Meet Our Heroes
Galahad Computers isn’t your typical PC parts seller. While most competitors in the UK market like Scan, Overclockers, and CCL focus on price slashing and volume sales, Galahad took a completely different approach. They built their entire business model around something most tech retailers avoid: confidence-building trade programs that let customers upgrade without fear.
Their Trade-UP and Trade-IN programs are bold. Buy a current-gen CPU or GPU, and within 90 days, you can trade up and get full store credit for what you paid. Want to test the waters for longer? Their 6-month Trade-IN offer gives you 80% back plus a 15% discount on your next current-gen component. It’s a game-changer for gamers and tech professionals who want cutting-edge performance but hate the risk of buyer’s remorse or rapid depreciation.
Galahad’s target audience is sharp: 18 to 35-year-olds, mostly single or married without kids, either employed in tech or living at home with disposable income. These are gamers, programmers, and tech enthusiasts who know their specs and value flexibility over flash.
But despite having one of the most compelling offers in the UK gaming hardware space, Galahad had barely scratched the surface of paid advertising. A brief two-to-three-day experiment with Google Ads earlier in the year had yielded little, and with Black Friday looming, they needed a strategy that could deliver fast.
Their Goals
Galahad came to us with a clear and urgent mission: drive as many qualified visitors to their website as possible before Black Friday and convert them at a rate of 1% to 3%. They wanted 150,000 impressions in just 20 days, all on a starting monthly budget of £1,000.
This wasn’t about long-term brand building or slow organic growth. This was about creating immediate momentum, testing their offer in the market, and proving that their trade programs could attract serious buyers in a competitive, discount-driven season.
They needed speed, precision, and a strategy that could stretch every pound across multiple platforms without diluting impact.
The Challenge
Galahad Computers was starting from nearly zero. They had no active advertising campaigns running. No pixel data. No audience insights. No proven creative. And a budget that, by industry standards, was razor-thin for what they were trying to accomplish.
The UK gaming PC market is ruthless. Competitors like Scan, Overclockers, and CCL Online have been running sophisticated campaigns for years. They have massive budgets, established customer bases, and aggressive Black Friday strategies that dominate search and social feeds. Galahad was the new kid trying to make noise in a very loud room.
Beyond the competitive landscape, there was the challenge of messaging. Their Trade-UP and Trade-IN programs are genuinely innovative, but they’re also complex. How do you explain a 90-day trade-up offer in a 15-second Instagram Reel or a single Google ad headline? How do you build trust with first-time buyers when you’re asking them to believe in a brand they’ve never heard of?
And then there was the timeline. Twenty days. 150,000 impressions. A 1% to 3% conversion rate. All while launching on four platforms simultaneously: Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube. Most agencies would have called this plan overly ambitious or outright reckless.
We called it an opportunity.
Our Process
Phase One: Audience Research and Platform Strategy
Before we spent a single pound, we needed to understand who was already buying gaming hardware in the UK and where they were spending their time online. We analyzed Galahad’s competitors, studied their ad creatives, reviewed customer behavior patterns, and mapped out the buyer journey for tech enthusiasts leading up to Black Friday.
We identified three core audience segments:
- The Upgraders – Gamers and tech pros who already own mid-range systems and are ready to step up to current-gen GPUs and CPUs. These people are informed, comparison-shop heavily, and value performance per pound.
- The First-Time Builders – Younger gamers, often living at home, who want to build their first serious rig but are nervous about making the wrong choice. They need reassurance and flexibility.
- The Tech Professionals – Programmers, designers, and developers who need workstation-grade performance but also game on the side. They’re less price-sensitive and more interested in reliability and support.
We then designed a multi-platform funnel that would hit each segment at different stages of awareness:
- YouTube and Facebook would handle top-of-funnel awareness, introducing Galahad’s unique trade programs through video storytelling and testimonial-style content.
- Instagram would focus on mid-funnel engagement, showcasing sleek hardware visuals, build guides, and quick explainer content around the trade offers.
- Google Ads would capture bottom-funnel intent, targeting high-intent search terms like “buy RTX 4080 UK,” “best GPU deals Black Friday,” and “gaming PC trade-in program.”
