In March 2020 the experience category shut overnight. RedBalloon grew through it.

RedBalloon sells experiences: hot laps, dinners, skydives, days out. COVID didn't dent that category, it closed it. Venues shut, travel stopped, and every forward booking on the books turned into a customer service problem.

Matt was in the room as group marketing director at Big Red Group, RedBalloon's parent. This case predates GRPL the firm, and it is where the method's core conviction got proven under the hardest resistance available: a position is only real if it can move when the market does.

The move

The read happened in days, not quarters: where demand still lived while the category was dark, and what the brand could credibly sell there. The position moved to meet it, the offer followed, and the brand kept selling while the category waited for reopening. When the market came back, RedBalloon came back ahead of it.