OVERVIEW

• Client Name: Fanatics Events
• Industry: Sports Collectibles, Memorabilia, and Entertainment
• Event Name: Fanatics Fest NYC 2024
• Event Date & Location: August 16th - 18th, 2024, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City.
• Objectives:
  • Drive ticket sales
  • Maximize conversions
  • Maintain efficient ad spend across Meta, Google Search, and YouTube

BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGE

Fanatics Events had initially launched a few rudimentary paid media campaigns on Meta to promote Fanatics Fest NYC 2024.

Later, the entire digital advertising efforts was under my management. After thinking and brainstorming, I chose Meta, Google Search, and YouTube as the advertising platforms and was entrusted with a $300,000 budget to spend across 49 days (June 27th - August 15th). My key responsibilities included:

1. Strategic Budget Allocation and pacing across three major platforms.
2. Creative Ideation and Direction: I formulated the creative requirements—videos, images, banners, logos, etc.—and presented them in a deck. Outside vendors executed the final production based on my specifications.
3. Performance Management: Continuously monitored and optimized campaigns to achieve strong ROAS, low CPA, and high conversions.

Mid-campaign, two large agencies—VaynerMedia and Jump450—were brought in due to Michael Rubin’s personal connections. Their daily budgets often exceeded $50,000 and their spend-heavy approach rapidly drained funds with comparatively lower efficiency. This case study demonstrates my superior performance and cost-effectiveness despite other agencies significantly higher spends.

CAMPAIGN DETAILS

OVERALL DURATION

• April 10th - August 16th, 2024
  • My ads
    • Meta: June 28th - July 8th
    • Google: April 8th - July 29th
  • Meta Ads
    • VaynerMedia: July 8th - July 26th
    • Jump450: July 26th - August 17th
  • Google Ads (VaynerMedia + Jump450): July 29th - August 17th

SUCCESS METRICS

• Clicks, CPC, Spend, ROAS, Conversions, CPA

GOALS

1. Create impactful ads to maximize ticket sales
2. Drive conversions across all platforms
3. Continuously conversion rate optimize (CRO) ads to maintain high effectiveness
4. Achieve superior ROAS and efficient CPA

‍BONUS  

Outperform VaynerMedia and Jump450 in overall results and efficiency.

MY GOOGLE SEARCH & YOUTUBE CAMPAIGNS

Timeline: April 8th - July 29th, 2024

Ad Types:

• Search (2 campaigns)
• Video (YouTube) (3 campaigns)

Total Spend: $80,089.76

• Search: $51,854.72
• Video (YouTube): $28,235.04

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS (GOOGLE + YOUTUBE)

• ROAS: 2.86
• Average CPC: $0.83
• CTR: 2.29%
• Conversions: 1,371.29
• Cost per Conversion: $58.40

SEARCH METRICS

• Dates: April 11th - July 12th, 2024
• 2 campaigns, 2 ad sets, 2 ads
• ROAS: 4.23
• Conversions: 1,307.80
• Conversion Value: $219,601.45
• Cost per Conversion: $39.65
• Clicks: 87,937
• CTR: 27.60%
• Avg. CPC: $0.59
• Conversion Rate: 1.49%

KEY STRATEGIES FOR GOOGLE SEARCH ADS

1. A/B Testing:
   • With vs. Without Negative Keywords: Compared performance to see if filtering out irrelevant searches significantly improved ROAS.
   • Broad vs. Phrase Match Keywords: Measured impact on conversion rate, cost per conversion, and traffic volume.
2. Dynamic Radius Targeting: Gradually narrowed the targeting area around the Jacob Javits Convention Center to capture high-intent local audiences as the event approached.
3. Bidding Model: Slowly moving from manual to semi-automatic (Enhanced CPC) to fully automatic bidding gives more efficient results. In the end, "Maximize Conversion Value" bidding was used to auto-optimize bids for better results.
4. Ad Copy: Employed the same copy across test groups to isolate variables (keyword match and negative keywords).

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS

• Further copy testing to discover more engaging headlines and descriptions.
• Experiment with different bid strategies (e.g., Target ROAS).
• Enable “Optimize: Prefer best performing ads” in Google Ads settings.
• Maintain systematic and efficient spend to avoid drop in ROAS.

OTHER AGENCIES’ (VAYNERMEDIA + JUMP450) GOOGLE CAMPAIGNS

Timeline: July 29th - August 17th, 2024

Campaign Types: Search, Video (YouTube), Demand Gen

Total Spend: $466,365.44

• Search: $344,966.61
• Video (YouTube): $111,282.54
• Demand Gen: $10,116.29

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS (GOOGLE + YOUTUBE)

• ROAS: 1.75
• Avg. CPC: $1.01
• CTR: 1.89%
• Conversions: 5,611.49
• Cost per Conversion: $83.11

SEARCH INSIGHTS

• 3 campaigns, 4 ad sets, 6 ads
• ROAS: 2.26
• Conversions: 5,183.73
• Conversion Value: $781,878.98
• Cost per Conversion: $66.55
• Clicks: 92,037
• CTR: 32.28%
• Avg. CPC: $3.75
• Conversion Rate: 5.63%

OBSERVATIONS

• Lack of Conversion Focus: Campaigns prioritized reach over results, leading to low ROAS and minimal conversions. A more conversion-centric strategy with precise targeting could have yielded better outcomes.
• Budget Spread Too Thin: Targeting multiple states diluted ad impact. Focusing the budget on a tighter geographic area near the event would have driven better engagement and ticket sales.

