Franq case study: from zero, in the pandemic, to 40% of acquisition
How Franq went from a practically nonexistent digital presence in 2020 to 40% of acquisition coming from our joint work, phase by phase, with what each stage teaches.
This digital marketing case study tells how Franq went from a practically nonexistent digital presence, in 2020, to a point where 40% of its acquisition comes from the work we do together. There was no single turning point: it happened in phases, each with a decision that set up the next. Here is the story in order, with what each stage teaches anyone starting out or reorganizing their company's marketing.
Franq is a platform for independent banking professionals, known in Brazil as personal bankers, and for investment offices. Professionals offer products from several banks and fintechs without being tied to a single institution.
The starting point: zero digital presence
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Franq was only a few months old and its digital presence was practically zero. The partnership had begun at the end of 2019, with the first website. Everything else had to be built from nothing: contact base, automation tool, campaigns, content.
Starting from zero has an advantage people rarely mention. There are no bad habits to undo and no inherited account with forgotten settings, like the ones we list in our paid media audit. Every choice can be made with what comes next in mind.
The phases of Franq's digital marketing case study
Each phase added a layer without dismantling the previous one. The table sums up the timeline, and the sections below show what each stage taught.
| Year | What came in | What the phase teaches |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | the first website | the foundation comes before media |
| 2020 | RD Station and the first campaigns | measure from the very first lead |
| 2021 | communication riding the Open Banking wave | use a change your audience is already discussing |
| 2022 | year-round paid media, social, blog, lead magnets, email, WhatsApp and live streams | every channel with a role |
| 2023 | awareness levels | judge channel and format by cost and lead quality |
| 2025 | the new corporate website | the site keeps up with the positioning |
| 2026 | a downloadable resource, a profile quiz and a LinkedIn newsletter | new formats for the same people |
2019 and 2020: foundation first, measurement from the start
The website and the automation tool came before any scaling of media. With RD Station in place from the first campaigns, the contact base and conversions were recorded from the very first lead. Teams that start without this spend months not knowing which channel brought whom, and the first budget discussion becomes opinion against opinion.
2021: the topic the market was already discussing
Open Banking gave Franq a topic its audience was already following. The model, now called Open Finance by Brazil's Central Bank, lets customers authorize one institution to access their data held at another. For a platform that connects professionals to several banks, it was the right conversation at the right time.
The lesson applies to any industry. A regulatory or market change your audience is already discussing is a ready-made topic, as long as the brand has something to say about it. Before jumping in, three questions help you decide:
- does the topic change the day-to-day of the people who buy from you?
- does your company have its own take, one a competitor cannot copy?
- will the topic still matter after the week of the news?
If all three answers are yes, the topic deserves a campaign, content and a lead magnet. If not, a post is enough.
2022: more channels, each with a role
Franq added year-round paid media, social media, a blog, lead magnets, email marketing, WhatsApp and live streams on Instagram and YouTube. More channels only work when each one has a clear job: attract people who do not know you, nurture those who already downloaded something, invite those who are ready to talk.
Lead magnets came in at this stage because they turn interest into a contact with a name and an email. The step-by-step to build one is in our post on lead magnets.
2023: channel and format judged by lead quality
With awareness levels, formats and channels started being judged by cost and lead quality, not just volume. Communication began separating people who are not yet aware of the problem from those already comparing solutions, with one message for each stage. We explain the method in our post on awareness levels.
Over the course of the partnership, the landing pages went through optimizations and several review and improvement sprints. In the campaign's best periods, the average conversion rate of our landing pages for Franq reached 9%, above the financial market average of 4%.
2025 and 2026: the new website and formats for the same people
The new corporate website was delivered in May 2025, and in 2026 new formats came in to talk to the same audience. A downloadable resource, with a landing page, emails and creatives; a professional profile quiz, a format that swaps the form for questions the respondent actually cares about, as we show in our post on the lead generation quiz; and social media every month, with a content plan, reels, creator collabs and the LinkedIn newsletter.
In the campaigns, the rule for creatives is to test new versions before giving up on a format, the topic of our post on ad creative testing.
The numbers this case shows
Three numbers sum up the partnership, each with its context.
- 40% of Franq's acquisition comes from the work we do together.
- A 9% average conversion rate on our landing pages for Franq, in the campaign's best periods, above the financial market average of 4%.
- +70% Instagram followers in under two years: from 28,900 in December 2024 to 49,100 in September 2026. Followers include both organic growth and paid media, which we run together with Franq's team.
A case study number is only worth something with its source and scope attached, and a digital marketing case study without that is just advertising. That is why each one comes with its period and what it includes. The Franq case study page has the full profile and the case video.
Why a long partnership weighs on results
Every year of work leaves a history that the next campaign builds on. What worked, the messages that did not land, the objections sales hears and the formats that bring the right lead are all on record. The new campaign starts from what the previous one learned.
At Franq, this shows in how we work: today we are together across every acquisition and digital positioning channel, with both teams side by side. Working that closely is what makes it possible to adjust course quickly, because both sides already know the audience, the product and the history.
What to take to your own company
Franq's digital marketing case study shows that sustained growth comes from layers that add up year after year. Five points that apply at any stage:
- Start with the foundation: website, automation tool and a recorded lead source.
- Use the topic of the moment when the brand has something of its own to say about it.
- Give every channel a role before opening the next one.
- Judge by lead quality, not just by volume or cost per lead.
- Keep both teams side by side: as the partnership matured, the challenge became making every action more precise, together.
That is how we work with clients who have been with us for years, across every acquisition and digital positioning channel.
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Frequently asked questions
How long does work like Franq's take to pay off?
Franq's digital presence was built in phases, starting in 2019. Each phase had its own deliverables, but the consolidated result, such as 40% of acquisition, comes from years of work added together.
What changes when a company already has marketing running?
The starting point is different: first an audit of what exists, then the phases. The logic of layers and of judging by lead quality stays the same.
Why rebuild the website after years of campaigns?
Because the website is where almost every campaign leads and the first impression for anyone researching the company. When the brand grows, adds products and changes its tone, the old site starts telling a smaller story than the real one.
Does this path work outside the financial market?
The order of the phases applies to any company that sells to other companies or professionals: foundation, measurement, channels with defined roles and judgment by lead quality. Topics and channels change with the audience.
