How Proper Cloth Proved YouTube Ads Drive E-commerce Revenue

Client Overview: Proper Cloth

• Industry: Premium custom menswear D2C e-commerce

• Marketing Philosophy: Performance-first, ROI-obsessed, skeptical of 'brand marketing' campaigns

• Channels: Meta (trusted), Google Search/Shopping, YouTube (highly questioned)

• Challenge: Deep skepticism that upper-funnel marketing could ever drive measurable revenue for e-commerce

The E-Commerce Upper-Funnel Dilemma

Like most D2C e-commerce brands, Proper Cloth viewed upper-funnel marketing, and especially video advertising, with deep skepticism. Their position was logical:

• Meta delivered clear, attributable conversions they could track and scale

• Google Search captured bottom-funnel intent

• YouTube felt like 'brand building': nice in theory, impossible to measure in practice

"Why would we invest in YouTube advertising when we can't tie it to revenue?"

This wasn't just Proper Cloth's view: it's the consensus among performance marketers in e-commerce. Upper-funnel channels are typically seen as unmeasurable.

The YouTube Question That Divided the Team

Proper Cloth had been running YouTube ads in 'test mode' for months, caught between two camps:

• The believers: "Platform metrics show conversions → we should scale!"

• The skeptics: "Those are view-through attribution fantasies → kill it and invest in Meta"

Without causal measurement, they were stuck. Every dollar in YouTube was a dollar not scaling proven Meta campaigns. But what if YouTube actually was driving incremental revenue that wouldn't happen otherwise?

The Solution: Proving Impact with Science

BlueAlpha approached the challenge differently. Instead of debating beliefs about upper-funnel marketing, they designed an experiment to prove (or disprove) YouTube's impact on actual revenue.

Phase 1: Strategic Geo-Experiment Design

The team selected three states (Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania) as treatment markets, with 40+ control states providing a synthetic baseline. This wasn't about clicks or impressions - it was about measuring real sales impact.

• Campaign Type: Demand Gen with purchase optimization (not awareness!)

• Format: YouTube in-stream only, :15 video creative, no product feed

• Targeting: In-Market audiences, Custom Intent, Lookalike, Remarketing

• Primary KPI: Total sales revenue (not views or clicks)

Phase 2: The Moment of Truth

What happened next challenged what e-commerce brands typically believe about upper-funnel marketing:

• Week 1: No lift (algorithm learning) → skeptics felt validated
  
  

• Week 2: Early signals emerged → could this actually work?
  
  

• Week 3: Breakthrough → statistically significant lift in total sales
  
  

• Weeks 4-5: Sustained 12.7% cumulative lift → YouTube was driving real revenue

Key Insight: Starting Week 2, clear week-over-week increase in total sales relative to the control group for 3 consecutive weeks. The lag time of 2 weeks before seeing results is typical for upper-funnel campaigns. Patience pays off.

The Results: Upper-Funnel Drives Bottom-Line Revenue

The $180K Reality Check

The numbers shattered the upper-funnel myth:

• Incremental Revenue: ~$180,000 in proven incremental sales

• Confidence Interval: ~$98,000 - ~$255,000

• Lift: 12.73% increase in total sales (not just 'awareness')

• ROI: 2.43x return on ad spend (range: 1.3x - 3.47x)

• Statistical Significance: YES with 95% confidence

The Risk Analysis That Sealed the Deal

BlueAlpha didn't just prove YouTube worked: they quantified the financial risk of scaling.

Key Finding: Only 0.36% probability that the campaign would lose money. Even at the lower 95% confidence interval (~$98K), the ROI is still 1.3x - meaning even in the worst-case scenario, YouTube remains profitable.

Strategic Revelations for E-Commerce Brands

1. Upper-Funnel Can Be Performance Marketing

YouTube delivered immediate, measurable revenue, not just future 'brand equity.' The Demand Gen campaign was configured for purchases, not awareness, and it worked.

2. Traditional Attribution Lies About Upper-Funnel

Platform metrics showed some conversions, but couldn't prove incrementality. Only geo-experimentation revealed that YouTube was driving net-new sales that wouldn't happen otherwise.

3. The 2-Week Patience Test

Upper-funnel channels need time to optimize. Killing tests too early means missing breakthrough results. Be prepared to be patient enough - otherwise you might quit an otherwise successful test right before seeing a significant lift.

4. Risk Can Be Quantified

Knowing there was only 0.26% chance of loss transformed executive hesitation into confident scaling decisions.

From Skepticism to Scale: The Action Plan

With upper-funnel impact proven, Proper Cloth is now positioned to scale:

Immediate Actions

• Scale to more states: Expand from 3 states to top-revenue markets

• Increase budget: 2-3x daily spend

• Same winning setup: YouTube in-stream, :15 video, conversion-optimized

Next Phase Testing

• Demand Gen with product feeds: Validate whether existing cheap Demand Gen conversions are truly incremental

• Meta video campaigns: Can the winning YouTube creative expand Meta's ceiling?

• Performance Max holdout: Is PMax driving real growth or cannibalizing other channels?

• CTV advertising: Test true upper-funnel

Key Takeaways for D2C E-Commerce Brands

• Upper-funnel skepticism is justified, but testable. Don't accept 'brand building' claims without proof.
  
  

• Platform metrics mislead about upper-funnel. Only incrementality testing reveals true impact.
  
  

• Patience required: 2-3 week learning periods are normal for video campaigns.
  
  

• Risk can be quantified: Statistical proof transforms debate into action.
  
  

• Upper-funnel can drive immediate revenue: Not just future 'brand equity'.

"We spent years avoiding upper-funnel marketing because we couldn't measure it. BlueAlpha proved we were leaving millions on the table. For any e-commerce brand dismissing YouTube or brand marketing: test it scientifically. You might be as surprised as we were."
— Jeffrey Lai, Head of Analytics & Advertising @ Proper Cloth

About BlueAlpha

Founded by former Tesla leaders, BlueAlpha transforms marketing measurement into an action system. We specialize in proving (or disproving) the impact of hard-to-measure channels like upper-funnel video, brand campaigns, and awareness initiatives, providing insights that can revolutionize your entire growth roadmap.

For D2C e-commerce brands skeptical about upper-funnel marketing, we provide the scientific proof you need to make confident decisions.

Stop guessing about upper-funnel. Start measuring what actually drives growth.

Prove Your Upper-Funnel Impact

Ready to scientifically validate whether upper-funnel marketing can work for your e-commerce brand? BlueAlpha's incrementality testing reveals the truth behind platform metrics.

Book an upper-funnel validation session.