Education, Performance Media
Lowering acquisition cost while lead quality climbed
RICE Education needed to bring down what it cost to acquire a new student year over year, without trading away the quality of the leads coming in.
The idea
Shift spend and creative toward the channels and audiences producing genuinely qualified leads, so cost per acquisition falls because targeting improved, not because volume did.
Execution
- Realigned targeting around the profiles most likely to qualify, not just enquire
- Tightened lead qualification criteria in partnership with the admissions team
- Refreshed creative toward higher-intent search and social audiences
- Reallocated budget year over year toward what was actually converting
Scope
- Audience targeting refinement
- Lead qualification criteria alignment
- Creative optimisation
- Year-over-year budget reallocation
25%
Drop in customer acquisition cost, year on year (2025–26)
15%
Increase in qualified leads, year on year (2025–26)
