Brand Awareness had its strongest month yet. Lead Gen enquiries softened. Here's what worked, what we're pausing, and where August's budget and new ads are headed.
In July, Brand Awareness had its best month yet, bringing people to the website at well under target cost. For Lead Gen, enquiries slowed and cost per lead crept toward the top of the range, which is exactly why a new angle is already being tested for August.
Admin note: this report covers the full calendar month of July (1st-31st). From here on we'll report in full calendar months, so future reports line up cleanly month to month.
Reach and click-through rate both dropped below benchmark this month, and cost per enquiry crept toward the top of its range. "Managing your own rental?" is still delivering the most leads and stays active. A new rent-figures creative went live at the end of the month and is being tested alongside it for August.
The new "A whole team behind your rental" creative, launched in July, is outperforming everything that ran in June. It's bringing people to the site at under 50 cents a visit, well inside target. No changes needed here for the start of August, just keep it running.
How this month's numbers stack up against our playbook targets.
| Metric | Result | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount spent | $493.36 | $500/month | On target |
| Reach | 34,600 | 25,000–50,000 | On target |
| Impressions | 86,320 | 40,000–90,000 | On target |
| Landing page views | 1,044 | 300–600 | Above target |
| Cost per landing page view | $0.47 | $0.80–$1.50 | Beating target |
| Click-through rate | 1.36% | 1.2–2.5% | On target |
| Social actions | 1,226 | 150–500 | Above target |
A strong month for Brand Awareness. Landing page views and social actions are both well above target, and cost per visit is comfortably beating the top end of the benchmark. The new July creative is doing most of that work.
| Metric | Result | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount spent | $474.08 | $500/month | On target |
| Reach | 5,100 | 10,000–25,000 | Below target |
| Impressions | 19,565 | 20,000–45,000 | Below target |
| Leads | 8 | 8–14 | On target |
| Cost per lead | $59.26 | $35–$65 | On target, near ceiling |
| Click-through rate | 0.77% | 1.0–2.0% | Below target |
| Social actions | 190 | 30–150 | Above target |
Three metrics dipped below benchmark this month, reach, impressions and click-through rate, while leads and cost per lead held within range (cost per lead near the top). "Managing your own rental?" is still delivering the most leads, so it stays active. We've paused two weaker tests and are testing a new rent-figures angle alongside it to help bring reach and cost per lead back on track.
The June winners kept running into July. A new Brand Awareness creative launched and immediately took over as the top performer. A new Lead Gen angle went live right at the end of the month and is where August's attention is going.
The new "whole team" creative earned 84% of Brand Awareness spend this month and delivered visits at a lower cost than the regional ad still running alongside it. It's the clear ad to keep leading with in August. No new Brand Awareness creative is needed yet, this one still has room to run.
"Managing your own rental?" is still doing the heavy lifting, but cost per enquiry has crept up for two months running, a normal sign of fatigue after being live since June. We've paused a couple of weaker tests and are backing the new rent-figures angle for August.
Three audience pools feed the two campaigns: Brand Awareness finds landlords who don't know TGR yet, Lead Gen does the same with a more direct pitch, and retargeting reaches everyone who's already engaged with either. Cold reach softened this month, but the warm pool keeps growing.
People who haven't come across TGR yet. Targeted across Wellington, Upper Hutt, Porirua, Kāpiti Coast and Horowhenua, aged 33 to 65+, all genders. No interest targeting, Meta finds the right people based on the ad itself.
Same regions and age range, but a more direct pitch aimed at landlords currently self-managing or thinking about switching. This is where the free appraisal enquiries come from.
Anyone who's engaged with our ads or visited the website gets shown a dedicated Lead Gen retargeting ad. Still a small, early-stage pool fed by Brand Awareness reach. Worth watching closely in Month 3, as retargeting typically becomes the cheapest source of leads.
The Lead Gen cold audience reached roughly 5,100 people this month, below the 10,000-25,000 target range. Spend was in line with budget, so that points to the audience seeing the same ad more often rather than fresh people seeing it for the first time, another sign it's time for new creative rather than more budget in the same spot.
The headlines from this month, and where the budget and creative are headed next.