Microsoft Display Cuts Hospitality Brand CPA by 81%

The client is a global hospitality brand running a destination campaign for a Pacific island market, with Australia and New Zealand as the primary source markets. A Google Display campaign for the destination had already been delivered, and the brand wanted to keep that momentum while diversifying media investment beyond Google.

Mavlers Agency partnered with the client's team as a dedicated resource to recommend the right additional channel and run it. After reviewing historical campaign performance and audience behavior, we proposed Microsoft Display. It was the brand's first Microsoft Display campaign for this destination, and the engagement ran for six months after an initial three-month plan.

• No channel benchmark: The destination had never run on Microsoft Display, so there was no performance baseline to optimize against.
• Slow start against target: Early cost per Booking Funnel Action (CPBFA) reached $16.55, well above the campaign target of $5.26.
• Uneven device performance: Spend was split across devices that did not perform equally, diluting efficiency.
• Underperforming creative: Some assets drew impressions without moving users toward the booking funnel.
• Budget reaching users who had already converted: Recent converters were still being served ads, taking spend away from new prospects.
• A new channel to validate: The client expected a platform recommendation, an efficient result and proof that Microsoft Display could earn a place in the media mix.

• Recommend the most suitable additional platform for the destination
• Increase consideration by driving users further into the booking journey, measured through Booking Funnel Actions
• Reach the CPBFA target of $5.26 efficiently
• Validate Microsoft Display as an additional media channel
• Keep optimizing throughout the flight rather than letting the campaign run unchanged

• Evaluated channel fit before launch using historical campaign performance, audience trends across Australia and New Zealand, past results from Microsoft always-on campaigns and the Booking Funnel Action objective
• Planned and launched the Native Display campaign in Microsoft Advertising with an audience strategy built around the two source markets
• Moved bidding from Maximize Conversions to Target CPA once enough conversion data had accumulated
• Excluded mobile devices after analysis showed desktop was the stronger-performing environment
• Reviewed creative performance, paused weak assets and replaced them with new variants
• Excluded recent converters (30-day audience) so spend went toward new prospects
• Enabled Audience Expansion to widen reach while holding efficiency
• Monitored performance weekly and reported results to the client team

• 81% lower CPBFA, from $16.55 in the initial phase to $3.18 across the campaign.
• 40% below target: Overall CPBFA landed against a $5.26 target.
• 6,018 Booking Funnel Actions: Users moved further into the booking journey.
• Up to 44% more weekly clicks: Peak weekly clicks versus the first full week, while cost per click fell 37%.
• Up to 83% more weekly impressions: Peak weekly delivery versus the first full week.
• 9 bookings and $5,253 in attributed revenue: Early revenue signals from a mid-funnel campaign in a long-consideration category.
• 3 to 6 months: The client doubled the flight after the first three months.

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