Orla Kiely

How we sparked a 20% increase in Paid Media revenue

Making paid media work harder

When Farrows took over Orla Kiely’s paid media, the accounts were inefficiently structured, campaigns were poorly targeted and the existing ad creative was beginning to fatigue. The budget was working, but there was a clear opportunity to make it work much harder.

We rebuilt the Google and Meta accounts around Orla Kiely’s products, audiences, markets and seasonal priorities. By connecting media management with a stronger creative pipeline and the wider ecommerce trading plan, we increased paid media revenue while improving return and reducing the cost of acquiring each customer.

The Brief

The Orla Kiely brand has a distinctive visual identity, an extensive product range and customers across several international markets. Its paid media needed to reflect that complexity, supporting different products, collections and seasonal campaigns without losing sight of the wider commercial picture.

The existing account structure made this difficult. Campaigns were poorly targeted and budgets could not be directed towards individual markets and opportunities with enough precision. This limited our ability to understand what was driving performance and where further investment could deliver the greatest return.

Creative fatigue was also beginning to affect results. Customers were seeing the same assets too often, giving them fewer reasons to engage and leaving the advertising platforms with less material to optimise.

The brief was to build a more commercially focused paid media programme across Google and Meta. One that could support continued growth while making better use of the available budget and keeping the advertising recognisably Orla Kiely.

The Strategy

Improving performance would take more than a few changes to individual campaigns. The accounts needed a clearer structure, but they also needed to be managed in closer step with the wider ecommerce operation.

We began by looking at how paid media could better support Orla Kiely’s products, markets and seasonal trading plan. That meant moving away from broad campaign management and making more informed decisions around what to promote, who to show it to and where budget should be concentrated.

Creative was an important part of the same strategy. Better targeting could reduce wasted spend, but the platforms also needed a steady supply of relevant assets. Those assets needed to reflect the products and campaigns being prioritised elsewhere in the business.

Bringing these areas together created a more useful cycle of improvement. Performance data informed budget decisions, audience targeting and the next round of creative, while product performance, stock availability and seasonal priorities helped shape the advertising plan.

Since working with Farrows, we have achieved a 25% increase in conversions from just a 7% increase in ad spend, demonstrating the impact of their strategic approach and ongoing optimisation.

Jude Harvey | Head of eCommerce at Orla Kiely

The Execution

We restructured the Google and Meta accounts to give us more control over where the budget was going and what it was delivering.

Campaigns were reorganised around the products, collections, audiences and markets that mattered most. Targeting was refined to focus investment on customers with a stronger likelihood of converting, while product feeds were improved to make Google Shopping activity more accurate and relevant.

Rather than working to a fixed allocation, budgets were managed actively. Investment could move in response to campaign performance, stock levels, product launches and changes in the wider trading plan. This meant stronger opportunities could receive more support without continuing to spend against areas that were underperforming.

Six colorful, patterned Orla Kiely bags hanging on a rope between trees in a sunlit forest.

Alongside the account rebuild, we introduced a more consistent flow of creative across Google and Meta. New assets were developed around individual products, collections and seasonal campaigns, with imagery, messaging and formats adapted for different audiences and placements.

Creative performance was reviewed continually. Stronger ideas could be developed further, while assets showing signs of fatigue could be replaced before they began to limit results. This gave the platforms more to work with while keeping the advertising fresh and distinctly Orla Kiely.

We have a fantastic working relationship with the Farrows team and continue to collaborate on new tests, features, and opportunities to grow our PPC activity. Their expertise, insight, and proactive recommendations have made them a trusted extension of our marketing team, and they consistently provide valuable guidance every step of the way.

Jude Harvey | Head of eCommerce at Orla Kiely

The Results

Over 12 months, paid media revenue increased by 20.3% year on year. Blended return on ad spend reached 6.63x, representing a 12.6% improvement, while cost per acquisition fell by 18.7%.

Orla Kiely’s blended ROAS was more than twice the 3.08x benchmark for apparel and accessories. Returns also continued to improve as investment increased, showing that the account could support further growth without sacrificing efficiency.

The results came from treating account structure, targeting, creative and day-to-day trading decisions as one connected programme. Better media management helped the budget work harder, while a stronger creative pipeline gave customers more relevant reasons to engage.

For Orla Kiely, paid media is now better placed to respond to the wider needs of the business, supporting the right products and campaigns while delivering stronger commercial returns.