Industry: Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) eCommerce
Product Type: Mid-priced lifestyle product (average order value ~$65)
Primary Channels: Facebook/Instagram Ads, Google Search & Shopping
Ad Spend Start Point: $10,000/month
Final Ad Spend: $110,000/month
Target ROAS: 2.5x+
Timeframe: 6 months
Objectives
- Rapidly scale paid media while maintaining profitable Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
- Build a full-funnel advertising strategy for cold, warm, and hot audiences.
- Optimize creatives and landing pages based on performance data.
Challenges
- CPMs were rising in Q4 (competitive ad season).
- Creative fatigue and ad blindness started at ~$20K/month spend.
- Attribution inconsistencies between Meta Ads and Google Analytics post-iOS 14.5.
Strategy Overview
Phase 1: Establishing Baseline (Month 1–2)
- Spent ~$10K–$15K/month on Meta Ads focused on retargeting + lookalikes.
- Built audiences using video views and add-to-cart events.
- Launched initial Google Shopping campaigns for branded + non-branded terms.
Result: ROAS ~3.1x, first-party email list grew 22%, and customer acquisition cost (CAC) dropped 18%.
Phase 2: Creative Testing & Funnel Diversification (Month 3–4)
- Increased budget to $40K–$55K/month.
- Deployed 5–8 new creatives every 2 weeks (UGC, founder story, product demos).
- Created TOF (Top of Funnel) + MOF (Middle of Funnel) split campaigns.
- Launched Performance Max on Google, synced with Shopify feed.
Result: ROAS stabilized at ~2.6x despite 4x increase in spend. CTR increased 22% with UGC + testimonial ads. Email revenue contributed 18% of monthly sales via Klaviyo flows.
Phase 3: Scaling & Optimization (Month 5–6)
- Scaled Meta spend to $85K/month, Google to ~$25K/month.
- Introduced geo-specific campaigns in top 5 states with highest conversion rate.
- A/B tested landing pages and bundles—one new bundle increased AOV by 14%.
- Segmented email flows by behavior (e.g., “viewed but not purchased”).
Result: Hit $110K/month ad spend with 2.52x blended ROAS. Email list crossed 100K subscribers. Repeat purchase rate improved by 19%.
Key Tactics That Drove Results
- Creative Volume: Fresh creatives biweekly kept CTR high and CPMs low.
- First-Party Data: Leveraged email and SMS to offset rising CAC.
- Bundling Offers: Improved margins and AOV, allowing more aggressive bidding.
- Attribution Modeling: Used Triple Whale and post-purchase surveys to cross-check Meta underreporting.
- Geo Optimization: Focused spend on zip codes with highest LTV.
Final Metrics Summary
| Metric | Month 1 | Month 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Spend | $10,000 | $110,000 |
| ROAS | 3.1x | 2.52x |
| AOV | $58 | $66 |
| CAC | $24 | $26 |
| Conversion Rate | 2.8% | 3.3% |
| Email Revenue % | 8% | 19% |
Lessons Learned
- Scaling is more about systems (creative pipeline, data, email) than just budget.
- Platform diversification helped reduce dependency on Meta.
- Creative testing is not optional—it’s the fuel for sustainable scaling.
- ROAS may dip slightly while scaling, but marginal profit can still increase due to volume.
