From televisions to calculators, from mobile phones to microwaves, for over 100 years Sharp has been creating the innovative products that define modern life. Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Sharp is a 2018 Thomson Reuters Global Tech Leader with sales of over $18 billion annually.
Sharp and BFM have enjoyed a very successful paid media partnership since we began working together in 2012. Sharp recently came to us with a new challenge: help boost leads and sales of document systems – Sharp’s high-tech range of multi-function printing and copying devices.
The Challenge
The market for document systems is B2B and relatively niche. It isn’t easy to serve the right ad, at the right time, to the right business, reach the right person within that business, and do it all cost-effectively.
In addition, existing landing pages had limited ability to track users’ behavior and reveal intent. For example, it was challenging to distinguish site visitors who simply wanted to download product manuals from true prospects who should be re-targeted.
The Approach
Sharp tasked us with a 3-month “prove it” sprint focused on display advertising. The aim was to reach prospects ready to purchase document systems for their companies, and drive those prospects to find a dealer near them.
Armed with a greater than usual budget, we began driving qualified traffic to the Sharp website, where users could reach out to local dealers.
- 13% increase in conversion rate
- 15% increase in users finding a local dealer
Audience Targeting
Reaching the right audiences was mission-critical. Across the sprint, we layered multiple audience types with various targeting types (including geotargeting and keyword targeting). We then tested, iterated, and doubled down on the audiences converting most efficiently.
We also deployed highly focused advertising by leveraging in-market audiences, topic targeting, and premium placement targeting in relevant publications such as Gizmodo, CNET, and Wired.
Landing Page Optimization
We recommended a targeted landing page focused solely on document systems, to maximize consistency with the ads users were seeing. We added (and tested) multiple calls to action to maximize the probability users would convert when they were done gathering information.
We also ensured that key user engagements were fully trackable, so that data was available for measuring campaign and creative performance, generating insights for audience targeting and re-targeting.
Results
Our campaign grew the number of users looking to find a dealer by 15% over this 3-month period and increased conversion rates by 13%. In addition, we saw a 21% increase in a range of secondary conversions on the Sharp website – from general contact form submissions to requests for additional information about related Sharp products. Sharp remains a valued client of BFM, and we we’re excited to continue to help them grow their business.
