Adrenaline and RedBalloon
When Red Valkyrie engaged, Adrenaline's search revenue had dropped 60% year-on-year in October, the month that sets up Christmas (and the year). Google had also blocked experience aggregators from Shopping campaigns. Recovery needed to happen fast.
The situation
Adrenaline's search revenue had dropped 60% year-on-year in October, the month that sets up the entire Christmas period. To make matters worse, Google had blocked experience aggregators from Shopping campaigns because gift vouchers are not physical products.
Multi-six-figure monthly budgets (hundreds of thousands per month) meant every day of underperformance was expensive. The account had 10+ years of history and legacy complexity. A tight-margin business meant efficiency mattered more than raw volume.
What we did
Recovered 60% revenue drop
Achieved 2.5x growth in 8 weeks without Google Shopping available. Google later reversed the Shopping policy, but Red Valkyrie had already recovered without it.
Reworked account structure
Intent clarity across a 10-year-old account with legacy complexity. Clean structure made scaling controlled.
Improved non-brand coverage
Keyword expansion with guardrails to protect efficiency across experience categories.
Tested messaging and landing pages
Ad creative and landing page alignment for experience buyers across seasons.
Engaged to run RedBalloon
On the back of Adrenaline results, brought in to manage RedBalloon. Grew non-brand search revenue 3x in 12 months.
What changed
- Recovered from a 60% revenue drop and achieved 2.5x growth in 8 weeks, without Shopping
- ROAS improved by over 25% while exceeding targets
- RedBalloon non-brand search revenue grew 3x within 12 months
- Achieved on a mature, 10-year-old account with multi-six-figure monthly budgets
- Google later reversed the Shopping ban, but recovery had already happened
Why it worked
"When your biggest channel gets blocked, structure and intent coverage are what save you. The recovery happened because fundamentals were strong, not because of one tactic."
When your biggest channel gets blocked, structure and intent coverage are what save you. The recovery happened because fundamentals were strong, not because of one tactic.
Cleaning a 10-year-old account and matching structure to intent unlocked growth that was hidden under legacy complexity. Tight margins forced discipline that made the results more durable.
If you rely on non-brand search, structure is your advantage
Book a call. We will map what to fix first.