Case Studies & Stories
Case Study: Scaling a D2C Brand from $5K to $80K Monthly Spend with 4.2x ROAS
An e-commerce brand came to us spending $5K a month and afraid to scale. Twelve months later they were at $80K with better returns than when they started.
When this client first came to Adxe, they were a direct-to-consumer skincare brand spending $5,000 per month on programmatic. They were getting a 3x ROAS at that level but every time they tried to increase budget, returns collapsed. They had hit a scaling wall.
Twelve months later, they were spending $80,000 per month with a 4.2x ROAS. Here is how we got there.
The Problem
The brand's previous approach was simple: run display retargeting on a single platform targeting people who had visited their site in the last 30 days. At low spend levels, this worked because the retargeting pool was small and high-intent. But that pool has a ceiling. Once they maxed out their warm audience, the only option was to go broader, and broader meant lower-quality impressions and worse returns.
Phase 1: Expanding the Funnel (Months 1-3)
We started by building a prospecting layer using native advertising. Instead of only retargeting existing site visitors, we used our models to identify new users who looked like the brand's best customers. Native ads drove these users to educational content about the products, building interest before asking for a purchase.
This expanded the retargeting pool by 5x within three months without diluting quality. Budget increased to $15,000 per month. ROAS held steady at 3.1x.
Phase 2: Adding Channels (Months 4-7)
With the prospecting engine running, we layered in additional channels. Display retargeting remained the conversion workhorse. We added in-app placements targeting beauty and lifestyle app users. And we tested CTV with short video spots to build broader brand awareness.
Each channel played a specific role in the funnel. CTV and native for awareness. In-app for mid-funnel engagement. Display for retargeting and conversion. Budget grew to $40,000 per month. ROAS improved to 3.6x as the cross-channel effects kicked in.
Phase 3: Optimisation and Scale (Months 8-12)
With the multi-channel framework in place, we focused on optimisation. Creative testing every two weeks. Bid model tuning based on incrementality data. Frequency cap adjustments across channels. Budget allocation shifting dynamically based on real-time performance.
By month twelve, the brand was spending $80,000 per month with a 4.2x ROAS, better returns at 16x the original budget. The key was that we did not just spend more money on the same approach. We built a system where each dollar of spend made the next dollar more efficient.
The Lesson
Scaling programmatic is not about turning up the budget dial. It is about building layers, prospecting to feed retargeting, multiple channels reinforcing each other, and models that improve with more data. That is what Adxe is designed to do.
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