In 2025, Diesel and Crealytics set out to answer a familiar challenge in paid search: how do you scale investment without sacrificing efficiency?

For Diesel, the opportunity went beyond increasing Search spend. The goal was to build a more scalable SEM structure across the US, Canada, and Mexico, strengthen conversion quality, protect high-intent demand, and determine where automation could create more value than manual optimisation.

The result was a Search strategy that combined tighter strategic control with greater use of automation, delivering profitable growth across Brand, Non-Brand, and Shopping.

The Challenge: Scaling Search While Maintaining Efficiency

Diesel entered 2025 with four priorities for its SEM activity:

· Grow Search revenue year over year

· Maintain stable efficiency as investment increased

· Reassess the role of automation, particularly Performance Max

· Protect demand and compensate for softer Organic traffic during critical trading periods

The existing Shopping setup relied heavily on Product Listing Ads (PLAs), which gave teams greater manual control but constrained scale and limited the amount of data available for algorithmic learning.

At the same time, rising competition during promotional periods increased the importance of Brand coverage, while Non-Brand Search needed to generate higher-quality traffic rather than simply more clicks.

Diesel and Crealytics therefore focused on creating a Search structure capable of scaling where the commercial opportunity justified it.

The Strategy: Combining Automation With Strategic Control

1. Strengthening Brand Search During Peak Demand

Crealytics re-engineered Brand Search to play a larger role in revenue generation.

Exact-match keyword coverage was expanded to capture high-intent demand more consistently, particularly during promotional periods. This helped Diesel protect demand as Organic visibility softened and competition increased.

The impact was significant. Brand Combi generated 29% more revenue, while Pure Brand delivered 9% higher revenue at 16% greater efficiency YoY.

2. Prioritising Quality in Non-Brand Search

For Non-Brand Search, the focus shifted toward commercially relevant queries and stronger conversion quality.

Crealytics tightened query matching and intent segmentation while reducing investment in lower-value traffic. This allowed Diesel to generate substantially more value from a smaller budget.

Non-Brand revenue doubled YoY despite 32% lower spend. ROAS doubled, supported by a fourfold increase in conversion rate.

3. Repositioning Performance Max for Scale

Shopping presented one of the biggest opportunities.

After structured testing and ongoing performance reviews, Diesel and Crealytics identified Performance Max as the stronger format for scalable growth.

Ahead of Q4, PMax became the core Shopping format, giving the campaigns sufficient time to gather data and learn before peak trading. The shift increased the role of algorithmic optimisation across the funnel while Brand and exact-match Search continued capturing high-intent demand.

By December, the new structure was delivering 14.5% more revenue with 7% less spend YoY, stabilising Shopping performance and establishing a stronger foundation for 2026.

4. Giving Automation Better Data to Work With

Automation alone was only part of the strategy.

Crealytics consolidated multiple smaller campaigns into fewer, larger structures, increasing data density and strengthening optimisation signals. Geo testing added another layer of learning: results from a Jeans Geo test informed the rollout of geographic modifiers across major metropolitan areas.

The objective was simple: give automated systems enough high-quality data to optimise effectively while retaining strategic oversight over where and how investment scaled.

The Results: Profitable SEM Growth Across the Funnel

Across the US, Canada, and Mexico, Diesel's SEM activity delivered:

· +9% YoY SEM revenue

· +13% YoY orders

· Stable ROAS despite higher investment

· +29% revenue from Brand Combi

· +9% Pure Brand revenue at 16% higher efficiency

· 2x Non-Brand revenue with 32% less spend

· 4x Non-Brand conversion rate

· +14.5% December Shopping revenue with 7% less spend

· +23% revenue during Black Friday and Cyber Monday at profitable, on-target ROAS

The strongest test came during peak trading. Black Friday and Cyber Monday generated 23% higher SEM revenue YoY while maintaining target profitability, reinforcing Search's role as a major growth driver for Diesel during its most competitive trading period.

Building a Search Framework for Sustainable Growth

Diesel's 2025 performance shows what becomes possible when automation is treated as a strategic growth lever rather than a replacement for strategic decision-making.

Crealytics combined campaign consolidation, stronger intent signals, Brand protection, geo testing, and Performance Max to determine where automation could outperform more manual structures.

For Diesel, that created more than a successful peak period. It established a Search framework designed to support the next stage of profitable growth.

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Relevant insights

· Case study: The Role of Google’s Demand Gen in the Customer Journey

· Report: The State of Search 2026 and Beyond: How AI, Automation, and Commerce Are Reshaping Discovery

· Video: How Can Predictive CLV Improve Bidding Strategies in Paid Search?

About Crealytics

Crealytics is an award-winning full-funnel digital marketing agency fueling the profitable growth of over 100 well-known B2C and B2B businesses, including ASOS, The Hut Group, Staples and Urban Outfitters. A global company with an inclusive team of 100+ international employees, we operate from our hubs in Berlin, New York, Chicago, London, and Mumbai.