The Client
Therma Haus is a traditional sauna and cold plunge studio in Denver's RiNo Art District. In its first three months of advertising, our Instagram, Facebook and Google Ads for the studio brought 140+ new customer bookings at about $17 each, and the studio signed 39 new memberships at about $29 per membership.
The studio has two Finnish saunas built from Western Red Cedar, heated to 185°F and 200°F, and four custom cold plunges from 40°F to 60°F. Guests book online in Momence, the studio's booking system. New guests start with a low-cost intro visit, and the studio signs them to a monthly membership in person.
We started planning the launch with the owner in February 2026, months before the doors opened: the split between Google and Meta, the opening offers and the landing page. The ads went live on July 20, a few weeks after the doors opened, and the Meta offer campaign brought its first 4 new customer bookings in its first week in August.
0 new customer bookings from ads at opening. 140+ bookings and 39 new memberships three months later.
The Challenge
- A brand-new business. Only a few weeks of history and no conversion data: the booking-system tracking was brand new, so the ad platforms had nothing to learn from.
- A category new to many locals. Contrast therapy, sauna then cold plunge, was new to many people nearby, so the ads had to sell the experience, not just the address.
- Established competitors. Denver already has well-known sauna and cold plunge studios with loyal followings.
- One neighborhood to win. Members come back weekly, so every dollar had to reach people who live or work close to RiNo.
Our Strategy: Social Proof and Direct-to-Consumer Sales
We ran two of the most proven strategies for a new local studio at once: social proof, so a brand-new studio looks like the place to be, and direct-to-consumer sales, with a low-cost intro offer and membership offers that turn interest into bookings and memberships. Instagram and Facebook carried the launch. On Google, Search campaigns and Google Business Profile ads on Maps captured the people already searching, and we tested video ads with Demand Gen on YouTube Shorts.
1. Social Proof With Instagram Launch Videos
From July 20, 2026, an Instagram campaign put short launch videos in front of people in 10 central Denver ZIP codes: "Denver, We're Officially Open", "The ritual begins", "Submerge yourself", "Heat. Cold. Repeat." It drove 3,500+ Instagram profile visits at under $0.50 each and 470+ new followers, and across both Meta campaigns the ads brought 550+ new followers to a profile that was only weeks old.
2. Direct-to-Consumer Offers on Instagram and Facebook
From August 6, an offer campaign sold the studio straight to the consumer on Instagram and Facebook, with a Prospecting ad set to find new guests and a Scale ad set for the winners. We tested a single-guest intro offer (2 sessions for $25) against a group offer; the single-guest offer won decisively. The intro offer is the door opener: guests come in for a low-cost first visit, and the studio signs them to a monthly membership in person. In October we added an ad for a 5-sessions-for-$99 pack, which brought bookings at about 30% less per booking than the original intro ads, and a first-month-half-off membership offer.
- 79 new customer bookings reported by Meta Ads, from 4 in the offer campaign's first week to 15 in its last full week, with the cost per booking down 39% from August to October
- 61 of the 79 came from the single-guest intro offer
- 56 of the 79 came from Instagram, where the launch videos had already built the audience
3. Google Search for the Searches That Book
From late August, an exact-match Search campaign for the searches that book: "sauna near me", "sauna Denver", "cold plunge near me", "ice bath Denver", "contrast therapy Denver". A separate campaign protects the Therma Haus name, so people searching for the studio find its own ad first. The ads lead with the grand-opening offer, with a price list, a membership promotion and 15 callouts.
- 8.9% click-through rate on non-brand searches, above the 7.18% health and fitness average
- Under $2 a click on those searches, 60% below the industry's $5.00
- Shown at the top of the page on 85% of impressions
4. Google Business Profile Ads on Maps
A local campaign built on the studio's Google Business Profile puts Therma Haus in front of people searching on Google Maps. It earned 79,000+ Google Maps impressions at $0.91 a click, and across the account Google counted 3,300+ Business Profile actions, including 280+ direction requests to the studio.
5. Video Ads on Instagram, Facebook and Demand Gen
Video carried the launch. Across the Meta campaigns the studio's short videos drew 350,000+ video plays, 16,000+ ThruPlays at $0.45 each and 89,000+ engagements. On Google we tested the same videos as Demand Gen ads on YouTube Shorts: 1,100+ views at $0.23 a view, with weekly views growing more than 7x at the same budget.
6. Optimization via Ad Campaign Concierge™
Both accounts are managed through our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ system: tracking of bookings in the studio's booking system, search-term mining and negatives, offer and creative testing, and budget moved toward the offers and searches that bring paying guests.
