How do you get the building community to think differently about low-carbon construction? By getting them to rethink everything they’ve learned about the role cement and concrete can play in reducing the carbon content of their projects.


Media Highlights
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
CTR ON DISPLAY ADS
LIFT IN LINKEDIN CONVERSION RATE THROUGH OPTIMIZED TARGETING
LOWER CPC AFTER AUDIENCE AND CHANNEL REFINEMENT


Decarbonize Without Compromise.
This simple, three-word phrase delivered a powerful message. It became a rallying call for those who recognized the need to cut carbon from their construction projects without cutting back on durability, flexibility or ambition. And it turned into a campaign designed to enlighten, educate, engage and PUSH the building community toward Holcim and its role in enabling low-carbon construction at scale.
To drive consideration, we needed architects, owners and general contractors to understand that carbon reduction didn’t have to mean compromising on the key metrics used to measure the success of their projects. Our message: Holcim’s innovative building materials deliver all the durability and flexibility of traditional materials—without all the carbon.
Engage. Optimize. Repeat.
Concrete is a key component of most construction projects but suppliers like Holcim haven’t typically been part of early-stage sustainability conversations with developers, architects and engineers. We set out to change that with a three-phase digital media strategy: an initial phase focused on driving top-of-funnel metrics and subsequent phases that shifted the emphasis to retargeting efforts and delivering qualified leads. We tested and iterated creative throughout to optimize for high-performers and channels delivering optimal results.
Through a targeted digital and outdoor campaign, we showed that decarbonization didn’t have to come at the cost of other critical considerations driving the work of our target market. Then we pushed them to a comprehensive webpage to see firsthand how simple it is to Decarbonize Without Compromise.
As our plan evolved to incorporate more nurturing efforts, we introduced personalized content and continued digital efforts to convert and educate leads generated in earlier phases. We also equipped the Holcim sales team with digital and event toolkits so they could integrate the Decarbonize Without Compromise story into every presentation and customer interaction.
Building employee pride and engagement.
Holcim’s internal comms team also used Decarbonize Without Compromise to keep employees engaged and focused on sustainability initiatives. With a sense of pride in their company’s mission, employees from all corners of the company are aligned behind Holcim’s commitment to decarbonize construction and work toward achieving net zero.


Through continuous creative and media optimization, our DWC campaign consistently outperformed our benchmarks:
- 2.5X industry average CTR on display ads
- 300% increase in qualified leads from Phase 1 to Phase 2
- 30% reduction in cost-per-lead by Phase 3
- 34% lift in LinkedIn conversion rate through optimized targeting
- 38% lower CPC after audience and channel refinement
The campaign gave Holcim the comms strategy and tools needed to engage with architects and owners, who are key to driving adoption of low-carbon solutions. And although developed for Holcim US, the campaign was picked up by the Holcim global marketing team with plans to localize it for other key markets and regions.
2023 Viddy Awards
Platinum YouTube/Vimeo