Studio Play: From crisis recovery to e-commerce success story

How ClickForest transformed a hacked Instagram account and an outdated webshop into a digital growth engine, through smart Shopify integration, marketing, and real-time dashboarding.

In the media

"Antwerp children's store Play loses more than 45,000 followers due to Instagram hacking. Meta simply doesn't respond to us."
Gazet van Antwerpen

Challenge: Studio Play lost access to their Instagram account due to a hack. Their existing online store no longer met the expectations of today's customers.

Approach: First, we successfully restored their Instagram account thanks to our connections at Meta. This was followed by a complete UX audit (Hotjar heatmaps & recordings) and then a brand-new Shopify webshop, connected to their point-of-sale system across three stores.

Recovery and growth: from hack to new webshop

When Studio Play lost their Instagram account, they were able to count on immediate action through ClickForest. Thanks to our contacts at Meta, the account — with more than 40,000 followers — was safely recovered within a few days. This news even made it into the Gazet van Antwerpen.

After this crisis recovery, it immediately became clear that the digital strategy needed updating. We conducted a thorough UX/UI audit using Hotjar (heatmaps & recordings) to map customer behavior and pain points on the existing website. Based on this, we built a completely new wireframe and then the entire Shopify webshop, including seamless integration with their physical stores via the Shopify POS system. With this approach, we created a conversion-focused shop that is ready for online marketing and growth.

Online marketing, SEO & real-time dashboards

Following the successful launch of the online store, ClickForest initiated a full-service marketing program: Meta and Instagram ads (catalog sales, conversion, awareness & traffic), Google Search & Display, and Google Shopping via Merchant Center. Additionally, we built a real-time dashboard for Studio Play, allowing them to monitor all results live — from ROAS to sales and visitors.

SEO gained a prominent place in the strategy: from technical optimization to SEO audits with Ubersuggest and Google Search Console. Thanks to the combination of conversion-focused campaigns, smart data analysis, and a revamped webshop, the conversion rates and the number of purchases increased sharply. Studio Play can now monitor and adjust marketing performance at any time, completely transparently and in real time.

Results that keep growing

Studio Play continues to grow year after year thanks to the solid foundation that has been laid: a future-proof Shopify webshop, powerful online campaigns, and complete transparency in all results. The collaboration continues to expand, and Studio Play is ready for the next digital step.