Turning AI-powered marketing into measurable student growth

In this case study, we will look at a specific project that we completed as part of our long-running relationship with UCD Professional Academy, which harnessed the power of AI to help us deliver meaningful business outcomes for our client, while optimising business spend.

University College Dublin (UCD) is one of Europe’s premier universities. Its UCD Professional Academy provides practical, industry-led professional education and upskilling, specifically for people already in the workforce. 

Adaptive & Co has worked with UCD Professional Academy since soon after its launch in 2019. Since the outset, our team has helped the Professional Academy to connect with working professionals, mature leaders and international students who hope to gain applied skills to help super-charge and build momentum in their careers.

A little background to the project

The educational sector has become increasingly competitive in recent years. Our team is fully aware of the challenges that this client faces to continue to grow within that competitive market and we share with the client a common ambition to connect prospective students with the right course at the right moment. 

When the client approached us with a desire to get even more from their budget, we suggested harnessing the power of AI to achieve greater efficiencies and deliver excellent results within a specific budget and time-frame. The client trusted us to develop a novel campaign that combined strategic marketing expertise with Google Ads’ developing AI and automation capabilities. The metrics we achieved resulted in real-world growth for the client and a nomination at the Google Ad Impact Awards for the campaign

Our strategy

UCD Professional Academy needed to reach high-intent prospective students across Google's advertising ecosystem, ensuring marketing investment was directed towards audiences most likely to take meaningful action.

Traditional campaign approaches alone were not going to do enough to unlock the next level of performance that the client required. Rather than treating paid media as a standalone acquisition channel, we focused on understanding how to make marketing investment work harder by improving both the volume and efficiency of prospective student acquisition to deliver meaningful business outcomes. The opportunity lay in combining strategic insight, data and Google's AI capabilities to improve campaign effectiveness. 

Our team identified an opportunity to leverage Performance Max campaigns and AI-driven optimisation to:

• Reach prospective students more efficiently across Google channels.
• Improve engagement with advertising content.
• Generate more lead form conversions.
• Reduce the cost of acquiring each conversion.
• Scale results without a disproportionate increase in marketing investment.

The strategy centred on testing and learning, with 20+ Performance Max campaigns developed and tested to identify opportunities for improved performance.

UCD Professional Academy - Year-on-year results

• Increase in CTR +85.9%
• More conversion actions +18.19%
• Cost per conversion -8.8%
• Overall year-on-year investment increase +7.79%

What these numbers mean in practical terms

• Stronger audience engagement: An 85.90% increase in CTR indicates that the advertising became substantially more effective at attracting attention and encouraging clicks.
• More prospective student enquiries: Lead form conversions increased by 18.19%, demonstrating growth in the volume of captured leads.
• Improved acquisition efficiency: Cost per conversion decreased by 8.80%, meaning UCD Professional Academy generated conversions more cost-effectively.
• Responsible budget scaling: These improvements were achieved with just a 7.79% increase in overall spend year-on-year.
• A stronger foundation for enrolment growth: By improving the efficiency and volume of lead generation, the campaign supported UCD's broader student acquisition objectives.

Industry Recognition at Google Ads Impact Awards

As a result of this campaign, Adaptive & Co was named as a finalist at the 2025 Google Ads Impact Awards in the AI Excellence category for the EMEA region. The recognition highlighted how strategic thinking and AI-powered advertising worked together in this campaign to deliver measurable performance improvements.

Client Feedback

For the teams at Adaptive & Co and UCD Professional Academy, the finalist recognition at the Google Ad Impact Awards represented more than an industry accolade; it reflected a shared commitment to innovation, collaboration and tangible marketing impact.

Brian Gilsenan, Head of Digital, UCD Professional Academy said: "We’re delighted to see Adaptive & Co recognised as a finalist in the AI Excellence category at the Google Ads Impact Awards. Their smart, forward-thinking use of Google’s AI and data tools has genuinely changed how we reach prospective students. In such a competitive education space, it’s helped us connect with the right learners at the right moment, and the results speak for themselves. Together, we’ve turned AI and data-driven marketing into real growth and tangible impact. This recognition is very well deserved and reflects the innovation, collaboration, and shared ambition that’s driving success for both of our teams."