Bucking a national trend LOCALLY.

The true value of cost-effective, hyper-targeted local marketing was confirmed yet again last week as We Are Acuity reviewed a particular 12-month campaign for Watford BID.

Using our expertise in local marketing we achieved 450% higher gift card sales in 2022 compared to 2021, at a time when research said over a quarter of UK adults (28%) were looking to reduce their spending on presents.

The research in July 2022 by the Gift Card & Voucher Association (GCVA) showed people were cutting the cost of gift buying to help them make ends meet. But our local activation drove engagement with the Watford Gift Card and brought real benefits for local businesses as the cost-of-living crisis was starting to have a significant impact on customer spending.

So how did we do it?

The previous campaign had shown us the most effective paid digital channels to reach our audience and the 12-month budget was optimised so we spent at times that would bring the best results:
 
Google Display Banner Ads would be used to hit a wide audience in and around Watford, raising awareness of the gift card.

Google Search Ads would target a specific set of search terms from locations in and around Watford, giving the ads a much greater conversion rate.

Facebook Carousels were served to people based on location, age and platform, with additional targeting based on relevant interests.

We also complimented our digital activity with a physical activation in the form of a pop-up store allowing us the best of both worlds with this hybrid activation. In total, we achieved over 6.3 million impressions and generated over 8,200 clicks to the Watford Gift Card online platform. The sales naturally followed.

There’s more great news too according to the experts. “We know from the GCVA that shop local is as powerful as ever.” said Colin Munro, Managing Director of Miconex, founders of the Town & City Gift Card and Downtown Gift Card programmes active in over 150 places just like #Watford in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the USA.

This increase in gift-card sales tells the story of shoppers, foodies and socialisers wanting to return to their local high street. An encouraging sign for 2023 for every business in every town centre. Let’s all keep it local!

Full case study is here. If you’d like local marketing support for your brand or local partners in your distributed network, whatever sector, reach out to us today! You can book a FREE 30 minute chat here. We'd love a conversation, even if it is just to discuss a mutual love of local marketing.

Or if you'd like to read more about Local Marketing have a look at our blog page "Local Thinking': https://www.weareacuity.com/local-thinking-our-blog

#marketing #advertising #facebook #google