Hans-Kristian Kok is a strategic marketer focused on year-round brand engagement for swim brand Watery. His data-driven approach and openness to new platforms shows how brands can successfully position themselves for continued growth and recognition.
Winter bathing is a popular activity for many Danes who enjoy a dip in the cold water even when the temperature is freezing. Swimming is no longer a hobby that is reserved for the summer months. In fact, if you look at Google trends you can see that interest in “vinterbadning” (winter bathing) goes up when searches for “svømning” (swimming) go down.
With this increased interest in year-round watersports, both in Denmark and internationally, we at Watery knew we had to make some serious waves in our existing marketing strategy.
Founded in 2016 by competitive swimmer, Daniel Johannesen, Watery was born from a passion for sustainable, durable swimwear and swimming gear, that not only looked good but also performed flawlessly in the water.
There are swimwear brands out there who are always top-of-mind for consumers, and that was where we wanted to be. We needed to expand our reach beyond the traditional summer season and connect with a wider audience.
From test and learn to taking the plunge
We wanted to be where our audience was, and we knew the average person in Denmark watches over 40 minutes of YouTube per day.1 However, YouTube was uncharted territory for us, having focused on other social media platforms for a long time. That’s why we partnered with digital marketing agency Lazzaweb, who have a lot of experience in this area.
We already had assets that we had used on other platforms and we started by testing these on YouTube. That way we could understand how they performed and discover what messages resonated most with audiences on this, to us, new channel. We learned that highlighting our best-selling products and offering attractive deals was the key to capturing attention and driving conversions on YouTube.
Here’s an example of one of the ads we ran on YouTube using existing assets:
Interestingly, we also discovered that focusing on our unique selling points, like specific niche products, didn't have the same impact.
Creating a strategy that makes a splash
Armed with these insights, we adjusted our content strategy to focus on the most profitable messages and product categories. We also set a clear goal: to maintain at least a 1:1 profit-on-ad-spend (POAS) to ensure our YouTube efforts were not just making a splash but also generating a tangible return on investment.
We implemented a multi-faceted engagement strategy to reach the right audience on YouTube. It included:
- Custom intent: We looked for those people already interested in swimwear by focusing on users visiting our competitors' websites.
- In-market audiences: We zeroed in on sports and fitness enthusiasts, particularly those with an interest in swimming, water sports, and swimwear.
- Look-a-like audiences: We expanded our reach by engaging users similar to our top 20% most profitable customers, excluding recent visitors and buyers.
- Bottom funnel targeting: We reconnected with potential customers who had added items to their cart within the last 30 days but hadn't yet made a purchase.
- Re-engagement: We kept the conversation going with previous buyers, reminding them of the Watery experience and encouraging repeat purchases.
Riding the wave of success
We were thrilled to see that viewers were actively engaged with our ads on YouTube, often watching them even after the skip button appeared. That level of engagement is something we hadn't experienced on other platforms.
Our YouTube campaign received over 730,000 impressions, and nearly 5,000 clicks through to our website. Most importantly for our goal of being top-of-mind, however, we saw a 23% increase in Google searches for “Watery” following the launch of our new video strategy.
We also surpassed our 1:1 POAS goal. "The conversion results were better than expected,” says Bilal Yasin, senior paid search specialist and associated partner at Lazzaweb. “We didn't just use YouTube to increase reach; we generated a positive profit from it as well."
The success of this campaign has been a significant step towards our goal of becoming a top-of-mind brand in the swimwear industry and we're proud of the splash we've made on YouTube. It's a testament to our commitment to connecting with our audience in innovative ways. And we're excited to see what the future holds as we continue to ride the wave of success.
