Turning traffic into a list.

A list that fuels the whole funnel, built from paid media and a one-question pop-up.

Every lifecycle program runs on its list. When ATTN took over, KONG's email list was shrinking each month. By summer, paid media and a rebuilt pop-up were adding thousands of new, known subscribers a month, each one tagged with the pet they shop for.

ClientKONG CategoryPet toys PlatformsBigCommerce, Klaviyo ChannelsPaid media, Email, SMS TimeframeSeven months

The list reversed directionNet list change per month

Before ATTN−1,000 / mo

After ATTN+4,900 / mo

Net list change = new email subscribers minus unsubscribes. One month excluded for a one-time list import. Signup rate tracking begins the month before ATTN took over.

New email subscribers per month

18x

From a list losing contacts every month to thousands of new, known subscribers.

Pop-up signup rate

2.2x

Before2.4%

After5.2%

Unique buyers per month

+180%

Growth at the top of the funnel showed up all the way to the order.

Results at a glance	Before	After	Change
New email subscribers per month	Baseline	—	18x
Pop-up signup rate	2.4%	5.2%	2.2x
Visitors reaching the pop-up per month	Baseline	—	+44%
Net email list change per month	Shrinking	Growing	Reversed direction
Known visitors on site per month	Baseline	—	4.6x
Shoppers starting checkout per month	Baseline	—	+156%
Unique buyers per month	Baseline	—	+180%

Before = monthly average for the four months before ATTN (pop-up metrics: the four months before the quiz pop-up). After = monthly average for the three most recent full months.

Where we started01

A loyal brand with a shrinking list.

KONG had a loyal customer base and real brand recognition, but the list wasn't growing. In the months before ATTN, more people unsubscribed each month than signed up, so the list shrank by roughly a thousand contacts a month.

The pop-up was a standard offer: $5 off the first order in exchange for an email. It converted about 2.4% of the visitors who saw it and learned nothing about them beyond an address. Every new subscriber entered the same generic welcome.

The approach02

Fill, capture, activate.

Phase 1FillPaid traffic
Phase 2CaptureQuiz pop-up
Phase 3ActivateWelcome series
Phase 4ConvertFull funnel

Fill the top of the funnel. ATTN's paid media team drove more qualified shoppers to the site. Visitors reaching the pop-up grew 44% from spring to summer.
Capture with a reason to answer. We rebuilt the pop-up around one question: who are you shopping for? Dog, cat, or both. It collected email and SMS opt-in in the same flow, and the answer set the pet type for every message that followed.
Activate immediately. Every new subscriber entered a Welcome Series matched to their pet, so the list growth turned into first orders, not just contacts.
Keep the list healthy. Campaigns moved from the full list to engaged segments, which kept unsubscribes in check as the list scaled.

Paid media
Email
SMS
Klaviyo
BigCommerce

Why it worked03

List growth is a lifecycle strategy.

Paid media and retention are often run as separate programs. For KONG, they were one system. Paid brought shoppers in, the pop-up captured and qualified them, and the lifecycle program turned them into customers.

The single question on the pop-up did double duty: it gave shoppers a reason to sign up, and it gave every flow and campaign the data to personalize. A bigger list is valuable. A bigger list that tells you who each person is shopping for is what makes the whole funnel work harder.

Phase 4 · Convert

A bigger list fed every stage of the funnel.

Abandonment flows can only follow up with visitors they recognize, and campaigns can only reach people on the list. More known subscribers meant more people the rest of the system could reach.

Known visitors on site4.6x
Known shoppers viewing products7.1x
Shoppers starting checkout+156%
Unique buyers+180%
Total store revenue+103%

Change vs. before, monthly average. Bar length = multiple of the before period.

Unique buyers per month nearly tripled, and total store revenue doubled over the same period.

The pop-up is the front door.

"Paid media can fill the top of the funnel, but if you can't capture and understand those visitors, you're renting attention month after month. For KONG, we treated the pop-up as the front door to the entire program. One question about who they're shopping for turned anonymous traffic into a list we could personalize, and that list became the engine behind every flow and campaign that followed."