A 500% increase in return on ad spend in five months

Helping an established hi-fi specialist take control of its advertising investment, increasing return on ad spend by 500% in just five months.

Founded in Liverpool in 1960, Doug Brady Hi-Fi has a long history of helping music lovers discover exceptional sound. From its first shop on Smithdown Road to a flagship store in Covent Garden, the business built its reputation on specialist knowledge, carefully selected equipment and a passion for music.

An early stockist of Naim Audio, alongside brands including Rega and Chord, Doug Brady Hi-Fi offers informed, impartial advice to help customers find the right equipment for their homes and budgets.

The business needed its Google Ads activity to reflect that same considered approach: prioritising the right products, making better use of its budget and delivering more predictable returns.

Doug Brady Hi-Fi approached us with a single Google Smart campaign and limited control over how advertising spend was distributed across its products.

The existing structure made it difficult to prioritise higher-margin products or distinguish between strong revenue generators, fast-selling lines and products that simply needed continued visibility.

Performance was unpredictable, with fluctuating return on ad spend making it harder for the team to plan stock purchases and forecast future demand. The account needed a structure that reflected the commercial role of different products.

Working closely with the client, we developed a three-tier campaign structure using a “ring” approach.

Inner ring: highest-return products

Products delivering the strongest return on ad spend received priority investment, focusing more of the budget on the lines generating the greatest advertising return.

Middle ring: fast-selling products

Products that sold quickly but delivered lower returns were given a separate allocation, supporting sales volume while keeping their advertising costs under control.

Outer ring: visibility-led products

Products with lower returns, which the client still wanted customers to discover, retained a presence in search through a limited budget.

This structure gave us greater control over investment across the product range. We could prioritise proven performers while supporting other products according to their commercial value and the client’s objectives.

By restructuring the account around product performance and allocating budgets accordingly, we significantly improved the return generated by Doug Brady Hi-Fi’s Google Ads activity.

The new approach also gave the client a clearer view of where its advertising budget was going, with distinct priorities for high-return products, fast-selling lines and products requiring continued search visibility.