A Global Automaker’s Digital Transformation

Challenge

A global automaker, in partnership with their agency, faced several challenges in their digital marketing efforts:

• Limited ability to scale ‘Known’ audiences due to users not logging into the website.
• Difficulty in linking CRM email data with on-site behavior.
• Need to improve conversion attribution across key events.
• Lack of scale in targeting abandoners and prospects.
• Desire to leverage existing customer data to identify and target similar prospects.

Solution

To address these challenges, the automaker implemented a multi-faceted approach:

• Implemented a UTM parameter (email identifier) solution to link CRM email database with on-site behavior, allowing identification of known users during website visits via Tealium’s CDP.
• Deployed Conversions API alongside Meta Pixel to capture both client-side and server-side events, improving conversion attribution.
• Leveraged TiQ tags to pass unknown customer data (cookies) to paid media channels, creating lookalike audiences with greater scale.
• Created multiple lookalike audiences – from both existing owners as well as prospects – to drive more efficient and effective media targeting.

More on the Results

The automaker’s innovative approach to data-driven marketing yielded impressive outcomes across multiple fronts. The implementation of the UTM parameter solution proved to be a game-changer in bridging the gap between known and unknown users. By capturing 82% of users clicking on EDM links, they gained valuable insights into customer behavior during website visits, transforming anonymous interactions into actionable data.

The deployment of Conversions API alongside Meta Pixel marked a significant leap in conversion attribution. This dual approach allowed the automaker to capture a more comprehensive picture of user interactions, resulting in notable increases across key conversion metrics. Contact conversions saw a substantial boost of 29%, while brochure downloads and product customizations increased by 20% and 22% respectively. Even seemingly minor interactions, such as viewing content, saw a meaningful uptick of 14%.

Perhaps the most striking results came from the implementation of lookalike audiences. In search advertising, these audiences outshone account averages, delivering a remarkable 37% reduction in cost per acquisition. This translated to a CPA of $3.40 for lookalike audiences compared to the account average of $5.40, representing a significant improvement in advertising efficiency.

The success story continued on social media platforms, particularly Facebook. The lookalike audiences not only maintained performance but also achieved a 14% decrease in cost per thousand impressions (CPM). This improvement in cost efficiency didn’t come at the expense of effectiveness, as these audiences continued to deliver strong engagement metrics.

Their strategy of leveraging existing owner data to create model-specific lookalike audiences paid dividends as well. One particular lookalike audience emerged as a standout performer on Facebook, boasting the highest click-through rate and the lowest cost per click among all tested audiences.

The most promising results came from the CRM prospect lookalike audience in search advertising. This audience demonstrated the potential to deliver 576 conversions at a cost per acquisition of just $3.54 – a staggering 53% lower than the account average. This finding opened up new avenues for efficient customer acquisition and highlighted the power of leveraging first-party data for prospecting.

These results collectively paint a picture of a company successfully navigating the complex world of digital marketing. By intelligently applying data strategies and audience modeling, the automaker has not only improved its ability to identify and target potential customers but has also significantly enhanced the efficiency of its marketing spend. The company’s success in leveraging first-party data to create more effective campaigns across multiple channels positions it well for continued growth in an increasingly digital-first automotive market.

Delivering Value

The organization leverages several AWS services, including:

• CloudFront CDN
• Kinesis
• EC2
• S3
• DynamoDB
• Kafka
• Load Balancers
• ElastiCache Redis
• CloudWatch