The Story of a Chocolatier

Introduction

Yolanda’s Chocolatiers is a local chocolate brand in Cyprus that specialises in handcrafted bonbons as well as other chocolate creations, which are sold globally through their online shop. Over the years, the brand has built a strong reputation for its unique high-end gifts that leave a long-lasting impression on the recipient through its artistic and artisanal designs.

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Research & Target Audience

Having performed the necessary research and market diagnosis for Yolanda’s Chocolatiers, we were able to not only increase online sales but also improve the client's ROAS.

Our first objective before commencing any activities on this project was to identify our target audience, their gift-giving behaviors and attitudes, and what they look for when shopping online. We started our investigation by conducting both secondary and primary research through existing data and a local market survey, representative of the size of the local market. Based on this data, we were able to break down our target market into segments, which we then extrapolated into actual market size and value.

Based on this data, we were able to select our most profitable segments and build our market personas, as well as our targeting approach. Given that we knew who our audience was, we were able to position the brand based on the needs and core values of the consumer.

Knowing the financial value of the segment we were targeting as well as the audience size for the online gift-giving industry for high-end goods in Cyprus, we determined that one of our marketing objectives was to penetrate as much of this market as possible. During the first year, we were able to penetrate 11% of our target segment.

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Creating a Brand Story & Visual Identity

Once we identified our target audience, we needed to determine what message to convey to them. Our star product, the bonbon itself, needed to become a symbol. We needed to tell the story of the brand through the special occasions where our audience connected with it the most. From our research, we knew that our consumers wanted to create an element of excitement when gift-giving and to celebrate and enjoy the important moments in their lives.

Keeping all of this in mind, we developed a creative direction in collaboration with associates, allowing us to visually communicate the brand's story and positioning in the market. This was executed through engaging content and ads tailored for our target audience.

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Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

To ensure the brand received the exposure it deserved, we implemented a cross-channel communication strategy that included social media and other advertising platforms.

• Social Media Campaigns: Through our social media campaigns, we managed to reach over 260K unique local users in 2022, who saw our ads at least 17 times on average during the whole year, generating over 4.8M impressions.
• Email Marketing: Our email marketing campaigns contributed to 11% of our total revenue during the year, while our mailing list grew by 57% in 2022.

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Aside from social media and display campaigns, we knew from our research that 45% of our target audience actively searched for gifts online. This meant that we had to take our paid search campaign to the next level.

The gift-giving industry in Cyprus has seen an increase in demand for high-end gifts over the last several years, making it essential for Yolanda’s to establish a top-of-mind association for consumers searching for similar goods. We researched and identified high-performing keywords that were relevant to the brand and had high search volumes to maximise our impression share.

To ensure we captured the right audience, we carefully crafted ad copy that highlighted the unique aspects of Yolanda’s products. We also conducted A/B testing to optimise our ads and improve click-through and conversion rates.

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Measuring Campaign Performance

The most important factor was ensuring we could accurately measure the impact of our campaigns on sales so that we could optimise our ad spending effectively. For this, we set up custom Google Ad conversions to fully track and measure the performance of our paid search campaigns.

Since our landing destination was an eShop, we focused on tracking key actions such as add-to-cart and purchases. Using specific website integrations, we were able to measure the exact revenue generated from purchases and track the actions taken within the add-to-cart conversion, breaking down performance by Ad Group and keyword.

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Results & Performance Metrics

During 2022, our paid search campaign, which we had been optimising for over a year, achieved:

• A 19% conversion rate and a ROAS of 15:1.
• During the holiday season of 2022, we reached a 25% conversion rate and a ROAS of 42:1, the highest return for this client to date.
• Overall, our Google campaigns generated over 560K impressions and a 17% general conversion rate across all campaigns

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Data-Driven Decision-Making

The use of data-driven insights and advanced analytics helped us maximise the impact of our efforts. By tracking and measuring campaign performance in real time, we were able to make adjustments accordingly to optimise results.

The campaign's ability to effectively engage and convert our target audience is a testament to our team's expertise in understanding the industry, as well as the needs and preferences of our consumers. Achieving a high conversion rate demonstrated the relevance and effectiveness of our ad copy and landing pages, reinforcing the success of our strategy.

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