Updated January 2024.
Is your ad agency struggling to get leads? Advertising agency case studies are an excellent way to demonstrate your best work to prospective clients to generate more consultation requests.
Case studies not only demonstrate your expertise as an agency, but also provide potential clients with helpful details about what they can expect from working with your company.
In this article, I will explore what an advertising agency case study is, why it’s important and how you can create one that effectively communicates your agency’s value and expertise.
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What Is an Advertising Agency Case Study?
A marketing agency case study is a detailed analysis of an advertising campaign that an agency has developed and executed for a client. It typically includes information on the client’s business, goals and challenges, as well as the agency’s creative approach.
The case study may also discuss the challenges that the agency faced during the campaign and how they overcame them. They can provide valuable insights into the agency’s process and approach, as well as demonstrate the agency’s ability to deliver results for clients.
Advertising case studies are instrumental in your marketing kit, on your websites and for the sales team when they meet prospective clients.
5 Best Examples of an Advertising Agency Case Study That Rocked It
There are many great ad agency case study examples that showcase the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns, such as PPC ad strategies or content marketing strategies. Here are the best ad agency case study examples:
1) Single Grain’s Nextiva Case Study
Nextiva provides robust IT solutions for businesses of all sizes. And though they were attracting leads, they wanted to optimize their ads for greater ROI — decreasing ad spend while generating more qualified leads. They came to us at Single Grain for help with their social advertising.
Here are the strategies that Single Grain implemented:
- Worked with Nextiva to determine what lead would provide optimal down-funnel performance
- Identified the most cost-efficient audience segments
- Created messaging and design specifically to appeal to the target audience
- Used their “best of test” methodology for optimizing Google Ads
With the help of our marketing agency, Nextiva was able to reduce their cost per lead by 41.37% year over year on Google Ads.
For CEO Eric Siu, the pursuit of innovation is relentless. We’re continually exploring new frontiers in lead gen and other marketing strategies to ensure that what works wonders for us also delivers exceptional results for our clients.
Here he discusses how newsletters are awesome if you want to have an ‘owned’ audience and they’re great for driving paid ads to:
Sure, newsletters can be great if you are looking to sell ads.
Plenty of examples with Morning Brew, The Hustle, etc.
Sure they sold for ~$75M and ~$20M respectively but…
Most people aren’t going to have the volume that they have in terms of subscribers.
Here’s a different…
— ericosiu (@ericosiu) November 26, 2023
Key takeaways:
- The portfolio presented the results in big fonts to make it easier for potential customers to read the achievements. Plus, the significant growth numbers were highlighted in bold for an easier understanding.
- Single Grain kept a minimalistic logo and a bolded headline that focused on the results.
Just want someone to do all the hard work for you? Single Grain’s advertising experts can help.👇
2) Halo Waypoint’s Gears of War Gaming Case Study
Microsoft Game Studios hired Amp Agency to develop and execute a digital marketing strategy for the launch of Halo 5: Guardians.
Amp Agency had a goal to prevent gaming enthusiasts from defecting to other competitors and engage them in playing Halo and Gears of War longer. Here are the strategies that Amp Agency used in the case study:
- Dedicated Website: Amp created a new website specifically for Halo 5: Guardians, which was a hub for all of the game’s marketing materials. The website featured trailers, screenshots, other promotional content and links to pre-order the game.
- Social Media Campaigns: Amp Agency next ran several campaigns to build excitement around the game’s release. These campaigns included Twitter sweepstakes, where fans could win prizes by tweeting about the game; and a Facebook poll, where fans could vote on their favorite Halo character.
- Influencer Marketing: Amp partnered with popular YouTubers and Twitch streamers to promote Halo 5: Guardians to their audiences. The influencers created gameplay videos and other content showcasing the game’s features and encouraged their followers to pre-order it.
