Kill Cliff - Driving 2x ROAS from Top of Funnel Traffic
Problem
Kill Cliff, best known for its CBD energy drinks and high-profile partnership with Joe Rogan, had a strong brand but struggled to make Meta Advertising profitable.
Despite their influencer reach, they faced several challenges:
- Underperforming Meta campaigns — ad spend wasn’t translating into profitable sales.
- Slow learning cycles — campaign structures and creative testing processes weren’t yielding fast insights.
- Strict ad policy restrictions — Meta’s prohibition on CBD-related advertising limited targeting and messaging options.
Without an optimized paid media approach, Kill Cliff risked missing out on top-of-funnel traffic that could drive sustained DTC growth.
Solution
We conducted a deep Meta Ads audit and implemented an aggressive, structured testing and compliance strategy to maximize ROI:
- Account Audit & Opportunity Mapping — Identified AB testing opportunities and inefficiencies in targeting, bidding, and creative strategy.
- Rapid Testing Framework — Launched three concurrent AB tests, including:
- Campaign-level bid strategy adjustments.
- Ad group targeting refinements by product line.
- Creative variation testing tailored to each audience segment.
This approach allowed us to triple the speed of learnings compared to standard testing timelines.
- Creative & Policy Compliance — Navigated Meta’s CBD ad restrictions by replacing “CBD” with “hemp” in creative and landing pages.
- Gateway Landing Page — Built a separate “compliance-safe” site to serve as a gateway, allowing campaigns to run without triggering policy violations.
- Sales Attribution Clarity — Integrated Shopify data to track performance by audience, creative, and campaign — enabling precise scaling decisions.
Results
In a short timeframe, the new approach delivered clear, measurable impact:
- 2x return on ad spend (ROAS) from top-of-funnel traffic.
- Accelerated campaign learning cycles identifying high-performing audiences and creatives faster.
- Successful navigation of Meta’s strict ad policies without account shutdowns.
- Clear attribution mapping from ad click to sale, enabling Kill Cliff to double down on the most profitable activities.
- Ongoing strategic advisory relationship to refine and expand DTC growth efforts.
Conclusion
By pairing data-driven testing with creative policy workarounds, we transformed Kill Cliff’s Meta Ads into a scalable top-of-funnel growth engine.
I've worked with Thrasher since before they were Thrasher. Their level of expertise in digital optimization is in a very exclusive class. I spent years on the hunt for the ninja that could demystify paid media online and increase sales without increasing budgets and degrading ROAS. Not only could they engineer the outcome I was looking for, but also they do so with transparency and cogent thought. Basically, Thrasher was able to translate to me the 5 W's about advertising online and make a real impact in my business.
John Timar
