Ad Creatives

242% new customer growth and 19% decrease CPA

99th Monkey had a strong product in a crowded ready-to-drink protein category, and ads that were trying to speak to everyone, so they sounded like every other option on the shelf. We narrowed the whole funnel to one customer, the gym goer who tracks macros, and designed every ad creative in-house to speak to them. In six months, new customers grew 242%, conversion rate climbed 43% and cost per purchase fell 19%, all while ad spend scaled 2.6x.

Two gym goers by the water with the Melbourne skyline behind them, holding 99th Monkey chocolate and coffee protein smoothies

+242%

New customer growth

+43%

Lift in conversion rate

2.6x

Ad spend scaled

-19%

Cost per purchase

The challenge

Ads for everyone that sounded like everyone else

Ready-to-drink protein smoothies compete for attention against established brands with bigger budgets and a louder presence on the supermarket shelf. 99th Monkey had the better product, with a macro profile that beat the carton next to it. But broad messaging made it look like every other option in the fridge.

The ads weren’t helping. They were bottom-of-funnel conversion ads doing every job at once, with nothing above them building demand. And the cost of shipping made trying the product for the first time feel like a risk.

The goal was to scale paid social without losing efficiency, and to build a direct customer base ahead of a new product launch and rebrand. That meant the ads had to get sharper before they got bigger.

What was the problem

No single pain point to solve. The creative tried to speak to anyone who buys protein, so it never said anything specific enough to stop a scroll.
No full funnel. Bottom-of-funnel conversion ads were being asked to build demand, differentiate the brand and close the sale, all at once.
No clear differentiation. In a category of near-identical cartons, nothing in the ads made the case for why 99th Monkey over the brand beside it.
A barrier to trial. Shipping costs on a first order made trying a new smoothie feel like a gamble rather than an easy yes.

The solution

One customer, one pain point, one complete funnel

Rather than chasing everyone who buys protein, we narrowed the strategy to gym goers who care about macros. Every piece of creative, from the first impression through to the purchase, was built to answer their one question: does this fit my macros? Our team handled all of the graphic design for the campaign, so the comparison statics, the macro call-outs and the product visuals all came from the same hand and spoke to the same customer. Calories, sugar, saturated fat and protein led every ad, with 99th Monkey placed side by side against the alternatives so the comparison did the convincing. Then we made the first order an easy yes with free shipping on the sampler pack, so trying the product was no longer the risky part.

The brand stopped trying to win everyone and focused on the one customer most likely to say yes, then gave them every reason to.

A 99th Monkey static ad headed ‘All the pro’s, none of the cons’: a chocolate protein smoothie beside toggles switched on for 20g plant-based protein, 106 calories, less sugar, less sat fat and vegan, and off for dairy and gluten

What we built

Creative designed in-house for every stage of the Meta funnel, all anchored to the numbers gym goers check first.

A single persona focus

Creative centred on the macros that matter to gym goers, using the USPs that set 99th Monkey apart: calories, sugar, saturated fat and, of course, protein.

Awareness through to conversion

A mix of content types at every stage of the funnel, so demand was built at the top rather than asking conversion ads to do every job.

Differentiation, designed in-house

Every static, comparison graphic and product visual was designed by our team: one smoothie versus two eggs, less sugar than the competitor, 99th Monkey as the macro-friendly choice.

Free shipping on sampler packs

A dedicated new-customer campaign that removed shipping costs, the main barrier to trial, and lifted new customer acquisition on the product by 54%.

The result

A funnel that got more efficient as spend grew 2.6x

New customers grew 242%, purchases more than tripled and revenue more than doubled, all while spend scaled 2.6x and cost per purchase kept falling. Conversion rate, which usually slides as budgets grow, climbed 43%. The creative we designed was pulling in the right audience and sending them straight to the sampler pack page, so every click arrived with intent and a low-risk way to buy.

It worked because the brand stopped trying to win everyone and focused on the one customer most likely to say yes. 99th Monkey now heads into its product launch and rebrand with an audience it understands, a direct channel of its own, and a funnel that’s proven it can scale.