firm focus on London.

Competition was the biggest obstacle to overcome, especially for Google Search as we were up against the likes of London Theatre Direct, LondonTheatre.co.uk, and TodayTix, alongside smaller competitors such as the 99 Comedy Club, London Cabaret Club, and Vauxhall Comedy Club – especially at a time when all venues were reopening.

In the spirit of ‘going hard or going home’ and gaining as much insight as possible to navigate this space, we quickly chose to drop brand keyword bidding, focusing only on generic terms which were highly sought after. This approach worked, with CPCs decreasing from £0.47 in our first month to an average of £0.12 in the last four months.

Another project – a custom implementation of Google Analytics 4 – enabled us to segment ecommerce data by show, transaction, user ID and other parameters. This allowed us to make data-led decision making to fuel the campaign’s success. As conversion data grew with performance, we conducted manual optimisation every 48 hours to leverage learnings and improve even further, which we continue to do to this day.

Next Steps

We continue to work with Soho Theatre, with their Always On campaign extended into 2022, alongside an upcoming campaign for the Soho Theatre On Demand Film Festival, launching in January 2022 to March 2022. Watch this space!

Results

• Average ROAS 1,252.50%
• Google Search average CTR 21.79%
• 221,841 users reached on Meta
• Over 600,000 impressions on Meta

The challenge

In 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 crisis, central London comedy, cabaret and theatre venue Soho Theatre was looking to diversify their offering, pivoting away from in-person shows to a focus on on-demand streaming. Preceding this, Jessie Cave’s critically acclaimed solo show Sunrise was a sell-out success, and would be available as a film for the very first time, streaming on Soho Theatre’s proprietary PVOD site Soho Theatre On Demand.

Arke was enlisted to drive awareness and traffic to support film rental sales for this show, mobilising live event goers to engage and book ahead of its premier on the 27th of May.

The strategy

We put together a simple, results-driven, campaign utilising Facebook and Instagram to identify, reach, and engage granular audience segments with a strong affinity for independent comedy, feminist stand-up, and of course, Jessie Cave and similar artists.

Working alongside Soho Theatre, we developed layered interest audiences, leveraged first-party data from Spektrix to develop intelligent lookalike audiences, and created retargeting audiences based upon comedy and stand-up page visitors across the Soho Theatre On Demand website.

Reaching the audience

Messaging was developed for each audience based upon their prior exposure and awareness of ‘Sunrise’, building up to the premiere and live Q&A with Jessie Cave on the 27th of May 2022.

Mobilising theatre-goers to consume content on premium VOD platforms involved tapping into very new and rapidly developing online behaviours in the height of the Covid-19 crisis. We opted for a video-first approach in order to activate the immersion of live theatre alongside messaging designed to highlight the benefit of intimacy that consuming at home provides.

This, of course, allowed us to reach a larger geographical UK audience than with in-person shows, widening targeting opportunities and allowing us to engage brand new audiences.

We are now working with Soho Theatre in a permanent partnership consisting of always-on activity, and most recently, the promotion of Soho Theatre On Demand’s Film Festival (Feb 2022 – March 2022).

Results

Through our detailed understanding of the audience and strategic implementation utilising video first ads across multiple channels paid off, and we achieved fantastic results for our client!

• 1.43% CTR, exceeding target by 68%
• £0.43 CPC, exceeding target by 14%
• 2.89 ad frequency
• 116,749 users reached

Are you looking for a arts and culture marketing agency that can take your organisation to the next level? Let’s talk today.

The Challenge

Leading video-on-demand (VOD) platform Curzon Home Cinema tasked us with increasing film sales and expanding the customer base & registrants by innovatively improving campaign relevancy, utilising Google Analytics & outperforming competitors for film releases.

Five objectives:

Ensure Google Analytics is reporting accurately and implement enhanced e-commerce features for reporting and targeting purposes

Increase the number of direct release purchases

Increase purchases across Curzon Home Cinema back-catalogue

Increase the number of customer registrations across the Curzon Home Cinema website

Reduce media spend wastage to improve ROI 20%

The Strategy

One of our Google Analytics IQ Certified Partners audited the Curzon Home Cinema analytics accounts to understand the accuracy of their current reporting; discern whether the data was deep enough to inform marketing decisions and accurately capture relevant audiences.

A detailed measurement framework was created which instructed the implementation across the whole site, meaning detailed performance stats were now available down to film, genre, director and platform.

