Case Study: Chico’s Drives Awareness, 
Sales Via Display Ads

Optimizing for Peak Sales Periods
By analyzing campaign results and optimizing its ad display program daily, Chico's has been able to reach consumers with the right message at each stage of the purchase funnel. Akamai has developed ad campaigns to help Chico's advertise not simply to its past website visitors, but to those in-market apparel shoppers who have never visited the retailer's sites in the past. Chico's has been able to work within narrow windows of opportunity and shifting budgets during peak sales periods — i.e., the holidays — to help it gain new customers and incremental sales.

"Akamai has helped us meet our advertising ROI goals in all different times of the year, and especially during peak holiday and promotional periods," said McClain. "Their talent in dialing spend up or down based on what we're looking to accomplish has been a major help."

Additionally, Chico's has noticed a direct correlation between its display ad program and the effectiveness of its branded keyword terms. In fact, it's seen a 15 percent overall improvement in its search marketing program.

Chico's has also recently migrated to a completely pixel-free integration with Akamai that will enable it to see all user behaviors on its sites. This will allow Chico's to gain visibility into the behavior of an additional 55 percent of its audience. This move has helped Chico's bolster the effectiveness of its ad display program by targeting more shoppers with the right message at various stages of the purchase funnel.