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In this episode of the DTC Podcast, we sit down with Ash Melwani, co-founder and CMO of Obvi, to unpack how the brand rebuilt its Meta ad infrastructure after being flagged under Meta’s health and wellness restrictions—crippling performance overnight.
Ash shares how Obvi reversed the damage, restored performance using server-side tracking, and evolved their media buying playbook to align with Meta’s new Andromeda AI update.
Whether you’re running ads in the health space—or just looking to future-proof your Meta setup—this episode breaks down the tactics and tools you need to know.
Key Insights:
- Meta Pixel Poisoning & Health Flagging
- Why Obvi’s ad performance collapsed on New Year’s Day, despite clean creative and strong landing pages.
- Outbound Click to LP View Ratio Decline
- A key diagnostic metric: How a drop from 85% to 50% signaled serious algorithmic deprioritization.
- Fixing the Pixel: Server-Side Tracking with Upstack
- Why basic Shopify–Meta integrations aren’t enough anymore—and how Upstack helped restore ad performance within 7 days.
- Creative Testing in the Age of Andromeda
- Why fewer exclusions, broader creative variation, and campaign consolidation outperform previous testing methods.
- CAC Management via AOV Uplift
- How bundling top products into a kit helped boost AOV from $65 to $100—improving spend efficiency under higher CAC conditions.
- TikTok Shop GTM Strategy
- Why Obvi launched Discord-based creator communities, performance-based incentives (yes, even Teslas), and GMV-max ad programs.
- Retail Expansion Mindset
- With Obvi in 20K+ doors including Walmart and Dollar General, Ash shares why 2025 is the time to shift from DTC-first to mass awareness and in-store velocity.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Meta account flagged and overnight performance drop
02:00 – Pixel health and the dangers of poor data tracking
04:00 – Creative strategy shift post-Andromeda update
06:00 – Why brands must show up on TikTok to stay relevant
08:00 – Meta deprioritization signals and pixel troubleshooting
10:00 – Ad testing framework for 2025 and campaign structure
14:00 – How to improve landing pages and lift performance
18:00 – Proxima, lookalikes, and AI-built audience targeting
22:00 – TikTok Shop strategy with creator incentives and Discord
28:00 – Retail expansion strategy and shift toward brand marketing
34:00 – Building omnipresence in retail and mass marketing
Hashtags:
#DTCMarketing #MetaAds #TikTokShop #PerformanceMarketing #CreativeStrategy #RetailMarketing #EcommerceGrowth #MediaBuying #PixelHealth #CollagenBrand
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