Optimizing Digital Ad Campaigns

Is THIS the best ad campaign ever? In 2015, Sport England challenged ad agency FCB Global to close the 2 million strong gender gap by getting women more active. The agency used the insight that women often feel 'fear of judgement' in exercise, to create the campaign 'This Girl Can'. The campaign is a rallying cry to women to get active in THEIR own way by replacing fear with a 'don't give a damn' attitude. This is shown with bold copywriting, relatable casting, REAL moments (the make-up smudged under the eyes, normal jiggling bodies, menopausal sweat, period cramps, tampon string hanging out your pants) and a true sense of female camaraderie. Since it's launch: - 3 million women were inspired to exercise as a direct result of seeing the campaign - 1000+ social media mentions each day - 37m views across social media - 500,000 active members in the This Girl Can community - Cannes Lions award The campaign is evidence that advertising can make great impact and drive change in many little corners of the world. THIS is the result of a clear brief, unifying insight and - in this case - a dedicated female creative team who truly 'understand' their audience. But more than that, it's the result of a LONG-TERM campaign that has been running for almost decade, and continues to re-engage the audience in various different ways, globally. I think there is such a short-term mindset in advertising nowadays. Mainly due to the fast-paced nature of social media, the need to 'go viral' and the economic need for performance marketing tactics to generate cashflow. But without the longer-term brand campaigns, we are missing the ability to build strong narratives and make REAL change in the world. And with that, stronger brand salience, brand love and LEGACY. This is an element of advertising that I fell in love with years ago. And an element that I see really defining which brands stand the test of time, an which fall apart years down the line.

I've run 20,000 ads and spent $150M on Meta. Benchmarks I've found over 6 years: 1. 1 new creative concept per $10k in monthly spend. At $500k/month that's 50 concepts (~3 ads per concept, more for static-heavy). 2. At $100k/mo, aim for 70% new concepts and 30% variations. As you scale past $1m/mo, max out at 50/50. But never drop below 50% new. 3. 70% of your creatives should be cut before week 2. Only 10-20% will ever hit your performance threshold. If you're keeping most of your ads alive, you're probably losing money. 4. Your top 1-2% of ads should drive 50% of total spend. If they don't, you haven't found real winners yet or you haven't utilized them well enough. 5. Big swings have lower hit rates (5-10%) but higher total potential. These are the ads that can scale to $1m+ in spend. 6. 70% video, 30% static for most ecom brands. New brands need more video (more education, less BOF audience). Clothing should lean heavier static (lots of SKUs to show). 7. 15-20% of budget goes to testing. Under 10% and your creative pipeline dries up. Over 25% and you're burning cash without enough scale behind winners. 8. When you 2x spend, expect 20-30% ROAS decline. A $30 CPA at $50k/month might become $40 at $200k. Scale requires better ads, better optimization, better structure, or lower targets. 9. Limit bid and budget changes to 25% max. For 90% of changes, smaller and more frequent changes outperform bigger ones. 10. Meta always targets returning customers. Aim to keep returning conversions under 15-20%. Accept it and plan around it. 11. Ad copy can improve performance up to 50%. But a great ad outperforms by 500%. Copy matters, but the creative itself is where the real leverage is. 12. A great media buyer improves ROAS 100%+ vs a bad one. Creative strategists make better decisions when they're working off clean data and with better media buyers, because the scaled ads are actual winners. Hope this helps. What others have I missed?

More Ad Spend ≠ More Sales Scaling is a trap that no one talks about. Most marketers think scaling is simple: Increase ad spend → Get more customers → Grow revenue. But that’s not how it works. In fact, blindly increasing budget is one of the fastest ways to kill your ad performance. Here’s why: 1. Rising CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) – More budget means entering higher-cost auctions and reaching less-qualified audiences. If your targeting, creatives, and funnel aren’t optimized, you’re just paying more for worse results. 2. Creative Fatigue – Scaling too fast with the same ad creatives leads to audience burnout. People stop engaging, CTR drops, and suddenly, your winning ad becomes a money pit. 3. Lack of Offer Optimization – If your offer doesn’t convert at a small scale, spending more won’t fix it. It's the classic problem of a poor product/service cannot be fixed with great performance marketing strategy. 4. Misleading ROAS Metrics – A campaign might look profitable at ₹ 10000/day but break down at ₹50000/day due to diminishing returns. If you’re not tracking LTV and profitability, you could be scaling unprofitably. So what should you do instead? 1. Test Before You Scale – Validate your offer, audience, and creatives before increasing spend. 2. Scale in Stages – Increase budget incrementally while monitoring CAC and conversion rates. 3. Optimize Your Funnel First – If your website, checkout process, or backend conversion flow isn’t solid, no amount of ad spend will save you. Scaling isn’t just about spending more. It’s about spending smarter. Have you seen this happen before?

