Mountain Gaming
About Mountain Gaming
MOUNTAIN creates innovative, premium hardware and software with a user-centric design that enable gamers and content creators to achieve peak performance. Their product portfolio includes the flagship Everest keyboard as well as the Makalu 67 mouse, the Nunatak mousepad and several accessories like Switches, Keycaps and more!
The Challenge
They came to us looking to solve the following problems:
- Unprofitable return on ad spend across all channels
- Undefined ideal customer profile
- Under-utilized PR assets
- Lack of direction around overall marketing strategy
Most of these challenges were due to the company having recently been acquired and losing key growth marketing talent.
Our Approach
We broke down our approach to working with them into 3 phases.
Customer research and ICP definition
Understand who actually buys and why.
Paid ad strategy and development
Build the campaigns, creative and CRO stack.
Campaign refining and scaling
Optimize to profitability, then scale.
Phase 1 — Customer research and ICP identification
Our first phase was centred around researching and identifying their ICP. They had initially described their ICP as simply 'PC gamers' but didn't have any further insights into customer demographics, interests, or behaviours. We conducted in depth research into their current customers and market which would allow us to craft better messaging and build successful campaigns.
Market research
We began by conducting a comprehensive market analysis to understand the dynamics of the PC gaming/mechanical keyboard hardware market.
We found that there were 3 key variables among customers in this industry. These were:
- Use case (e.g. gamers v.s video editors)
- Seriousness (Professional vs amateur video editor, serious vs non-serious gamer etc…)
- Price tolerance
- First time vs experienced keyboard buyers
Current customer research
Now that we had a better understanding of the market we dove deep into learning about their current customers to learn more about their demographics, interests, and behaviours and well as their use cases and reasons for using the products. We discovered:
- 61% were using the product for gaming, 39% for content creation
- 97% of customers were male
- 34% of the content creator segment (13% overall) were professionals
- 54% of the gaming market (33% overall) described themselves as “serious gamers” who played for over 10 hours per week.
- 62% of buyers were buying a mechanical keyboard for the first time when they bought their mountain product.
ICP development
With our research findings, we were able to segment the market in 4 segments.
Serious gamers
Male, 16-45. Plays PC games for over 10 hours per week. Not price sensitive. Has used competitors products. Values product quality and customization ability.
Non-serious gamers
Male, 16-45. Plays PC games less that 10 hours per week. Price sensitive. Hasn't used competitors products. Values product quality and usability.
Professional content creators
Male, 22-45. Edits video content professionally. Not price sensitive. Hasn't used competitors products. Values customization ability.
Amateur content creators
Male, 18-45. Edits video content for fun. Price sensitive. Hasn't used competitors products. Values customization ability.
Phase 2 — Campaign Strategy and Development
Our campaign strategy focused on three key strategic initiatives:
- Content and messaging overhaul
- Paid advertising
- CRO (conversion rate optimization)
Content and messaging overhaul
We worked alongside the team to overhaul their content and messaging strategy. We started out by identifying the types of content that would be needed and then put together a plan for content creation/curation. We broke it down into the following content types:
- Product feature videos
- Product feature images
- User generated content
- User testimonials
- YouTuber reviews
We discovered that they were sitting on a goldmine of PR assets that they were not taking advantage of. The products had been reviewed by several prominent YouTubers who had given permission to use the video assets for advertising campaigns. This content would become the cornerstone of our growth marketing campaigns.
We worked with our video editing parter to create premium assets that would be used across all aspects of the campaigns.
Paid advertising
Our next step was to build out robust paid advertising campaigns. We broke it down into 6 steps:
- Platform selection: We focused on Facebook/Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. We chose these platforms as this was where our ICP were spending their time.
- Creative adaptation: Using the video content developed earlier, we adapted each piece of content to fit the best practices of each placement.
- Targeting and segmentation: We used the advanced targeting features on each platform to effectively narrow in on the our target customers based on the segments we identified.
- Ad spend allocation: Budgets were dynamically allocated based on real-time performance data, focusing on channels and creatives with the best results.
- Retargeting campaigns: We launched retargeting campaigns targeting users who interacted with our ads/landing pages but didn't convert.
- Analytics and Reporting: We put a strong emphasis on analytics that allowed for detailed performance tracking and informed decision-making. Regular insights and optimization recommendations were shared with everyone involved with the project.
CRO (conversion rate optimization)
We did a full overhaul of the client's website and landing pages. We broke it down into 5 steps:
- UX/UI redesign: We redesigned the website and landing pages to ensure they were intuitive and user-friendly. This involved simplifying the layout, optimizing load times and ensuring mobile responsiveness.
- Messaging and content optimization: Based on our ICP research, we revised the site's core messaging to speak directly to the target audience. This included highlighting success stories of successful investors, delivering up-front value to show domain expertise and addressing common concerns.
- Testing and optimization: We put the necessary tools in place to be able to effectively analyze data. This included several A/B tests as well as the use of Hotjar, a CRO app to track user behavior, including clicks, scrolls, and heatmaps. This data allowed us to understand how visitors interacted with the page, identify friction points, and make targeted improvements to significantly enhance user experience and conversion rates.
Phase 3 — Refining and Scaling
Once our initial set of campaigns were "live", we moved towards optimizing campaigns based on data-driven insights, establishing a profitable return on ad spend (ROAS) and then the fun part - scaling successfully.
Data-driven optimization
Arguably the most important part of any paid media campaign (or marketing campaign in general) is making data driven adjustments. This involved:
- Ad-spend optimization: Adjusting our ad spend based on the performance metrics of each platform as well as each campaign within each platform.
- Creative rotation: We frequently rotated ad creatives to prevent ad fatigue among our target audience. This included introducing new videos based on the initial frameworks and phasing out underperforming creatives.
- Targeting refinement: We used the audience data across each platform to further inform our understanding on the ICP and made adjustments to the targeting based on this new information.
- Landing page iteration: Based on the feedback and data from our CRO tools, we made iterative changes to the landing pages. This included adjusting the messaging, layout and call-to-action buttons to improve conversion rates.
Scaling successfully
It took us 3 weeks to establish a profitable return on ad spend (ROAS). We now get to do the fun part - scaling campaign to grow the business faster. This involved:
- Increasing ad spend strategically: We gradually increased our ad spend while closely monitoring performance metrics to ensure that we maintained profitability.
- Broadening geographic reach: We translated ads to German and began experimenting with campaigns in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
- Expanding the ICP: We started testing new types of messaging that would resonate with folks outside of the current ICPs. We found success amongst web developers/coders who could use the product in their work.