Sygnature Discovery

The client 

Sygnature Discovery is a world-leading integrated drug discovery contract research organisation, with over 700 staff from 53 nationalities, including 540 scientists working on drug discovery programmes.

Founded in 2004, Sygnature Discovery has delivered over 40 preclinical compounds, 21 clinical compounds, and their scientists are named on over 160 patent applications.

They partner with global pharma, biotech and NFP organisations, providing integrated drug discovery services from target identification to candidate nomination. Their co-located teams are experts in chemistry, computational chemistry, pharmacology, DMPK and project management, with a core therapeutic focus on oncology, inflammation and immunology, as well as neuroscience, metabolic diseases, respiratory, infectious diseases and fibrotic diseases.

The challenge

Sygnature Discovery approached us seeking assistance to enhance their Google Ads account performance and achieve substantial growth. Dissatisfied with their results at the time, they aimed to address the high cost per lead being achieved with existing activity. Additionally, they faced difficulties in managing their advertising activity within an overly granular campaign structure.

These challenges called for a strategic restructuring and rebuilding of their Google Ads account. It was crucial to establish a more effective account structure that could seamlessly integrate with machine learning and automated bidding, enabling optimal performance. In addition to improving cost efficiency and lead generation, the client sought a solution that would facilitate growth and align with their long-term business objectives.

Addressing these challenges required a comprehensive understanding of the client’s industry, target audience and goals. 

By revamping the account structure and optimising campaign management, we aimed to transform Sygnature Discovery’s Google Ads account into a powerful and efficient marketing tool. 

The ultimate objective was to enhance performance, drive relevant and high-quality traffic, and enable the client to achieve their growth targets in a cost-effective manner.

What we did 

To address their challenges and achieve their goals, we implemented a comprehensive approach that involved a complete restructuring of their Google Ads account. Drawing inspiration from the principles of Hagakure for driving effective performance from automated bidding, we designed a new account structure from scratch. 

Our focus was on consolidating the complex and granular account structure into more manageable aggregated ad groups and campaigns, allowing for better control and optimisation. 

To inform the restructuring process, we conducted an X-ray audit of the entire account. This audit helped us identify top-performing areas, poor performers, areas of significant wastage and deviations from best practices. Additionally, we employed our custom keyword research and structuring methodologies to identify three key areas: high performers, high-potential keywords and essential terms.

Machine learning and automated bidding played a crucial role in optimising the account’s performance. We reviewed and updated the attribution modelling in use, integrated DSA activity into all campaigns for prospecting and tailored our conversion actions, values and bidding strategies to drive optimal performance. 

To improve ad performance, we refreshed all ad copy with the assistance of Sygnature Discovery’s expert scientists. Our collaboration extended further as we worked with their Digital Marketing Manager to identify landing page needs which then led to existing pages being redesigned and relaunched, ensuring an enhanced user experience. In order to facilitate growth, we developed a bespoke footprint for the account structure, allowing for easy expansion into new territories. Currently covering the UK and US, our unique structure is adaptable for swift launch into additional geographies or additional product/service coverage.

As part of our commitment to ongoing support, we provided continuous monitoring and analysis of the account’s performance. This was facilitated through a dedicated “launch support” retainer during the initial month of activity. Additionally, we conducted in-person and online training sessions with Sygnature Discovery’s team, ensuring their proficiency in managing and maintaining the optimised account structure once the controls were handed back over.

Results

In month one of activity, we saw a 182% increase in leads, an 85% decrease in cost per lead and conversion rates increased from 0.69% to 2.37% – this is all as a direct result of us implementing Hagakure and Sygnature Discovery making landing page improvements.