How Vesperia Comics Vancouver Doubled Foot Traffic in 30 Days
2x
In-Store Foot Traffic
2x
Daily Purchases
900+
Social Shares
The Challenge
Vesperia Comics had something special to offer Vancouver: a curated mix of comic books, manga, anime merch, collectibles, and niche fandom items that weren’t easily found anywhere else in the city.
What they didn’t have was visibility.
Despite having a vibrant product lineup and a passionate owner, Spencer Campbell, the shop was facing the same uphill battle that many new brick-and-mortar businesses experience:
"People in the community didn’t know the shop existed." - Spence Campbell, Owner
Print advertising was too expensive. Organic social growth was slow and unpredictable.
Competing online felt intimidating and time-consuming.
Vesperia wanted to connect with the Greater Vancouver fandom scene, but first, locals needed to know the shop was even there.
That’s where Strataigize came in.
Our Solution
The Precision Growth Framework
Strataigize Marketing offered Vesperia a cost-effective, hands-on promotional package designed to build local awareness quickly.
We developed a highly targeted, low-budget, and community-focused promotional system that blended strategic video content, hyper-local targeting, and structured testing.
Our goal: turn Vesperia from “unknown shop” into a recognized name among Vancouver anime and manga fans, fast and affordably.
1. Strategy Development: Clear, Local, and Conversion-Driven
We began with a simple but powerful strategic foundation built around three pillars:
Visibility
Target people in Greater Vancouver who were already interested in anime, manga, comic books, collectibles, and related fandoms.
Recognition
Use video to make Spencer, the owner, the familiar, friendly face of the brand. The content leaned into humility, authenticity, and community rather than highly polished production.
Repetition
Keep Vesperia top-of-mind using a multi-layered engagement and retargeting structure until locals felt compelled to visit in person.
All the creative, targeting, placements, messaging were engineered to stretch a $10/day budget as far as possible while maximizing real-world outcomes.
2. Filming & Scriptwriting: Showing the Shop the Way Locals Discover It
We conducted an on-site filming session focused on creating short, approachable videos that felt “local,” familiar, and genuine. We captured:
Walkthroughs of the store
Close-ups of featured merchandise
Product walls, figurines, cards, and manga sections
Spencer introducing himself and the shop location directly in the video
Community-oriented messaging about discovery and welcoming new fans
Our team wrote a friendly, conversational script that reflected the shop’s personality; knowledgeable, authentic, and deeply rooted in local fandom culture.
Content Produced
Three videos, each ending with:
A clear CTA (“Come on down!” or a promotional incentive)
A location mention in both the caption’s first line and within Spencer’s dialogue
A tone that made Vesperia feel like a cozy, local treasure waiting to be found
3. Trial Reels & Creative A/B Testing
We posted all three videos as Instagram Trial Reels, which allowed both paid and organic visibility without immediately committing to a permanent post.
Across the three videos, we tested:
Varying hooks
Different pacing
Owner-first vs product-first approaches
Text-on-screen variations
Voiceover emphasis vs natural speech
Prioritized Engagement Metrics
For determining the winning video creative, we focused on indicators that correlate with intent rather than vanity:
Comments
Saves
Shares
Follows
Likes were noted, but not prioritized.
Top-Performing Hook
The standout winner was:
“To all the Weebs in Vancouver”
This hook instantly resonated with the target fandom audience. The other two hooks underperformed significantly and were intentionally documented as part of the testing learnings.
Post-Testing Step
Once we identified the winning creative:
We removed its Trial Reel status
Then pinned it as Vesperia’s introductory, evergreen shop video. This helped anchor their social presence and increased ongoing organic visibility.
4. Precision Targeting: Four-Layered Structure for Maximum Local Impact
To get the most out of a $10/day budget, we deployed a strategically layered campaign structure with four simultaneous ad sets:
1. Broad Vancouver (No Targeting Filters)
To allow Instagram’s algorithm to discover hidden audience pockets and maximize reach.
2. Vancouver Anime-Interest Stack
A robust, highly specific interest group tailored to anime, manga, gaming, collectibles, conventions, and fandom communities, including:
Anime Cosplay, Pokemon, One Piece, Marvel Comics, Mobile Suit Gundam, Bleach, Manga, Collectible Card Games, Gundam Anime and Manga Fandom, Dragon Ball, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sailor Moon, Shonen Manga, Naruto, Dungeons and Dragons, Hunter x Hunter, Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, Tokyo Ghoul, Anime & Manga, and many more.
We used our hyper-focused Meta Ad services to target the right audience.
3. Hyper-Local Radius Targeting
A walkable radius around Vesperia’s physical location to reach nearby residents who could easily “drop by.”
4. Retargeting (High-Intent BC Audience)
British Columbia–wide retargeting of:
Anyone who watched 15 seconds or the full video in the last 14 days
Anyone who engaged with the Instagram account in the last 90 days
Important Outcome
Retargeting delivered the majority of high-value engagement, confirming strong intent from people already exposed to the shop.
5. Rollout Strategy: Smart Use of Organic + Paid Channels
Month 1: Instagram Only
We focused entirely on Instagram during the first month to:
Leverage native Reel exposure
Build organic momentum
Gather clean performance data
Avoid diluting early testing across platforms
After the first month, once we had a winning creative and reliable engagement baseline, we expanded into Facebook for broader reach.
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Results
Local Foot Traffic, Not Just Vanity Metrics
Within the first month:
Foot traffic doubled
Daily purchases more than doubled
Paid shares surpassed 1,000
Post saves reached 123
Convention attendees recognized the shop from the videos
Multiple customers said they visited specifically because of the Instagram videos
All on only $10/day.
The real impact wasn’t the social metrics, it was the steady stream of new customers walking through the door and discovering Vesperia for the first time.
Ongoing Momentum
After the first month—thanks to:
Pinning the top creative
Continued retargeting
Expanding to Facebook
Vesperia saw increasing conversions and consistent brand lift. The shop became meaningfully known within the Vancouver fandom community.
Why the Videos Worked
Our content strategy succeeded because it matched how local discovery works today:
Authenticity Over Polish
Spencer’s genuine, friendly presence made locals feel like they were meeting the owner before ever stepping inside.
Short, Relatable Clips
The videos blended quick product showcases with Spencer’s personality, making them both engaging and informative.
Hyper-Local Positioning
The repeated location callouts (“We’re here in Vancouver…”) ensured people realized the shop was close by.
Targeted Community Appeal
The fandom community loves to share and tag friends. The videos tapped directly into that culture, creating instant word-of-mouth.
Thanks to Strataigize Marketing’s efforts, we received positive feedback from customers and even convention attendees who recognized us from social media. The team was extremely hands-on, receptive to my input, and being local made communication easy. I’m really happy with the results.
Spencer Campbell, Owner
Vesperia Comics
Conclusion
Vesperia Comics didn’t need a massive budget, just a strategic marketing partner who understood how locals discover new businesses today.
By combining:
Authentic video storytelling
Smart testing
Hyper-local targeting
A disciplined $10/day engagement strategy
And conversion-focused retargeting
Strataigize Marketing helped transform Vesperia from a hidden gem into a recognized destination for Vancouver’s anime and manga fans.
If you're a local business looking to boost visibility, increase foot traffic, and build real community presence, Strataigize Marketing can help you turn awareness into measurable growth, just like we did for Vesperia Comics.
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