Pro tip from a PPC expert: 🎯 ❌ No clear account structure = wasted budget ❌ No winning strategy = clicks don’t convert ❌ No optimization & tracking = flying blind Master these 3 pillars and turn campaigns into cash. 💸🚀 ✅ Structure your account for clarity ✅ Define a focused strategy for growth ✅ Optimize & track every click for insights Here’s a quick deep-dive into those three pillars—with a mini case to bring it to life: 1. Crystal-Clear Account Structure✅ What it is: Organizing campaigns → ad-groups → keywords so your ads serve the right message to the right audience. 👉 Why it matters: Keeps budgets separate, makes performance easy to diagnose, and prevents irrelevant traffic. 👉Example: A footwear brand splits its “Running Shoes” campaign into two ad-groups—“Men’s Running Shoes” and “Women’s Running Shoes”—each with tailored headlines and keywords. This way, female shoppers only see “Women’s Running Shoes” ads, boosting relevancy and Quality Score. 2. Focused Strategy✅ What it is: Defining clear goals (e.g., maximize ROAS, boost sign-ups) and matching bids, placements, and ad copy to those goals. 👉Why it matters: Stops you from spending on low-value clicks and aligns every dollar with your business objective. 👉Example: If your goal is to drive trial sign-ups, you bid aggressively on “free trial + [your product]” keywords and use ad copy like “Start Your Free 14-Day Trial Today,” rather than generic “buy now” language. 3. Continuous Optimization & Tracking ✅ What it is: Installing conversion tracking, monitoring key metrics (CTR, CPC, CPA, ROAS), and iterating—testing new headlines, adjusting bids, pausing under-performers. 👉Why it matters: Without data, you’re flying blind; with it, you can cut wasted spend and double down on winners. 👉 Example: After 2 weeks, the brand notices “Women’s Running Shoes” ads have a 3% CTR vs. “Men’s” at 1.2%. They shift more budget to the higher-CTR group and test a new headline (“Shop Top Women’s Running Styles”)—CTR jumps to 4%. ✅Bottom Line: Structure → Strategy → Optimization: nail these in order, and you turn random clicks into reliable revenue. Follow Kautilya Roshan for more insight 😊 #GoogleAds #PPC #DigitalMarketing #GrowthHacking

This math formula will change how you optimize your ACOS. Everyone knows: ACOS = Ad Spend / Ad Sales But that doesn't tell you the full story. Here's the real formula: ACOS = CPC / (CVR × Price) × 100 The breakdown: Ad Spend = CPC × Clicks Ad Sales = CVR × Price × Clicks Simplify it and you get: CPC / (CVR × Price) What this reveals: ACOS has three levers: →CPC (advertising lever) →CVR (listing quality lever) →Price (strategy lever) Only ONE is about advertising. Real example: You have 30% ACOS and want 20%. Three ways to get there: → Drop your CPC by 33% → Boost your CVR by 50% → Raise your price by 50% All three deliver the same ACOS result. The insight: →Most sellers only touch CPC. →They just lower bids and except low ACOS. →Meanwhile, a better main image could've fixed CVR. →Or a price change with advertising adjustments could increase margins. My point: →ACOS problems aren't always advertising problems. →Sometimes it's your listing. Sometimes it's your pricing. Stop treating ACOS like a bidding issue when it might be a conversion issue. Which lever(s) are you ignoring?

We spent $10,000+ testing where to send ad traffic (Homepage vs. Product page) And the results surprised me. 🧪 We tested two paths for Neat (our sweat-proof shirt brand): • Product Detail Pages (PDPs) — direct, conversion-focused • Homepage — better storytelling, discovery-oriented The surprising winner for scaling ads? 🏡 Homepage. Here’s the TL;DR: 💡 Product Pages (PDPs) Pros: • Highest efficiency (best ROAS + lowest CAC) • Great for high-intent shoppers Cons: • Scaling hit a ceiling (especially if size/color combos fluctuate) • Limited browsing = missed cross-sells or other variants • Not flexible for inventory changes or sell out issues 🏠 Homepage Pros: • Scaled 3x on paid ads at a $42 CPA compared to PDPs • Allows people to explore variants and collections • Better for discovery shoppers Cons: • Slightly lower ROAS (but still profitable and scales) • Can introduce friction vs. a focused funnel Our strategy in 2026: ➡️ Keep testing both. ➡️ Use PDPs when we have inventory and persona dialed in. ➡️ Scale with homepage traffic when we want broader reach without bottlenecks. Here’s the screenshot of our test. Curious — what’s worked better for your brand when it comes to scaling paid traffic?

