Taking END. Clothing From Attribution Guesswork to Statistical Business Proof
One question is always on the lips of fashion retailers: how do you get ahead in a congested landscape? Historically, the key has been to tap into the first-class visuals at their disposal. The clothes which line their sleeves (both physically and virtually) are the perfect creative focal points for ads designed to cut through the noise.
Traditionally, linear television was the preferred method for distributing ads. But in recent years, the number of channels available to connect with prospective shoppers has exploded – from CTV banners to social carousels and sponsored search placements. While these additions to the marketing mix are excellent for driving reach, they do create another challenge.
Namely, how to prove which channels and platforms are driving meaningful value; particularly important at a time when budgets are being squeezed and proving ROI (especially to the CFO) is paramount.
This was the conundrum that END. Clothing came to Tug with. Having already developed a successful SEO strategy for the global fashion retailer, we were tasked with proving that paid social could drive incremental revenue without negatively impacting other channels. Our solution was to develop a full-funnel social activation, supported by AI-driven causal measurement, to move END. Clothing from attribution guesswork to statistical business proof.
Understanding the Attribution Challenge
A problem that doesn’t just impact END. Clothing, but any brand trying to optimise their marketing activity, is that platforms tend to overstate their own impact. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that, within businesses, internal teams often champion their own results, sometimes at the expense of cross-channel clarity.
As an independent partner, Tug was well placed to bring objectivity to the measurement process. This began with designing a three-month proof-of-concept test to run in the UK, structured specifically to answer three business-critical questions:
- Does paid social genuinely drive incremental revenue?
- Would it cannibalise organic or brand-led channels?
- Can we validate its full-funnel impact, not just last-click?
Beyond our existing SEO work, END. Clothing had developed a successful paid search strategy that it managed in-house. On paper, these channels had the potential to complement one another and strengthen END. Clothing’s overall position in the market. However, platform reports and siloed analytics alone couldn’t provide the clear view that was required.
Building From the Ground Up
Our strategy revolved around deploying dynamic product feed ads across Meta’s platforms. In order to maximise their effectiveness, we first needed to strengthen END. Clothing’s data foundations. Clean, accurate data was essential for real-time optimisation, as well as collecting reliable, actionable insights further down the line.
With the foundations in place, we were able to progress to the launch phase. Leveraging machine learning allowed us to deliver highly relevant, personalised ads to customers and lookalike audiences, taking full advantage of END. Clothing’s comprehensive product range.
The real breakthrough came from combining this activation with two of Tug’s proprietary measurement tools:
- Lift Analytics
- Our correlation tool monitored changes in website revenue and established whether uplift could be attributed to paid social activity.
- Real Impact
- Our causal modelling tool measured the true incremental effect of paid social and established its influence on other channels (such as paid search).
The top-line results at the end of the three-month test were highly encouraging.
Paid social delivered a 6:3:1 ROAS against a target of 5:1, with ROAS in the first four weeks up 126% compared with END. Clothing’s usual performance. The average basket size increased by 36%, and the test achieved 87% confidence in incremental revenue attributable directly to paid social.
More importantly, Real Impact revealed that it was 64% likely that paid social drove a 17.9% increase in total revenue across all channels (excluding paid social). This was the proof that END. Clothing required, showing that paid social wasn’t cannibalising its organic or brand-led activity. Rather, it was lifting it.
One Eye on the Future
It’s important to note that during the test, we continued to plan potential strategic improvements. Towards the end of the trial period, we implemented a number of changes – the most notable being to pause certain campaigns, which had a significant impact on direct revenue in favour of broader reach and brand awareness. This has led to the commissioning of a second test, the goal being to prove that paid social can drive incremental revenue with a causal impact confidence of 70%.
Are you searching for a measurement framework that can prove the true value of your advertising activities and empower your brand to invest with confidence? Send our team a message here and start your journey today.
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