ROAS 1:8

Case Study: Brewing Success for Heytea's London Debut

Client: Heytea Project: Paid Digital Marketing for London Store Launch (Soft & Hard Launch Phases)

Platforms: Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram), Google Ads Goal: Drive brand awareness, generate excitement, and maximize footfall for Heytea's first London brick-and-mortar locations.

 

The Mission:

Heytea, a globally renowned tea brand.  Originating in China (founded around 2012/2013), Heytea has grown into a large, international chain with significant funding (over $500M raised) and numerous stores, primarily across Asia, and expanding globally (like the London launch). Sought to make a significant impact with its entry into the competitive London market. Launching new physical stores required a targeted digital strategy to cut through the noise, reach the right audience segments, and translate online buzz into tangible in-store visits during both the initial soft launch and the subsequent high-profile hard launch.
 

The Results:

Our targeted, multi-platform approach delivered significant results, successfully supporting Heytea's high-profile London launch:

• Massive Reach & Awareness: Generated millions of impressions across Meta and Google, effectively introducing Heytea to the target London audience.

• High Engagement: Achieved strong Click-Through Rates (CTR) and engagement rates on Meta platforms, indicating high interest and resonance with the creative and brand message.

• Driving Intent: Google Search campaigns effectively captured users actively seeking Heytea, leading to a high volume of relevant clicks and local actions (e.g., clicks on location extensions/direction requests).

• Footfall Contribution: Campaigns directly contributed to the significant buzz and queues observed during both launch phases, meeting the primary KPI of driving in-store traffic.

• Efficient Spend & ROAS: Maintained efficient Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Mille (CPM) metrics. While direct ROAS tracking for pure footfall can be challenging, associated promotions and overall launch success indicated a strong positive return on ad spend, achieving an estimated ROAS of  1:8 based on monthly revenue

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Our Strategy & Approach:

Understanding the need for both broad awareness and localized footfall, we devised a phased digital advertising strategy leveraging the unique strengths of Meta and Google Ads:

1. Platform Synergy:

   • Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram): Utilized for building brand awareness, showcasing Heytea's visually appealing products and store aesthetic, and generating community excitement. Ideal for reaching specific demographics and interest groups (e.g., foodies, lifestyle enthusiasts, existing tea lovers) within targeted geographic radiuses around the new store locations.

   • Google Ads: Focused on capturing high-intent searches. Targeted users actively looking for Heytea, bubble tea, or relevant cafes/refreshments within the store's vicinity using Search Ads. Leveraged location extensions and optimized for local actions like direction requests and store visit conversions (where measurable).

2. Phased Rollout:

   • Soft Launch: Focused on hyper-local targeting around the immediate store area. We used this phase to build initial awareness among nearby residents and workers, test creative variations (product shots vs. lifestyle imagery), refine audience segments, and gather early performance data with a moderate budget. Key objective: Generate early buzz and test campaign effectiveness.

   • Hard Launch: Scaled up successful elements from the soft launch. Increased budget significantly, expanded geographic targeting slightly while maintaining local focus, and implemented more aggressive Calls-to-Action (CTAs) promoting launch events and special offers. Leveraged learnings for optimized bidding and creative deployment. Key objective: Maximize reach, drive high footfall during the crucial launch period.
      

Execution: Planning, Buying & Optimization:

• Media Planning: Allocated budget strategically across Meta and Google, adjusting splits based on phase objectives (more awareness focus on Meta initially, balancing with intent capture on Google, then scaling both for hard launch).

• Audience Targeting:

  • Meta: Layered geographic targeting (radius around stores) with interests (bubble tea, food & drink, London events, specific cultural affinities) and demographic data. Utilized lookalike audiences based on early engagers where applicable.

  • Google: Focused on location-specific keywords (e.g., "Heytea Soho," "bubble tea near [Store Location]") and brand terms. Implemented negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searches.

• Ad Buying & Setup:

  • Meta: Employed auction buying, optimizing for objectives like Reach, Brand Awareness, and potentially Store Traffic/Visits. Used engaging ad formats like high-quality Video, Image, Carousel, and Story ads.

  • Google: Utilized Search campaigns with location extensions enabled. Explored smart bidding strategies focused on maximizing clicks initially and potentially optimizing towards store visit conversions or value (if trackable).

• Continuous Optimization: Monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) daily/weekly.

  • A/B tested ad copy, visuals, and CTAs across both platforms.

  • Refined audience targeting based on performance data (e.g., age, interest groups showing higher engagement or conversion intent).

  • Adjusted bids and budget allocation towards best-performing campaigns, ad sets/groups, and creatives.

  • Monitored ad frequency on Meta to prevent ad fatigue.

  • Tracked search term reports in Google Ads to refine keywords and negative keywords.

 

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Conclusion:

By strategically integrating Meta and Google Ads with a phased approach tailored to Heytea's soft and hard launch objectives, we successfully drove significant awareness and crucial footfall for their London debut. Our expertise in local digital marketing, precise targeting, and continuous optimization ensured Heytea brewed up excitement and captured the attention of Londoners, contributing significantly to a successful market entry.