The challenge: growing with impact
The Global Institute of Sport (GIS) is booming. What began with one course in Brussels-a collaboration with RSC Anderlecht-has now grown into an international network with courses in Australia and Jamaica, among others. But with growth also comes a challenge: how do you attract enough students for these specialized, English-language sports courses?
GIS came to us with a clear question: help us grow. Not just grow, but grow strategically and sustainably. Our proposal? A performance approach that delivers quick results and keeps the long term in sight.
From test phase to international scale
We started small. The first campaign focused on Brussels training in collaboration with RSCA. The timeline? Tight. The expectations? High. But with a clever mix of content and performance advertising, we managed to make an immediate impact.
Our approach:
- Fast switching & iterative testing: we created many different creatives and optimized at lightning speed based on hook rates and engagement.
- Strong content as a foundation: we focused on impactful visuals, clear messages and social-first videos that made it immediately clear what GIS has to offer.
- Performance with ambition: we combined performance campaigns on Meta and Google with organic collaborations within our content community.
The results did not show. The Brussels campaign achieved excellent numbers in terms of reach, CTR and leads. That gave the confidence to scale up.
The sequel: pan-European performance, globally aligned
Today we are the regular performance partner of GIS throughout Europe. And that means a much more complex funnel: more than seven different courses, each with their own target audience and message.
We launched a comprehensive campaign with more than 250 ads in different languages and formats. Each course was given its own funnel, with content tailored to its target audience. At the same time, we continue to work closely with content teams in the UK, Australia and Jamaica so that we remain globally aligned-and locally relevant.
This collaboration goes beyond advertising: it is a true cross-pollination between performance and content, between speed and strategy.
Steady leads & strong collaboration
The campaigns continue to grow in volume and quality. GIS is seeing a steady influx of quality leads month after month-and that's exactly what is needed for their "slow funnel" of sign-ups.
What began as a quick pilot project in Brussels has today grown into an international performance collab that is helping to build the future of sports education worldwide.
GIS remains a top partner: agile, ambitious, and always ready to test and scale. And we love that.
Credits
Account manager: Elke Cossey
Strategist: Sven Deconinck
Performance marketing: Pieter-Jan Priem
Art direction: Annelies Droesbeke and Jan D'hont
