CASE STUDY

Carlie C’s IGA Campaign Transition: Awareness to Performance Max

Services:

Performance Max Ad Campaigns

Digital Ads

Graphic Design

Introduction

Carlie C’s IGA is a 33-store grocery chain in North Carolina with deep roots in their community. Founded in 1961 by Carlie C and Joyce McLamb, it began as a small country store known for quality meats, fair prices, and exceptional customer service. Despite numerous challenges, the couple’s unwavering dedication and the community’s support helped them thrive and expand. Today, Carlie C’s is a testament to hard work, community spirit, and committed to friendly, personalized service, with multiple locations across North Carolina offering unique products at great prices.

The Results

195%

Increase in impressions from January 1 - June 30, 2023 to July 1 - December 31, 2023. Impressions jumped from 16.276 to 31.751 million.

177%

Increase in clicks from January 1 - June 30, 2023 to July 1 - December 31, 2023. Clicks jumped from 56,013 to 99,238.

347%

Increase in store visits from before to the end of the performance max campaign; a total jump from 312,501 to 1.186 million visits.

360%

Increase in total conversions calculated from tracking actions taken after a click, like making a purchase or creating an account.

The Needs

In May 2023, Carlie C’s approached AR Marketing with a Google Ads related problem. Carlie C’s wanted to see an increase in Google Ad conversions that would drive more traffic into stores. At that time, they were conducting an Awareness Campaign aimed only at increasing public visibility. Conversions and store visits were low, given that generating awareness is considered successful based on simply getting ads in front of eyeballs.

From January 1 to June 30, 2023, Carlie C’s initial awareness strategy generated 16.276 million impressions, 56,000 clicks, a 0.34% click-through rate (CTR), 312,500 store visits and 329,700 conversions. Not bad. Could be better.

The Strategy

AR Marketing was presented a serious opportunity to drive more foot traffic to the brick and mortar Carlie C’s stores.

On July 1st, 2023, AR Marketing implemented conversion-focused Performance Max (Pmax) campaigns to increase off-line conversions: store visits, calls and directions. In addition to switching the campaign type and focus, AR Marketing transitioned to a new targeting strategy, called a “cluster campaign.” A cluster campaign is set up to target a group of store locations based on specific criteria. AR Marketing divided the 33 Carlie C's locations into two single location campaigns and 10 cluster campaigns instead of targeting each individual store. These campaigns ran from July 1st, 2023 to December 31st, 2023.

Performance Max Ad Examples

The transition to Pmax campaigns significantly enhanced Carlie C’s reach, engagement, and offline conversions, driving substantial business growth.

Impressions nearly doubled to 31.7 million
Clicks rose to 99,000
Conversions increased to 1.1 million

Best yet, store visits surged to over a million. Top converting audiences included local news readers, grocery shoppers, fast food cravers, and charitable donors.