Most B2B campaigns target on a guess: this job title probably cares about this program. But guesses leave qualified prospects untouched while wasting spend on people who were never going to engage.
The Challenge
ODUGlobal, the online learning division of Old Dominion University, needed a targeted way to build awareness for its Maritime Supply Chain program — reaching prospective students and professionals with genuine interest in supply chain and logistics careers. That audience doesn’t map cleanly to a single job title or industry code, so standard demographic targeting wasn’t going to find them.
Why SmartBrief
ODUGlobal needed access to a credible, content-driven environment where the audience was already primed to engage with subject-specific content, not a generic B2B channel. As Melissa Willers, Digital Campaigns Manager at ODUGlobal / Old Dominion University, put it:
“SmartBrief provides access to a highly relevant professional audience in a credible, content-driven environment. The team has been collaborative, responsive, and helpful in identifying targeting opportunities that align with our program goals.”
The Solution: Topic Affinity
SmartBrief’s Topic Affinity targeting solved the core problem: reaching readers based on what they actually engage with, not inferred job titles or industry codes. It identifies audiences by behavioral signal — sustained reading activity around a subject — so the campaign reached people already primed for the message, not a broad demographic slice that may or may not care.
“For ODUGlobal, the value comes from being able to connect specialized academic programs with audiences already engaged in those subject areas.”
The Results
Over a six-week flight, the campaign delivered:
- 200,000+ newsletter impressions
- 310 clicks, driving qualified traffic to the program page
- 0.15% CTR
- A 220% lift versus ODUGlobal’s standard benchmark
- Sustained performance throughout, with no audience fatigue or drop-off
Read more about the SmartBrief and ODUGlobal partnership here