INEFFECTIVE PRACTICES

• Overly Broad Geo-Targeting: One campaign targeted all 50 states with no specific regional refinement.
• All Keywords in Broad Match: Minimal negative keyword usage led to irrelevant clicks.
• Massive Daily Spends: Some days saw up to $78,844.53 spent, causing a steep decline in ROAS. As shown in the below image.

• Budget Spikes: Spent $30,533.27 from July 12-31, then skyrocketed to $314,433.34 from August 1-17.
• Poor Platform Choice: Increased spending on YouTube despite lower conversion rates.

COMPARING MY v/s OTHER AGENCIES' (VAYNERMEDIA & JUMP450) GOOGLE RESULTS

INSIGHTS

• Strong ROAS: Achieved a high return on ad spend (ROAS) of 503.78%, indicating excellent efficiency in generating revenue relative to spend.
• Significant Conversions: 1.93K conversions show effective performance in driving user actions, with a conversion value of $364K.
• Cost and Clicks: Spent $72.3K for 97.6K clicks, indicating good traffic generation with efficient spend but suggests room for further conversion optimization.
• My targeted approach resulted in high ROAS and efficient budget use.

‍

MY WINNING STRATEGY (APRIL 8TH - JULY 29TH)

• Localized Geo, Radius Targeting: Focused ad spend around the event venue and dynamically adjusted targeting as the event date approached.
• Budget Control: Maintained a controlled spend, preventing budget spread across irrelevant areas, maximizing fund efficiency.
• Optimized Keywords: Leveraged targeted and negative keywords for higher conversion rates, minimizing inefficient spend.
• High Conversions and ROAS: My strategic targeting led to sustained high conversions and an optimal 5.03 ROAS.

OTHER AGENCIES' APPROACH (JULY 29TH - AUGUST 17TH)

• Uncontrolled Spend: Expanded daily spend drastically from $650 to $50,000, leading to inefficient budget use and a significant drop from 5.03 to 1.98 ROAS.
• Excessive Awareness Campaigns: Launched 7 video (YouTube) campaigns with a high spend of $101K, misaligned with conversion-focused goals.
• Poor Targeting Scope: Expanded targeting to 8 states, excluded 11 states, resulting in diluted audience engagement and budget being spread too thin.
• Misaligned Campaign Execution: Launched search campaigns with inadequate targeting and ineffective target, negative keywords; harming overall performance.
• Creative Inefficiencies: Initiated demand gen. campaigns with poor creatives, further impacting ad effectiveness.
• My focused and data-driven approach maintained high efficiency and conversions, whereas the aggressive and misaligned strategies employed by other agencies led to wasted spend and reduced campaign performance.

CONCLUSION

Large, unfocused budgets and insufficient keyword optimization significantly lowered overall efficiency.

MY META ADS

• Timeline: June 28th - July 8th, 2024 (10 days)
• Ad Type: Video only
• Campaign Type: Sales (Advantage+ placements, no enhancements)
• Breakdown: 2 campaigns, 4 ad sets, 4 ads‍
• Total Spend: $10,691.16

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Avg. ROAS: 2.61
• Cost per Purchase: $64.79
• CTR: 1.53%
• Conversion Value: $27,903.92

STRATEGY & A/B TESTING

1. 30-Second vs. 15-Second Video Ads: Monitored retention, CTR, and conversions to find the optimal ad length.
2. Geo-Targeting: Focused on cities (NYC and others), along with relevant interest groups (sports enthusiasts, collectors, etc.).
3. Creative Direction: I led the high-level strategy (concepts, scripts, and brand messaging). A third-party creative agency executed the final videos according to my specifications.

CREATIVES

The videos were a challenge to produce for a first-time event with no existing assets. I directed a third-party agency, supplying strategy and precise specs.

These were designed creatives rooted in my strategy for targeting diverse affinity groups—NBA, WWE, Football—plus event summary videos. All clips kept around 20 seconds, crafted to grab maximum attention and engage users. Examples below:

VAYNERMEDIA & JUMP450 ON META

VAYNERMEDIA (JULY 8TH - JULY 26TH)

• 10 campaigns, 19 ad sets, 102 ads
• Total Spend: $223,380.68
• Campaign Type: Sales (Image ads, manual placements, with enhancements)
• ROAS: 1.64
• Conversion Value: $366,344.31
• Avg. Cost/Purchase: $83.44
• CTR: 3.72%

OBSERVATIONS

• Better CTR than Jump450 due to more compelling imagery.
• Higher ROAS than Jump450 but lower than my Meta ads.
• Leveraged customer lists/data for improved targeting.

