How a Not-for-Profit Stewardship Organization Increased Brand Awareness While Driving Conversions

Large Appliance Recycling BC (MARRBC)

The Company

LargeApplianceRecycling.ca is run by The Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable, known as MARR. MARR is a not-for-profit stewardship agency created to implement and operate a stewardship plan for end-of-life major household appliances in BC. MARR has over 200 collection sites across BC where consumers can drop off end-of-life large appliances to be properly disposed of and recycled for free

The Challenge

Recycling paper, bottles, and cans comes to mind for most consumers. When it came to fridges, dishwashers, dryers, and ovens, it wasn’t. MARR was tasked with targets to make people in BC aware of the free recycling programs and how convenient they could be. They wanted to reduce the number of people throwing away their large appliances. With that in mind, in 2023, MARR introduced their consumer-facing brand, Large Appliance Recycling BC. They faced problems working with creative agencies because they could not measure more than impressions and website visits. It wasn’t a clear indicator that people were engaged in learning about the program or desired to recycle their large appliances.

The Goal

MARR needed to: 

  • Increase awareness about the large appliance recycling program in BC
  • Increase awareness of their new consumer-facing brand, Large Appliance Recycling BC 
  • Measure the percentage of website visitors who took tthe ime to learn about the program
  • Increase organic visibility on Google and Bing
  • Enhance website 
  • Achieve better visibility into the impact of their marketing investment

The Results

By engaging with the Able & Howe team, MARR launched, measured, and optimized its campaigns for maximum audience impact in BC.

Achieved 2nd position ranking in Google SERPs within 2 months

Collection site locator tool usage increased 612% YoY

New users increased 34.8% YoY

Our Key Responsibilities

Able & Howe engaged with MARR in a variety of marketing channels including:

Google Ads Campaign Audit, Strategy & Management

  • Audited current Google Ads campaign setup, structure and tracking to determine areas of improvement for both brand awareness and conversion 
  • Implemented conversion goals and tracking
  • Conducted keyword research and assessment for high-intent keywords
  • Develop campaign strategy & audience targeting 
  • Setup campaigns & targeting
  • Created highly appealing ad copy (text, callout extensions, sitelink extensions, etc.)
  • Ongoing management, strategy, conversion optimization, and monthly reporting

Meta Ads Strategy & Management

  • Set up Facebook brand awareness, conversion and remarketing campaigns
  • Implemented conversion goals and tracking 
  • Created high-quality ad copy to educate users about the program and encourage click-through 
  • Ongoing management, strategy, conversion optimization, and monthly reporting

SEO Audit Strategy & Consulting

  • Created a foundational SEO strategy to guide the development of a new website
  • Created SEO-optimized website architecture and URL structure
  • Conducted keyword research and allocation 
  • Meta title and description creation
  • Created on-page content structure outlines

How it Happened

Utilizing our in-source marketing model™, and a fractional marketing approach for B2B SaaS companies, Skillsetter was able to capitalize on quick wins while laying a foundation for long term marketing success.

Evaluate

Our team conducted an expansive and detailed audit of the company’s current marketing stack to expose strengths, weaknesses, and function gaps. 

Strengths

Skillsetter’s patent-pending software is unlike any other service offering on the market. Their interactive method of providing interpersonal skill training through deliberate practice enhances post-secondary programs and professional development training beyond what is currently offered.

Weaknesses

Skillsetter lacked internal marketing support and leadership. Up until Able & Howe’s support, Skillsetter’s marketing efforts were handled solely by the CEO. Despite the vast knowledge of the internal team around their product, they were limited in terms of establishing the brand and generating leads. 

Function Gaps

The main function gaps were the lack of an in-house marketing team and a missing lead nurture process. 

Create

  • Able & Howe worked with the Skillsetter team to develop a marketing strategy and project timeline corresponding to the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities identified in the ASP. 

Evolve

  • Skillsetter was set up with optimized Analytics tracking to monitor marketing performance. 
  • Set up a new CRM—migrated from previous CRM. 
  • Able & Howe created a content strategy, working with the Sillsetter team to create educational content. 
  • Initiated email automation setup with strategized campaigns. 
  • Developed Account-based marketing (ABM) strategy.

Activate

  • Able & Howe managed video script development, storyboarding and production.
  • Skillsetter underwent a rebrand in early 2022 (formerly Theravue) to better align the brand with expanded field service offerings. Able & Howe consulted on multiple stages within the rebranding process. 
  • To support the rebrand, Able & Howe consulted on a new website project.
    • Expanding the user interface of the website, content available, and overall design. 
  • Designed ad creatives for marketing campaigns.
    • Display, email, and remarketing.
  • Media planning
    • Research and identify highly targeted media partners for annual advertising placement + sponsorship opportunities

Enable

  • Supporting on website development to enhance the current service offerings beyond therapy and counselling fields. 
  • Campaign management and execution support. 
  • Ongoing content creation, calendar management and optimization.
  • Copywriting and art direction for advertising campaigns.
  • Target account list research + creation for sales team.