Skincare case study: from a broken ad account to ₹35L a month in 6 weeks
Case study
What changed
Week 1 had no ad spend while we fixed the account, so it has no bar.
The numbers we shared
| What we shared | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly revenue before | ₹3.5L to ₹4.5L |
| Monthly ad spend before | ₹1.8L to ₹2.2L |
| Campaigns in the account | 23 |
| Policy flag lifted | By day 3 |
| Revenue in 6 weeks | ₹47.2L |
| Ad spend in 6 weeks | ₹10.7L |
| ROAS and orders | 4.4x, 3,880 orders |
| Cost per purchase | ₹241 |
| Run rate after week 6 | ₹35L+/month |
Context
Where the brand stood
A skincare brand with a focused range: cleanser, toner, SPF moisturiser, Vitamin C serum and a night mask, priced ₹599 to ₹1,499. The formulations were solid, organic engagement on Instagram was strong, and its users loved the products. The problem was entirely in paid acquisition.
Two freelancers had run the ads over eight months. Each time ROAS started at 2 to 3x, declined within 30 days and went flat. Monthly revenue was stuck at ₹3.5L to ₹4.5L on ₹1.8L to ₹2.2L of ad spend, barely breaking even. The founder was close to writing off paid ads.
Problem
What was holding it back
The account was broken in a way nobody had spotted. An ad had been flagged for a policy violation 4 months earlier and never removed. The flag was still active, and it was pulling down the delivery quality of the whole account without the previous freelancers knowing.
Around it sat 23 campaigns: 17 paused with incomplete learning, 6 active against overlapping audiences. Campaigns were set to Traffic or Reach, not Purchases. The pixel had received fewer than 80 purchase events a week for 3 months, so it never left learning. There was no UGC and no retargeting at all.
What we did
What we changed
Clear the policy flag first
In week 1 we did not spend a rupee on ads. We found the flagged ad, removed it and submitted an account review request. The flag was lifted by day 3, and account quality improved straight away.
Pause the 23, build 3
We paused all 23 campaigns, archiving rather than deleting so the history stayed. The new structure had 3 campaigns with clean audience separation, Purchases as the objective and zero overlap.
Brief UGC and relaunch
We briefed 6 creators for 12 skincare videos on a 10-day turnaround: before and after, routines and ingredient explainers. In week 2 we relaunched with brand photography as a stand-in: cold at ₹12,000 a day for women 22 to 40 in metro India, warm at ₹4,000 and retargeting at ₹4,000.
Swap in UGC, then scale
The 12 UGC videos went live in week 3. The before and after format hit a 5.2% CTR on its first day and ROAS rose to 3.9x, so cold budget went from ₹12,000 to ₹20,000 a day.
Lift order value, keep refreshing
In week 4 a bundle of the SPF and Vitamin C serum took AOV from ₹820 to ₹1,380 for buyers who saw it. In week 5 we added 4 more ingredient videos to the warm layer, and ROAS climbed to 4.6x.
The numbers
How to read these numbers
The chart is weekly revenue. Week 1 had no ad spend. Week 2 did ₹3.2L at 2.8x ROAS on the stand-in creative. Week 3 did ₹6.1L at 3.9x, week 4 did ₹8.4L at ₹27,000 a day, week 5 did ₹11.2L, and week 6 did ₹15.5L in a single week.
Across the 6 weeks: ₹47.2L in revenue, ₹10.7L in ad spend, a 4.4x ROAS, 3,880 orders and a cost per purchase of ₹241. We published the week 6 pace as a run rate of ₹35L+ a month.
Result
Where it ended up
In 6 weeks the brand went from barely breaking even on paid ads at about ₹4L a month to a 4.4x ROAS and a ₹35L a month run rate.
The product had not changed. The prices had not changed. The account had.
For founders
What it means for a founder
Audit the account before you blame the ads. A policy flag you do not know about can hold back delivery for months.
If your campaigns are set to Traffic or Reach, you are buying visits, not customers. Set the objective to Purchases.
Fewer campaigns, more data each. 23 campaigns that never finished learning kept this pixel stuck for months.
You can relaunch before the UGC is ready. Fix the structure first and swap the new creative in when it lands.
Questions
Questions founders ask
What was broken in the ad account?+
An ad flagged for a policy violation 4 months earlier was still active and holding back the account's delivery, on top of 23 campaigns with overlapping audiences and the wrong objectives.
How fast was the policy flag cleared?+
We removed the flagged ad and asked for an account review in week 1. The flag was lifted by day 3.
Sources
Where we shared this story
- Our website, 12 Jun 2026From a Broken Ad Account to ₹35L/Month in 6 Weeks
- Our Google Business Profile, 22 Jun 2026NEW CASE STUDY : From a Broken Ad Account to ₹35L/Month in 6 Weeks
- Our Google Business Profile, 25 Aug 2026From a Broken Ad Account to ₹35L/Month in 6 Weeks
This work ran on our performance marketing service, and the beauty and skincare guide covers the wider approach. Want the same for your brand? Book a call.
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