Shovel Study Planner, an academic productivity tool designed to help students plan better and stress less, needed to grow — but faced key challenges:

• Low trial-to-subscription conversion

• High cost-per-acquisition (CAC)

• Inconsistent brand message across platforms

Actio Innovations was brought in as a strategic partner to rethink and rebuild the marketing engine.

The Challenge

We started with a strategic alignment workshop to:

• Define buyer personas

• Identify core market opportunities

• Align product strengths with audience needs

Key Personas Identified:

• Students’ Parents – Focused on academic performance and peace of mind

• Neurodiverse Students – Seeking structure, focus, and low-stress planning

• Academic Coaches – Advocates of effective study strategies for their students

Strategic Foundation

These insights laid the groundwork for messaging, creative, and campaign targeting.

Shovel’s brand voice and visuals were refined to resonate with each persona segment:

• Unified tone of voice across organic and paid content

• Branded assets tailored to parents, students, and coaches

• Created guidelines to scale consistency across platforms

• Colors customized by persona for easy identification

Brand Upgrade

Faster, Better, Cheaper - By blending AI-powered tools with our design team, we delivered:

• 3x faster content production

• 40% cost savings in visual development

• Dynamic A/B tested creatives based on persona behavior

Assets Delivered:

• Social media posts (Reels, Stories, Carousels)

• Meta ad creatives for each campaign

• Persona-driven email headers and visuals

• Campaign-specific landing pages

Creative Production

3x

Faster

40%

Cost
Savings

We launched and managed a mix of organic and paid campaigns, tailored to specific user journeys:

Campaigns Included:

• Purple November: Centered on mental health and study structure

• New Year’s Reset: Focused on new routines and academic goals

• Procrastination Series: Targeted messaging to students with productivity challenges

We designed landing pages for each initiative with personalized copy and CTAs to increase conversions.

Campaigns Execution

We restructured the trial experience to reduce friction and increase activation:

• Simplified onboarding screens

• Clearer value messaging during trial

• Improved CTA and progress flow

Funnel Optimization

Increase in
trial-to-subscription conversion

2.4x

Here is the Growth Impact from Oct 2024 to Jan 2025:

• +110% increase in daily active users during Actio's engagement

• 20K+ new users acquired in just 4 months

• Peak engagement aligned with the New Year campaign spike

• Sustained uplift in traffic through synergy of organic and paid efforts

• Higher retention and trial conversion following onboarding improvements

The Growth Impact

110%

Increase in
daily active users.

20k+

New users acquired

One of the key elements of success is our transparent and structured collaboration approach:

• Weekly and bi-weekly meetings ensured alignment with the Shovel team

• Monthly performance reports shared clear KPIs, learnings, and recommendations

• Real-time updates via shared dashboards and communication tools

• Each meeting closed with actionable next steps and a forward-looking roadmap

This ongoing visibility empowered faster decisions and iterative improvements throughout the campaign cycles.

& Continuous Alignment

Strategic Communication

Successful Partnership

“Working with Actio Innovations was a game-changer for us at Shovel Study Planner. They refined our direction, crafted compelling emails, boosted social media engagement, and delivered effective marketing assets. If you’re considering working with them, I highly recommend it.”

Petr Placek

★★★★★

Co-Founder - Shovel Study Planner

Get in touch with us

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Phone:
+1 (949) 785-8876

Headquarters:
California - USA