Case Study: Yellow Dog Flyfishing
Cast a new line: A fly fishing brand’s journey from travel to retail
Challenge
Diversify for long-term growth
Yellow Dog Flyfishing has been a trusted name in fly fishing travel for 25 years. But when COVID hit, the entire travel industry came to a halt and the business faced a make-or-break moment. Rather than wait it out, Yellow Dog pivoted – buying a fly shop and launching an e-commerce site. It was a bold move but also a logical one, since Yellow Dog already knew exactly what gear anglers needed for the trips they booked. With resources stretched thin, every marketing dollar had to work hard. Yellow Dog brought a strong brand and loyal following to the table. Quiet Owl came in as a partner to help turn this next chapter into a sustainable, growth-focused opportunity with a measurable digital strategy.
Scope & Goals
Develop a retail marketing foundation from scratch, build trust through transparent measurement, create a content strategy favoring education over promotion.
Content Strategy: Built for anglers, not just algorithms
Fly fishing isn’t just a hobby – it’s a niche community filled with die-hard anglers who care deeply about their gear, the places they fish, and protecting the waters they love. As Yellow Dog entered the e-commerce space, there was an opportunity to go beyond just showcasing gear and instead use content to share the knowledge that defined the brand for decades.
Our Solution
Quiet Owl helped Yellow Dog lean into what they already had: expertise. Instead of just pushing products, create campaigns that provide real value – answer common questions, offer travel insights, and explain gear in ways that make sense to both beginners and seasoned anglers. This approach boosted engagement and earned trust from potential customers, especially those who were still in research mode before they were ready to buy.
Key Benefits
- Share knowledge, not just promos
- Attract high-intent buyers through education
- Build long-term brand loyalty
Google Ads: Control over chaos
Like many new e-commerce brands, Yellow Dog’s early Google Ads setup was one big catch-all campaign. It was simple to run, but too limited to offer much insight or control.
Our Solution
Given the tight budgets, Quiet Owl recommended starting with one high-potential category (fly rods) to test whether a focused, manual approach could prove effective. But performance was weak, and it quickly became clear that this narrow strategy wouldn’t cut it. So Quiet Owl changed course – restructuring campaigns to take advantage of some automated bidding features, while also customizing the setup to prioritize top sellers. Quiet Owl broke out key categories, adjusted budgets and ROAS targets based on performance potential, and gave higher-value items the attention they needed. The result was a more thoughtful structure that blended automation with custom refinements, giving Yellow Dog room to grow without adding unnecessary complexity.
Key Benefits
- Build a scalable structure through a test-and-learn approach
- Strike a balance between automation and strategic control
- Prioritize top products with tailored budgets and targets
Marketing Efficiency: Build trust, then build scale
After such a tough shake-up to its main business, Yellow Dog understandably approached advertising with caution. The goal wasn’t to spend big and grow overnight. It was to spend smart, and to feel confident doing it.
Our Solution
Quiet Owl focused on building that confidence through clear, consistent measurement. A monthly scorecard helped spot meaningful trends – not just in spend and revenue, but in engagement, brand awareness, and overall site behavior. Over time, those insights helped make the case for strategic increases in spend, not just bigger budgets for the sake of it. And even during offseason when performance was expected to dip, marketing stayed remarkably efficient, reinforcing that the strategy was working. For Yellow Dog, measurement became the foundation for making decisions it could stand behind.
Key Benefits
- Meaningful reporting, not data-puking
- Evidence-based decision making
- Marketing as a long-term investment, not a gamble
Results: From uncertainty to a steady path forward
In less than 2 years, Yellow Dog went from cautiously testing the waters to confidently running a steady, thriving retail operation alongside its travel business.
3x
Revenue growth in under 2 years
Revenue Growth
Client Approved
“Whether you're Quiet or Yellow, a Dog or an Owl... you need to read this case study”
Carter Lyles | Director of Marketing
