How a Premier Retailer Achieved an 8:1 Return on Ad Spend through Content Repurposing and Promotion

With more than 700 locations in the continental U.S., this department store (similar to JCPenney, Nordstrom, and Walmart), is known for its niche in popular culture and the diversity of its merchandise.

Without a content team or budget to commission content, they were challenged to find a way they could leverage existing assets into creative pieces of online content that could reach new audiences.

So, how did they end up with more than $3.5 million dollars worth of purchases in revenue and an 8:1 return on advertising spend from content promotion?

Setting Proper Content KPIs

The fundamental part of any content campaign is to set goals that can be measured against.

This women’s apparel company knew they were interested in the following:

• Traffic
• Conversions
• Sales

From there, they were able to put a plan in motion to help build awareness, drive traffic to their eCommerce site and increase unit sales at a positive ROI using content.

Designing a Smart Content Strategy

Creating content doesn’t require an entire editorial team.

This retailer knew they didn’t need a complementary blog with expert editorial contributors, as long as they could strategically repurpose content already existed.

Through the creative repackaging of existing digital assets, shopping guides were developed for seven key merchandise categories: makeup, bedding, jewelry, shoes, home, swimwear and seasonal apparel (summer/fall).

With consumers always on the lookout for fashion round-ups (e.g., top lists), tips and recommendations, it was an efficient and effective short-term alternative to paying for new content to be created.

Their goal?

To drive traffic to these guides on their website and test new ways of generating sales.

Executing on the Content Strategy

With the powerful content diversification of their shopping guides handy, they turned to amplification across premium publisher sites in the Outbrain network.

Supported by headline testing and optimization, they were able to focus in on what resonated with their targeted audience.

They determined that three primary keywords and phrases were to be used to increase the click-through rate on their content headlines:

• “Trends you must try”
• “Every woman should have these 10 [shoes]”
• “Best brands”

Out of which came 46% of the campaign’s estimated revenue.

*In the Outbrain network, headlines that have specificity, contain strong adjectives and numbers work well. The key is to give readers enough information that they want to click to read more.*

Results That Reflect Campaign Goals

The shopping guides quickly gained traction.

In fact:

• 71% of all conversions occurred after seven days
• CPAs decreased 30% quarter over quarter
• Conversions increased by 40%

Additionally:

In the end, the smart content creation of these shopping guides combined with Outbrain amplification not only helped reach new audiences at scale, but it also achieved impressive revenue results.

How are you curating and repackaging your own content in the short time we have left before Christmas?

We’d love to hear what ways you are using content creation and distribution for the same effect.