SESSION NOTES #012. 'Full funnel' ads strategies are overrated.

I was recently in a meeting with an ads rep and it reminded me of why I don’t usually take them anymore.

“People use this platform to search for inspiration, they aren’t buying just yet but it’s an ideal time for product discovery ”. Yes, yes, I’m sold.

Then the next slide, had three big words on it and a funnel. I’m sure you know exactly what they are so let’s chant them together in unison:

“It’s best practice to support all stages of the funnel with your ads.”

You had me aaaaand you lost me.

If a channel’s superpower is product discovery and consideration, why are we even talking about awareness and conversion? That’s not ‘best practice’, that’s a checklist.

The reality is, different channels are better at different things. The aneeds to mad format ke sense for your objective.

So instead of a checklist, here’s my process for deciding which campaigns and channels deserve a spot in the mix.

#1 What stage of the funnel needs the most ads support?

Look at your data points and figure out where the biggest gap is. Look at this relative to industry benchmarks but also your own year-on-year data.

The answer, “I want to support all stages of the funnel with ads” is not the right one. Not only because you don’t have enough budget, but also because you likely have other channels supporting them already.

Maybe your influencer strategy is driving a high amount of brand interest. Maybe your win-back flows are already nailing retention. I've never found a client where throwing paid ads at every stage of the funnel was the right call.

Digital diagnosis and focusing your efforts is far more effective, both for marketing performance and for measurement.

I could write an entire piece on digital diagnosis - and if enough of you DM me about it, I will.

#2 What channels are my potential customers on?

Don’t skip the most basic question of all. Before you prioritise a channel in the media mix, make sure your audience is there.

Sitting within or above the benchmark range suggests strong customer presence on that platform. Falling well below it is a signal to question whether that channel deserves a spot in your mix at all.

#3 Does the ad match the objective?

The big one. The one that often gets overlooked.

I always like to remind the marketers I work with that the people seeing the ads don’t know the objective you've selected.

Meta and TikTok will still try their best to deliver Brand Awareness by reaching as many people as possible. Google will try to manufacture higher CTRs on its Action campaigns by aggressively targeting warm audiences.

That doesn’t mean it works.

The algorithms can't fundamentally change what the messaging and ad placement are naturally driving people to do. The reps will say otherwise because more objectives = more budget, and the agencies that play along only do so to beef up their invoice.

“It’s.’ been performing worse

I still remember the broken-hearted look on my colleague’s face when she realised running an additional Meta “traffic campaign” hadn’t improved her CPA over a 6 month period.

I similarly recall reviewing the results of a “Full Funnel” A/B experiment carried out by a global marketing science business run to prove a business needed more top of funnel campaigns on Meta ads.

Their reps told them top of funnel layers would bring costs down in the long-term but it didn’t and rarely does.

So before you test a new channel or campaign goal in FY26/27, make sure:

And lastly - be cautious taking strategy advice from the people whose job it is to get you spending more. (Even the nice ones.)

Cheers,

Sarah

_{Brought to you by teeny packets of pretzels and saying “10 more minutes” on repeat to my partner.}