What Drove an 81% Lift in Checkouts? A Bold Pivot to the Upper Funnel

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE

Like many organizations, a North American telecommunications provider faced a fundamental challenge: accurately quantifying the impact of its brand marketing on overall performance. While campaigns were meticulously categorized by objective - Familiarity, Consideration, or Conversion - the reliance on last-touch attribution created a distorted view. This model consistently favored performance channels such as SEM, while failing to adequately recognize the critical contributions of upper-funnel initiatives, including TV and radio. 

As a result, the brand cut upper-funnel budgets, despite growing conviction within the marketing team that they were key to long-term success. Without a full-funnel view, brand-building efforts appeared ineffective, SEM absorbed an outsized share of budget—nearly a third—and growth stalled. As SEM budgets reached their saturation point, cost-per-activation rose and conversion momentum slowed. However, in the absence of clear, full-funnel insights, the team lacked the data to confidently advocate for continued brand investment.

SOLUTION & INSIGHTS

Working with their marketing agency, Mekanism, Public Mobile implemented Mevo, a predictive intelligence system purpose-built for real-time, full-funnel measurement with built-in incrementality. Unlike last-touch models that disproportionately reward lower-funnel clicks and can’t tell whether media actually caused a conversion or simply got credit for one, Mevo quantified the true contribution of each tactic across the journey, including the long-term impact of upper and mid-funnel channels, and creative designed to build Familiarity and Consideration. This enabled the team to separate true lift from mere redirection, revealing where media was creating new demand—and ultimately allowing them to optimize spend with greater clarity and control.

Familiarity Fuels the Funnel
Mevo revealed that upper-funnel media, especially Familiarity campaigns, drove far more impact than expected. In 2024, these tactics accounted for 44% of media-driven conversions, compared to just 18% from lower-funnel Conversion campaigns. Yet spend remained skewed, with only 43% of budget going to Familiarity and 32% to Conversion—reflecting outdated assumptions from legacy attribution.

Full-Funnel Truth vs. Last-Touch Illusion
Legacy models made SEM seem efficient, pegging its CPA at $26. But Mevo revealed its true full-funnel CPA was $719—18× higher. Meanwhile, overlooked channels like TV and radio delivered stronger returns, with CPAs of $195 and $151. The most efficient returns came from a more balanced mix across the funnel—especially mid-funnel display and social—not SEM.

Brand Effects That Don’t Expire
Familiarity campaigns had lasting effects. A September TV and digital push still drove 75% of media conversions during November’s Black Friday period—two months after airing—proving the long-tail impact of upper-funnel investment.

Media Didn’t Just Shift Demand—It Created It
By comparing high vs. low activity periods, Mevo showed upper-funnel media created new demand. When Familiarity spend returned mid-year, media conversions jumped from 8.2K to 15.5K, while non-media conversions dropped. Net-new conversions totaled 3.3K—evidence that media wasn’t just redirecting interest; it was driving new growth during a typically slow sales period.

ACTION & OUTCOMES

In 2024, the client began testing Mevo-led recommendations to rebalance spend across the funnel. Last-touch attribution suggested SEM was the most efficient channel—but Mevo identified higher incremental potential in underfunded social and display placements. Acting on this, the team redirected $175K in incremental budget to mid- and lower-funnel tactics. The impact was immediate: site traffic rose 23%, cart finishes lifted by 1.5K (+17%), and SEM CPA fell 7% as budgets were pulled back—evidence that branded search was simply capturing existing demand, not generating new growth.

Encouraged by the results, the client scaled the strategy in early 2025—halving Conversion budgets and increasing Familiarity investment by 40%. Creative pivoted toward brand-led messaging in social and display, where the opportunity to influence new demand was strongest. The payoff was significant: site visits surged 48%, engaged sessions more than doubled (+102%), and checkouts grew by 81%—performance that outpaced spend and affirmed the business impact of prioritizing the upper funnel.

With guidance from Mevo, the client didn't just rebalance the funnel—they reignited growth through smarter creative and more efficient investment.