Case Study · Google Ads & Meta Ads
Fireside Project Digital Advertising Case Study
Ads that help people find support when they need it most.
We're Akoya Creative, a women-owned digital marketing agency in Rockland, Maine, and we've run Fireside Project's Google Ads and Meta ads since 2025. From February to July 2026, while our call-focused campaigns ran, Support Line interactions grew 118% over the same six months in 2025.
Fireside Project is a nonprofit that runs the Psychedelic Support Line: free, confidential peer support by call, text or app, open daily 11am to 11pm PT. It's work we care about, and the goal is simple: make sure people know someone is there for them before, during and after a psychedelic experience.
February to July, 2025 vs. 2026
Results: 118% more Support Line interactions, year over year
Over Fireside's grant year, the Support Line reached 10,238 interactions, 108% of its 9,500 goal. Behind every one of those numbers is a person reaching out.
- Calls placed from Meta call ads
- 674
- Google Ads conversions, mostly phone call leads
- 878
- Cost per Google Ads conversion, cut in half
- ↓52%
- Website visits that came from our ads
- 2 in 3
- App store taps from Meta ads
- 2,825
- Record Support Line month, July 2026
- 1,291
The challenge Advertising a psychedelic support line
People rarely plan to call a support line. They search for help in the moment, or they save a number before a trip and hope they never need it. We needed to reach both, on platforms that restrict psychedelic content.
When we started on Fireside's ads in May 2025, the team had a grant goal of 9,500 Support Line interactions for the year, about 791 a month, and was averaging under 500. Meta had just started limiting psychedelic organizations' accounts, Google flags drug-related ads, and calls to the line are anonymous, so showing what our ads did took care too.
How we rebuilt Fireside's ads around the Support Line
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Fix tracking first
Before spending more, we paused Google Ads, found the broken goals and rebuilt tracking for calls, texts, forms and app store clicks.
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Be there when people search
We built Google Search and Performance Max campaigns around the words people use when they need support right now.
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Meet them again on Meta
We added click-to-call ads, an app download campaign and Support Line traffic ads.
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Put the budget behind calls
In January 2026 we moved spend from coaching to the Support Line, and in March we raised Meta's budget to match Google's.
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Test, keep, cut
Every month we review each ad, search term and dollar with the Fireside team, keep what works and cut what doesn't.
What we built in Google Ads and Meta
We gave each platform its own job. Google reaches people who are searching right now. Meta makes sure the line is on their radar before they need it. It's the same approach behind all of our digital advertising services.
Google Search campaign
We wrote high-intent Search ads for people looking for psychedelic support right now, and we refine them every month based on what people actually search.
Performance Max
We use Performance Max to carry Support Line ads across Google, optimized for calls from the ads.
Meta call ads
Our Support Line Calls campaign uses click-to-call ads, optimized to calls that last 20 seconds or more, so Meta learns to find people who really want to talk.
App download ads
We send people straight to the app store, so the line is on their phone before they need it.
Creative that looks like the experience
Our best ads are short, first-person videos that show what a journey can feel like, not the substance. They stop the scroll and stay clear of the drug imagery platforms restrict.
Tracking and reporting
We track calls, texts, app store clicks and forms, and share a monthly report tied to Fireside's grant goals, so everyone can see what's working.
Support Line interactions by month
More than double the Support Line interactions
Same six months, one year apart. The gap opened in February 2026, when we launched our Meta call campaign and rebuilt Google around calls.
Why it worked
We started with tracking, not ads, so every decision after that rested on real numbers. Google catches people who are searching right now, and Meta reaches them before they need the line. Our creative earned attention without leaning on drug imagery, which kept the ads running in a category platforms watch closely. And every month, we sat down with the Fireside team and moved money toward what was helping people reach out.
Want ads that lead to real conversations?
We'd love to hear who you're trying to reach and where they're looking. Take a look at our digital advertising services, see how we grew LiLi Tile's email revenue, or just say hello.
Let's ChatResults compare February to July 2025 with February to July 2026. Support Line interactions include calls, texts and app contacts, from Fireside Project's Support Line records. Grant year is August 2025 to July 2026. Ad results are from Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads for February to July 2026; Meta calls are calls placed from call ads. Cost per conversion compares December 2025 with February to July 2026. App store taps are from Meta, September 2025 to September 2026. Website share is from Google Analytics 4. Calls are anonymous, so ad results show people reaching out, not completed conversations. Last updated October 2026.