Retail strategy firm Asset Strategies Group (ASG) has proven to be a valuable partner for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands looking to make the leap to brick-and-mortar or grow their store portfolio strategically. With a strong track record of helping DTC brands navigate this shift, ASG decided to transform some of their knowledge into a helpful interactive content guide designed to improve DTC brands’ odds of success. Traditionally, this would have taken the form of a static multi-page PDF—sometimes gated, sometimes freely accessible. While PDFs have served as a reliable resource in the past, ASG saw a new opportunity to meet their audience where they are now: online, in a world of shorter attention spans and varied learning preferences.
To make the guide more engaging, ASG’s team proposed a digital, interactive format that would live on the ASG website. Unlike a PDF, which presents information in a fixed layout, this web-based guide could accommodate different content formats, encourage website exploration, and ultimately lead to deeper audience engagement. Beyond the written insights, the team included a rich blend of videos, surveys, audio clips, animations, images, and informative text—each piece crafted to make complex concepts easier to understand and more engaging to navigate. The final result was a visually appealing, seven-part interactive guide that brought ASG’s expert insights to life in an accessible way.
The benefits of this format extended beyond just user experience. By moving away from the gated PDF format, ASG opened up valuable content to search engines, significantly improving SEO and making their insights discoverable to a broader audience. As a result, the guide started drawing organic traffic and ranked well in search engines, solidifying ASG’s position as a key resource for DTC brands aiming to expand into physical retail. The interactive format also encouraged users to linger, explore, and connect with more of ASG’s content. In fact, the average time-on-site jumped by 45% over the quarter, and in the first 90 days alone, visitors spent over 18 hours collectively on the guide. The guide quickly became one of the top-viewed pages on the site, underscoring its appeal and relevance.
ASG’s choice to include diverse media like videos and audio clips made the guide more than just a resource—it became an engaging experience that met different learning styles. Video content provided context and visual interest, while audio clips and animations added another layer of interactivity, drawing users in and keeping them engaged. For ASG, the goal was not only to provide value but also to create pathways for further exploration, guiding readers from one section of the guide to other relevant content on the site. This seamless flow encouraged a continuous learning experience, positioning ASG as an authority in the retail strategy space.
From a metrics perspective, this format allowed ASG to track user engagement in real-time, providing valuable insights beyond simple download numbers. They could see which sections were most engaging, how users moved through the content, and where they spent the most time—valuable data that can inform future strategy. The open format also meant ASG could respond and adapt to user behavior, iterating on what resonated most to better support DTC brands with actionable insights.
Ultimately, ASG’s interactive guide provided a modern, accessible way for DTC brands to gain critical retail insights, demonstrating the firm’s expertise while also creating an engaging and valuable resource. By prioritizing user experience and accessibility, ASG successfully transitioned from a static content delivery model to a dynamic, interactive one, leveraging technology to deliver real value in the complex and ever-evolving world of retail.
What’s more, by trading the gated PDF download for a publicly accessible interactive guide, we significantly improved overall user experience and search engine ranking, resulting in:
📈 Average time-on-site up 45% over the quarter
📈 18+ collective hours spent by visitors in the first 90 days
📈 Top-viewed pages on the site for the quarter it launched
Check out the guide here.