January 2014 - June 2014

During my Masters In Business Administration, I worked on a Google AdWords campaign for the Houston Grand Opera. The campaign was part of the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), a competition where teams of students led by a faculty member plan, execute and review a 3-week Google AdWords campaign for a real client*. My team members - Shu Su, Neha Kejriwal, and Benjamin Smith - researched and met with a number of Houston organizations, including the Houston Rockets, the Bayou City Art Festival, and the Main Street Theater Company, before forming a partnership with the Houston Grand Opera (HGO).

Once the team chose a client, we began the process of building a campaign strategy through client meetings, keyword research, and competitor analysis. Because we had a limited budget of $250 for the entire 3-week campaign, optimization was incredibly important. Once the campaign began, we used Google AdWords and Google Analytics to track our Impressions, CTR, Bounce Rate, and Goal Conversions, among other metrics.

Over the course of the campaign, we ultimately used the allotted $250 to generate $8,272.67 in additional revenue for HGO, and earned the AdWords Social Impact Award, 2nd Place. Throughout the competition, the team leveraged online tools like Google Hangouts and Google Drive to overcome difficulties with scheduling in-person meetings. The team also created lasting improvements in HGO’s Google Analytics, giving them more insight with previously unused tools, like Demographics.

*This program has now shifted to a new structure that runs throughout the year with no final prizes, and is exclusively for non-profits