Linear TV generated strong awareness, driving spikes in site sessions during campaign periods. However, those visits converted at a much lower rate, raising questions about traffic quality. By reallocating spend into YouTube and validating results through MMM, we tested whether more precise, audience-targeted video could maintain awareness while delivering higher-quality traffic and stronger conversion efficiency.
cordaroys started with a pitch, a bean bag, and a big idea: what if your bean bag could unfold into a real bed? Founder Byron Young walked into the Shark Tank and walked out with a deal from Lori Greiner, one of the show's most discerning investors. She's since called it one of her best deals. Ever.
That moment turned cordaroys into a household name. The convertible bean bag became a viral sensation, beloved by college students, parents, and anyone who needed a spare bed that didn't look like one. Years of press, social buzz, and word-of-mouth built a brand with genuine cultural cachet and a fiercely loyal customer base.
By 2025, cordaroys had the brand equity most DTC companies spend decades chasing. The question was how to turn that awareness into measurable, scalable growth with the right media mix behind it.
cordaroys was allocating nearly one-third of total media spend to Linear TV, positioning it as a primary awareness driver. But performance signals told a different story. Despite significant investment, Linear TV accounted for just 1.39% of responses to the post-purchase survey question "How did you first hear about us?" — and drove lower-quality site traffic. The core question: was the channel generating true incremental growth, or simply creating the illusion of scale?
Linear TV sessions converted at a lower on-site CVR, indicating the channel was driving broad traffic with limited ability to target by demographic or interest.
Budget increased, but true contribution remained unverified — raising concerns about whether TV was expanding the business or simply driving traffic to audiences unlikely to convert.
Linear TV lacked real-time performance signals, making it difficult to iterate, optimize, or improve efficiency over time.
From August to October 2025, budget shifted from Linear TV into YouTube, activating video placements on YTTV as well as Demand Gen campaigns segmented across TV, mobile, and desktop. This maintained TV screen reach while introducing more precise audience targeting. Performance was evaluated using platform data alongside Northbeam, MMM insights, and post-purchase survey responses to measure YouTube's incremental impact and guide cross-channel optimization across Meta and Google.
Deployed YouTube TV and Demand Gen video campaigns segmented by device across TV screens, mobile, and desktop — bringing targeted audience precision and measurable performance to a traditionally broad awareness channel.
Leveraged YouTube's targeting capabilities to reach high-potential new customers outside of the audiences already being served by Meta and Google, reducing overlap and broadening acquisition reach.
Measured YouTube's impact holistically across Northbeam and post-purchase survey data, and validated true revenue contribution through our in-house MMM to confirm what platform reporting alone couldn't prove.
Created a structured rollout and closely monitored full-funnel performance across all active channels to protect efficiency and ensure the YouTube ramp didn't erode gains on Meta and Google.
YouTube scaled from 1.23% to 22% of total spend, and its share of post-purchase survey responses increased from 1.39% to 8.92% — a 5x increase in customers citing YouTube as their first touchpoint. While YouTube drove fewer overall sessions, it delivered higher-quality traffic, contributing an 18% lift in net revenue.
The same awareness budget, measured differently. Here is what changed when cordaroys moved from Linear TV to YouTube.
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