DORAL, FL – June 112, 2018 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – Google today unveiled a mini film showcasing how its AdWords advertising platform helped take one Miami couple’s dance studio from start up to success. The video tells the inspirational story of Ascendance Studio near Miami, which used online ads to attract new dance students. The world leader in digital advertising created the film as part of its Google Small Business initiative to show how businesses of any size can use digital advertising to grow.
“It was always my dream to pursue a career in dance,” said Valentina Bagala at the beginning of the Google AdWords two-minute film that debuted on YouTube on June 11th 2018. Valentina is the co-owner and Artistic Director for Ascendance Studio in Doral, a mid-size city next to Miami, FL. She and her husband and business partner, Rafael Savino, opened their community dance school in June of 2013.
At first, they struggled to attract students. “There were times we had only one student in a class,” Valentina said during the film. They knew they couldn’t wait for word of mouth. That’s when the couple began utilizing Google AdWords as an entry point for area parents searching for after-school activities. “AdWords helped us be in front of parents when they were looking for, and deciding on, a dance studio for their children,” Rafael said. “Not all of our campaigns were successful right away, but Google gave us the analytics and data to help us adjust our strategy and optimize our offerings and marketing budget.”
The population of Doral is predominately Spanish-speaking, and Rafael and Valentina used search engine marketing to deliver bilingual messaging. “We spend a lot of time analyzing keywords to better understand how our customers are searching,” Rafael said. “We then supplement that with our knowledge of the dance industry and customer feedback to really spotlight what makes Ascendance Studio special.”
Their approach worked. Within weeks of starting their AdWords campaign, Ascendance acquired 45 new students – a 40% increase at the time. The studio now has nearly 300 enrolled students and 11 teachers.
“One of the best aspects of AdWords is what it will teach you about your business,” said Rafael. “You’d be surprised what keywords people use sometimes, but AdWords helps you start small and grow in a scalable way, so you know where your money is going, and what kind of response you’re getting in return.”
The couple started with just $10 per day on Google ads. Now during high-enrollment seasons they spend three or four times that amount. “There’s no failure – only opportunity,” said Rafael. “These are the same tools and technologies that Fortune 500 companies use, you only need to be open to learning new things and to learn by doing.”
Ascendance Studio continues to use Google AdWords to promote their family-oriented dance environment, multiple styles of dance, and personalized instruction tailored to the needs of its students. “When I came to the United States at the age of 14, the idea of starting my own dance studio would never have been possible,” said Valentina. “By embracing technology, we were able to help make a life-long dream come true.”
About Ascendance Studio
Located in the City of Doral in west Miami-Dade County, Ascendance is an all-ages dance studio specializing in ballet, tap, jazz, flamenco, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, and more. Ascendance is owned by husband-and-wife team, Rafael Savino and Artistic Director, Valentina Bagala. Valentina first started dancing at Valero Dance Academy in her native home of Santiago de Chile, in Chile, and continued her studies and performances in all styles of dance throughout South America, Europe, and the United States. While living in Chile, Valentina was featured on the renowned morning TV show “Buenos Dias a Todos” and the family program “Venga Conmigo”. Upon moving to the United States, she began dancing and competing in regional and national competitions and working as a choreographer within the competitive dance world, earning awards for Best Choreography, Technical Excellence, and Most Entertaining. Valentina continues to give back to the dance community by traveling coast-to-coast sharing her knowledge of dance with young dancers through being a regional and national judge for the two largest and most prestigious competitions in America “Kids Artistic Revue (KAR)” and “Rainbow”. In addition, Valentina was nominated to receive the “2016 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year” award for the South East region from the U.S Small Business Administration. Valentina, is committed to mentoring and educating her students in the art of dance, and along with her husband, has been able to grow Ascendance Studio from a small venture to an established business that offers some of the best quality dance education in South Florida.
More information about Ascendance Studio can be found at www.AscendanceStudio.com.