Challenge
In the Side-by-Side (SxS) market, Yamaha faced an uphill battle being outspent 5–10x by Polaris and Can-Am and crowded out by Honda and Kawasaki’s saturation of endemic channels, it was difficult to break through in rural America, the heart of the category.
To compete, Yamaha needed to prove that increased brand investment could drive measurable business results, not just awareness.
With Share of Search serving as a leading indicator of Share of Market in the SxS category with search volume typically translating to market share lifts within 6–9 months, the challenge was to prioritize mid- and lower-funnel intent signals, especially branded search, to outpace the broader category during peak seasonality.
Insight
Side-by-Side buyers are not monolithic; their behaviors differ by terrain and lifestyle (rocky mountain riders, desert explorers, wooded trail adventurers)
Competitors leaned heavily on either mass broadcast spending or endemic channel saturation, leaving strategic white space for Yamaha to differentiate by blending brand-building with personalized, performance accountability.
Analysis revealed that customers who engaged with Yamaha’s “Build Your Own” tool were significantly more likely to visit a dealer and signal purchase intent. By allowing riders to customize their ideal Side-by-Side, the tool could act as a powerful bridge between brand inspiration and in-market behavior, turning casual interest into measurable results
Idea
Full-funnel brand campaign anchored around Yamaha’s ‘Build Your Own’ tool
Launch a Full-funnel brand campaign launched around a key Q4 moment anchored by Yamaha’s ‘Build Your Own’ tool as the bridge between brand storytelling and purchase intent.
Top of funnel: CTV, streaming audio, social, and high-impact video to cut through and build brand favorability at scale
Mid- and lower-funnel: layered first-party audiences, intent signals, and retargeting to convert brand interest into action
Personalized ads via DCO dynamically strengthened messaging to SxS audience segments, allowing riders to customize their ideal Side-by-Side and see local dealer inventory‘Always On’ approach targeted lower funnel prospects showing interest and intent, using year-round tactics; SEM, retargeting, and social media
Synapse Causal Impact Modeling (CIM) used to model and optimize full-funnel impact by campaign phase, quantifying contribution to Leads and like-for-like efficiency