E-commerce / fashion retailer
Turning $50k of media spend into $426k
A clothing retailer was spending hard on Meta and Google and getting thin returns. A quarter of restructuring, testing and budget discipline turned $50k into $426k.
01 / 04Challenge
Spend outpacing returns
Spend was increasing, but returns weren't keeping pace.
In a category this competitive, every dollar had to drive qualified traffic and sustainable sales, not just impressions.
Schematic, not measured: spend rising faster than the return on it.
Budget per quarter
$50k
Platforms, Meta and Google
2
Timeline
3 months
Scale a $50,000 quarterly budget across two platforms while lifting return on ad spend rather than diluting it.
02 / 04Approach
Let the data move the money
Three moves, all aimed at return rather than reach: who to buy, what each of them sees, and where the money goes.
01
Buy the right people, cheaper
Detailed demographic, interest and lookalike audiences were used to reach high-value users at lower cost per click, with retargeting layered over cart abandoners.
02
Structure campaigns around the journey
Campaigns were aligned to customer journey stages across both platforms, so someone seeing the brand for the first time and someone who'd already added to cart weren't served the same message.
03
Let the data move the money
Budget followed performance. It was reallocated toward high-performing segments and shifted between platforms as the numbers changed, rather than split on a fixed ratio.
The loop that ran all quarter
Every creative and audience was tested and measured. Winners were scaled, the weakest phased out, and the budget moved to whatever was converting.
03 / 04Solution
Budget follows performance
The budget stopped sitting on a fixed split. Step by step it moved toward the audiences, creative and moments that were converting.
01Before
A fixed split
Budget was divided across Meta and Google on a fixed ratio. Spend was rising, but returns weren't keeping pace.
02Audiences
Campaigns by journey stage
- Refined demographic, interest and lookalike audiences to reach higher-value customers
- Layered retargeting across website visitors and cart abandoners
- Structured campaigns around customer journey stages to improve relevance and conversion
03Creative
Test, scale, phase out
- Tested creative formats, visuals, messaging and callouts across Meta and Google
- Scaled winning variations based on performance
- Phased out underperforming creative to keep campaigns efficient
04Reallocation
Budget follows performance
Reallocated budget towards stronger-performing campaigns, audiences and platforms.
Shifted between platforms as the numbers changed, never split on a fixed ratio.
05Seasonal
More behind the peaks
- Increased investment around key holiday and event periods
- Tailored offers and creative to capture increased purchase intent during peak periods
06The return
$50k in, $426k back
The same quarter's spend, pointed at what converted, returned eight dollars for every one.
04 / 04Results
What moved
One quarter: $426k in revenue from $50k of media, and revenue, return on ad spend and purchases all up on the quarter before.
Spend and revenue on one scale: the revenue bar is eight and a half spends long.
Each result against the quarter before, indexed to 100
Revenue Generated
+12.6% quarter on quarter
A stronger combination of audience targeting, creative performance and seasonal demand capture helped drive 12.6% quarter-on-quarter revenue growth.
Return on Ad Spend
+19.8% quarter on quarter
Continuous performance analysis allowed spend to follow the strongest opportunities across campaigns and platforms, contributing to a 19.8% quarter-on-quarter increase in ROAS.
Purchases
+10.6% quarter on quarter
More relevant targeting and customer journey optimisation helped turn stronger campaign performance into 10.6% quarter-on-quarter growth in purchases.