Desert Steel
- Solutions
- Website Redesign and Development
- Full-funnel Marketing Audit
- SEO Strategy
- CRM Strategy
- Paid Search and Paid Social
Desert Steel partnered with Eastside to rebuild their Shopify site and transform their digital marketing strategy. Frustrated by underperformance and a lack of actionable data, the brand needed a partner that could not only deliver a functional site but drive scalable growth.
In less than two years, Eastside delivered a full-funnel marketing transformation, establishing KPIs, launching high-performing paid and organic campaigns, and implementing a CRM strategy that elevated retention and engagement. This strategic overhaul has fuelled consistent year-on-year growth and exceeded all core performance targets, with a 25% YoY marketing driven revenue increase in the past year compounding on 62% growth in the previous year.
The Brand
Desert Steel is a US-based company creating handcrafted metal art inspired by desert landscapes and selling both direct to customer, as well as trade and B2B. Specialising in lifelike steel sculptures of cacti, succulents, and other flora, their work blends artistry with utility to produce outdoor décor that’s built to last. Each piece is designed to withstand the elements while developing a natural patina, adding character over time.
The Challenge
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Lack of KPIs and Historical Data: No clear performance indicators or access to legacy data made it difficult to assess or optimise previous efforts.
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Missing clear Strategic Marketing Plan: No dedicated marketing lead in the business until July 2023.
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Technical and Operational Gaps: Data management and account setups were non-existent.
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Platform Implementation Limitations: Their previous Shopify site was not well set up or integrated with the business’ systems to support the brand’s growth or user experience goals.
Future-Proofing
The brief focused on transforming Desert Steel’s digital performance through a full overhaul of its e-commerce and marketing operations.
This included a redesigned, conversion-optimised Shopify website, a detailed marketing audit to establish a clear performance baseline, and customer journey analysis to define an experience roadmap for long-term growth. Eastside then delivered a tailored digital strategy and executed across Paid Search, Paid Social, SEO and Email CRM to drive traffic, engagement and revenue.
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Full Shopify website re-design and development
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Marketing audit and performance diagnostics
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Customer journey analysis and experience roadmap creation
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Digital strategy and channel execution (Paid, SEO, CRM)
Our Approach
Eastside began with a structured discovery phase to identify where Desert Steel’s growth was being constrained and to establish a data foundation for scalable decision-making.
Analysis showed the challenge was not demand alone, but confidence and conversion across a fragmented customer journey. While high-intent interest existed, the website, channel mix, and lifecycle marketing were not effectively capturing or retaining it.
This insight shaped a full-funnel strategy that elevated Paid Social to influence consideration earlier, refocused Paid Search on high-intent efficiency, accelerated CRM and email automation to drive repeat purchase, and positioned the Shopify rebuild as a clear source of truth. Together, this created a data-led, structured digital ecosystem designed to support performance optimisation today and AI-driven discovery and decision-making in the future.
Our Focus
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Implemented data-driven performance modelling for year ahead to determine efficient, effective marketing budget distribution across paid channels.
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Rolled-out full funnel paid social creative and messaging approach to move audiences from first-time awareness of brand to conversion.
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Delivered high-performing Black Friday campaigns alongside a programme of seasonal campaigns to capitalise on seasonal buying behaviours.
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Improved email designs and automated flow setup to better engage audiences and recover revenue opportunities
The Impact
Eastside’s partnership with Desert Steel set out to deliver clarity, cohesion, and commercial impact, and it delivered on all fronts.
From rebuilding the Shopify site to executing a robust, full-funnel digital strategy, every facet of the project was designed to address critical gaps and unlock sustainable growth. The result was not just a revitalised D2C presence, but a business now fuelled by data, driven by strategy, and scaled through performance.
Across Paid, Organic, CRM and Conversion, the results speak for themselves, demonstrating how targeted, insight-led execution can drive exceptional returns and long-term brand momentum.
Business Outcomes
Marketing-led revenue increased 62% YoY in Year 1 and a further 25% in Year 2, supported by a 7x blended ROAS across Paid Social and Paid Search. Improvements to merchandising and on-site experience drove a 26% YoY increase in average order value.
Audience growth scaled without sacrificing quality, with 535% user growth in Year 1 and 106% in Year 2, alongside a 45% increase in organic traffic and 20% uplift in organic revenue, reducing reliance on paid channels.
Retention became a key growth lever, with a 94% increase in revenue from automated email flows and a 32% uplift from email campaigns in under six months, underpinned by the introduction of CRM and lifecycle tracking.
Together, these results reflect a shift from reactive marketing to a data-led growth engine built for predictable, scalable performance.
