CASE STUDY
When the category goes quiet, that’s when brand presence pays off
A client asked me recently whether brand tracking is a useful way to show the impact of a campaign. It's a fair question, and I've got a real example that answers it well.
Over the past year we ran a full-funnel media strategy for Illusion Fires, a fireplace retailer in Victoria. Radio, TV and BVOD built reach at the top of the funnel. BVOD and Meta carried consideration and investigation through the middle. Meta and Google drove action at the bottom, where we ran a retail offer of $500 off selected gas and wood heaters.
The strategy didn't move in a straight line, and a seasonal sales dip in the middle is where this story gets interesting.
Holding the line through the quiet months
Prompted awareness fell to 17% in March, right as the fireplace category cools heading out of summer. For a lot of brands, that's the moment to pull spend back and bank the savings while nobody's looking. We made the call to hold our nerve and keep presence through the quiet stretch instead.
That decision is what set up everything that followed. By May, prompted awareness had climbed back to 27% and consideration had lifted from 15% to 20% across the year. Illusion stayed front of mind through the off season, so when buying season arrived, the brand was already there waiting for buyers rather than trying to catch up with them.
Awareness trajectory, Victoria
(Tracksuit brand tracking)
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March: 17% prompted awareness (seasonal low)
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May: 27% prompted awareness
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Consideration: 15% to 20% across the year
