The Challenge

A statewide higher education organization in Indiana partnered with us to generate leads for their educational institutions. While the campaign successfully delivered cost-effective leads, stakeholders identified a critical issue: low program utilization in suburban and rural communities. This highlighted the need to balance lead generation efficiency with geographic equity across Indiana’s 92 counties.

Our Approach

To address this complex challenge, we developed a comprehensive strategy that combined market analysis with advanced campaign optimization:

By analyzing these metrics in tandem, we saw clear correlations in the parts of the market that our client had a vested interest in reaching, i.e. geographic areas with lower educational attainment, worse outcomes according to economic indicators and aging populations that would need to be replaced in the workforce, and the parts of the market that our digital-first campaigns were optimizing away from based on lower conversion rates and – by extension – higher CPAs.

Strategic Implementation

To address these imbalances, we implemented a three-tier solution:

1. Value-Based Optimization

• Developed custom conversion value rules in Google Ads
• Assigned higher conversion values to underserved areas
• Created a balanced scoring system that weighted both lead cost and geographic diversity

2. Geographic Bid Adjustments

• Implemented location-specific bid adjustments
• Relaxed CPA targets in underserved regions
• Optimized budget distribution based on market opportunity

3. Custom Campaign Development

• Created dedicated campaigns for the bottom 10% of underserved counties
• Developed customized user journeys based on regional needs
• Implemented specialized messaging and targeting strategies

Results

Our strategic adjustments delivered impressive outcomes while maintaining campaign efficiency:

• 28% YoY increase in leads from underserved communities
• Maintained overall lead volume and cost efficiency
• Improved advisor utilization rates in rural branches
• Prevented potential branch closures due to perceived low demand
• Established sustainable geographic distribution of educational opportunities

Key Takeaways

This project demonstrated that digital campaigns can simultaneously achieve:

• Cost efficiency and geographic equity
• Scale and community-level customization
• Performance optimization and social impact

The success relied on:

1. Deep data analysis beyond surface-level metrics
2. Custom optimization frameworks
3. Strategic balance of multiple competing objectives
4. Understanding of local market dynamics

Looking to optimize your digital campaigns for both performance and equity? Let’s discuss how we can apply these strategies to your unique challenges.