How We Scaled a D2C Brand’s ROAS in Germany using Meta + Google Ads
When a D2C brand approaches us asking to scale their performance marketing in Germany, we never start by just looking only at the ads. Because here’s the truth: even the best-performing campaigns on Meta or Google won't deliver long-term growth if the full ecosystem around them isn’t aligned.
That’s exactly what we saw when we began working with a D2C brand entering the German market. They had solid products and an enthusiastic team, but their performance was stuck. ROAS was flat, ad spend felt wasted, and traffic wasn't converting. We knew this wasn’t just an ad problem – it was a growth system problem.
1. Start With the Funnel, Not the Channel
We started by auditing the full customer journey, not just the ad accounts. That included:
Landing page performance and CRO bottlenecks
Email flows (or lack thereof)
Site speed and German-language UX nuances
Ad creative and messaging
Offer positioning for a German audience
Within days, we found the friction points: unclear value props above the fold, a lack of urgency or social proof, and email flows that barely existed. Meanwhile, creatives looked nice but didn’t reflect what was actually driving clicks and conversions.
Most brands enter a new market with the success of their home market in mind. They translate everything, use the same creatives that perform well back home, and expect similar results. But they forget: this new audience doesn’t know them. German consumers haven’t seen the years of ads or content that built brand familiarity elsewhere.
That means your homepage, your landing page, your emails, your ads — all need to work harder. You need to explain more. Who are you? Why are you better than the competitors they already know? Why should they trust you? It’s not just about translating language — it’s about translating culture.
2. Performance Creative That Converts
Most D2C brands underestimate how much ad creative impacts performance. We redesigned creatives for Meta based on actual data: scroll-stopping hooks, Germany-specific UGC, localized copy, and rapid testing. The result? A 45% drop in CPM and a 30% increase in CTR within two weeks.
This wasn’t about making ads look better. It was about making them perform better.
3. Google Ads That Don’t Bleed Money
Our Google Ads strategy focused on both Shopping and Search, but with serious structural improvements:
Product feed clean-up for relevance and quality scores
Segmented campaigns based on intent
Negative keywords to eliminate waste
Localized ad copy that matched German search behavior
Because we fixed the site structure and CRO first, the improved Google traffic actually converted. ROAS jumped by over 50% in 4 weeks.
4. Email Flows That Print Money While You Sleep
Retention was the next weak link. We set up fully localized Klaviyo flows: welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandon, and win-back. We also implemented personalized newsletter campaigns based on user behavior and preferences.
This added a 15% revenue uplift that had zero media cost. And with that extra revenue, we could reinvest profitably in acquisition.
5. The Full System Wins
Scaling ROAS in Germany isn’t about turning one knob. It’s about syncing everything: the website, the ads, the creative, the retention flows, the local messaging.
When we see brands stuck in the 1.5-2.0x ROAS range, it’s almost never because they’re running "bad ads." It’s because the system is leaking. We fix the leaks, and that’s how we scale.
One final thing we often see: brands chasing short-term revenue. They aim for a very high ROAS and direct all their budget into conversion-focused campaigns. Yes, this can make the numbers look good short term — but it’s a trap. Because there’s no brand awareness being built in parallel, growth stalls. You end up paying for every order. Forever.
We help brands separate performance budget from brand budget. You need both. Otherwise, you’ll cap your potential.
If you're a D2C brand ready to grow in Germany, don’t just throw more budget at Meta or Google. Let’s look at the full picture together.
