6.8X ROAS for
The Cleveland Auto Show

The Cleveland Auto Show has been a key event in the city since 1903, and at it’s current venue (I-X Center) since the late 1980s. Avalanche has led the marketing efforts since 2010. With the evolving digital landscape, we’ve continually refined our strategy. This resulted in a strong 6.8X return on investment for the 2023 paid social campaign.

The Challenge

Get the most amount of people in the door possible.

The show lasts a week, giving us plenty of dates and times to work with. However, the weather can be unpredictable. In recent years, we’ve had unusually warm weather in February and March. Here in Northeast Ohio, that often means people prefer to spend their time outdoors rather than at an indoor event.

Cleveland Auto Show

The solution

Our approach for promoting events like this show is straightforward and consists of three key strategies. We target three main online audience groups:
  • TOF (top of funnel): This is our widest audience. We typically test 4-5 different groups here as they account for the bulk of our ad spending and we aim for a wide reach. The ads for this group are broad, using :30 and :15 TV spots along with a variety of images of what people can expect.
  • MOF (middle of funnel): These are individuals who visited the website but didn’t add to cart (ATC) or purchase tickets. For them, we craft ads that highlight specific events at the show to draw their interest further.
  • BOF (bottom of funnel): This group includes people who added tickets to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase. They’ve shown high intent, so we target them with ads that focus on finalizing the checkout process. These ads link directly to the shopping cart, allowing customers to pick up where they left off.

ROAS at Top Of Funnel:

6.47X

ROAS at Middle of Funnel:

9.45X

ROAS at Bottom of Funnel:

14.48X

The Results

The Cleveland Auto Show experienced a 6.8X return on investment (ROI) with their digital spending—$50K invested resulted in $338K in revenue. What’s more, we’ve barely tapped into our full potential audience. This success complements our strong Linear TV and radio advertising campaign. It’s fair to say that every February, you’re likely to come across an Avalanche ad for the Auto Show no matter where you get your content.

Statistics

  • Ad Spend: $49,865.44
  • Reach: 675,843
  • Impressions: 5,697,342
  • CPM: $8.75
  • Clicks: 87,424
  • CPC: $1.66
  • Purchases: 15,641
  • Revenue Generated: $338,837.96
  • ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): 6.8X