Taming the Wild West of Ecommerce
Ariat have been blending technology and performance in their equestrian, western and country clothing & footwear products for over 25 years, expanding from the US into the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
For this campaign we won a UK Search Award in 2025 for Best Use of PPC in Ecommerce/Retail
-
40%
INCREASE IN REVENUE
-
20%
EXCEEDED ROAS TARGET BY 20%
Winner 2025 UK Search Awards
"An excellent campaign combining creative flair with strong performance and impressive revenue growth. The mix of formats and thoughtful localisation enhanced impact, while influencer integration added depth.
The well-structured case study and client testimonial highlighted a highperforming programme that delivered tangible business outcomes."
Judges Comments
Objective
Ariat is a premium footwear and fashion brand with strong roots in the equestrian market. While performance was solid across core European territories, there was an opportunity to unlock further growth across
wider EU markets.
With less than four months remaining in the financial year, Ariat set ambitious new performance targets for their Paid Search across revenue, efficiency, and category growth. The challenge was to achieve this growth without relying on discounts, while protecting Ariat’s premium positioning in a highly competitive
fashion landscape.
Our Approach
We evolved Ariat’s paid search strategy to balance performance, brand, and cultural relevance across markets.
Rather than chasing short-term gains through promotional tactics, our strategy focused on four core pillars:
Innovate: Use data and emerging formats to evolve how search was used within the channel mix.
Personalise: Leverage first-party data and behavioural signals to tailor messaging and creative to high-value audiences.
Strengthen: Scale performance in core growth categories across priority territories.
Broadcast: Introduce upper-funnel activity to influence demand and improve bottom-of-funnel performance.
This ensured Ariat could drive sustainable growth while protecting brand equity.
Execution
Audience & Market Insight
First-party data confirmed Ariat’s core customer base skewed towards considered, quality-led purchasing behaviour. However, search trend analysis revealed a sustained increase in interest around Western and denim fashion, driven by broader cultural momentum across Europe.
This insight allowed us to expand Ariat’s reach beyond its traditional audience while remaining aligned with the brand’s heritage and premium positioning.
Channel Strategy & Innovation
We implemented a phased, full-funnel approach across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen.This ensured brand and performance activity worked together rather than in isolation.
- Early adoption of Demand Gen enabled influencer-led and lifestyle creative to be introduced into Ariat’s paid media strategy.
- Gen-Z-focused creative and user-generated content were tested to broaden appeal and unlock new demand.
- High-intent audiences continued to receive product-led messaging to maintain efficiency and performance.
Data-Led Optimisation & Localisation
We built bespoke audiences using first-party data, predictive modelling, and behavioural signals to target high-value and lookalike customers with precision.
A real-time localisation framework allowed creative, messaging, and language to be adapted quickly across EU markets, ensuring
relevance at scale during peak trading periods.
Results
The campaign exceeded all agreed objectives:
- Total revenue increased by over 40%, outperforming target
- Return on ad spend exceeded target by nearly 20%
- Category revenue grew by more than 30%, finishing ahead of forecast
In addition, targeted activity aimed at younger demographics delivered a significant share of incremental growth, demonstrating that paid search can act as both a performance and brand-building channel.
James Wilson, Brand & DTC Director, Europe - Ariat"We love working with the Honcho team, after 6 years their team and ours continue to get closer and more granular on how we can improve our Consumer acquisition and awareness. It’s great working with people with the same growth mindset but even better when the results follow, which they consistently do."
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