I'm about to share the exact campaign structure I've used to profitably manage $100M+ in ad spend. No theory, just what actually works in 2025.

Too many media buyers over complicate their setups, creating a mess that's impossible to optimize. I've seen accounts with 50+ campaigns that could be crushed by this simple 6-stage framework 🤷‍♂️

The $100M Campaign Structure That Actually Works

Stage 0 (S0) - Discovery Stage

What it is: The testing ground where I figure out which optimization events work best before spending big money.

I rarely use this stage. I turn to it after auditing a struggling account when I am not sure which event to optimize for. The goal is simple: find out which events get the best results at the lowest costs.

Stage 1 (S1) - Engagement Stage

What it is: Where we build brand awareness and get people engaging before asking for the sale.

This stage is all about engagement. Run PPE and Video Views campaigns to:

• Lower our CPMs

• Get more interactions with our ads and page

• Drive traffic to our content

Stage 2 (S2) - Audience Testing Stage

What it is: Where I test every audience to quickly find winners and cut losers.

All our new audiences will get tested here. If an audience performs well right from day one, I simply rename it to S4 and keep it running. No need to mess with what's working.

Stage 3 (S3) - Creative Testing Stage

What it is: Our creative playground for testing different ads to see what clicks with your audience.

This is where I test all our ad ideas. Run a single campaign using ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimization), giving each creative concept its own budget. This shows us which ads work best without wasting money.

When I find winners, I love to pair them with our best S2 audiences and move them to S4.

Stage 4 (S4) - Prospecting Stage

What it is: The money-maker where winning audiences meet winning creatives to drive consistent sales.

This stage holds our best ongoing campaigns. I combine our winning audiences from S2 with our winning creatives from S3 to create high-performing campaigns. Sometimes I move campaigns directly from S2 to S4 if they crush it in the first couple of days.

I run two types of campaigns here:

• Normal campaign setup

• ASC campaign (with 0% existing customer cap)

Keep both running because sometimes one works better than the other. It's a safety net when Meta's algorithm changes.

💡 Campaign Naming in S4: name campaigns like this: Stage + Targeting Type (Prospecting/Interest/LLA/Broad) + Geo + Goal + Budget Type (ABO/CBO) + Date + Cost/Bid Caps

Stage 5 (S5) - Warm Audience Retargeting Stage

What it is: Where we win back people who showed some interest but didn't take action yet.

Here we reconnect with people who engaged with our content but didn't click through. This includes Facebook/Instagram engagers, video viewers, and people who liked or commented on our posts.

Stage 6 (S6) - Hot Audience Retargeting Stage

What it is: Our closing strategy for high-intent prospects who nearly bought but didn't finish.

In this stage, I would like to target people who showed serious interest. They clicked ads, visited our site, added products to cart, became leads, or viewed content. They were close to buying but didn't complete their purchase.

What's Actually Working in 2025

In 2025, I've put most of my focus on Stage 3 (S3) and Stage 4 (S4) while doing much less retargeting. I am spending money on testing different ad creatives (concepts/offers/hooks) and making the most of winners.

Why? Meta's algorithm now finds buyers without needing complex retargeting.

Stage 3 (S3) - Creative Testing Focus: Run one campaign with ABO, giving each creative set its own budget. This lets us spot winners quickly without overspending.

Stage 4 (S4) - Scaling and Diversification: I run two campaign types here: a normal campaign and an ASC campaign with no existing customers. Sometimes, one works better than the other, so I love to keep both to stay safe.

Conclusion

Let's be honest - most media buyers make Meta ads way too complex, and it hurts their results. This 6-stage system isn't fancy, but it works. I've used it to spend $100M+ across dozens of accounts.

The key?

Put most of your budget into creative testing and prospecting (S3 and S4), and do less retargeting than you think you need.

Sometimes, the best approach is the simplest one.

And if you're having a hard time digesting all of this and would like my help implementing it to scale your business, schedule a free discovery call here: Discovery call