How Schleich drove U.S. brand awareness with Intentwise

The challenge

After finding success in Germany, the toy brand Schleich hired an agency to assist with its U.S. expansion. The brand’s main aim on Amazon was to build awareness stateside.

The agency, however, didn’t follow Schleich’s strategy. Schleich was told that its budget wasn’t big enough for an awareness campaign. Instead, it needed to focus on brand defense. 

Schleich was frustrated when ~95% of its Amazon budget went toward branded keywords. “I felt like we were always overspending and not seeing the results we really wanted,” said Emily Keane, the national account manager for e-commerce at Schleich.

The solution

When Schleich switched to Intentwise’s professional services program, its ad mix shifted overnight. Whereas before, Schleich was almost entirely using Sponsored Products ads, Intentwise helped it invest in Sponsored Brands and DSP ads. 

After analyzing Schleich’s search term and keyword reports, Intentwise chose non-branded keywords on which Schleich should bid. These keywords tended to have moderate search volume and little competition. That way, just a few ads could drive a high conversion rate for Schleich. 

After switching to Intentwise, 60% of Schleich’s spending was funneled toward non-branded terms, according to Keane. And thanks to Intentwise’s data insights, “we’re playing in areas that I wouldn’t have known or wouldn’t have anticipated,” she said. 

Brand awareness is up, and so are sales: the week of Easter this year, sales of Schleich jumped 26% compared to the year prior.