Taylor and Andrew Debate Cost Controls (We Ran the Numbers)

Ecommerce Playbook · with Andrew Faris · August 6, 2026 · 57 min

Summary

This episode reveals groundbreaking research from Common Thread Collective on Meta cost controls, analyzing $1.5 billion in ad spend. The hosts debate the effectiveness of different bidding strategies, offering data-backed insights that challenge common assumptions and provide a new default strategy for performance marketers. This is crucial for ecommerce operators looking to optimize their ad spend and improve campaign efficiency.

Key takeaways

• Min ROAS (highest value optimization) is the most accurate cost control, delivering 96.5% of the target, with AOV inherently factored into its signal, eliminating manual SKU-level bid calculations.
• Cost per result goal (cost cap) consistently overshoots by roughly 40%; a $78 average bid yielded $108 in outcome, indicating difficulty in setting accurate bids due to SKU complexity.
• Bid cap delivered 123% of target on a $3M sample and is now CTC's default cost control, replacing cost per result goal.
• Stop loss rules for turning off individual ads have no discernible impact on account performance, suggesting that time spent on this workflow is often wasted.
• While min ROAS shows aggregate accuracy, 67% of individual accounts using it were more than 5% below target, highlighting a disparity between overall trends and individual campaign performance.

Themes

Topics covered

Episode description

Taylor and Andrew Faris sit down to debate something every performance marketer has an opinion about but almost nobody has actually tested: do Meta cost controls deliver to the bid you set?CTC reviewed $1.5 billion in Meta spend and ran a formal study on $200 million across 253 accounts from March 2025 through July 2026. The results were surprising enough to change CTC's default bidding strategy. This is the first public breakdown of the full findings.KEY TAKEAWAYS:-Min ROAS (highest value optimization) delivered 96.5% of target across the full dataset. It is the most accurate cost control CTC has tested, and the AOV is baked into the signal so you do not have to manually work through SKU-level bid math.-Cost per result goal (cost cap) consistently overshoots by roughly 40%. An average bid of $78 delivered $108 in outcome. SKU complexity makes it very hard to set the right bid, and the algorithm does not compensate for it.-Bid cap delivered 123% of target on a $3M sample and is now CTC's default cost control, replacing cost per result goal.-Stop loss rules for turning off individual ads have no discernible impact on account performance. The time most performance teams spend on that workflow is not moving the needle.-The aggregate accuracy of min ROAS is real — but individual accounts can deviate significantly. 67% of min ROAS accounts were more than 5% below target on an individual basis. The aggregate and the individual account are two different things.This research covers $1.5B reviewed and $200M analyzed across 253 accounts. Read the full study in the show notes.The Common Thread Collective 7-Figure Growth Workshop: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventhttps://hermod.statlas.io/mcp/report/shared?user=anmar.commonthreadco.com&ts=1785286905https://hermod.statlas.io/mcp/report/shared?user=anmar.commonthreadco.com&ts=1785513697Show Notes:-Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first c

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Frequently asked about this episode

What does this episode say about paid acquisition?

Min ROAS (highest value optimization) is the most accurate cost control, delivering 96.5% of the target, with AOV inherently factored into its signal, eliminating manual SKU-level bid calculations.

What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?

Cost per result goal (cost cap) consistently overshoots by roughly 40%; a $78 average bid yielded $108 in outcome, indicating difficulty in setting accurate bids due to SKU complexity.

What does this episode say about ai & automation?

Bid cap delivered 123% of target on a $3M sample and is now CTC's default cost control, replacing cost per result goal.

What does this episode say about founder & leadership?

Stop loss rules for turning off individual ads have no discernible impact on account performance, suggesting that time spent on this workflow is often wasted.

What does this episode say about paid acquisition?

While min ROAS shows aggregate accuracy, 67% of individual accounts using it were more than 5% below target, highlighting a disparity between overall trends and individual campaign performance.

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