New Wave
Odessa / Ukraine, Romania, Moldova
About the Client
The Challenge
Key Objective
Build digital recruitment for a crewing company: attracting seafarers via Meta Ads, SMM, and Google Ads across three countries: Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova.
Guild of Marketing Services
- Meta Ads:
- SMM:
Content calendar, design, publishing, stories, post promotion
- Google Ads:
Performance Max (services), Search (optimization)
Niche Specifics
Crewing is a unique niche with its own digital marketing rules:
Audience — Seafarers
Mostly men aged 25–55 with maritime education. Active on Facebook and Instagram during shore leave and on ships (via satellite internet). They look for work through specialized groups, feed ads, and friend recommendations.
Trust — Critical Factor.
Seafarers choose an agency based on colleague reviews, reputation, and transparency of terms. Content on social media builds this trust.
Multi-geo
Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova are three distinct markets with different languages, currencies, and legal specifics.
Seasonality
The navigation season and contract changes create demand peaks for seafarers.
Results of the Guild of Marketing team's work
Top Campaigns
| Campaign | Type | Clicks | Conversions | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Max Services (UA, RO, MD) | PMax | 66 435 | 1 492 | 2.2% |
| [GM] Search — Ukraine (choko) | Search | 3 704 | 50 | 1.4% |
| [GM] Search — Ukraine (clixby) | Search | 2 939 | 32 | 1.1% |
GOM Strategy
Phase 1 : Meta Ads — Launching Digital Recruitment (August – October 2024)
Meta Ads was the first channel — a logical choice for an audience of seafarers who actively use Facebook and Instagram.
Кампанії на ліди:
- Structured ad campaigns focused on lead generation
- Audience selection by interests (maritime affairs, shipping, seafarer jobs)
- Creation of 3+ ad design variations adapted for different placements
- A/B testing of ads to find the most effective creatives
Message Campaigns:
- Messenger campaigns for direct dialogue with candidates
- Quick qualification screening: position, experience, document availability
- Automated welcome messages with key questions
Post Promotion:
- 6 posts per month with promotion to expand reach
- Setting promotion parameters: audience, budget, schedule
Analytics:
- Creation and setup of Meta Business Suite
- Linking Facebook Page and Instagram account
- Daily monitoring and campaign analysis
Phase 2 : SMM — Building the Brand (Parallel to Phase 1)
Systematic content to build trust in the New Wave brand.
Content Calendar:
- Posts about open vacancies for seafarers
- Company content: team, office, values
- Informational posts: document requirements, tips for seafarers
- Reviews from seafarers who found work through New Wave
Technical Implementation:
- Design of page visuals and stories
- Content preparation and publishing
- Monitoring engagement and adjusting strategy
Phase 3 : Google Ads — Scaling (From July 2025, ~March 2025)
Following the success of Meta Ads, Google Ads was launched to reach the audience actively searching for work via search.
Performance Max:
- One main campaign covering Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova
- Google algorithm automatically optimized delivery across channels: Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail
- 66,435 clicks and 1,492 conversions — the primary lead generator
Search-кампанії:
- Search campaigns targeting queries like “sea jobs,” “seafarer vacancies,” crewing
- Testing different brands and landing pages (choko, clixby)
- Campaign optimization and maintenance
Phase 4 : Monthly Support (April 2025 – Ongoing)
After launching all channels, stable monthly operations began:
- Optimization of existing Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns
- Maintenance and A/B testing of ads
- Post promotion on social media
- Daily monitoring and monthly reporting
Business Results
What Was Created
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Meta Ads | Lead generation campaigns + Messenger + post promotion |
| Google Ads | PMax (3 countries) + Search (brand testing) |
| SMM | Regular content, stories, visual design |
| Geography | Advertising coverage in Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova |
Quantitative Results (Google Ads)
Qualitative Results
Project Team
Web analytics experts with specializations in Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Meta Analytics, and corporate training.
- PPC Specialist
- SMM Manager
- Project Manager
Innovative Solutions
PMax for B2B Services
Performance Max is usually associated with e-commerce, but for crewing services, it proved to be the most effective format — 93% of conversions with automatic channel optimization.Messenger as a Screening Tool
Instead of standard website forms, dialogue in Messenger allows a bot or manager to immediately qualify the candidate: experience, documents, readiness for contract.Multi-geo with One Campaign
Instead of creating separate campaigns for UA/RO/MD, a single PMax campaign with multi-geo targeting allows the algorithm to optimize the budget across countries.SMM as a Trust Tool
For the crewing niche, where trust is a critical factor, regular social media content acts as a continuous “portfolio” of the company.
Recommendations for the Crewing Niche & B2B Services
If your business operates in several countries, do not create separate accounts for each. A single PMax campaign with multi-geo targeting allows the algorithm to optimally distribute the budget.
For niches where trust is critical (crewing, healthcare, finance), regular social media content does not generate immediate leads but builds reputation. A seafarer seeing a page with 50+ posts and reviews trusts it more than a company with an empty profile.
FAQ
-
Why PMax for services, not products?
Performance Max works not only with product feeds. For services, it uses text and visual assets and automatically finds the best channels (Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail). In the New Wave case, PMax outperformed classic Search by 30x in terms of conversions.
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Why was Meta Ads the first channel?
Seafarers are a specific audience most active on Facebook and Instagram: during contracts on ships, social media is the primary link to the world. Meta Ads allows targeting by interests (maritime affairs, shipping) and behavior — more precisely than Google Search for this niche.
-
How does advertising work in three countries simultaneously?
Performance Max supports multi-geo targeting — one campaign is shown in Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova. The algorithm automatically distributes the budget between countries based on performance. Ads are adapted for language and region.
Technology stack
Analytics tools
ADVERTISING TOOLS
TOOLS FOR ANALYSING WEBSITES AND COMPETITORS
Our cases
ROMI
conversion cost
conversions per month
Want to attract