The Strategy Continued

Analytics was then synced to all ad platforms to enabling smart optimisation techniques, allowing for customer journeys to be analysed to inform campaign strategies. This also informed our SEO and Paid Media strategy to ensure paid supported organic activity.

From this, a variety of remarketing models have been produced, alongside granular new audiences and lookalike segments to vastly improve outcomes against objectives. A/B testing of creative has been critical in not only driving ROI but also improving customer experiences, engagement and brand awareness.

Results

The campaign expanded Curzon’s audience to new regions. Smashed 3 sales records in 2019 making it their highest grossing year.

The number of registrations increased by 200%, with the highest ever number of organic visitors.

Conversion rates improved by 16.3%.

CPC reduced by 29%

The Challenge

Having worked with Keele University on various campaigns and having exceeded the expectations of the institution, we were tasked once again with bringing about awareness of Keele University and its courses. This time, we put their postgraduate Artificial Intelligence and Data Science MSc course in the spotlight via paid media.

But what kick-started this campaign, and what exactly were we tasked with?

Keele University wanted to:

Promote £10k scholarship opportunities for underrepresented groups

Reach and engage prospects within key cities and markets to drive applications

Drive course page views for the Data Science and AI MSc, increase conversion rates between Apply Now Clicks to Application Starts, and Application Starts to Application Submissions

The Strategy

We devised a paid media strategy across Google Discovery and Google Search, optimising ads every 48 hours for maximum impact.

We targeted 22-35 year-olds and recent graduates looking to continue their studies. We also identified new markets and targeted students with STEM and Non-STEM backgrounds with an interest/affinity for Big Data, Data Science and similar.

As the government initiative aimed to address the shortage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data specialists, particularly among underrepresented groups within the industry (female students, BAME students, and students with disabilities), we targeted underrepresented groups within the study of AI & Data Science.

The Strategy Continued

We truly smashed this one out of the campus, achieving a ROAS of 9845% for Keele University. What’s more, we’re proud to have been a part of a course that means so much for education. The MSc is part of a Government initiative to increase the number of specialists in the AI and data science fields. It also aims to encourage students from a variety of backgrounds, supported by scholarships, so they can enter the world of work with essential and advanced digital skills.

Results

The Arkenauts once again proved the most effective marketing agency in the UK, generating 9845% ROAS, £393,800 in revenue, 1.80% CTR resulting in 22 enrolments from 85 applications submitted

The Challenge

More specifically, they asked us to:

• • Increase applications of prospective students within the UK, particularly from the South East,
  • Reach and engage key cities within the UK and the US for Short Courses,
  • Boost awareness of LAMDA’s brand and offerings.

The Strategy

The Strategy Continued

Tracking and measurement are essential when it comes to analysing the effectiveness of our approach and optimising accordingly. But often, tech systems aren’t up to scratch.

With this campaign, we were faced with a challenge – tech stacks that weren’t aligned, limiting access to data and data attribution. To overcome this, we adopted a unique data-driven bid strategy that bypassed the need for mounds of first-party data (yes, we’re preparing for a cookieless world already).

We combined this strategy with a unique keyword strategy, identifying the top performing keywords for HE courses and short courses and monitoring these over time. The result? We achieved a conversion rate of 2.54% on Google Search.

Although tracking application completion was not possible (due to tech integrations), we directly attributed 108 Apply Now Clicks and 84 How to Apply clicks to activity, with a marked difference in overall applications.

Take a look at what else we achieved below.

The Results

Our multi-channel strategy got a standing ovation! We achieved:

• 7,840,872 impressions.
• 33,000 clicks to course landing page.
• CPC of £1.18.

Want to see how the right higher education marketing partner can propel your organisation? Let’s chat today!

The Challenge

The Solution

Over the last 3 years, we have worked closely with Regent’s University London to utilise Instagram advertising to reach undergraduate prospects on mass, generating strong results. This provided us with a solid foundation to launch this particular campaign.

We had previously explored story video and carousel image formats with Regent’s University London, but we needed a media type that would do the virtual nature of the event justice and give a taste of the event itself, so we opted for Instagram Instant Experiences.

Focusing on the audience

We focused carefully on the choice of content, starting with mobile-centric videos which introduced the virtual event and allowed a figurative ‘jumping into’ the experience. We then diverged, giving audiences the opportunity to explore facilities, more of the campus or to go straight to an end card which prompted a sign up for the Virtual Open Day.

