5 of the Best PPC Adverts of All Time

All great businesses have great PPC marketing strategies. But what can these companies do to stand out amongst the rest? Well, let’s take a look at a few examples of when brands got PPC right. Here are the 5 Best PPC Adverts of All Time – according to us:

1. The guy who used his skills to get a job

Getting your first step into the marketing industry can be tricky – you want to prove you are creative but at the same you don’t want to be too ‘out there’. Well, why not take tips from this guy?

Alec Brownstein, 28, from New York bagged himself his dream job using $6 worth of advertising. Brownstein was a copywriter searching for a ‘creative’ agency to call home. He created PPC ads which would appear when anyone Googled creative directors of leading agencies. He then hoped they would Google themselves and see the ad.

The ad was seen by all bar one of those targeted and he received two job offers by the end of the year. As an added bonus, Brownstein won awards from The One Show and The Clios for his self-promotion.

2. The brand that advertised to improve its PR

Some people may see it as taking advantage of a bad situation. But for the purpose of this blog, it acts as a good example.

Back in 2010 after its oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico, BP invested heavily in its PPC budget to combat the swell of ill feeling surrounding the oil giant. Ads targeted keywords such as ‘oil spill’, so that when the latest news stories were searched BP would appear at the top of the results page and provide its own ‘spin’ on what it was doing to help the disaster.

Although profiting from disasters is a question of ethics, targeting current affairs to set PR search volumes is rather clever. Start thinking about the big events coming up and you may be able to create relevant associated ads.

3. The brand that harnessed YouTube and the power of celebrity

YouTube is the world’s largest video-sharing website and utilising the ads on this platform was a clever tactic by The Perfume Shop.

The retailer overlaid celebrity videos on YouTube with adverts for their celebrity endorsed perfumes, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and the perfume ‘Lovely’. This use of a YouTube targeting Tool was the first of its kind and changed the fate of PPC on YouTube for the better.

The campaign was very relevant, and so very successful. Brand awareness went through the roof, with great direct responses, a +236% ROI and 9 million views. Not bad!

4. The singleton who took online dating to the extreme

Matt Simpson was down on his luck when it came to the ladies, so he decided to do something about it. The digital marketer created a number of Google ads which targeted a demographic that he thought would be his type of girls.

The ads were aimed at single women, 28 to 34 years old, who lived within 25 miles from his home in Tempe, Arizona. He also looked at interest groupings with maximum reaches of hundreds of women, such as:

• Yoga, Bikram Yoga, etc.

• Buddhism, meditation, metaphysic, etc.

• Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, etc.

The details of those who clicked on the ads would then go through to a Facebook fan page. This $20 punt led to 60 clicks and 5 leads. Did this master plan pair our entrepenurial lothario with his happily ever after? Unfortunately, we don’t know – he refused to say if he fell in love.

5. The company that hopped on the bandwagon

In 2010, Argentinian footballer Carlos Tevez announced that he wanted to leave Manchester City and return to his home country. The luckless millionaire was homesick and couldn’t settle in the “small and wet” city.

Teletext Holidays jumped on the back of this and created a PPC ad targeted at those who had the same feelings as Tevez. Those who searched for news on this subject were conveniently given a link to the opportunity of a trip away.

How to perfect your PPC

If you handle your own PPC campaign then you may be able to learn something from the above examples. And to help you get on the next ‘Best PPC Adverts’ list take a look at the following tips:

• Enable sitelinks – they are quick, easy and won’t cost you any more money

• Log your performance and track results multiple times a week

• Set aims and objectives for performance

• If you are an ecommerce business make sure to track revenue too

• Make the most of remarketing through Google Analytics

• Integrate AdWords with CRM

• Use a renowned Digital Marketing agency – like us!

Alternatively, we can manage them for you. Learn more about our PPC services and what we can do for you by getting in touch today.