The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) is a professional organization that represents Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). With CRNAs delivering over 58 million anesthetics annually in the U.S., AANA is committed to advancing patient safety, cost-effective care, and the continued professional development of CRNAs. AANA’s emphasis on evidence-based practices, leadership, and lifelong learning makes them a key player in the anesthesia field, delivering high-quality care while advocating for their profession.
Why did we start the project?
The Challenge
AANA faced significant challenges in understanding the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. Despite managing multiple campaigns across various channels like Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and programmatic, they struggled to measure and analyze performance accurately. They lacked clarity on which messaging, ad copy, and platforms were delivering results, leaving them uncertain about how to allocate their marketing spend and optimize for better outcomes. AANA’s campaigns also faced issues like low search volume for niche keywords, resulting in limited awareness, and inefficient ad spend distribution where certain social media campaigns underperformed, prompting a need for better budget allocation toward higher-engaging channels with more granular audience targeting.
Their internal campaign manager was stretched thin with other responsibilities, preventing full optimization of the campaigns. Additionally, AANA's Senior Director of Marketing had previously worked with Marcel Digital at another organization and trusted their ability to drive results. This led her to bring Marcel on board to address the complexity of budget allocation and to develop a holistic, full-funnel paid media strategy that prioritized high-intent audiences while balancing awareness and prospecting efforts.
What's going on?
The Analysis
Upon reviewing AANA’s existing setup, Marcel Digital identified a few key areas of focus. There were opportunities to improve campaign performance, particularly in paid search. However, the groundwork involved understanding AANA’s goals, target audiences, and the nuances of their offerings, which required close collaboration with the internal team. Analytics were not fully in place, making it difficult to gauge success across the various campaigns. Establishing robust tracking and testing protocols became a priority to ensure accurate insights into ad performance.
Through detailed meetings, research, and a focus on understanding AANA’s target audience, we established that paid search campaigns could be highly successful, especially with optimized ad copy and relevant keywords. The paid media strategy had the potential to drive significant traffic, but without the right tracking mechanisms, it was difficult to measure and demonstrate success.
How Marcel Digital Helped
The Solution
To address AANA’s challenges, Marcel Digital collaborated closely with their team to create a customized approach. We began by setting up essential tracking infrastructure, including detailed analytics, to measure campaign effectiveness. Through client meetings, research, and a deep understanding of AANA’s goals and competitive landscape, we tailored campaigns to target the right audiences with the most relevant ad copy.
We focused heavily on paid search, recognizing its potential to drive high-quality traffic. Our approach included:
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Prioritizing High-Intent Search Audiences
We shifted budgets from social media to Google Search Ads, focusing on “hand-raiser” audiences actively searching for AANA’s services. Using exact and phrase match keywords, we ensured we only targeted users with clear intent, avoiding ineffective broad keywords. For low search volume programs, we supplemented efforts with LinkedIn and programmatic campaigns. -
Leveraging Platform-Specific Strengths
- Google Search: Captured users ready to convert, especially for insurance, CE, and event registrations.
- LinkedIn Ads: Targeted CRM lists and niche professional audiences, while also retargeting past members.
- Programmatic Display: Expanded reach to users who weren’t effectively targeted through LinkedIn or Meta.
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Optimizing for Performance & Efficiency
We implemented A/B testing on ad creatives, headlines, and targeting strategies to improve click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates. Remarketing campaigns were launched to engage past visitors, driving conversions at a lower cost. We also optimized ad placements based on device usage insights, such as prioritizing mobile-friendly landing pages due to high engagement from iPhone users.
Despite challenges like incomplete tracking and the complexity of AANA’s campaigns, our team continued refining strategies through detailed discussions and ongoing optimization. This persistence and focus on high-quality traffic built trust with AANA, ensuring measurable results. Over time, we gained a deeper understanding of their audience and competitive landscape, enabling us to drive meaningful improvements in campaign performance.
What Happened After Launch?
The Results
Marcel Digital's optimization efforts led to a significant increase in AANA’s website traffic, engagement, and overall campaign performance. By shifting budget from underperforming social media channels to high-intent search ads, AANA saw increased conversions at a lower cost per lead (CPL). LinkedIn and programmatic display targeting also proved effective for specialized campaigns where search volume was low.
These improvements helped AANA surpass its 2024 revenue target by millions, with much of the success attributed to the enhanced digital strategy. Despite some challenges with conversion tracking, especially with non-insurance products, the increase in quality traffic was a critical factor in AANA's $3 million year-over-year revenue growth.
The collaboration between Marcel Digital’s paid media team and AANA’s marketing and analytics teams ensured continuous optimizations and data-driven decision-making. Regular insights allowed AANA to refine campaigns in real time, maximizing ROI and improving budget allocation.
Key takeaways from the project:
- Less is More: Focused efforts on high-performing platforms maximized ROI.
- Search First, Then Expand: Prioritized bottom-funnel search ads before investing in awareness channels.
- Platform-Specific Strategies Win: Tailored strategies for each platform—LinkedIn for B2B targeting, programmatic for reach, and search for high-intent users.
- Continuous Optimization is Crucial: Ongoing data analysis ensured budget allocation was aligned with results.
This approach equipped AANA with a clearer view of campaign performance, helping them meet marketing objectives and advocate for CRNAs effectively. By refining their paid media strategy, AANA achieved substantial business growth and is now better positioned to manage future campaigns.
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