The game sold over five million copies in its first three months, generating over $400 million in revenue. The social media campaigns created by Amp Agency were particularly successful, with the Twitter sweepstakes generating over 100,000 entries and the Facebook poll receiving over one million votes.
Key takeaways:
- The customer story insights featured the main product in the background to help readers understand the client’s product in great detail.
- The case study included stunning images, screenshots and graphics throughout the content for easier understanding of how the campaign was implemented.
3) Single Grain’s Twenty20 Case Study
Twenty20 disrupted the crowded stock visual media space with a major twist on a tried-and-true mode. They hired Single Grain to focus on the pillars that truly differentiate them from their competitors. Single Grain designed a powerful marketing process, including a robust content marketing strategy.
With the help of Single Grain, Twenty20 received more traffic volume with the same consistency in revenue per session. They also witnessed an exponential growth in free trial volume with a significant reduction in their advertising cost.
Key takeaways:
- They added a video in the case study featuring Micah Cohen of Twenty20, who shared his opinions on the great work done by the Single Grain’s team.
- They also shared numbers and stats that emphasized the importance of the digital marketing service that Single Grain offered.
- The case study also featured a prominent CTA button for increasing the conversion rates.
4) Infidigit’s Myntra SEO Case Study
The Infidigit SEO case study for the Indian e-commerce store Myntra is another great example of an SEO campaign case study. By conducting comprehensive SEO audits and implementing SEO strategies at scale, Infidigit helped Myntra achieve a 187% increase in organic revenue and a 150% increase in organic visits.
Key takeaways:
- The case study website features a hero image with a smiling face, which is known to increase conversion rates.
- They effectively added internal links to other case studies from the right sidebar to lower the bounce rate of the page and to drive people to more pages on the site for maximum conversions.
- They added exact screenshots of the target keyword and the SERPs, which displayed the keyword ranking at the top of the organic search.
- They used bright orange-red as the CTA button color in a bid to attract more clicks.
Dive Deeper: We Refreshed 15 Posts on 3 SaaS Blogs – And Increased Organic Traffic on All
5) Inflow’s Facebook Advertising Paid Ads Case Study
B2C brand Seltzer Goods approached Inflow to market their service. Inflow used Facebook as an advertising investment channel to promote their service. With intelligent ad targeting, the brand was able to acquire a 9.68x return on ad spend and a 785% increase in monthly revenue. Moreover, they achieved a $4.87 cost per customer acquisition, which was exceptional.
Key takeaways:
- They published the case study as a blog post, which helped to attract social shares.
- The post is comprehensive and explains the entire strategy and technology that they used to attract potential prospects and scale the brand’s growth. They leveraged data at every point to make it easier for the readers to understand how their campaign worked.
- They added actual ad creative screenshots to tell readers exactly how they used the branding and logo to engage the customers.
Inspired by these case studies but just don’t have the time to create a killer ad campaign? Single Grain’s advertising experts can help!👇
Benefits of Advertising Agency Case Studies
Case studies are vital in building your brand trust, as customers nowadays want to know about the first-hand experience of your services before hiring you. Here are the top benefits of ad agency case studies.
Assists the Sales Team
Case studies on the website are a significant help for the sales team as they can offer your business services to clients without great effort. There’s nothing like seeing the results of an ad campaign on paper, a document that prospects can read over and over again. Once the customer is satisfied with the case studies, it becomes easier for the sales team to close the deal, significantly enhancing your business productivity.
Showcases Proven Results and ROI
In the world of marketing and advertising, clients are inherently results-oriented, and they want to see tangible evidence that their investment is paying off. Case studies provide precisely that: They are data-driven examples showing improved ROI.
By presenting real-world examples of successful campaigns — complete with quantifiable data on increased leads, conversions or revenue — you’re no longer simply telling clients what you can do … you’re showing them. When a client can see the concrete impact of your work, they can more easily envision the benefits for their own business.
