The performance trap

Spending more. Growing less.

Does this feel familiar? Every quarter the budget goes up, and every quarter it buys a little less. It's rarely the media buyer. It's the performance trap.

Why growth stalls

Performance media finds buyers. It doesn't make them.

It's brilliant at reaching people who are already looking for what you sell. The trouble is, there are only so many of them, and once you've found them, every extra sale costs more.

Sound familiar?

  • Cost per acquisition creeps up every quarter.
  • Each extra dollar of budget buys less growth.
  • The creative is all offer, so customers wait for the next discount.
  • The same people keep seeing your ads, and new ones aren't coming in.
  • You've switched agencies, platforms or bidding strategies and nothing has moved.
  • Nobody can say why someone should choose you, beyond price.

What's actually going on

Early on, performance media captures the people who were ready to buy anyway. Growth is fast, the numbers look great, and it makes sense to put more money behind it.

But ads built to convert only work on people who've already decided. They don't create more of those people. Without marketing that makes you known, gives people reasons to choose you and stays with them as they decide, the pool of ready buyers stops growing. You end up paying more and more to reach the same people. That's the trap.

How we fix it

Everything has changed.Nothing has changed.

What it costs to make things.

AI has slashed the cost of making and iterating digital assets. Versions, formats, cut-downs and tests that once took weeks of production now take days, for a fraction of the cost.

What makes people buy.

What actually drives growth is the same as it ever was: better marketing. So we put the savings back where they count, into the thinking and the creative that make people choose you.

Where the money goes
Before
ExecutionMarketing
With AI
ExecutionBetter marketing
Cost of executionBetter marketing

Illustrative only.

Here's where the savings go.

  • 01

    A sharper value proposition

    Why you, put in a way buyers actually care about. The thing every piece of work hangs off.

  • 02

    A language set

    The words that make you recognisable and easy to choose, used consistently everywhere.

  • 03

    Creative that stands out

    Work people notice and remember, rather than another ad that looks like the rest of the category.

  • 04

    Content for the whole journey

    A proper mix that takes people from first noticing you to choosing you, rather than just hitting them with an offer.

Who you'll work with

Three senior people. No handoffs.

Growth that has stalled needs someone who can read the numbers, someone who can plan the way out, and someone who can make the work good enough to get people moving again.

Sophie Thomson
Growth, Systems & Paid Media

Sophie Thomson

17+ years leading eCommerce and marketing at WooliesX and Modibodi. Grew a $40M eCommerce P&L by 50% year on year, and has delivered more than $50M in digital campaign sales.

Sophie willFind where your growth is leaking and why, from media and data to CRM and the customer experience.

Aaron Martin
Digital Strategy

Aaron Martin

Has led strategy departments across digital and creative agencies, on brands including nib, Wesfarmers OneDigital, Virgin Money and American Express. Believes brand should drive experiences, and experiences should grow brands.

Aaron willTurn what the audit finds into a plan across channels and the whole buyer's journey.

Jon Kelly
Creative Standards

Jon Kelly

Creative Partner at Queen Charles and former ECD at M&C Saatchi. Work for Woolworths, CommBank, the Australian Olympic Committee, Samsung and Sony. D&AD, Cannes Lions and Effie winner.

Jon willMake sure the work is good enough to stand out, and consistent enough to be remembered.

Results

[Headline about getting growth moving again]

[One or two lines introducing the case studies. Who these clients were and what they had in common.]

[Client name]

[Sector · Market]

The stall
[Where growth had flattened, and what it was costing them.]
What we changed
[The two or three things that made the difference.]
[00%][What it measures, and over what period]
[00×][What it measures, and over what period]

[Client name]

[Sector · Market]

The stall
[Where growth had flattened, and what it was costing them.]
What we changed
[The two or three things that made the difference.]
[00%][What it measures, and over what period]
[$0M][What it measures, and over what period]

[Client name]

[Sector · Market]

The stall
[Where growth had flattened, and what it was costing them.]
What we changed
[The two or three things that made the difference.]
[00%][What it measures, and over what period]
[−00%][What it measures, and over what period]
Where to start

Start with an audit.

Before we recommend anything, we look properly at where you are now. Then we tell you plainly what's holding growth back, and what we'd fix first.

  1. Audit

    Your media, data, creative and content, across every stage of the buyer's journey.

  2. Findings

    Where growth is leaking and why, with the evidence behind it.

  3. Recommendations

    A prioritised plan: what to change, in what order, and what it should deliver.

Book your audit

Tell us a little about your business and we'll be in touch to set it up.

Get in touch