40+ problem-led ad creatives in 75 days: Meta CAC −10.5%, ROAS +20.5%
Commentary byROASArchiveOur analysis, not theirsJanky Patel rebuilt the Meta creative for an 8-figure DTC brand around hooks that show the customer's problem, and over 75 days CAC fell 10.5% while ROAS rose 20.5%.
The work covered 40+ new ad creatives across several formats.
The newsletter credits the new ads with $75,000+ in new revenue.
- Meta CAC: down 10.5%. A modest but useful drop for a brand at this size.
- ROAS: up 20.5% with the new ad creatives.
- New revenue: $75,000+ attributed to the work, per the newsletter.
- Not shared: spend, absolute CAC or ROAS, conversions, or which hooks and formats won.
The change
Before
The brand had falling ROAS, tracking trouble after iOS changes, little variety in its ads and no set process for reviewing creative.
After
The team set messaging around specific pain points, wrote briefs, and tested 40+ ads in formats such as video b-roll, lifestyle images, split-screen visuals, customer reviews and unboxings.
Our reading: why it likely worked
Our interpretation, not the advertiser's claim.
- Opening on the problem tells the right viewer in a second that the ad is about them, which helps stop the scroll.
- Testing many formats at once gave Meta more different ads to match to different people.
- Tracking thumbstop rate, CTR and click-to-purchase rate let the team see where each ad lost people and fix that step.
Caveats: This is a before/after over 75 days on one account, not a split test, and it comes from the practitioner's own newsletter. Hooks, formats and process all changed together, so the result can't be pinned on hooks alone, and spend and conversions are not shown.
How to run this in your account
- Hypothesis
- If we open ads on the customer's specific problem and test them across several formats, then CAC will fall because the right buyers recognise themselves faster.
- Primary metric
- CAC
- Guardrails
- ROAS
- Thumbstop rate
- Click-to-purchase rate
- Who should try it
- DTC brands whose product solves a clear, felt problem and whose ads have gone stale. It fits less well for impulse or pure-style products where there's no obvious pain point.
Who got the result
Janky Patel newsletter published this result (Newsletter). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Questions
What is a problem hook in a video ad?
It is an opening that shows the viewer's problem in the first few seconds, before the product appears.
Here it was the core of a 40+ ad test that cut Meta CAC by 10.5%.
How many creatives should I test to lower CAC?
This brand tested 40+ ads over 75 days.
CAC fell 10.5% and ROAS rose 20.5% over that time.
Which metrics show if a hook is working?
The team tracked thumbstop rate for the hook, then CTR and click-to-purchase rate.
That shows whether the ad loses people at the start, the click or the checkout.