PRACTICE 02 · PERFORMANCE
Performance Advertising
Paid acquisition is the part of marketing that has to pay for itself. We build the channel mix, the creative cadence, the bidding logic, and the attribution model that makes the spend accountable to pipeline, not to clicks.
ENGAGEMENT SHAPE
90-day audit → multi-quarter execution retainer
Typical first engagement: a 90-day channel audit and a multi-quarter retainer that takes over execution. We do not work on a media-buy-only model — the channel and the brand work have to be coordinated.
WHAT WE DO
The work, in concrete terms.
Channel mix audit: search, social, programmatic, connected TV, audio, partnerships
Creative cadence: the operating system for shipping 8–16 creative variants per quarter
Bidding and pacing: portfolio bid strategies, dayparting, and incrementality testing
Landing-page architecture: the post-click experience that converts qualified intent
Attribution: MMM, MTA, or geo-test-based — chosen by the problem, not by our preference
Quarterly incrementality testing to keep the channel mix honest
WHY IT MATTERS
The mechanism, not the artifact.
Performance is a creative problem, not a bidding problem.
The channel mix will not save a weak creative. We invest the bulk of our performance work in creative cadence — variants, hooks, formats, and the operating rhythm that ships them. Bidding is a hygiene problem.
Attribution is a precondition.
If you cannot trace a dollar of spend to a pipeline event, the work is not worth doing. We build the attribution model in your stack, in your data, with your analytics team. We do not require a particular vendor.
Incrementality is the only honest test.
Platform-reported ROAS is an overstatement. We run incrementality tests — geo, holdout, or audience-based — to keep the channel mix honest and to defend the spend against short-term optimization pressure.
DELIVERABLES
What you receive.
- 01A 90-day channel audit and operating plan with named owners, named budgets, named reviews
- 02A creative cadence system (8–16 variants per quarter, with testing roadmap)
- 03A landing-page architecture with copy and design guidance
- 04A attribution model documented, in your stack, with named sources and methods
- 05A quarterly incrementality testing calendar and last-cycle results
- 06A weekly performance memo, distributed to the leadership team
OUTCOMES WE TRACK
How success is measured.
- A measurable reduction in CAC over a 4-quarter window
- A demonstrable improvement in LTV/CAC ratio for the channels we operate
- A documented attribution model that survives a CFO-level audit
- A consistent creative cadence that produces 8–16 tested variants per quarter
- A weekly performance memo that the leadership team actually reads
PRACTICE FAQ
On this practice specifically.
Do you take over media buying from an incumbent agency?
We do. We have replaced agencies that optimized for clicks, agencies that could not defend incrementality, and agencies that did not coordinate creative with channel. We have also left well-performing incumbents in place and only added the analytics layer.
What is your minimum media budget to engage?
We will not engage on a media budget that cannot support a statistically defensible incrementality test in the first 90 days. That floor varies by category. We will tell you in the first call.
NEXT STEP
Bring us the brief.
Six-week diagnostic, NDA from day one, written point of view. We will tell you in the first call whether we are the right firm for the problem.