When disaster strikes, even the most resilient ecommerce brands can be thrown off course. For one of our 100% ecommerce clients, a warehouse flood wasn’t the end—it became a turning point. This Ecommerce Marketing Case Study explores how Pantelope helped a specialized online brand not only recover but scale to new heights in just three months.
The Brand: A Mission-Driven Ecommerce Retailer
This brand is a purpose-led, high-performance ecommerce company that caters to verified professionals across tactical, outdoor, and law enforcement sectors. Their customer base is loyal and high-intent—but also niche. This makes audience targeting both a challenge and a high-value opportunity.
Their product catalog is built around third-party gear brands. While this gives them access to in-demand products, it also creates obstacles:
- Limited pricing flexibility
- Dependency on supplier inventory
- Direct competition with brand-owned campaigns
The Challenge
From November 2024 through January 2025, a major warehouse flood disrupted fulfillment and threw off inventory availability—right before the critical holiday season.
Additional challenges included:
- Products only available to a small, verified user base
- Rising ad costs, making it harder to stay within their ACOS goal (8.5–12.5%)
- Multiple competing DTC brands targeting the same customer base
The company didn’t just need to stabilize. They needed a marketing comeback plan that would outperform previous benchmarks.
The Strategy: Performance Marketing Built for Resilience
Pantelope was brought in to rebuild a performance strategy from the ground up. The mission: reframe the narrative, redesign the funnel, and refocus spend where it could drive the most impact.
1. Messaging Makeover
We helped the brand sharpen its positioning with:
- Bold, values-driven ad copy
- Lifestyle visuals that resonated with their professional audience
- User-generated content and exclusivity messaging
The goal was to speak directly to their high-intent audience with urgency and clarity.
2. Cross-Platform Paid Media Strategy
We structured campaigns across Google, Meta, and Bing:
- Google Ads: Combined Performance Max for scale with manual Shopping campaigns for key SKUs
- Meta Ads: Leveraged Advantage+ Shopping and custom retargeting of warm audiences
- Bing Ads: Focused on cost-efficient, high-return branded and product terms
3. Funnel Optimization with Email Marketing
Klaviyo was central to tightening the mid-funnel:
- Rebuilt abandonment flows
- Highlighted in-stock, high-margin products
- Synced email messaging with ad campaign themes
4. Real-Time Agility
Inventory fluctuated daily. We adapted campaigns on the fly:
- Paused ads for out-of-stock products
- Reallocated budget toward top-performing, available SKUs
- Collaborated directly with the client’s inventory team
Results: The Bounce-Back
From Jan–Mar 2025 the company saw significant improvements across all platforms:
Google Ads:
- ROAS increased by 22.6%
- ACOS decreased by 18.4%
- Conversions rose by 17%
Meta Ads:
- ROAS jumped by 31.6%
- Cost per acquisition (CPA) improved by 4.4%
- Revenue growth on Meta campaigns was up by 3.5%
Bing Ads:
- ROAS improved by 42%
Shopify Store Performance:
- Overall revenue surged by 56.3% in just two months
- Average order value reached its highest point in over a year
Recommendations for Ongoing Growth
As the brand moves from recovery to growth, Pantelope recommends:
- Monthly creative refreshes to combat fatigue
- Product bundling to lift AOV and margin
- Expanding campaign angles with top-performing product lines
- Maintaining a segmented campaign structure by brand/SKU
- Doubling down on mid-funnel re-engagement with Klaviyo and Meta
Ready to turn setbacks into scale-ups?
Our client’s story highlights what’s possible when a clear strategy meets real-time adaptability. Even in the face of major disruption, ecommerce growth is achievable when messaging, media, and funnel strategy align.
If your brand is facing platform pressure, supply chain gaps, or performance plateaus, Pantelope is ready to help.
Explore more ecommerce marketing case studies or get in touch to build your next success story.
