CPA down 30% for a sustainable insect-protein pet-food brand across eight Central and Eastern European markets

Challenge

The brand was losing conversion data on Meta. Cookie and browser tracking restrictions meant a large share of the purchases and events happening on its storefronts never reached Meta at all.

Incomplete event data left the algorithm optimising from a partial picture, which pushed CPA up and held conversions below what the spend should have produced. It showed up as:

• Poor targeting and optimisation
• Budget spent on the wrong audiences
• A Meta Pixel and a stock conversions-API gateway that only partly closed the gap

Solution

We had already been running their Meta buying since 2021, so when the data started thinning out they asked us to take on the measurement as well rather than hand it to a second supplier.

We built the server-side tracking first. It took days, not weeks, and needed nothing from their team beyond access. Once it was live they read the results in the same campaign reports they already used, so there was no new interface for anyone to learn.

How we set it up:

• The brand runs a separate domain per country, so we built and maintain a separate first-party gateway for each of the eight markets
• Two sources of data now feed Meta, first-party server-side events and the Meta Pixel, so the numbers cross-check instead of resting on one signal
• We monitor ad performance daily and move budget between markets on what the clean data actually shows

Results

Three months after the new tracking went live, the numbers had moved across all eight markets.

• 40% more conversions matched back to paid and passed to Meta, giving the algorithm a fuller picture to optimise against
• 30% lower CPA, so the same budget buys more
• 35% more conversions, as better targeting and daily optimisation compounded