Case Study: Growing Sign-ups for Pancreatic Cancer UK's Health Professional Webinars Using Paid Advertising

By Jacob Southgate-Cryer

Background

Pancreatic Cancer UK (PCUK) are working to improve outcomes and quality of care for people living with pancreatic cancer. A key part of this work involves outreach to medical professionals, to help them better support their patients. Learning for professionals is provided by PCUK through webinars, online courses and an email bulletin. PCUK worked with us to increase sign-ups for their healthcare professional webinars through Meta Ads. 

Activity began in April 2023 and spanned a 24-month period, covering the promotion of 21 different webinars.

Objectives

The primary goals were to generate cost effective sign-ups, and boost attendance, from relevant health professionals working with people affected by pancreatic cancer.

Results

  • Activity generated an additional 4,750 webinar sign-ups, with a low average cost per sign-up of £3.50 across 21 events.

  • Attendance rates increased to 24%-29% over time, surpassing the initial target of 20%.

  • An additional benefit was a high opt-in rate of 61% to PCUK’s health professional bulletin, collected at the point of sign-up.

Key Strategies & Findings

Optimising the Registration Process: Using a Meta lead form instead of directing users to register via Zoom significantly improved conversion rates. The lead form achieved a conversion rate of 34.3%, compared to 20.6% for Zoom registrations.

Enhancing Event Attendance: Running ads in the week leading up to each event increased attendance rates to 24%-29%, reinforcing the importance of last-minute promotions.

Targeting Approach: While Meta allows for precise targeting by job title, broad targeting (18+ UK) delivered the highest volume and lowest cost per result without negatively impacting lead quality.

Ad Copy & Content: Direct and explicit ad copy (e.g., “Calling all healthcare professionals”) ensured that sign-ups came from relevant audiences.

Added Value: The high opt-in rate (61%) to PCUK’s health professional bulletin delivers a lower cost per subscriber than directly promoting the bulletin itself.

Conclusion

This campaign demonstrated the effectiveness of paid advertising in driving engagement for PCUK’s healthcare professional webinars. By refining the registration process, optimising ad timing, and leveraging broad audience targeting, PCUK achieved substantial growth in sign-ups and attendance, reinforcing the value of digital advertising in professional education outreach.