Paid Ads Aren’t Dead, Your Strategy Is
An honest take for Indian DTC founders tired of low ROAS and high blood pressure.
Let’s talk about Aman.
He’s six months into running his DTC apparel brand in Pune. Great product, clean website, Instagram grid looking like a Behance case study. But his Meta Ads dashboard? A horror story.
CPAs rising. ROAS tanking.
He’s tried boosting reels, running that “winning” audience from his friend’s campaign, and duplicating ads that worked three months ago.
Nothing’s sticking. He’s ready to write a long, angry LinkedIn post titled “Why Paid Ads Are Dead (And I’m Going Back to Organic Reels)”.
But here’s the truth:
Paid ads aren’t dead.
Your strategy is.
What’s Actually Dead?
Lazy targeting.
Copy-paste creative.
“Let’s just launch and optimise later” media buying.
The platforms still work — if you know how to work them.
And most early DTC brands in India don’t. Not because they’re lazy, but because no one taught them how to think like strategists, not gamblers.
Let’s break this down.
1. Your Targeting Isn’t Precise — It’s Just Broad
Founders love lookalikes. But let’s be honest:
If your seed audience is 200 buyers who came in through a Diwali discount, your lookalike isn’t going to find premium customers — it’s going to find more bargain hunters.
Instead:
- Build targeting stacks based on actual purchase intent (think: site visitors who spent 2+ minutes, email subscribers who clicked on a product).
- Use post-purchase surveys to understand why people buy — gifting? self-use? replacement? Now build custom audiences based on those motivations.
- Think layered: Combine demographics + behaviours + motivations, not just “people who like Nykaa.”
2. Your Offer Doesn’t Match the Funnel Stage
Aman ran a carousel ad showing all 10 of his products.
His CTA? “Shop Now.”
His audience? Cold users seeing his brand for the first time.
That’s like proposing on the first date — no context, no build-up.
Instead:
- Show one flagship product to cold users with a “Why this exists” story.
- Use bundles, trials, and low-risk hooks at the middle of the funnel.
- Reserve hard CTAs and discounts for warm traffic or cart abandoners.
Offer ≠ “10% Off.”
Offer = Value proposition tailored to intent.
3. You’re Optimising for Vanity, Not Profit
Let’s be real.
CTR, impressions, and thumbs-up emojis on your ad = nice to have.
But what pays the bills?
Payback period. CAC. AOV. Retention.
If your ads get clicks but no conversions, or worse — convert the wrong kind of customer (high churn, low LTV) — you’re not growing. You’re just spending.
Fix your landing page journey, your post-purchase email flow, and your expectation setting before blaming Meta.
A Real Example: Ritika’s Tea Brand
Ritika runs a wellness tea label from Jaipur.
Her Meta ads were bleeding money — until she stopped running “Our Story” videos to everyone and started testing intent-based funnels.
She created 3 angles:
- “Tea as a Ritual” for wellness seekers
- “Gift-worthy wellness” for festive shoppers
- Gut health focus” for problem-aware buyers
Her CAC dropped by 25% in 6 weeks — without increasing budget. Just repositioning.
Use the F.O.C.U.S. Check Weekly
Want to stop flying blind?
Run your ads through this 5-point system:
F – Funnel Fit: Does the message match the audience’s awareness level?
O – Offer Clarity: Is the value prop instantly obvious and relevant?
C – Creative Angle: Does it speak to desire or pain, not just features?
U – User Intent: Is targeting based on signals, not guesses?
S – Spend Efficiency: Is budget weighted toward what’s working?
Quick Fixes You Can Do This Week:
✅ Re-segment your audience using post-purchase survey insights
✅ Test 3 versions of your offer: urgency, bundling, storytelling
✅ Run 1 A/B test on your landing page headline
✅ Stop running BOF CTAs to TOF audiences
✅ Use the F.O.C.U.S. check to audit every campaign before launch
Mindset Shift: It’s Not Meta’s Fault
The platform isn’t broken.
It just won’t forgive bad strategy anymore.
Founders who win today aren’t the ones spending the most — they’re the ones learning fastest, testing smart, and aligning product, pitch, and people.
Fix the strategy, and the ROAS will follow.
Want Real Results, Not Just Reach?
At Growth Canvas, we help DTC brands decode what’s actually not working — then rebuild a paid strategy that performs.
No fluff. No one-size-fits-all. Just honest performance thinking from people who’ve done this before.
Drop us a message. Let’s fix your funnel before your budget runs out.
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