To expand the audience, we utilised lookalike audiences of undergraduate course page viewers and historical event participants to reach new prospects. We also utilised a static Instagram story carousel, remarketing to users who had visited the site but hadn’t signed up to the event.

Results

Our strategy paid off with impressive results:

• Over 1,100 visits to virtual open days
• 1.67% CTR
• 2,736 clicks through to the landing page
• £0.21 CPC

The Challenge

Foundation Year (FY) courses offer great access to University for many starting undergraduate Higher Education who may not have the qualifications or are wanting to retrain in something new. As part of a wider 2021 recruitment campaign, Keele University tasked us in October 2020 with:

• • Raising awareness of their FY offering

• • Generating enrollments for their January 2021 entry FY course

Though a smaller intake, the turnaround time and specifics of the courses required meant we had to reach high quality prospects quickly.

The Solution

We began with segmentation. For universities, FY audiences include 18-20-year-old student prospects, but also students aged 25 and above, who have historically had an enrolment rate of 28% compared to the average of 17%. It was therefore vital to reach this segment to achieve a high application and enrolment rate.

The campaign utilised a cross combination of reaching new audiences, whilst capturing those already actively searching. Google Search was the primary media, alongside a Spotify campaign, with Facebook and Instagram included to reach those non active audiences.

With Google, we reached all segments with a single campaign, whilst social advertising was broken down into three campaigns. We ran two campaigns on Facebook – one for Mature Audiences & Parents and one for Younger Prospects (17-22), who were also included in the single Instagram campaign.

All campaigns ran for three months with a creative and messaging refresh occurring part way through, as well a slight expansion in audiences which led to a reduction in frequency of impression and a further 40,000 people reached in the last month of the campaign.

Targeting

On Google, we used observational targeting of audiences similar to visitors of Foundation Year course pages over the last 6 months. This focusing allowed us to expand geographical targeting from the North of England to the whole of England and Wales, and we developed messaging specific for each ad group off the back of this.

On Facebook and Instagram, targeting consisted of lookalike targeting of Foundation Year course page viewers with, interest and demographic based filtering included. Geo targeting extended to a large radius around Keele University, reflecting the catchment that the majority of their students have in the past come from.

SPOTIFY

We also delivered a one-month long Spotify Audio campaign (with companion banners), targeting 17-22-year-olds in key recruitment areas surrounding Keele University. In order to reach as many prospects as possible, we kept targeting fairly broad, restricting delivery only to those with a demonstrated interest in:

• • Education

• • Studying

• • Focusing

• • Podcasts

Through Spotify’s self-serve platform, we wrote a script in-line with Keele University’s tone-of-voice and key messaging, and sourced highly relevant voice-over artists to record an audio advert.

The outcome was a 30 second studio-quality recording, in a friendly, inviting tone-of-voice that matched Keele University perfectly – even down to the localised accent.

Results

Our campaign experienced healthy click-through rates on average, with a Google search CTR of 6.7% and health-related keywords averaging a CTR of 18%. Additionally, 40% of clicks were users aged under 24, showing successful reaching of the target demographic.

We were also able to benefit Keele University’s website, with a 300% increase in traffic, and increased onsite engagement by 40%. This all resulted in an increase in September applications by 22%.

The Challenge

UCA underwent a digital transformation project throughout 2019, which was fully supported by a new recruitment campaign concept, designed to inspire, engage and convert students throughout their journey into Summer 2020.

Plateaued UK undergraduate numbers within the creative arts subjects, circa 125,000 per annum

To challenge perceptions & attitudes that creative degrees are only for ‘art types’ whilst, raising awareness of the ‘need for creative thinkers & doers’ across all industries

Develop a campaign concept which accelerates the institution towards their domestic & international student recruitment objectives, for 2020 intakes

The Solution

Produced the THINK AGAIN! recruitment campaign concept & accompanying concept guidelines to cover all digital, social & print channels

Produced custom typography, messaging & digital assets (video, animations, banners, social stories etc.) to allow story-telling throughout the 4 stages of the student recruitment cycle

Put forward a custom content toolkit to allow UCA to develop content further in-house, whilst adhering to all appropriate concept formats & specifications, for various video, social, outdoor & print environments

Results

This campaign left all higher education benchmarks behind, obtaining CTRs of over 120% vs the industry averages, reducing Google’s CPCs by 53% and Instagram’s Cost per Impression down by 76%. With 50,000 students and their families engaging with the content 160,000 times.

