Client Overview

People Science is a cutting-edge research organization that partners with supplement and pharmaceutical brands to perform randomized clinical studies. Participants are incentivized with cash rewards and gifts, such as Oura Rings, to encourage meaningful engagement in these studies. The organization faced challenges in recruiting qualified participants efficiently while maintaining accuracy in data collection.

The Challenge

People Science approached Mad Marketing Labs with a clear problem: study completion rates were hindered by two major issues:

1. Tracking Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Users: The existing URL structure made it nearly impossible to distinguish between qualified and non-qualified participants post-quiz.

2. Inefficient Targeting: Recruiting qualified male participants was particularly challenging, as conventional ad imagery and messaging underperformed for this demographic.

3. Quiz Gamification: Users were attempting to game the system by retaking the qualification quiz multiple times, resulting in unoptimized campaign performance.

4. Cost and Timeline Constraints: Typical campaigns took 45–60 days and $5,000–$15,000 to recruit 150 qualified participants.

Our Approach

Mad Marketing Labs, as People Science's marketing partner, implemented a multi-faceted strategy to address these challenges:

1. Fixing the Foundation:

   • Updated the URL structure to track participant qualification status more accurately.

   • Introduced an attribution fix to optimize campaigns toward first-day, first conversions, eliminating optimization toward repeat quiz takers.

2. Creative Development:

   • Designed 14 distinct ad creatives tailored to different audience segments:

     • Males: Abstract imagery and text-heavy creatives that resonated more than traditional cash-incentive messaging. Example: VerbGaba_V1 (see attached file).

     • Females: High-quality lifestyle images featuring women, aligning with the target audience's preferences. Example: VerbGaba-14 (see attached file).

     • Neutral Audiences: A blend of gender-agnostic designs for control groups.

   • Segmented creatives into distinct ad sets to prevent Meta from disproportionately serving ads to female audiences (the easier-to-convert demographic).

3. Audience Targeting:

   • Leveraged People Science’s CRM data to create lookalike audiences.

   • Built custom audiences aligned with study themes (e.g., targeting late-night TV viewers and people discussing sleep issues for a sleep study).

   • Scheduled ads during times when the target audience was most likely to engage (e.g., late-night ads for sleep study participants).

4. Ad Platform and Format:

   • Focused campaigns exclusively on Meta (Facebook and Instagram).

   • Used a mix of single-image ads, carousels, and text-heavy formats to match audience behavior patterns.

Execution and Results

The revamped campaign launched with precise targeting and creative segmentation, resulting in unprecedented success:

• 150 Qualified Participants were recruited in 6 days—a record time.

• The total cost was $875.45, over 80% below the typical budget range of $5,000–$15,000.

• Reduced quiz retake attempts from 7–11 tries per user to 1.5 tries on average through smarter attribution and campaign optimizations.

• Achieved a conversion rate far exceeding industry standards for clinical study recruitment.

Key Statistics

Time to Recruit 150 Qualified Participants

• Previous Average: 45–60 Days

• Mad Marketing Labs’ Results: 6 Days

Budget for Recruitment

• Industry Standard: $5,000–$15,000

• Mad Marketing Labs’ Results: $875.45

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Quiz Retake Attempts (People Trying to Gamify To Get In The Quiz)

• Industry Standard: 7–11 Tries/User

• Mad Marketing Labs’ Results: 1.5 Tries/User

Creative Segmentation Efficiency

• Industry Standard: N/A

• Mad Marketing Labs’ Results: 30% Higher Male Conversions

Client Testimonial

"Mad Marketing Labs not only achieved our recruitment goals in record time but also helped us uncover and address operational inefficiencies we didn’t even know we had. Their strategic insights and execution have set a new standard for how we approach participant recruitment."
— People Science Representative

Long-Term Impact

While this campaign focused on a single study, the insights gained are shaping People Science’s long-term strategies:

• Operational Improvements: The improved URL structure and attribution system are now foundational for all future studies.

• Enhanced Audience Insights: The creative learnings around male versus female targeting are being applied to future campaigns.

• Future Collaborations: Following the campaign's success, People Science has committed to additional studies with Mad Marketing Labs.

Conclusion

Mad Marketing Labs demonstrated how strategic adjustments in creative, targeting, and optimization can deliver exceptional results in even the most challenging scenarios. By understanding the nuances of People Science’s audience and leveraging data-driven marketing, we achieved results that redefined success—delivering qualified participants faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.