Gelato: Scaling a $240M-Backed SaaS Platform Across Five Markets in Three Years
Challenge
The Client
Gelato is a global print-on-demand platform that lets creators, eCommerce entrepreneurs, and side hustlers produce and ship customized products (wall art, t-shirts, phone cases, books, home decor) without holding inventory.
The Problem
Two months after closing the round, Gelato brought Brighter Click on as an external growth marketing partner. They had three problems that needed to be solved simultaneously.
The messaging was not landing. Gelato had been running some paid media internally, but they had not cracked the messaging that would resonate with their target audience at scale.
The media buying infrastructure was not built for scale. Post-funding startups face a specific challenge: they need to scale spend rapidly to hit investor growth milestones, but scaling spend without the right campaign architecture, creative volume, and testing framework just means burning money faster.
The international expansion required localized execution. Gelato was already established in several European markets but needed to significantly increase market share in the US while deepening penetration across key European countries.
On top of everything, this was late 2021. iOS 14.5 had just reshaped the paid social landscape. Audience targeting had been gutted. The agencies that survived the transition were the ones that figured out how to use creative as the targeting mechanism.
The Client
Gelato is a global print-on-demand platform that lets creators, eCommerce entrepreneurs, and side hustlers produce and ship customized products (wall art, t-shirts, phone cases, books, home decor) without holding inventory.
The Problem
Two months after closing the round, Gelato brought Brighter Click on as an external growth marketing partner. They had three problems that needed to be solved simultaneously.
The messaging was not landing. Gelato had been running some paid media internally, but they had not cracked the messaging that would resonate with their target audience at scale.
The media buying infrastructure was not built for scale. Post-funding startups face a specific challenge: they need to scale spend rapidly to hit investor growth milestones, but scaling spend without the right campaign architecture, creative volume, and testing framework just means burning money faster.
The international expansion required localized execution. Gelato was already established in several European markets but needed to significantly increase market share in the US while deepening penetration across key European countries.
On top of everything, this was late 2021. iOS 14.5 had just reshaped the paid social landscape. Audience targeting had been gutted. The agencies that survived the transition were the ones that figured out how to use creative as the targeting mechanism.
Solution
The Core Insight
Gelato's target audience was creators and side hustlers using competitor print-on-demand platforms. These were people who already understood the product category. They needed to be convinced that Gelato was better than what they were already using.
That reframing shaped every creative and campaign decision we made.
Phase 1: Research and Planning
Before launching ads, we ran our full creative strategy framework.
We analyzed Gelato's existing customer data to understand which user segments drove the highest lifetime value, mapped the competitive landscape across Printful, Printify, and other POD platforms, studying their ad libraries, messaging angles, and positioning gaps, and ran voice-of-customer research through reviews, Reddit threads, and community forums where POD sellers discuss platform frustrations and switching decisions.
From this research, we identified two core buyer personas: casual creators and side hustlers exploring print-on-demand as a revenue stream, and established POD store owners already running a business on a competitor platform and open to switching for better economics or capabilities.
Phase 2: 90-Day Creative Execution
We produced ad variations designed to self-select each persona. A talking head video from a creator who runs a small Etsy shop would naturally resonate with casual creators.
Based on month one testing data, we doubled down on the formats and angles that were driving registrations at the lowest CAC. UGC was the primary creative lever. We sourced creators who matched the age range and profile of Gelato's target users, and critically, we prioritized creators who actually owned a print-on-demand store.
Market expansion with localized creative. With winning creative formats and messaging angles validated in English, we expanded into localized campaigns. We sourced native-language creators in Italy, Germany, the Nordics, France, and the United States.
The Core Insight
Gelato's target audience was creators and side hustlers using competitor print-on-demand platforms. These were people who already understood the product category. They needed to be convinced that Gelato was better than what they were already using.
That reframing shaped every creative and campaign decision we made.
Phase 1: Research and Planning
Before launching ads, we ran our full creative strategy framework.
We analyzed Gelato's existing customer data to understand which user segments drove the highest lifetime value, mapped the competitive landscape across Printful, Printify, and other POD platforms, studying their ad libraries, messaging angles, and positioning gaps, and ran voice-of-customer research through reviews, Reddit threads, and community forums where POD sellers discuss platform frustrations and switching decisions.
From this research, we identified two core buyer personas: casual creators and side hustlers exploring print-on-demand as a revenue stream, and established POD store owners already running a business on a competitor platform and open to switching for better economics or capabilities.
Phase 2: 90-Day Creative Execution
We produced ad variations designed to self-select each persona. A talking head video from a creator who runs a small Etsy shop would naturally resonate with casual creators.
Based on month one testing data, we doubled down on the formats and angles that were driving registrations at the lowest CAC. UGC was the primary creative lever. We sourced creators who matched the age range and profile of Gelato's target users, and critically, we prioritized creators who actually owned a print-on-demand store.
Market expansion with localized creative. With winning creative formats and messaging angles validated in English, we expanded into localized campaigns. We sourced native-language creators in Italy, Germany, the Nordics, France, and the United States.
Results
The Results
117% growth in monthly ad spend while reducing CAC by 17.6%. This is the number that matters most. Scaling spend is easy. Scaling spend while improving efficiency is hard. We more than doubled Gelato's monthly Facebook ad investment while simultaneously bringing down the cost to acquire each new user.
Successful expansion across five markets. Localized campaigns in Italy, Germany, the Nordics, France, and the US drove significant registration growth in priority markets, particularly in the United States where Gelato needed to build market share against entrenched competitors.
Three-year continuous engagement. We began working with Gelato two months after they announced the $240 million funding round and continued as their paid media partner for three straight years.
Creative testing insights adopted across the marketing organization. The messaging angles validated through paid media testing were integrated into Gelato's website, email marketing, and onboarding sequences.
The Results
117% growth in monthly ad spend while reducing CAC by 17.6%. This is the number that matters most. Scaling spend is easy. Scaling spend while improving efficiency is hard. We more than doubled Gelato's monthly Facebook ad investment while simultaneously bringing down the cost to acquire each new user.
Successful expansion across five markets. Localized campaigns in Italy, Germany, the Nordics, France, and the US drove significant registration growth in priority markets, particularly in the United States where Gelato needed to build market share against entrenched competitors.
Three-year continuous engagement. We began working with Gelato two months after they announced the $240 million funding round and continued as their paid media partner for three straight years.
Creative testing insights adopted across the marketing organization. The messaging angles validated through paid media testing were integrated into Gelato's website, email marketing, and onboarding sequences.