Performance at a Glance
Lower CPC than Meta
More efficient than Cruise Critic's CPC benchmark
Increase in pageviews month-over-month
Company
Cruise Critic is the world’s leading cruise review platform operated by The Independent Traveler, a TripAdvisor subsidiary. They wanted to diversify their media mix to promote cruise deals and their 30th anniversary sweepstakes.
Challenge
Cruise Critic needed to expand beyond native and DCO to reach more in-market cruise planners while maintaining strong engagement and ROAS.
Solution
They added display ads to their Realize mix, using Data Marketplace targeting, Maximize Conversions bidding, and Optimize for Engagement to reach high-intent travelers.
Result
Realize delivered CPCs 67% lower than Meta and 78% more efficient than Cruise Critic's benchmark, while increasing pageviews 48% month-over-month.
We’d been running native and DCO successfully, but adding display to the mix gave us more visibility across premium placements that drove real engagement. The Creative Studio team reviewed our display units before launch and gave us feedback that actually improved performance. That kind of partnership, combined with display formats that increased our pageviews 48% month-over-month, made it clear Realize was a channel we could scale with confidence.
