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The DTC Playbook
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Meta & paid ads benchmarks for DTC

What good looks like on creative engagement, click-through, and the efficiency ratio that actually ties back to your P&L. Use platform metrics to optimise within a channel, and blended ROAS (what a CMO calls MER) to judge the business.
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MetricBenchmarkNotes
Meta link CTR2%+ strong, 0.9-1.5% average on cold FeedLink click-through rate on the feed. Static creative: 1.5%+ on cold Feed is strong, 0.9%+ acceptable. Below 0.9% on cold Feed the creative is weak.
Hook rate (thumbstop)25%+The share of impressions that watch past the first three seconds (3-second views / impressions). The clearest early signal that a creative is working; 15-24% is acceptable, below 15% fix the hook.
Blended ROASStage-banded: ~1.5-2.5x at $1-5M rising to 3.5-6x+ at $25M+; 3x+ once past ~$10M, 4x+ strongTotal revenue divided by total marketing spend. The media buyer's term for what a CMO calls MER - the same number, different seat. The full bands: 1.5-2.5x at $1-5M, 2.5-3.5x at $5-10M, 3.0-4.5x at $10-25M, 3.5-6.0x+ past $25M.
Platform ROASChannel- and margin-specificDo not set one ROAS goal across channels. Optimise each channel's ROAS toward your blended ROAS target.
CAPI setupNon-optionalServer-side tracking restores conversion signal the browser pixel now misses. Without it, targeting and reported ROAS both degrade.

How to use these benchmarks

These ranges are directional, not guarantees. They are drawn from The DTC Playbook and Rob Ward's operating experience taking Quad Lock from $0 to a $500M exit, cross-checked against widely cited DTC data. The point is not the exact number - it is whether you sit above or below it, and what to do about the gap. Judge yourself against your own category and trend as well.

Last reviewed: 2026. Benchmarks are refreshed as the playbook is updated.

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