🌟 Overview

A desktop-only native campaign was launched to drive user acquisition for a regulated multi-asset social trading platform. The platform offers simplified access to global markets—stocks, ETFs, various currencies, and more, designed for both new and experienced investors.

Markets: Italy, Spain, France Tier-1 EU Countries

Objective: Acquire new users and activate accounts

Channels: Native(Taboola)

Tracking: Voluum for event-level tracking and optimization

Duration:11+ months 

 

🧠 Strategy & Execution

Targeting Approach

Campaigns focused on research-driven, self-directed investors who consume financial content online and prefer to make trading decisions on desktop platforms. These users actively read investment blogs, follow macroeconomic news, and explore asset classes independently. Segmentation was country-specific to reflect language, regulation, and economic context.

 

Campaign Structure

Localized campaigns for each market with tailored creatives

Audience exclusions refined continuously to improve lead quality

Desktop targeting ensured a richer interface experience and better post-click behavior

Real-time optimization through Voluum across traffic source, placement, and creative combinations

 

🎨 Creative Direction

Messaging focused on accessibility, simplicity, and platform trust—avoiding speculative tones. The value proposition was built around:

Easy access to multiple financial markets

Social features allowing users to learn by following others

Seamless desktop experience without technical hurdles

Sample Headlines:

"All-in-one platform for global market access"

"Trade stocks, indices & more — from your desktop"

"Invest smarter. Follow experienced traders."

Visual Direction: Visuals highlighted real dashboards and diverse asset classes, emphasizing usability and credibility.

Creative Performance Insight: Creatives that emphasized stock trading delivered 1.5x higher CTR than broader messaging. Additionally, localized creatives in Spanish and Italian generated 20% more clickscompared to English-language versions in their respective regions.

⚖️ Optimization Process

Ongoing A/B testing of headlines, visuals, and CTA placements

Simplified landing pages tailored for desktop with direct CTAs

Budget reallocation based on country-level performance trends

Building and updating audience exclusion lists to avoid low-intent users

Market timing was crucial: rising interest in Bitcoin and equities created favorable sentiment, particularly in France and Italy, driving stronger funnel engagement.

 

📊 Results

Click-through rates: Benchmarked between 0.9–1.4% on display and native

Conversion rates: Improved to around 6% post-optimization

Cost-per-acquisition: Maintained within target KPIs 

Engagement: Desktop users had longer session durations and higher funnel completion rates

Even without mobile traffic, the campaign delivered consistent acquisition volumes and higher lead quality, outperforming prior blended-device efforts.

⚖️ Optimization Process

💡 Key Takeaways

Desktop-only campaigns can outperform multi-device strategies in financially high-intent verticals

A clear user persona rooted in digital financial behaviors improved targeting relevance

Stock-focused creatives and local-language ads materially boosted click-through rates

Timely alignment with market sentiment amplified results

 

📌 Conclusion

This campaign proves that a tightly structured, desktop-only native strategy can achieve strong performance in competitive financial markets. By anchoring targeting around realistic personas, emphasizing practical value in creatives, and adapting to market shifts, the campaign achieved sustainable user growth without overreliance on aggressive budget increases.