JUMP450 (JULY 26TH - AUGUST 17TH)

• 11 campaigns, 44 ad sets, 347 ads
• Total Spend: $663,114.09
• Campaign Type: Sales (Image ads, manual placements)
• ROAS: 1.10
• Conversion Value: $729,425.50
• Avg. Cost/Purchase: $62.84
• CTR: 1.38%

OBSERVATIONS

• Poor ROAS due to uncontrolled, large daily budgets (some ad sets had $15,000/day as shown in the above image).
• Excessive ads and ad sets (347 ads across 44 ad sets) made optimizing and tracking extremely difficult.
• Resulted in wasted spend, mistakes and confusion.

COMPARING MY v/s OTHER AGENCIES' (VAYNERMEDIA & JUMP450) META RESULTS

• Higher ROAS: I achieved a ROAS of 2.63 compared to 1.27 by others, demonstrating better efficiency in generating revenue relative to ad spend.
• Cost Efficiency: I spent only $10.7K but generated $28.1K, showing a much more efficient use of budget compared to $885.5K spent by others.
• Effective Conversions: With significantly lower spend, I drove 167 conversions, showcasing a superior ability to turn ad spend into results compared to the much higher costs incurred by others.

OVERALL RESULTS & COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

1. Higher Efficiency with Smaller Budgets:
   • My Google Search campaigns achieved a 4.23 ROAS (April 11th - July 12th), significantly outperforming the agencies’ Google ROAS of 2.26.
   • My Meta ads recorded a 2.61 ROAS despite running for only 10 days with minimal daily budgets, compared to VaynerMedia’s 1.64 and Jump450’s 1.10.
2. Better Cost Per Conversion & Cost Per Purchase:
   • Google Search: My cost per conversion was $39.65, versus the agencies’ $66.55 on search.
   • Meta: My cost per purchase was $64.79, more controlled relative to VaynerMedia ( $83.44 ) and Jump450 ($62.84 but with a drastically lower ROAS).
3. Precision Targeting & Budget Control:
   • Dynamic radius targeting, well-managed negative keyword lists, and systematic spend pacing minimized inefficient spending.
   • Contrastingly, agencies employed broad targeting and extremely high daily spends, driving down overall ROAS.
4. Creative Consistency & Thoughtful A/B Testing:
   • On Meta, I tested 30-second vs. 15-second video ads, gleaning insights into audience engagement and drop-off rates.
   • On Google, I tested negative keywords vs. none, and broad vs. phrase match, isolating the highest-converting setups.

CONCLUSION & KEY TAKEAWAYS

Despite facing giant agencies with massive daily budgets, a strategic, data-driven approach demonstrated higher ROAS and better overall results. By successfully managing Meta, Google Search, and YouTube:

1. Budget Efficiency Wins: Smaller yet smarter spending can outperform massive, unstructured spending.
2. A/B Testing is Critical: Fine-tuning audience targeting, ad lengths, and keyword strategies yields actionable insights.
3. Creative Direction Matters: Cohesive brand messaging and well-planned visuals (video, image) amplify engagement.
4. Ongoing Optimization: Regular adjustments to bidding, creative, and targeting keep ROAS high and CPA in check.

FINAL VERDICT

My campaigns delivered the best bang for the buck—outperforming both VaynerMedia and Jump450 in ROI, cost-efficiency, and strategic focus.

NEXT STEPS

• Expand A/B Testing: Continue refining ad copy, creative formats, and negative keyword strategies.
• Leverage Automation Thoughtfully: Explore Target ROAS or similar smart bidding to scale effectively without sacrificing efficiency.
• Maintain Creative & Media Alignment: Ensure brand consistency and keep pushing out more creative, engaging content.
• Dynamic Geo-Targeting: Implement a dynamic geo-targeting approach closer to the event date to enhance local engagement and maximize budget efficiency.
• Prioritize Conversion-Focused Ads: Focus on conversion-driven ad types like Google Search and Meta Ads; reduce spend on broad awareness campaigns, particularly on less targeted platforms like YouTube.
• Creative Testing Framework: Establish a creative testing framework with systematic A/B testing of ad copy, visuals, and CTAs to identify top-performing assets quickly.
• Keyword Strategy Optimization: Regularly refine keywords and expand negative keyword lists to minimize wasted spend on irrelevant searches.
• Campaign Data Review: Conduct frequent campaign performance reviews, reallocating budget dynamically from underperforming channels to high-ROI opportunities.
• Balanced Budget Allocation: Avoid last-minute budget surges; distribute spend evenly across the campaign period to maintain performance and prevent diminishing returns.

REFERENCE URLs

https://www.fanaticsinc.com/

https://www.fanaticsevents.com/

Have questions or want to explore a data-driven ad strategy for your next event?

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