Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 05.01.2026 
Melbourne-based digital marketing agency JBE Digital has been shortlisted at the 2026 APAC Search Awards, recognising its work in the Best PPC Campaign category.
The shortlist acknowledges JBE Digital’s paid media campaign delivered in partnership with Pacific Airshow, focused on driving ticket sales growth across both general admission and hospitality packages.
About JBE Digital
Founded in 2019, JBE Digital is a performance-driven digital marketing agency specialising in lead generation and paid media for established Australian businesses.
Based in Melbourne, the agency works with growth-focused organisations generating $2M+ in annual revenue, delivering Google Ads, Meta Ads, and SEO strategies grounded in measurable commercial outcomes. JBE Digital’s approach prioritises clean data, strong campaign fundamentals, and accountability over surface-level metrics.
Rather than offering broad, all-in marketing services, the agency focuses on channels that directly influence revenue and pipeline growth.
Learn more about JBE Digital’s services:
The shortlisted campaign: JBE Digital and Pacific Airshow
JBE Digital was shortlisted for its Meta Ads campaign delivered for Pacific Airshow, entered under the Best PPC Campaign category.
The objective was to increase ticket sales for the event, with a target of achieving at least 15% year-on-year growth. Through a strategic, full-funnel Meta Ads campaign, JBE Digital helped deliver approximately 100,000 paid ticketed attendees, driving around 20% year-on-year growth and exceeding the original target.
The engagement began with a full audit and strategy phase to assess existing campaigns, tracking limitations, and optimisation constraints before rolling into execution.
Strategy and execution
The campaign was built around a layered, full-funnel Meta Ads strategy aligned to audience intent and purchase timing.
Key components of the approach included:
- Awareness campaigns using high-impact video creative to generate early demand
- Lead generation campaigns, including newsletter sign-ups and competitions, to capture and nurture engaged audiences
- Conversion-focused ticket sales campaigns deployed closer to the event, targeting warm and high-intent users
Audience targeting was segmented across key personas, including aviation and airshow enthusiasts, entertainment-focused event goers, travellers, and young families.
A major challenge early in the engagement was the absence of reliable conversion tracking due to the complexity of the ticketing platform. JBE Digital worked directly with the US-based ticketing provider to implement and validate purchase tracking, allowing campaigns to be optimised toward ticket sales revenue rather than clicks or proxy metrics.
This shift enabled accurate reporting on revenue and return on ad spend and allowed budgets to be scaled confidently as performance improved.
Results and impact
The campaign delivered exceptional performance across all key metrics.
Results included:
- Approximately 100,000 paid ticketed attendees delivered
- Around 20% year-on-year growth in ticket sales
- A 19x return on ad spend
- More than $100,000 in revenue generated through Meta Ads in the final two weeks alone
- Thousands of ticket purchases delivered at an exceptionally low cost per acquisition
Beyond paid media performance, the campaign contributed to record attendance at Pacific Airshow and delivered significant economic benefit to the Gold Coast region, with many local businesses reporting increased activity during the event period.
Client perspective
“Working with Joel and the team at JBE Digital on our Meta Ads campaign was a standout experience. They took the time to properly understand our brand and objectives, which made a measurable difference to results. Their strategic approach exceeded our expectations and played a key role in driving strong ticket sales growth for Pacific Airshow.”
What the shortlist means to the team
For JBE Digital, being shortlisted reflects the discipline behind the work rather than a one-off execution.
Performance-led PPC campaigns rely on strong fundamentals, accurate data, and the ability to scale decisively when results justify it. The recognition reinforces JBE Digital’s belief that paid media should be judged on commercial outcomes, not surface-level engagement metrics.
Internally, the shortlist has validated the systems and processes built to deliver consistent, repeatable results for clients.
The role of the APAC Search Awards
The APAC Search Awards are regarded as a benchmark for excellence in search and paid media across the Asia-Pacific region, recognising agencies and in-house teams delivering measurable impact.
For JBE Digital, the value of the awards lies in the scrutiny applied to shortlisted work. Campaigns are reviewed by experienced practitioners who understand both the technical and commercial realities of paid media performance.
Being shortlisted places JBE Digital alongside leading agencies across the region and reflects an approach built to perform under real-world conditions.
Looking ahead
As JBE Digital moves into 2026, the focus remains on building a stronger, more disciplined performance agency.
The team will continue to refine how paid media and social advertising drive real commercial outcomes for established businesses, with an emphasis on cleaner data, tighter strategy, and campaigns that scale profitably under pressure.
Rather than chasing volume or surface-level wins, JBE Digital’s priority for the year ahead is simple: deliver work that holds up when budgets increase, scrutiny rises, and results matter most.
The APAC Search Awards shortlist reflects the standard the agency is setting, and the benchmark it plans to keep raising throughout 2026.
