Summary
- 1Problem: ROAS is treated as truth, while it's an assumption
- 2Brand ads: €10K-€20K/month on your own brand name with extreme ROAS - but you're buying back your own customers
- 3We don't advertise on our own brand name (ETQ, TOV)
- 4Freed budget goes to generic terms and new customers
- 5ROAS targets lead to remarketing focus and growth stagnation
The problem
"We're targeting a ROAS of 10." But why, exactly? In almost every account we audit, we see the same thing. A ROAS target that was set somewhere at some point. Nobody knows why that number was chosen. But everything has to meet it. ROAS is treated as truth. While it's actually an assumption. And that assumption is costing you more than you think.
Sound familiar?
This is what we see at almost every brand before we start:
- You have a ROAS target but nobody can explain why
- A large part of your budget goes to brand name ads
- Your ROAS looks good but your growth stagnates
- You mainly advertise on own brand and remarketing
- You don't dare move budget to generic terms
- Your agency optimizes for ROAS instead of growth
What goes wrong
- Spending €10K-€20K per month advertising on your own brand name
- Using ROAS as the only KPI
- Buying back your own customers via branded search
- Shifting budget to remarketing for easy conversions
- Avoiding generic terms because ROAS is lower there
- Optimizing for numbers instead of growth
- Letting fear determine where your budget goes
Approach
No loose actions, but a system that delivers structural results.
Eliminate brand ads
We don't advertise on our own brand name. Not for ETQ Amsterdam. Not for TOV Essentials. It's like Google standing in front of your store saying: you can come in, but pay first. Of course your ROAS is high on brand. You're buying back your own customers. They were already on their way to you. Yes, sometimes you lose a customer. But that doesn't outweigh what you gain.
- Fully stop or minimize brand ads
- Free up budget for generic growth
- Measure what actually changes in total revenue
- Replace fear with data
Budget to new customers
Freed budget goes to generic search terms. 'Men's sneakers.' 'Gold jewelry.' That's where the people who don't know your brand yet are. That's where your real growth is. Not in buying back existing customers. But in winning new ones.
- Invest in generic search terms with high intent
- Acquire new customers instead of buying back existing ones
- Scalability over short-term ROAS
- Long-term growth as primary KPI
Let go of ROAS targets
In Meta Ads we see the same pattern. ROAS targets lead to agency behavior: budget to remarketing, low funnel, easy conversions. ROAS looks good. Growth stalls. You're optimizing for numbers. Not for growth. The real question isn't 'what's our ROAS?' But: where does our growth come from? Where do we buy new customers? Where are we leaving money on the table?
- Use ROAS as indicator, not as target
- Shift focus to new customers and scalability
- Measure total growth instead of channel ROAS
- Look critically at where your budget actually goes
Result
We don't play political games. We say what we see. Even when it's uncomfortable. Even when it goes against your current strategy. Because your ROAS target is not your growth target.
Typical brand ads budget per month (wasted)
Budget we spend on our own brand name
To generic growth and new customers
Revenue own brands without brand ads
What this means for you
If someone searches for your brand and still buys elsewhere, they probably weren't your customer anyway. But the customer searching 'men's sneakers' or 'gold jewelry'? They are. If you find them.
- You're spending €50K+ per month on ads
- A large part goes to brand ads with high ROAS
- Your growth stagnates despite 'good' ROAS
- You don't dare move budget
- Your agency optimizes for ROAS instead of growth
- You want an honest conversation about where your money goes
Who we are
We build brands ourselves. And use that knowledge to scale others.
This isn't theory. This is execution experience. We run multiple brands ourselves - and apply the exact same systems for our clients.
We build and scale our own brands
Results across industries - from fashion to real estate
We deploy the same systems for clients
Small team, big impact - no overhead
Want to build this for your brand too?
No standard process. We work with a select number of companies – and build scalable growth together.
You speak directly with our team – no sales layer in between.
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