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One Tuesday that cost me $800 because I ignored my gut on ad targeting

Last month I ran a campaign for a local landscaping company in Austin and let them talk me into targeting 'homeowners interested in luxury pools.' Wasted 6 days and $800 before I paused it. Has anyone else lost money by trusting a client's audience ideas over your own data?
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3 Comments
kimr10
kimr101mo ago
Respectfully, I gotta push back a little here @wilson.kelly. lol. I don't think it's about the client being right or wrong, it's about them having a gut feel while we have actual data to look at. Your gut told you something was off with that luxury pool audience, and you had six days of proof it wasn't working. The real mistake wasn't trying their idea, it was letting it run that long without trusting your own numbers. Wilson, I feel like if both of us run the same bad targeting, the client still lost money, so it's not really a win for them either way.
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daniel_lane30
6 days and $800" man that's brutal. I literally gasped when I read that number just sitting there wasted. Clients always think they know their audience better than the data does, especially when it comes to "luxury" stuff. I had a client once insist on targeting "high net worth pet owners" for a dog grooming ad and it tanked just as hard. Your gut was screaming at you and you still let them talk you into it, I've been there too many times.
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wilson.kelly
wilson.kelly1mo agoTop Commenter
Ha, or maybe the client was right and we're both just bad at running ads...
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