850% increase in conversions

The International Institute of Anti-Ageing, known as the iiaa, is a London skincare business. Its own website describes it as creating, distributing and marketing award-winning, scientifically proven, planet-positive skincare brands across multiple countries, and says it supports a network of beauty practitioners and salon professionals with a training programme.

Skincare is a market where trust is earned slowly. Shoppers read about ingredients, compare brands, look for evidence and often want a professional's view before they spend. A business built on science and education has a story to tell, but a story only helps once someone has found the brand in the first place. At the same time, beauty is among the most crowded areas of online retail, with large names and specialist brands all competing for the same searches.

The brands named in this brief were Skin3, Advanced Nutrition Programme and iiaa at Harvey Nichols. Advanced Nutrition Programme is still one of the iiaa's brands on its website today, alongside Environ and et al.

Moving from wholesale to retail changes what a business needs from its marketing. A wholesaler sells to practitioners and trade customers through relationships, while a retailer has to win individual shoppers, one order at a time, and has to care about the cost of getting each of them. Each brand has its own audience and its own way of being searched for, so each needs its own thought rather than a single broad campaign.

This case study is about that move from wholesale to retail, and the Google Ads campaigns that went with it. Search and Display suited a business in this position because search reaches people who already want a product, while display builds awareness among people who might come to want one, which matters for brands that still need to become known.