The University of Law (ULaw) tasked Havas with evolving its paid media strategy in response to diminishing returns in conventional search spaces. To achieve this Havas utilised PMax to engage prospective students across Google’s broader network. However, this increased the risk of wasted spend on low quality or brand unsafe ad placements.
To combat this, they partnered with Squared.io and implemented its Placement Exclusions automation to continuously assess the quality of thousands of placements and automatically exclude low-value or brand-unsafe environments - something previously unmanageable at scale.
ULaw, a leading UK institution for career-focused legal and business education, tasked Havas with driving 50% more quarterly leads. To do this, Havas decided to supplement the existing Search activity by increasing investment in Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. This meant unlocking additional inventory across the Google network and reaching consumers at multiple points throughout their conversion journey. However, monitoring the thousands of ad placements to ensure brand safety and quality would be impossible to do manually.
Havas partnered with Squared.io - leveraging the platform’s Placement Exclusions automation to ensure PMax ads were delivered on suitable and high-quality placements. The automation monitors every placement served through PMax’s display, app & video inventory and uses generative AI to determine the quality of the placement as well as any risks to brand reputation. Any placements below the expected standards are automatically removed, allowing spend to be reallocated on higher quality inventory. For ULaw, over 2,000 ad placements were automatically blocked within the first month.
The campaign delivered exceptional results in just one quarter. Leads increased 137% and cost per lead (CPL) decreased 4%, despite significant investment growth.
These results directly contributed to ULaw’s broader business objectives of improved traffic quality, driving sustained lead growth, and protecting brand reputation. They also helped future-proof the account through scalable, automated solutions. As a result, PMax spend scaled by +128% in Q1 2025 as confidence in traffic integrity and performance increased.
““With Search inventory expanding and Search AI solutions becoming increasingly important, a level of visibility, control and security is crucial – Squared has provided us with that much-needed transparency, which has facilitated rapid growth and scaling of our campaigns””
Ashni Sharma
Paid Performance Business Director
Havas Media Network