Work
About Reviews Blog Contact Book a call
Insights & case studies

From the BlackFire blog.

Real campaigns, real numbers. A look behind the work we've done for clients across lead generation, paid media, social and search.

A team meeting around a table with laptops, discussing a presentation
Freelancer vs agency
Freelancer vs agency for your marketing - what each actually costs, where each wins, and how to pick the right one for your business.
Read article →
A can of Liquid Death Mountain Water held in front of its branded box packaging
Liquid Death's billion-dollar branding
Liquid Death turned water into a billion-dollar heavy-metal brand with a skull logo and a tagline about death. Here's how shock branding beat the boring blue bottle playbook.
Read article →
IKEA storefront signage lit up at night
IKEA's furniture flags
IKEA Canada had no World Cup sponsorship rights, so it built national flags out of cushions, lamps and storage boxes instead. Here's how a guessing game beat a stadium logo.
Read article →
Hands typing on a laptop showing an analytics dashboard
Lead quality vs lead quantity
Why most businesses optimize for lead volume instead of quality - and why that costs them thousands. How to stop chasing count and measure what converts.
Read article →
A bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup on a table
FIFA banned Heinz's logo
FIFA made staff tape over every Heinz logo at the World Cup. The bottles went viral anyway - and Heinz turned the cover-up into a limited-edition product.
Read article →
Two colleagues in a meeting, one gesturing while discussing data shown on a laptop screen
How to measure marketing ROI
How to actually measure marketing ROI - the framework we use with clients, and how to stop wasting money on activity that looks good but doesn't work.
Read article →
The Aleksandr Orlov meerkat plush toy, wearing his signature glasses and green cardigan
The meerkat more famous than the brand
A pun about a meerkat turned into one of the UK's longest-running ad campaigns. How Compare the Market built an entire fictional brand around a joke - and why it still works nearly 20 years on.
Read article →
A hand holding a smartphone showing Instagram Reach analytics
Scale paid ads without doubling budget
Why paid ads campaigns hit a ceiling, and how to scale spend 2-3x without cost per lead spiralling. The framework that separates scaling from spinning wheels.
Read article →
Smartphone screen showing the DoorDash app, with a Starbucks delivery promotion on screen
DoorDash's family feud marketing
DoorDash paid Brooklyn Beckham to joke about his real family rift on camera. Why leaning into an already-public story worked - and the lesson for marketers.
Read article →
Two colleagues in conversation across a table in a bright office
In-house team vs agency
A junior hire looks cheaper. Add benefits, tools, management time and turnover, and the numbers say otherwise. The full comparison.
Read article →
Levi's Stadium logo covered by a white sheet during the FIFA World Cup 2026
FIFA's $170m gift to Levi's
FIFA tried to make a $170 million logo disappear. Levi's turned the cover-up into a global campaign it never paid for.
Read article →
Google Search Console showing clicks, impressions, CTR and average position
Ranking #1 isn't what it used to be
AI Overviews answer most searches before anyone reaches your site - cutting clicks by up to 61%. How to get cited by AI, not bypassed.
Read article →
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter apps in a Social Media folder on a phone
Nobody's seeing your posts
Organic reach has collapsed to as little as 0.5% of your followers - and platforms broke it on purpose. Here's what works now.
Read article →
SEO vs Paid Ads for lead generation
SEO vs Paid Ads
Which generates leads faster, what each really costs over time, and how to choose in one question.
Read article →
Meta Ads vs Google Ads
Meta Ads vs Google Ads
Which actually works for your business, what each costs, and how to choose in one question.
Read article →
How much does a digital marketing agency cost in the UK
What does a marketing agency cost?
Real 2026 UK price ranges for retainers, PPC, SEO and projects - and how to tell what you're paying for.
Read article →
Simply Natural
Simply Natural
A luxury alpaca brand with 300+ products and an ageing storefront - re-designed, rebuilt and repopulated on Shopify in twelve weeks.
Read case study →
Cosmic Pickle
Cosmic Pickle
Self-initiated UGC shot on location at a South Austin beer garden - frozen cocktails, the garden, and no brief.
Read case study →
Masafina
Masafina
Social media, a custom blog and ongoing SEO for a Mexican food brand - on a site that scores 93/100 for PageSpeed performance.
Read case study →
ClearBeacon AI
ClearBeacon AI
Our own venture: a marketing website and a working AI compliance scanner, designed and built end to end in-house.
Read case study →
The D-Day Darlings
The D-Day Darlings
A 1940s wartime act in a 2020s digital landscape - and five years of social media built to fill venues without ever breaking character.
Read case study →
Fr. App
Fr. App
A bright yellow van, a TikTok star and a coast-to-coast tour that turned an app into a movement.
Read case study →
Mazuli
Mazuli
Putting a premium glazing specialist in front of architects, builders and homeowners - each with their own framing.
Read case study →
SuperGro Lasers
SuperGro Lasers
From product to live online store in three weeks - with no runway wasted.
Read case study →
Nakanojo
Nakanojo
Letting the food do the talking on one of London's most competitive dining strips.
Read case study →
The Frog Initiative
The Frog Initiative
A six-month art competition with a Times Square billboard prize - and a brand that grew by association.
Read case study →

Reading about it is step one. Doing it is where we come in.

We run SEO, paid media and full-funnel growth for ambitious UK and US brands. If something here hit a nerve, let's talk about your numbers - no pitch deck, no pressure.

Book a call
Silence of the Brands - the BlackFire LinkedIn newsletter
LinkedIn newsletter

Silence of the Brands

No-fluff takes on what brands get right, get wrong, and stay strangely quiet about - delivered straight to your LinkedIn feed. Free, and worth the inbox space.

Subscribe on LinkedIn
Chat with us