BRAND

PROJECT

What If
Campaign Extension

ROLE

Lead Designer & Creative Strategist

OBJECTIVE

Build upon the original What If campaign by shifting focus from brand awareness to conversion-driven engagement, increasing donations and email acquisitions through targeted digital and social media strategies.

Background

The What If campaign was originally conceived and developed by Bandujo Advertising + Design, an external agency engaged by the American Technion Society. Bandujo created a striking and thought-provoking creative concept designed to spark curiosity about Technion’s groundbreaking innovations. The campaign primarily focused on brand awareness, utilizing a display ad strategy alongside select print placements. A key engagement component encouraged users to download the Booklet of Wonders, a digital brochure showcasing the remarkable achievements of Technion faculty, students, and alumni.

The campaign successfully generated strong impressions and engagement, reinforcing Technion’s reputation as a leader in science and technology. However, we identified an opportunity to expand the impact of the campaign, integrating it more deeply into our broader brand storytelling and increasing its effectiveness in driving measurable conversions—both in donations and email acquisitions.

The Challenge

The original What If campaign, developed by Bandujo, successfully introduced the concept through a mix of digital and print advertising. However, as we assessed the campaign’s performance and planned for the next phase, we encountered several key challenges:

  • Low ROI from Print Advertising – A significant portion of the budget was allocated to print placements, but the results showed minimal direct engagement or measurable conversions.

  • Limited Digital Adaptability – The original creative assets were designed primarily for large-scale print applications, making it difficult to translate them effectively into digital banner and ancillary ads, programmatic display formats, and social media content without significant rework.

  • Need for a More Action-Driven Approach – While the campaign successfully built awareness, it lacked strong conversion mechanisms to drive measurable actions such as donations and email sign-ups.

Strategy & Approach

Creative Evolution & Digital Expansion
I co-led the next phase of the What If campaign, working closely with the writing team to create multiple concepts that expanded the campaign into a flexible creative library. Our goal was to enhance engagement and conversions by strengthening the digital presence on Meta and Jewish news outlets, and refining CTAs and landing pages to drive higher conversions.

Tactical Execution
We shifted the budget from print to high-performing digital channels, including Meta, Google, and retargeting. We implemented retargeting strategies to nurture users through the donation funnel and refined the messaging to create a sense of urgency and action.

Creative Execution
The creative assets were reimagined with a digital-first approach, designed for adaptability across platforms. We used programmatic ads with precise audience targeting and created interactive social content to boost engagement. Landing pages were streamlined to simplify the user journey and drive conversions.

Results & Impact

In the first three months with significantly less ad spend, the campaign saw over 2 million impressions and 1,856 clicks, with 546 total sign-ups through Meta and other digital channels, resulting in a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) of $17.42. Meta was the leading driver of conversions, contributing 389 sign-ups at a lower CPA of $12.64. Email retargeting campaigns performed exceptionally well, with some creative variations achieving conversion rates above 50%. Both Google and Meta emerged as the primary sources of traffic and conversions, reinforcing the success of our digital-first strategy.

Key Learnings & Next Steps

The shift from print to digital proved to be a strategic win, as digital channels outperformed traditional print advertising in both engagement and conversions. Retargeting and CRM-driven tactics were essential for guiding users through the donation funnel. Social media played a pivotal role in driving sign-ups, underscoring the importance of strong creative and effective messaging. Moving forward, exploring interactive content formats, such as video and storytelling, could further enhance engagement and conversion rates.

Final Thoughts

By evolving the creative strategy and optimizing the digital approach, the What If campaign successfully translated brand awareness into meaningful engagement and conversions. The campaign not only brought in valuable sign-ups but also demonstrated the power of digital transformation and strategic reallocations in driving results.

CREDITS

Co-lead, strategy: Dorit Rabbani (ATS)
Writing: Ronni Strongin (ATS)
Design Assistant: Ben Huh (ATS)
Digital ads: AB Data & JMG
Original concept: Bandujo
Original media agency: Venus Media