30% More Bookings and Zero Increase in Ad Spend for The Folly with Decisive Marketing
The Folly was already investing in Google Ads to attract diners and event bookings, with ads directing visitors to the venue’s homepage. However, the campaigns weren’t reaching the right people at the right moment.
The Folly is an established hospitality and events venue on the banks of the River Thames in central Oxford. Alongside its riverside restaurant, it hosts private celebrations, weddings, corporate events and exclusive dining experiences. The venue is recognised with AA Rosette award and tripadvisor travellers choice award and a wealth of positive guest reviews.
The Challenge
The Folly was already investing in Google Ads to attract diners and event bookings, with ads directing visitors to the venue’s homepage.
However, the campaigns weren’t reaching the right people at the right moment. Our initial audit found that 74% of search spend was potentially being wasted on irrelevant searches, while unreliable conversion tracking meant the team couldn’t see which campaigns produced genuine bookings. High value searches for private dining, weddings and corporate events were being missed, and visitors who did click arrived on a general homepage rather than a page reflecting what they had searched for.
The Folly needed more bookings from its existing budget, along with clear visibility of which advertising was actually filling tables and event calendars.
The Solution: Decisive Marketing in Action
We applied our Decisive Marketing approach to turn more of The Folly’s existing search traffic into bookings, starting with the people doing the searching.
What the client had to say
It was a lightbulb moment when Decima explained you need to focus on designing ads and landing pages that convert clicks to customers.
Giles Dobson Owner, The Folly
Interpret & Ideate
Understanding the intent behind every search
We began with a full audit of The Folly, cataloguing its awards, accreditations, reviews and imagery to identify what set it apart. We then analysed the keywords already triggering its ads. People were finding the venue in very different ways, from “romantic restaurants in Oxford” and “date night Oxford” to simply “restaurants near me”, and each phrase revealed a distinct motivation.
Grouping these searches by intent allowed us to build clear customer personas and map each one to the part of The Folly that best answered it. Romantic diners wanted an evening that felt special, so we connected them with the riverside setting and sense of occasion. Date night searchers needed a clear reason to choose The Folly over alternatives, while “near me” searchers were deciding quickly and needed to see its central location and an easy way to book.
Do & Deliver
Google Ads Management
We restructured the campaigns around these intent groups, so each search triggered an ad written for that specific motivation. Irrelevant search terms were excluded, and we rebuilt conversion tracking so every booking could be attributed to the campaign, keyword and message behind it. We then tested different angles for each persona, leading with the riverside setting, awards, reviews or location, and measured which produced reservations rather than just clicks.
Landing Page Design
Rather than sending every click to the homepage, we designed a single landing page built to satisfy each intent. The strongest messages from testing were carried directly onto the page, so visitors found exactly what the ad had promised, supported by The Folly’s reviews, awards and imagery. We handled design, build and launch, combining workflows powered by AI with our specialists, so the team could stay focused on running the venue.
Report & Refine
We monitor search terms, conversion rates and booking data to see which messages perform best for each persona. Weaker messages are replaced, winning ones are scaled, and new search intents feed back into both campaigns and page content. The Folly receives regular reporting and direct access to its account manager.
The Results
1. More Bookings Within 14 days of Launch
Because the landing page was built on insights from the audit and live campaign testing, it didn’t need months of trial and error to start performing. The Folly saw bookings rise within 2 weeks of launch, with no additional work required from its team.
2. Bookings Increased by 30%
Compared with 2 months, bookings increased by 30% following the redesign of a single landing page. Ongoing monitoring allowed us to keep refining messages for each persona, helping to sustain the improvement rather than deliver a short term spike.
3. A 0% Increase in Spend
This growth came without any rise in advertising spend. By matching each search to the experience the customer was looking for, more of the same traffic became bookings, making every pound of The Folly’s budget work harder. The result traces directly back to Interpret & Ideate, where understanding the intent behind each search shaped everything that followed.
What the client had to say
Before meeting Decima, we tried to figure out who we wanted as customers and who to reach, but we didn’t know how to reach those people. Working with Decima was a massive game-changer. It was clear and promising, and we definitely see more event inquiries coming in for the people we are actually looking for – like special occasions and corporate events.”
Rika Asami Head of Marketing and Events, The Folly
The Outcome
The Folly now generates more bookings from the same advertising budget, with a clear view of which campaigns and messages produce revenue.
It also has a proven framework for future growth: as new search intents emerge, campaigns and landing pages can be matched to them rather than relying on increased spend. That is Decisive Marketing in practice, where understanding the customer turns advertising into bookings.
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