Day 4
Why Santa's Letters Weren't Working
Santa sat in his study, surrounded by letters. Not many, that was part of the problem, but enough to notice a pattern. He picked up one lett
DPP - The Solution
Santa Gets Personal
The North Pole, December 5th, 6:30 AM
Santa walked into the workshop to find Mrs. Claus and Bernard staring intently at a single screen displaying the Google Merchant Center.
"What’s going on?" Santa asked. "Are we having trouble with the ad account again?"
"Quite the opposite," Mrs. Claus said, pointing to a complex diagram of product groupings. "We’re not just gifting toys anymore, dear. We’re merchandising belief. This is Santa’s new Google Shopping feed strategy."
Bernard elaborated. "Instead of one giant list of every toy, we’ve organized our products into different catalogs within the feed, each designed for a specific audience. We’re using Google for what it’s best at: lists. And we’re using those lists to build our own: the Nice List and Believers."
He pulled up three different Google Shopping ads on the screen.
"This ad for the 'Official Santa Letter Kit' is from our ‘Young Believer’ catalog," he explained. "It’s targeted at parents of young children. When they click it, they don’t just see a product page. They land on an experience."
The landing page was bright and magical: "Welcome, Future Elf! Let's Get You on the Nice List! 🎅✨"
"Hi Emma! I'm so excited you want to join my official Nice List! This is the first step to a truly magical Christmas. Let's get you signed up so I know exactly what to bring you!"
Next, he showed an ad that appeared for the search query "is Santa real?"
"This ad is from our ‘Curious Skeptic’ catalog," Bernard continued. "It’s for kids who have questions. The merchandising is different, so the landing experience is different."
The page was respectful and intriguing: "Have Questions About Santa? You’re Not Alone. 🤔" "Hi Jake. It’s smart to ask questions. Thousands of kids your age were skeptical too, but they joined the Nice List to see what would happen. Want to run your own experiment?"
Finally, he pointed to an ad for a "Nostalgic Christmas Box."
"And this is from our ‘Teen & Parent’ catalog. It’s for those who may have outgrown the traditional belief but still love the spirit of Christmas. We merchandise the tradition itself."
The page was mature and focused on meaning:
"It's About More Than Belief. It's About Tradition. 🎄"
"Marcus, you’re old enough to know the magic of Christmas is about giving, family, and joy. You don’t have to ‘believe’ to be part of the tradition. Join the list to celebrate the spirit of the season."
Santa looked from the feed structure to the different landing pages. "So, the merchandising in the feed determines the experience they land on?"
"Exactly," Mrs. Claus said. "We’re not just showing them a product; we’re showing them an experience that understands them. And that’s what gets them to join the list."
How Santa Merchandises the Google Shopping Feed
Bernard pulled up a table illustrating the feed strategy. "It all starts with how we structure our product lists in the Google Merchant Center. We’ve created three distinct product catalogs."
"By organizing the feed this way," Bernard explained, "we can create highly specific Google Shopping campaigns. The ad a person sees is directly tied to the merchandised catalog, and the landing page is the fulfillment of that ad's promise."
From Feed to List Building
- Strategic Merchandising: Santa’s team curates product lists within the main Google feed, not based on product type (e.g., "dolls," "trains"), but on the customer’s mindset (Believer, Skeptic, Traditionalist).
- Targeted Ad Campaigns: Each merchandised list gets its own ad campaign in Google Ads, with copy and creative that speaks directly to that audience’s motivations.
- Contextual Landing Experience: When a user clicks an ad, Fermat’s Dynamic Product Pages identify which feed catalog it came from. The entire landing page, headline, copy, and call-to-action, adapts to continue the story that began with the ad.
- Optimized List Building: The call-to-action is no longer a generic "Buy Now." It’s a tailored invitation to "Join the Nice List," "Start Your Experiment," or "Celebrate the Tradition." This merchandising of the list-building offer itself is what drives conversions.
The Results: A Merchandising Masterstroke
Mrs. Claus pulled up the dashboard. "The results of this feed-first strategy are astounding."
After implementing the new feed merchandising, overall list-building conversions more than doubled, jumping from 2.1% to 4.8% on the same 45,000 visitors. The number of children joining the Nice List grew from 3,200 to 10,935.
"It’s more than double," Mrs. Claus confirmed. "Same traffic, same products. We just changed how we organized and presented them in the feed."
Santa smiled. "We stopped selling toys and started merchandising belief."
"And in doing so," Bernard added, "we built a much, much longer list."
Ready to Transform Your Marketing?
Just like Santa discovered, FERMÀT's powerful tools can revolutionize your customer experience. See how our platform can help you create seamless, converting journeys.