Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Richard and Luke (newly promoted President at CTC) break down why channel diversification is no longer optional for 8-figure ecommerce brands heading into Q4 and what creative diversification actually means when you need 1,000-plus ads per month from 100-plus creators. This episode covers the exact tools, platforms, and testing frameworks that changed CTC's position on scaling beyond Meta and Google.
What we cover:
Why CTC reversed its position on channel diversification

How Statlas automation now pushes thousands of ads per month

Why geo holdout incrementality testing is now in-house at CTC

Creative diversification as production source diversity, not format diversity

The 3-4 production source minimum before Q4

Why 3% of ads drive 80-plus percent of spend

Finding your top 20-30 creators before the September window closes

AppLovin, TikTok GMV Max, and YouTube Demand Gen entering Q4

CTC's Mountain partnership for Connected TV geo holdout testing

Key stat: 3% of ads drive more than 80% of spend. Find your outliers before Q4 locks in.
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

We connected Claude to our Statlas database and analyzed $1.5 billion in Meta spend across 320 accounts and $100 million in Google spend across 134 stores. The question: do platform bid controls actually deliver what they promise?
Tony Chopp, CTC's VP of Media Investment, walks through what we found — and what it means for how you build your paid media foundation.
Min ROAS hits its target. Cost per result does not.

On Meta, cost per result goal achieved its target less than half the time.

On Google, tROAS ran above target at 1.3x. tCPA ran below at 0.8x.

ROAS-based bidding gives the algorithm more flexibility to find high-value buyers.

TikTok's GMV Max budget scaling solves the liquidity vs. predictability tension.

The brands willing to spend the most to acquire a customer win the auction.

The takeaway: build your paid media foundation on ROAS-based bidding. Not because it's a rule — because the data says it gives you the best chance to thread the needle between maximum investment and margin protection.
Show Notes:
Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform credits

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

Our newest ecommerce growth offer comes with a money-back guarantee and a data advantage built in: visibility into what competitors in the same industry are actually bidding and converting at.
In this episode, Taylor Holiday and Joy Sharma, who runs this offer for CTC's seven-figure clients, break down what's included: unlimited landing pages and creative tested until they beat CTC's own conversion-rate benchmark data, exclusive access to a top-tier creator network at no added cost, and a guarantee that ties CTC's own accountability directly to the outcome.
Tune in if you've ever wondered what your competitors are actually paying to acquire a customer, or wanted an agency willing to put its own money on the line.
In this episode, we cover: 
Why CTC ties this offer to a money-back guarantee instead of just a strategy handoff

How CTC's data shows exactly what competitors are bidding and converting at

What's included in CTC's newest offer for seven-figure ecommerce brands

How unlimited landing page testing works against real conversion-rate benchmarks

Why the exclusive Refunnel creator network comes at no added cost

Why CTC believes strategy and production can't stay separate anymore

Want CTC to guarantee your growth the same way? Visit www.commonthreadco.com 
Show Notes:
Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.
Get 20% more Meta Growth https://commonthreadco-global.com/yt
The 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-event
Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine
The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

Our President, Luke Austin, just got back from a 3-day fishing trip in Sitka, Alaska: 90 lbs of salmon, halibut, and black cod, with orcas circling the boat the whole time. But the real story is what it taught him about growing ecommerce brands.
In this episode, he breaks down the three things that have to be true for any ecommerce brand to know if it's actually winning: a single reliable source of truth for your data, a shared definition of success across your team, and relentless execution against the plan. It's the same framework CTC uses with every brand we partner with, and the standard we just recommitted to internally for H2.
In this episode, we cover: 
Why most ecommerce brands can't clearly answer if they're winning or losing

Building a single source of truth for your financial, marketing, and order data

Why a shared definition of success matters more than more dashboards

How contribution margin and daily targets keep teams aligned

What relentless execution actually looks like: ad plans, email plans, creative testing, MMM, and incrementality

Why brands skip straight to execution, and what it costs them

Want help building this system for your brand? Visit www.commonthreadco.com 
Show Notes:
Visit eCapital  to see how much working capital you may qualify for: https://bit.ly/4xO3VDd

The 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-event

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

Joy Sharma, CTC's Director of Accelerator, walks through a brand-new CPG growth offer backed by a 20% uplift guarantee — or your money back. The strategy combines hourly API-based budget scaling (via a Meta managed service most brands don't know exists) with industry CAC benchmarking from Statlas, full-stack creative and landing page support, and an exclusive influencer whitelist through Refunnel.
In this episode:
What "hourly API scaling" actually means and why it drives 20–30% compounding spend growth

The Meta managed service that gives CTC budget-scaling access no other agency has

How Statlas industry CAC data lets CPG brands "cheat" the auction

Real results: $856/day to $20K/day in 90 days at 0.9 ROAS

Why "extreme accountability" means CTC puts everything on the line, not just your brand

How Refunnel's top-performing influencer community removes the whitelist bottleneck

The 3-brand invite-only launch: two slots with 20% guarantee, one with 40%

This offer is currently invite-only for 3 CPG brands doing $3M–$5M+ annually who want to reach 9 figures as fast as possible. Apply via the link in the show notes.
Show Notes:
Get 20% more Meta Growth https://commonthreadco-global.com/yt

What Hourly API Scaling is actually worth https://commonthreadco-global.com/case-study

The 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-event

Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have