The Challenge

After successfully increasing reach, engagement & application/enrolments for 2019 intake, we were challenged by St George’s, University of London to do the same again for 2020, but this time during a global pandemic.

• • To increase postgraduate taught degree UK applications & enrolments.

• • Specialist courses within a highly competitive marketplace.

• • Growing uncertainty amongst prospective students, due to switching to virtual learning solutions.

The Solution

Summary of the solution:

• • Examined the audience needs using advanced search intent analysis, across various stages in the student conversion journey.

• • Developed & managed an integrated brand & subject level PPC strategy, using the very latest in Google beta products & best practice.

• • Produced and evolved a custom remarketing model, tailored to different audience segments, including episodic messaging & use of various niche & premium media placements.

• • Carefully monitored, measured & evolved messaging, copy & artwork to reflect the changing needs of the prospective student, throughout COVID-19 lockdown.

Results

Our campaign was seen by over 25,000 prospective students, with over 33,000 clicks through to landing pages and generating over 385,000 impressions across all platforms. We were also able to reduce the cost-per-clicks (CPC) by 62%, averaging at a £0.08 CPC across Google Display.

The Challenge

The Strategy

The strategy that we developed to help Andover College reach its March Open Day targets was constructed in concordance with the analysis and results obtained from their February Open Day campaigns.

Firstly, Google Search Keywords needed to be revised and expanded upon. This included brand, query-based college phrases as well as college open day terms.

Secondly, those findings led to a shift in the campaign message to create urgency and proved to increase conversions. Our creative included 9 animated display banners as well as videos optimised to each social channel, which featured a countdown highlighting the urgency.

This approach, across, Google Search, Display, Instagram and Facebook, guided prospective students throughout their journey leading and generated the following impressive results.

The Results

Our strategic campaign achieved:

• +50% ad relevancy improvement.
• 274% increase in clicks using the same budget.
• 8.22% new CTR obtained, a +42% increase.

Ready to see what the right education marketing partner can do for your organisation? Let’s chat!

The Challenge

With COVID-19 bringing unknowns into the world, the Higher Education & Clearing landscape was volatile and unpredictable. Having started working together in May 2020, & set amongst increasing competition and an increase in the number of students entering Clearing, Keele University tasked Arke with:

Increasing brand awareness and undergraduate recruitment

Reducing the predicted deficit due to COVID-19 through an integrated performance marketing campaign for Clearing 2020

Launching a new creative campaign to improve relatability which truly represents the institution and allays student concerns

The Solution

The first thing Arke did was analyse Keele’s data and paid media platforms, and conducted an in depth CRO audit. Relevant pixels were set up on Keele’s website and landing pages, whilst all advertising platforms were connected with analytics providers, with a strict set of rules created to ensure tagging conventions were adhered to..

We used existing student cohorts, admissions data and web data to create lookalike audiences, which were then split tested based on messaging, content and likelihood of conversion. As a result of this, we were able to identify certain patterns and were able to layer on top of existing campaigns. We also undertook detailed audience segmentation, looking for the geographic, demographic and socio-economic factors that were most indicative of Keele’s enrolled students over the last 3 years.

With all this data behind us, advertising campaigns began in June. This meant that platforms had refined learning behind them, plus specific defined audiences for the niche that we were going for and targeting. It also meant that, on the day of Clearing, campaigns were optimised to their fullest extent, so the tap could be opened & spend could be as aggressive as possible.

The Solution Continued

The creative concepts for this campaign utilised nudge marketing techniques and revolved around safety and reassurance. Content and messaging were split tested to determine what would perform best, and, from this, a messaging framework based upon clear approaches to COVID-19 was developed.

Robust planning and sign off processes were put in place. To provide reassurances in a timely manner, Arke provided multiple creative and messaging options reinforcing Keele’s approach to COVID-19 and Clearing, so that Keele had confidence in choosing their official messaging, which was approved by the Chief Operating Officer within 24 hours.

Media was planned with priority courses in mind, whilst being careful to make sure audiences were large enough to serve content, but avoided overlapping. Robust budgeting plans were also put in place to track spend, with a contingency pot created…just in case!

