How an Outdoor Toy Brand Scaled Holiday Sales 429% on Walmart Connect

This children’s recreational products brand offers a wide range of ride-on toys and outdoor play equipment. With a highly seasonal business model, performance is heavily concentrated in Q4, where success depends on capturing peak holiday demand efficiently and at scale.

At the time of engagement, Walmart was the brand’s primary active paid media channel, making performance execution on a single platform critical to overall success.

The Challenge

The brand entered Q4 under pressure.

In November, performance declined significantly year over year. Ad-attributed sales dropped, visibility decreased, and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) weakened—all while spend remained relatively flat. This limited the brand’s ability to scale during the early stages of the most important season.

The root cause was timing.

New product launches faced delays in ad eligibility, restricting scale during the first half of November. At the same time, reduced communication and coordination slowed optimization at a critical moment when responsiveness was essential.

With Walmart as the only active paid channel, there was no margin for error. Missing the holiday window would directly impact the entire year’s performance.

Why Quartile

Success in seasonal categories depends on preparation—not reaction.

The brand needed a strategy that could align campaigns, budgets, and promotions before demand surged. Without early coordination, even strong products would miss the opportunity to scale when traffic peaked.

Quartile focused on building that alignment.

By working closely with the client ahead of Q4, Quartile secured visibility into promotional plans and product priorities. This allowed campaigns to be structured in advance, ensuring readiness when demand accelerated.

Instead of reacting to performance, the strategy was designed to capture it from the start.

The Solution

Quartile implemented a structured, seasonally aligned strategy focused on readiness and rapid execution.

Preparation began in early October, with campaigns built around planned promotional SKUs. Dedicated Sponsored Search campaigns were launched to support these products, ensuring they had visibility as soon as deals went live.

To capture incremental demand, automatic campaigns were deployed alongside structured campaigns, allowing the system to identify and scale new opportunities in real time.

As performance signals emerged, budgets were dynamically reallocated. High-performing products received increased investment, while inefficient spend was reduced to protect overall efficiency.

During peak moments such as Black Friday and the holiday period, additional formats—including Sponsored Brands and Display—were activated to expand reach and reinforce visibility across the funnel.

Equally important was operational alignment. Communication cadence with the client increased significantly, enabling faster decision-making and ensuring that campaigns, inventory, and promotions remained synchronized throughout the peak period.

Results & Impact

The strategy delivered exceptional peak-season performance:

• 429% increase in ad-attributed sales year over year in December  

• 177% growth in impressions, significantly expanding reach and visibility  

• Maintained strong ROAS despite aggressive scaling  

• 77% increase in annual ad-attributed sales, demonstrating sustained growth beyond peak  

By mid-December, the brand had already achieved its highest monthly sales performance to date, validating the effectiveness of early planning and structured execution.  

These results highlight a critical principle: in seasonal businesses, growth is won before the season begins. Preparation, alignment, and execution determine success when demand peaks.

Ongoing Value & Future State

With a proven seasonal framework in place, the brand is now positioned to approach future peak periods with greater confidence and control.

Quartile continues to refine campaign structure, expand full-funnel capabilities, and strengthen planning processes to ensure sustained growth. The lessons from this Q4 execution now serve as a repeatable model for future success.