Builds Trust and Credibility With Potential Clients
In today’s ultra-competitive market, few things make a bigger impact on your ability to land new clients than trust. Remember, it isn’t just money you’re asking clients to hand over — it’s the very reputation of their company itself.
A few well-crafted case studies can go a long way in instilling potential clients with the confidence that their reputation is in safe hands. Meanwhile, being able to show genuine results with genuine clients also helps clients trust that you’re legitimate.
Enhances Brand Reputation and Authority
Sticking with the subject of reputation for a moment, the best case studies can play a crucial role in bolstering your own credibility and establishing authority in your field.
In a marketplace saturated with choices, a strong brand reputation is an invaluable asset. Not only is it useful for influencing a would-be client, but it can also make other companies in your industry sit up and take note, opening new doors for collaboration, rewards and peer recognition.
Provides Insights Into the Agency’s Problem-Solving Abilities
Those campaigns that may throw you a curveball or put up unforeseen obstacles can provide just as much good material for a compelling case study as those where everything runs smoothly. At least they do as long as your agency rises to the occasion.
Highlighting your ability to navigate challenges and still deliver effective solutions, a case study can serve to showcase your creativity, strategic thinking and ability to adapt. Ultimately, this can further reinforce that all-important sense of client trust, resulting in more leads and happy, long-term clients.
Acts as a Valuable Tool for Internal Training and Onboarding
Beyond their external benefits, your advertising agency case study examples provide a real-world, documented playbook that can be used to train new hires and continually educate existing team members.
Ultimately, this helps new employees to quickly grasp your agency’s approach and methodologies, while also ensuring that long-tenured members of your team stay on top of current best practices, successful strategies and how your company capitalizes on evolving trends.
Attracts Potential Talent by Showcasing the Agency’s Impactful Work
Going public with your case studies spreads the word about your agency’s creativity, effectiveness and innovation, helping you to catch the attention of top marketing and advertising talent.
Advertising professionals are drawn to agencies that can demonstrate not only a proven track record, but also a creative vision that aligns with their own. So, when you showcase that through a case study, you’re ultimately taking steps toward assembling an elite force of creative and skilled individuals who are motivated by the prospect of contributing to impactful projects.
Facilitates a Better Understanding of Market Trends and Client Needs
Case studies serve as more than just success stories; they also provide a valuable window into emerging market trends and the evolving needs of clients.
By examining the data and results showcased in case studies, you can identify patterns, emerging trends and shifts in consumer behavior, all of which help your team take a proactive approach to staying ahead of the game in an ever-changing market.
Serves as a Reference Point for Future Campaigns and Strategies
Case studies provide a documented record of what worked and what didn’t in previous campaigns, serving as a valuable resource for advertising strategists and creatives alike. Using an advertising case study as a learning tool can help you identify which strategies and techniques to deploy in future and which mistakes to avoid at all costs.
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What to Include in Creative Agency Case Studies
Here are the key elements to include in your case studies to persuade your potential customers to choose your brand over others.
- Title: Begin with a strong yet concise and results-orientated title that outlines what you did and who you did it for. The goal here is to captivate your audience and compel them to dive into your case study. So, think about who you’re trying to attract with this work and what would appeal to them.
- Client Overview: Provide a brief introduction to the client, including their industry, size and any relevant background information. This is crucial as it helps potential clients see themselves in your past clients, making it easier for them to relate to the story being told and recognize your company as the right fit for their specific needs and challenges.
- Challenge: Next, explain the specific problem that your client faced. This sets the stage for the reader to not only understand the onset of the case study, but also further helps a potential client to empathize with the issues they’re currently up against in their own business.
- Objectives: Here, you need to be talking about the client’s desired results. Why did they hire your services? What goals and outcomes did they want to achieve? What were their expectations and how did you plan to meet them?
- Strategy: Once tasked with your objective, your next task is to devise a strategy to achieve it. You can use this next part of your case study to describe precisely what that was, detailing the creative and tactical steps you planned to take to overcome obstacles and achieve results.