The Overall Approach

The campaign was an omni-channel approach comprising both paid & organic activity across the following channels:

• Google Search
• Google Display
• Social (TikTok, Instagram & Facebook)
• YouTube
• The Student Room
• UCAS

Results

Arke’s campaign for Keele University brought record number of enquiries, reaching 1.5M prospective students, generating 175,000 clicks and on clearing day a CTR of 3.14% whilst reducing CPC benchmarks by 52%.

If you’re looking for a higher education marketing agency, hit that contact button and let’s discuss your requirements.

The Challenge

Increase Clearing applications by 10% for the September 2017 & 2018 intake.

The University of Kent had five main objectives that were to be achieved during its 2018 Clearing campaign:

Increase the number of quality applications throughout the clearing period

Increase the number of enrolled students

Improve the clearing campaign performance across all channels

Reduce the campaign costs

Provide greater transparency across all metrics

The Strategy

We created 14 individual search campaigns with varying budgets to reflect the needs and unfilled places of each faculty, this was focussed down to individual courses.

A brand campaign was created alongside a Clearing focussed campaign to ensure Kent were protecting their brand during a highly competitive period whilst also appearing for broader Clearing terms.

All activity was enhanced by a brand-level social campaign across Facebook & Instagram, utilising highly engaging video content, which also extended to markets outside of the UK.

The Strategy Continued

Supported by our unique insights of student behaviours as well as 1st, 2nd and 3rd party clearing student insights, the clearing specific campaign ran over two days – 18th to 19th August 2018 – highlighting Kent’s USP’s that make them an outstanding choice for prospects who received their a-level results.

The All-School campaign, for the 14 separate schools consisted of 40 different AdGroups containing 120 ads and over 10,000 relevant and negative keywords.

N.B: An ad group contains one or more ads that target a shared set of keywords. Each of your campaigns is made up of one or more ad groups.
All the results are expressed in comparison with the results obtained by the incumbent agency during the 2016 Clearing campaign that they ran.

Results

Arke’s campaign exceeded application targets. Including performance KPIs:

• Cost per impression decreased 63%
• Total costs decreased by 10%
• Impressions increased by 165%
• Clicks increased by 40%
• CPC decreased by 30%
• Increased calls by 500%

The challenge

The ICE Benevolent Fund is a registered charity set up to support current and past members of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and their immediate families. The charity offers financial support and guidance, wellbeing workshops and webinars, career coaching and counselling, as well as specialist support for those facing anxiety or depression and those living with autism. We’re proud to have worked with the charity on multiple design projects over the last year, creating materials to help showcase its work and engage more people to sign up or continue their membership.

This time, the ICE Benevolent Fund tasked us with producing eye-catching exhibition stands to promote the organisation’s important work for use at various events and conferences, showcasing the services and support available to past and present members of the charity and their families.

In particular, the charity wanted to:

1. 1. Raise awareness with designs that would inform people about its services and support

1. 1. Create eye-catching, ‘quirky’ designs to encourage engagement; in line with brand guidelines and tone of voice

So, what did we do to achieve this?

The strategy

The ICE Benevolent Fund’s target audiences are civil engineers who are, or have been, members of ICE and their families. Understanding these key groups enabled our creative team to develop a concept that would attract them and boost engagement with the charity; while aligning designs to the ICE Benevolent Fund’s branding and mission.

Creating eye-catching creatives

To create an eye-catching awareness campaign around the ICE Benevolent Fund’s services, encourage greater engagement with the charity and ever-importantly increase donations to continue its work, we set out to create bright, bold banners. We informed audiences with the motto, ‘we support people like you’ and directed them to the ICE Benevolent Fund website for further information.

An exhibition requires clear creative that can be seen across the room, and that’s exactly what we designed for the charity. We tied in the ICE Benevolent Fund’s branding and style to draw people to their stand and create a lasting impact. The banners turned out to be the star of the show at events, a focal point for all to gravitate towards.

The results

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact results from our creative work with the ICE Benevolent Fund, as they have formed part of wider brand awareness campaigns. However, we can give you an idea of how our creative work for the charity has developed over the course of our partnership.

In December 2021, we created Christmas cards for the ICE Benevolent Fund. Tying in our designs with playful and thematic copy, the Christmas cards were designed to reinforce the organisation’s message while extending Christmas wishes to ICE members and their families.

Continuation of partnership

Our work with the ICE Benevolent Fund has included donation envelopes, a Will services brochure and leaflets for those whose membership has lapsed. Each of these projects required a unique approach to creative, one that was sensitive, informative and engaging to read but also matched the topic. For example, the Will services brochure was a challenging topic to broach, yet we handled it with sensitivity while keeping copy light, so people were encouraged to continue reading.

