Driving 317% ROAS across Black Friday & Christmas

CHALLENGE.

Hornby Hobbies, a heritage toy and model brand with a strong e-commerce presence, sought additional support during the key retail periods of Black Friday and Christmas across two of their five core UK brands, Hornby and Scalextric.

Their goal was to enhance their existing marketing efforts, drive online engagement, and ultimately increase sales for their Hornby and Scalextric product ranges.

SOLUTION.

To meet Hornby Hobbies' objectives, we executed a programmatic strategy leveraging Display and Native advertising, underpinned by our Growth Management approach. Acting as a strategic partner, we ensured that campaign goals were consistently met while simplifying communication and streamlining processes. By providing a single point of contact, we eliminated the complexities of managing multiple platforms and specialists internally, allowing for a more agile and efficient execution.

Key strategic elements included:

Multi-channel optimisation where native ads were optimised for click-through rate (CTR), while Display ads were refined for conversions. A cross-channel exposure strategy delivered a 25% increase in CTR when users engaged with both ad formats.
Users demonstrated a high likelihood of converting within three days of seeing an ad. Our retargeting strategy capitalised on this behaviour, ensuring sustained engagement and maximising return on ad spend (ROAS).
Utilising our growth management team to coordinate all marketing activities across channels, we leveraged industry expertise to optimise campaign performance and adapt strategies in real-time as market conditions evolved. Additionally, our role extended beyond campaign execution, providing essential admin support to facilitate seamless collaboration between Hornby and Reflect Digital.

By aligning our approach with audience behaviour and leveraging real-time insights, we created a highly effective campaign that exceeded performance expectations while driving measurable growth.

RESULTS.

The Black Friday and Christmas campaign for Hornby Hobbies and Scalextric delivered exceptional results, an impressive 317% ROAS. With over 2,300 purchases recorded, the campaign effectively drove engagement and conversions. A strategic mix of Display and Native advertising reached 4.46 million users, achieving an 18% engagement rate, reinforcing the power of a data-driven, multi-channel approach.

317%

Return on ad spend (ROAS)

4.46M

Total reach

Over 2,300

Purchases recorded

“Working with Reflect Digital during our peak trading periods of Black Friday and Christmas provided a seamless extension to our in-house team. Their expertise in programmatic marketing and growth management helped us drive impressive results, including a 317% ROAS and impressive retargeting ROAS to ensure we converted as much traffic to our sites from other sources as possible. The strategic approach, clear communication, and in-depth accessible reporting made a tangible difference in campaign performance. We look forward to future collaborations!"

Heather Calveley-Tutt | Senior Digital Marketing Manager