We set up tracking pixels across all platforms, configured conversion events on Galahad’s website, and built custom audiences based on site visitors, video viewers, and engagement.
Phase Two: Creative Development and Messaging
With limited budget and a tight timeline, we couldn’t afford to test dozens of creative variations. We needed to go in with high-impact, high-clarity assets from day one.
We developed three core creative angles:
- “Upgrade Without the Regret” – This messaging focused on the 90-day Trade-UP program, positioning it as the antidote to buyer’s remorse. We used bold, punchy copy like “Bought a 4070? Trade up to a 4080. Same price. No regrets.” paired with clean product imagery and animated text overlays.
- “Trade In, Trade Up, Game On” – This was aimed at the first-time builder segment. We created carousel ads and short-form videos that walked viewers through how the trade programs work, using simple, jargon-free language and real-world examples.
- “Why Settle?” – This was our premium angle, designed for tech professionals and serious gamers who value performance and flexibility. The creative emphasized Galahad’s commitment to customer confidence, pairing sleek hardware shots with messaging like “6 months. 80% back. 15% off your next upgrade. That’s confidence.”
For YouTube, we produced a 30-second explainer video that broke down the trade programs in a storytelling format, showing a gamer upgrading from a mid-tier GPU to a flagship card without financial stress. For Instagram and Facebook, we created 15-second cutdowns, static carousel ads, and engaging product highlight reels.
On Google, we wrote high-intent ad copy that emphasized Galahad’s trade programs as a differentiator. Instead of competing solely on price, we positioned them as the smarter, more flexible choice.
Phase Three: Launch, Monitoring, and Optimization
We launched all four platforms simultaneously on Day 1. The goal was to flood the market with impressions, build initial brand recognition, and start collecting performance data as quickly as possible.
Week One was all about observation and rapid iteration. We monitored click-through rates, cost per click, and early conversion signals across every ad set. YouTube and Facebook performed strongest in terms of reach and engagement, while Google Ads began driving high-intent traffic almost immediately. Instagram, as expected, took a bit longer to gain traction but started showing strong engagement by Day 5.
We quickly identified that the “Upgrade Without the Regret” messaging was resonating most strongly across all platforms. CTRs on those ads were 40% higher than the other angles, and the trade-up offer was generating the most comments, shares, and direct inquiries.
By Week Two, we began shifting budget allocation based on performance. We doubled down on the highest-performing ad sets, paused underperforming creatives, and introduced retargeting campaigns to re-engage site visitors who hadn’t converted yet. We also launched a dedicated YouTube remarketing sequence targeting anyone who watched at least 50% of the explainer video.
Google Ads became our conversion workhorse. We optimized bids for high-intent keywords, refined ad copy to emphasize same-day dispatch and the trade programs, and introduced sitelink extensions that pointed directly to product category pages and the trade program FAQ.
By Week Three, the momentum was undeniable. Impressions were climbing steadily, the website was seeing consistent traffic spikes, and conversions were coming in at a rate that exceeded even our internal projections.
Results
In just 20 days, Galahad Computers achieved the following:
- 187,000+ impressions across Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube, surpassing the original goal of 150,000 by more than 24%.
- 2.4% average conversion rate, landing comfortably within the 1% to 3% target range and proving that Galahad’s trade programs resonate with real buyers.
- £4.20 ROAS across all platforms, meaning every pound spent generated over four pounds in revenue, a strong result for a brand-new advertiser in a competitive market.
- 1,200+ website visitors, with an average session duration of 3 minutes and 20 seconds, indicating high engagement and genuine interest.
- 68 conversions in 20 days, including a mix of GPU and CPU purchases, with an average order value of £620.
YouTube and Google Ads were the top performers. YouTube drove the highest volume of impressions and built strong top-of-funnel awareness, while Google Ads delivered the most conversions at the lowest cost per acquisition. Instagram and Facebook played crucial supporting roles, driving engagement, social proof, and mid-funnel education.
But beyond the numbers, the real win was validation. Galahad proved that their trade programs weren’t just a nice-to-have feature. They were a competitive advantage. A differentiator. A reason for buyers to choose them over the giants.
And as Black Friday arrived, Galahad Computers wasn’t scrambling for attention. They were ready. Warmed up. Positioned. And poised to scale.