- Execution: The execution portion of your case study should provide a step-by-step account of how your agency executed the campaign. Be sure to include details about any challenging circumstances you encountered and how you overcame them, along with the reasoning behind your methodology.
- Results: Results are what matter most to clients, so it’s important to get this step right. Present the quantifiable results of your campaign using accurate, verifiable figures to detail how the campaign performed against your KPIs.
- Testimonials: By now, you’ve talked a lot about your company and what you did, but readers are yet to hear from your clients. Address this by including feedback from the client on their experience of working with you. An authentic testimonial can provide a huge boon to your agency’s credibility and could well be the factor that seals the deal with a potential new client.
- Lessons Learned: As you begin to wrap things up, take some time to reflect on the challenges faced during the campaign and the lessons that you and your team learned, noting how it improved the way you provide your company’s services and made you a better agency that is well equipped to meet the needs of new clients.
- Visuals: As with any kind of content marketing, visuals such as images, infographics, charts and videos help to break up the content and make it easier to digest, while also reinforcing the important messages running throughout your case study.
- Internal Links: As you work your way through your case study, pay attention to opportunities to link to other work on your website. Not only does internal linking help boost your website traffic, it also gives you an ideal way to provide further evidence of your experience and expertise.
- Call to Action: If the whole point of your case study is to serve as a compelling lead magnet, it makes sense that you’ll need to end it with an equally compelling CTA that encourages readers to follow up by getting in touch with you for a free consultation.
More Posts About Case Studies:
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* Best Programmatic Advertising Case Studies for Exceptional ROAS
How to Prepare Your Creative Agency Case Study
Creative agency case studies are instrumental in enhancing sales and maximizing conversion rates. They efficiently provide readers with real-life examples of how your agency helps clients achieve their business goals.
Here are the steps to create an exceptional case study for your business.
- Identify a Successful Campaign or Project: The first step in creating a compelling case study is to identify a successful project where your agency could showcase its expertise. The project should showcase your agency’s creativity, problem-solving abilities and results achieved for the client (the more impressive, the better).
- Obtain Client Permission to Feature Their Case: Some campaigns immediately stand out as being ideal for a case study, but you’ll need to achieve the client’s consent before you can begin bragging about the amazing work you did for them. Make your request clear and concise, explaining the benefits of featuring their company in your case study while also addressing any concerns they may have with regard to confidentiality and branding.
- Define the Main Challenge or Problem Faced by the Client: A good case study should read like a story, and for any story to be truly gripping, its protagonists (in this instance, your agency and the company you worked for) need a challenge to overcome. So, use this opportunity to detail what that challenge was and why your client chose you to overcome it.
- Outline the Objectives Set for the Campaign: Here, consider the goals and metrics your clients wanted you to focus on. What outcomes were they looking for? What specific requirements did they provide you with that made this campaign particularly interesting or unique?
- Describe the Strategy Developed to Address the Challenge: At this stage, saying “So, we devised a strategy to achieve that objective” isn’t going to cut it. Be specific in describing the strategy you devised, the reasoning behind key decisions and creative ideas, and why you believed this to be the best approach for the brands you work with.
- Detail the Execution of the Campaign or Project: Providing as much value as you can about the actions you took to execute a campaign gives readers an insight into the way you work, helping them to understand if your agency is a good fit for them while also demonstrating your ability to overcome challenges.
- Gather and Analyze Results and Outcomes: Collect as much data as possible about the project, including the client’s brief, your agency’s strategy and approach, the creative process and the results. Speak to both your client and employees involved in the project to gather their insights and feedback.
- Collect Testimonials or Feedback From the Client: Strong testimonials serve as solid, first-hand validation of your agency’s ability and a reflection on what it’s like to work with you from the client’s perspective, both of which make a big difference when it comes to converting case study readers into qualified leads.
