The Situation
When we took over the Phoenix account, conversions had effectively stopped. Ads had been rejected, performance had collapsed after earlier account disruptions, and there was no consistent signal left for the platform to learn from. Confidence in what should work had eroded along with the data.
Expectations were still high. The client needed steady progress, a clear plan, and weekly updates that could survive platform volatility without raising new questions every Monday.
We took over paid social strategy, creative direction, testing structure, and ongoing optimization.
The Goal
Get the account back to consistent purchases, establish a stable CPA baseline, and rebuild enough signal for the platform to learn again. Identify which creatives and funnels actually deserved scale, and make weekly progress obvious instead of debatable.
Our Approach
We treated this as a recovery job, not a growth sprint.
Stability came first. We cleaned up what was driving volatility, reintroduced creatives with a proven track record, and made sure the account could run without further disruption. From there, the work became disciplined iteration: refresh what was already showing promise, isolate what was actually driving conversions, and resist the urge to overcorrect on a single bad week.
We avoided aggressive scaling and structural overhauls until the account proved it could sustain consistent conversions. Weekly reporting was part of the strategy, not a deliverable on the side. The point was to make progress explainable, not just visible inside Ads Manager.
Execution Highlights
Refined Proven Creative Instead of Chasing Novelty
Updating the “Simple Pill” creative with new copy drove a 26% reduction in prospecting CPA and quickly became a primary driver of purchases.
Reintroduced Historically Strong Ads Carefully
Creatives that had performed well before the account issues were brought back in a controlled rollout. Four of them ended up driving over 70% of retargeting purchases, with CPAs ranging from $60 to $130.
Assigned Clear Jobs to Prospecting and Retargeting
Prospecting rebuilt volume. Retargeting cleaned up efficiency. Retargeting CPA improved by roughly 80%, giving the account room to stabilize.
Tested Landing Pages Without Forcing Conclusions
A head-to-head test between the Phoenix homepage and a physician-focused landing page came in at a near 50/50 split. Useful data, no rushed verdict.
Results
Weekly CPA improved to $226, down 41% week over week, with 85 purchases in a single week, a 57% increase from the prior period.
Prospecting creatives drove 37 of 64 purchases at a $221 CPA. Retargeting delivered 21 purchases at a $115 average CPA. Conversion rate climbed to 2.12%, confirming the gains were not spend-driven. There were no new ad rejections during the reporting period.
The shift in client confidence mattered as much as the numbers.
“This is the most exciting slide deck update I’ve gotten in a long time.”
That reaction came from seeing a system finally make sense again.
Why This Worked
The turnaround was not about a single clever move. It was about sequencing: stabilize first, build on what was already proven, then scale with intention.
By slowing down just enough to regain control, we avoided chasing short-term wins that would have collapsed a month later. Once the account had a foundation, performance had room to grow.
Strategic Takeaway
This kind of work fits teams dealing with volatility or stalled performance who want progress they can trust. Predictable performance starts with an account that no longer feels fragile.
