The Challenge

A sustainable office supply brand worked with me ahead of the Christmas period, their busiest and most financially important time of year. Alongside their main product range, they annually launch a seasonal line of fully sustainable gift wrap, paper tape, and bamboo accessories, making Q4 a crucial window for growth.

When I joined, the account relied on a narrow set of video ads showcasing the product, with limited creative variation and no clear understanding of which audience groups were driving the strongest returns. Their goal was ambitious (my favourite kind): scale significantly during peak season without sacrificing efficiency.

To achieve this, I needed to build a more strategic and persona-driven creative system, expand their ad formats, and ensure that performance would strengthen, not weaken, as spend increased.

The Solution

Beginning in late September, I conducted a full creative and audience analysis. This included deep review mining and market research to identify the underlying motivations, behaviours, and emotional triggers driving Cascade’s customers. From this, I developed a refined persona structure that allowed us to tailor creative concepts to distinct audience groups during the pre-Christmas testing phase.

Across September and October, I executed a systematic creative diversification and testing plan:

1. Persona-Aligned Creative Development

I briefed creators and developed multiple creative variations tailored to each persona group. This enabled us to understand not only who converted best, but why, giving us a strong data bank for the December push.

2. Full Creative Diversification

When I joined, the clients account relied on a single creative style. By the time we entered peak season, we had built a wide portfolio of formats, including:

• UGC videos

• Social-proof testimonials

• B-roll product visuals

• Lo-fi and native-style ads

• Static graphics

This wide range of creatives ensured we could reach different audience types with the tone, emotion, and message that resonated most strongly with them.

3. Scaling Through Persona-Specific Ad Sets

As the tests progressed, it became clear that each persona responded differently to creative, messaging, and format. To maximise efficiency, I restructured the account so that each persona had its own dedicated ad set. This allowed us to push spend into the highest-performing groups effectively, while maintaining strong profitability.

By the time December arrived, Cascade had a robust, insight-driven creative system designed specifically for scale.

The Results

During the Christmas peak, I was able to achieve significant growth while improving cost efficiency for the brand:

• 5× increase in daily spend

• 39% increase in ROAS

This success was driven not by broadening targeting or discounting, but by implementing a creative strategy driven by audience insight, persona-led messaging, and diverse, high-quality creative execution.

The brand entered the season with a single creative style and limited direction; they finished with a fully developed creative engine, one capable of scaling sustainably while driving stronger margins and higher returns.

Looking for similar results for your brand? Contact me to explore how creative strategy can transform your paid social performance and drive meaningful, measurable results for your business.