Our partnership with ICE Benevolent Fund is still in its infancy, and so we continue to work with the charity to further develop and hone a recognisable, cohesive brand identity across platforms and media. We hope that this will form a key objective for our partnership for 2023, working collaboratively with our Client to support them as they continue their important work.

The Challenge

Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting (WREC) is an educational and social welfare organisation that provides independent, free, government-funded courses and training programmes. From vocational training and adult education to social service provisions and job security for the currently unemployed, WREC offers a multitude of opportunities.

WREC tasked Arke with increasing the performance of their website, through a redesign, in order to:

To drive engagement on the website

Increase the number of new users and leads interacting with WREC and their services

WREC wanted a website design that was visually pleasing whilst distinctively highlighting the vast selection of services they offer.

The Strategy

We sought to create a design accessible to all demographics who may need assistance navigating across a broad range of course choices. Through the simplicity of the design, we can efficiently prompt a call to action.

From this, our research formed by looking into website designs that were eye-catching but not overwhelming – immediately engaging our audiences and encouraging greater scroll depth.

As our eyes drew to the simplicity and spaciousness of website design, we began exploring the fundamentals of the Bauhaus Movement.

Due to the amount of content on the website, we form a grid system that brings structure and consistency to the website. This grid system creates focal points across the website, from which the audience’s attention becomes drawn. Practically, we form a map for content, ensuring information is carefully laid out and easily accessible to view.

Through our use of The Bauhaus Movement, WREC’s website would become drastically easier to navigate, improving UX and accessibility for new and returning users.

The Strategy Continued

We altered the website flow architecture using wireframes. To highlight the streamlined navigation of WREC’S redesign, we created a website flow architecture to visually simplify and guide WREC through the site’s layout, underlining where and how each page is interlinked.

Our design choices were simple and straightforward to provide a better user experience for the website user. Not only did our choices elevate the accessibility of WREC’s website, as each piece of information became easy to read and distinguishable from the next, but it also modernised WREC’s website identity, leading users effortlessly to the next page.

Results

The impact Arke made to WREC’s website saw engagement increasing drastically. Bringing 305% more new users, overall web traffic up by 269% and user engagement up by 135%

The Challenge

We’ve worked with Magus Wealth, the Financial Planning and Wealth Management business, since 2021 to support them with a range of services, from launching their website to an entire creative and brand refresh.

Magus Wealth approached us because they wanted a full-service agency that could:

Identify core business objectives and how the marketing objectives feed into Magus’ ambition

Provide marketing strategy across their brand, with strategic solutions to attract, engage and convert core audience groups throughout the financial year

Rebrand Magus Private Wealth to align messaging, company position and brand outputs to multiple audiences, creating a consistent brand presence

Plan, develop and launch a new website to improve the user experience and drive engagement of their services

Generate consistent leads through strategic marketing activities

Implement and optimise tracking capabilities across all Magus sites

So, how did we get on? Here’s a rewind of the work we’ve done so far for Magus, and what we plan to achieve for them in the future.

The Strategy

Creative highlight: Guide to Financial Planning, November 2021

Financial Planning is a journey that spans an entire lifetime, focussing on where you are now and where you want to be – it’s a road map. Creating this guide was core to the Magus service offering.

Real-life iconography sets this guide apart from the competition. It’s an easy-to-read guide, following a carefully curated grid design, peppered throughout with images of real people in situations that readers can identify with.

‘Arke did such a great job bringing our vision to life on this – I love the simple, easy-to-read layout and the lovely imagery. It has proved popular with clients and prospects! ‘ – Emma Taylor, Head of Marketing and Communications.

Digital highlight: Website launch, December 2021

We’ve transformed Magus’ website into an architecturally beautiful masterpiece, facilitating the user experience and keeping people on their site for longer.

Clear Calls to Action, menus and fast load times were key to decreasing Magus’ bounce rate. In fact, we’ve reduced the bounce rate on Magus’ website by 5.37%, and now people stay on the website for 13.39% longer.

From wireframes to a user-centric design and structurally sound coding, we’ve made Magus Wealth’s website easy to use and even easier to direct potential clients to conversion.

We also optimised the site for mobile, increasing the user experience and therefore encouraging people to stay on site longer. Before this creative refresh, only 31% of users were accessing the site on mobile devices, but now 52% use mobile devices. That’s an increase of 82% in mobile users, a testament to an optimised user experience.

