Analyzing American Express’s $167M Display Ad Strategy

When I think of credit cards, I immediately think of American Express (AmEx)–particularly their platinum cards. Chances are that a lot of you do, too. That’s how popular this brand is in the payment cards industry.  With a vision of providing the world’s best customer experience every day, AmEx has been issuing cards since the mid 1900s. People tout their customer service and rewards programs. But a big part of the reason this brand grew to have more than...

Rupali Jeganathan

Finance › 5 min read

Ad Testing 101: Create Effective Ads That Drive Results

Walk outside your home, and you’re bound to see ads everywhere. On billboards, posters, buses, and even subway platforms. You’ve probably bought something after seeing these ads (as have millions of other people).  The reason? These ads are effective. They tug at your heartstrings, make you miss something you never had, or convince you that your life will be better once you sign up for that gym membership.  But how do brands know these ads will work? By testing...

Rupali Jeganathan

A/B Split Testing › 6 min read

How Grammarly’s $210M display ad strategy helped it become a unicorn

Whether you write professionally, like to keep your masterpieces within the notes app, or just stick to writing work emails, you’ve probably heard of (and even used) Grammarly.  With a motto of “better writing, better results,” this writing assistant app was founded in 2009 to help people write better, plagiarism-free content. Since its inception, this company has spent a fortune on display ad campaigns, with an estimated ad spend of $210.8M in the last year alone.  Clearly, this has...

Rupali Jeganathan

Case Study › 5 min read

Crafting Powerful Testimonial Ads That Convert

Here’s a thought exercise. How many times have recommendations from other people driven your purchase decisions? And how many times have you bought something online without checking the reviews first?  As for me, I have done that a sum total of zero times. That’s right. I never buy anything without reading the reviews first. And I’m not alone in this. 9 out of 10 customers read reviews before they buy something online. This is the power of social proof....

Rupali Jeganathan

Advertising Basics › 7 min read

Marketing to Millennials: 5 Strategies To Increase Your ROI

Lazy. Entitled. Zero work ethic. Addicted to their phones. These are some of the most common phrases used to describe millennials. But what nobody tells you is that they are a generation that values work-life balance and is more socially aware, tech-savvy, and influential compared to the baby boomers. In fact their net of influence is so wide that they have reshaped the very landscape of digital advertising. Having surpassed the baby boomers, millennials are also currently the largest...

Rupali Jeganathan

Advertising Basics › 5 min read