CherryTime Season Story
CherryTime Season story · 1 Sep to 8 Nov 2026

We tested every tree. Now we pick the winners.

Ten weeks of paid media on Meta and Google showed us which ideas earn attention. The rest of the season’s budget goes where the fruit is ripest.

R100,000 seasonMeta and GoogleTo 1 January 2027
A hand lifting a single cherry from a plate of fresh cherries
Where the season stands

From blossom to fruit.

Cherry blossom in a Ceres orchard under the mountains
R36,279

spent so far, 36% of the R100,000 season budget

56%

of the season has passed, 69 days in and 54 to go

27,685

new website visitors, against a target of 5,000

R63,721

still to spend, which is our room to back what works

CuriosityDone
AnticipationDone
RelevanceNow
AttentionLate Nov
EngagementDecember
What we tested

Every idea had to earn its place.

We ran each idea against another one, side by side, so the money follows evidence instead of a hunch. Each one now gets a verdict.

Launch reel headlines

Persevere
6.38%vs 4.65% for six other headlines

“The wait is over” beat every other line, shown to the same people in the same weeks.

Retailer carousels

Persevere, Checkers
R0.42per click, Checkers vs R0.60 Pick n Pay

Same spend, same format. The Checkers angle drew far more clicks for every rand.

Google display sizes

Shift
60%of Direct spend sat on one size

The 300×250 and 300×600 units do more of the work, so they get the weight.

Retailer outlet display

Pivot
R1,563across Checkers and Pick n Pay outlets

Plenty of clicks, very few buy clicks. These wait until we can see what happens on the retailer side.

The ripest picks

Three ideas earned the next rand.

Close up of glossy red cherries
Pick one · Launch reel

Urgency earns the click.

7.25%click rate
“The wait is over. CherryTime™ is here.”
6.38%
Six other headlines
4.65%
R0.29per click60,478people reached3×the account average
A woman on a red gingham picnic blanket with a basket of cherries
Pick two · Checkers carousel

Point people to the shelf.

11,637link clicks

A carousel that names where to buy did better than the same carousel pointed at Pick n Pay. It reached 133,392 people at R0.42 a click.

R0.42per click133,392people reached30%fewer clicks on the PnP version
CherryTime post with cherry blossom and the words are simple
Pick three · News led carousel

News travels further.

168,960people reached

“The website is officially open” was our biggest reach of the season and the top organic post on Instagram. Next we test whether the news or the format did the work.

4,754organic reach, our best post517ktimes seen

Photography from the CherryTime™ 2026 image bank. Figures from Meta and Google via Mia, 1 September to 8 November 2026.

Where we aim the rest

Fill the basket with winners.

Most of what is left goes behind proven ideas. Some is held back on purpose, so the next two weeks of results can still move it.

R63,721to spend by 1 January

Tap a part of the basket to see what it pays for.

R526

a day so far

R1,180

a day from here to spend it all

Mid Dec

the reserve moves to the best performer

The next two weeks

How we’ll judge it, 10 to 24 November.

Every test has its keep line and its stop line written down before it starts. On 24 November each one gets a verdict: persevere or pivot.

Meta

R41,000 track
New “CherryTime™ is here” headlinesKeep at 5.5%+ click rateStop at 4.65% or less
More budget on the Checkers carouselKeep under R0.45 a clickStop above R0.60
Two new news led carouselsKeep if reach per R100 beats the website postStop if neither does

Google

R12,000 track
Weight moved to 300×250 and 300×600Keep under R2 per site visitStop above R2.37
Clean conversion counting by 17 NovemberOne buy click counted onceDecember money waits until it is
Retailer outlets pausedRestart once retailer clicks can be tracked
24 NovemberReview with fresh numbers from both platforms, then the December plan locks in.
Want the detail?

The full season report.

Every number on this page, ad by ad and platform by platform, with the plan to 1 January.

Read the full report