Strategy highlight: Brand Guidelines, September 2022

What is a brand without brand guidelines? Our creative and marketing teams pulled together to produce a guide for all Magus collateral. In doing so, we sought to upskill Magus’ internal teams, providing them with a resource that could be used for years to come.

Brand guidelines form part of a wider brand strategy, creating a consistent, coherent brand image across media. Whether someone is looking at Magus’ social media, their website or their physical brochures, they’ll instantly recognise the brand because these guidelines create uniformity and increase brand recall.

Creative highlight: Pitchbook, September 2022

We created the holy grail document of the finance world; The Magus pitchbook. Making Magus’ pitchbook stand out, showcasing their services, portfolio performance, values and how they meet clients’ needs was no easy feat.

Primarily for use by the Magus Financial Planners, it’s a slide deck that can be tailored to  each individual client’s requirements – the Planners simply pick and choose the relevant slides for their client meeting. These slides are key, and can be found on Magus’ most used documents.

Creative highlight: Welcome to Magus, September 2022

Welcome to Magus is an imperative asset for the business; a brochure that the brand can hand out to prospective clients to encourage a new partnership. This brochure was created to announce Magus’ brand relaunch and is an essential document in the new client onboarding process.

This document offers a more holistic and service-specific look at Magus – their values and their offerings. Within our design, we emphasised the heritage, experience and accreditations, key factors clients consider when choosing a Financial Planning and Wealth Management firm.

Mike Aitken, Magus Wealth’s Founder and Chairman, was thrilled with the Welcome to Magus brochure, stating, ’I’ve never been prouder to hand out a brochure – it’s perfect. Arke has taken our brief and run with it, producing a piece of art that I just want to hand out to everyone – prospective client or not!’

Results

We fully rebranded Magus Private Wealth to Magus Wealth across their media, from their website to their physical collateral, tone of voice, logo and even their colour palette.

We launched a full website enhanced for optimum user experience and in line with Magus Wealth’s KPIs.

We implemented GA4 – migrating Magus Wealth’s previous Universal Analytics setup too.

What else?

While we’ve highlighted some of our work for Magus, it’s just a fraction of the work we’ve done with them. Throughout our partnership, we’ve also created guides and assets for other collateral. This has included collateral for emails, blogs, business cards and social media banners.

We’re so pleased that Magus chose us as their full marketing partner, helping to create a coherent brand image across their platforms. Now we’ve built Magus a brand they’re delighted to show clients and prospects; we’re looking forward to increasing Magus’ client base through even more creative and digital work and marketing strategies.

What’s next for our partnership?

Magus has since expressed their interest in continuing their partnership with us, and we’re looking forward to working on an exciting digital project for them in the near future – keep your eyes peeled for the updates!

The Challenge

Over a 5-year period (2013-2018), the number of children in care in the UK has risen by 8%, now totalling 700,000. During the same period, children being placed for adoption has fallen by a staggering 30% to only 2,500, children being adopted in 2018.

First4Adoption, the national leading voice for children in care, reached out to Arke to help improve these struggling deficits. Using the launchpad of National Adoption Week in October 2019, we set out to achieve the following:

1. 1. In 2019, raise awareness of the adoption process and First4Adoption
   2. In 2019, improve targeting and quality of prospect via website
   3. In 2019, connect potential adopters with their local adoption agency

The Strategy

For our content to truly resonate with our target audiences: general public, government and charities, we started by conducting deep dive social listening experiments. This exercise showed us that our target audiences were strongly opinionated on two main challenges: the adoption process and the stigma surrounding adoption – these valuable insights gave clear direction to our messaging, creative and content strategy.

The creative used for this campaign, optimised for all devices, depicted an honest and informative image of the adoption process, putting adoptive parents at the centre of this narrative.

Informed by our discovery process, we tailored our approach, so it took the form of a dual campaign, focusing on two audience segments identified. Behavioural and contextual targeting was enforced to reduce wasted media spend and improve conversion outcomes.

To ensure a maximal reach, we further targeted people who had already engaged with First4Adoption’s (or similar service’s) social content or website. The campaign was continually optimised to maximise conversion amongst our target audiences.

Results

Our campaign successfully generated 12,000 website visitors, 82% of whom were first-time visitors. Additionally, we achieved a cost-per-conversion of £14.51.