The Results
Google Ads counts bookings from September 30, when its purchase tracking went live; October runs to the 20th.
| Milestone | Result |
|---|---|
| February 2026, before opening | Launch plan built with the owner: the Google and Meta split, the opening offers and the landing page |
| July 20, 2026 | Instagram launch videos live in 10 central Denver ZIP codes |
| First week of the offer ads (August) | First 4 new customer bookings from the Meta offer ads |
| Late August to September | Google Search, then Google Business Profile ads and a Demand Gen video test |
| Best Meta week (October 12 to 18) | 15 new customer bookings reported by Meta |
| October 1 to 20 on Google | 60 new customer bookings reported by Google Ads |
| Three months in | 140+ new customer bookings at about $17 each, 39 new memberships at about $29 each |
- 140+ new customer bookings reported by the ad platforms in three months (79 reported by Meta Ads, 63 by Google Ads since its purchase tracking went live on September 30)
- About $17 per booking, Google and Meta combined, less than a third of the health and fitness average cost of a single search-ad lead ($62.80, WordStream/LocaliQ 2025)
- 39 new memberships at about $29 per membership, recurring monthly revenue for a studio that had just opened
- 100,000+ people in central Denver reached by the Instagram and Facebook ads
- 350,000+ video plays and 550+ new Instagram followers from the ads
- 79,000+ Google Maps impressions and 280+ direction requests counted by Google Ads
October: Meta Paused Because It Worked
By the summer the owner told us the studio was signing about ten new clients a week and would run out of space within a couple of months. That is what happened: three months in, the studio was signing new members faster than it could take them, and the owner asked us to pause the Instagram and Facebook ads. Google Ads keeps running. We didn't pause Meta because it failed; we paused it because it succeeded.
Key Takeaways
- Launch with social proof, sell with an offer. The Instagram campaign gave a brand-new studio 550+ new followers; the offer campaign turned that attention into 79 new customer bookings reported by Meta, from 4 in its first week to 15 in its last full week.
- Let the intro visit sell the membership. A $25 intro offer brings new guests through the door, and the studio signs them to a monthly membership in person: 39 new memberships at about $29 per membership.
- Win the searches that book. Google Search, brand protection and Business Profile ads brought 60 new customer bookings in the first 20 days of October.
- Be on the map. Google Business Profile ads earned 79,000+ Google Maps impressions, and across the account Google counted 280+ direction requests to a studio that had just opened.
- Lead with one simple offer. The single-guest intro offer brought 61 of Meta's 79 new customer bookings, against 10 for the group offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast can a new sauna or cold plunge studio get bookings from ads?
Fast. Therma Haus's Meta offer ads went live on August 6, 2026 and brought 4 new customer bookings in their first week and 15 in their last full week. Google Ads added 60 in the first 20 days of October. In three months the ads brought 140+ new customer bookings, and the studio signed 39 new memberships.
Should a sauna studio advertise on Instagram or on Google?
Both, with different jobs. Instagram and Facebook ads introduced the new studio: 100,000+ people in central Denver reached, 550+ new Instagram followers and 79 new customer bookings reported by Meta. Google Ads captured people already searching for a sauna, a cold plunge or the studio by name: 60 new customer bookings in the first 20 days of October 2026, as reported by Google Ads. Together they brought bookings at about $17 each.
How much does a new customer booking cost for a sauna studio?
At Therma Haus, about $17 per new customer booking across Google and Meta combined, and about $29 per new membership, based on the studio's booking system. That is less than a third of the health and fitness average cost of a single search-ad lead ($62.80, WordStream/LocaliQ Google Ads Benchmarks 2025). Costs vary by market, offer and budget.
What offer works best in ads for a new wellness studio?
A low-cost introductory offer for one person, with the membership sold in person. At Therma Haus, the 2-sessions-for-$25 intro offer outsold the group offer by a wide margin: 61 of Meta's 79 new customer bookings came from the single-guest intro ads, and the studio signed 39 new memberships in three months. An ad for a 5-sessions-for-$99 pack, added in October, then brought bookings at about 30% less per booking than the original intro ads.
About This Campaign
Google Ads for sauna and cold plunge studios, plus Instagram and Facebook ads, built with our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ optimization system.
Industry: Wellness (Sauna & Cold Plunge Studio) Platforms: Meta Ads (Instagram and Facebook), Google Ads (Search, Google Business Profile ads, Demand Gen on YouTube Shorts) Location: RiNo Art District, Denver, Colorado Account Duration: July 2026 (still running today on Google Ads; Meta paused in October 2026)
New customer bookings are bookings paid for in Momence, the studio's booking system, as reported by each ad account: Meta Ads purchases from July 30, 2026, when the booking-system pixel went live (Meta's 7-day click, 1-day view and 1-day engaged-view attribution), and Google Ads "Purchase - Booking Confirmed" conversions (all conversions, data-driven attribution) from September 30, 2026, when purchase tracking went live. Each platform reports its own results, so a guest who saw both may be counted by each. Cost per booking, new memberships and cost per membership come from the studio's booking system, Google and Meta combined, because many bookings were never attributed to an ad by the ad platforms. Industry averages: WordStream/LocaliQ Google Ads Benchmarks, 2025 edition, Health & Fitness (cost per click $5.00, click-through rate 7.18%, cost per lead $62.80). Figures cover July 20 to October 20, 2026; large figures are rounded down. All amounts are in US dollars.