The Creative Strategy Behind a 423% Increase in ROAS During The Reflective's Black Friday Weekend

Overview

The Reflective, a modest fashion retailer catering to women across diverse faiths, turned their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales around in 2024 with a 423% increase in ROAS, a 57.5% drop in CPA, and a 221% boost in purchases compared to the previous year.

Challenge

In 2023, The Reflective struggled with its holiday campaign. The results were modest, with a lackluster ROAS of 1.25. As a small business with limited resources, the stakes were high to make 2024 a success.

Solution: Segmentation for Maximum Impact

A key element of the 2024 strategy was restructuring the campaign into highly segmented ad sets under a Manual Shopping Campaign, while running a complementary Advantage+ Campaign to capitalize on Meta's AI-driven audience discovery.

In the Manual Shopping Campaign, we created five ad sets that aligned with the audience’s interests, geography, and engagement preferences:

Christian Audience:

Video Ads: Highlighted dynamic, story-driven visuals tailored for active, engaged viewers.

Static Image Ads: Showcased editorial-style fashion images, ensuring standout visuals weren’t overshadowed by Meta's video-first algorithm.

Jewish Audience:

Video Ads: Targeted Orthodox Jewish women with culturally resonant messaging and product displays.

Static Image Ads: High-fashion photography designed to captivate users without the need for video engagement.

Broad Audience:

A mixed-media approach targeting broader audiences across the United States, using interest-based signals like popular, competitor fashion brands.

Why the Segmentation Worked

Separating ad sets by media type (video vs. static images) was a game-changer. Meta's algorithm traditionally prioritizes video, often causing static ads—despite their quality—to underperform. By creating dedicated ad sets for each format, we ensured all creative assets had an equal opportunity to shine.

This segmentation allowed for:

Creative Equalization: Ensuring that both static images and videos could compete effectively for attention.

Audience Specificity: Delivering hyper-relevant messaging to distinct audiences, driving stronger resonance and engagement.

Insights Discovery: Gaining granular data on what worked for each group, informing future campaigns.

Results

BFCM ‘24 vs. BFCM ‘23

Total Purchases: 475% increase

ROAS: 5.5x (423% increase from 2023)

CPA: 33.6% decrease

AOV: 2.2x increase

7 Day View vs. Previous Period

1200% increase in purchases from our Broad audience

ROAS boosted 423% in our Jewish audience

CPA dropped 57.5% in Advantage+

Purchases increased 66.7% just 24 hours after we increased our Broad audience budget

Key Takeaway

By combining thoughtful audience segmentation with an intentional focus on creative strategy, The Reflective achieved major results in 2024. Breaking out ad sets by ad type ensured every piece of creative had its chance to shine, while audience-specific targeting delivered relevance at scale. This approach is a clever technique in how small businesses can use strategic precision to unlock big results.