Reaching the
PMax summit

The challenge

Decathlon faced significant challenges in effectively utilising Google Ads’ Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. They encountered difficulties in configuring their campaigns optimally to align with business goals. Additionally, managing these campaigns efficiently within their resource constraints proved challenging. A key issue for Decathlon was the limited control over PMax. PMax was hijacking Decathlon’s brand search traffic and primarily promoting top sellers, neglecting strategically important products, leading to ineffective budget use and a lack of control. To get back into the driver’s seat, Decathlon needed a strategy to guide Google’s spending towards their most valuable products, specifically:

1. Strategically important products (i.e. seasonal items or own brands)
2. Hidden champions within the longtail that were not given a chance to convert in the past*.

*Curious about Decathlon’s longtail dilemma? Read the full case study!

The solution

By utilizing data-driven automation and pushing the products into right campaigns, Decathlon managed to achieve an overall healthier revenue mix and a sustainable and scalable campaign structure based on their business objectives.

• Using our technology, Decathlon was able to leverage data from first, second, or third-party sources to accurately segment products. Based on their input, the software was optimized to prioritize pushing products of strategic importance, like own brands and seasonal items.
• By applying a predictive AI model, the software was able to pinpoint and promote less visible but valuable products in the catalogue (hidden champions).
• Our technology ensured conversions were captured in the most efficient ad format. The proper configuration prevented cannibalization of brand search traffic.

The results

Our collaboration culminated in a remarkable boost for Decathlon, marked by a 22% rise in revenue and an impressive 52% boost in ROAS (YoY) – clear markers of healthy growth.

Decathlon was able to:

• take back control over their PMax campaigns and achieve their business objectives.
• streamline PMax campaigns with dynamic, multidimensional product segmentation.
• achieve a healthier product-mix by identifying hidden champions with our predictive AI model.

Furthermore, our partnership freed Decathlon’s in-house team from repetitive, error-prone manual tasks, empowering them to concentrate on their core objective: enhancing the prominence of Decathlon’s own brands. On top of that, the Decathlon team’s know-how grew significantly due to a robust alliance with our experienced PPC professionals who shared valuable practical tips and comprehensive, in-depth reports.