Styled Athletics | Fospha Reveals Winning Google Budget Splits for D2C Growth

Editor’s Pick ✨

Navigating Uncertainty: Google Strategies for Growth
By Sam Carter, CEO of Fospha

Marketing thought leadership has a tendency towards binaries. The funnel is either completely dead or very much alive. Brand marketing is either pointless or the solution to all your problems, and ChatGPT is ending 30 years of search overnight.

At Fospha, we love the measurement challenge of any new channel that offers our clients ways to reach more customers. However, Google is still very much the biggest advertising platform. Performance Max (PMAX) and Search products alone represent around 30% of our clients’ digital share of wallet.

In uncertain times, it’s more important than ever for brands to nail these core channels, so we produced the definitive best practice guide on PMAX and Paid Search. Here were our top findings:

• ⚖️ Best performing brands allocate 55% of Google budget to PMAX and 12% to Paid Search.

• 🏆 Brands that pair Search and PMAX with ~50% of their budgets in YouTube, Demand Gen and Paid Social see optimal results.

• 🎨 Especially for PMAX, high-volume creative is key for AI-powered optimization.

Download the full playbook for free.

Sector Spotlight 🎥

PRODUCT LAUNCH

ASICS Unveils GEL-K1011 Hybrid Sneaker Blending Heritage Style And Modern Comfort

ASICS’s new GEL-K1011 hybrid sneaker, priced at INR 11,999, integrates design elements from GEL-KAYANO and GEL-CUMULUS series, combining comfort, performance, and contemporary aesthetic. This launch directly addresses the current market’s demand for unisex, style-forward, and functional footwear, presenting actionable opportunities for marketers targeting the urban, movement-centric consumer segment.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Big3 Taps Starter For Luxe Uniforms And Fan Apparel In New Partnership

Big3’s new partnership with Starter repositions the retro athletic brand at the intersection of nostalgia and premium sports merchandising. By supplying uniforms, sideline apparel, and fan gear, Starter taps into emotional brand equity while modernizing its image for today’s athleisure and streetwear consumers. For marketers, this collaboration highlights the growing power of heritage branding and lifestyle integration in driving fan engagement and expanding revenue streams across sports and apparel sectors.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Lululemon and PWHL Launch First-Ever Luxury Women’s Hockey Apparel Collection

Lululemon’s first collaboration with the Professional Women’s Hockey League introduces branded fan apparel for all six PWHL teams, leveraging popular Lululemon styles and team branding. This launch signals intent to engage new audiences and extend reach within women’s sports, offering marketers a case study in targeted partnership-driven brand expansion. The collection’s timed venue rollouts provide a blueprint for coordinated product drops across multiple touchpoints.

BRAND COLLABORATION

Coco Gauff Joins Miu Miu and New Balance for Luxe Athletic Capsule Collection

Miu Miu and New Balance’s collaboration with Coco Gauff blends luxury fashion and performance sportswear, debuting a limited capsule collection timed with major global tennis events ahead of its September 10 launch. This partnership demonstrates the power of athlete-driven storytelling to elevate brand positioning across sectors. For marketers, it underscores how celebrity collaborations can strategically deepen audience engagement, drive cultural relevance, and unlock new growth opportunities in the expanding luxury athleisure market.

Influencer Corner 📣

Performance Pulse 📈

INNOVATIVE MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES

AI Tailors Hyper-Personalized Marketing Messages for Maximum Engagement and Brand Distinction

Advanced AI-driven tools like Attentive’s AI Journeys enable brands to craft highly personalized marketing messages by integrating brand voice, product specifics, and subscriber behavior. Case studies from Hot Topic and OLLY demonstrate measurable gains—45% higher conversion rates and notable revenue growth—highlighting direct, actionable value for marketers seeking data-driven optimization.

INNOVATIVE PERSONALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES

Personalize Customer Experiences With Consent-Driven, Cookieless Data Collection And Modern Tools

Cookieless personalization enables marketers to deliver tailored eCommerce experiences while complying with privacy regulations by leveraging first-party and zero-party data, real-time behaviors, and contextual cues instead of third-party cookies. This shift demands transparent data collection, robust consent management, and session-based experimentation. Adopting privacy-first tools like Omniconvert and Segment is now essential for sustained customer engagement.

CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE MASTERY

Master B2B Customer Lifecycle With Data-Driven Retention And Stage-Specific Tactics

Optimizing the B2B customer lifecycle hinges on precise, stage-specific tactics that start with initial awareness and extend through onboarding, growth, advocacy, and post-churn engagement. Marketers must align data, KPIs, and cross-functional teams to drive retention, cut CAC, and maximize customer lifetime value. A fragmented or generic approach undermines both retention and growth.