In order to capitalize on peak periods of e-commerce traffic, SteelSeries looked to build a strategy around better leveraging user data as a way of propelling their dotcom sales forward. With mounting data privacy concerns and limitations with tracking, SteelSeries faced the challenge of organizing, strategizing and utilizing valuable first-party data in a way that could unlock untapped e-commerce growth and drive dotcom sales to new heights.

Our approach leveraged first-party data to better understand different customer segments and target specific cohorts of interest-based audiences. For example, if users were tuning into Twitch, we’d know that they were gaming streamers who may be interested in purchasing a new streaming mic to upgrade their sound quality. This repository of user data was then translated into specific interest-based and engagement-based cohorts that served as hyper-specific target audiences for more personalized paid media initiatives.

While most e-commerce sites are able to leverage customer data to drive purchases based on past purchase, add-to-cart or browse behaviors, the seamless integration of software and hardware sales data unlocks a whole new arena of data to play with. Software-side first-party data, when used in conjunction with existing dotcom business data, enabled a more holistic view of users’ relationship with the SteelSeries brand as a whole, and informed more detailed audience cohorts from demographic, behavioral and psychographic perspectives.

Met with aggressive revenue targets, we worked to identify and target individual cohorts of users most likely to make repeat purchases. By incorporating site-wide and software-side first-party data, including gaming behavior and unique customer touch points, overall revenue from paid channels increased by +36%.

SteelSeries increased monthly revenue 3x MoM, showing impressive long-term growth for the brand — a testament to the power of data-driven media amidst a highly competitive landscape. SteelSeries experienced rapid month-over-month growth throughout 2023 led by a combination of paid acquisition efforts, marketplace management and personalization of the user journey. The brand experienced a +49% increase in net sales driven through paid social alone from Q2 to Q3, indicating the impact of a strong audience match.