- Highlight Your Unique Selling Points: In your case study, you should highlight your agency’s unique selling points and what sets you apart from competitors. Focus on the specific strengths demonstrated in the project, such as your creativity, strategic thinking or ability to deliver results.
- Incorporate Relevant Visuals and Graphics: Eye-catching visuals not only make your case study more attractive and easier to read, but they can also illustrate key points and help you put your campaign results front and center.
- Write and Structure the Case Study Content: A well-structured case study should include the following sections: introduction, problem statement, strategy and approach, creative process, results achieved and conclusion. Use a clear and concise writing style, and make sure to include visuals such as images, graphics or videos to support your story.
- Review and Edit for Clarity and Accuracy: By now, you’ve invested a lot of time and energy in creating your case study, so the last thing you want is for all that hard work to be wasted due to a few overlooked mistakes that threaten to tarnish your reputation. Reviewing and editing the case study for clarity and accuracy ensures that the content is concise, error-free and easy for readers to comprehend.
- Publish and Promote the Case Study on Relevant Platforms: Once your ad agency case study is live on your website, your next task is to identify the most effective channels to get it in front of your target audience. Whether that’s social media, your email list or a blog post, the more you can do to maximize the reach of your case study, the more potential clients you can reach and the more likely you are to get the leads, website traffic or brand recognition you were hoping for.
Learn how to write a case study with this detailed guide:
How to Write a Case Study that Converts Prospective Buyers into Customers
Last Word on the Advertising Agency Case Study
To produce a successful creative agency case study, it’s important to focus on the key elements that will make it engaging and informative. This includes providing a clear overview of the client and the challenges they faced, outlining your thought-process tactics and presenting your results in a compelling way. Most importantly, don’t just present dry facts and numbers; tell the client’s story.
If you’re ready to level up your business with ads that convert with the best ROAS, Single Grain’s advertising experts can help.👇
Advertising Agency Case Study FAQs
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How do you write an advertisement case study?
Here are the steps involved in writing a case study for a marketing agency:
- Choose a client and a project.
- Collect information about the project.
- Create a structure for the case study.
- Write the case study, emphasizing your company’s strengths and expertise.
- Include quotes from the client to highlight their satisfaction.
- Edit and proofread the case study thoroughly.
- Publish and promote the case study to illustrate the company’s expertise.
- Tailor the case study to your target audience, using visuals and language that resonate with them.
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What is a good example of a case study?
An exceptional case study that refers customers and generates more leads includes:
- A brief introduction
- The goals
- Strategies used in the case study
- The result
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How can I choose the right advertising agency for my business?
To choose the right advertising agency for your business, consider the agency’s experience, expertise, track record and client portfolio. Look for an advertising company with experience in your field that can demonstrate its ability to deliver results.
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What are the benefits of working with an advertising agency?
Working with an advertising agency can offer several benefits, including access to expertise and resources that may need to be available in house, the ability to develop and execute effective marketing campaigns, and the potential to save time and money by outsourcing marketing functions.
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What are some examples of a case study?
Case studies can come in various forms across different fields, each providing an in-depth analysis of a specific instance, event, individual, group, or organization. Here are some examples:
- Business and Marketing:
- A study of how a small company successfully entered a competitive market using innovative marketing strategies.
- An analysis of a major corporation’s turnaround from financial struggles to profitability, highlighting the management and operational changes made.
- Medical and Healthcare:
- Detailed documentation of a patient’s rare medical condition, treatment plan, and outcomes to contribute to medical knowledge.
- An examination of a public health intervention in a community that led to significant changes in health behaviors.
- Psychology and Sociology:
- A study of an individual’s unique behavioral or mental health condition, providing insights into psychological theories or disorders.
- An analysis of social dynamics within a specific community following a major event or change.
- Education:
- A case study on the implementation and impact of a new teaching method or educational technology in a classroom or school.
- An investigation into the long-term effects of early childhood education programs in different socio-economic groups.
- Business and Marketing:
