Mannings Bakery Shops
Case Study
Find out how HOT IRON Digital helped Mannings Bakery Shops drive an increase of 175.47% in conversions across various marketing activities.
63%
Increased impressions by 63% across our Google campaigns.
26.81%
Decreased the average Cost Per Click by 26.81%.
393.42%
Generated a 393.42% increase in clicks across the period of advertising.
The Challenge
Mannings Bakery Shops is a well-loved Irish bakery with a rich heritage, known for its handcrafted cakes, breads, and seasonal treats.
With an expanding online offering—including celebration cakes, corporate gifting, and nationwide delivery—Mannings wanted to grow its online sales and brand awareness across Ireland.
While the bakery had seen success locally, scaling up its advertising efforts required a strategic approach. Before launching campaigns, we needed to define their target audience, select the best digital platforms, and identify high-intent search terms that would drive online purchases.
Through our initial analysis, we recognised the following challenges:
- With limited advertising history, we needed to test and refine campaign strategies across different platforms.
- Bakery goods, especially premium celebration cakes, appeal to both everyday buyers and those seeking high-end, custom orders—we needed to target both segments effectively.
- We had to balance low-volume, high-intent keywords with broader search terms to remain competitive against larger retailers with bigger budgets.
- Identifying Mannings’ best-selling products on Google was essential for crafting product-focused ad campaigns that would drive conversions.

The Solution
When Mannings Bakery Shops partnered with HOT IRON Digital, we initially launched a Facebook Advertising campaign to drive online sales. However, after testing different Paid Social strategies, we found that while engagement was strong, conversions remained limited. Given the nature of Mannings’ premium cakes and treats, we needed to focus on an audience with higher purchase intent. This led us to shift our strategy towards Google Ads, leveraging search intent to drive more qualified traffic.
We can create an audience based on interests, age and location. With so many websites giving data to the Facebook Pixel, categorising users’ interests has never been easier.
To maximise ad performance, we conducted competitive analysis and established unique selling points (USPs) that set Mannings apart. Once our ad groups were live, we continuously monitored and optimised them, eliminating underperforming segments to make the best use of the advertising budget.
Building on the success of our Search campaign, we expanded into Google Shopping Ads, recognising that Mannings’ visually appealing products would perform well in a more image-driven format. We launched a Performance Max (PMAX) Shopping campaign using high-quality product imagery and ad copy tailored to the best-performing keywords. By targeting past customers and users with strong purchase intent, the PMAX campaign quickly delivered impressive results at a low cost per acquisition (CPA). This success led us to shift our focus towards Shopping and Brand Search campaigns, pausing the broader Search ads.
Heading into the final quarter, we worked with Mannings to plan for the busy Christmas season. We identified this period as a key opportunity to drive sales and brand awareness. Mannings ran a limited-time promotion on selected products, resulting in a 100%+ increase in sales compared to the previous year and an outstanding return on ad spend (ROAS). Demand was so high that they even had to pause ads in December due to overwhelming orders!
Summary
Over a Four-Month Period, We Achieved:
- A strong collaborative partnership with Mannings Bakery Shops, leading to successful marketing outcomes.
- A reduction in average cost-per-click (CPC) to €0.30, a 26.81% decrease from the previous period.
- A 63% increase in impressions across our Google campaigns.
- A 175.47% increase in total conversions.
- Over a 7-day period, our ads delivered 145,289 impressions, a ROAS of 18.37, a Search impression share of 97.21%, and a conversion rate of 7.56% (a 57.76% improvement on the previous period).
- An overall ROAS of 8.12, marking a 296.47% increase from the previous period.
- A 393.42% increase in clicks throughout the campaign.
- A 1,332.01% increase in conversion value.
By implementing a data-driven advertising strategy, HOT IRON Digital successfully scaled Mannings Bakery Shops’ online presence, driving record-breaking growth and increased sales.