The task
The client — UPK Energy (upkenergy.pro), a supplier of off-grid power solutions. Product: hybrid inverters (Deye, Livoltek), batteries, solar panels (Longi), and turnkey design and installation. Geography — Ukraine, high season — winter 2024–2025 amid expected blackouts.
Audience: private-home owners (full autonomy — heating, light, water), small and mid-sized business (continuity of operations), apartment dwellers (backup power). The niche: selling and installing expensive energy equipment at a $1000+ ticket.
The value isn't in cheap clicks but in inquiries from those ready to buy a full system.
The project's main challenge
High in-season competition and the need to filter the audience: we had to cut out cheap-solution seekers and bring in buyers of full systems.
Strategy: narrow segmentation and messaging
Instead of broad 'everyone' targeting we split campaigns by gender, property-ownership type and business interests — which revealed non-obvious cost-per-lead insights. We structured the account by meaning vectors.
'Blackout solutions'
Emphasis on safety and light 24/7.
'Saving on electricity'
Emphasis on solar stations and payback — a rational message.
'Equipment with installation'
Selling a turnkey service.
Instagram channel
Testing the visual channel separately.
Implementation
Within campaigns we tested targeting groups: 'Homeowners — women' (home improvement, solar energy), 'Homeowners — men' (technology, DIY), 'Homeowners without cities' (region), 'Small and mid-sized business' and 'Electronics buyers' (broad gadget interest). Visuals — equipment photos in interiors (Livoltek) to show aesthetics and compactness, not industrial cabinets. The objective — 'Engagement' with a jump to messengers for fast consultation.
Results: 'savings' beat 'fear'
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Average inquiry cost | 100–110 UAH at 200+ lead volume |
| Cost per lead in season | 2–3$ |
| Best segment ('women homeowners') | CPA 71.88 UAH |
| Instagram vs Facebook | pure IG — 4× more expensive (stopped) |
Source: Meta ads account for upkenergy.pro, November 2024 — January 2025.
Analysis showed a clear split in effectiveness by message type: 'savings' beat 'fear of blackouts'. The leader was the 'Solar: Save on electricity' campaign: 122 conversations, CPA 90.07 UAH, spend ~10,988 UAH — the rational message drew the cheapest, most massive traffic. The 'Blackout solutions' campaign — 91 conversations. The cheapest segment was women homeowners (CPA 71.88 UAH), while pure Instagram was 4× more expensive than Facebook and was stopped as unprofitable.
Project team
The project was run by Alyona Polyukhovich — PPC and targeting (PPC + Meta). Full team and roles on the 'About' page.
What's next
A similar performance case: full-funnel advertising for real-estate sales — a See–Think–Do funnel. Need a flow of inquiries for an expensive product? The concrete next step is to discuss a lead-gen strategy for your niche.