Vintage Gentlemen Case Study

Industry: Men’s Fashion and Apparel

Founder: Brandon Higginbotham

Business Size: $6 million Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Key Challenges:

When Vintage Gentlemen approached us in October 2023, the company was experiencing a variety of challenges in scaling and optimizing its online advertising efforts. Despite a respectable Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $6 million, the company's marketing efforts were not yielding the desired profitability and efficiency.)

Marketing Performance:

Average Order Value (AOV): $200

  • Advertising Spend: Initially spending $3-5K per day on Meta platforms, the company had experimented with reducing this to $1K per day, achieving similar results, before deciding to increase spend again slightly.

  • Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER): Started at 80%, which was reduced to 50% through various optimization efforts before our engagement.

  • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): High CPA at $150, which was a major concern, with efforts to reduce it to $70 prior to our consultation.

  • Revenue Fluctuations: The business saw a varied yearly revenue from 2020 through 2023, with a significant increase to $4 million in 2023 due to seasonal performance boosts in the last quarter.

Operational and Strategic Issues:

  • Founder's Involvement: The founder, while deeply involved in the business, was still balancing his role at Vintage Gentlemen with a full-time job, impacting his ability to focus and optimize marketing strategies effectively.

  • Strategic Inconsistencies: The company frequently changed its advertising targets and goals, impacting the stability and predictability of marketing outcomes.

  • Platform Dependency: Vintage Gentlemen heavily relied on Meta for advertising but did not utilize Google Ads, which could have diversified and possibly improved their advertising outcomes.

  • Attribution Model Concerns: The reliance on Triple Whale’s first-click attribution model was yielding lower than expected results, complicating efforts to accurately measure the effectiveness of advertising spend.

These challenges framed the initial state of Vintage Gentlemen when they engaged with our services, seeking to streamline operations, enhance profitability, and ultimately scale their business more effectively.

Services Employed:

Identify Services:

▶ TikTok Shop Full Management

▶ Social Ads

▶ Search Ads

▶ Content Creation - Video + Static Ads

▶ Landing Page + Website Building + CRO

Rationale for Service Selection:

The selected services were strategically chosen to address Vintage Gentlemen’s primary goals: improving marketing efficiency, lowering CPA, and increasing revenue. Emphasis was placed on digital platforms where the target demographic of men’s fashion shoppers are highly active, such as TikTok and Google Search. Additionally, focusing on content creation and conversion rate optimization (CRO) was crucial to improve ad performance and website user experience.

Objectives

The specific goals set were to reduce CPA from $150 to below $100, achieve a Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) below 50%, and grow quarterly revenue by optimizing ad spend and improving ad creatives.

Strategy and Execution

  • Approach for Each Service:

    • TikTok Shop Full Management: Managed the client's TikTok campaigns, focusing on creative and engaging video content to drive conversions and reduce CPA.

    • Social Ads: Implemented targeted ad campaigns across social media platforms with a focus on high-performing creatives that resonate with the male fashion audience.

    • Search Ads: Leveraged Google Ads to capture demand from users actively searching for related fashion items, optimizing for keywords with high intent.

    • Content Creation - Video + Static Ads: Produced high-quality, test-driven creative ads tailored to audience preferences, tested various headlines and offers.

    • Landing Page + Website Building + CRO: Redesigned website pages to enhance user experience, incorporating strong CTAs and streamlined navigation to boost conversions.

  • Integration of Services: Services were integrated to create a cohesive marketing funnel that guides users from discovery on social platforms through to purchase on the optimized landing pages, ensuring a consistent message and visual identity across all touchpoints.

  • Innovative Solutions: Implemented a dynamic retargeting strategy that personalized ad content based on the user’s previous interactions with the site, significantly increasing engagement and conversions.

Results

Before and After Analysis:

CPA reduced from $150 to $72 in December.

MER improved from 80% to 50%

Revenue increased significantly, achieving $1 million in two months (November/December).

ROAS improved from 1.7 to 3.2 across all managed platforms.

Client Testimonial (Optional): "The targeted approach and innovative strategies employed by the team not only reduced our costs but also enhanced our brand's presence, driving significant revenue growth during a critical business quarter." - Brandon Higginbotham, CEO, Vintage Gentlemen

Conclusion

  • Summary of Outcomes: The comprehensive digital marketing strategy implemented for Vintage Gentlemen significantly enhanced their online presence and efficiency. The focus on targeted ads, high-quality content, and website optimization paid off by lowering costs and increasing revenue.

  • Future Steps: Plans to continue refining the advertising strategies, exploring additional channels, and further optimizing the website to sustain and build on the current growth trajectory.

Reflection and Learnings

  • Insights Gained: The importance of alignment between creative content and platform-specific user behaviour was a key insight, highlighting the need for ongoing adaptation and testing.

  • Feedback Implementation: Client feedback has emphasized the value of clear communication and regular updates, which will be focal points for improving client-agency collaboration going forward.

Contact Information

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