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Case study

From Search-Led Acquisition to AI-Enabled Growth Decisioning

Cost per acquisition down 30% and growth rates up 32%, on a proprietary cross-platform intelligence layer.

Client
Specialty insurance, AI growth decisioning
−30%COST PER ACQUISITION+32%GROWTH RATEBEFOREAFTERClient results

The challenge

A valuable customer data set the business was not using to guide growth, and acquisition concentrated in lower-funnel search.

Measurable, efficient, and capped

A specialty insurance organization held a large and valuable customer and prospect data set, and was not using it to guide growth decisions. Performance ran on traditional search marketing, broad targeting assumptions, and manual analysis. That worked to a point, but it kept the business concentrated in lower-funnel demand capture: measurable and efficient, and capped.

WHERE GROWTH WAS CONCENTRATEDCAPPEDHIGHER-VALUE AUDIENCES, EARLIER IN THE JOURNEYWhere the next stage of growth was, and not reachedLOWER-FUNNEL DEMAND CAPTURETraditional search, broad targeting assumptions, manual analysisA LARGE, VALUABLE CUSTOMER AND PROSPECT DATA SETNot used to guide growth decisions
WHERE GROWTH WAS CONCENTRATEDCAPPEDHIGHER-VALUE AUDIENCES, EARLIER IN THEJOURNEYWhere the next stage of growth was, andnot reachedLOWER-FUNNEL DEMAND CAPTURETraditional search, broad targetingassumptions, manual analysisA LARGE, VALUABLE DATA SETCustomers and prospects, not used to guidegrowth decisions

Four decisions, not a tool

Reaching the next stage of growth meant a broader performance marketing model: better data, sharper segmentation, and predictive insight to reach higher-value audiences earlier in the journey. The challenge was never simply adopting AI. It was using AI and analytics to improve real decisions.

  • Which audiences to prioritize
  • Which segments to target
  • Which channels to expand into
  • How to measure tactics that are traditionally hard to attribute

The approach

We served as an embedded executive growth partner, connecting strategy, data, analytics, media execution, and executive decision-making rather than treating AI as a standalone innovation project.

One intelligence layer across the platforms

The centerpiece was a proprietary growth intelligence layer that brought performance signals together across search, paid social, and additional programmatic and audience activation platforms, so the team could compare signals instead of reading each platform in isolation. Around it, we gave hands-on guidance to the external media activation partner executing programmatic and paid social targeting.

PERFORMANCE SIGNALS, BROUGHT TOGETHERSEARCHPAID SOCIALPROGRAMMATICPLATFORMSAUDIENCE ACTIVATIONPLATFORMSONE PROPRIETARY GROWTH INTELLIGENCE LAYER
PERFORMANCE SIGNALS,BROUGHT TOGETHERSEARCHPAID SOCIALPROGRAMMATICPLATFORMSAUDIENCE ACTIVATIONPLATFORMSONE PROPRIETARY GROWTHINTELLIGENCE LAYER
DEMOGRAPHICS TO SEGMENTSBroadBEFORESEGMENTS

Segments that mean something commercially

Customer and policyholder data defined commercially meaningful segments rather than broad demographics.

LIKELY TO CONVERT, AND VALUELIKELY TO CONVERTVALUE

Who converts, and who is worth most

AI and predictive analytics identified which audiences were most likely to convert and which carried the highest value.

FROM SUMMARIES TO DECISIONSLOOKING BACKINVESTTESTSCALEPULL BACKLOOKING FORWARD

Reporting that looks forward

Forecasting and scenario planning moved reporting conversations from backward-looking summaries to forward-looking decisions about where to invest, test, scale, or pull back.

The results

Cost per acquisition fell 30% through AI-enabled segmentation and targeting, while growth rates rose 32% as the business expanded beyond search.

More growth for less spend

Cost per acquisition fell 30% while growth rates rose 32%, without losing accountability for results. Each is drawn from zero against where it started, at one scale.

COST PER ACQUISITION AND GROWTH RATE, BEFORE AND AFTERCOST PER ACQUISITIONBeforeAfter−30%GROWTH RATEBeforeAfter+32%More growth for less spend.Client results
COST PER ACQUISITION ANDGROWTH RATE, BEFORE AND AFTERCOST PER ACQUISITIONBeforeAfter−30%GROWTH RATEBeforeAfter+32%More growth for less spend.Client results
LEARNING, OWNED INTERNALLYPLATFORMPLATFORMAGENCYONE LAYEROwned internallyBEFOREAFTERClient results

An asset the business owns

The lasting asset is the intelligence layer itself: consolidated learning across platforms, owned internally rather than dependent on platform-specific reporting or agency-managed optimization.

WHAT THE TEAM CAN SEE NOWWhich audiences are workingWhere the next growth pockets areHow to move higher in the funnelClient results

What the team can see now

The organization can now see which audiences are working, where the next growth pockets are, and how to move higher in the funnel, where attribution is harder and confidence is normally the constraint.

BEYOND SEARCHSEARCHBeforeSEARCH AND BEYONDAfterACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESULTS KEPTClient results

Growth beyond search

The business expanded beyond search, without losing accountability for results.

Why it matters

AI creates value only when it improves decisions.

Better choices, measurably

The opportunity for a growth organization is not adopting AI tools: it is using AI to make better choices about customers, channels, creative, investment, and measurement. Applied that way, it sharpened segmentation and targeting, expanded the business beyond search, cut CPA, and raised growth: strategic judgment, operating discipline, and analytical rigor turning AI from a concept into a measurable growth advantage.

BETTER CHOICES ABOUT FIVE THINGSCUSTOMERSCHANNELSCREATIVEINVESTMENTMEASUREMENTAI, FROM A CONCEPT TO A MEASURABLE GROWTH ADVANTAGE
BETTER CHOICESABOUT FIVE THINGSCUSTOMERSCHANNELSCREATIVEINVESTMENTMEASUREMENTAI, FROM A CONCEPT TO AMEASURABLE GROWTH ADVANTAGE

RelatedAI sales accelerationDemand generationFinancial services & insurance

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