Challenge: Connecting with the proper target audience

Sarah May, a marketing strategist for Smart​.Market, was well aware of the challenges that awaited her when the COVID-​19 pandemic hit earlier this year.

“When COVID-​19 hit, the industries available to advertise were decreasing,” said May. “Using AdMall’s prospect by month, I saw pool services and knew they would still be an essential business, and people would want their pool cleaned during quarantine.”

With that realization, May approached a local pool service business in her area.

“[The business] is growing but was struggling with targeting the right audience effectively and efficiently,” said May. “He does his own marketing, and sees success in doing so, but was using Google maps to find homes with pools and creating a data listing that way to use direct mail.”

Solution: Have a conversation with accurate pool owner research

“I used the Local Account Intelligence Report and found a great point [of research] that only about 50% of people that have a pool use a pool service company,” said May.

“I sold him a 5x9 postcard targeting only homeowners with a presence of a pool and the card was personalized to each family receiving it. If the household had a dog, we included a dog in the imagery, if they had children, we included children in the imagery and then used a default image that reflected the age demographic we targeted.”

“We knew that the homes had a pool but wanted to be sure they were in-​ground pools. I used AdMall to find the median age and income for those that have in-​ground pools and narrowed the target audience.”

Result: A small, but effective ad sale

While the final dollar amount for this campaign was on the lower side, it helped opened a conversation with a local business that could result in more advertising in the months and years to come.

“[AdMall] helped me to have a conversation with the local company and complete a campaign,” said May.