Industry: Public Safety / Utilities
Objective: Drive awareness and engagement for a statewide safety initiative through event-based geo-fencing and audience retargeting.
Overview
A statewide public safety organization partnered with 535 Media to promote awareness around underground utility safety and the importance of safe digging practices. The campaign centered around geo-fencing a large public event-capturing mobile device IDs of attendees-and then retargeting those same users with digital display ads in the weeks following.
This approach ensured the message reached both on-site audiences in real time and continued to engage them afterward through sequential messaging across mobile and desktop devices.
Performance Summary
Running from October 17 to November 17, 2024, the campaign achieved strong engagement and exceeded digital awareness benchmarks:
- 63,000+ total impressions and 158 clicks for a 0.25% CTR (well above industry average of 0.10–0.15%)
- Geo-fenced event targeting successfully captured thousands of mobile IDs for post-event retargeting
- Retargeting flights generated a 0.33% CTR, outperforming prospecting traffic by nearly 30%
- Tablet and mobile devices led performance, with CTRs of 0.81% and 0.27% respectively
- Top-performing ad format: 728×90 leaderboard, achieving 0.51% CTR
Results
The geo-fencing strategy not only reached attendees during the event but continued reinforcing the message afterward through retargeting impressions-keeping the safety reminder top-of-mind. The campaign’s strong click-through rates and post-event engagement demonstrated the effectiveness of combining real-world location data with digital audience follow-up to extend awareness.
Key Takeaways
- Event-based geo-fencing successfully built an audience of verified, engaged individuals.
- Sequential retargeting extended reach and kept the message active after initial exposure.
- Mobile-first strategy maximized engagement and ensured message visibility where users spend the most time.