How Targeted Mobile Advertising and Social Campaigns Boosted Retail Sales for a University Store

In the highly competitive retail environment of a major university town, even the official retailer of the university can face challenges. This retail store, offering apparel, merchandise, and gifts for students, alumni, and fans, saw their sales start to stagnate. As their sales forecast showed a potential decline, it was clear that new marketing strategies were needed to reignite both in-store and online sales

The Challenge

The university’s official retail store faced several hurdles

• Sales had plateaued, and forecasts predicted further declines.
• Lower student enrollment and poor performance from the university’s major sports team contributed to a gloomy outlook.
• The store needed to move its inventory more quickly.
• Both foot traffic in the physical store and online sales were declining.
• With a limited budget of only $5,000, the store needed a cost-effective solution to turn things around.

The Strategy

Vici Media recommended a powerful combination of Mobile Conquesting with Cross-Platform Targeting and a CRM matching strategy to target the store’s existing customer base through social media. Here’s how the strategy worked

• CRM Matching: The store had an extensive customer database of past and current purchasers. Vici used this data to create a custom audience, prioritizing individuals who had made a purchase within the past two years. These contacts were matched to their Facebook or Instagram profiles to target them with ads.
• Mobile Conquesting: Vici’s Mobile Conquesting platform allowed the store to reach their audience by combining online behavioral targeting with offline behavioral targeting. Consumers were targeted based on both their past and current locations and then retargeted in future locations, ensuring ongoing engagement.
• Cross-Platform Targeting on Social: By adding cross-platform targeting, the store was able to reach this audience across multiple devices—further amplifying the campaign’s reach.

With these advanced targeting techniques, Vici helped the store make the most of its $5,000 budget by focusing on high-impact areas

The Results

The results from the campaign were nothing short of spectacular

• Over 1,000 click conversions were tracked through the online shopping cart, with an additional 5,500 view-through conversions.
• The click-through rate finished at an impressive 0.86%, more than 12 times the national average for similar campaigns.
• In-store foot traffic surged with over 250 verified visits, and an estimated 1,000 total visits were attributed to the campaign.

The client was thrilled with the outcome, and the agency enjoyed a 50% margin on the total spend

Conclusion

This success story illustrates how a smart, data-driven approach to digital advertising can deliver exceptional results—even with a limited budget. By leveraging Vici Media’s Mobile Conquesting and CRM matching strategies, the university’s official retail store was able to significantly boost both online and in-store sales

If your business needs a high-impact, cost-effective marketing strategy, contact Vici Media today to learn more about our white-label digital solutions

For more information, visit Vici Media White Label for Agencies or email support@vicimediainc.com.