In 2017 the professional basketball team wanted to boost the sale of full-season and half-season ticket packages. The team aimed to collect fan information so it could encourage people to learn more about, and eventually purchase a ticket package.
Their campaign produced the following results:
- 36x return on ad spend ROAS
- 33% of leads bought advertised product
- 20% of leads bought upgraded ticket products
- 40% higher closer rate compared to average web leads
How did they do it?
The Milwaukee Bucks used lead ads to identify people interested in purchasing season ticket packages.
The NBA team worked with Facebook Marketing partner Marketo to integrate the lead ads into its CRM system. When potential customers fill out the lead ad, Facebook automatically enters their information into the Buck’s CRM, which kicks off an automated series of real-time emails with sales information and other content. The Bucks’ sales team follows up by reaching out to interested fans to develop a personal connection.
The ads featured exciting action shots from victories over 2016 Finals teams, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ad copy urged fans to guarantee their seats, while a call-to-action button encouraged them to “Learn More”
To ensure it reached the right people, the Bucks created “Custom Audiences” of past season ticket buyers, people who have liked the team’s Facebook Page, and high-quality leads it had already collected and scored. The Bucks also used custom audiences to exclude current season ticket members and employees. The team created a Lookalike Audience based on current season ticket members, and used interest targeting to reach sports fans and people interested in specific NBA teams and players. It also used location targeting to ensure people who saw the ads live within driving distance of the games.
The results of the campaign exceeded expectations. Nothing but net!