Marketing Meeting — Oct 20 2025

Overview

Ad performance review and strategy alignment session. Covered Microsoft Ads results from the first three weeks of the account, Google Ads geographic restructuring plans, Spotify audio ad exploration, and urgent trade show landing page needs for Metalcon and Big Ideas.

Attendees:
- Jessica Rudnicki (Trachte)
- Robyn Ogden (Trachte)
- Miranda Strong (Trachte)
- Paul Buniel (Asymmetric)
- Sebastian Gant (Asymmetric)

Next meeting: October 31, 2025

Key Decisions

• Microsoft Ads display budgets on hold pending internal sales team validation of the ~200 calls generated Oct 3–20
• Google Ads will be restructured geographically — campaigns broken out by region (e.g., Northeast, Southeast) with consistent keywords/copy but independent budgets
• Spotify ads on hold — account created, but no campaigns launched until Robyn gets sales team feedback on podcast-targeting viability
• Dedicated landing pages required for both Metalcon and Big Ideas trade show ads (ads were already launching the following day pointing to a generic events page)
• "Passport" page to be repositioned as a "Smart Locking Solutions" hub to accommodate two new partner announcements

Microsoft Ads Performance (Oct 3–20)

A budget configuration error caused campaigns to run at the same spend levels as their Google Ads counterparts rather than the intended $5/day cap. This produced an unplanned but informative data set.

Display Ads — strong results:
| Campaign | Calls |
|---|---|
| Door Hallway | 151 |
| Canopy | 74 |
| Total | ~200 |

• Total spend: ~$338
• Cost per call: ~$2
• Conversion rate: ~7% across all running campaigns

Search Ads — mixed:
- "Lead Magnet" spent the most but showed fewer conversions than the equivalent Google campaign
- "Self-Storage Services" keyword group clarified: targets builders/developers, not consumers seeking rental units

Next step: Sebastian to export a side-by-side Google vs. Microsoft performance report (last 17 days) for Robyn to review with the sales team (Scott).

If the call volume is validated internally, increasing display ad budgets would be a strong candidate for near-term action.

Google Ads Strategy

Decision: Break existing Storage Builder campaigns out into geographic sub-campaigns.

Rationale: Enables regional budget allocation without changing keyword sets or ad copy. Immediately useful for the planned multi-story push in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic.

Plan:
- Duplicate campaigns by region (e.g., Northeast, Southeast, etc.)
- Keep keywords and ad copy consistent across regions
- Adjust budgets per region as needed

Immediate priority: Build a dedicated multi-story campaign targeting the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic.

Spotify Ads Exploration

Status: On hold — account created, no active campaigns.

Spotify account set up under marketing@trachte.com; Sebastian has admin access.

Platform overview:
- 700M total active users; 420M+ on free (ad-supported) tier
- Demographic skews younger overall, but age targeting available; ~35–40% of free-tier users fall in the 35–54 range
- Targeting options: genre, artist, lifestyle/interest segments, commute behavior, remarketing via customer lists

Ad format:
- Primary: 15–30 sec audio ad + companion image
- Secondary: up to 30 sec video (appears during active browsing)
- Hook required within first 3–5 seconds

Budget minimums:
- $15/day (ongoing) or $250 lifetime (fixed campaign window)

Key insight from discussion: Targeting self-storage podcasts on Spotify (several active, popular ones confirmed) would significantly sharpen audience quality and is the primary condition for moving forward.

Blocker: Robyn wants to present the podcast-targeting concept to the sales team before committing budget. Sebastian to review available targeting options in the account and share recommendations with Robyn ahead of that conversation.

Trade Show Campaigns

Metalcon

• Ads set up and launching the following day (Oct 21)
• Problem: Ads were pointing to a generic events page rather than a dedicated landing page
• Fix: Jessica to update the existing landing page template and send URL to Sebastian; Sebastian to swap in the new URL before launch

Big Ideas (Texas)

• Ads also in setup; same landing page gap applies
• Activation mechanic: Trachte is co-sponsoring a "Branding Corral" with TrackRite — attendees must visit the TrackRite booth to receive a custom belt
• Ad strategy: Incorporate the Branding Corral mechanic into Big Ideas ads; geofencing campaign under consideration
• Robyn to send Sebastian the TrackRite Branding Corral graphics (also posted on LinkedIn by TrackRite Oct 20)

Smart Locking Solutions Launch

Two new smart lock partner announcements going out via press release — one this week, one the following week.

Strategic shift:
- The existing "Passport" page on the Trachte website will be repositioned as a broader "Smart Locking Solutions" hub
- A single point of contact (Nick) will guide customers to the best option for their situation
- Bundled offers in development (e.g., Trachte door + partner latch = extended warranty or discount)

Marketing implication: Digital ad campaigns for the bundled offers will be needed once bundle details are finalized. Robyn still coordinating with partner marketing teams on specifics.

Robyn to email Sebastian press release details so campaign planning can begin.

Team Update

• Eugen has stepped back from client-facing work; still a partner but less involved in day-to-day execution
• Mark has taken on more of the strategy role
• PPC/SEO knowledge retained within the team; no process disruption expected

Action Items

Related

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