The Brief
Alliance Francais engaged us to design, launch and manage Meta Ads campaigns with the following goals:
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Increase qualified enrolments for adult group courses, private tuition and exam preparation (DELF/DALF).
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Drive B2B leads for corporate training contracts (HR/training managers, local schools and employers).
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Boost attendance and ticket sales for cultural events (cinema, literature evenings, social events) and increase newsletter signups.
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Raise local brand awareness across Cambridge and Norwich while keeping cost-per-lead sustainable and improving lead quality so Alliance Francais could scale ad spend confidently.
The Solution
We implemented a full-funnel Meta Ads strategy optimised for a mix of consumer learners and B2B buyers, with an emphasis on local reach, trust signals (charity/credentials) and conversion events (bookings, enquiries, exam sign-ups).
Campaign structure & targeting
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Built separate funnels for key objectives:
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Course enrolment campaigns targeting adults (ages/interests tied to language learning, travel, professional development).
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Corporate training lead campaigns targeting decision makers (HR managers, L&D leads, school administrators) using job-title targeting, business page engagement and lookalikes from past corporate clients.
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Event & community campaigns to drive ticket purchases and newsletter signups.
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Local & geo targeting focused heavily on Cambridge and Norwich postcodes and surrounding commuter corridors to match Alliance Francais’s physical class locations and catchment.
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Lookalike & custom audiences were created from Alliance Francais’s CRM (past students, newsletter subscribers, high-value clients) to expand high-intent reach.
Creative & messaging
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Creative emphasised credibility: “42+ years in the community”, DELF/DALF exam prep, corporate course experience, charity status and student testimonials. Alliance Française de Cambridge
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Ad formats included lead forms for enquiries, event response ads for cultural listings, video snippets of classes and carousel ads for course types (adult groups, private tuition, corporate).
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Messaging was tailored by audience: convenience and social benefits for adult learners; ROI, compliance and staff-development framing for corporate prospects.
Funnel & conversion optimisation
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Implemented Meta conversion tracking (pixel + offline conversion uploads for phone bookings) to measure enrolments, exam sign-ups and paid event tickets.
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Used value-based optimisation for higher-value conversions (multi-session corporate contracts, corporate course bundles).
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Deployed dynamic retargeting: people who visited course pages or downloaded syllabi were served mid-funnel content (testimonials, sample lesson) and bottom-funnel offers (discounted first lesson, free level test).
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A/B tested form length, CTAs (Book a Level Test vs Enrol Now), and creative variants to reduce friction and improve lead quality.
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Weekly performance reviews and monthly deep-dive reporting with recommendations for budget reallocation and creative refreshes.
The Result
The Meta Ads strategy delivered a strong uplift in awareness, enquiries and enrolments for Alliance Francais, driving consistent month-on-month growth across both individual student sign-ups and corporate training leads. Lead-to-enrolment conversion rates improved due to better targeting and retargeting, while tailored creative increased engagement and reduced wasted spend. Meta also became a reliable channel for promoting cultural events, leading to higher attendance and a growing newsletter audience. With sustainable cost-per-lead and clear attribution of results, Alliance Francais gained confidence to increase ad spend and continue scaling their campaigns.