"Set it and forget it" doesn't work on any platform – let alone LinkedIn Ads. Here's what you need to do regularly 👇 Why? Because seasonality, trends, and traffic patterns change. So, here's what you need to be doing: 1. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀: Daily spend can go up to 50% over what you set. Always plan for this buffer to avoid budgeting surprises. 2. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗱𝘀: Are you bidding too high and overpaying? Are you bidding too low and cutting off traffic? Iterate to find the sweet spot, but monitor - because monthly & seasonal traffic patterns can throw a wrench in prices. 3. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: As your campaign runs, you'll see the companies, sizes, and job titles reached. Often some not-ideal-fits, competitors, or current customers sneak through. Monitor and exclude them to cut the fat on your campaigns.     4. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Identify which campaigns & ads are driving results. Understand the trends. Pause down lower performers, and shift to better performers.     5. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: Once a person sees the same ad a few times, "ad blindness" begins to set in, and they'll scroll by assuming they've already seen it before. Refresh your layouts, your brand templates, and say things in new ways to break through. This is how you really hone-in an ad campaign over time.

You don't need $1M in ad spend to benefit from AMC. But you're probably wasting money if you start too early. I get this question all the time: When IS the right time for a brand to dive into Amazon Marketing Cloud? AMC isn't for brands just starting out. You need to have an existing customer base to really benefit from it. The ideal candidate should have: 1. An established product with meaningful sales volume 2. Some history on Amazon to build audience data from 3. At least $5-10K monthly ad spend (though more data = better insights) But don't think you need to be a massive brand to see results. Our goal is to implement AMC across ALL our clients - from those spending $10K monthly to those spending $1M+ Start slow. We typically begin with just a 10% bid increase on specific audiences rather than going all-in with 100% increases. Test, learn, and scale based on conversion rates and costs. The beauty of AMC is that it works at various scales. You don't need to wait until you're spending six figures on ads to benefit from the insights.

Want to scale your Meta Ads without wasting ad spend? Here’s the framework I use to turn chaos into performance: ✅ 𝟭. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗕𝗢 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 • Create a CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization) campaign for prospecting. • Launch ads in packs (4–6 creatives), each as a new ad set. • Facebook will automatically allocate spend to top performers. • If you need to force budget to an ad, use ad set spending limits—but go slow ($10/day max to start). • This creates a competitive testing environment that naturally filters top creatives. ✅ 𝟮. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 • Graduate winning creatives into a dedicated scaling campaign. • This campaign should be broad targeting only, minimal to no restrictions. • Do NOT pause the winning ads in the testing campaign - let them run in both places. • Scaling campaigns should eventually have 5–10 top creatives, with growing budgets over time. • Monitor performance and grow budgets methodically. ✅ 𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗺 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 • Segment your campaigns into: • Prospecting (100% net-new customers) • Retargeting (site visitors / add to carts who haven't purchased) • Retention (existing customers / purchasers) • Use custom audience exclusions and CRM lists (e.g., from Klaviyo) to enforce clean segmentation. • Each lane should have distinct budgets, KPIs, and expectations. ✅ 𝟰. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 • Analyze performance data by day of week, platform, placement, age, and landing page. • Use data from Meta Ads, Google Ads, and Shopify together. • Increase weekend spend if data shows higher conversions (e.g., Fri–Sun). • Rebalance weekday budgets downward accordingly. • Re-assess performance every 4 weeks. 🔁 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 • Never pause a working ad - always duplicate into new campaigns. • Data-led decision-making beats intuition. Let Meta do the heavy lifting. • Use Shopify data to validate ad platform insights. • Track graduation timing and only assess ad success from that time onward. #PerformanceMarketing #MetaAds #GrowthMarketing #EcommerceMarketing #CustomerAcquisition #ROAS #Meta

Campaigns are not one-size-fits-all. Especially when you're talking to customers across different regions. Combining marketing teams into a single unit that looks after multiple geographies bring efficiency. But it also introduces complexity—because what works in New York won’t always land in New Delhi. So, how do you really connect with customers across such diverse markets? You test. Run localized market experiments to uncover: What benefits resonate most in Texas versus Toronto. How value propositions shift between Sydney and Singapore. What creative actually feels culturally relevant (not just translated). Here’s how you get it right: - Test benefits, messaging, and cultural fit on live platforms like Meta or LinkedIn using Heatseeker. - Use behavior-driven insights—CTR, CPA, engagement metrics—to guide decisions. - Stealth test where needed to mitigate risk and gather unbiased feedback. - Optimize campaigns iteratively to scale what works, fast. The result is campaigns that speak the language-beyond just words. Data-backed insights into what drives customers in that specific local. A scalable playbook for delivering localized campaigns that convert. Your streamlined team now has the tools to drive success.