Google Ads delivering 9x return on ad spend for a London board game bar
Draughts London
Google Ads
The Brief
Draughts London - London's original board game bar with venues in Waterloo and Stratford - needed paid advertising that would reliably fill seats on quieter midweek sessions and sell out their growing calendar of themed events. The challenge: competing in one of the world's most competitive hospitality markets, against brands with significantly larger budgets. The measure of success was simple: every pound spent on ads had to return more than a pound in the door.
Campaign Strategy - Targeting Intent, Not Just Awareness
Rather than casting wide with brand awareness spend, the Google Ads campaigns were built around high-intent search behaviour - people actively looking for things to do in London, group activities, board game bars, or venue hire. Ad groups were structured by audience type: date night, group outing, corporate team social, and events. Each group had its own messaging, landing path and bidding strategy, ensuring spend went where it would convert rather than where it would be seen.
Events as Paid Inventory
Draughts runs a packed calendar of themed events - from Metallica nights and pub quizzes to British Museum partnerships. Each event became its own paid campaign, targeted at audiences with relevant interests and geography. Rather than paying to promote the venue generically, spend was tied directly to bookable inventory: every click had a specific event and date to land on, keeping conversion rates high and cost-per-booking low.
Across the campaign, every £1 invested in Google Ads returned £9 in revenue - a 9x return on ad spend. By keeping campaigns tightly structured around bookable inventory and high-intent audiences, waste was minimised and every conversion tracked back to a real, revenue-generating booking. The campaigns continue to run, with budget allocation shifting dynamically toward whichever events and sessions are seeing the strongest demand.
£1 in. £9 out.
A 9x return on ad spend - achieved through tightly structured Google Ads campaigns built around bookable inventory and high-intent London search audiences.
9x Return on Ad Spend
Every £1 invested in Google Ads returned £9 in venue revenue.
Events as Paid Inventory
Each event ran as its own targeted campaign, driving bookings directly to the date.
Two Venues, One Strategy
Waterloo and Stratford campaigns managed independently to match each venue's demand profile.
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Fancy A Chat?
We will have a chat through your business, opportunities that are relevant and how we might be able to help.
No sales pitches, pressure or nonsense — just a 15 minute overview of where you are.