Perpetual Traffic Podcast Summary
Episode Title: Stop Pausing Winning Ads! Andromeda Ad Strategy That Changes Everything
Date: October 24, 2025
Hosts: Ralph Burns (Tier 11 CEO), John Moran (Tier 11 Chief Strategist)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ralph Burns and John Moran break down a critical, counterintuitive lesson from managing over $10 million in Meta ad spend since the Andromeda update: Do NOT pause “loser” ads too early—especially under the new Meta algorithm. The hosts challenge one of media buying’s oldest rules ("Cut your losers, let your winners run") and reveal how it can actually destroy your results post-Andromeda. Drawing on Tier 11’s proprietary Data Suite and extensive testing, they unpack why CPA is now a misleading metric, how creative sequencing drives profitability, and what media buyers must do to scale in the new paradigm.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Big Shift: Why “Pausing Losers” Doesn’t Work Anymore

• Old Maxim: “Cut your losers and let your winners run” is outdated in the Andromeda era.
  • Quote: “Starve the ponies, feed the stallions is no longer in existence, ladies and gentlemen.” – Ralph Burns [23:17]
• The new Meta framework requires running varied ad creatives in sequence; performance can’t be judged solely by single-ad CPA.

2. How the Andromeda Algorithm Really Works

• No more talk of “ad sets” or “campaigns”—it’s all about creative and sequencing.

• Meta’s algorithm tests different creatives and sequences for each user, learning which story arc leads to conversions.

  • Quote: “The losers are not CPA defined...Spend model is actually 100% accurate because it’s being spent on.” – John [09:02]

• Creative diversity is mandatory: Meta optimizes by showing users a mix of UGC, product highlights, and other ad types in a particular order.

• Killing “high CPA” ads breaks these sequences and chops off possible conversion paths.

3. CPA Is No Longer Reliable—Look at Sequencing & Spend

• CPA can mislead: Frequently, ads that look like “losers” on CPA are crucial middle or bottom funnel touchpoints.
  • Example: An ad with a $664 CPA was driving the largest share of add-to-cart actions, supporting the entire buying funnel.
  • Quote: “I’m not going to take one of my biggest add to cart performers and shut it off because the CPA isn’t there.” – John [20:33]
• Only global CPA or Account-level NCAC (New Customer Acquisition Cost) presents the true picture.

4. User Journey: The Importance of Sequencing

• UGC creative gets cold traffic—high volume, low conversion.
• Product-focused ads (after initial exposure) convert at much higher rates.
• Data analysis reveals that people may see 2-3 creatives before converting—pausing early ads cripples that path.
• Metaphor: “If you walk into a store and you say, hey, I need some help...You buy [the product] at the counter. Did the person that helped you find it, were they useless? No, that’s your middle click. That’s your add to cart.” – John [25:24]

5. Creative Diversification: UGC vs Non-UGC & Why Both Win

• UGC drives discovery; product highlight ads drive decision.
• Strategy: Launch 10+ ad types per creative cycle and let Meta dynamically sequence.
  • Quote: “What we’ve identified is Andromeda has a very specific way that it likes to optimize—showing all ads to all users and developing the sequence of what needs to see first, second, third, fourth.” – John [13:15]

6. Targeting Is Dead—The Creative Does the Targeting

• With Andromeda, audience targeting is largely obsolete outside of basic geography/age filtering.
• The AI engine finds buying-intent audiences based on creative content, not manual targeting.
  • Quote: “It’s the creative doing the targeting, not you. It’s actually AI interpreting your ad and then going finding its own audience on its own.” – John [38:39]
• Exclusions/inclusions are now just “suggestions”.

7. Market Saturation & Scaling (Does Andromeda Expand Markets?)

• Andromeda enables brands to reach beyond perceived ceilings by unlocking new creative sequences.
• Even in “tapped out” verticals (like dating or dogs), a refreshed creative mix surfaces new segments.
  • Quote: “Unless you say...we’ve done every ad possible, every hook, Every pain point...you will never tap out that market.” – John [41:23]
• Use Meta as your creative testing bed before expanding to other platforms like TikTok, Google, and CTV.

8. Real-World Case Studies, Data, and Results

• Doubling spend from $55K/week to $110K/week resulted in only a minor NCAC (New Customer Acquisition Cost) increase—from $212 up to $270, then settling back to $243.
  • Quote: “So, I basically paid about $30 more per new customer after doubling my ad spend...If I didn’t have [Tier 11] Data Suite, I would have killed my middle, which abso have hurt.” – John [26:36 & 28:22]
• Running all creative types simultaneously, even those with “bad” CPA, keeps total account CPA under goal.

9. Practical Tips & Action Steps

• Don’t pause “bad” ads if your global CPA is in range.
• Judge performance at the aggregate (account or campaign) level, not by ad-specific CPA.
• Build a creative system—10+ types, UGC-heavy but always custom sequenced.
• Use data suites that let you assess by first-/last-click and overall user journey—not platform CPA alone.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is a crazy, crazy, crazy end cat. $857. I’m like, I don’t care. Us delivering the highest amount of add to carts we’ve ever seen. That isn’t a fantastic end. Majority of them are cold. Three quarters of them are cold. I would have taken 200 cold Add to carts and just chucked out the window...” – John Moran [22:52]

• “Everyone would unanimously agree since the 80s in direct mail...How many times do you need to be engaged with an ad before you convert and then we measure it by nope. Unless it’s one, I don’t want it.” – John [24:46]

• “It’s really a whole new world, isn’t it? It is.” – Ralph [29:29]

• “If you’re just looking at [ad-level CPA], you would have paused it. But your Global NCAC inside Ads Manager actually looks good.” – Ralph [23:26]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:30 – 07:30: Why the old “pause losers” rule is outdated post-Andromeda
• 08:30 – 13:00: How the Andromeda algorithm sequences creative and why CPA misleads
• 15:00 – 17:47: UGC vs non-UGC, user journey, and click sequencing explained
• 20:33 – 23:26: “Bad” CPA ads that are actually funnel powerhouses
• 24:46 – 25:21: Marketing metaphors—why assisting ads are vital
• 26:36 – 28:22: Scaling case study: Doubling spend & watching NCAC
• 38:39 – 39:23: The death of manual targeting: creative as targeting
• 41:23 – 43:16: Expanding markets with creative sequencing under Andromeda

Host Recommendations

• Don’t think in terms of “ads to cut”—focus on sequences, global CPA, total funnel performance.
• Embrace creative volume and diversity—let the Meta AI handle delivery.
• Use the data (beyond what’s in Ads Manager)—or partner with pros using advanced analytics.
• To accelerate results, check out Tier 11’s Creative Diversification Package for expert-led implementation.

Summary
The Meta Andromeda update has fundamentally changed the rules of paid social. Killing ads just because of ad-level CPA will sabotage your account post-Andromeda. Instead, marketers must build diverse, sequenced creatives and trust the algorithm to optimize journeys. Judge performance on total account CPA and user journey data, not single ad stats. This approach isn’t theoretical—it's field-tested with millions in spend, and it’s the only way to scale profitably and sustainably in 2025 and beyond.