Rakuten Securities, a global force in forex and metals trading, faced a critical inflection point. Their previous efforts, handled by Rakuten Marketing, yielded underwhelming results. Involve Digital was brought in to execute a digital marketing transformation—one built around precision, efficiency, and measurable business growth.

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The first priority was overhauling the website. Involve Digital won the bid by promising faster delivery and a lower cost than the next best option—while still lifting performance.

From there, we addressed the core issue: sign-ups that weren’t converting into funded accounts. Rakuten needed a strategy that didn’t just generate volume, but drove high-quality traffic that actually deposited funds. We structured the marketing around a two-stage funnel: acquisition first, funding second.

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We redesigned and built all creative from the ground up. Campaigns were tailored to speak directly to active traders—those who understood key terms like “tight spreads” and “leverage.” We ran continuous creative testing across all formats to optimise click-through rates and reduce CPAs.

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To improve both scale and relevance, we segmented trading audiences into distinct micro-niches—by interests, platforms, intent stage, and geography. These were targeted across Google, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and programmatic platforms to maximise reach and performance. Every dollar spent was tracked, analysed, and reinvested based on return.

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Google Ads: Advanced Search Strategy

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• Keyword Optimisation: Shifted from broad targeting to long-tail and competitor-specific terms that delivered higher conversion at lower CPC.
• Language Targeting: Introduced Chinese-language ads in Australia, reducing CPC and unlocking new cost-efficient audience segments.
• Smart Bidding: Bid strategy was adjusted in real time to prioritise high-performance time slots, devices, and geographies.

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YouTube & Display

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• Audience Segmentation: Created granular audience groups for remarketing and top-funnel targeting.
• Premium Placement Strategy: Identified high-performing inventory with strong intent signals to lift funded account quality.
• A/B Testing: Continuous creative testing on messaging, CTAs, and formats to maximise impact.

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Facebook Strategy

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• Interest & Lookalike Refinement: Targeted users interested in forex and finance, refining as campaign data emerged.
• Value Messaging: Campaigns such as “Learn to Trade Forex” and “Exclusive Bonus Offers” generated stronger engagement.
• Dynamic Retargeting: Brought users back into the funnel with tailored messages based on funnel stage.

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• Rakuten cut cost per sign-up by 80%, down from $100 to $20 per account sign-up.
• Conversion to funded accounts reached 60%, exceeding expectations.
• Involve Digital delivered 5X more funded accounts than initially forecasted.
• Video view-through rates increased by 97%, boosting brand lift and intent.
• Google CPCs dropped by 42% across Chinese-language variants.
• Facebook conversion rates improved 3.4X post-audience refinement.

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