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Case Study · Fortune 500

Geo-Experimentation &
$1B Growth Pipeline

Two years as the sole analytics & experimentation function for SVB's Startup Banking division — building measurement infrastructure, designing 130+ experiments, and proving that billboards can be a performance channel.

Company Silicon Valley Bank
Role Senior Marketing Analyst — Growth & Experimentation
Period 2021 – 2023
Industry Financial Services
01 · Geo-Experimentation

How I Turned Billboards
Into a Proven Growth Channel

Leadership treated out-of-home advertising as a brand channel — something unmeasurable. I designed a controlled geo-experiment across Austin, Miami, and Seattle to prove otherwise.

Built SVB's first offline-to-online attribution pipeline using QR-enabled billboard tracking tied to CRM. Proved OOH as a measurable acquisition channel. National expansion budget approved based on experimental proof.

Test Markets Austin, Miami (OOH + Digital)
Control Market Seattle (Digital Only)
Media Mix Airports, Billboards, Taxis, Bus Stops, LinkedIn, Twitter
Outcome OOH reclassified from brand spend to performance channel
+97.8%
Web Traffic — Miami
+94.4%
Web Traffic — Austin
+114.3%
Web Traffic — Seattle (Control)
Methodology

The Experiment
Design

01 · Hypothesis

OOH drives measurable web traffic and CRM-attributable leads

The hypothesis wasn't just "billboards work" — it was that out-of-home media creates a measurable lift in web traffic, lead generation, and CRM pipeline when compared to a digital-only control market.

02 · Design

Controlled geo-incrementality with matched markets

Austin and Miami received the full media mix: airport displays, highway billboards, taxi wraps, bus stop posters, plus LinkedIn and Twitter. Seattle ran digital only. Markets were matched on startup density, VC activity, and SVB market share.

03 · Attribution

QR-enabled billboard tracking tied to CRM

Every physical placement had a unique QR code routing to a dedicated landing page. Scans, page visits, and downstream lead events were tracked end-to-end in the CRM. This created SVB's first offline-to-online attribution pipeline.

04 · Result

National expansion budget approved

All three markets showed significant web traffic growth. The incremental lift pattern proved OOH's contribution. Leadership reclassified out-of-home from unmeasurable brand spend to a performance acquisition channel. National expansion was funded based on this proof.

First offline-to-online attribution pipeline in SVB history
OOH reclassified from brand spend to performance channel
Test markets: Austin, Miami (OOH + Digital) vs Seattle (Digital Only)
Media: Airports, Billboards, Taxis, Bus Stops, LinkedIn, Twitter
National expansion approved based on experimental proof
Trained 50+ marketers on geo-experimentation methodology
02 · Startup Banking Growth

$1B Pipeline &
Full-Funnel Analytics

$1B+
New Customer Pipeline
691%
Organic Traffic Growth
196%
Lead Quality Improvement
130+
Experiments Designed

Sole analytics function for SVB's entire Startup Banking division — owned both marketing analytics and product analytics end-to-end during the bank's highest-growth phase.

Built the measurement infrastructure that tracked startup acquisition from first touch to funded account. Owned conversion funnel analytics, digital channel performance, and product usage data for a division serving thousands of VC-backed startups. Expanded into 4 new markets: Austin, Miami, Boston, Seattle.

22% YoY growth in new customer acquisition
23% increase in cross-sell conversion rates
20% reduction in cost per acquisition
25% lift in email open rates, 20% increase in CTR
85% reporting efficiency gain — replaced 6 manual reports with 1 Looker dashboard
Built NPS and CLV measurement systems from scratch
Infrastructure

What I Built
at SVB

Full-Funnel Attribution

First-touch to funded-account tracking across all digital channels. Connected marketing spend to actual banking relationships opened.

Looker Dashboard System

Replaced 6 manual reports with 1 unified Looker dashboard. 85% reporting efficiency gain. Self-serve analytics for the marketing team.

NPS & CLV Systems

Built Net Promoter Score and Customer Lifetime Value measurement from scratch. Connected satisfaction data to retention and expansion revenue.

Geo-Experimentation Framework

Offline-to-online attribution pipeline. Trained 50+ marketers on geo-experimentation methodology. Replicable framework for future campaigns.

"Atticus Li stands out as one of the very best. His ability to bridge the gap between analysis and implementation sets him apart as a marketing analyst who delivers measurable results."

Blake Park · Marketing Director, Silicon Valley Bank (Direct Manager)

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