The Lost Explorer: Holiday Creator.

How a creator-to-retail system turned a four-week holiday window into a premium growth engine — no discounts required.

Client

The Lost Explorer

Role

Creator Strategy, Media Strategy, Media Planning, Buying & Optimization

Growth Retainer

Paid Media Campaign

Content Marketing Playbook

Key Takeaway

Buzz alone doesn't move bottles — not at $150 a pop. To convert interest into action, we embedded respected spirits voices into a full retail-backed ecosystem. What started as a four-week test became a repeatable model for ultra-premium demand at 11x more efficient CPA.

Context

No discounts, our weeks, one shot.

The Lost Explorer entered Q4 with strong retail momentum but low aided recall. Holiday CPMs were climbing fast. Competitors were flooding media — many leaning on discounts to drive last-minute sales.

That was never an option. As their Media AOR, we were tasked with delivering profitable ecommerce growth, in just four weeks, without touching price. To work, the campaign had to do more than get noticed — it had to convert, at scale, without eroding brand equity.

Approach

Why creators weren’t enough — yet.

Buzz without buy path

Creator content sparked top-funnel credibility — but lacked a conversion engine. We needed a seamless bridge from awareness to action that preserved brand prestige while reducing buyer friction

Buzz without buy path

Creator content sparked top-funnel credibility — but lacked a conversion engine. We needed a seamless bridge from awareness to action that preserved brand prestige while reducing buyer friction

Buzz without buy path

Creator content sparked top-funnel credibility — but lacked a conversion engine. We needed a seamless bridge from awareness to action that preserved brand prestige while reducing buyer friction

Timing as a margin strategy

Most brands ramped up spend post-Thanksgiving. We did the opposite. By front-loading media into the quieter window, we doubled daily reach before the cost spike — securing SOV while CPMs were still efficient

Timing as a margin strategy

Trust that converts

Partnering with a respected spirits retailer gave premium shoppers a reason to act. It added legitimacy, enabled precision targeting, and removed the final objection: ‘Where do I get it?’

Trust that converts

Partnering with a respected spirits retailer gave premium shoppers a reason to act. It added legitimacy, enabled precision targeting, and removed the final objection: ‘Where do I get it?’

Trust that converts

Partnering with a respected spirits retailer gave premium shoppers a reason to act. It added legitimacy, enabled precision targeting, and removed the final objection: ‘Where do I get it?’

Solution

Built for belief, timed for traction.

Creator meets commerce

We partnered four respected spirits creators with retailer Curiada to form a conversion ecosystem. Their 1.1M combined followers seeded credibility, while the retail integration delivered clarity and purchase confidence.

Creator meets commerce

Warm audiences, cold conversions

We engineered audience flows from creator engagement into precision retail targeting. First-party shopper data powered lookalike models, while creator engagers fed mid-funnel conversion pools.

Warm audiences, cold conversions

We engineered audience flows from creator engagement into precision retail targeting. First-party shopper data powered lookalike models, while creator engagers fed mid-funnel conversion pools.

Warm audiences, cold conversions

We engineered audience flows from creator engagement into precision retail targeting. First-party shopper data powered lookalike models, while creator engagers fed mid-funnel conversion pools.

Strike before the spike

We launched early — before Black Friday noise — and doubled reach during the lowest-CMP weeks. That timing edge preserved margin while competitors burned budget during peak auction volatility.

Strike before the spike

We launched early — before Black Friday noise — and doubled reach during the lowest-CMP weeks. That timing edge preserved margin while competitors burned budget during peak auction volatility.

Strike before the spike

We launched early — before Black Friday noise — and doubled reach during the lowest-CMP weeks. That timing edge preserved margin while competitors burned budget during peak auction volatility.

Test, optimize, compound

Rapid creative and audience testing loops maximized performance. Winning formats and segments were fed into live campaigns, compounding gains while spend remained flat.

Test, optimize, compound

Rapid creative and audience testing loops maximized performance. Winning formats and segments were fed into live campaigns, compounding gains while spend remained flat.

Test, optimize, compound

Rapid creative and audience testing loops maximized performance. Winning formats and segments were fed into live campaigns, compounding gains while spend remained flat.

Results