The Fishing Brand That Outsold the Category: Inside the 43% YoY Growth and Best Seller Badge Surge
Overview
This fast-growing DTC innovator has redefined what it means to shop for fishing gear on Amazon. Known for its wildly popular curated fishing tackle kits and monthly subscription boxes, the brand brings excitement, quality, and discovery to a category often dominated by commoditized, cookie-cutter products. With a deep passion for angling and a sharp eye for customer experience, they’ve transformed the simple tackle box into a giftable experience.
Before partnering with Incrementum, their Amazon presence was modest, but their brand love was anything but. Backed by a loyal fanbase, clever product curation, and standout packaging, they had all the right ingredients to lead their category. They just needed the right strategy to unlock it on Amazon.
Today, they’re one of the most gifted brands in their space, with best seller badges, top-ranking keywords, and a seasonal playbook that rivals the biggest names in eCommerce. Their story is proof that with a killer product, a cult-like following, and the right strategic partner, even a DTC-first brand can dominate a crowded marketplace.
The Challenge
Despite having a strong DTC presence and a beloved flagship product, this curated fishing kit brand faced steep hurdles entering Amazon’s competitive outdoor recreation category:
- Heavy competition from both legacy names and low-cost fishing kit bundles
- Minimal non-brand keyword coverage and weak visibility on high-volume category terms
- Lack of campaign structure, with most spend going to branded terms and auto campaigns
- No negative keyword strategy, leading to wasted spend and high ACoS
- Underuse of Sponsored Brand and Display ads, missing key upper-funnel opportunities
- Missed seasonal positioning despite being a highly giftable product
These challenges made it difficult to scale efficiently and capitalize on key retail moments like Q4 and spring fishing season. To break through, the brand needed a strategy that could capture new customers, defend branded searches, and build momentum, so they turned to Incrementum Digital.
The Approach
Built from the Bottom of the Tackle Box Up
We overhauled the brand’s entire Amazon ad structure, organizing campaigns by product type, keyword match type, and intent. High-converting keywords like “bass fishing kit” and “fishing gift for men” were prioritized, while irrelevant terms (like saltwater-related queries) were excluded to cut waste. The result: tighter control over spend, cleaner targeting, and a framework built for scale.
Timing the Catch
To capitalize on peak shopping moments, we launched custom campaigns around Q4 gifting season, spring fishing prep, and major retail events. We leaned into seasonal intent, using holiday-themed creatives and bid strategies tuned to moments like Black Friday and Father’s Day. Strategic upsells and cross-sells helped increase order value and drive year-round traction.
Creative Hooks that Land
We rolled out Sponsored Brand Video and Headline Ads featuring the brand’s most giftable kits across multiple price points. Messaging focused on surprise, quality, and value, positioning the product as more than just gear, but an experience. We also defended against competitive conquesting by targeting rival listings and securing top-of-search real estate.
Always Reeling in Data
Performance was monitored daily through Amazon APIs, Helium 10, and internal dashboards. When our top SKU sold out mid-campaign, we quickly redirected bids to an alternate box, recovering lost momentum and holding our rank on key gifting terms. Every decision, from keyword expansion to creative rotation, was backed by real-time insights and conversion behavior.
Our Results
Revenue Growth: $1.04M generated in December alone on $82.9K ad spend — a 43% YoY increase
Efficiency Gains: ACoS lowered while scaling spend; TACoS dropped to 7–9% during peak weeks
Category Domination: Outperformed top competitors with 154% more shoppers than the category leader
Best Seller Wins: Earned Amazon #1 Best Seller badges in both Fishing Tackle Boxes and Soft Plastic Lures
New-to-Brand Lift: Sponsored Brands and gifting keywords drove substantial NTB customer growth
Creative Performance: Holiday-themed Sponsored Brand ads delivered strong CTRs and AOV improvements
Organic Flywheel: By end of Q4, 66% of sales were organic, proving long-term impact on rankings
Agile Pivoting: When top SKU sold out mid-December, reallocation to alternate product kept momentum strong