The brief
Cream Cornwall offers a range of high-quality homeware, with Cornish heritage central to the brand identity, and has shops in Falmouth and St Ives.
The brief was to grow online sales to a set revenue target for the year to 2020, starting in July, when sales were already growing year on year. This was the first integrated marketing activity for the online store.
What we planned
We analysed consumer purchase history to identify and map key customer clusters using Experian's Financial Strategy Segments, then examined how competitors positioned themselves and communicated with their audiences. That insight shaped a plan for the remainder of the year, built around the peak purchasing periods of Black Friday and Christmas.
How it ran
Google Shopping was restructured to cut historical click waste and lift conversion rates, with multiple creative executions that displayed only for the most relevant search queries. We refined brand and keyword text campaigns and added dynamic retargeting.
We added paid social to complement the organic social activity already running, bringing in new users at the top of the shopping funnel and engaging them with the brand and the online store. A mix of creative formats ran on Facebook and Instagram, expanding to Pinterest as success grew, while operating on a modest budget throughout.
What it delivered
The initial campaign period lifted website visits by 299%, sessions by 286%, orders by 236% and sales by 237%, with an extra 14.84% of online revenue recorded in Shopify against the brief's target.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Website visits | Up 299% |
| Sessions | Up 286% |
| Orders | Up 236% |
| Sales | Up 237% |
| Extra online revenue generated | 14.84% (Shopify) |
Source: Route campaign reporting and Shopify, initial campaign period from July 2020.
The first tranche of activity was so successful that it continued into 2021, with the emphasis moving to growing reach and engagement with the brand.
Late 2020 and 2021 were both heavily affected by Covid-19 restrictions. Strong online sales of pre-ordered stock helped keep staff employed and put the Cream Cornwall brand in front of customers before the shops reopened.
We recognised it was crucial for our growth to be present during the early phase of our potential customers' online journey of discovery. This became even more apparent when we went into lockdown. Route guided us step-by-step through our first ever digital campaign, delivering helpful insight, value for money and a return on investment we never thought would be possible during a pandemic. We can't thank Ben and the team enough for their support, forward-thinking and belief in our business. It's been a pleasure working with Route to share our love for Cornwall and passion for distinctive interior homeware with our new customers.
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Call +44 (0) 191 933 7588, email info.route@route.agency, or send us your brief.