Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival Google Ad Grant
Driving Festival Success: Somar Digital’s SEM Strategy for Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF)(external link) is a highlight of Aotearoa's cultural calendar, bringing exceptional films to audiences across the country every year. As a nonprofit organisation, NZIFF needed a cost-effective digital advertising strategy to maximise awareness and engagement during their highly seasonal event.
Somar Digital stepped in to help them fully utilise the Google Ad Grant and run highly targeted campaigns, ensuring the festival reached its audience effectively.
Unlocking the Potential of the Google Ad Grant
Eligible as a nonprofit, NZIFF leverages the Google Ad Grant, which provides $10,000 USD per month of free Google Ads spend. Somar Digital, experts in managing Google Ad Grant accounts, took on the task of optimising NZIFF’s campaigns to ensure maximum impact.
By reconfiguring account settings, crafting targeted ads, and aligning campaigns with NZIFF’s goals, Somar significantly increased the grant's spend efficiency, allowing NZIFF to amplify their message and connect with film enthusiasts nationwide.
Challenges: Making the Most of Limited Resources
As a nonprofit, NZIFF needed to stretch their limited budget to achieve maximum visibility. Somar Digital’s expertise in digital advertising ensured premium results while keeping costs under control, providing a level of service that delivered exceptional value.
Tailoring Ads to a Seasonal Event
The NZIFF’s nationwide event runs during July and August, with specific dates varying by location. Somar Digital created location-specific campaigns that highlighted the unique details of the festival for each city, including dates, venues, and links to relevant pages on the NZIFF website.
This tailored approach ensured audiences could easily find festival information in their area, leading to greater engagement and improved user experience.
Expanding Reach with Display Campaigns
Somar Digital also collaborated with NZIFF to launch a Google Ads display campaign for the first time. Using NZIFF’s creatives, Somar advised on strategy, set up the campaigns, and managed audience targeting.
The campaign generated an impressive 6.8 million impressions over the festival period, building widespread awareness and promoting the NZIFF brand to new audiences.
Results
Through tailored strategies, expert campaign management, and a collaborative approach, Somar Digital maximised the value of NZIFF’s Google Ad Grant, driving significant online growth and delivering measurable success:
Google Ad Grant
- Spend: 140% increase compared to the previous year.
- Impressions: 160% increase.
- Clicks: 323% increase.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): 63% increase.
- Average Cost-Per-Click (CPC): 43% decrease.
- Conversions: 484% increase.
Display Campaign
This partnership highlighted the value of tailored collaboration, combining creative content with expert ad management to engage a wide audience effectively.
- Impressions: 6.8 million over the month-long festival period significantly amplifying NZIFF’s reach and visibility over the course of the festival.