Advertising & Media Buying Case Study

Project Overview

The Challenge

Both retailers needed paid campaigns running continuously - gameday promotions, product drops, seasonal pushes - while the underlying site and infrastructure were still being actively built and modernized elsewhere. Campaigns couldn't wait for a finished platform, and a platform still in motion couldn't be allowed to break the tracking a campaign depended on.

Key challenges included:

• Campaigns needed to launch and run on schedule while development work was still active elsewhere on the same properties
• Search and social channels each needed to be measured against the same outcomes, not judged separately by each platform's own reporting
• Retail seasonality and a live sports calendar meant campaign timing couldn't slip
• Spend decisions needed to be based on tracked conversions, not surface-level metrics like clicks or impressions

The Approach

Campaign work started from the same measurement discipline behind every other engagement - tracking was built and verified before spend went out, not added after a campaign was already live.

Campaign Strategy & Planning

Budget, audience, and channel mix were built around specific gameday and seasonal outcomes, coordinated with development timelines so campaigns launched on schedule even as the underlying site changed.

Media Buying & Execution

Campaigns across search and social channels were set up, launched, and managed day-to-day, with consistent structure and naming conventions across both retailers.

Tracking & Attribution

Conversion tracking connected campaign spend to actual purchases and leads, so results reflected what happened, not what a platform's own reporting assumed.

Ongoing Review

Performance was reviewed on a schedule tied to how each business actually made decisions, with budget shifted toward what was proven to work rather than left on autopilot.

The Solution

Campaign management was integrated with the measurement work already in place, so paid spend and site performance were read from the same set of numbers rather than two disconnected reports.

The Results

With campaign tracking built on the same measurement foundation as the rest of each retailer's analytics, spend decisions could be made with the same confidence as any other reporting, not read off a separate, less-trusted dashboard.

• Paid campaigns run continuously across search and social channels for both retailers
• Conversion tracking tied campaign spend directly to purchases and leads
• Campaign timing held steady through active development work happening elsewhere on the same properties
• Budget reviewed and shifted on a regular schedule instead of running on autopilot

Approach & Capabilities

Campaign Strategy

Planning built around specific business outcomes tied to gameday, product drops, and seasonal demand.

Media Buying

Hands-on management of live campaigns across search and social channels.

Conversion Tracking & Attribution

Measurement built to connect spend directly to real outcomes rather than platform-reported estimates.

Cross-Channel Coordination

Campaign timing and messaging kept consistent across channels, coordinated with development work happening elsewhere on the same properties.

Business Impact

Campaign spend is only as useful as the measurement behind it. Running paid channels without tying them to the same tracking used everywhere else in the business would have meant reading two different stories about the same customer.

Through structured campaign strategy, hands-on media buying, and conversion tracking built into the same measurement system as the rest of the business, this work has supported advertising and media buying for Hawkeye Fan Shop and the University of Iowa Athletics Department since 2016, and for The Black & Gold Shop since 2008, running alongside the development work happening on both platforms.

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