The challenge

Build-A-Bear and Intersource needed one partner to plan and execute the entire digital customer journey across the Scandinavian markets, for both B2C e-commerce and B2B expansion.

Time was tight. Everything had to be designed, built, and launched in a matter of months, which meant a senior team that could move fast without compromising brand consistency or customer experience.

What we found

The real risk wasn't the deadline, it was launching fast on a foundation that wouldn't hold. There was no proper tracking or retention infrastructure in place, and their Instagram and Facebook pages kept getting shut down over issues with the brand name. So we treated this as a systems build, not a campaign: get the plumbing right first, then scale on top of it.

Shopify webshop

We opened by aligning on the essentials:

• Brand guidelines and creative assets

• Functional requirements

• Platform rules and content limitations

From there we built a two-step rollout: a soft launch with every critical component live in under a month, then a post-launch roadmap to iterate and expand. Go live fast, but on a foundation that could evolve with the brand.

Paid social: Meta Ads

We began with a full ad-account setup, including brand-safety measures. One early hurdle was that their Instagram and Facebook pages were being repeatedly shut down over issues with the brand name. We worked directly with their US team and Meta reps to resolve it and stabilize the accounts.

Once secure, we ran a creative and campaign plan on two tracks:

• Brand content to reinforce identity and awareness

• Conversion content aimed at DTC performance on the webshop

We defined tone of voice, messaging structure, and creative-testing flows, and launched with the flexibility to pivot quickly on the data.

Google Ads

On Google we started with infrastructure:

• Confirmed tracking and attribution were solid

• Implemented Profitmetrics and moved to profit-based bidding

Then we scaled:

• Categorized products by traction and performance

• Ran Shopping and PMax, supplemented by branded content

• Used their strong brand equity to own high-intent search terms aggressively

We mapped keyword strategies market by market for maximum exposure and category relevance.

Email marketing

With a large pre-launch signup list, retention mattered from day one. We:

• Built the entire email automation system from scratch

• Created onboarding, abandoned-cart, and nurture flows

• Developed a campaign calendar and content plan with their internal team

The result was a scalable retention engine, ready to support high acquisition volumes without leaking downstream LTV.

Strategic consulting

Throughout, we've acted as a strategic advisor, from launch execution to digital structure and messaging alignment. We implemented Profitmetrics early for real-time visibility into profit and performance, so the team always knew what was working and where to scale. We also advised on:

• Site architecture and funnel optimization to lift conversion rate

• Product positioning and messaging, and aligning creative and campaigns with commercial goals

The results

• Full DTC launch across channels within weeks

• Shopify store live in under a month, with a phased rollout

• Clean digital infrastructure built for scale

• B2C and B2B funnels live from day one

• Profit-driven growth on real-time KPI tracking

Why it worked

We didn't just launch ads. We built the whole engine, store, tracking, acquisition, and retention, so Build-A-Bear could scale across markets on infrastructure they could trust. Growth became something they could run, not rent.