Discover Cards
Performance Marketing Case Study
Campaign Overview
During my tenure at GroupM (Mindshare, WPP), I managed programmatic advertising campaigns for Discover Cards US across multiple markets. Working with quarterly budgets exceeding $30 million, I implemented strategic performance marketing initiatives that contributed to Discover's aggressive customer acquisition goals.
Strategic Approach
My role involved end-to-end campaign management for Discover Cards, including:
- Campaign setup and activation across multiple DSPs including DV360, Adobe Marketing Cloud, and Trade Desk.
- Audience targeting optimization focused on prime segments.
- Performance monitoring and real-time optimization.
- Data-driven budget allocation to maximize acquisition efficiency.
Key Achievements
- Contributed to Discover's year-over-year growth in new account acquisition.
- Optimized programmatic media buying to improve cost efficiency during Discover's aggressive marketing push.
- Implemented advanced audience segmentation strategies to target high-value potential cardholders.
- Executed A/B testing frameworks that improved creative performance and reduced cost per acquisition.
Campaign Insights
Working with Discover during their significant marketing expansion phase provided valuable insights into financial services customer acquisition. The company invested heavily in marketing ($271 million in Q4 alone, a 70% YoY increase) to compete effectively against fintech challengers and BNPL providers. My programmatic strategies aligned with Discover's "lend-focused business" approach targeting the prime revolver segment.
Technical Implementation
- Leveraged DV360 and Trade Desk platforms to execute programmatic display and video campaigns.
- Implemented cross-device tracking to create cohesive customer journeys.
- Utilized first-party data integration for enhanced targeting precision.
- Deployed real-time optimization algorithms to maximize campaign performance.
Results & Impact
The campaigns my team managed contributed to Discover's strategic growth objectives, helping drive their Network payments volume up 25% year-over-year to $53.2 billion. My team's work supported Discover's positioning as a customer-centric credit card provider with unique value propositions in a highly competitive market.