Grammarly, the AI-powered writing assistant, ran a 90-day performance campaign on NEXUS to expand its user base among professionals and content creators. The campaign focused on reaching writers seeking AI-powered grammar checking, content generation, and intelligent writing enhancement tools.
Campaign Objective and Setup
The objective was to acquire high-quality users efficiently while driving free trial signups and long-term adoption of premium subscriptions.
Over 90 days, Grammarly deployed $744,000 in ad spend, targeting professionals and creators actively engaging with AI, productivity, and writing-enhancement solutions.
Audience Targeting Across AI and Productivity Segments
The campaign reached AI tech users and SaaS subscribers already using productivity tools, as well as professionals exploring generative AI and workplace productivity solutions. By focusing on users with immediate content creation needs, Grammarly ensured high-quality registrations with strong conversion potential to premium subscriptions.
Sequential Retargeting and Progressive Messaging
Sequential messaging guided users from initial awareness to free trial signups, progressively demonstrating AI writing features, real-time grammar assistance, and content generation capabilities. This approach maximized engagement and encouraged trial-to-subscription conversion.
Creative Strategy Emphasizing AI Value
Messaging highlighted Grammarly’s generative AI capabilities and intelligent writing support. Characterized by professional and creator-focused language, creatives communicated efficiency, content quality, and real-world use cases, differentiating Grammarly from general productivity tools.
Campaign Optimization
Real-time performance monitoring adjusted targeting parameters and creative delivery to maximize conversion rates across high-intent segments. Behavioral targeting ensured continued reach to users demonstrating AI tool usage and writing engagement.
Campaign Results
Over the 90-day campaign period, the following results were recorded:
- 12,000 new registered users across web and mobile platforms
- 7.4 million qualified impressions delivered to AI and productivity-focused audiences
- 3.5% conversion rate from impression to free trial signup
- $62 cost per acquisition per new user
- 9.8× return on ad spend based on lifetime value projections and premium subscription conversions
These metrics demonstrate efficient scale and high-quality user acquisition in emerging generative AI markets.
Observations
The campaign showed that combining behavioral targeting with interest-based segmentation effectively reaches professionals and creators seeking AI writing assistance. Targeting AI tech users, generative AI enthusiasts, and workplace productivity segments delivered highly qualified users while maintaining efficient acquisition costs.
