Every week, we round up the real, measurable wins we’re creating with our clients. These aren’t fluffy case studies that take months to polish — they’re in-the-moment, real-world examples of strategy and execution that deliver traction, confidence, and results. Here’s what went down this week:

High ROAS, Low Growth: Fixing Cannibalized Google Ads

One of our clients was celebrating strong ROAS numbers in Google Ads. But when we looked closer, we uncovered the issue: their account was heavily reliant on branded search terms. Translation? They were paying for (a ton of) sales they were already getting organically.

We brought in new partners, gave their current agency a chance to audit, and put a smarter plan in place. The outcome: thousands saved each month and a renewed focus on acquiring new customers instead of re-buying existing ones.

What cannibalization looks like — and why it matters

Cannibalization happens when you pay for clicks on ads that target people who were already going to buy from you anyway. In this case, branded Google Ads were intercepting customers who had already typed the company’s name into search. That’s like paying a commission on a sale you had already closed.

The simplest way to think about it is this: organic traffic is free foot traffic walking into your store. Branded ads are like paying someone to stand at the front door and redirect those same customers inside. It doesn’t create new revenue; it just inflates your ad costs.

There is a time and a place for branded campaigns – usually at a small budget and to protect against competitors bidding on your company name, but it should be a small fraction of your overall ad spend. 

How to spot it

If most of your ad spend is going to branded search terms (your company name, product names customers already know), or if your ads show up when someone types your exact brand into Google, you might be cannibalizing. A healthy account should balance branded and non‑branded terms, with real investment in acquiring net-new customers who didn’t already have you in mind.

By shifting spend away from branded cannibalization and toward new acquisition campaigns, businesses protect their margins and grow their audience and in turn, new customer revenue.

The Art of Letting Go: Building Trust With a CEO

“Given the outstanding work you and your team have been doing, I’m confident enough to step out of day‑to‑day marketing. Please remove me from the weekly meetings.” 

This week, we received the best kind of email from a client’s CEO: he’s officially stepping out of day-to-day marketing decisions. Why? Because he trusts us.

For leaders running on EOS®, this moment is called letting go of the vine — releasing the grip on roles that aren’t your unique ability and empowering others to lead. In the book Traction, Gino Wickman describes this as one of the hardest but most important moves for a business owner: stop holding onto work you shouldn’t be doing and trust the right people to own it.

Marketing is often one of those vines, especially for companies that are not yet ready for a full time CMO or marketing leader. Visionaries and Integrators hold tight because it feels too risky to hand over, and yet without letting go, it never scales. By working inside EOS with our clients, we give them the structure and accountability to confidently release their hold. We sit in L10s, own Rocks, and track marketing metrics on the scorecard. That means the existing leadership team doesn’t have to chase vendors, proofread blogs, or sit in tactical meetings that drain their time and energy.

For our client, letting go of the vine was much more than dropping a meeting invite. It meant knowing that strategic decisions would still flow to him, but the execution, leadership, and accountability were covered. And it meant finally getting back to his highest‑value work — growing the business.

Segmentation, But Make It Sexy: Customer Cluster Analysis

Not all customers are created equal, and treating them like they are is one of the fastest ways to fail at communication and growth. This week, we dug into a customer cluster analysis for two businesses with both e-commerce and service components. We were trying to understand which groups of customers are driving outsized revenue, which are lagging, and what levers we can pull to shift behavior for the positive.

What we found was telling, but not surprising: a small percentage of customers were responsible for a disproportionate share of revenue (queue the 80/20 rule). Others showed strong repeat behavior but needed more tailored offers to increase average order value. And some groups — the one-and-done crowd — were quietly dragging down long-term retention metrics.

With this clarity, we were able to design both short-term tactics (how to immediately move lower-value clusters into higher-performing groups through targeted offers) and long-term strategies (how to target acquisition toward the most profitable profiles).We effectively built a roadmap to grow revenue quarter over quarter, without burning resources on customers who won’t return.

A very good thing indeed, our clients walked away with a plan that connects directly to their EOS Rocks: focused acquisition campaigns, tailored retention strategies, and scorecard metrics that tell the real story of growth. Data that used to feel abstract now feels actionable, and that’s when segmentation gets exciting.

From Hotcakes to Chore Coats: Riding the Momentum

When our client’s Navy chore coat (it’s a great jacket – you should buy one!) was selling fast, we helped launch five new versions to ride the momentum. It’s not just about what sold, it’s about how we collectively made momentum happen with a marketing mix as timeless as the jacket itself.

Why Chore Coats Stay Cool

Once rooted in French blue-collar workwear, chore coats have evolved into icons of functional style. Their rugged design (think sturdy denim or canvas and purposeful pockets) speaks to both durability and authenticity. Today, celebrities like Harry Styles and menswear influencers like Brian Sacawa are rocking chore jackets, adding pop culture cred to workwear chic. It’s a perfect storm of nostalgia and modern utility.

Turning a Hot Trend into Growth

• Captured attention: We launched five new chore coat styles, riding the wave of what was already trending
  
• Amplified reach: Our client’s long-form YouTube video wasn’t a salesy infomercial he  told stories: gave insights, styling tips, and personal takes.
  
• Targeted visibility: (Really well run) Meta ads, choreographing audience segments leveraging previous behaviors.
  
• Email that feels human: Klaviyo flows triggered on browse behavior—styled lookbooks, deal alerts, and “how to wear it three ways.”
  
• Every frame counts: The new photography and videography dotted with texture, pockets, and log-rolled sleeves—visuals that sell.
  

The choreography here? Trend awareness, layered with storytelling, precision, and execution across platforms that matter. That’s how you take a jacket from wardrobe staple to business driver.

Set It + Forget It: Abandoned Appointment Automation

If you grew up on late-night infomercials, you’ll remember Ron Popeil’s iconic line: “Set it and forget it!” That was the promise of the Showtime Rotisserie, but it also happens to be the beauty of smart marketing automation.

This week, we built a simple abandoned appointment flow for a service client, sending a friendly nudge to people who started booking but didn’t follow through. The result? Seven new appointments in seven days.

It’s the service-industry version of an abandoned cart email. And just like in e-commerce, the impact is huge: low-effort, high-return automation that runs quietly in the background and recaptures revenue you’d otherwise lose. For appointment-driven businesses, this kind of system keeps the calendar full without adding new manual work for your sales team, giving you one less thing to worry about and one more thing to celebrate.

Wrapping Up: Why These Wins Matter

What ties all these stories together? The reminder that collaborative, strategic marketing is about working well – together. Whether it’s cutting wasted spend, building leadership trust, unlocking insights from data, riding cultural trends, or setting up automations that keep paying off, each of these wins proves the same point: clarity + execution = growth.For CEOs, founders, and leadership teams, the opportunity is simple: focus on what you do best, and let us lead the marketing seat as your Fractional CMO Team. When you have the right systems, partners, and strategy in place, you get to experience Very Good Things.