Campaign Overhaul Produces 37% Increase in Survey Responses for Tampa Bay Water
- Programmatic
- Paid Social
The challenge
Tampa Bay Water needed 1,000 community survey responses in three weeks — from a specific geographic area in south Hillsborough County — to meet regulatory requirements for a new pipeline project. Limited time, limited budget, no room for error.
The results
Hit the 1,000-response goal with 4% budget remaining. 10.7% survey completion rate. 37% improvement over their 2019 benchmark campaign — despite a smaller target audience. All within the three-week window.
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37%
Survey response increase
Improvement over the comparable 2019 campaign.
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10.7%
Survey completion rate
Well above the benchmark from prior campaigns.
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4%
Budget remaining
Goal reached with budget to spare.
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3 weeks
Campaign duration
From launch to 1,000+ completed responses.
Tampa Bay Water is the nonprofit regional utility that supplies wholesale drinking water to 2.5 million people across Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. In June 2022, they needed to collect 1,000 community survey responses in three weeks as part of the public consultation process for a new pipeline route.
A tight timeline and a specific audience
The target audience was geographically defined — residents of south Hillsborough County along the proposed pipeline route. There wasn't time for extended testing, which meant the campaign had to be both broad enough to reach the required volume and targeted enough to hit the right geography.
Channel mix: display, social, and direct mail
We launched with a combination of programmatic display, paid social media, and direct mailers to households in the target zip codes. Display and social ads launched with six creative variations — testing different combinations of copy and imagery — so we could identify top performers after one week and concentrate remaining budget.
The direct mailers included QR codes for tracking. While only 16 scans were recorded, high volumes of direct and organic traffic showed many residents were typing the URL after receiving the mailer.
Exceeded goal, under budget
Tampa Bay Water hit their 1,000-response target with four percent of budget remaining — and 37% better survey response rates than their 2019 benchmark campaign, despite operating in a smaller geographic area. For a public agency with strict procurement constraints, delivering measurable results on time and under budget is the only acceptable outcome.
About the client
Tampa Bay Water
Tampa Bay Water is a nonprofit regional utility that supplies wholesale drinking water to over 2.5 million people in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, and Tampa.