Case Study
About the Client
Varnam Art Studio
The Brand
Varnam Art Studio is a creative wellness brand based in Dallas. The brand, founded by an artist and certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach, operates on a unique value proposition: leveraging fine art as a form of meditation, mental clarity, and mindfulness.
Their flagship product offer is a monthly membership based workshop series called ‘The Art Circle’. It is designed specifically for women seeking an escape from personal and professional routines as a way of relaxing and relieving stress.
The Problem
THE BRAND
monthly membership based workshop series
01.
Brand Awareness
This is a new venture, so the messaging has to reach the right audience through the right channels.
02.
Market Saturation
The current landscape in art classes is saturated with similar courses, with a recent rise in subscription-based models. The challenge is to stand out amongst competition.
03.
Conversion Gap
Moving followers from “Liking” a post, or engaging with the content to “Committing” to a $40 monthly subscription.
The Proposed Solution
01.
Social Media
Developing a social media-first strategy to attract new people, especially the target audience that primarily discovers content through social media.
02.
Meta ADs
A highly targeted paid ads strategy focusing on Instagram and Facebook. Highly targeted ads capture the right audience, reduce spend and increase ROI.
03.
Referrals
A referral program set up where the referee gets $5 off per month for each successful referral (capped at $10 per month).
04.
Community
Leveraging private WhatsApp groups, live interaction, and personalised follow-up to increase “sticky” retention (reducing churn).
Customer Persona
NAME
:
MONICA
AGE
:
35 Yrs
OCCUPATION
:
FINANCE
LOCATION
:
TEXAS, USA
BIO
Monica moved to the US 5 years ago for her career in finance. While she is professionally successful and her life looks “complete” on paper, she feels a lingering sense of burnout. She is looking for a way to regain some ‘alone time’ and a community that won’t judge her for being a “beginner” again.
GOALS
- Seeking a Community
- Mental Decompression
- Creative Reconnection
- Tangible Achievement
FRUSTRATIONS
- Anxious to start something new, and being a beginner.
- Cannot commit a lot of time towards a new hobby.
- Wants to pursue something that helps her relax, not add to her stress.
QUOTE
“I’m tired of always being ‘productive.’ I just want one hour a week to pick up a brush, turn off my brain, and create something just for me.”
BEHAVIOUR
Brand Identity
Title Font
Sriracha
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Text Font
Poppins
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
TEXT COLOR
Pickled Bluewood
#334155
HIGHLIGHT
Bright Gold
#FFD837
TITLE COLOR
Honolulu Blue
#045CB4
POPUP BG
Periwinkle Blue
#82A6FB
ICON COLOR
Carnation Pink
#FF82CB
BUTTON
Dodger Blue/Bright Teal
#82A6FB
Website Design
Key Considerations
Clear CTAs
Placement of prominent calls-to-action above the fold and strategically throughout the page to guide users towards key action (to sign up for the free workshops, trial sessions and finally the membership).
Warm, Inviting Tone
Approachable and welcoming language to connect with the audience.
User-Centred Structure
Clear visual hierarchy and intuitive navigation.
Conversion & Engagement
Consider the user journey at every stage, ensuring that key information is conveyed and actions are easy to find without overwhelming the visitor.
ADs & Posters
POSTER / FLYER
WORKSHOP WEB POSTER
INSTAGRAM POSTS
Social Media Strategy
Top of Funnel- Awareness
- Content: Art process videos, painting timelapses, and therapeutic art ideas such as mandalas.
- Objective: Increase organic reach and introduce the brand to new audiences.
Middle of Funnel- Consideration
- Content: Founder-led videos introducing the Art Circle, behind-the-scenes session content, and quick painting tutorials.
- Objective: Build personal trust, establish the founder’s expertise, and communicate the emotional and wellbeing benefits of taking a creative “brain break”
Bottom of Funnel- Conversion
- Content: Members’ artwork, student testimonials, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of Art Circle sessions.
- Objective: Strengthen social proof, demonstrate the community experience, and encourage conversion into Art Circle memberships.
META Ads
OBJECTIVES
| Objective | Target | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Reach- To drive brand awareness | 20,000 | According to the time period and budget of the campaign. |
| CPA- The cost of acquiring a website visitor | $0.30 - 0.35 | A CPA below $0.50 is good, according to the main target (website visits) and industry benchmarks. |
| Sign ups | 25 (per campaign) | Set as a realistic, consistent target per campaign given membership price point ($40/mo) |
STRATEGY
01.
Campaign 1 was run as an exploratory test with minimal targets, used to establish performance benchmarks. Campaign 2 targets were set based on Campaign 1 results, adjusted for a longer flight and full budget utilization.
02.
Ran a low daily-budget Meta Ads campaign ($12/day for 5 days) to test performance before committing to larger spend.
03.
Focused on maximizing cost-efficiency per landing page visit as the primary controllable metric, given the absence of conversion tracking.
Results
CAMPAIGN 1
| Time Period | Budget | Amount Spent | Impressions | Reach | Results (landing page visits) | Cost per Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | $12 per day Total = $60 | $48.59 | 3275 | 2945 | 131 | $0.37 |
CONVERSIONS
21
Members signed up for Art Circle in the first month.
MAIN
GOAL / OBJECTIVE
Drive awareness and landing page traffic, on a deliberately lean budget set by the client.
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
- Delivered 131 landing page visits at just $0.37 each, which is highly efficient for a small budget campaign.
- For a $40/month paid offering, converting a portion of low-cost traffic into 21 paying members represents strong ROI relative to spend- the campaign paid for itself several times over in potential membership value.
OPTIMIZATIONS FOR NEXT CAMPAIGN
- Redesigned the landing page with a more prominent, higher-visibility CTA to reduce friction between click and sign-up, and restructured page hierarchy to surface key features and member benefits higher up.
- Allotted more time for the campaign to run, giving Meta more time for its learning phase, and delivering its ads to the right audience.
CAMPAIGN 2
| Time Period | Budget | Amount Spent | Impressions | Reach | Results (landing page visits) | Cost per Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 days | $18 per day Total = $144 | $134.40 | 23,233 | 18,105 | 670 | $0.20 |
CONVERSIONS
36
Members signed up for Art Circle.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Cost per result nearly halved, from $0.37 to $0.20.
- Landing page visits jumped from 131 to 670 (a ~5x increase) on roughly 2.5x the spend, meaning efficiency improved, not just volume.
- Total conversions= 57, revenue (from initial membership signup)= $2,280
- ROAS= 12.45. This is an exceptionally strong return relative to spend, especially notable for a lean-budget test campaign.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Implement conversion tracking- Set up the Meta Pixel on the sign-up/payment page to capture actual sign-up events, not just landing page visits.
- A/B testing for creatives- Running 2–3 creative variants (different imagery, copy angles, or messaging around community vs. skill-building) would identify what's actually driving the click.
- Retargeting- With 670 visits but uncertain conversion, a retargeting campaign aimed specifically at people who visited but didn't sign up could recover some of that drop-off cheaply, since the audience is already warm.